MichelNinja-lo

So Vatican day. I personally had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I was not personally prepared for this kind of tourism. The Colosseum is different because it's really big, and all of the tourists are spread out. The Pantheon is different because compared to some of the other Roman monuments, it's relatively small... That feels weird to say. But basically it doesn't have miles of winding halls, so you can see pretty much everything in under 45 minutes at the most. The Vatican however is huge. Really, really big. But its halls are... not big enough for... everyone that goes there. Everyone that goes there includes.... basically everyone in the whole wide world. Not kidding. It felt like there were all 7 billion of us in one big building. Just so you know, they are all heading for one thing. The Sistine Chapel.

Amazing. Holy cow.

But how the people swarmed.

Me and Carrie were trying to go at a relatively normal pace, but apparently, that was absolutely unacceptable. While we were trying to enjoy the massive art marathon that the Vatican is, we were being continuously run over by tourists... in a major hurry.As in, any of the times where there were amazing art gallery, we had the whole thing to ourselves. Everyone else was just hustling and bustling by to the Sistine Chapel. I mean, I see why, but the things you walk by are amazing too. People were just walking by the Van Gogh. I mean, we were included in that. We heard that there was a Van Gogh in the Gallery, so we looked, and we never found it. But the stuff we walked by was cool. It just wasn't cool how people were killing each other to get to the Chapel. And once we were in there, My oh my. I mean, Michelangelo. They guy was a beast. He had to design and build his own scaffolding, any materials had to be pulled up on pulleys. And the whole concept of a Fresco? you paint into the plaster of the wall. So the painting is the wall. And plaster dries fast, so he had to do it a little bit at a time. And if he messed up, he had to scrape all that plaster off again, and start from scratch. I mean... really? just throw paint on the ceiling and call it abstract.I mean, the guy painted the equivelent of a football field. And contrary to popular belief, he wasn't painting comfortably on his back. He was standing up. He was standing up with his arm in the air. How tired does your arm get when you raise your hand in class for 30 seconds? Well how does your arm feel after four years of painting six stories up in the air? Um.... Ninja. That's all he is. Just... a Ninja. MichelNinja-lo.

So then we found ourselves at St. Peters Basilica. How long was the line? quarter mile. Did we stand in it?

No. We got ice cream. Then we went to go stand in it. Then we got there. It still boggles my mind thinking about it. I mean...two football fields long. From  the top of the dome to the floor is another football field. and the lettering around the top is 7 feet high. I couldn't even take it in the first time. Or any other time I tried. But here's a picture.

    Blows my mind.
any way. We have business to attend to. So... Pizza boom.

The readers digest form of the story of Pizza Boom.

Pizza Boom is a Pizza place by our hotel that sells pizza. its really good and really inexpensive. And we love it. We go... every day? Ya. we are pretty much BFF's with the guys that work there. For all of you who know what Ernie's is, it's like that, but with Italian pizza and pastries and guys who give you the extras for free. I love them. So much. MMMhm. Well, good night.
 

Continued.

We found a really, really big building referred to as 'the wedding cake'. I guess It was made by the first king of Italy in 1860. Basically its a huge controversy because its a monstrosity, and he may or may not have had ancient history torn down to build it. Shame, shame, shame. We just kind of looked at it, thinking, it probably looks pretty on the inside, thinking of our poor, poor feet, and went to have lunch. To your left is lunch. It was a bit pricy, actually very pricy, but kind of worth it for our exhausted levels at the time. What you see is very good. It's tomato with mozzarella on top with olive oil drizzled on top. super good.

Then we went to a museum about the different Forums over... the years. There were a few.

The next day we went to Austia Antica. That is a city kind of like Pompeii, but instead of a volcano, it was actually covered in mud by a river chainging coarse. Crazy stuff. The craziest part was probably the Mosaics on the floors; because you know, it's normal and stuff for offices to have mosaics of the services they have. That's what every business I've ever been to has. So, this would be an example of an

 office that offers it's tetris skills.  Actually some of them had boats and fish and castles with confetti coming out the top.

So I forgot a critical part of our day. Before we ever got to this place, we had a breakfast adventure. A really good one this time. So we are coming out from the train stop and we see this little breakfast place. This place just happened to be the place where we met Italian juice. Italian juice was known as mystery juice for a really long time. But now, we know their secret... no super crazy cancer causing preservatives and sweeteners, and a whole lot of awesomeness in the mix. And sometimes they add fruit. Actually that is false. They always add fruit.

