Italy/France Updates

Hey all! It has been awhile since we posted last. If we are lucky enough to find a public computer here, it often has outdated software and it wont let us post. Dumb, right? Anyway, here is what we have been up to!

We got into Venice, Italy last week (wow, its been a week!) and ran into a few problems. We quickly discovered that the way Italy is attempting to pull out of their budget crisis is by putting taxes and hidden fees on everything. The restaurant we ate at gave themselves a 5 Euro tip on a 15 Euro meal and most of the places we went to had some type of extra charge. The worst by far was when we went to exchange currency and the shop charged us a 5 Euro cover charge on top of a 20 percent tax. So out of every 10 dollars you had exchanged, the store kept 2. This is in direct violation of Rule #2, which is this....Dont rip Levi off when it comes to money. But this also violates Rule #1...NEVER rip Natasha off when it comes to money. We were both livid, but after we calmed down, we decided we werent going to let it bother us and enjoyed the beautiful city that was Venice.

After that we went to Rome. We stayed in a hostel where the room breakdown was 6 random  smelly guys, me and Natasha. Poor Natasha. But we really enjoyed Rome and Vatican City with all its history and nice weather. Then it was off to Pisa to see that tower and from there we headed back through the southern coast of France on our way to Barcelona.

Now, before we got to Nice (our first stop), we didnt have the greatest opinion of the French. In Paris, they had been snooty, unhelpful and over all unpleasant. However, getting to experience the coast was something different entirely. The people in Nice and Montpelier, our two stops, have been so nice and so helpful. Its really made us realize that you cant judge a country by just one city.

Our last stop is Barcelona and we are so excited! Fingers crossed, there will be a computer that works where we can put up pictures and update some more. We miss you all and are excited to see you when we get back in less than a week (that just doesnt seem possible!).

Keep looking for updates!