Wrapping up

So we're all done with our adventure, finally home after more than a month in Greece, Italy and France. It was a pretty great trip, though at the end there my wallet just clammed up out of anger. So as I try to coax five or so bucks for a tapa in Granada, I thought I'd share some of our photos from France and Cinque Terre, a beautiful area with five villages within walking distance of each other. 

The villages cling to stunning cliffs overlooking the sea, and I particularly enjoyed the pastel colors adorning the houses. One the left is in Manarola, one of the smaller villages. 

What stratigraphy! 

A path between two of the villages was covered in these locks and other things hanging from fences that couples put up a symbol of their love. 

I wonder if a combination lock is like this gesture's version of a prenuptial agreement. 

Waves crashing into a little port. Emma's there for scale.  

There was a landslide in Cinque Terre in October, so you couldn't walk to each of the villages, which was disappointing. We had to take trains to between the villages. 

A beach in Monterosso

Skink!

Just a nice little soccer field at the top of the cliff in Corniglia

Certainly the most beautiful landscape we saw in Italy, including this gorgeous sunset. 

And then we were in France, which was amazing. We spent some quality time in Nice, where we ran into these jesters practicing at a park atop a hill overlooking the city.

Nice is also gearing up for Carnaval, hence ferris wheel.

And we ate just some incredible food in France, including this nice little place in Aix-en-Provence. We used our combined four French words to figure out how to order this, the plate of the day, which included cauliflower, potatoes, carrots and green beans, and, most importantly, a healthy portion of homemade mayonnaise. 

Best. Mayonnaise. Ever. 

It was way different than the fake stuff in the States, light and subtle, creamy like butter. 

And then we hit up this excellent bakery. The dozen-or-so types of bread in Aix seemed crunchy and golden, appearing mighty tasty. This crescent-shaped, chocolate-filled bread was excellent, and we got a weird-looking green baguette (not pictured). We later learned it was dyed with green tea, and it tasted mighty fine.

This city, know as the "pink city" because of all the bricks every was a great way to end out our trip, especially since we had nothing Toulouse.

Marseille (In our opinion, one of the only picturesque spots in the city)

So that was that. It was a hell of a time, and we'll probably return to France (though probably more northerly) this summer. We picked up some knowledge about traveling, so here are some tips.

The first of which is in lyrical form, meant to be sung to the tune of a slow Johnny Cash song:

• First, don't go to Greece in January.
• You think it will be fun, but it's not very
• Think of all the stuff you'll have to carry
• Spend all night on the floor of a ferry
• No one's in Crete, 'cept a guy named Jerry
• It's the gassy coal mine, I'm your canary
• Though it's Christmas, not all that merry,
• Olympia is closed, Athens is scary,
• Avoid it in winter, and in March and February,
• Don't go to Greece in January.
• Second, it's not a vacation; it's an adventure. 
• However, third, traveling takes a lot of work and planning, but you also shouldn't work too hard trying to see things just to see them, we think. Some days, especially for long journeys, it's good just to chill out the whole day and drink it all in rather than rush around to see all the sights.
• Fourth, bring more vitamin-C than you think you'll need.
• Fifth, don't wait too long to do your laundry, and you can do quite a bit in the sink.
• Sixth, when on a ferry or long boat ride, it's good to just continue eating (say, pistachios or sunflower seeds) to fend off sea sickness.
• Seventh, make every meal count. We always plotted four or five restaurants on our maps before leaving the hostel, in case one or two were closed. It's hard to tell if a restaurant is good just by looking at it's menu, but food is really a great way to experience a place.
• Eighth, bring a Swiss army knife. Beachside bottles of wine don't open themselves.

Cool. Thanks for reading, everyone. I'll have more documentary-related content up throughout the semester, so please continue checking in.