Salzburg, Austria: The Hills are Incredible

One of the many stunning views on our ride

Our entire bus and train journey from Venice to Salzburg was about six hours and the majority of it was through absolutely gorgeous scenery. At some point before we got to Austria we hit the massive snow-covered mountains and it was spectacular. It was hard not to constantly stare out of the window!

Villa Trapp

We arrived in the city around 10:00 at night and decided to splurge on a taxi to our hotel, Villa Trapp, yes as in Von Trapp. 
For three nights we lived in the mansion of the Von Trapp family (from The Sound of Music, for those of you who aren’t familiar). Waking up the next morning we were in for a wonderful surprise. Our room (a “basic room” that somehow came equipped with its own private and large balcony) overlooked the stunning snow covered peaks just to the left, and not far to the right was the city and we could see the famous castle peaking through the just-beginning-to-bloom trees. Perfection.

The view from our room

Pretending to be part of the Von Trapp family

We spent the next two days exploring the city, mostly by foot, as we typically do. We walked into and back from the city a few times, wandered along and across the river, through the old town, up the mountain for a view of the city below and around the main streets and plazas. I ate one memorable meal at The Heart of Joy Café, not far from the famous and beautiful Mirabell Gardens. It was a vegetarian café that also had several gluten free options, including a highly recommended chocolate mousse cake. Yum! Drew was able to explore some more traditional culinary delights from some shops along our wanderings, such as pretzels, schnitzel, beer, and sausage, and he was very excited about that!

Fortress and the Alps in the background

Hohensalzburg Castle

Overlooking the suburbs and Alps

The river and the old town

It's a unicorn! At Mirabell Gardens

Mirabell Gardens with Palace in the background

Mirabell Gardens

He kind of hated that I made him pose for this picture ;-)

A dinner picnic on our balcony

The city is beautiful and has an entirely different feel than anywhere we’ve been so far. I’m not sure what it is, but I told Drew that I felt the safest here over any of our other destinations. Not that I ever felt unsafe, necessarily, but there’s something that just made me feel really comfortable. It was also the first real days of spring in the city, we were told, and being from Buffalo we can totally relate to the positive energy this time of year creates in a place. In addition, the people, in general, were extremely friendly; people in the stores and restaurants, random people we encountered or asked questions to, and the drivers (who all stop for people in crosswalks and don’t seem annoyed about it or like they’re going to run you over if you don’t hurry up! Imagine that!) Plus, the scenery was stunning. I’m more of an ocean person than a mountain person, but I still find all of nature wonderful so I can’t complain, that’s for sure.

If you’re looking for a small but interesting, friendly, and beautiful city to visit, Salzburg would be a wonderful option. Most people spoke English as well, which made it a lot easier than I expected. And for any celiacs, gluten is a commonly understood term and you are able to find gluten free things in the grocery stores, and it seems that many restaurants try to accommodate gluten free diets if possible. Plus, after Italy most things seems a bit cheaper!

Venezia! (aka Venice) A City for Wandering

From Rome we traveled north to Sacile to stay with some family of friends from home. From there we planned to spend three nights in Venice before heading into Austria. That was until we saw how much hotels cost in Venice. Based on what I read, the only way to do Venice was to stay on the island; otherwise you’d have to worry about getting on and off each day and the time and money this would take. This turned out to be very true. The only problem with staying on the island is that most places are expensive. If they aren’t expensive, they tend to have pretty bad reviews and sound sketchy. We aren’t too picky and tend to figure that we won’t be in our room too much so there’s no point in spending too much on a place to stay. However, something about Venice made us feel differently and we decided to splurge on a nicer hotel, The Pasaro Palace. Instead of three nights, however, we cut it back to two and stayed with our friends in Sacile an additional night.

Us with our friends in Venice

Late Saturday morning our friends drove us the 45 minutes to Venice where we all boarded the “people mover” (costs one Euro per person one way) to take us to the island. We arrived and we were overwhelmed! It was surreal to be there. I’ve seen Venice on television and in movies, I’ve seen the Venetian in Las Vegas, and all of these things display a relatively accurate picture of this alluring and beautiful city, so the reality of walking through the streets of Venice took a little while to comprehend.

One of our first views of the city

There’s just something about Venice. It’s a maze of pedestrian streets and canals, but not an overwhelming maze. There aren’t any cars, which is phenomenal! However, there are a lot of people (especially on the weekend – we noticed a definite difference in the crowds on Monday as compared to Saturday and Sunday). There’s no lack of restaurants, pastry shops, mask stores (Venice has a huge Carnavale celebration every February), Murano glass shops, cafes or bars.

