Switzerland June 25-28

I love Switzerland !!! My favorite !! So beautiful, the people are ridiculously nice! Theres cows, goats, and sheep walkin around, beautiful alps, waterfalls, fresh air, and everything we've done so far has been amazing !

First night, made dinner at our beautiful hostel. Next day was cold and a little drizzly so we went to trummelbach falls and checked out some amazing glacier waterfalls going so fast I woulda died if I jumped in ... We wen out and had fondue and raclette for dinner .

Next day the weather was amazing !!!! We climbed the Swiss alps . No joke . It's called the via ferrata ... You go by yourself , rent a harness and helmet , and go climbing for 3 hours . We were 4500 feet up, hooked with two of those hooks climbers use and going from one step to another . At one point there was only the land beneath us 4500 feet down , no dirt to stand on, or Anything if we took one wrong step we'd be flyin til our bungee chord would catch us 80 meters down... This was one of the most amazing things I've ever done ... We even got to watch 3 guys base jumping with their wing suits on. Today was just mindblowing I don't even know .

Being in lauterbrunnen, Switzerland I realized how much I enjoy small towns . I would love to have a family in a small town as opposed to a city ... I'd just enjoy living in a small town way Better , so homey, calm, and just nice . Really don't like the city ad tourism too much . I'd like to take a trip just checking out small towns in different countries . And doin adventurous hings like climbing a mountain :))

Rome June 23-25

All I have to say is Rome is everything I thought it was going to be... It's an archaeologists perfect vacation , do much history an preserved sites to see . Its magnificent ! The colosseum is huge and so cool I don't even know what to say ... Same with the pantheon... Just the fact that they were built so long ago and are so enormous and still standing I'd unbelievable , it's amazing to think about how creative and intelligent man can be. I wanna see some pyramids!!!

Anyway, We had a ton of fun . We did some people watching both in line for the colosseum where people were tryin to cut and the restaurant we had lunch at where I think the waiters were on drugs... The Vatican was beautiful but way too busy and not a place I need to visit again ... It was way to crowded when we tried to make our way I the Sistine chapel but that was definitely worth seeing . I love art so I can appreciate how beautiful it is in there but I'd prefer there be no one in there if I ever go visit again , changes the whole feel when it's so crowded and everyone's loud as the people working there are saying silence and shushing everyone .

Florence 21-23

Florence was very different from Venice , much more family oriented... I really like that about Florence . I think I'd like to go back and really spend some quality time in a small town in Florence. We didnt do a ton there because there wasn't a free guided tour so we just took it upon ourselves to explore the sites... We attempted to go see Michelangeolo's David but had to pay way too much to get in so we just looked at the copies instead. Only difference was copies werent made of marble~ big deal~ walked around a ton, did some shopping, went to a couple churches, had dinner at the top of this huge hill called Michelangelo square where you can get a view Iof the whole city and watched the sunset, twas beautiful. Ate tons of gelati :)) my favorite part of Italy has been the gelati, it really is that good. What's funny is that we've been lookin for iced coffee but apparently It doesn't exist in Italy . The only time we've had it in Europe was at a Starbucks . So we're still searching. Florence was beautiful though, I would really like to take a trip to Florence with my mom, that'd be awesome.

Venice June 19-21

Venice is exactly how I thought it was going to be, except it's much hotter and more humid than I thought . It was intense, we sweat after being outside for 30 minutes ... Walking around for hours was no fun . Candace and I both agreed that if Venice wasn't as beautiful ad it was we would have hated it .

But we really enjoyed our time in Venice . Ate a ton of gelato and pizza . I really love the italian language there's something very beautiful about it , just the way it rolls out... And the people were very kind, extremely helpful an happy to help out... It was very nice.

At night we went out and had dinner
(pizza and spaghetti of course) with some Venetian wine :) delicious! Then we walked over to this small bar where there was a band playing, they were really good, trumpet, drums, cello, and banjo . We got a couple of drinks and enjoyed the music. We talked to two people in there, one of which was more welcome than the other... 50+ year old italian man named David and 30 year old Greek guy named George. George was pleasant and I enjoyed chatting with him, of course gettin into debating animal rights...and afterwards we all went and got gelato :) then off to the bus station to get back to our campsite and head off to Florence in the morning :). Loved Venice .

"Live life and love"

Sitting in the train and reflecting on the trip so far, what I've experienced and how I've felt... It's truly amazing what traveling can do . I've done things I've never though one before, cut my nails on a bench outside, take off and put on leggings at the train station, hang up my clothes and undies outside on a clothesline ... I know what an amateur... But seriously !

As I reflect I think about what an amazing opportunity this is. Grateful that I get to do this and really thankful that I'm doing it with Candace it's been really cool seeing how much this is changing our friendship.

There is so much life out there, so much going on in this world and we get to be a part of it all. Every single one of us has a different story, each unique and beautiful. God is just so big . He made this amazingly beautiful earth for us to live in . We're surrounded by a lot of pain and suffering but we're also surrounded by so much beauty . I think He wants us to be aware of both, to see the suffering and not be ignorant, to hurt with and for those who hurt, to love. He also wants us to see the beauty all around us, to enjoy it and celebrate it, to love. Live life and love .

Croatia June 17-19

Getting to Croatia was quite the journey ... Jumped on the train at 7am and got to Zagreb around 1:30pm then we had to find a way to get to our bed and breakfast in Plitvice Jezera 120km away . Took a bus to main bus station and from there we paid 106 korunas (around $20) each to take a 2.5 hour bus ride to Plitvice. The bus ride was hotttttt!!!! The a/c barely worked so we were all sweaty . Felt like I was in Mexico driving around without a/c.

2.5 hours later after the bus stops and we get out we find out we're 15km from our bed and breakfast. . So we try hitch hiking for 3km... That didn't work so we go To this hotel nearby and ask them what we should do . The guy gets us a taxi and we finally get to our accommodation at 5pm . Took us 10 hours but we finally made it :).

Then the guy at the BnB was so awkward it was crazy...online it said they had laundry here so we were planning on washin all our stuff that hadnt been washed in a week and a half and it turns out we can't use the washer. Then he says we can just leave it with the old man who owns this place and he'll wash it for us... So strange to have some stranger washin all our stuff ... Anyway after a lot of confusion we give him our laundry and after its done hang our stuff up on the line outside to dry.

Next crazy thing ... There was bugs everywhere inside. In the hallway , bathroom, our room. The place was very clean but since it's a woodsy area there were bugs everywhere and Candace was freakin out ! No joke! It was hilarious ! Eventually we both fell asleep and Candace woke up with a bite in her toe :( still kinda funny though.

Anyway... We came to Croatia to go to plitvice lakes and let me tell you it did not disappoint ! Exceeded my expectations . So beautiful I must have taken over 200 pictures . Just amazed at how magnificent this earth is sometimes . God is so creative I don even know . Speechless . Don't know If anything will beat plitvice now ! See the pics and decide for yourself it's ridiculous . Totally worth the difficulty of gettin to Croatia.