Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Venice & Vienna
Well, I am now in Vienna, Austria, writing to you from the hostel I am staying at here. I arrived this morning after riding the train through the night from Venice. I actually left Florence yesterday at 12:40pm local time and went to Venice, spent a couple hours there and then hopped a train for Vienna at 9pm.
So far, this is what I've learned about myself since venturing out by myself on this leg of my trip: I can not sleep on trains for the life of me (granted, I had a "couchette," which is a fancy word for an uncomfortable seat, so that may have been part of the problem), guys named Andre in Venice are crazy with a capital C-R-A-Z-Y, and Vienna, though beautiful and awesome, really sucks when it's raining. .I've also realized that I don't particularly care for hostels - though I'm not really sure anyone does. I mean, it's a great cheap way to have a place to shower and sleep, but I just find them a little uncomfortable and worry that I'm bothering them while I try to cram my huge-ass backpack into my locker in the middle of the afternoon while they're taking a nap. That reminds me, holy crap do I need to throw away or ship home some crap. What the heck was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was stationary in Florence for 4 weeks straight and didn't have to deal with lugging my backpack and daypack around with me. Ugh.
Ok, so for the scoop on crazy dudes named Andre in Venice: Whoa. Dude was totally harmless and I was completely safe because tons of people were everywhere and it was daylight, but wow did this guy say some weird stuff. I think he tried to tell me he was bisexual, but in a very lewd sort of way. Don't ask. Once I got back to the train station (after making fun of him mercilessly about following me around, even when I purchased fruit at a fruit stand and told the gentleman helping me that the guy was just following me around) I was sitting on the steps thinking about dinner and a beer, besides still trying to avoid Andre, when I was saved by a slightly drunk Polish guy named Gregory. Turns out, Gregory was pretty rad, even though he had a completely idealistic idea of America. We chatted, I left and got dinner, came back and sat on the steps and he was still there, we talked music for a bit and he told me all about what I should do while in Krakow (he was pretty stoked I was going there), and then wished eachother well on our respective journeys and parted ways. I've seriously met some of the coolest, laid back people on this trip, that's been pretty awesome. Not counting Andre, of course.
Even though I didn't have much time in Venice and didn't take a ride on a Gondola and have the driver (pilot? captain?) sing to me, I did get to see the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, which was amazing. After that I relaxed on the edge of the Grande Canal and watched the cruise ships come in. It actually reminded me of home a lot, which made me a little homesick, but was perfect to chill me out for a long train ride.
I arrived in Vienna this morning at around 8:30am, found a hostel and then set out to check out the city. It's been raining all day, so I ended up completely soaked by the time I got back to my hostel, but I had a great time looking at all the sights and eating the most awesome bratwurst I've ever had yet. Emphasis on the "yet" as I will be heading to Germany next week.
To be completely honest, even though I was totally miserable and wet, I was completely blown away. I mean, I'm in Vienna! Seriously, this is Mozart country. In fact, I'm going to hear some Mozart and Strauss tonight as I ran into some people selling tickets for the opera and got a special deal because I'm a student. Sweet!
If you would have asked me last year what I would be doing right now, there's no way in hell I would have said (or even guessed): "Hanging out in Vienna, heading to Krakow tomorrow night in a sleeper car and then onto Warsaw, Berlin, Luneburg and Hamburg after spending 4 weeks in Florence and running around other parts of Italy." Whoa. I mean, it hasn't all been perfect and sunshine and rainbows, there have been 2 days where I seriously pondered shortening my trip, but for the most part, this has been an incredible experience and memories I will cherish for a lifetime. And it ain't even over yet! I still have 16 more days before I head back to the U.S.
Oh, and Austrain advertising is hilarious!!! Seriously. I am completely unsurprised that Ah-nuld came from here as I've never seen so many cheesy gym ads in my life. Thumbs up, beefcakes!
So far, this is what I've learned about myself since venturing out by myself on this leg of my trip: I can not sleep on trains for the life of me (granted, I had a "couchette," which is a fancy word for an uncomfortable seat, so that may have been part of the problem), guys named Andre in Venice are crazy with a capital C-R-A-Z-Y, and Vienna, though beautiful and awesome, really sucks when it's raining. .I've also realized that I don't particularly care for hostels - though I'm not really sure anyone does. I mean, it's a great cheap way to have a place to shower and sleep, but I just find them a little uncomfortable and worry that I'm bothering them while I try to cram my huge-ass backpack into my locker in the middle of the afternoon while they're taking a nap. That reminds me, holy crap do I need to throw away or ship home some crap. What the heck was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I was stationary in Florence for 4 weeks straight and didn't have to deal with lugging my backpack and daypack around with me. Ugh.