That night we had a photo shoot of the Colosseum, and then we went back.


So Sunday was an interesting day. We went to church. That sentence contains so much frustration you wouldn't even know. Have you ever missed a bus twice? Well, it's possible if you're here in grand ol' Italy. If the bus is late, it doesn't stop for little stops. Even if there are people there. Ugh. So we found a taxi. Then we went to the Pantheon. Crazy big. and Crazy square and sphere-esque. And it's rather old. and fantastic. And there's a giant hole in the top. They missed a spot. Romans. Cant count on them. Haha.

That night we had... lots and lots of food. Lots and lots. Because it is completely impossible to have too much food from Italians. We had crazy good food. Ravioli, lasagna, melon with salty ham, really big messy toast with tomatoes and rocket lettuce (Bruschetta), and... watermelon. Why watermelon? because they came over with a plate with a huge thing of watermelon on it and said 'on the house'. that's why we had watermelon. Then we decided not to have our nightly ice cream.

That night, we watched closing ceremonies. Crazy right? Awesome. Favorite part was the news paper everywhere. And the... wide variety of fantastic costumes. The whole thing gave me dreams that night that were... less than normal.

Today! so we.. slept in. And then we did some laundry. Holy point Italy. They take care of all of your laundry. You can leave. When you come back after some shopping, your laundry is folded, in a giant bag with your name on it. Love them. Then we tried some Italian candy. I hope there is enough for the rest of you when we come back. All I'll say here: Milk, and honey.
Chips: Beef flavored=good.really good.
Breakfast: doughnut: chocolate frosting, sprinkles, cut in half and filled with Nutella. Doughnuts will never be the same for me.
Crypt: Creepy, but crazy pretty, and I wasn't allowed to take pictures... so you'll have to wait.
Nutella to go: comes with a straw. and Juice.
My next post will be about Pizza Boom, and the Vatican.

When in Rome.... just go with your gut because everything else will not go according to plan.

So... it's been an odd couple of days. When was the last time I posted? Thursday? Well, it's been a crazy few days. Lets start out with... Colosseum day.
So the Colosseum is big. Actually it's really big. And is not even as big as it used to be, like a million and a half years ago.  Really though. Not quite a million years old, but around there. Its soooo big. and you really cant see it in a picture. But you can get pretty close. This has been the problem with most of the places we've been. The places and monuments and pieces of history are just too big for you know, normal people.

Just... really, really big, and really, really quite fantastic. Truly quite fantastic.  Besides the fact that it was the biggest tourist trap I've ever been in, it was so cool. Tourist trap is translated into a place where all of the same people come up to you asking you the same questions, selling you the same things, strategically placed around tourism sights that sell you things... ugh.. you need. like shade and water and ice cream. evil little buggers. And they're always around exactly when you start to think to yourself, wow. I'm hungry. Or wow.Water sounds great. And then they just show up with some. And it is always without fail, about 4,000,000 dollars more than you would normally pay. But because you're thirsty, you don't care. Basically it meant that me and Carrie were fighting against the army of salesmen to reach....


Continued.

 hahahaha. basically that means that I'm watching the Olympic closing ceremonies and I cant concentrate anymore because they just got neon hats. Good bye!

When in Rome, make sure your taxi plays Christmas music.

HELLO. Guess what. Me and Carrie are in Rome. And what does that mean? It means all of the hours of practicing how to order ice cream are finally put to the test.What else does this mean? Well. I'll tell you.

So we got up this morning at about... 2 30 ish. Why? we had a plane that left at 6. So we went down and waited for the taxi that would take us to the airport. On the plane, we were provided with miniature loves of bread. None of this skimpy cracker stuff. We got the real deal. Then we landed in a wonderful place called...  Duesseldorf. If you've never heard of it, you're not alone. But it is a real place. It is not full of garden Gnomes. And it is not full of elves. These were my theories until we landed, and I realized that everyone was normal sized, and that it was a pretty normal place. However, the pathway to the gate was rather like walking along the yellow brick road through the maze of shops. Now, you think I'm kidding. I am not. We followed the signs. "It was a labyrinth that eventually took us through the center of a department store selling, duty free perfume and stuff." Says Carrie. I'm just glad we got out alive.

