We found happily that our room was another private double (not sure how we kept forgetting these things, but it was a pleasant surprise). We settled into the hotel and rested for a while, watching the Olympics. When we finally headed out, it was late afternoon, and we intended to walk around, but the part of Marseille where our hotel was felt terribly scary. We tried to find a market to buy some dinner in, but the one we found was dimly lit and smoky. When we got...

When we got to Lyon, we couldn't find a map anywhere. We had some basic directions to the hostel, but we usually bought a map in the train station in each new city. But in Lyon, we couldn't seem to find one anywhere. So, we made due with a tram/metro map posted at a tram station. The walking directions on the website said it was about a thirty minute walk. Thirty minutes into the walk with our packs murdering our backs, we limped gratefully into a tourism offi...

The next day, we boarded a train for Nice, where we spent most of the day. When we got to Nice, we were exhausted. Carrie had been running a fever all day and had chills, so we waited until the next day when she was feeling better to explore. Our first full day in Nice, we asked the very nice receptionist at Hotel Pastoral where the best uncroweded beach near Nice was, and he told us about Plage Mala in Cap d'Ail. So, we took a train for about fifteen minutes ...

The next day, we left for Florence. When we arrived, I immediately noticed how much cooler and quieter it was than Rome. There was a brisk wind even in the alleyways and all the people were hushedly bustling about with their sweaters and sunglasses on. It had been raining, so not many people were about. We passed through a busy market district on our way to the hostel where we checked in. After settling in, we went out and walked to the Duomo and found a cheap l...

Okay, so laziness has gotten the better of me for the past few weeks, and I have neglected this blog. However, I intend to rectify this situation as much as possible with the next few entries. So, in the last few days of our stay in Rome, we intended to go inside some of the famous churches and sites, like the Forum and Palatine Hill, but we ended up just walking through the markets and buying a few items of clothing (some harem pants) and going back to the hos...