Ok, so for the scoop on crazy dudes named Andre in Venice: Whoa. Dude was totally harmless and I was completely safe because tons of people were everywhere and it was daylight, but wow did this guy say some weird stuff. I think he tried to tell me he was bisexual, but in a very lewd sort of way. Don't ask. Once I got back to the train station (after making fun of him mercilessly about following me around, even when I purchased fruit at a fruit stand and told the gentleman helping me that the guy was just following me around) I was sitting on the steps thinking about dinner and a beer, besides still trying to avoid Andre, when I was saved by a slightly drunk Polish guy named Gregory. Turns out, Gregory was pretty rad, even though he had a completely idealistic idea of America. We chatted, I left and got dinner, came back and sat on the steps and he was still there, we talked music for a bit and he told me all about what I should do while in Krakow (he was pretty stoked I was going there), and then wished eachother well on our respective journeys and parted ways. I've seriously met some of the coolest, laid back people on this trip, that's been pretty awesome. Not counting Andre, of course.
Even though I didn't have much time in Venice and didn't take a ride on a Gondola and have the driver (pilot? captain?) sing to me, I did get to see the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, which was amazing. After that I relaxed on the edge of the Grande Canal and watched the cruise ships come in. It actually reminded me of home a lot, which made me a little homesick, but was perfect to chill me out for a long train ride.
I arrived in Vienna this morning at around 8:30am, found a hostel and then set out to check out the city. It's been raining all day, so I ended up completely soaked by the time I got back to my hostel, but I had a great time looking at all the sights and eating the most awesome bratwurst I've ever had yet. Emphasis on the "yet" as I will be heading to Germany next week.
To be completely honest, even though I was totally miserable and wet, I was completely blown away. I mean, I'm in Vienna! Seriously, this is Mozart country. In fact, I'm going to hear some Mozart and Strauss tonight as I ran into some people selling tickets for the opera and got a special deal because I'm a student. Sweet!
If you would have asked me last year what I would be doing right now, there's no way in hell I would have said (or even guessed): "Hanging out in Vienna, heading to Krakow tomorrow night in a sleeper car and then onto Warsaw, Berlin, Luneburg and Hamburg after spending 4 weeks in Florence and running around other parts of Italy." Whoa. I mean, it hasn't all been perfect and sunshine and rainbows, there have been 2 days where I seriously pondered shortening my trip, but for the most part, this has been an incredible experience and memories I will cherish for a lifetime. And it ain't even over yet! I still have 16 more days before I head back to the U.S.
Oh, and Austrain advertising is hilarious!!! Seriously. I am completely unsurprised that Ah-nuld came from here as I've never seen so many cheesy gym ads in my life. Thumbs up, beefcakes!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
hello???
Ok, so I've posted pictures and written posts and I am so surprised that I haven't gotten any comments to my posts - I am so sad! Ok, seriously, I really love hearing from you all so feel free to post as many comments as it'll take.
I leave for Poland on Monday (actually am heading to Venice on Monday afternoon and then onto Vienna, Prague and finally Krakow where I will stay for a couple days) and am sad to leave, though it will be nice to get to some cooler weather - it's been so bloody hot and humid here all week. Our apartment is almost unbearably hot and sleeping has become very difficult (on top of it already being a little difficult because of my crazy, vino-induced dreams).
Tomorrow I have finals and will turn in my huge and horrible paper on establishing an income tax in WA and analysis on the best system to implement to fall in line with principles of social justice. Riveting, I know. I'm considering printing off copies of it for Christmas gifts - ha!
Anyway, I must get back to work so I can finally be done with schoolwork for the year. Miss you all and sending my love!
I leave for Poland on Monday (actually am heading to Venice on Monday afternoon and then onto Vienna, Prague and finally Krakow where I will stay for a couple days) and am sad to leave, though it will be nice to get to some cooler weather - it's been so bloody hot and humid here all week. Our apartment is almost unbearably hot and sleeping has become very difficult (on top of it already being a little difficult because of my crazy, vino-induced dreams).
Tomorrow I have finals and will turn in my huge and horrible paper on establishing an income tax in WA and analysis on the best system to implement to fall in line with principles of social justice. Riveting, I know. I'm considering printing off copies of it for Christmas gifts - ha!
Anyway, I must get back to work so I can finally be done with schoolwork for the year. Miss you all and sending my love!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Picture Day!
