*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com in regard to a trip in 2015.

To start, it’s important to clarify the difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland.  This distinction is not the same as saying Indiana and Northern Indiana, for example, because Ireland and Northern Ireland are separate countries. Rather, Ireland is its own country and Northern Ireland is part of the UK (and England).  Of note, Ireland is Catholic and uses the Euro.  Northern Ireland is Protestant and uses the Pound.  This has been its own source of conflict for the Isles, which you can learn about in various places, including the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  The Ulster Museum is a smaller museum but contains a variety of exhibits and offers free admission, making it a worthy stop for us on a rainy day.

Belfast is also home to this beautiful city hall.

And sundry other British experiences, like cute taxi cabs and phone booths.

Belfast also boasts pedestrian street shops and the Titanic Museum, which we didn’t visit but I’ve heard is very interesting.  Little remembered fact: the Titanic was built in Belfast.

What we did visit was The Crown Bar.  Right across from the bus station and established in 1849, this old Irish pub features individual wooden booths, etched glass, and a good place to sample fish and chips.

So, that was our time in Belfast, short and sweet.

Even shorter was our time in the small town of Dundrum, which I only mention as a plug for visiting small Irish towns.  The obvious advantage to small towns is the cuteness factor.  We stayed in a hostel and relied on buses to navigate between Dundrum, nearby towns, and Belfast.  I will let these pictures speak for themselves.

Finally, the hands down, favorite thing we did in Northern Ireland was the Giant’s Causeway coastal drive.

For this drive you will need a car. We got ours at the Belfast airport.  Then we drove the coastal drive from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway with spontaneous stops for sheep sightings and lunch.

That’s the short way to say that there were many stops.  For sheep.

For lunch at Harbour Lights Cafe in Carnlough.

And many stops to gasp at the sea meeting the mountains, a view I never get at home.

We deferred from the coastal drive a little to catch a glimpse of this ancient row of arbors called the Dark Hedges.

And on our way home we stopped to cross the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

Rope bridge to an island, once used by sheep herders.

All of these stops and drives did eventually lead us to our destination: Giant’s Causeway.  Legend has it that a giant, Finny McCool, built this causeway as stepping-stones to help him cross the water without getting his feet wet.  All we really know for sure is that it’s a result of a volcanic eruption forming interlocking basalt columns.  Pretty cool!

And that was my trip.

Why you should go to Ireland:

Its easy to travel by bus or by car.  Car is the obviously more adventurous option because you get to tackle left-sided driving and choose your own schedule, but either works!

It feels safe.  I’m hesitant to say it is safe just because I’m sure it’s not a crime-less nation, but I argue that it is a safe place to travel, even alone.

And this is mostly because the people are so friendly and helpful.  Part of it is the dialect (they just sound happy all the time).  But the other part is that they really are nice.  Case in point: In Dublin I tried to board a bus and upon realizing I didn’t have the right change, I ran to the corner store to buy something small.  The corner store man, upon hearing my problem, gave me back extra change (charging me less than the ticket price for a Kinder chocolate egg 🙂 ).  When I returned to the bus, everyone had boarded and the driver was holding the bus, waiting for me!!

And finally, because it’s beautiful, fun, and a short flight.

Feel persuaded yet?

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2015.

Back in March of 2015 I went to Ireland and Northern Ireland on a short notice trip.  It was a trip of a lot of firsts for me, including first airbnb stay, first left side driving experience, and first independent international flight.

So this is a summary of that trip and some things I learned along the way, before I had my trip planning system all figured out.

Part 1: Ireland.

My first impressions of Ireland started on the plane. It seemed to me that Irish people, with their lifting intonation dialect, always sound happy, even while traveling.

Landing in Belfast, Northern Ireland I put myself on a bus to the Belfast city bus terminal.  There I met up with my sister-in-law and we caught a bus to Dublin.  Twoish hours later we arrived in Dublin and went hunting for accommodations. (Meaning, we checked out a few hostels near the bus station and decided to go with our airbnb lead instead.)

Did I mention that this was a quickly planned trip?

In fact, I set up my airbnb account at the airport before I flew.  We solidified our evening sleeping arrangements via public transit wifi.  All the city and regional buses have free WiFi, which is a life-saver when you need to contact your host about your estimated arrival time.  We checked our luggage into the bus station lockers and headed out exploring.

