So my one day in Rome was nice and relaxing. The drive there through Tuscany was beautiful (although we did drive in circles for about 20 minutes once we got into the city, but that's beside the point). We went to the Pantheon, saw a couple churches, and walked around the Forum at night. We also had delicious homemade pasta, which I am very much craving right now.
Seeing my parents for a week was fun, but being in Sweden with Will is definitely a nice change. We went to the Vasa Museum (a museum of Sweden's greatest failure in shipbuilding), but other than that it's been mostly hanging out with Will and his friends rather than sightseeing. Three more days here, and then it's officially back to the real world.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Italy so far
Italy so far has involved lots of wrong turns and getting lost and badly translated directions. My dad decided to rent a car for the trip, which has mostly been a hassle.
That said, Pompeii was pretty awesome. (Although 5 years of Latin and a classical civilization minor might make me a little biased there). Naples, not so awesome. The one thing I really wanted to see in the Naples Archeaological Museum was in the room that was closed for restoration. The rest of Naples that we saw (which, granted, was mostly while we were driving around lost) was pretty underwhelming. Maybe someday I'll go back without my parents and get a better impression of it.
From Naples we drove up to Florence, which has been really nice. Our hotel was right in town, so we've been walking everywhere. We saw Michaelangelo's David at the Accademia and Botticelli's Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Galleries. We saw Brunelleschi's Duomo and Ghiberti's baptistry doors. And we saw an overwhelming amount of other Renaissance art and architecture pulled right from the pages of an art histroy textbook. It was a beautiful city, but I'm not too sad to be leaving since today will be filled with scenic views of Tuscany before finally arriving in Rome, which is one of my favorite cities. More updates from there!
That said, Pompeii was pretty awesome. (Although 5 years of Latin and a classical civilization minor might make me a little biased there). Naples, not so awesome. The one thing I really wanted to see in the Naples Archeaological Museum was in the room that was closed for restoration. The rest of Naples that we saw (which, granted, was mostly while we were driving around lost) was pretty underwhelming. Maybe someday I'll go back without my parents and get a better impression of it.
From Naples we drove up to Florence, which has been really nice. Our hotel was right in town, so we've been walking everywhere. We saw Michaelangelo's David at the Accademia and Botticelli's Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Galleries. We saw Brunelleschi's Duomo and Ghiberti's baptistry doors. And we saw an overwhelming amount of other Renaissance art and architecture pulled right from the pages of an art histroy textbook. It was a beautiful city, but I'm not too sad to be leaving since today will be filled with scenic views of Tuscany before finally arriving in Rome, which is one of my favorite cities. More updates from there!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I predict a riot
I'm writing this from the world's slowest hotel computer in Italy, so this is going to be a somewhat truncated entry on Paris. Maybe I'll flesh it out when I get home with some photos and details and whatnot, but for now it's going to be a hot list of sorts.
Highlights of Paris:
1) Musee d'Orsay: the museum itself is really cool (it's a converted train station) and there's lots of great Impressionist art, but most importantly we got to see Hammurabi's code. Like, the actual stone stela with the whole "eye for an eye" thing carved into it. It was pretty awesome. (Yes, I am a huge nerd. Yes, I am okay with that.)
2) Eiffel Tower: never actually made it up the tower (guess I'll have to go back) but it was beautiful to look at and great to sit in front of, drinking wine and enjoying our first real night in Paris.
3) Catacombs: probably not for the faint of heart. The ossuary contains thousands of skeletons disinterred from Parisian cemeteries (including Antoine Lavoisier! the chemistry guy! yes, I'm still a nerd) with all the bones arranged decoratively along the hallways. This I will definitely post pictures of eventually. The other great thing is that, since the catacombs are 20 m underground, they were cool enough to require a sweater while the rest of Paris was a sweltering 90+ degrees.
4) Le Regent Hostel: by all accounts, this place should have been miserable. 5th floor room with no air conditioning, pretty lame breakfast, awful internet, kind of awkward rooms with badly ventilated (and badly draining) bathrooms. However, the people we met there made Paris probably the most fun city I visited. Definitely worth it for them alone.
5) World Cup Final: we went with about 10 people from our hostel to watch it on a giant screen right in front of the Eiffel Tower. There was some pushing and crowding, but on the whole it was really good until maybe five or ten minutes from the end of the game. Bottles were thrown, flares were lit, fences were knocked down, and next thing I know I was holding onto Bo and Matthew for dear life, being swept up in a crowd of people so dense my feet were barely on the ground, and covering my mouth trying not to inhale as we hurried through clouds of tear gas. Everyone assures me soccer riots are a quintessential Europe experience, but I think one was more than enough for me.
That's about it for now. I've spent one day in Italy already, but I'll post about that (and maybe add to this) when I have more time and a better internet connection. Ciao!
