**File Name:** granada-alhambra-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** The ancient Moorish castle of the Alhambra with the Sierra Mountains in the background.
**Caption:**

Taking in the architecture of the Alhambra after a long travel day from Morocco.

Granada & Barcelona, Spain

4/19: After our wild adventure in Morocco we spent a long day traveling. We left Fes at 7 a.m. and took a 6 hour train to Tangier, a 2 hour ferry to Algeciras, and two different buses to Granada, Spain where we spent one day and night. Spent the day visiting the Alhambra, a Moorish castle on top of a hill with the Sierra Mountains as a backdrop.

The next day we headed to Barcelona for three nights. Checked out Sagrada Familia, Palau Guell, Picasso museum, and strolled down the street of a million faces, Las Ramblas. Other than that, we hung out at the beaches, walked around the city, and took in the nightlife.

4/25: Took the morning train to Figueres to see the Dali museum, spent the day there, and took an evening train to Montpellier, France.

**File Name:** annecy-french-alps-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** A grassy park next to Lac D’annecy reflecting the snow-capped French Alps.
**Caption:**

Chilling out and hiking above the canals and cobblestone streets of Annecy.

The French Alps & Riviera

4/27: Decided to head for the French Alps to chill out for a while. We found a town Rob had visited in High School called Annecy. The next four days we spent hiking around the French Alps. We climbed to 1700m above Lake Annecy for spectacular views of the town and lake.

We could highly recommend Annecy to anybody that heads to France on vacation. It has a classic old town with canals and narrow cobblestone streets. A huge grassy park next to Lac D’annecy with reflections of the snow capped French Alps. The next day we took a day trip to the ski town Chamonix for another long hike. Chamonix had just ended their ski season that weekend. The views of the snow capped peaks and the running springs really gave us inspiration and relaxation from all of our travel thus far.

4/30: Arrived in Nice via Annecy. Not a bad life to be able to hang out in the French Alps for four days and then hit the French Riviera for three days. Nice had a very English feel to it. There are a lot of pubs and English speaking people compared to Annecy. Took a day trip to Monte Carlo on Derby Day to try and bet on the race only to find out the casino in Monte Carlo doesn’t have a sports book. The town was setting up for the Monte Carlo Grand Prix so we walked through the pits and grandstands.

**File Name:** venice-flooded-square-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** High water flooding the squares and canals in Venice, Italy.
**Caption:**

Wading through a flooded Venice where the gondola drivers had to lie flat to get under bridges.

Milan, Lake Como & Venice, Italy

5/4: Time to meet Dopey in Milan, which was good timing since it started to rain in Nice. For the first time in a month of traveling, we had to take out our rain jackets after a month of sunny days in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Dopey rented a diesel Ford Fiesta for the week which was exciting for us because up until now we have only traveled by plane, trains, and buses. It was nice to get behind the wheel again. Since Dopey has never driven a stick shift we did all the driving.

Our first plan of attack was to hit Lake Como about an hour North of Milan. The rain was still coming down and would stay with us for most of the week. Driving on Italy’s autostrada was like being in the Indy 500. With the Fiesta floored, we were being passed all the time. The first night with Dan we stayed on Lake Como in a town called Bellagio. Dan got his first taste of Italian pasta at dinner and we stayed out until 2:30 a.m. drinking Peronis in the only bar open in town.

5/5: The next morning it was still raining out so instead of staying another night in the Lake Como area, we decided to hop back in the Fiesta and head for Venice. We learned that the only way to get to Venice was by boat so we parked the car overnight and caught the boat to Venice. We woke up to a flooded Venice. Some of the canals and St. Mark’s square were under water. The canals were so high the Gondola drivers had to lay on their backs and use their hands to push the gondolas under the bridges.

**File Name:** monterosso-cinque-terre-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** The cliffside fishing village of Monterosso in Cinque Terre, Italy.
**Caption:**

Navigating the crazy switchbacks to reach the coastal towns of Cinque Terre.

Florence & Cinque Terre, Italy

5/7: Back to the autostrada and onto Florence. On the way to our hotel, we were stopped by an Italian woman named Norma in the street asking us if we need a place to stay. She and her husband rented out four beds in their loft. We decided to take her up on her offer and we were very glad we did. Norma and Jimmy were very friendly to us and Norma would cook you a homemade dinner for 10 euros which was one of our best dinners in Italy.

5/8: That Saturday in Florence the city was jammed with tourists. It just happened to be the day that the 1000 mile race across Italy was running through the city. It was a car lover’s dream with classic sports cars racing through the streets of Florence. The highlights were old Ferraris, Jags, and Porsches.

5/9: We said goodbye to Norma and Jimmy and headed to the much heralded Cinque Terre. We decided to stay in Monterosso, the last town in the chain of cliffside fishing towns. Rob thought he was Mario Andretti taking all the crazy switchbacks and S turns on the way to Monterosso. The road at times was down to single lanes with blind corners. A road not made for the weak of heart.

**File Name:** mount-etna-sicily-2004.jpg
**ALT Tag:** Steaming colorful rocks at the top of Mount Etna in Sicily.
**Caption:**

Climbing Mount Etna, feeling the heat of the earth right through our shoes.

Rome, Naples & Sicily

5/11: Now with our friend Dan heading back to Minneapolis, we are two again heading to Roma on the super fast Euro Star. Found a sweet hotel called Casa Olmata that served 2 euro pasta dinners on their rooftop and free internet.

5/12: Rome is overwhelming. It would take months to try and take in the sites. We spent hours walking around the city checking out all the main tourist traps. That night we hit a small pizza joint called Beffettos. You want to talk pizza, forgetaboutit! Hands down some of the best pizza we have ever had. Rob went for the Works pizza that was topped off with eggs.

5/14: Took the train to Naples for the afternoon to get at what is considered one of the best pizza places in Naples, and since Naples is the home of pizza, one of the best pizza places in the world. Yes my friend, that’s Amore! The joint was called Trianon. Corey went for the Marinara pizza that is just tomato sauce, basil, garlic, and oregano.

5/15: Took the overnight train to Sicily to climb Mt. Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. Arrived and took the bus to the hiking point for this adventure. We climbed for some hours to the point of the most recent eruption from 2002. The earth was steaming and you could feel the heat on your shoes and on your ass whenever we sat down. The rocks were moonlike but much more vividly colorful. Felt as if we were on another planet for sure.

Decided to catch the overnight train to Brindisi and head for Greece. Back to back overnight trains almost killed us, but we arrived in Brindisi and headed out on our adventure to Greece.

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