My favorite and last weekend….in Italia July 26, 2008

Sorry for not posting earlier in this week, but I needed to prepare for my last 3 finals at Georgia Tech. Yep…I was done with my degree as of Friday night at 9:15pm, when I walked out of my thermodynamics final. Pretty crazy huh? I’m an engineer now! Okay… so as for Italy…this was by far one of the best places ever. We went to Florence, Pisa, and Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre was so beautiful I can’t even describe it to you. Which is why cameras are so helpful in these moments. I sent a picture via instant messenger to my friend, and he was like.. “what is that? a postcard?” noo…. it’s my awesome rebel xt and a beautiful landscape:)

So anyways… we arrived in Florence on Saturday morning and went straight to the Accademia. This is where Michelangelos’ David is located. I have an illegal picture of me and Samantha in front of David which I shall post once I get it. Seeing David is like seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. When you get in front of this statue, you can’t believe how absolutely massive it is. You’ve seen pictures before, you read the history, and then you just walk into the room and stare in awe. It was great, and you can definitely see why Michelangelo was so famous in Italy. Afterwards we went to the Duomo, Florence’s Gothic Santa Maria del Fiori Cathedral (pictured at your right). After walking through the cathedral, we paid 6 euros to climb over 400 stairs to the top of the duomo. It was so beautiful to walk around the painting “Last Judgment” by Vasari and Zucccari, which was quite scary if you actually looked at the characters. Well… look at the title and you should understand. It’s pictured below.

We happened to find an amazing lunch withing the markets of Florence. They had pizza and sandwiches for about 2.50 euro. I had a piece of salami pizza and went back for a pesto potato sandwich. Muah it was magnifique. So… basically if you don’t go inside the Uffizi Gallery to gaze at art all day, we completed all the major sites! We used the rest of the day to explore the markets ( I bought scarves), the glass shops, the Ponte Vecchio ( a beautiful bridge lined with gold and silver shops, nice to look at and wish), and then a awesome dinner we found from our hostel map. The unlisted 12 euro dinner consisted of an appetizer (lasagna), chicken or beef with potatoes and cheese, dessert and your choice of red or white wine. I love these deals. Our hostel apparently was equipped with an awesome bar and indoor pool; both of which we were too worn out to take advantage of. We PTFO’ed (word of the trip), and woke up to take a train to Pisa the next morning. I’m pretty sure it’s self explanatory for you what we saw in Pisa…. But the Leaning Tower of Pisa is just as incredible as you think it would be! Too bad there is nothing else in the city to attract tourists, but I think they do well enough. The tower was built to be a bell tower, however during construction in 1173 it began leaning due to a badly layed foundation, and the soil that it was in. In 1272 upon completing the tower after a short break they tried to compensate by building the top floor uneven. This allowed the tower to “bend” in other direction so not it’s completely crooked. It was quite a sight to see. Don’t worry about the following pictures, it’s what all the tourists were doing

After our 3.5 hours in Pisa we were off to Cinque Terre, or “five lands” translated from Italian. The gorgeous, alternative to the French Riviera, but BETTER! This was one of the best places I’ve ever been to. Italy food, wine, fun, and beaches! There are 5 cities connected by a 6 hour hike along the mountains by the sea. It was just so beautiful. It was Samantha’s birthday weekend, so we took advantage of it by buying her 2 different amazing desserts. I can’t say much other than the fact that this weekend we hiked for about 4 hours, climbed rocks, took trains between the cities, and ate amazing food. Otherwise, we stayed in a hostel a little far from one of the towns, that had a bus that connected us. However the bus was way overpacked the morning we left, and with the blazing heat, and people falling on each other as we twisted around the mountain side, it was one of the worst experiences of my life, I don’t know if I’ve ever sweat so much in my life. But I’m alive. There’s nothing else I can say… but enjoy the pictures of my AMAZING weekend.. Can I have my honeymoon here?

On the left is Jonathan making us fresh fruit rum drinks on the beach.  People were staring at us… but they were jealous.  There are no “No open container laws” in Europe… how much better than the US!

