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hello everybody!!!!
sorry i haven't written in like a week. Chris and I have been keeping super busy as you can all imagine. Since I wrote last, we were just on our way to Rome for 3 days, and have now hit up Venice for 2 days, Munich for 3 days and now we're in Berlin. Our original plan was to go from Munich to Prague but our Eurail pass actually doesnt go to the Czech Republic so we would have had to pay full price for the ticket which really sucks because we were really looking forward to Prague as we have heard great things about it from absolutley everyone I've talked to whos been there. So we have an extra 3 days with our trip We may just add them on to each remaining place or find another place to go to. We were actually gonna go to Interlaken which is apparently the extreme sports capital of the world ie bungee jumping, sky diving, canyoning, kayaking, rapid rafting and such. My cousin Chris and Pat, if you're reading this I suggest you go there some day. It sounds like your cup of tea...i think. Anyways I'm going to explain the trip we've had so far now haha. I'll warn you this could be a very long book so make sure u have enough time to read. Well actually I'm just doing Florence onwards. So far everything from Florence on or Firenze as they say in Italian, have all been my favorite places. Each destination seems to be more exciting than the last one. Anyways we didnt stay in Florence, we only went there for the day. We had to take an overnight train from Nice to Firenze and i'm willing to say that train was the worst time of mine and chris's lives. We were thrown in a tiny tiny both with 4 like 60 year old Italians who didnt speak a word of english. First they talked until like 11:30 or so and they were all shouting and talking at once in Italian. The same thing would happen at 4 in the morning also where they were all talking for another 2 hours. It was impossible to sleep because we couldnt lean over or rest our head on anything or stretch out our legs. We both did not get one minute of sleep on that train which really sucked. Anyways after that we sat around for about an hour at thetrain station cause everything didnt open till like 9 or 9:30. We went to the Duomo which was super cool. We stood in line for about a half an hour and the doors weren't even open because there was a service going on. So that was a waste of time. We then stood in a 1h and 30min line to see the statue of David which was super cool. No matter how many times you#ve seen it you cant even imagine what its like when you turn the corner and its standing there in front of you. The most remarkable thing too is how Michalangelo finished that by the time he was 29. It was definatley worth the wait. After that we went and got some Gelato which was sooooo good. Best Gelato of all time. Then we went to the Rome which cost 15 euros for the ticket which sucked because it was only a 2 hour train. We got in Rome and we didnt really do much that night. We went and got Calzone, which was also really good. The food is awesome in Italy. We tthen met some brits and some french canadians and partied hard with them. Meeting people has definatley been one of my most favorite things about this trip. Theres tons and tons of Canadians travelling. The next day we went to the Colliseum, and Palentine hill where the Forum and a bunch of other stuff is. The Collieseum id saz has been my favorite sight this whole trip. Robyn i don't know how you thought it was a disappointment when you saw it. We had a really good tour guide for it too. He knew his stuff but he was kind of hard to understand due to his thick Italian accent. Paletine hill wasnt that good though our tour guide sucked and she always stall and then make really lame excuses for how much she sucked. And she talked to fast too so Granny and Grandpa you would have been frustrated. Later we checked out the Pantheon and that was pretty cool too. Then we checked out Trevi Fountain too which was amazing. And then after that we found 3 bottles of white wine for 5 euros! We're not huge wine fans but we can at least say we tried to adapt to Italian culture. The following day we went to the Vatican and luckily only waited in line for 1 and a bit which is shorter than usual i think. Everything in the Museums was amazing. I have some really really good pictures. You can't take pictures in the Sistine Chapel though which kind of sucks but i think I wont have a problem remembering what it looks like when you're in there. After that we walked over to St. Peter's Basillica which if you didnt already know has to be the tallest standing building in Italy by law. Also for anyone who's seen eurotrip, it seems nothing like the place in the movie. Chris and I arent religous at all so it was kind of neat to see how some people take the Pope and just being there so seriously. Anyways i think the Vatican took us 3 and a half or 4 hours or so and it poured rain so we just went back to our hostel for a bit. Sadly we werent able to catch the Spanish steps due to the rain because the hostel was pretty far from there. That night we went on a pub crawl which was really fun which was actually cancelled due to the rain but we stilll went out with with all the people who showed up and the guys working there. The only different thing from it was we