First stop, Trinity College to roam the streets.  We stopped by the Christ Church Cathedral because I thought I had to see the arch over the street (it’s cute though, right?) and walked the streets of Temple Bar, mid afternoon.

We saw the book of Kells (very old, elaborate Bible pages) and the library it’s housed in, on the Trinity College campus.

From there we headed to the National Leprechaun Museum and learned about this culture’s attachment to said creatures and their friends (including giants and fairies).  It was a little informative and mostly amusing, with interesting little interactive exhibits, including a room of giant furniture so we can experience the leprechaun life and a life-sized story book for us to jump out of.

That was all day 1.

Day 2, we took a cab to the airport to get a rental car. It was a light little thing that felt like it could blow away on the high-wind highway sometimes, but I loved the left side driving.  It made even the normal stuff, like driving on flat roads for miles, lots more entertaining.

The car took us first to Bunratty Castle.  Bunratty Castle is a tour-able castle and village. It was on our list mostly because I don’t think you can go to Ireland without visiting a castle and it was the most in route. I can’t speak to how it compares to other castles, but it did the trick for us.

This is also where we faced our first real bout with Irish wind in an attempt to take selfies from the castle roof (is it called a roof?).

The Cliffs of Moher followed soon after and, no pun intended, blew us away.  Quite possibly my windiest life experience to date, we struggled at times to stand upright.  This was also the moment before I had the revelation to start bobby-pinning my hair back, if you were wondering.

Last stop, Galway. We had shepherd’s pie for dinner because we’re in Ireland and roamed the streets after dark.  As a female traveler who’s often staving off well-meaning warnings from others, it was a relief to feel safe to be out at night.

Dessert was a Cadbury Creme McFlurry.  Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed the chocolate varieties of the UK.

Day 3: We crossed Ireland again, return tripping our car to the airport and ourselves via bus to Belfast, but not without some classic Irish countryside views along the way.

And a stop in this little town, just because it was cute.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

Language: French and English.  Don’t be afraid to speak English, btw.  They really aren’t as snobby about it as everyone likes to make it seem.  But also, don’t be afraid to speak French, if you can!  Aren’t languages so beautiful, how they connect us across cultures and worlds?

History: In short, Quebec lost the war with England, making it part of Canada, but England decided to let them stay ‘French’ so they wouldn’t revolt like the Americans during the Revolutionary War.  My friend Esther says it better with more words and facts, if you want to read that here.

Planning: My friends and I decided to go over our Spring break, because that’s when we were all available to go.  However, spring in Quebec, I think, is pretty hit or miss.  We hit it. And it was phenomenal.  But there were still mounds of snow on the ground.  Not enough snow for the toboggan run in Quebec City to be open though.  So, if you want winter, go in winter.  And if you want summer, go then. If you want an adventure, go anytime!

What we did: We started with plans to drive from PA to Quebec City (~ 10 hrs), and realized that about 7 hours into our trip we would be passing Montreal.  So, we added an overnight pit stop.  In general we tooled around town, as the expression goes, looking for the best views and foods.

What not to miss:

Montreal Locations and Food:

Crew Collective & Cafe.  Used to be a bank.  Now it’s a coffee shop.

The Notre-Dame Basilica. 

Maison Christain Faure. Has one of the top pastry chef’s in the world. We could tell! YUM!

La Banquise. Known for it’s varieties of poutine (Canada’s heart attack meal of gravy and cheese curds over fries).

Quebec City Locations and Food:

Chocolat Favoris. Hand dipped chocolate cones.  Need I say more??

The Morin Center.  An English library that used to be a prison!  Cool, but smaller than we expected.

Feu Sacre. We chose from the limited preset lunch menu options and were surprised to discover our most relaxed, enjoyable, affordable meal of the trip. (Two hours of slow, fine dining for about $13!)

Château Frontenac. Built for customers of the Canadian Railroad and most photographed hotel in the world.  Our walking tour guide told us we had to take at least 35 photos to do our part.  We happily obliged.

Montmorency Falls and Il’ d’Orleans. Higher falls than Niagara’s and narrower too; island with beautiful views.  Both about a 20 minute drive out of the city.

Things to keep in mind:

Foods. Be sure to try all the French foods (including French onion soup, macaroons, and eggs Benedict).  My happiest discovery on this trip was a whole new group of foods to love!

