The south of Spain really hit me by surprise, since I decided to go on impulse. I had been so preoccupied with getting my stay legalized in Spain, that I had never really planned out my last days before the start of my program.

After Valladolid, I headed to Córdoba and Granada, which both strongly reflect the Moorish conquest between 8th and 15th centuries, unlike the other provinces in Spain. One of the famous monuments in Córdoba, la gran Mezquita, is actually a Mosque with a cathedral built directly on top. The center of the cities have the usual small and narrow streets that meander in every direction, while on the outside they seem as modern as any city in America. The nightlife goes on all days of the week, and until dawn.

I also managed to enjoy a few days in Tarifa, Spain's hot windsurfing spot and southernmost point. The gear rental cost a fortune, but was worth every penny. To those who windsurf, I mostly used a Fanatic between 86-92 litres, and between a 5.0 and 5.4. I was thrown off my board several times, and it was very difficult to keep my board from jumping out of the water. It was nice to go out for an early session, then take a break and have a few tapas and then go out again in the late afternoon.

Tomorrow I will do a three day hike between small mountain villages south of Granada in the Sierra Nevada range, with a couple of people I met up with from France, who seem to know where they are going.

Today I received the stamp in my passport officially legalizing my stay in Spain until the end of the study abroad program.

Rome didn't exactly treat me well my last days there, so I won't go into details on my complaints. Once I left Rome, everything took a turn for the best. I met so many amazing people on the way, in Paris, on both overnight train rides, and now here in Valladolid.

I spent one last day in Paris, and it was as magical as the first. I walked around the beautiful Montmartre and found the café in the film Amélie. I've yet to describe how it feels to wander around Paris.

I have fallen in love with Valladolid. After a few visits to the tapas bars, the beautiful CLEAN city, and and an invitation from an older gentleman to come and visit his family, I think I will enjoy this fall more than I ever thought possible.

I wish I had the time to go into greater detail, but I have already spent hours on the internet just trying to plan out my last days of travel.

I will travel the South of Spain until the 25th of September, when I have to meet with my study abroad program.

We are now in Venice, a city that definitely stands out from the dozens of others I have seen. In the center, the only public transport available is a water taxi that tours through the various canals. It's very easy to get lost in the narrow streets that meander in every direction, through shops, restaurants, and dwellings. This is definitely a city to wander through, and see where you end up.

My Grandma met in me in Rome last Thursday, and my father joined her and surprised me. The way I have been traveling has completely changed; instead of hostels, my acommodation has been upgraded to three and four star hotels. It has felt great to escape the heat that is still lingering in southern europe.

Rome has more historical monuments than any other city I have seen yet so far, even Paris. After two days, Rome will definitely take its toll on the senses and leave you exhausted. My father, grandma and I visited the Colloseum, the Pantheon, and spent the better part of last Friday in Vattican City. Even after having seen countless monuments in the past two months, the Basilica of St. Peters still took my breath away. My Dad and I climbed the dome for a spectacular view of the city.

After rome, we stayed in Assisi, a small town to divide our stays in the big cities. Getting to Assisi was a bit difficult at first. We tried to get off the train, but ran out of time. My Dad told me to jump off while the train was starting to take off, but I held back and decided it would be best to continue, get off at the next stop, and catch the next train going in the other direction. Otherwise grandma would have had to do a summersault with all the luggage. Assisi had a couple of beautiful churches as well. We saw a couple of different weddings. We met some very friendly americans of Italian descent who showed us around the lovely town. We will see them again in Rome in a week.

We are now in Florence, and the whole experience in Italy seems like a dream for all of us. We have yet to plunge into the Renaissance architecture Florence is famous for, and I will be up early tomorrow morning to visit Santa Maria del Fiore, the fourth largest cathedral in the world. There is far too much to see and so little time.

I am sorry I haven't written as much in the past weeks. There is a lot to write about, that I just won't have time to write on here. I have been moving around a lot and just been exhausted from some serious train travel. You might say I spent more of July visiting places, whereas I spent most of August visiting friends scattered throughout the continent. If the Eurail company in charge of my train ticket found out how much train travel I did, they would probably cancel the Eurail pass that I bought. I think I have crossed the Swiss / German border about seven times already, as well as the French and Italian borders.

I can feel my German improving. If I stayed in Germany another three weeks or so, I would be able to speak German as well as French. For the weekend I stayed with my friend Petra, who I met at the very end of my trip in New Zealand, and her family, in Donaueschingen, southern Germany. Last weekend when I was here, (before I had to rush off to Spain), I went to a Jazz Festival that went well into the morning. I finally got the hang of the Salsa dance!

Earlier in the week, after I left Valladolid, I relaxed in Zürich, and caught up on sleep. In the evenings, I watched some of the Olympics at the train station on a special big screen. Besides Zürich and Chur, I really missed out on Switzerland, which I am really sad to say.

I am now in Rome, and will pick up my Grandma at the airport tomorrow morning. Now I'm off to see some of the city myself.

The situation with my extended stay in Spain should work out, but I won't officially receive the stamp until I return to Spain in a few weeks. Traveling to and from Valladolid as well as all the running around the city was also quite stressful. On the way to Valladolid I nearly missed my overnight train from Paris to Spain; what should have been nearly a two hour layover in Paris ended up being only 29 minute. In that time window, I had to use the subway to change train stations.

In a nutshell, the last few weeks have been a serious rush, and could have been planned out better. I'm burned out on museums, cathedrals, and just about any other tourist attractions. I've stayed with many friends in both Germany and Switzerland. over the past week, some I met while in New Zealand, others while in Scandanavia.

I will have to say, my best stay was in Germany with my friend Frank (who I met in the North Island of New Zealand at the very start of that trip) and his family. His parents didn't speak a word of English either, so I was able to put the few words of German I know to practice. They prepared the best meals, with fresh vegetables from the garden. I really wished I could have enjoyed my stay with them more, I was preoccupied with getting my legal stay all sorted out in Spain. I could go on and on about details on their hospitality...when I left, they gave me a very nice pen and a Swiss army knife as a going away present.

I have left out a lot of details, but I know I will never get the chance to catch up. I'm trying to figure out where to go for the next few days before meeting my grandma in Rome next week. I'm starting to feel sad, I can see the traveling part of my trip coming to an end. But I am also very tired, and looking forward to staying in once place for longer than 48 hours.

I will have to put my journal on hold for awhile, I am having problems getting my student visa for my study in Spain. I will be going to Spain in a few days, on several lengthy train rides.