A giant meringue we bought

It’s fun to wander the streets, going wherever your whim compels you. Sooner than later, you’ll come to a dead end…at water. It’s amazing. It’s a sort of grid of street/canal/street/canal and it makes up a place like nowhere I’ve ever been. It’s inarguably romantic, but I can’t exactly explain why.

We saw the famous sights; San Marco Square, the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs. We also did the gondola ride through the canals. They are not cheap – 80 euro for about 40 minutes – but we paid less for a little less time and it was sufficient. We rode through the quiet, off the main track canals, which is what I would recommend. You want to actually be moving through the water and seeing the city rather than just getting stuck in a waterway traffic jam on the Grand Canal.

Rialto Bridge in the background

As we tend to do because we enjoy it so much, we spent a lot of time just wandering, walking, window shopping and exploring. We had two half days and one full day and we both would have easily taken a few more (especially at our hotel!) We definitely plan to return in the future…

Us on our gondola ride

For more Venice pics, click here.

When in Rome...

Ah, Roma!

Us overlooking the river

Like many Americans, I've always wanted to see Rome. I’d heard and read stories from many people who just rave about the city. One thing I read before we came was something to the effect of the “grittiness” of Rome, but even with that grittiness you can’t help but fall in love. This didn't sound so great to me and so I tried to forget that I read it because I just didn't understand how I could love something described as dirty and gritty and crowded.

Well, let me tell you, that description actually makes a lot of sense and I truly did fall in love with the city despite of and because of its grit! I don’t know how to explain it, but it just gets to you. For me, it was a combination of two things that really put me over the edge: the beautiful ancient architecture around every corner and the food.

Ruins near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Everywhere you turn in Rome is another historically significant and beautiful structure. From the Coliseum, to the Trevi Fountain, to the Pantheon, to St. Peter’s Basilica to the random church on the corner; the beauty is overwhelming. There are fountains and plazas and huge Roman columns, you think you've gotten a handle on the city and seen so much and you turn the corner to find another grand and stunning building/fountain/sculpture/obelisk that you haven’t seen before!

The Colosseum

The beautiful Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon at Night

View from the Pantheon doors

And then there’s the food!!! With my diagnosis of Celiac disease just a few months ago, I was kind of dreading our time in Italy when it came to the eating part. I love Italian food, but since my diagnosis it’s been hard to find a gluten free pizza, bread or pasta that is actually more than just a way to satisfy my craving. I've yet to find any that’s really good. And then I came to Rome. Rome knows how to do gluten free and they do it amazingly well. Drew and I had many meals and often shared two entirely gluten free dishes so that we each could try more things. And all of it was delicious! He didn't feel like he was being cheated and I felt normal again! I found restaurants that had entire menus that were 100% gluten free (Mama! Eat), and many other places could make at least a few types of gluten free pasta or pizza as well. I was in heaven and for those three days we both ate extremely well and filled ourselves with lots of pizza, pasta and wine, and several cappuccinos and even gelato.

My first meal in Rome: Gluten Free deliciousness at Mama! Eat

Gluten Free Nutella Pizza for Dessert at Mama! Eat

If you’re a Celiac, you MUST go to Rome. You have to go out to eat in a place where it’s not a big deal and people just nod and hand you their gluten free menu. You have to taste the best gluten free pizza and pasta in the world. You just have to. It’ll be worth it.

And if you’re not a Celiac, you’re still going to love Rome. It’s beautiful, romantic, and full of amazing food in addition to all the legendary sites!

Gluten Free French Fry Pizza at Voglia di Pizza! Yum!

One of our many Coffees in Italy

I was very sad to leave Rome…luckily we will be back for two days in just a couple weeks, as that is where our cruise departs from. Super happy about that!

Inside Vatican City

Vatican City

Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain at Piazza Navona

For more pictures of beautiful Roma, click here.

36 Hours in Bilbao, Spain

We spent a quick 36 hours in this city of northern Spain. Like most tourists, I assume, we came here to see the architectural artistry of the Guggenheim. We had a bit of time to explore more of the city, but the weather was awful the entire time we were there, so it didn't leave the best impression. What we saw was fine, but the city didn't seem to have a ton of personality to define it like many of the other places we've been. It is small, divided by a river, with an old town and new area. It was very cold (probably in the 30s to 40s at warmest) and rainy the whole time we were here (except for about 30 minutes one day when we got the blue-skied picture below!). It also hailed, thundered and we saw a few snowflakes as well.