Many parts of Montreal and Quebec City (especially in their respective Old Towns) offer free wifi.  This is especially helpful in downloading maps if you are driving without a Canadian GPS.

Google translate is a great app.  You can download a language ahead of time and then use your phone camera, holding it over the foreign language, and it will translate it on your screen without you having to type it.  So helpful in reading parking signs and menus!

Parking.  Probably my least favorite part of the trip. Words of wisdom: read the signs (and avoid parking tickets!).  Also, feeding the meter is a pain.  What helps, 1. downloading the app so you can pay remotely, 2. remembering your space number so you can pay at any meter (and not have to return to the one by your car), 3. having an accurate guess of how long you will be in an area.  Adding $$ every few hours, on the hour, is annoying (have I mentioned that yet?).

Money.  We mostly paid for everything on credit cards.  But one of us did exchange cash at a bank, so, whenever cash was needed, she paid.  We used the app “Cost Split” to enter all of who paid what.  The app splits all the bills and calculates it so everyone only has to pay one person at the end.  Easy peasy.

Airbnb. Just consider it!

Oh, and, obviously, go with friends. It’s always the best way to travel!

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2014.

In the summer of 2014 I planned a 5 week trip to Southeast Asia with my roommate and her cousin.  At this point in my life I had been to a whopping 2 countries and was celebrating my biggest life accomplishment to date: completing grad school two months prior.  So, needless to say, Asia was good. It was a break from reality and a learning curve all mixed into one big adventure.

On this trip we traveled in five countries, largely hosted by friends or family or friends of family.  So, what I learned from this experience doesn’t compute into a lot of ‘how-tos’ or literal connections for you.  Instead, it was learning to travel more efficiently (we ‘backpacked’ part of the trip), flexibly (we booked hotels upon arrival), and fully (less with culture shock and more with interest).

Upon review of the trip we all agreed that Vietnam was our favorite country.  When I try to describe this to people I always start with the traffic.  Mostly because it was insane and entertaining all at once.  What makes traffic entertaining, you ask?  Well, motorbikes and vague driving laws are a start.  Imagine a four lane highway of cars between a four line highway of motorbikes.  And the motorbike lanes are 3 bikes deep.  Now imagine that there are families and furniture and luggage traveling on these motorbikes.  To add to this, the general rule for driving in Vietnam is to merge.  Merge on ramps, merge between lanes, or (my favorite) merge through intersections!  Have I painted an entertaining picture yet?  Needless to say, if our taxi got stuck in traffic, we didn’t even mind.  We just took more pictures.

This leads naturally to the Vietnamese fear of the sun.  Yes, that’s right: sunlight.  It is quite evident in the customized layering of socks and skirts and sleeves and masks and hats on hot summer days that Vietnamese people do not want to come in contact with these intense rays.

In fact, we spent one day chaperoning a ‘pool day’ that included only two hours of pool time and about 4 hours of in the shade games.  Because of the sun.

I also really enjoyed that Ho Chi Minh City (where we were for our week in country) was fairly easy to navigate.   Upon arrival we were given a map by our hosts and general directions to the bus station.  We took the bus ourselves on the first day there.  We also learned to keep the business card of our hotel handy to show taxi drivers our destination.  Those two things and learning to be brave when crossing the street gave us a taste of independence and normalcy.  You have to be brave when crossing the street because there are no cross walks and, well, I already told you about the traffic.

All that summarizes to the fact that we loved Vietnam because it’s its own place and it doesn’t need us Americans in order to maintain its own identity and culture, which is great because Vietnam is such an interesting melting pot of a place.  Colonized by the French, you may be called ‘mademoiselle’ by street vendors while buying your breakfast egg sandwich on french bread.  It’s writing system is also interesting as the words are written in “English” letters but sound Chinese when you read them aloud.  And then, many people learn English from Australians, so imagine that accent on some Vietnamese influenced English.  Just so interesting!

