Hiking Cinque Terre

The hardest hike I've ever done, but totally totally worth it. At all times I was either surrounded by lush forest or sprawling vineyards, most of the time with a sharp drop-off to the sea directly on my left. That made maneuvering my way over old landslides a bit perilous at some points, but alas, I survived.

Examples of the landscape:

The hardest, steepest section of the hike took us winding through farms and towns and people's backyards, and ended with a view like this!

The sea is in-between those hills, I promise!

You may have noticed that it was a particularly cloudy day in these pictures. After being bummed out when we woke up and saw the weather, once we started hiking we decided it was a gift from God. Having a hot sun beat down on us would have been the worst, and instead the cloud cover provided a nice, cool temperature in which to stay comfortable in. It did brighten up after lunch though, during an easier hike, so we got the best of both worlds!

Each town presented its own unique and spectacular views (and food!) The last two were still recovering from the devastating landslides that occurred at the end of last year, but were charming nonetheless :)

Riomaggiore
Manarola
Outside of Corniglia
One of my favorite views. Reminds me of my trip to Greece.

Pesto pizza in Corniglia, honey gelato was involved too...

Another favorite view, outside Vernazza

Barthelonaaa

On to Barcelona! Where Barcelona is actually pronounced Barthelona, and gracias as grathias.

Dinner: stuffed apple, duck with a pear sauce, and cava sangria, a specialty of Barcelona.

Market, so many unidentifiable fruits!

Gaudì #1, his only commission from the government. A lamppost.

Gaudì #2, the Palau Güell.

Gaudì #3, Casa Battlò

Gaudì #4, Casa MilàGaudì #5, Sagrada Família. aka Sand Drip Castle

Catalonian and FC Barcelona pride.

View of Barcelona from Park Güell.

Another view

Picnic in Park Güell (stole your pic, Hannah. thanks!)

Gingerbread houses!

Park Güell

Entrance to Park Güell.

The harbor

Gettin our Picasso fix.

Chocolate and churros, nothing better.

That Time I Went to Paris

And it was amazing. After spending the day in the Budapest airport due to a missed flight, we were rewarded with Paris's specialties, such as these:

The first thing I saw after getting off the subway in Paris, the Notre Dame.

My first real crepe!

Palace of Versailles

Ari, me, Hannah and Erin in the gardens of Versailles.

View of Paris from the Musee d'Orsay.

Hannah, me, Eiffel Tower!

Walked through 6 million skeletons in the Catacombs. So so creepy.

Break dancers on the way up to Sacre Coeur.

Restaurant mosque

Real mosque

Cute neighborhood the mosque was in.

The Eiffel Tower in the distance at sunset.

Arc de Triomphe

Looking back on Champs d'Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.

The Louvre

Pisa & Budapest

Saturday found Hannah and I lounging around the Leaning Tower of Pisa as we awaited our flight to Budapest. Said tower, we realized, is really Pisa's only point of interest. You need at most 20 minutes to experience this city.

What was interesting was that the scene in front of the leaning tower was probably better than the tower itself. Here's a game, how many people can you spot taking a picture with the tower in this photo?

Hannah and I in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

A few hours later...

We've made it to Budapest!!

Our first night's sights and tastes...

Hero's Square
Hero's Square

Sirloin with sweet bread/potato dumplings and the most delicious strawberry jam.

The next morning, bright and early, we ventured into the warm, mineral baths with the rest of the Hungarian families, couples, and old men playing chess.

Szechenyi baths

Followed by a breakfast of langos, a delicious delicious pastry similar to a funnel cake, but better, and with whatever toppings you would ever want...

The rest of the day was spent walking ALL over the city, and seeing such sights as these:

Castle across the pond from the baths.

The second largest synagogue in Europe.

The inside - this synagogue used to be part of the ghetto, and out back there was a memorial to the thousands of Hungarian Jews who died in WWII.

St. Stephen's Basilica

Inside, with so much gold. We also saw St. Stephen's hand.

Parliament, on the bank of the Danube.

View of Buda across the river from Pest.

Matthias Church, on top of Castle Hill at Fisherman's Bastion.

Another view of the church.

Me, Hannah and Ari on Castle Hill with a view of Pest behind us.

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Parliament and Chain Bridge at night.

Buda Castle

Pancake with chicken paprikash, aka a Hungarian enchilada.