Final trip post :)

Overview
Adam and I are on our flight back to the good ol' US of A and wanted to recap our trip with some of our favorite experiences and some not so favorite :) This has been the best two weeks of our lives together and we are so glad that we took the time to journal everything in our blog so that we can always remember the details. Here are a few more... 

Sarah's Recap:
Favorite overall City... Venice because it was so quaint and peaceful. I loved the food and the people we met on our visit. It was so nice after a day of hustle and bustle to walk through the silent streets at night. 
Most Cultured City... Barcelona... not necessarily a good thing... we had a lot of cultured experiences on the streets between vendors, performers and men determined to sell us marijuana. 
Favorite Hotel... Hotel Casa Camper in Barcelona because of the extra amenities... the snack bar, roof top terrace, umbrellas, bikes, the huge maps in the lobby so that we could get acquainted with the city, the two rooms (bedroom and lounge) and the overall feeling of the hotel.
Favorite Meal... Dinner in Venice the second night when we met our French friends. This was a very authentic Italian meal and Adam and I really enjoyed every course. We felt a real connection with the French couple we met at dinner. They were very sweet and very interested in learning more about the American culture and sharing theirs with us. At the end of the meal we received an open ended invitation to Normandy anytime we want to visit. 
Favorite Dessert... Crapes in Venice with Nutella and bananas. MMM!!!
Favorite Train ride... From Milan to Cinque Terra when we met Bob and Olga. If we wouldn't have been seated in the same cabin with them on the train we wouldn't have met them and had the opportunity to enjoy their company in Cinque Terre. 
Favorite friends we met along the way...  Bob and Olga. I hope we are able to stay in touch. 
Favorite Tour... The Coliseum tour, we were able to see the  inside of the Coliseum and then tour The Roman Forum. Although we didn't get to complete the entire tour because of a few slow people in our group, it was a very informative tour and something we wouldn't have been able to do by ourselves. 
Favorite Excursion... The hike in Cinque Terre. It was very challenging but also SO beautiful and rewarding it made me feel a real sense of accomplishment.  
Favorite Museum... Prado. Even though it was my second time visiting the museum, it was really neat renting the headsets and going through with Adam to see the history. I noticed so much more this time around and really enjoyed sharing the experience. 
Favorite item purchased... Painting in Venice. My parents gave us Christmas money to purchase a painting because they knew how badly I wanted to purchase one on our trip. We found the perfect painting for our fireplace. Adam asked me what I liked most about the painting... the actual painting or getting to meet the artist... I don't know if I can answer that question. It is extremely special to me that we will have a piece of art in our home for many years and I was able to meet the man that created the beautiful piece of work! 
Favorite part of the trip... Being in Sevilla and visiting my old friends. Seeing the people at the Tech campus and also Jose at the river. We had a very relaxing time in Sevilla and it was a perfect conclusion to our trip. The cherry on top was seeing my friend Peter from high school for dinner our last night. We had a great time!! Sevilla will always have a special place in my heart! 
Worst Hotel... Venice! Which was our most expensive hotel. It was a ripoff! The hotel itself was nice until you laid down on the bed... Adam and I both agreed that sleeping on the floor may have been a better choice. We felt taken advantage of because of the price we paid for the quality. When you are on a trip like the one we just took it is imperative to have a nice bed to sleep in. We only had a few hours each night and our bodies were sore and needed rest! We didn't get it there!! 
Worst Meal... Lunch our first day in Venice when we ordered the "special toast" that cost an arm and leg. It was our most expensive lunch of the trip. We learned a valuable lesson that day... never stray away from the Rick Steve's book or a recommendation from the hotel. 
Worst Experience... The train from Venice to Milan when we got in trouble with the train attendant. It is now ok to laugh about the situation... until now it still hurt my feelings to think about it. I am just grateful that God gave me tears at the right time. I firmly believe that we would have had to pay the €100 if I had not cried... haha... but I do admit the real reason for the tears was because I was scared and upset. Not gonna lie! 

Adam's Recap:
Favorite overall City... Venice. It has a certain charm that I'm certain no other place in the world has. Walking the narrow streets and alleys with no cars is the perfect getaway.
Most Cultured City... Rome. I'm not sure about the most cultured but it definitely has the most history. It was intriguing to imagine the people that walked some of the same areas as us but a couple thousand years ago. Barcelona for the most cultured.
Favorite Hotel... Barcelona. This hotel was very modern which is not a common theme while traveling in Europe. The complimentary food and drinks available 24 hours a day made it my favorite.
Favorite Meal... One of our dinners in Barcelona, it was also our most expensive of the trip but worth every Euro. Our two appetizers were bursting with flavor and the paella was also fantastic.
Favorite Dessert... We didn't eat dessert regularly but I did get 4-5 gelato's during the course of the trip. My favorite flavor is stracciatella which is pretty much chocolate chip.
Favorite Train ride... Our first train of the trip, from Rome to Venice. It was the nicest train and we were able to sleep most of the way.
Favorite friends we met along the way... Bob and Olga were great, we really enjoyed our time with them in Cinque Terre. The connection we made with our French friends at dinner in Venice was also very strong.
Favorite Tour... The Coliseum and Roman ruins. There is just so much history.
Favorite Excursion... The Cinque Terre hike. The views were incredible from above each village and it was great to be outdoors and get some great exercise.
Favorite Museum... The Vatican museum tour but I also really liked the Prado.
Favorite item purchased...We brought very little back. Other than the painting I did get two t-shirts. I really like the painting especially because of how much it means to Sarah.
Favorite part of the trip... The entire thing. I'll forever treasure these two weeks and wouldn't have changed any of it.
Worst Hotel... Venice. The hotel was very nice as all of them were but the bed was so uncomfortable that there is no other choice for this category.
Worst Meal... Our first meal in Venice which was lunch. We deviated from the Rick Steve's book on this one which we did a number of times but all the others were very good. This particular meal was way overpriced for below average food.
Worst Experience... Our second train ride, from Venice to Milan. Getting yelled at by the Italian train ticket guy was no fun, especially because we had already paid in full for our tickets. I will long remember him yelling "50 Euro!, 50 Euro!, 50 Euro!, 50 Euro! while moving his index finger back and forth from me to Sarah.