More things Vietnam just does its own way:

1. Street food.  This is a pop up restaurant outside our hotel.  It popped up and stacked up every night.  I mean, where else do people eat on little chairs on the street?Pop up restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
2. Market bartering.  Yes, marketeers around the world barter.  But I think Vietnam was the only place we were pulled and persuaded in arm tugs and laughter.  Here we are enjoying a meal in the restaurant portion of the market.I think we had rice twice a day.
3. Currency.  The exchange rate is so extreme, it’s easy to be a millionaire in Vietnam.
4. High culture. One night we went to a production of Broadway show hits at the Opera House.  The most memorable thing that happened: the chair I was sitting in broke and I dropped a good three inches.  Talk about startling!  Definitely the fanciest chair I’ve broken!  And I didn’t even know who to tell or how!
5. Random French history.  I don’t know the context for these things.  This was before I knew about free walking tours.  But we did walk by the Notre Dame and a great big post office.
6. Local history.   The last interesting thing we did was a tour of the Ho Chi Minh tunnels.  We had an excellent tour guide who was sensitive to the fact that we were Americans who lost this war and did a good job of explaining the events with sensitivity.  And we crawled through a few meters of pitch dark underground tunnel.  Pretty unique tour destination.

Why you should go to Vietnam:

1. It’s nothing like America in a very refreshing way.
2. It felt safe to travel, even as just 3 women.
3. They have the best flan (according to my roommate).
4. And, if you can’t tell, it’s my favorite.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

In 2017 my siblings and I went on a 3 week trip across Europe, starting in the Czech Republic and eventually ending up in Spain.  Of the 6 countries we sped through, Switzerland was my favorite.  Now favorite is a pretty strong word, I realize.  But Switzerland has earned it.

We started our journey through Switzerland arriving from Germany.  We spent our first night with some of my brother-in-law’s friends near Zurich.  They were excellent hosts.  The best in fact.  After a week of traveling, it was such a gift to connect to other people besides my siblings!  And it gave us a great first impression of Switzerland and its friendly people.

The remainder of our time in Switzerland we stayed in Lauterbrunnen, with day trips out from there.  While Interlaken is typically the more popular burg to have as a travel base, we decided on Lauterbrunnen because of the price of lodging.  We found a ‘bungalow’ at Camping Jungfrau – Holiday Park and ended up really enjoying it.  Lauterbrunnen is a beautiful valley town surrounded by climbing Alpine views and plunging waterfalls.

Since we had a car, it was easy to navigate to all the places on our list.  That said, Switzerland is known to have excellent train routes that provide not only transportation but beautiful views and I’m disappointed we didn’t have a chance to utilize them.

As I am a Zimmerman who grew up Mennonite, I can link both my genetic and religious ancestry to this region of the world.  For that reason, we spent a full day and a half exploring Anabaptist history cites, including the town my ancestors came from and caves and barns where my religious ancestors hid to escape persecution.  If this portion of our trip is of interest to you, I blogged about that here (including a how-to if you are looking to visit these places yourself).

The other big day trip we did was to Grindelwald and First.  Well, we drove to Grindelwald and took the gondola to First, passing Schreckfeld and Bort on our way up.  We went first thing in the morning in case there were crowds and were happy to discover this was not an issue.

Dismounting in First we explored the Cliff Walk and the boys roamed half way to Lake Bachalpsee before we had to head back.  Word to the wise, if you park in public parking, put plenty of money in the meter!  It’s a frustrating discovery to realize your time on the mountain is limited by your parking meter miles below you.

From First we zip lined back down to Schreckfeld.  Speed flying through incredible views is exhilarating and I would definitely recommend.  We didn’t get a video, but this guy did.

From there we took the gondola to Bort, enjoying a quick lunch from the snack stand there, before riding Trottibike scooters back to Grindelwald.

Trotti bikes are little scooters equipped with brakes.  What I didn’t think about when anticipating this part of our day, was that there would be very little ‘scooting’ involved.  Due to the incline of the mountain, the only thing you really need are the brakes.  The trick to moving is to hold the breaks and release them slowly.  The trick to stopping is to squeeze the breaks harder until you come to a full stop.  If you use your foot to slow you may fall and scrape your ankle.

The last thing worth mentioning in Lauterbrunnen are the waterfalls.  The valley is said to have 72 but this one, Staubbach Falls, dominates the views.

What’s fun about this particular waterfall is that 1. there is a path to hike up behind the falls.

2. depending on the windiness of the day, the falls fall in different places.  This means that when you hike, you may or may not end up under the falls. That day, we did.

One thing to consider:

1. The price.  Switzerland is notorious for being expensive.  Having been there I can say that it’s totally possible to do on a budget.  Your money just doesn’t go as far. Meaning, lunch might be hot dogs from a snack stand.  We also bought groceries for breakfasts, snacks, and sandwich lunches, which helped a lot and added variety to our eating out menu.  We cut costs also by staying in a more affordable area and driving.