Normandy July 16, 2008

Well to continue my travels in France, what better place to go than the beautiful western side to Normandy! During the weekend I was surrounded by crêpes, caramel, and a little bit of la plage (the beach!). I didn’t use the weekend to go swimming though, I was busy learning some important WWII history, and seeing a beautiful abbey, that you may have seen in pictures of france. Off we go…

Ashleigh and I changed our train schedule the day before we took off, and we decided to take 2 TGV trains without reservations (a big no no). However, on our trip to Paris, the conductor looked out our eurail passes and passed us by, we decided it was because we were cute, pick your own reason. On the following train, it was so packed, they never checked. We switched back and forth between a bucket seat in a hallway and a comfortable seat next to French kids learning English, oh well, it was free. After arriving in a town outside of Ponterson, we took a bus to Mont Saint Michel. You will be aghast when this “island” comes into view. When the tide is out you can walk along the sand to the island. They tell you to be sure to go with a guide, since there is quick sand around. Also, Victor Hugo is quoted saying, the tide comes “as swiftly as a galloping horse.” This is not suprising, as the tide was already coming in during our short stay on the island. We walked around the cute little town, full of shops of things to buy, and then we went up to the abbey. The structure was rebuilt over the centuries, making itself bigger and better. There was even a small garden in the middle of the structure. The columns were large, apparently they were also needed to support the tons of weight pounding down on them. The abbey was built to reach high into the heavens, for the monks living there to be closer to God in all ways. They chose the island to be far away from humanity, apparentely they were hermibts. A causeway was built to connect the island to the town of Pontorson in the middle 1800s. By 2012, there will be damn constructed, so that the Mont St. Michel will once again be a true island, and you will no longer be able to walk on the sand to reach the island. It’s kind of sad, because I think it’s wonderful the way it is.

We left the island that night, and took a train to Rennes where we were staying, and did a little shopping. Ashleigh found some cute pants, and I bought a Calvin & Hobbes book in French which is on my level. So know I’m reading comics in French…. oh gee.

The next morning we were off to Bayeaux to see the D-Day sites, yes even I can appreciate a little war history. Our tour included (in the following order) A German cementary, Pont du Hoc, Omaha Beach, a museum, and an American cemetery. Our tour guide was really nice, and sometimes his English was a little tricky. He spoke great English, but he pronounced things with French vowels, leaving Ashleigh and I bewildered. We were part of an eight person tour, with the other 6 people being a family with 4 small kids. It was fun. You know.. this summer I’ve been noticing how cute European kids are, but I decided this weekend that I think they’re really cute because you can’t understand what they’re saying when they speak other languages. Kidding…kidding…

I’m not a WWII expert, so I’m not going to explain alot, just a few things I felt while on the tour. First, it’s no secret who the enemy was, and the many, many German bodies left in France had to be buried somewheres. It seems such a shame they weren’t moved, being it wasn’t that far away, but here they remain. Out of the 21,000 souls in the German cemetery, only about 2,000 have proper graves, the remaining thousands were left unidentified, and all the unclaimed dogtags/their owners are buried in a mound in the middle. There was a monument to the fallen, but it wasn’t as moving as the one in the American cemetery. There, the normal white crosses and Star of David’s mark each grave, even the unknown ones. Many more people were there walking around, and it was overlooking the ocean. The atmosphere was definitely different. Just…different.

German cemetary

American Cemetery

Pont du Hoc was where the Americans surprise attacked the Germans. When their ships came in, they climbed up the huge cliffs and bombed the German bunkers. The bunkers remain, along with metal, and barbed wire. There are also holes left, 2 types. One type, is a huge round hole that caves in, left from shells dropped from the sky, the other are flatter, less deep holes left from the navy ships’ shells.

My final pictures are from Omaha beach. Of course… it doesn’t really look like a battlefield anymore. But the pictures we were shown on the tour were of make shift ports, ships lining the beach, helicopters and blimps flying over, and soldiers laying dead on the sand. It was horrific and incredible all at the same time. Before this trip, I asked Ashleigh if we would need a swim suit, and we decided that where we were going, surely there wouldn’t be people just frolicking about… the funny thing is, there were. Tons of people were on the huge beach probably celebrating their Bastille weekend. The beach is perfect for this, because when the tide is out, the beach is really quite huge. The mother in our tour group commented to our tour guide, “how would the soldiers that fought here feel if they came back and saw people playing,” and perfectly he said, “I’m sure they would have been proud, because this is what they were fighting for… freedom.”

and yes my shoes got a little wet while taking this picture.

Wordle. July 16, 2008

This is something really cool I found on my friend Lauren Wright’s blog. You can allow the program to search your blog, and it will use the most common words to make this picture! Try it out here

I apparently talk about travel in my blog… who knew?