didnt get power hour which is unlimited beer or wine and a slice of pizza for an hour. And we didnt get the free T shirt. So that was it for Rome. Venice was awesome. It's beautiful and i suggest you guys out there take your girlfriends or wives there someday and you will probably avoid the doghouse for at least 2 years. We didnt do a Gondola ride there cause it was 80-100euros and we couldnt find any girls to go with too so. Actually the first night we were there the Man U Chelsea game was on which was awesome. Steve you#re right, the bar was jam packed and the place was rowdy in extra time and the shootout. Chelsea really choked in that shootout. Anyways the day after we went to the St. Pliazzo square which is the pigeon capital of the world. We couldnt get into the cathedral though because we were wearing shorts. But it was good we had nice hot sunny weather. All of Florence and Rome was rain the whole time and its wierd too....you know how in movies it just starts pouring rain like out of nowhere and then stops within an instant...well that happens all the time over here. Anyways we took a ferry...well ''taxi''...to Lido island where its more roads then water and boats. Thats where the beach was so we went there for a bit. We really wanted to find the golf course on the island tho but we never found it. Lets go said there was a golf course on the island...which by the way if Auntie Roxanne is reading this, I cant thank you enough for that book because it has been a lifesaver. That night tho we found a mini keg which is about 15 beers, for 11 bucks. We took that back to the hostel and played beer pong which was pretty fun. The next day we were in Munich. It was a friday night so it was pretty hard to find a place to stay but we got one for 30 euros for the night and then booked a hostel for the next 2 nigghts. The hostels have been so good. My favorite ones are the ones with like a million rooms and ones with a bar and such. They're all really accomodating too. The staff everywhere has been great. Our first day we went to a beer hall and got a Litre beer which is absolutley massive. It's pretty much 3 beers. I also got a Porkschnitzle for dinner too which was really good. Beer halls are so cool and I want to slap Canada for not having beer halls. The next day we went to Dacau which is the very first concentration camp of the 3rd Reich. It was definatley an experience. You go there and all you do is look at something, read something, watch the video and shake your head and feel sick to your stomach the whole time. Its crazy stuff. That night we had dollar beers at the bar in our hostel. Happy hour was 6-8 and then we went to the Hoffbrahaus which is the most famous beer hall in the world...well i think so. The food was great there too and the beer is phenominal beer. Cheers happens a lot in the beer hall haha but the rule is u have to look the person in the eye, touch everyones glass, you have to hold it with the hand in the handle, hit the table with the stein and then u can drink. It is said that if you dont look the person in the eye its rude and you are cursed for 7 years of bad sex haha. The day after we took a free walking tour of Munich which was awesome. Our tour guide was great. It was about 3 hours and well worth it, we went to the glockenspeil, opera house, city hall, hofbrahaus, and a few other places and then ended at the chinese beer garden which is the 2nd largest beer garden in the world. Religion is huge over here. Everything is closed on Sunday except restaurants, beer halls and beer gardens. At the beer garden i had a half chicken to eat. Then we were sitting with these canadians from London Ontario who were super cool. They just came from Interlaken and did skydiving and the whole bit. Anyways 3 litres later we ended up back at the hostel in time for happy hour and then went to the hofbrahaus again later. It was a good night for sure! Sooo now we're here in Berlin and we're probably gonna do a free tour tomoorrow. Then we're off to Amsterdam and we're gonna try and get tickets to the festival which is like Pemberton except 10 times better. Metallica, Foo Fighters, and Rage Against the Machine....thats right Rage against the Machine people...are headlining the show. So we're hopefully gonna be able to catch that. Unfortunatley we won't be back in time for the stanley cup finals which sucks. So we'll have to really try hard to look for a bar that will have it on. Anyways thats it for me. I miss you all a hell of a lot especially my brosivs and my sis. Mom I miss your food. Pops i see filet mignot resigned so i cant wait to talk to you about that. I miss the dog even more than you would think because i see one being walked like every block. All the grandparents i miss u all. My boys sometimes i wish u were sitting right next to me and Chris with a beer in your hand. I cant wait to get back and have a brewsky with all of ya. Ive decided Im coming back here in like 2 years to go to all the places i didnt go and Trav, Wilks and Red you should consider coming that time. Barb and Steve i'd even say i miss you guys considering im at your house like 3 or so times a week. Barb you must have been devistated to miss Chris's call again the other day. Anywho, Cheers, Au Revoir, Ciao, Goodbye, PC. See you all in 2 weeks.
-Jordan
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