Highlights of Paris:
1) Musee d'Orsay: the museum itself is really cool (it's a converted train station) and there's lots of great Impressionist art, but most importantly we got to see Hammurabi's code. Like, the actual stone stela with the whole "eye for an eye" thing carved into it. It was pretty awesome. (Yes, I am a huge nerd. Yes, I am okay with that.)
2) Eiffel Tower: never actually made it up the tower (guess I'll have to go back) but it was beautiful to look at and great to sit in front of, drinking wine and enjoying our first real night in Paris.
3) Catacombs: probably not for the faint of heart. The ossuary contains thousands of skeletons disinterred from Parisian cemeteries (including Antoine Lavoisier! the chemistry guy! yes, I'm still a nerd) with all the bones arranged decoratively along the hallways. This I will definitely post pictures of eventually. The other great thing is that, since the catacombs are 20 m underground, they were cool enough to require a sweater while the rest of Paris was a sweltering 90+ degrees.
4) Le Regent Hostel: by all accounts, this place should have been miserable. 5th floor room with no air conditioning, pretty lame breakfast, awful internet, kind of awkward rooms with badly ventilated (and badly draining) bathrooms. However, the people we met there made Paris probably the most fun city I visited. Definitely worth it for them alone.
5) World Cup Final: we went with about 10 people from our hostel to watch it on a giant screen right in front of the Eiffel Tower. There was some pushing and crowding, but on the whole it was really good until maybe five or ten minutes from the end of the game. Bottles were thrown, flares were lit, fences were knocked down, and next thing I know I was holding onto Bo and Matthew for dear life, being swept up in a crowd of people so dense my feet were barely on the ground, and covering my mouth trying not to inhale as we hurried through clouds of tear gas. Everyone assures me soccer riots are a quintessential Europe experience, but I think one was more than enough for me.
That's about it for now. I've spent one day in Italy already, but I'll post about that (and maybe add to this) when I have more time and a better internet connection. Ciao!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Czech it out
I'm sitting in the lobby of our Prague hostel [which, by the way, is super-nice--stay at the Czech Inn if you're ever in Prague] killing time. We officially checked out 5 hours ago, but our flight to Paris doesn't leave until 9:30 tonight. Ugh. On the bright side, perfect time to write an update about Prague.
Prague is possibly the most gorgeous city I've ever been to. I took like 3 times as many photos here as in Berlin and London combined, but none of them really do the city justice. (They'll be on facebook eventually if you're interested.) We went to Prague Castle, crossed the Charles Bridge, saw the Dancing House, but aside from that really didn't do too much touristy stuff. Mostly just spent a lot of time wandering the streets, taking in the sights, and sitting at hole in the wall cafes (read: drinking copious amounts of Czech beer).
We also spent 2 nights hanging out with a group of rowdy Australians. I don't think Peter reads this blog, but they definitely reminded us of slightly less abrasive versions of the guys Peter and I shared a hostel with in Nice a few years back. They were all about 20-21, about the same age I was last time I backpacked through Europe. What struck me about them though was how young they seemed. Carefree, immature, maybe a little inconsiderate and irresponsible. It got me thinking about what I was like 2 years ago and how much I have (or haven't) grown up.
So later tonight Bo and I will be flying to Paris for the next 4 days. That'll be my last city with Bo before I head down to Italy to meet up with my parents. I'm not really sure what to expect from Paris, but expect an update in a few days!
Prague is possibly the most gorgeous city I've ever been to. I took like 3 times as many photos here as in Berlin and London combined, but none of them really do the city justice. (They'll be on facebook eventually if you're interested.) We went to Prague Castle, crossed the Charles Bridge, saw the Dancing House, but aside from that really didn't do too much touristy stuff. Mostly just spent a lot of time wandering the streets, taking in the sights, and sitting at hole in the wall cafes (read: drinking copious amounts of Czech beer).
We also spent 2 nights hanging out with a group of rowdy Australians. I don't think Peter reads this blog, but they definitely reminded us of slightly less abrasive versions of the guys Peter and I shared a hostel with in Nice a few years back. They were all about 20-21, about the same age I was last time I backpacked through Europe. What struck me about them though was how young they seemed. Carefree, immature, maybe a little inconsiderate and irresponsible. It got me thinking about what I was like 2 years ago and how much I have (or haven't) grown up.
So later tonight Bo and I will be flying to Paris for the next 4 days. That'll be my last city with Bo before I head down to Italy to meet up with my parents. I'm not really sure what to expect from Paris, but expect an update in a few days!