On that flight, nothing really happened other than.. we made napkin roses... oh dear.

So here's a challenge. Carrie and I both made one. Which one did I make, and which one did Carrie make? Can you guess? Is it really that hard? Ya. One of us....had a harder time. Guess who.

When we landed, we were greeted by a German sign. Odd, but true. Then we got in a taxi. What was amazing about this ride was the lady and her kids' multi lingual... ness. The lady was speaking Italian with the driver, and German with her kids; but the kids were speaking English to each other. Crazy right? I thought it was. But was was even more excellent was the Christmas music that was playing as we rode. White Christmas was featured. Excellent. It just made the whole terror of driving in Italian traffic all the more enjoyable.

But then we went out for lunch. Can I just say, I was not prepared for just how good Italian pasta is. It was just... I don't know. Noodles made with a hint of happiness. And it had bacon on it. I mean.... it was like the heavens had opened, and unto me was brought promises of peace, joy, and happiness in the form of pasta. It was really, really good.

Then we discovered our place of stay. The B&B Hotels. Their floors are ordered by color and style. We just happen to be on the pink floor, with the marble stairs. the other floors have different stairs, and different colors. The room is super modern. We have the roman skyline painted on our wall, and no garbage can. But it is air conditioned, and that is good.

Then we went on a night stroll through the hood'. We found some nice people in an Ice cream shop that understood the stupidity of American tourists, and were very helpful in our quest to find dinner in the form of a cone filled with Ice cream. The result was kind of fantastic. We continued our stroll and ended up at a church. Churches in Rome, I have decided are kind of like churches in Utah. You don't have to go more than a Quarter mile to find one. We sat at on the steps of a fountain, and watched a spray painter do crazy things on paper. I'm not kidding. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

this is a picture of the one I bought.  The one above is the picture of  the guy doing his thing. On a cobble stone street. In Rome. In the middle of the night. Outside of a million year old church. You know. Normal and stuff.
It was a pretty fantastic day. Tomorrow? We take a look at the real deal of the above picture, along with a few other things.
However before I end, in the spirit of the olympics, we have decided to award points, which will lead to metals, to the countries of Italy and Germany. Here we go.

Italy:
1 Point: for having a shower that says on the whole time
1 Point: For the Gelato. Unbeatable.
1 Point: For the Pasta. Unbeatable.
1 Point: Shuttle/Taxi adventures.
1 Point: For having drinking fountains.
Germany:
1 Point: Signs and accouterments for transportation. Basically organization in general.
1 Point: For having garbage cans.
1 Point: Chocolate.
1 Point: Variety of Unique foods.
1 Point: Bread.

So as of now, We have a tie. But, this list will be added to. And there will be a determined winner. Maybe.
Ta Ta.

Relaxing day, with a side of rock and lady bugs.

So today was pretty great. We slept in, which was awesome. Then we did some laundry, where I forgot half of the load in the spin cycle/time machine. Well, I was pretty sure it was a time machine by the way it was rumbling and shaking. Then... I wrote some POST CARDS. Which don't have stamps on them yet because we are in a shortage of knowledge as to what needs to go upon the post cards as far as stamps go. We will figure it out eventually though.
 Then we went to the really, really tall tower right next to the Olympia park, Or the TV tower. Basically it's a little like the space needle, but instead of a restaurant, it has a rock n' roll museum. Kind of.. a bit awesomerish.

So we get to the top, and it kind of looks like awesome with a bit of amazing in the middle of holy cow bat man. And then we see the museum. We are soon met by Elton John's glasses and piano. You may notice that it is covered in little tiny mirrors. Pretty awesome. It was used for a concert in Germany. You may be wondering why something this awesome wasn't used in the US? Well, I'm wondering the same thing.
Then we were met by some drum heads of the rolling stones and Phil Collins. Then we saw some early poetry of Jim Morrison. Um, pretty cool.

So after that, we met the geese militia as we ate Nutella filled Crapes. They were lined up in formation, ready for battle. It was quite a sight to see, and if I'm being honest here, I was afraid for my life. Luckily for us, they were preoccupied by a Swan that had appeared on the scene.

After we got back from our adventures, we were greeted by a rare poisonous lady bug that lives in the wild, and worships light bulbs. It's black with red spots... basically it was the scariest lady bug we'd ever met, and it took a full ten minutes to get it down the water slide, but we did it. We're pretty awesome.