OK, so after a week of no pictures, I am finally posting some today.....
SIENA:
The cathedral in Siena was incredible:
You can't really tell from this picture, but the ceiling was painted dark blue with golden stars to look like the night sky. I loved it.
Me and the enormous Piazza del Campo (I think that's the name) in Siena:
PISA:
The cathedral and the Baptistry were both very moving. The Baptistry was very sparsely decorated, but while we were in there and up in the gallery looking down, a man started singing creating some beautiful harmonies with the acoustics and echos and totally gave me goose bumps all over my body. It was a cool, unexpected experience and I was glad we had a chance to witness it. After he was done singing, he began preparing to baptise a little boy whose family was gathering to witness the event. Pretty cool.
LUCCA:
Part of the park on top of the walls around Lucca:
Piazza Napoleone in Lucca:
and some random shots around town:
Hopefully that will be enough photos for now as I have to run to class. Ciao!!!
However, I have to let you know that I did not make it back to Cinque Terre this weekend as I woke up yesterday morning not feeling well and decided to stay home and work on my paper and study all day, which actually ended up being pretty productive. I was very sad that I had to miss the trip there, but also ok with it as I'm pretty sure I will be back someday. You can't always fit everything in to your trip that you want to.
I did make it to Pisa and Lucca this weekend though. Pisa was pretty cool, but I was seriously impressed with Lucca - what a cool and cute little town! Appparently, when Napoleon conquered Lucca, he liked it so much that he gave it to his sister as a gift. After he died, his wife and sister made the medieval walls of the city into a great promenade that you can walk and bike on. It was seriously cool.
With that said, here's a snapshot of my weekend, my trip to Siena last Thursday and a few pictures I had promised from Mercato Centrale:
SIENA:The cathedral in Siena was incredible: You can't really tell from this picture, but the ceiling was painted dark blue with golden stars to look like the night sky. I loved it.Me and the enormous Piazza del Campo (I think that's the name) in Siena:PISA:
The cathedral and the Baptistry were both very moving. The Baptistry was very sparsely decorated, but while we were in there and up in the gallery looking down, a man started singing creating some beautiful harmonies with the acoustics and echos and totally gave me goose bumps all over my body. It was a cool, unexpected experience and I was glad we had a chance to witness it. After he was done singing, he began preparing to baptise a little boy whose family was gathering to witness the event. Pretty cool.LUCCA:
Part of the park on top of the walls around Lucca:Piazza Napoleone in Lucca:and some random shots around town:
Hopefully that will be enough photos for now as I have to run to class. Ciao!!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Ode to Italian coffee
Oh, cappucino.... ti amo! How beautiful and frothy and deliciously creamy you are! How wonderfully happy you make me every morning as I stand at the caffé bar and revel in the most holy of Italian morning rituals, the time of day when I feel like a real local and so in touch with Italy and all its fantastic craziness! Oh, caffé! How beautifully sweet/bitter and dark the caffé espresso is after a three course Tuscan dinner - there is no better way to end such a glorious experience.
How sad I will be when I must part from you and go back to, gag, Starbucks!
All flowery silliness aside - Italian coffee is seriously the most amazing coffee I've ever had. I am so jealous of people who get to live here and have it all the time - these Italians got their pasta, wine and coffee down to an art. It's truly an amazing thing to experience, especially since those three things are pretty much my favorite things in the world. Anyone reading this, if you ever find yourself here, you HAVE to drink as much coffee as you can. The Italians sure do, and they definitely know what's up - I met a guy that has 3-4 espressos in the morning and then a cappuccino later on in the morning after he gets to work in the Mercato Centrale as a butcher. Then, he has another espresso (caffé, in Italy) after dinner. I tolod him he needed to slow down as it was bad for his heart - he told me that his heart didn't need to worry about the espresso, it needed to worry about how pretty I was. I love Italian men! :) I know they say the same things to all the girls, I don't take it to be very serious at all, but damn do they say it well!
I went to Siena yesterday afternoon with our law school people and explored the town and had dinner there - what a place! I loved Siena. The Duomo there is beautiful and that Piazza was HUGE! My friends and I had a couple appertivo and drinks at the squarebefore dinner, which was lovely. If you've ever seen the newest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, the opening scenes are at the Piazza during the medieval horse races held there on July 6th and August 12th every year. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out.
I will post pictures as soon as I can remember to load them onto my thumb drive (sorry).
Tomorrow I head to Pisa and Lucca with a couple friends. I am looking forward to it. Sunday is Cinque Terre.
