Switzerland Part 1: Banks Abound!

Well, it is about time I did a serious email since my last one was about Thanksgiving time. Oh me! Let's catch up.

I left you all off pretty much without glazing over, in Cesky Krumlov with Katy and Britney. From there I caught a bus the next morning to Cesky Budejovice. I wanted to get a bus to Vienna, but my heavenly guardians had something else in toe for me. I caught a cheap train to Salzburg and eventually Innsbruck. The whole day was pretty crazy and I got hit on by a middle aged man in the Innsbruck train station. (4 hour layovers tend to go poorly when accompanied by strange men and drunken teenagers). Anyway I caught a night train to Rome. What a fantastic place to wake up in!

I got off the train and as cliche as it is, haha, I thought to myself, 'when in Rome' and headed for the underground to try and find my hostel. My hostel was called the Fawlty towers. After the hilarious British comedy. My first few hours in Rome I contacted Jack and we met up at 3 that day. Which was good timing because Katy, Jack's lady friend we met in Paris who now resides in Boston?, left that morning. Katy leaves and Tad arrives. How nice for Jack! Yes Yes. Well I washed all my laundry took a shower, and Jack and I went and saw the Spanish steps and the most amazing view of the city. Rome! How fantastic! I thought it would be unimpressive particularly because it is the ancient Rome which I am so fond of. Not at all! The new Rome is just as spectacular! Skinny winding streets. Pizzerias on every corner. The creamiest most wonderful Gelato you have ever tasted. What a surprise! And sunny too, which was indeed a welcome change from cloudy fog covered Czech Republik. And too the next day I got to see my beloved ancient Rome. Or what is left with it. But ancient Rome is in the City. What I mean to say is that new Rome, ancient Rome, they are one because it is the people that make a city. The Italian hospitality (excluding for the most part my peers who find that faux-hawks and mullets in combination with aviator sunglasses are a keen fashion sense. Not to mention the down jackets when it is clearly far too hot for such attire.) was most welcome to myself. The language was amazing as well. Different from Spanish yes, but some vocabulary remains universal. On the trains in Rome I found myself entranced by people lilting off into their cellphones with their unique highs and lows of this special tongue. Straight to the sights!

The Vatican is for quality the Louvre for quantity. Many works I found in the Vatican's museum from what the Catholic church had 'accumulated' over the years. The funniest part was the collection of 'ancient' globes after seeing the Sistine Chapel. It was funny because it wasn't until recently that the Catholic Church admitted the earth is not the center of the universe. Or so I have been told. I saw the creation paintings and all that jazz, and I was very much impressed. Not to undermine the accomplishment, but I must keep telling my story seeing as how I could go on for hours talking about all the things I saw in the Vatican.

To the center of the Catholic faith! St. Peter's Basilica! It was amazing! Fantastic! Beautifully constructed! And the view from the top was overwhelming.

To the Colosseum! On the way Jack and I saw most of the other Roman ruins and the Pantheon. Excellent. I got a few good shots of the Colosseum at sunset. It was everything I thought it would be and more! The gigantic archs and imposing architecture was all I ever wanted to see in a colleseum. Let alone, The Colosseum. Grand to beat all grands. But I couldnt go inside. yet. It was closed. Thats what happens with most things at night. They close. The next morning Jack and I went inside! Totally had a Gladiator moment Maximus Decimus Meridius would have been proud of. They also had a large collection of Illiad and Odyssey artworks that I was very glad I got a chance to see. Some people say the interior of the Colosseum is sparse and not worth the price of admission. They are also the same kind of people that enjoy watching bricks sieze up inside of a kiln. I am not one of those people.

Then we caught a train to Genoa for the simple purpose of there is no easy way of getting to Nice from Rome. Then the next day we went to Nice. Which is very nice! I like southern France a lot more than the northern parts but that is just me. yep, just me.

Then we caught the coolest train ever. You wont believe me when I tell you this but it is possible for 3.5 Euro with a Eurail pass to catch a train from Nice, France all the way to Brussels, Belgium in a matter of only 8 hours. I know. I know. It doesn't seem possible. But it is. So we took it! Got in to Brussels, and then to Leuven! Which, Jack and I were overjoyed to find that Kristina got our email and had a hot meal waiting for us! It was one of our happier moments. Me and Jack. Jack and I.

Then to Montpelier, as an intermediary to Barcelona. Barcelona! Pretty cool with a melting cathedral. Two nights there then to Valencia! Valencia was nice. I dont really remember that much about it. I wasn't paying attention. Most of my effort was spent on being awesome. And remembering my mad Spanish skillz. Then from Valencia we went to Granada. Granada was way way awesome. Except that all the train stations in Spain are many miles outside of the towns they supposedly go to. Spain was difficult, to say the least, which I do,, for two on the move backpackers such as Jack and I are. Trains are expensive and whatnot. Few and far between. Spain, the land of Manana. We also ran into trouble with two national holidays back to back and all the hostels were booked. Anyway from Granada Jack and I went to the coolest subsistence farm by the name of Semilla Besada, or 'Blessed Seed' What a fantastic place! The woman and her husband, Aspen and David Edge who run the farm have a son by the name of Sam. Aspen and David are the nicest down to earth english people one could ever ask to meet. We spent three whole days there! The longest since leaving Kristina's a few months ago. Wow. A few months ago. I have been living out of a backpack for almost three months now. wow. haha. Everytime i think about that I just shake my head, smile to myself and think about how crazy life is. And how truly blessed I am to have gotten this opportunity. Sorry about the tangent. Semilla Besada is set in the mountainous region known as the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain just south of Granada near a town called Lanjaron. From our perch, same elevation as the highest peak in England, on Semilla Besada Jack and I could see the Mediterranean. Jokingly one morning Jack asked me, 'Who'd we have to kill to get this view again?'. Jack and I got our own little two bed apartment with bathroom and kitchen, heated by a wood stove. It was a dream location. A dream of a place. My days were spent soaking up my surroundings and digging life. I was sorry to leave.

But leave we did! On Wednesday of this week. It was pure hell getting out of Spain. I'm not even kidding. haha. but really. Spain is a trap if traveling by rail. Now we are in Geneva. I will explain how we came by this in my next email! Oh the suspense.

Love,

Tad

Today I would like to thank Jack and my dear friends Aspen and David. They gave us a home, shared their food and water with us (food has taken on a whole new meaning since I spent and worked those three days on a subsistence farm in which 80% of their consumption was produced by their hands alone), and showed us what it means to conserve and appreciate the environment. Thank you!