Heading towards Rome

From La Spezia I continued my way down towards Rome, and on my way in the middle of nowhere my motorcycle decides to break down. Unfortunately I was also on a toll road so it was impossible to get my bike off the interstate because it had guard rails the entire way. The good part of this was there was an exit only 6 miles away and it was a nice day to get some exercise. After pushing my bike past 2 cops and through the toll booth, I found a gas station. In Italy English is not as well spoken as other places in Europe and everything is also closed on Saturdays. Lucky for me....it was Saturday and to make me even luckier it was about to be the beginning of August and everything closes in Italy for that month. As I was pushing my bike through some little town just outside of Pisa, I asked a kind stranger for advice on what I should do to get my bike going. We went to his house and called all over town to see if anyone could help repair my bikes electrical problem. We found a guy who said he would look at it, but he doesn't work on those bikes. We showed up and took the entire electrical system apart and put it back together and ........we didn't really do anything, but it worked. After that he brought me back to his home for an authentic Italian meal with his family. Actually worked out to be a really nice experience! Stressing about things really have no purpose. You can just do what you can do to fix the problems and things always seem to work out anyway! Thank you Giuseppe Rovelli for everything!

La Spezia

Along the way to Rome I passed through Genova and La Spezia stopping in Cinque Terra. This place is absolutely stunning as it is simply 5 small villages located on the steep hills of the Mediterranean Sea. (**European Highlight**)

Brig and Zermatt, Switzerland

When I met up with Caroline in Zurich we talked about meeting back up in the south part of Switzerland since she was headed there anyway to visit her family. Right as I set a date to meet up with her in Brig I got an email from Ryan, a friend from Colorado. Ryan writes to me saying that he has 5 days left in Europe to travel and asked if I wanted to meet up. So as I arrived in Brig to meet up with Caroline, Ryan shows up too and we toured around Europe's largest glacier (Aletsch) and then we headed up to Zermatt to hike around the Matterhorn. After a few short days in the south part of Switzerland, we said goodbye to Caroline and headed into Milan in search of a great pizza.

Interlacken and Grindelwald, Switzerland

In Grindelwald, Switzerland I decided to do a bit of camping since the prices in Switzerland are outragous. The campground I stayed in was at the base of the Eiger, one of the most famous mountains in all of Europe. This place is absolutely beautiful and I loved every moment I spent hiking......well except I got stuck in a bad rainstorm and had to walk 4 hours in a steady downpour.

Switzerland with Michael

Taking off now on a motorcycle, I headed into Niederuzwil which is not too far from St. Gallen. Here I met up with Michael, who I traveled so long with in South America that, he almost feels like a brother to me. He took the week off and toured through the better part of Switzerland with me stopping along the way in Liechtenstein, Burn, Saentis, Bregenz Austria for a game of Texas holdem, Zurich to meet up with Caroline and Rachel who I met in Thailand, and Lausanne to meet up with a different Rachel who I traveled with in Burma. For a few days Michael and I stayed in Lausanne with Rachel and she was such an amazing host, she not only took us all over town to see her part of the world, she gave us a nice comfortable place to sleep and cooked for us too! THANK FOR EVERYTHING RACHEL! After Lausanne Micheal headed home and I moved on to Interlaken and Grindelwald. Thank you Michael for taking the time off to travel around with me and I really had a blast everyday we hung out! You were a big part of my trip and I will never forget you bud!

Bodensee Area, Germany

Things to remember! (Funny for only 3 people....Hint...in Photo)

1. German laughing girl.

2. MMM........MMM.....MMM..

3. I understand nothing what you talk about Lucas.

4. Hi, my name is Lucas... I'm from America and I am eating muesli in a BIG RED BOWL.

5. Oh...You got to see our blending machine........Since we spent 3 days talking about it I feel like its really a part of my trip now!

6. Do you want to help me cook Lucas? Anyone from home might find that funny....Me cooking!......Actually got hurt in the kitchen, and just made a mess.

7. My little American Flag.

Stein Am Rhine, Switzerland

From Munich I headed down towards Switzerland and stayed in Gottmadign, Germany with Martina and Edwin who I traveled with in Colombia. Making friends with them has brought 2 highlights of my trip. First of all they lent me their motorcycle to move through Europe and second they brought a few weeks worth of greats times and laughs. THANKS YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

Milan, Italy

This is actually the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. (Duomo)

In Milan we found pizza and other tasty Italian delights but as soon as he came, Ryan has headed home and I moved on towards Rome.