Why you should go to Switzerland:

1. The variety.  We loved the hiking, views, history, and adventures.  We were there for a week and by no means saw everything!  We missed out on chocolate factory tours, summer toboggan runs, and fondue.  Really, Switzerland has something for everyone and you won’t be bored, as long as you have money for adventures or at least legs for walking.

2. Navigability.  Like all my favorite places, Switzerland is easy to navigate, with many English speakers, excellent public transportation, and up to date google maps if you’re driving yourself.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

Switzerland is a beautiful, beautiful country in its own right. But it’s also the country of my heritage, both genetically and religiously. So when when my siblings and I decided to include it as a destination on our Europe trip last summer, we knew that it would include more than chocolate shops and hiking stops.

However, in the planning process we discovered that there is a reason why people go on the official ‘Anabaptist history tours.’ It’s because the information is hard to find. Even now that I’ve been and know the places to search for, it’s a lot of information to comb through.

My primary sources for this experience were word of mouth, including a family from my church, friends of friends who have been, and our local hosts in Switzerland.

Below is the list of places that we visited on our trip, just to get you started. You will notice that most of them start with the word ‘Taufer,’ which means, Anabaptist.

Tauferhoehle

On our original list was the Anabaptist cave, or Tauferhoehle, near Zürich. This is a cave where Anabaptists hid out. Directions to this place can be found on google maps and it is best accessed by car. Google maps will take you as far as a split in the road. Follow the road sign marker to Tauferhoehle. It will lead you to a little clearing by a wood pile with more signage. This is where you park and the hiking begins, first through a meadow, then the woods. For whatever reason, I didn’t take any pictures looking up, only looking back.

Of note, there is a desperate looking port-a-pot here for those who are looking desperately.

From here you follow a trail through the woods to the cave.

Since it was Sunday morning and we were in the cave where our religious ancestors hid to escape persecution and death, we joined in the traditions before us and had our own little hymn sing.

Taufergedenkplatte: Anabaptist Commemorative Plate.

This is a plaque along the Limmat River in Zürich that was erected in 2004 to commemorate the deaths of Felix Manz and Hans Landis, the first and last Anabaptist martyrs in Zürich. Manz was executed by drowning in these very waters. Directions to this are also on google maps and can be found if you follow the link above.

Tauferversteck: Anabaptist hideout.

This is a farm where the Anabaptist, Christian Fankhauser, hid from authorities (and imprisonment) in a hidden room between his connected house and barn. While that alone is interesting, of additional interest is that this home has stayed in the same family since that time (12 generations!). It was recently turned into a museum by a woman who married into this family and became a modern-day Anabaptist after researching the history of her new home!

When we were there we got a little tour from friends of friends, who happened to be there at the same time! Since we were with them, we didn’t take the official tour. If you are going on your own you need to take the tour and register ahead of time. The website is in German (look for the translate option on the right of your search bar) but she does speak English and can be contacted via email to arrange a visit. Do not just show up. This is a family home and we want to be respectful of that. Directions to Tauferversteck can be found on their website.

Anabaptist Signs in Trub

2007 was recognized by Switzerland as the year of the Swiss Anabaptist, in acknowledgment and reconciliation between the Anabaptist and Protestant church. It was then that the town of Trub erected several plaques throughout town, detailing the history of the Anabaptist movement. Having our own experiences with Anabaptist history education and having visited the Tauferversteck museum, we found the signage to be elementary. However, we did enjoy the lunch we packed on the local church porch and found a very amusing tandem swing to enjoy at the park.

We also took a picture with the town sign because our grandmother was a SwarzenTRUBer. It was a full circle moment.

Also, bonus info: near Trub there is a chocolate store called Kambly Erlebnis, with FREE samples! They specialize in chocolate on cookies and pretzels and such. It makes for a very fun, sweet intermission to your travels and a good source for Swiss chocolate souvenirs!

I know this post is getting long, but we are finally at our final destination:

Trachselwald Castle

This is a castle of great historical relevance that I somehow knew nothing about before we went. In fact, we only learned of it from our friend of friend connection, the day of going. This is the castle where many early Anabaptists were imprisoned and the prison, complete with bars and shackles, still stands. It is now the destination of many tour groups and visitors sign their names to the doors that once locked their ancestors from the world. Word to the wise, don’t forget your pen in the car (like we did). There are a lot of steps between the parking lot and the jail tower!