Jack Johnson in a Parisian sort of way July 11, 2008

Prior to leaving for Europe, I happened to look on ticket master in search of a concert I could attend once in Europe. The person that stuck out at me was Jack Johnson. His music is very acoustic and relaxing. I brought up the idea to Ashleigh, and we felt like Munich would be a good choice to see him. However, the price tag and class schedules got to us, and we decided to wait. We waited so long in fact, so that we could no longer purchase tickets. So, two weeks ago when some of our friends brought up the idea of seeing Jack Johnson in Paris (which is only a 1.5 hour TGV from Metz), we took a few more seconds to decide… YES! So on Wednesday after my classes, I boarded a train in hopes of seeing my favorite Hawaiian guitar player rock out and say a few French words. Jack was performing with G. Love & Special Sauce, and Mason Jennings. Everyone in our group seemed to like G.Love a lot, but I liked Mason Jennings more. G. Love was too funky for me, whereas Mason’s music was acoustic, which I love! Jack performed most of his new CD, and of course a few of his old favorites off his famous one from 2005, In Between Dreams (The on Raf introduced me too so long ago). The most amazing thing about the whole concert was how many people were there. I figured it would be kind of like Chastain Park, an outside amphitheater in Atlanta where you sat on a lawn. However Palais Omnisports de Paris @ Bercy, was comparable to Philips areana. We guesstimated about 7,000 in attendance. Every seat was filled, and more people were piled on the floor. I wouldn’t have guessed that the French liked Jack Johnson that much! Well… he is awesome though. I’m really glad I went! Enjoy these pictures. Hopefully I can upload the videos to You Tube, and post them soon! If I had known cameras were going to be allowed, I would of brought my SLR… oh well, next time.

Running of the Bulls 2008 in Pamplona, Spain! July 10, 2008

Well… I made it to Pamplona for Running of the Bulls. Wow,when I read Ernest Hemingways, “The Sun Also Rises” I didn’t realize I would actually ever get to see this city and amazing event. We had to get the eurail reservations the day France would allow to make them, but we got them. Plus we had TGV trains the whole way home! (This means it didn’ take 22 hours, only 11!) A little history… The running of the bulls is 9 day festival that takes place every year in Pamplona. They allow anyone above the age of 18 to run with the bulls at 8 am every day of the festival. The run is a half mile down the tiny cobblestone streets all the way to the arena, where the bullfights will take place every night, and the bulls will die. Each runner is given a newspaper, I read two different stories behind the newspaper, we thought they were just the daily news, haha. Apparently you roll it up and hold it while running to judge the distance between you and the bull. Another theory is you use it if a bull is charging you to distract them. There are hundreds if not thousands of people running every morning, but there are only 6 bulls and 6 steed. The bulls if separated from the steed will get disoriented and will charge anything. There are professional herders running behind the bulls to try to keep them moving towards the arena. At the end, they release 4 oxen to get any of the straggling bulls. The whole run takes about 2 and a half minutes. At the beginning they pray, and then shoot a gun at the release of the bulls, when all the bulls are released a second gunshot is sounded. I think that’s about all I learned!

When we first arrived it was already 1 am, but everyone was awake partying on the streets! The 1st, 6th and 9th days of the run have all night parties leading up to 8am. We went to a concert in one square, and we realized we were not dressed in all white with red belts, and bandanas, so we fixed that right away! Earlier in the night they were throwing red wine on people that were in all white, to prepare them for the “blood stains.” We then went to another square where they were having a live band singing “dance songs.” It’s so funny to me that Europeans listen to American music all the time, and everywhere! We are lucky to have British singers on our radio. That’s Hollywood for you I guess. At 4 am we lined up for the run. Somehow I never got tired even after standing on my feet for 8 hours all night long. Even the next morning when we got on our train I wasn’t tired. Of course as soon as the train was moving I fell over asleep.

So for the run, I was traveling with 11 people, but we met up with 3 more Georgia Techies in Pamplona. 2 of the guys from our group actually ran in the run. Here is a photo before the bulls came.

Dale said it was the scariest thing he had ever done! well duh… After the run they went inside the area where they take the bulls out and put in a calf (which still has horns). As much as I enjoyed his stories, and watching the event, I think I can live without the actual running experience. Ciao!

