Check out some amazing graffiti that line the streets of Granada... www.elninodelaspinturas.com has more photos (Choose translate for English)

The sun is still shining everyday here in Granada but it is getting colder and snow has blanketed the mountain tops that we can see from our roof top terrace. That hasen't stopped us from taking full advantage of the great outdoors and sprawling out on cushions for an afternoon Siesta though. We managed to slip in a little time to exlopre the city starting with The Alhambra which is an amazing palace overlooking the city. Its incredible courtyards are surrounded by various engraved rooms, fountains and gardens and let us catch a panoramic view of Granada. We had a three course meal prepared by a chef at our hostel for dinner which only cost 3.50 and included apple sangria as well, delicious!

We made our way from the coast of Spain and into the mountains where Granada is situated and would be home for the next few days. Our hostel is called The Oasis and is tucked into the unique city where people from all over the world come together to enjoy Spanish culture. It only took an hour after we arrived there for us to participate in a Tapas Tour around the area. We went to a few different places and ate tons of food for cheap and fell in love with a drink of red wine and lemonade pop, Tinto de Verano, for a 1.50 (euro that is). A bunch of us wandered off to a Hookah Bar and chatted over Moroccan tea until the place closed at 2 am. There has been speculation of an invasion of bed bugs which actually started back in Rome when Chevhaun discovered a few mysterious bumps. By Valencia we had met two or three other travelers who had clusters of these pesky things and I woke up yesterday with three bumps which look more like spider bites, but who knows right? Ahhhhhh they are taking over!

We definitely caught up on some rest and relaxation in Valencia and are trying to stretch out our trip as long as possible. We met a lot of great people at the Nest and went on another Pub crawl and ended up drinking a deadly mixture of champagne, sangria, mohitos and various shooters. We were also very amused with the vending machine that carried Budweiser and Heineken for one euro each!

Making our way away along the coast of Spain we took a train to Valencia and checked into The Purple Nest Hostel which has a really unique interior of vibrant colours, random handprints and a spiral stair case. We ran into a few people we met in Rome which was a pleasant surprise and goes to show what a small world it really is. Chevhaun and I took a bus to the beach for the afternoon and had Paella for lunch at a restaurant along the water and then returned back to city center to look in a few shops. We have discovered that the Canadian dollar is not as weak to the Euro as we thought, so we splurged on a few purchases. A few new threads feel like heaven compared to our worn out clothes we left home with.

Spain here we come! We arrived in Barcelona and found out hostel right away which was nice after sleeping in the airport all night like bums on the ground. We truly are giving a new meaning to the backpacker name ... sleeping in public places, wearing dirty laundry, saving every cent we can, and causing ourselves to have chronic back pain has become a way of life for us. The night we arrived we browsed though the market on Las Ramblas and caught a few street performer acts as well as some protest which was casing a raucous on the street. We also caught a sight seeing bus which took us all around Barcelona and we both decided that the architecture of most buildings are really odd. Modern mixed with traditional and everything in between. Chevhaun suggested that we get our hair done and so we went to a salon which no English speaking hairdressers worked in. I was horrified at first having paranoid visions of the female mullet we have seen roaming the streets of way too many European cities. Chevhaun walked away with a great do, and title for best hand talker in Cataluna and I walked away with the notion, hair grows back! That night we drank a picture of Sangria and feasted on Tapas from a local Spanish restaurant.

Tom Cruise and Katie Homes got married! The only reason this is exciting is because they were wed in Rome and the whole city was a buzz, not to mention the continuous stream of helicopters circling above the event. We however went to Vatican City to stare in amazement at the Sistine Chapel... Far more exciting to us. Michelangelo must have had one hell of a chiropractor for the amount of time he spent looking up and creating each biblical scene. We both inhaled and said "We are standing in THE Sistine Chapel and may never again so we better savor it!" I took the forbidden picture which if you look closely you can see The Creation of Man scene. We got lost on the way back to Roma Inn, but managed to stumble on Basilica Di Santa Maria and the Republica Piazza and browse through a few markets. We changed hostels on Friday morning but met up with friends we´d made from Roma Inn and went on a pub crawl to various drinking establishments. Go the t-shirts to prove it ... We came, we saw, we crawled!