Monday, July 5, 2010
ich bin ein Berliner
My last night in London did not go exactly as planned. Lots of yelled introductions and awkward conversations. Lost Marley quite a few times. Finally made it home and to bed by about 5:45 am, well after the sun had risen. Somehow, though, I managed to drag myself out of bed for brunch with my friend Cat from study abroad who I haven't seen in two years. It was a nice little reunion, and reminded me of all the things I miss about the UK and St. Andrews just in time for me to head to the airport and hop a flight to Berlin.
I arrived in Berlin late and stressed out, but I luckily found Bo still waiting for me in the hostel lobby. We went out for a few drinks that night, reveled in Germany's world cup win, and came home to find that our hostel might just have been the hottest place ever. It was about 90 during the day in Berlin, but somehow our room was consistently hotter than the outside. Remind me next time I travel to double check that everywhere I'm going has air conditioning.
In Berlin we went to the site of the Berlin Wall, passed by Checkpoint Charlie, saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, and just generally did a lot of exploring. The one thing we went out of our way to see was the Jewish Museum, which was really interesting and architecturally awesome. (I'll post pictures eventually, but it's hard to really get the concept without visiting it.) It only occurred to me late that evening that it was 4th of July, so I guess we didn't do a very good job celebrating our American-ness overseas. Oh well.
This morning we took a train ride to Prague that was very long (think 3 hours sitting on the floor), very hot (again with the no air conditioning), and very stressful (I sort of almost got kicked of the train in Dresden). We haven't done much here yet besides win a bottle of wine at hostel trivia, but so far the city is gorgeous and I'm really excited for the next few days. I'll keep you posted!
I arrived in Berlin late and stressed out, but I luckily found Bo still waiting for me in the hostel lobby. We went out for a few drinks that night, reveled in Germany's world cup win, and came home to find that our hostel might just have been the hottest place ever. It was about 90 during the day in Berlin, but somehow our room was consistently hotter than the outside. Remind me next time I travel to double check that everywhere I'm going has air conditioning.
In Berlin we went to the site of the Berlin Wall, passed by Checkpoint Charlie, saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, and just generally did a lot of exploring. The one thing we went out of our way to see was the Jewish Museum, which was really interesting and architecturally awesome. (I'll post pictures eventually, but it's hard to really get the concept without visiting it.) It only occurred to me late that evening that it was 4th of July, so I guess we didn't do a very good job celebrating our American-ness overseas. Oh well.
This morning we took a train ride to Prague that was very long (think 3 hours sitting on the floor), very hot (again with the no air conditioning), and very stressful (I sort of almost got kicked of the train in Dresden). We haven't done much here yet besides win a bottle of wine at hostel trivia, but so far the city is gorgeous and I'm really excited for the next few days. I'll keep you posted!
Friday, July 2, 2010
hello from across the Atlantic!
After school let out for summer, I spent the next week doing curriculum planning for the science department (so even though I won't be teaching at that school next year, I've designed about about half of their core science curriculum). Then I had about 4 days to relax before jetting off to London! This is going to become a makeshift travel blog for the next few weeks as I roam around Europe.
So far my trip's been interesting. The night before I left Chicago was also Lucy's last night in town, so I ended up staying up all night hanging out with a few friends until I finally left for the airport at about 5 am. Even though I was so exhausted that I pretty much passed out as soon as I got on the train to O'Hare, I think staying up somehow managed to prevent me from being too jetlagged. (I managed to go to sleep right away last night AND wake up without an alarm at 8:30 this morning!)
Yesterday morning we slept in and then headed up to Camden for lunch and some exploring. We basically meandered around the city, occasionally stopping for a beer, before finally heading back up to Camden to meet her roommate and go out for the night. Nothing too crazy happened, although we did manage to befriend Marley's half-naked neighbors on our way home.
Then today we got lunch, Marley went off to work, and I roamed around London a bit and went to the British Museum. I've been to London a bunch of times before and I don't particularly feel doing the whole touristy thing again, so for now I'm back at Marley's flat for a nap and some tea. Cheers!
So far my trip's been interesting. The night before I left Chicago was also Lucy's last night in town, so I ended up staying up all night hanging out with a few friends until I finally left for the airport at about 5 am. Even though I was so exhausted that I pretty much passed out as soon as I got on the train to O'Hare, I think staying up somehow managed to prevent me from being too jetlagged. (I managed to go to sleep right away last night AND wake up without an alarm at 8:30 this morning!)
Yesterday morning we slept in and then headed up to Camden for lunch and some exploring. We basically meandered around the city, occasionally stopping for a beer, before finally heading back up to Camden to meet her roommate and go out for the night. Nothing too crazy happened, although we did manage to befriend Marley's half-naked neighbors on our way home.
Then today we got lunch, Marley went off to work, and I roamed around London a bit and went to the British Museum. I've been to London a bunch of times before and I don't particularly feel doing the whole touristy thing again, so for now I'm back at Marley's flat for a nap and some tea. Cheers!
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