Barcelona & Madrid, Spain July 10, 2008

Sorry for not updating the day after I got back, it sure has been a busy week! Tests, Homeworks, and a certain concert had me tied up all week, not to mention the sleep I had to make up from this weekend. Spain is a gorgeous country. Last year, I spent a 3 day weekend in Barcelona, so for me, a day and a half this summer was just enough to get reacquainted with the city, and view a few missed spots. When you take a train from France into Spain, you stop in Port Bou, and then take a train along the southern coast of France into Spain. This is an absolutely beautiful sight to see outside your window when you first wake up in your couchette. Passing by the French Riviera, you most definitely wish to be outside instead of in your small compartment. Our first stop in Barcelona is a Gaudi favorite, Sagrada Familia. I have to say I think I saw a tiny bit of progress from the past summer on the outside of the building, nonetheless it’s still beautiful. This is one of the most famous buildings you’ll see in Spain. Gaudi is a very famous architect who lived in Barcelona and dreamed up this modern cathedral you see on the left. He knew he would die before it was completed so he drew up alot of plans and allowed gaps for new architects to add their own personal touch to it. However, he had a premature death under a street car, and most of his plans were demolished in World War II. Therefore, the only real part of the outside designed by Gaudi are the 4 spires you see in this picture. The inside is quite a site to see if you ever get the chance. My next stop was the beach. Like I said, I wasn’t up for that much sightseeing. Ha! We had a great time though, and no sunburn! If you see the rocks in the distance in the photo. A couple of us swam out there to them. Talk about fun! We also enjoyed a few beers on the beach, and layed out. The beach is what really makes Barcelona. With a great Beach, beautiful architecture, fun sightseeing, good food, and a crazy night life. What else can you ask for from a city? For dinner we ordered paella for our group at a restaurant. We ordered for 7 people, and they cooked it all together and brought out a huge pan for us! Yummy! Afterwards, we spent a long time meeting up with people and finding a club to watch the sunrise at. I won’t give you all the details, but it was a fun night, and a 4 hour sleep to prepare us for the next day. A group of us split off in the morning to go see the Barcelona Stadium that the club teams play in. It was really neat to see an actual football (soccer) stadium. We got a tour of the locker rooms, press rooms, the stadium, and then a museum at the end. It was really cool to learn the history of soccer from Barcelona’s standpoint, and to see a “football” from the 1800’s! It looked like a cross of a leather “american” football and a dodge ball. I’ll let you decide.

Our next stop was Madrid! Madrid is a pretty big city that is famous for its bullfights. We walked around the city and to the palace. We saw the “Center of Spain” which all distances are measured from anywhere in spain. It was set with a plaque in the ground. We also went to the Prado museum and saw some Spanish art. The Prado is supposed to be second to the Louvre. We didn’t get to see a whole lot of it because we were quite rushed. We also went to a restaurant and had some excellent Spanish Tapas. Tapas are like small entrees or appetizers that you usually order several of and then share with a table. Another awesome picture was of the inside of the train station. They had a rainforest complete with animal noises. I couldn’t decide if the bird noises were real or recorded. Maybe I’ll look that up soon. Next stop… Pamplona: Running of the Bulls!

My favorite spot in Germany. July 1, 2008

Habe die Ehre! Well this past weekend I made it to München (Munich in English) for the second time in my life. I love this quaint little German town. It’s like it came out of a picture book, with a huge glockenspiel, a great little downtown area, and picture-perfect beer gardens. I love this place. This time, we only went for 2 days, and I had a day trip planned. It was exactly what I wanted. Plus… the EuroCup finals were on Sunday evening with Germany and Spain playing! The first thing we did when we arrived and after we checked into the Wombat we met up with two people at a free bike tour. There was a total of 11 of us in Munich ready for a great weekend. The bike tour was definitely made for young people, and we stopped in the English Garden’s for a beer break. The best part was watching the surfing that people do in a make-shift river/wave pool. A bunch of drunk guys on our tour decided to strip down to their underwear and jump in. Our poor tour guide was trying to tell them how dangerous it was, but of course stupid boys don’t listen. One ended up with a bloody foot, but they seemed okay.

After the bike tour we made it to the Hofbrauhaus for some fun.

On Sunday morning, the girls and Jonathan made the two hour train ride out to Füssen to see Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle is what the Cinderella Castle in Disney World is designed after. We had to take a bus to the base of a hill, and then walk about 30 minutes uphill to get to the castle. It was worth the whole trip. The architect was actually a theatrical set designer from the 1850’s, and every room was designed after one of Wagner’s operas (which is a really boring composer if you ask me). It was soooo gorgeous. I think a few court architect’s were actually brought int to make sure the castle stood. The castle was even complete with a cave, and the bedroom took 4 years just for the wood carver to complete. It was breathtaking. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed of the inside of the castle. Here are a few of the outside though. If you look carefully, you can see about twenty paragliders/hangliders in the picture of the castle from a distance. I can’t believe they didn’t run into each other. If we had stayed here for a weekend, that is what I would have done.

After returning to Munich, we found the closest beer garden to the train station to watch the game. Our train left at 10:30, so we had to miss the game. But Spain was winning 1-0, so we didn’t think we were going to miss too many festivities. The German crowd was huge though, and we arrived 2 hours prior to the game to secure a table at the far back of the beer garden. It was so much fun. It’s like watching the Super Bowl in America. Except, they don’t have commercial breaks during soccer.

We took a long route home, to avoid paying 25 euros for a night train. This meant we took about 10 hours to reach our destination only 6 hours away. And our route also included 5 trains, with a 2 hour layover at 3 am. Needless to say, I was dead tired on Monday Morning. Yay Munich!