Our visit to Rome just keeps getting better and better...we took a day trip to Naples with two guys we met from Paris, Christophe and Julien and had lunch along the water and got tanned in the sun. We drove to Pompeii to catch some time in the ancient ruins, but unfortunately it was closed so we snapped some pictures from outside! That night was spent shooting tequila and drinking vino at a local pub with fellow travelers from our hostel...the end to a perfect day!

We love Rome! We checked into a great hostel called the Roma Inn which includes breakfast and dinner everyday with cheap wine or spiked punch and a great crowd to mingle with. Chevhaun and I visited The Colosseum and Palatine Hill on Tuesday and could have spent all day sitting in the hot sun taking in the sights of surrounding Rome. Rome is like a tropical paradise, we can't imagine what it would be like visiting in the summer months when the tourists would be wall to wall and the sun would be smouldering hot even more then it is in November! We bought a very cheap bottle of vino and drank it on the steps in front of Fontana Di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) with Karen and fellow traveller from Coquitlam, B.C.

We will always remember Florence for its delicious gelato. It doesn't get any better then enjoying a few scoops while gazing up at timeless hand crafted sculptures in the heart of Florence. The lifetyle is a little more fast paced then Venice and the shops look amazing but we had to maintain some composure and resist buying into the fashion. We went to the Accademia and saw Michelangelo's David which was definetley worth the money. He is much larger in real life and every little detail down to the dimples in his butt are perfect! Taking pictures in the gallery is not allowed but Chevhaun managed to snap a quick one of David that turned out really well. Unfortunately the pictues we took in Florence have been misplaced so it's all in memory right now and there won't be any in this posting. Tear. We saw the outsides of many other famous sights like the Uffizi gallery and Brunelleschi's Dome but have decided that we do not know enough about art to spend the money!haha. We did go over Florence's olderst bridge though, Ponte Vecchio and went for wine and munchies at a local wine bar.

Fifteen hour overnight train ride to Venice ... €70
One cup of English Breakfast tea upon arrival ... €3
Affordable private hotel in very central location ... €60
Washing our underwear in the hotel sink and still feeling in the lap of luxary compared to a hostel ... Priceless

After a stroll through the extravagant Basillica de San Marco and soaking up the rays along the Grand Canal we decided that Venice could be described in a short poem.

Venice is:
lovers necking in the very public piazza
gondolas lining every canal
decadent sweets catching every wandering eye that passes
buskers belting out Beatles favorites...in Italian
seeing Chevhaun's terror for birds reach an ultimate high
taking the water taxi because vehicles just don't fit in the streets
and all our favorute men; Fendi, Gucci and Louis

We only spent one night in Venice because let's face it Chevhaun and I love eachother, but we don't loovvveee eachother. Remember boys everything we do is strickly for warmth purposes. Hahaha.

Prague is amazing...we were greeted with sunshine and helpful locals who actually approached us IN ENGLISH to see if we needed directions. We are staying at A-Plus Hostel which is in a really good location and has the best included breakfast so far. Prague is hard to explain, it's mysterious, historical, unique...all the buildings look Victorian and all the people are kind. The Czech Republic is like Canada's long lost cousin ... its a little rough around the edges but you still want him at your family reunion! You can be walking down a crowded street one minute and turn the corner and the next street can be completely deserted. The currency changed as well bringing back long lost memories of Mexico and the paso. What 760 crown for the hostel? We took a guided bus and walking tour today and saw the Prague Castle, New Town, Old Town and many other sights. Winters chill is nipping at our noses though so we are eager to move onto Italy and hopefully catch some warm weather.