The final thing worth mentioning is the book, Mennonite Tourguide to Western Europe, by Jon Gleysteen. This book was recommended to me and although it is noted to be a little outdated, it is considered the current source for country by country self-guided tours through Europe’s Anabaptist history sites.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

In my 2017 sibling trip across Europe we covered several countries, including Italy. You can read my Italy posts here: Venice: 3 Stars, Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and Rome.  Quite a list, to be sure! But we still have one more stop in Italy:

Florence.

Where we stayed:

If you haven’t noticed yet, my qualifications when booking accommodations are a balance between location, price, and comfort.  The airbnb we chose for Florence was a little far on the location situation but good for us in price and comfort.  Since Florence is a small city, ‘a little far’ just means more walking.  Overall, we liked our apartment and the neighborhood, so if you’re willing to walk or figure out the bus situation, I recommend staying here.

What we did:

Arriving: It’s scary when arriving to a place has it’s own section, but our arrival to Florence was quite notable in our memories, so I have to put it here.  In summary, it was a struggle, one of the more frustrating experiences of our trip.  We went from my brothers driving us around to a sudden reliance on public transportation and schedules.  Gone was our independence and flexibility.  Our airbnb hosts helped us secure our train tickets to Florence,

but we somehow were placed in front of the wrong train tracks.  So our train came, and went.  And we had to figure out our own way, which was plenty of drama and frustration.

On the plus side, if you miss a regional train in Italy, you can get your tickets changed free of charge.  Now we know.

Our plan: In Florence, as our first destination without the boys, our goal was to relax and enjoy Italy.  At this point we had been traveling for 2 weeks, plowing through countries and daily itineraries at a pretty steady pace.  We anticipated while planning that we would need some down time by this point in our travels so we kept our itinerary light, with lots of time for long walks and sitting in parks, people watching.  People watching is Vanessa’s favorite thing to do and she planned the Italy portion of our trip, hence why our down day was at a park and not a beach.  I like people watching too, but I also like buildings and views, and this city is full of them!

Our first night there we grabbed a quick pizza and gelato to eat in the park (hey, we are in Italy, right?) and headed to Piazzale Michelangelo.  It’s just a piazza with a view, a very good view.

The next day we did our share of roaming.  We visited Pontevecchio, a bridge with buildings on it.

We also visited the Florence Cathedral, or Il Duomo di Firenze.  It was built over the span of hundreds of years by a variety of architects (because they kept dying off) using local marble, which gives it its colors.  We didn’t go inside.  I realize now, in writing this series, that there were a lot of buildings we didn’t go inside.  I’ll need to change that in the future.  But this is the past, and we didn’t go in.  We just walked around it.

I loved this building.  I think I really could look at it all day, except that we stumbled upon it at noon.  There is no shade at noon in Italy.  We wanted to sit in the shade and people watch but we couldn’t find any shade and we needed the bathroom, so we actually gave up, went back to our apartment for an hour or so, and returned to the streets when the sun (or rather, the earth) had shifted.

Other than our sunny walk through town, our day also included a Renaissance Walking Tour.  We had our first walking tour of our Euro trip on our very first day in Prague. It was a wild success and became our go-to option for every subsequent city.  In Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance movement, it only made sense to take the Renaissance tour.  We learned lots about wealthy rivals and the politics of Italy in the 1400s. It’s weird to imagine that while Anabaptists were being persecuted in Switzerland, Italian families were battling out political manipulation and power struggles, building opulent homes and cathedrals and starting a movement in art and architecture.  

For our last meal in Italy (sob) we split pizza and pasta at Eately in Mercato Centrale.

Why you should go to Florence:

1. If any of the above sounds nice or fun for you.
2. It’s any easy to access city that doesn’t feel too entirely overrun with tourists.
3. It’s in the Tuscany region and a great access point for vineyard tours, etc.  We didn’t take advantage of this because our time there was so short, but it’s an option.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

A continuation of my sibling trip across Europe in 2017. After our hike through Cinque Terre we headed to Rome, which turned out to be my favorite.  The boys were scheduled to fly home the next day and us girls had plans to power on to Florence so our time in Rome was short and to the point.

