mi cruzero

Hola!

So, needless to say, Nice, France and Monte Carlo, Monaco were simply amazing. Many of you have heard this story, but last year when Ben and I went to these places, Ben saw Ferraris and literally wept with joy. I am happy to announce that this time was not much different. Although Ben didn’t start crying, he was pretty much holding my hand, dragging me from car to car so we could hear their engines and take pictures of them. We saw many Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Porsches, a Shelby Cobra, and even a fastback Mustang (which is unheard of in Europe)!

We also spent a few hours exploring Nice, France. There was a half marathon going on right when we got into town, so I was thrilled to see the top finishers cross the line; I always love seeing people who share my same passion on an entirely different side of the globe. We walked on the famous rocky beaches of Nice, and then headed to the incredible fresh market. Ben had been raving about this flower market for days, and now I understand why; there were thousands and thousands of GORGEOUS flowers for sale, all perfectly shaped and colored. We walked through the flowers to the fresh fruit, vegetables, spices, and fish stands. The market was held close to the city square, so we just walked around for a little while longer to get a quick glimpse of the town. I really wish we could have explored longer, but what we saw was great! I need to go back to France and see more!

One of the best parts of seeing both Monaco and Nice in one day is the ride in between. Both cities are on the coast, and the view is absolutly breathtaking. The roads that curve with the mountains were built in a time when cars didn’t exist, let alone the huge bus we rode in. The whole ride is a little nerve racking, and it gave me an adreniline rush when I looked out the window and saw the view. The water is so vividly blue, and the land is the greenest green that grass and trees can possibly be. There are huge yachts and mansions built into the side of the mountains, and small sailboats floating next to where our huge cruiseship was anchored. I think the French riviera is one of my favorite places on earth. I am so lucky to have gone there twice now!

The next stop on our whirlwind adventure was a little coastal (obviously) town right outside of Rome, Italy: Civitavecchia (you shoud hear me pronounce that one). Although we could have chose to head to Rome for the day, we opted to explore the little town instead (partly due to lack of money, and partly because we had already seen Rome). There was not a whole lot to do in Civitavecchia, but of course we found plenty to fill our day up. We walked to the beach, and found this huge replica of an aqueduct that we could walk through. It took us out to a platform in the ocean, where we could climb some rocks. I am starting to learn that climbing huge rocks is one thing that Ben and I are particularly good at. I decided that I would love to learn fundamental Italian, German, and French, because being in non-Spanish and non- English speaking countries, I have found that I absolutly despise not being able to use basic communication skills.

Naples was a blast. We climbed Mount Vesuvius, the volcano responsible for demolishing the village of Pompeii in 79 A.D. At first I was a little nervous, because this volcano is HUGE, and still active! However, the guide explained that it is not supposed to errupt for another 300 years, and that there will be many earthquakes that should warn the people that they are about to be covered with toxic gases and boiling lava. We hiked all the way to the top of the crater, and around it. We could look down to the bottom and see all the clouds of sulfur seeping out of the rocks, almost like it could explode at any second. Of course the view from the top was spectacular. We could see the famous island of Capri and all of Naples, and one of the coolest sites I have ever seen: a river of hardened lava. When I saw the lava river, it hit me that we were standing on a crater of an active volcano!

After climbing back down the most potentially dangerous thing I have ever set foot on, we got into a bus to head to see Pompeii! Basically, when the volcano first errupted, the people had no idea that something was about to kill them. In fact, archaeologists have found carbonized bread, thus prooving that even the bakers were carrying a normal routine the day of the explosion. Of course I assumed that all the people were killed by lava, but I learned that they were actually killed by the extreme wave of heat and all of the poisonous toxins released by Mt. Vesuvius. Ashes from the disaster covered Pompeii, leaving the village completely preserved. There are even bodies of people covering their faces in distress, carbonized dogs, and of course all of the ancient architecture. It was trully like nothing I have ever seen.

Well, I am back safe and sound in Alicante, and there are MANY more stories I will be sharing with you all in the next couple of days. It's too much to write in one post!