Rain Rain Go Away!!!!!
Up down up down up down, how many stairs can a human possibly handle without losing sanity? Brad can handle a seemingly infinite number of treacherous stairs with ease, and he says " I'm not even out of breath Sam, whats the problem?" O.k sure Brad.

The old town fortress was chivalrous: As you approach the fortress you begin to see the damage that has so recently been done to this bewitching town by the recent war. The war was still going in the eary 1990's. Bullet ridden homes, builings marred by fires and destoyed by bombs, and of course the scars only visible in the villagers' sincere eyes. Yet this is only a small part of this encanting city. The people welcomed us with arms open and the spirit of the city was thriving. Tourism is annoying at times but in a place like Dubrovnik that was damaged by war, tourism can really help the economy, and seems to be a main source in Dubrovnik.
The beaches were awe-inspiring, and seductively invited us to play, frolic and swim( especially when we stumbled upon the most serene beach yet, loaded with local men playing poker in their speedos he he ). We soaked up the sun on the rocks, then had a most romantic kiss after floating into a sexy cave. The cave crept just enough sunlight in to allow us to gaze into eachothers eyes and realize how truly happy and lucky we are. O.k. enough of the sappy stuff...Let's talk about the rain. The rain was not cool and put a damper in our play time.All of this happened on day one.

Day two, more rain. Rented mopeds. Rain Rain Rain.
Day three, more rain. Drunk with locals. Galic football...what's that?
Day four, thunder, lightening, and yes, more rain, more stairs, rain, rain, rainy rain I hate you.
Day five, Bleep you rain. Almost blue skies...you tricked us rain. Poo on you rain.
Day six rain and , a wee bit of sunshine. Perfect for our trip to Mljet, a natural wonder of an island preserved and unscathed by commercialism and disgusting tourists like ourselves. Green so green, skinny dipping and the most romantic scenery we have encountered. It may have been enhanced by our skinny dipping but that's the point right?
Over all Dubrovnik was a sensational experience, especially because we don't get to shower all that often, so the rain was needed I guess. Sure the rain was great.
Love from the city with the most stairs (and rain) on earth, Sam and Brad

When in Rome...
Orange chocolate gelato, can't beat it. Caramel cream; close second. Pistachio; tried it, hated it. Nutella( a.k.a. Italian peanut butter), we'll pass. We can still smell the aroma of freshly baked olive bread and roasted tomato foccacia. Now that your mouths are watering, let us tell you what we can about the bewildering city of Roma, Italy.
We seem to have a way with arriving at the right time. The evening we arrived in Rome the city was energized about their annual "Carte Bianco" Festival. Carte bianco translates to White Night and all of the museums, stores, restaurants, and shops are open from 8p.m-8a.m. There are stages set up everywhere for FREE live performances of theatre, dance, music and other artistic fanfare. It is somewhat of a Taste of Chicago gone wild, but without lake Michigan, or the traffic, or the bad food, well anyway, you get the point.Lol. The city truly comes alive. You can feel the energy pulsating around you and this constant buzz is intoxicating. Moonlight stages, sweat dripping from clad tourists, and dancers flourishing in a parade of their showcased talent. We stayed out late, feasted on delicious food, and walked, walked, walked. The city is exotic at night and simply beautiful when lit up.
Our visit to the Colosseum was nothing short of spectacular. You can still hear the screams of the spectators and the howls of the barbarically slaughtered wild animals. The debachery, control, power, and shameful display of humanity, that were the Colosseum seeps out of the crumbling walls and pierces your soul. 5,000 wild beasts were killed in the opening week. The stadium packed in around 70, 000 onlookers. The show was run by unfortunate slaves. The whole concept is mind baffling. WHAT REALLY WENT ON? Did we mention that this all took place in 80 A.D? It is inconceivable to understand the horror that went on behind these walls, all for the sake of sport, yet there seems to be a pattern. Humans are frenzied by violence and continue to use violence as a means to an end. WE ( meaning Brad and Sam) do not believe humans are violent by nature, but history keeps repeating itself. War, violence, war, violence, war,... oh, and the cause of many of these wars...Religion. Which brings us to our next roman experience: The Churches.
Domes adorned with gold paint, vivid paintings depicting every biblical parable possible, and a sensation of the power that resides within the in Catholic church, are ever present in Rome. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit many churches and Holy places in this marvelous city. One does not have to be religious to appreciate the grandiose and magnificent works of art
located within these Holy walls. So many depictions of Christ and the Crucifixion, almost makes a believer in me...
The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel: One MUST experience it to comprehend the aesthetical beauty of it all. The only thing we find confusing is that sooo much of the artwork tell stories of murder, torture, war, and bloodshed...All in the name of God. Would this God truly approve of all of this bloodshed in her name?lol. It seems contradictory, but it is still pristine anyway. As far as we are concerned, Michelangelo should be worshiped because he was genuinely a master of the Arts! We would like to end with some words by U2...
One love, one life, sisters, brothers
One life and we are not the same but we need to carry each other...........
Right? We are all not the same but that is what makes us all so unique....PEACE!
Love from the most Catholic place on earth-