And just so you know, here is a list of things that are better in Europe:

• Chips. The German version of Funions are amazing.
• Bread. the squishy stuff we get in the US just doesn't compare.
• Ice cream. Just... the best.
• Castles. We aren't old enough for something that cool.
• Free real time Olympics. Finally.
• Cheese. You have to eat it to believe it.

The most important part: Chocolate. There is absolutely no American chocolate that can compare to the quality they have over here. It's just kind of a fact, and we should just face it an move on.
Bye bye for now!

PS: Emily. I found your M&M's. You're welcome.

"I feel like today will be an adventure." -Me.

Let me just say in my defense that I had no idea of the power of those words. I was thinking, Oh, today will be interesting... referring to the information we were about to learn that day. And it was. Every bit of it was amazingly interesting. Things boggled my mind on a regular basis. But then...

Adventure took on a whole new meaning.

< this is one of many blackbirds that haunted the Eagle's Nest. Carrie didn't like them very much. haha. Notice the grey background. It wasn't just overcast. We were inside the overcast. 

So we started out the day by getting on a series of trains and buses in order to reach this little place called the Eagles Nest. You may have heard of it. It's basically Hitler's Hide out he got as a birthday present from his buddy. He didn't really like it, and only went there like 5 times. But His girlfriend/wife Eva Brown went up there all the time. Any who, it's a really interesting tour with crazy information about the Mr. Hitler. For instance, he hated the sound of construction all the time, so he made it so all of the bunkers and all of the secret rooms were built under ground. So there is this huge network of bunkers inside this mountain. It's crazy stuff.

But aside the education we recieved today, we also got a few... other odd experiences. For instance the wide variety of tourists we met today. The American tourists (With fantastic accents) singing happy birthday on the phone on a bus full of Europeans and tourists alike who may or may not have just been on a 4 hour Hitler tour. The situation was quite odd. It got even more odd when the French people in front of us joined in. It was just an odd experience that required much self control. Another odd experience we had today was the whole part where we found ourselves in Austria for the second time, in the pouring rain, in a cafe where the menus all had eyes on them, and they were all looking at me. That was an odd experience. We didn't even plan on going to Salzburg at all. And we ended up there twice- in the rain- running around in the deserted streets looking for sound of music moments and Mozart statues, and the yellow Mozart house. It was pretty awesome. We felt like secret agents. Then we found ourselves in a cafe called MozART, where they had dark chocolate hot chocolate (holy amazing) and scrambled sweet pancakes. (well, that's basically what it is, but I cant spell the actual name) But the menu's kinda looked like this.

Creepy right? Well Ya. that happened. Then we found a taxi, and then we found the train station, and we thought we were done with adventures for the day. But oh no.

So let's just say that the young people of Germany have a... broader spectrum of knowledge. Some of this knowledge is a bit... unnecessary. We over heard an interesting conversation between a 20 something German/Russian and a few Koreans. In the beginning we had a hard time figuring out what they were talking about. They were talking about prices, and how the weather was making it more expensive. We had no idea. Then it became very clear that the German/Russian was helping the Koreans arrange... for some female evening companionship. ANYWAY. So That happened, and a few minutes passed by, and the German/Russian turns to Carrie and asks where we were from. Then, like everyone else that met us, asked about the political situation, and the candidates running for presidency. He then asked if Romney's religion affected our opinion of him. Then, as you can imagine, MANY more questions about the church followed. However, I couldn't tell you half of the conversation because as soon as he figured out that Carrie spoke German, the language I could understand ceased to be spoken. So.... ya. I'm not much help at this point. But just the thought of that situation made us laugh all the way home.
So ya. That feeling I had that morning? Pretty accurate.  

Vincent, and the hurricane.

So today was a pretty chill day. We started out by eating our breakfast to stairway to heaven, and drinking watery tang. then we managed to make all of our buses and trains exactly on time. We went to church, where I realized (as I was handed a hymn book) that I would not be singing in English today.
After  church, we went to an art museum. Now, I don't think I was fully prepared for this art museum, partly because the night before, when Carrie was like, 'oh, this one has Vincent van Gogh.' It didn't really register as... holy poop, I'm going to be seeing the works of one of the greatest artists ever in the entire world ever who just happens to be my absolute favorite ever in the entire world ever. Nope. that didn't really register until I looked at the little list of what is in which rooms... and I realized that we were about two rooms away from: 22: Vincent van Gogh.

