my freckley skin + 4 hours in the sun = intense tan lines!!

yesterday we spent the whole afternoon at the beach in venice and it was perfect. it was one of those days where there is a constant breeze so you dont feel hot at all. which i realized ahead of time was dangerous. so about halfway through i put some sunscreen on my face. but the damage was already done and as i type my entire body is radiating heat :) one funny thing is the beach we went to was an optional topless beach. that was a new experience for me.... no worries folks, i stayed fully clothed! i didnt want to push myself too far out of my comfort zone.... and i actually enjoy swimsuit lines to see how much progress i have made :) so the bikini stayed on!!! and a beautiful italian man talked to me as we dove around in the mediteranean sea so of course that was fun :)

then later on sarah and i went out to eat and walked around venice in our little black dressed because its nice to feel girly every now and then :) we have been taking turns making decisions on what to do, so when it was my turn to pick which boat we should get on i chose one that i thought would swing back by our stop which was lido...... um, not so much. 2 HOURS later we were still on the freaking boat, probably getting laughed at by the workers. but whatev, we finally made it home (at midnight) and i just laughed it off as yet another botard-ic mistake that i made :) at least sarah and i had fun playing a nice long game of the question game :)

today we are in florence. and jess, i opened your card and i will do my best to have that soup. and i will work even harder to complete your 2nd task ;) we were in tuscany today and we rented bikes and biked from our hostel to a winery in the hills of tuscany. absolutely beautiful and absolutely UPHILL!!!! bravo to all those who compete in the tour de france is all i gots to say! sheesh! but it was a good workout. and we tried some red wines. none of which i really cared for, but it was more about the experience anyways. then we came back and were gonna swim in the pool for a while but they required you to wear a pool cap. umm, no thanks! so we just went to dinner and i had a fanistically HUGE pizza with spicy salami and sausage. i am trying to eat things that i wouldnt normally get at home, and those toppings are definitely some that i would never get. but it was excellent. and i had a 1/4 liter of a sparking white wine. that was good, but not as sweet as i would like. but no worries, i drank the bottle clean and now i am feeling nice and relaxed and tired :) we are staying in a mixed dorm of like 8 people and i think they are all KIDS!! they are pretty annoying and all about drinking and smoking pot in amsterdam.... awesome. thank the lord that i bought ear plugs a couple days ago because they make all the difference in the world!!!

i have been trying to think of things that i keep forgetting to putin this. so i have observed a few trends all over the parts of europe that we have seen so far. 1. mullets!!! tons and tons of mullets. kids mullets, man mullets, lady mullets. you name it!! 2. smoking. everyone seems to smoke. i considered taking up the bad habit just to fit in. if only the cool thing was to smoke flavored cigarellos then i probably would ;) 3. tattoos 4. piercings gallore!!!! they are locals and tourists after my own heart!!! and i have seen a few peeps with dreads. rock on!!!

alrighty, my time is up. i will surely write again soon seeing as i hate going even 1 day without writing :)