How about those tanned up feet? Well we know that every time we visit a new place we claim that it is the most beautiful and awesome, and yadda yadda yadda... Every little place in this world has a unique character that makes it special. For example: Chicago has extremely cold weather...get it? Ha ha ha just joking. What we mean to say is we are having a magnificent time on our journey and we are exploring things we never could have imagined, like the Italian Riviera. We heard about these little 5 villiages called Cinque Terre ( which is Italian for 5 villages...how interesting. he he) on the northwest coast of Italy and decided to explore. These villages can only be reached by train or foot. The hike between the villages is roughly 10 kilometers over the most amazing coastal scenery. Scents of lavender fill the dry warm air and views of olive groves, vineyards, the Mediterranean Sea, the delicate trails and of course, the sublime villages themselves create a feelings of tranquility and sheer happiness. We were in complete awe of the beuaty and originality of these villages. The people we super sweet and the food was superb.Especially the pesto, as it originated in Varnezza, one of the villages. We were able to relax and spend some time collecting our thoughts and reflecting on our amazing journey. Ciao from the Pesto capital of the world- SAMANTHA AND BRADLEY

Have any of you ever been to Florence?
Well we have. Lets just say we spent 1 day there, and that was PLENTY. Nuff said. Aside from the countless intriguing paintings in the famous Uffizi Art Museum, and Michelangelo's FLAWLESS sculpture "David", the only thing left( it seemed) was over priced gelato and stinking tourists. Enjoy the pictures, we only took a few. Off to Cinque Terre, in the Italian Riveria..... Love from the most Florencey place on earth...Sambolicious and Brad mac
By the way, no cameras inside of the museums so this is a picture of a duplicate sculpture of "David", I like to call him "Brad".

Gondolas, Gondolas, and what...oh yeah more Gondolas! Venice is unique and the street performers love to rip off tourists. Yes, we fell for their tricks and I wanted to beat someone up over a lousy 5 Euro. Well you live and learn. When we arrived in Venice it was difficult because we were coming down with "PID, a.k.a. Post Interlaken Depression", but after a few scoops of Gelato and several lovely strolls down the canals we were back on track, well sort of... Venice is unlike any city we have ever experienced, there is water everywhere and all of the buildings are beautiful and untouched by modernism. The gondolas were a sight to see and the gondoliers belting out Italian love songs while playing the accordian were ultimatly romantic. We opted for a few photo and decided against the 90 +Euro prices for a ride. Plus, why pay when you can just drink some Chianti and watch?
Meandering channels and a seemingly infinite number of bridges contributed to an adventure we will never forget. The Italians in Venice were sincerely accomodating to our broken and almost disgusting attempts at their mother language, Italiano. Our Italian phrase book works wonders to say the least( plus Sam has a great smile, especially when she wants something lol...)
We decided to camp in Venice. Actually we were suprised with the campground...I'd rather have a million mosquito bites( which is about how many I have) than one nasty bed bug bite. Camping is a change of pace and we get to stay for alot cheaper.If any of you decide you want to contribute to the Sam and Brad World Fund, call us and we'll give you our routing number.
We would also like to thank all of you for leaving us comments, they TRULY mean sooooo much to us. We look forward to them and read each one over and over cause WE MISS ALL OF YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This rtip is amazing and we have met some awesome people but all of our friends and family back home are the best in the WORLD, so please keep reading and writing...We love you, from the most Gondola-d -out place on earth-Sam and Brad