Barcelona

Today we tried to get to Spain but were stopped by thunder, lightning and a ton of rain so we had to book a hotel. I am finishing this post in Spain. We ended up bussing to Spain because the train aren’t running for 10 days. Yesterday we went to the beach. We had to leave a little early so that we wouldn’t get caught in the protests. The reason the people are protesting is because they want the Provence of Catalonia to be a separate country from Spain because the have a slightly different language and different culture

Provence

This week is my first week in France. Apart from some foods and the language it’s not too much different from Italy most likely because we’re still very close to the border. I think I like Italian cuisine more because of the pizza and pasta though the French baking looks delicious. I tried some lavender ice cream yesterday and it was good but gelato is much better.

Cinque Terre

Today is my last day in Italy. I am in a small water side town called Monterosso. Monterosso is part of a string of five towns called Cinque Terre. Tomorrow we will get on to a train and leave Italy for France. I am a little sad because Italy was really fun and gelato was amazing but France will be very fun too. The wifi is very bad so when this finally posts I will be in France.

Elba

Today we arrived in Elba. An island just off the mainland. Elba is a very popular summer destination for Italians and others because of the warm ocean and sandy beaches. In May of 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Elba after his army was defeated. Nine months after he was brought to Elba he escaped to France. Once in France he raised and army which at first had some success before being destroyed in the battle of Waterloo.

Tuscany

Today as I am writing this post I am in an Airbnb in the Italian countryside. It is very cosy. The Airbnb is on an olive farm and there are also three dogs and two cats (a very nice bonus). My mom found a dead scorpion under her bed, which freaked her out. There is also an outdoor pool which is refreshing but very cold.

Bologna

As of right now I am in Bologna, one of the top food destinations in Italy. Bologna
is a lot less touristy than all the other places I visited. I am staying in a residential area of Bologna so I am getting a sense of what living in Bologna might be like. In Bologna we have been relaxing and catching up on some sleep so there isn’t to much to write about other than a couple museum and a baseball game. The baseball game was an Olympic qualifying game with South Africa and Spain facing of.