  So we kind of turn the corner, and this little picture shows up of some sun flowers. and I think I had a bit of a heart attack. There was a pretty significant gasp, followed by some laughing by my aunt. Then the usual followed. Super touristy nerd photo shoot with a famous inanimate object. Pretty great.

And then approximately 50,000,000 people decided to show up and get in the way. So we waited them out, and continued to enjoy some major awesomeness.

After that we just found some Monet and Picasso. You know. No big deal.

Oh wait.
Then we proceeded back to the gift shop where I learned that every book that is quality (quality meaning Starry Night is in color) is completely in German. That being said, I found my way to the napkin section and bought some napkins. :)
So then, we got some linner (because lunch has been mistakenly canceled on accident for the past two days) where we had fantastic food. Half way through, it started to rain. Rain in Munich means flash flood with thunder and lightning and hurricane. So.... we decided after watching a few people come in drenched, we would... stay for dessert. Good choice too, because when we walked out, it was a perfectly nice, sunshiny day. Jolly good.
Well that's all for today. Tomorrow, we head to the Alps where we go hide out with Hitler. Fun fun fun. Good night!

Fanny packs and castles

Fanny pack wearers of the world, I am deeply ashamed of you. I am so disappointed. We barely made our quota today for fanny packs reaching a high of 54. How disappointing. I couldn't believe it.
But we also saw two really cool castles today.The experience was made complete by riding in a horse drawn carriage up to the castle. Cheese stuffed tourism? yes: but worth it. One of the castles was the hang out spot for Wagner, and the other was the inspiration for Disney. Both were founded by the one and only Ludwig II. a man highly comparable to Willy Wanka. If you do some research, you might be able to see why.
It is late again, so I should probably get some sleep and stuff.
Ps, just so you know, the Man-pris are still going strong!
Fun fact: Ludwig II wanted the ceiling of his room to look like the night sky, so he made his servants put holes in the ceiling and then light oil lamps above the holes to make it look like stars. Also, similar was done for the moon, which was kept consistent with the moon's actual cycles. Not high maintenance at all.

Church Hopping and Man-pris :)

Dear people who may be wondering what me and Carrie are up to.
First thing. After a few major changes of plans including a broken plane, $12,000 we didn't have to worry about, a tiny toothpaste, some Canadian deported water, a pound, and a gourmet gram cracker later, we arrived in Munich. MMMMMhmmm.
Today however was quite the adventure. Church hopping (like bar hopping but for less exciting people) was on our agenda. But what else was on our list? Man-pri watching.The Man-pri is a pair of pants worn by a male that come to either just above, or just below mid calf. They are basically the same idea as capris.  Man-pris are a new fashion statement in the world of tacky males around Munich lately. The most popular styles are the cameo varieties, the plaid varieties, and the khaki varieties. Denim was rare, but quite flashy all the same. Our goal? Well, our original goal was to find at least 12 pares of these fashionable articles. This goal was reached within the first half hour of our search, much to our surprise. So we kept looking and looking as the numbers kept ticking by. Finally, at the end of the day, after much searching, we past by the grand owner of the 100th pare of Man-pris. This was probably one of the greatest accomplishments of our entire lives. it was a grand moment. Tomorrow is Neuschwanstein.What does this mean? Fanny packs. Oh yes. Fanny packs. Our goal? At least 50. But, I hear there is a fantastic chance we will be in the hundreds. The final count will be reported in the next post.
But church hopping. Kind of the best thing ever. We saw at least 4 different churches today. All of them were magnificent. All were pretty. And there were lots. Lots and lots.
Its getting late. But:
The food adventures today were in the form of herb cold cuts.The Residence Museum was covered in stone heads with bits of noses that had been got. (gotcha nose!)
Then we found a #DancePuddleRockConcertThunderstorm. Hashtag.
Then we came back.
Oh, and I got a German phone that has a 6x6 Sudoku.
Oh, and there is a street by the Glockenspiel that has a Prada store and Tiffany & Co. right across the street from each other. FAN. TASTIC.
that may be the phrase of tomorrow.
Fanny pack-tastic. Oh yes.
Bye bye for now!