Now, back to my paper on the WA State Income Tax proposal and the redistributive/social justice aspects of that...... uggggghhhhhh.
How sad I will be when I must part from you and go back to, gag, Starbucks!
All flowery silliness aside - Italian coffee is seriously the most amazing coffee I've ever had. I am so jealous of people who get to live here and have it all the time - these Italians got their pasta, wine and coffee down to an art. It's truly an amazing thing to experience, especially since those three things are pretty much my favorite things in the world. Anyone reading this, if you ever find yourself here, you HAVE to drink as much coffee as you can. The Italians sure do, and they definitely know what's up - I met a guy that has 3-4 espressos in the morning and then a cappuccino later on in the morning after he gets to work in the Mercato Centrale as a butcher. Then, he has another espresso (caffé, in Italy) after dinner. I tolod him he needed to slow down as it was bad for his heart - he told me that his heart didn't need to worry about the espresso, it needed to worry about how pretty I was. I love Italian men! :) I know they say the same things to all the girls, I don't take it to be very serious at all, but damn do they say it well!
I went to Siena yesterday afternoon with our law school people and explored the town and had dinner there - what a place! I loved Siena. The Duomo there is beautiful and that Piazza was HUGE! My friends and I had a couple appertivo and drinks at the squarebefore dinner, which was lovely. If you've ever seen the newest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, the opening scenes are at the Piazza during the medieval horse races held there on July 6th and August 12th every year. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out.
I will post pictures as soon as I can remember to load them onto my thumb drive (sorry).
Tomorrow I head to Pisa and Lucca with a couple friends. I am looking forward to it. Sunday is Cinque Terre.
Now, back to my paper on the WA State Income Tax proposal and the redistributive/social justice aspects of that...... uggggghhhhhh.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
No new pictures yet, but.....
Hello all my wonderful friends and family!
Obviously, as you can tell from the pictures below, the Amalfi Coast and Capri was breathtaking. Walking through Sorrento, a boet tour around the Island of Capri, hiking from one side of Capri to the other to have a lovely lunch and lay on the beach, walking through Positano and laying on the beach for the afternoon, and an afternoon of exploring the amazing Pompei is certainly something I will never forget. I highly recommend making the trip there if you ever find yourself in Italy. It's hot, beautiful, picturesque and the most sapphire-blue water you will ever see. Truly amazing. It can be expensive and time consuming to get there by train and to plan the trip yourself, so I would recommend taking an organized trip like I did - just make sure that there is time for you to do you own thing if you're like me and hate organized touristy stuff. I was glad I got to have time to myself and do whatever I wanted to do while there.
I will say though, try to get a hotel where a group of 12-14 year old french kids are NOT staying - they were absolutely obnoxious and woke us all up screaming and running through the hallways and stomping up and down the stairs at 6:30am on Sunday. People don't understand that when they are abroad they are representing their country and behaving like that does not give people a very good impression. I know they are just kids and don't get it, but seriously. And their teachers traveling with them didn't seem to care at all. Just awful. Thank goodness I already had a good impression of French people from my trip to France years ago or I may have been swayed.....
It's about 1:30pm local time and I just returned to school after having lunch at the Mercato Centrale in Firenze. I had the most amazing roasted pork sandwich (second only to my mama's famous pulled pork) and the Mercato is definitely a sight to behold. Can't believe I forgot to take my camera with me, so I will be returning there tomorrow with camera in hand and try some more delicious food!
This weekend's plans look to be shaping up nicely, though I need to work a little more on them (which I will be doing tomorrow morning). I have come to terms with the fact that I will not be able to see everything I had planned on seeing, and will be going to more of the big sights on this trip, as I will definitely be returning someday. So, with that said, I will be going on a group trip to Siena this Thursday afternoon will all the people in the Gonzaga Law Program, on Friday I will go to Pisa and Lucca by train (haven't decided if I will stay the night or not yet). Saturday I have to get this paper finished for my Justice & Society class because we have paper presentations next week and the paper is due next Friday. Sunday I will go back to Cinque Terre for a day trip since we were rained out the first time we tried to go and I now can go back with a group for free. So far I'm feeling pretty good about that. Next week I have finals on Friday, but will try to get in some sightseeing during the week. It's just a little difficult to plan as my classes are so spread out during the day. I likely will be going to the Science Museum to see Galileo's telescopes and Galileo's finger in a jar between classes soon, or maybe in the morning. I still have yet to go into the Duomo, so I must do that too, and am also planning on going to see Dante's house and his church, which I've heard is very moving. Then I will try to make it to Santa Croce, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. I think I will likely go to Fiesole to see the Etruscan Ruins there next Saturday or Sunday and then will begin my journey to Venice and then onto Poland and Germany on Monday the 22nd. I'll likely go to Venice and spend the afternoon there to see the city, then stay the night and begin my journey to Krakow, Poland the next day.