Bilbao, Spain

I can’t say I wouldn't recommend visiting Bilbao because it might be a great place when the weather is decent and you aren't staying somewhere that smells like mildew. :)

Also, a visit to the Guggenheim was definitely worth it if you’re into architecture. Drew and I aren't huge museum people, but we both really enjoyed our time there and felt it was worth the 13 Euros it cost to get in (includes audio guide which made the entire thing that much better).

The Guggenheim peaking out at the end of the street

The Guggenheim and its "pet dog"

Inside my favorite exhibit, The Matter of Time

Inside the main area of the museum

Outside the museum

Another outside view 

Art, inside and out

Through the fog...

If you get the chance and are nearby, take a day or two to explore the city and definitely see the Guggenheim!

For more photos from Bilbao, click here.

Just a Quick Note

Once again, we've been MIA for a while, I know. For those of you following our trip closely, I apologize, but we have some good excuses.

1. We've been busy!! Just like we should be, right? I have written several blogs during our bus and train rides, however, that leads me to our second problem...
2. We haven't had good internet access!

We are currently in Vienna, Austria and will be for the next few days. We seem to have good access and a little bit of extra time to try to get things up to date. I just posted about our walk from Spain to France, and will get some of my other posts up, including one about Bilbao, Spain, and then onto Italy!

Stay tuned and stay patient! We've got a lot of updates, we've been busy!

A Walk from Spain to France

San Sebastian is a city located in the north of Spain, on the Atlantic Ocean, affording it beautiful beaches and views. Unfortunately for us, we visited in early spring so the weather was cold (and rainy one day) and we weren't able to see it in its entire splendor.

The boardwalk along San Sebastian's beach

Under the boardwalk, San Sebastian's beach

There is an old part of the city, which most Spanish cities seem to have, with narrow cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings flanked by churches on both ends. This area seemed to be bustling when we were there – around noon on a Thursday. Other parts of the city did not seem to be so occupied. I’m sure the beach area is packed in the summer, unlike the rainy spring day we chose to walk along its edge. The city has a ton of old architectural details, with its white metal railings along the beach, huge Victorian clocks, and other details, but whether it’s the sea air or simply lack of care, this city seems as though it is not as well taken care of as some of its counterparts that we visited along our Spanish adventures. No matter, we enjoyed our short time there, but feel to see it in its glory would require a summertime visit.

Carousel in San Sebastian

From San Sebastian, the French border is about 10km away. Naturally, we had to go! We jumped on a train which took us to the Spanish town of Irun, bordering the river that we walked across to get to the French town of Hendaye, a beautiful little city.

Looking back toward Spain

Us, in France!

The bay of Hendaye

When you first cross the river you walk along the bay, strewn with boats and parks and people walking about. If you follow that for a while and then cross through the streets you arrive at the ocean. There’s a wide beach that goes on and on (bigger than San Sebastian). The wind and air is cool, but the sun is hot and there are tons of surfers braving the frigid-looking water. There are hotels across the street from the beach, but the actual waterfront is primarily a wide sand beach and boardwalk with just a few restaurants sprinkled in.

We took a walk of about a mile and a half up a hill and visited a castle, Chateau Abbadia, with gorgeous views of the beach on one side and mountains on the other.

Back past the bay you can go into town, which apparently is busy at times, but not when we were there. We visited the famous (on Wikipedia) Hendaye Cross which apparently predicts the end of the world (in 2012).

It was very interesting to walk into France. There was no border patrol or any kind of barrier to let you know you were entering another country. We simply saw the sign and French flag waving at the police station once we crossed the bridge. Plus, the signs changed from Spanish and Basque to French and Basque (and still a little Spanish and even English occasionally). We encountered a lot of people speaking Spanish, but the workers at the cafes we visited spoke French to us. Very interesting. Another thing to note: cappuccino in France is topped with whipped.

Instead of walking and then taking the train back, we took the Euskotrain directly from Hendaye into San Sebastian (costing just a few Euros and taking about 30 minutes) for dinner.

Hendaye was a cute little French city and a nice day trip for us. It doesn't seem to be much of a place for tourists, except local tourists in the summer or for surfing. It was nice to go somewhere that we probably wouldn't go to otherwise, and add another country to our list!

Enjoying coffee on the oceanfront

The beach at Hendaye

Drew's crepe and cafe and my cappuccino (w/ whipped cream!)

A tiny car(?!) we saw in Hendaye

Chateau Abbadia

Beautiful wildflowers on our walk to and from the Chateau

Hendaye looked more German than French to us!

The famous Hendaye Cross

A pizza machine...put in your money, out comes a pizza?!

For more pictures of San Sebastian, Spain click here

For more pictures of Hendaye, France, click here