Italy!!!

So its been a while since i last blogged. Since Paris we've been to some French wine region (sorry can't remember what is called). We stayed in a chateau and it was amazing! The view out of our window was of beautiful vineyards and mountains. We had an interesting experience trying to walk to a look out. it was a mega long walk and a very hot day. a french lady drove past and offered us a lift- we excitedly hopped into her car and waved the rest of the group off smugly as we headed up the hill. unfortunately once in the car we realised she didn't speak a word of English (and none of us spoke a word of french). after lots of very confusing attempts at explaining where we wanted to go we worked out she had no idea where we wanted to go (and in fact had driven straight past our turn off and was taking us somewhere completely different). she immediately pulled over the car and made us get out of the car. so we had to walk twice as far back to the correct turn off and catch up with the rest of the group - not so smug anymore!
We then headed off to spain-barcelona. after being told we were staying at a lovely campsite next to the beach we were quite excited, upon arrival we realised the site wouldn't exactly live up to our expectations. it was right next to an airport so planes were flying above our heads frequently (it felt like we were in a war zone!), the place absolutely stunk (apparantly due to a stagnant river next door) and the 'beach' was filthy (you had to dodge the plastic bags when swimming!) We spent the next day exploring the city as well as looking for a pub that was playing the soccer.
our next stop was the French riveria. we spent a day in cannes which was awesome. we releaxed at the beach all day which was a lovely change from sightseeing all day. that night we went to monaco and visited one of the casinos. the drive along the cliffs was beautiful it was interesting being in a town so full of rich people- the yachts in the port were huge!
we are now in venice. as i write this the heat is stifling! we spent the day exploring venice which was lots of fun. it is such a beautiful city and its so nice not to have cars anywhere. we actually went and had a sleep in the park for a couple of hours (as i said sightseeing is very tiring) but we also got to do some shopping as well as take a gondala ride. i love italy and definitely want to come back and explore it fully!

overall its been an exhausting time. i have the 'contiki cough' due to exhaustion and frequent bus rides with 50 other people (most of which also have the contiki cough). i'm loving getting to see so many beautiful parts of europe but am a bit sick of touring. i forgot how i don't really enjoy camps that much (well this is like a camp except it goes for 21 days!) i have met some great people but have also found it challenging to live with a good deal of other people. i am trying to understand people better through this experience but have also found myself dissapointed in the way people behave (including myself). i know this is an invaluable experience for me however and am so glad for all that i am seeing and learning in this time.

keep it real,

betho