Phew!!! I have a lot to do and the sand just keeps trickling through that hourglass!! Hopefully, if I push myself hard enough, I wil be able to see evrything I am wanting to see. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I got homesick for the first time yesterday, for some odd reason, so rest assured that all of you are in my thoughts. I wish you all could be here to experience this with me, but this blog helps with that as it's almost like you are. Love and hugs to all of you...
Obviously, as you can tell from the pictures below, the Amalfi Coast and Capri was breathtaking. Walking through Sorrento, a boet tour around the Island of Capri, hiking from one side of Capri to the other to have a lovely lunch and lay on the beach, walking through Positano and laying on the beach for the afternoon, and an afternoon of exploring the amazing Pompei is certainly something I will never forget. I highly recommend making the trip there if you ever find yourself in Italy. It's hot, beautiful, picturesque and the most sapphire-blue water you will ever see. Truly amazing. It can be expensive and time consuming to get there by train and to plan the trip yourself, so I would recommend taking an organized trip like I did - just make sure that there is time for you to do you own thing if you're like me and hate organized touristy stuff. I was glad I got to have time to myself and do whatever I wanted to do while there.
I will say though, try to get a hotel where a group of 12-14 year old french kids are NOT staying - they were absolutely obnoxious and woke us all up screaming and running through the hallways and stomping up and down the stairs at 6:30am on Sunday. People don't understand that when they are abroad they are representing their country and behaving like that does not give people a very good impression. I know they are just kids and don't get it, but seriously. And their teachers traveling with them didn't seem to care at all. Just awful. Thank goodness I already had a good impression of French people from my trip to France years ago or I may have been swayed.....
It's about 1:30pm local time and I just returned to school after having lunch at the Mercato Centrale in Firenze. I had the most amazing roasted pork sandwich (second only to my mama's famous pulled pork) and the Mercato is definitely a sight to behold. Can't believe I forgot to take my camera with me, so I will be returning there tomorrow with camera in hand and try some more delicious food!
This weekend's plans look to be shaping up nicely, though I need to work a little more on them (which I will be doing tomorrow morning). I have come to terms with the fact that I will not be able to see everything I had planned on seeing, and will be going to more of the big sights on this trip, as I will definitely be returning someday. So, with that said, I will be going on a group trip to Siena this Thursday afternoon will all the people in the Gonzaga Law Program, on Friday I will go to Pisa and Lucca by train (haven't decided if I will stay the night or not yet). Saturday I have to get this paper finished for my Justice & Society class because we have paper presentations next week and the paper is due next Friday. Sunday I will go back to Cinque Terre for a day trip since we were rained out the first time we tried to go and I now can go back with a group for free. So far I'm feeling pretty good about that. Next week I have finals on Friday, but will try to get in some sightseeing during the week. It's just a little difficult to plan as my classes are so spread out during the day. I likely will be going to the Science Museum to see Galileo's telescopes and Galileo's finger in a jar between classes soon, or maybe in the morning. I still have yet to go into the Duomo, so I must do that too, and am also planning on going to see Dante's house and his church, which I've heard is very moving. Then I will try to make it to Santa Croce, Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. I think I will likely go to Fiesole to see the Etruscan Ruins there next Saturday or Sunday and then will begin my journey to Venice and then onto Poland and Germany on Monday the 22nd. I'll likely go to Venice and spend the afternoon there to see the city, then stay the night and begin my journey to Krakow, Poland the next day.
Phew!!! I have a lot to do and the sand just keeps trickling through that hourglass!! Hopefully, if I push myself hard enough, I wil be able to see evrything I am wanting to see. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
I got homesick for the first time yesterday, for some odd reason, so rest assured that all of you are in my thoughts. I wish you all could be here to experience this with me, but this blog helps with that as it's almost like you are. Love and hugs to all of you...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sorrento, Capri, Positano, Pompei.... Oh my!!
I cannot say enough about how beautiful the Amalfi Coast was, it was truly amazing. With that statement, here are a few pictures to show you what I mean:
Sorrento from the bus:
Sorrento from the bus:
Mt. Vesuvius from our (crappy) hotel in Sorrento:
CAPRI:
CAPRI:
POSITANO:
POMPEI:
Mt. Vesuvius from the Forum in Pompei (above)
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