Corrie's 4 Day Recap:

Finding time to post to this blog is much harder than I thought. Since I planned for us to travel from place to place at night (on trains and planes), waking up in a different place each day (only a type A could travel this way), I neglected to factor in time for things like – say – eating, writing, and showers! Yes, indeed day one saw us washing between our toes in JFK airport with Wet Ones. Day two saw us drinking red wine for breakfast on a train (after only a few morsels of cheese for supper). Day three, I say to myself, “Self, slow down, take time for a decent meal”. So we did. We stopped at a non -descript little restaurant in Venice (cool place – more later) and had a small plate of spaghetti and a glass of red wine (home-made I am pretty sure). The bill was 60 Euros! Yup...120 dollars for lunch. Gadzooks! As beautiful as Venice was – the epitome of romance, the quintessential Martha Stewart town (there buildings look like that faux finish I tried to do in my last kitchen (you know, the peeling plaster over brick look), it is not a place I would recommend you spend any time if you do not have a lot of money and a good sense of humour. Actually I plan to go back there...because I DO have a lot of money and a good sense of humour (I cannot say the same for Joel, who thinks Venice is a city that is sinking into the sea and likely deserves to be).

Paris is also a place I would like to return to. It is a city full of charm. The Eiffel Tower was way cooler than I thought (and bigger too) and the Arch of Triumph was stunning. The architecture everywhere was beautiful. I found myself snapping photos of light poles (even they were breathtaking). However, the highlight of my day in Paris was actually the gourmet food market my roommate Emmanuelle took us to. My God in heaven – I thought I had died and gone there!! They had whole aisles of yogurt...not rows...AILES...aisles and aisles full of rows and rows of yogurt in all shapes and colours and textures and flavours. The tomatoes – gadzooks...an entire display of tomatoes – maybe 40 different kinds – also in various shapes, sizes and colours...stunning really...then there as the water...yup...gourmet water....rows and rows and rows of incredibly beautiful bottles of water...water with jewels, water with bubbles...35Euro bottles of water! Then there was the sugar cube aisle...honest! An entire aisle of sugar cubes, all shaped into fancy designs, and beautiful flowers. I actually had a box of 20 Euro sugar cubes in my basket before I slapped myself up the side of the head and put them back.

Let’s see, day one New York. Day two Paris. Day three Venice. Ah yes...it is day four now, and we are in Rome, and although things are also expensive here, I was delighted to get off the tourist path and find a small cafe that served cappuccinos for 1 Euro. I was giddy in fact since everywhere else my lattes were costing me up to $14 each. But Rome did not let me down... I drank 2 faster that you can say cappuccino (without thought to the time of day and I am now paying the price as it is 1:30 am and I am wide awake). Not only was the coffee great, the foam on the top was pure art – Michael Angelo style - a thing of beauty that only Kelvin and Brian would appreciate. Kelvin and Brian have been attempting to learn the art of – yes – foam art, and would have been green with envy if they could see what this young fellow created on the top of my espresso...oh yeah...Rome, ancient history, gorgeous architecture. Today we saw a castle that was so old, it dated back to the time of Christ...underwent major renovations in the 16^th or 15^th century...Michael Angelo did the work. It was awesome – I mean it...incredible. Standing up on top (on the sentries’ walk) and viewing the skyline of Rome was like nothing else I have experienced. It made time stand still. It made history real. Suddenly, I did not feel so old.

After castles and coffee we wondered the incredible streets of Rome in search of a grocery store and I cooked up a meal of fresh pasta, zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic and we drank a bottle of red wine. We are staying at a hostel in downtown, right next to Vatican City. We had a nice visit with some kids from Ireland and England, and shared some lemon liquor together (personally I think it tastes like Pine Sol – but Joel liked it). Rome must be seen slowly (something very difficult for me), so I vow to return.