Where we stayed:

We stayed at an airbnb near Vatican City.  It was nice and clean and our hosts were eager to help.  The location was perfect for seeing the Vatican but we did have a bit of a struggle accessing public transit.  (Read, we couldn’t find a place to buy tickets and ended up riding the bus illegally.  Oops.)

What we did:

The Colosseum

We did an ipod audio-visual tour version that we reserved ahead of time and picked up at the entrance.  I thought the line went pretty quickly and it wasn’t unbearably crowded.  I know that The Colosseum a touristy thing to do, but I still thought it was worth it!

The Pantheon

We got there too late to go in, but we had to at least walk by.

The Trevi Fountain

The one thing on Vanessa’s list to see in Rome was the fountain from the movie, “When in Rome.”  We discovered, after visiting, that the fountain in the movie isn’t actually in Rome.  But we visited the Trevi Fountain anyways because we thought it was the one we wanted.  Oops again.

Of all the places we visited, this square was the one that most blew my mind.  Why, oh why, do so many tourists gather here?? There are literally lines to take a picture up by the water.  In this random little square.  I didn’t get it.

The Spanish Steps

There were lots of tourists here too, so we plowed on.

Castel Sant’Angelo

I knew and know nothing about this place except that we crossed the bridge here on our walk back to our apartment and there were street performers and vendors and night had just fallen and it was perfect.  I am also now curious about this castle.  So, there’s that.

Vatican City

You may have gathered by now that we did a little bit of everything but not enough of anything while in Rome.  This is also true of the Vatican.  We had planned to actually go inside the next morning, but found ourselves there on our walk home from The Colosseum and decided to just count the courtyard as having been there.  I promise you, it’s not the same.  But Vatican City at night is very nice because it’s fairly empty and everyone is quiet and lethargic because we know there’s nothing to be racing off to see, which makes it easier to sit and enjoy.

Why you should go to Rome:

1. It has the energy of an international city while still preserving the history of Europe.
2. There is a lot to do in and around the city.  Meaning, you will not get bored.
3. The city is sprinkled with history in unexpected places.  You can’t get past it.Trying to get to The Colosseum we ran into the Roman Forum.More history I don’t have context for but wish I did.A statue taking a selfie?
4. It’s a beautiful place to roam.  (Pun only slightly intended. 🙂 )

My one regret about Rome:

1. We didn’t stay long enough.  Now I have to go back.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com regarding a trip in 2017.

A little lesson we learned in Italy, 2017. But first, the details:

Where we stayed:

We booked our airbnb in La Spezia because it was cheaper than staying in Cinque Terre and was walking distance to the train that connected to each of the cities.

This was hands-down our favorite accommodations of the trip.  The apartment, in reality, was just decent.  A bit small for our group and not in any really desirable location.  However, the host was amazing.  She spent a solid 15 minutes with us and her binder of local information.  Literally every success we had during our time there we accredit to her.  If you are looking for a place to stay in Cinque Terres, stay here.

What we did:

Arriving after a long morning of traipsing through Venice, we wanted to do something but it mostly needed to involve food.  Our host had highly recommended the sunset views of Portovenere, just down the coast from us, so we decided to grab pizza to go from a place in her binder.

I’m going to try to paint the picture for you of the absolute joy that Portovenere is at sunset but I know that by telling you this story, I’m taking the joy from you because the happiest part of it all was how unexpected it was.  But, it’s one of my favorite memories of the whole trip, so I have to tell you.

So we got pizza to go and decided to eat it on the coast.  We drove to the point on the map, piled out of a very small parking spot in a tight little garage, and drug our box of pizza out into the waning sun in search of the sea.

We stepped into this view:

But the sea was so far away so we kept walking.  The waves crashed across the bay and we knew we were getting closer.  We could eat here at these benches, but we didn’t see the sun yet, so we kept going.

Around the corner to this:

Unexpected and increasingly windy, we raced on, toward the sinking sun.  I say raced because we really were running by this point, knowing we were minutes and moments from the sun sinking from sight.  I stopped at a window in the stone wall and was stuck.

And I stayed here, fighting the wind in my hair and eyes, soaking it in.

I eventually peeled myself from the stone window and explored higher, up into the church roof, smiling all the while.

Subplot: As we raced about, thrashed by the wind and blown away by the sun, my sister Vanessa carried the pizza box, annoyed beyond description that we weren’t eating.

Once the sun had disappeared from sight and she had decided we could wait no longer, she headed back to the bay to find a bench to sit and eat.  I was walking up from a distance and had the perfect view to the following scene.  Just as she went to take her first bite of pizza, a one legged seagull swooped in and pecked a bite from the other side of the slice in her mouth.  I yelped and she jumped up, startled.  All a bundle of nerves she proclaimed that the pizza was too cold by now to eat anyways so we marched back to the car in search of our apartment microwave.

I snapped this photo of the skinny homes on our way out.

And that is my favorite memory of Europe.  The three weeks of driving and flying, of planning and decision making and podcasts in the car and dragging suitcases up stairs, my favorite part of all was sharing this moment with my siblings.

Oh, what a happy thing to be surprised by places.

*Originally posted on apanueloworld.com, regarding a trip in 2017.

Cinque Terre is Italian for ‘five lands’ and is not a city so much as it is a region of 5 coastal cities: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  When I first heard about Cinque Terre as a destination I heard that there was a hiking trail connecting each of the villages and allowing for justification of gelato stops throughout the day.  I was in.

We stayed in La Spezia and our host was amazing- very thorough.

One helpful tip she included in her binder was how to get tickets for the train and hiking trails.  It is a national park and does therefore require a pass to hike the trail.  We decided to take the train to the northernmost city and hike south.  I had heard that somewhere along the way the trail was closed so we figured that we’d finish out our trip with the train back.  The pass allows for unlimited train and trail access so it seemed like a good plan.

First stop: Monterosso

We basically walked straight from the train station to the trail head so I don’t have a lot to say about the place, unfortunately.

Monterosso from the trail.

The trail:

Well, it’s like this friends, I do not recommend the trail.  I think maybe we did it wrong, I’m not sure?  I think maybe there are 2 trails and we took the long one?  Or else this just isn’t the best section?  But what it ended up being was about 30 minutes of vertical stairs up with frequent stops to breathe, about an hour of level walking with minimal sea views, and another 30 minutes straight down.

Somewhere in there I heard a person say that 7 people have died on this trail this year.  We speculated that they fell straight off the side of the narrow path and down the steep mountainside or succumbed to heart attacks.

All in all, I’m glad we did it because I like hiking, but I can’t recommend it to everyone.  Needless to say, we celebrated the sighting of Vernazza and lunch was much anticipated.

Vernazza

We liked Vernazza.  It had cute lunch spots right up by the water and therefore met our every need.

The other major thing that happened in Vernazza is that we decided against any more hiking, regardless of how open the trails were.

Corniglia

Corniglia is the only town of the 5 that’s not actually on the water.  You can walk up from the train but we took the most obvious option, the free shuttle.  It’s a very small town so the walk down main street is fairly short and direct.  We looked at the ocean, bought fresh squeezed juice, and returned to the shuttle.

Manarola

Manarola was larger and more picturesque because we were able to go up the trail just a short bit and get a beautiful view of Manarola from afar.  We didn’t really do anything in this town except look at it, but the look is definitely worth the stop.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the southernmost city and was our last and favorite stop of the day, probably because we did everything wrong.  When we got of the train we took, what seemed to us, to be the most obvious route to the coast.  However, it wasn’t long until we weren’t walking with anyone anymore.  Where were all the tourists we got off the train with we wandered as we roamed down narrow street stairs.  Yes, the streets were narrow stairs.  I don’t know how people functionally live here.

This eventually spilled us out to the sea and we were suddenly reunited with all the crowds.  Where did they come from?  Karston joked that there should be a tunnel straight from the train to the wharf.  We agreed and went on to take pictures and find the best gelato.

After the gelato, half the group decided to return to the apartment and Vanessa and I stayed to people watch a bit longer.   The three left and we split another gelato, soaking up the sunshine in our favorite little Italian town thus far.

When our time was up we headed to where the crowds seemed to be coming from, in search of the train.  We stopped at a shop, went over a bridge, and took a logical path, and yet we ended up strolling on the top of the city, away from the crowds.  It was beautiful.  And also mysterious.  How did all those people get to and from the train we wondered??

When we finally made it back to the apartment, Karston confirmed, there was a tunnel straight to the train. We just missed it.

And I was reminded that sometimes, like Cinque Terre, my life takes a scenic route and I just can’t seem to get somewhere the way everyone else does.  And sometimes, that’s perfectly okay.