Here is a link to some of my photos in Rome: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043246&id=40309179&ref=mf
There are more to come!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A full day in Paris
Laura and I woke up early on Thursday morning and were soon off to the train station to go into the city. The station is only a five minute walk from Laura's house. Since we had to wait about 15 minutes for our train, Laura and I decided to see if we could get some coffee at one of the nearby shops. Instead, we found a pastry shop and had a delicious raspberry tart and a heavenly chocolate dessert called "The Opera". Our train came and we rode into Paris and got off the train and then onto a metro in order to go to Notre Dame. The metro/train system is quite large in Paris, and you have many options to choose from: the metro (with multiple lines), the RER (a metro, but faster), and then the train. With the help of the information desk and some maps, Laura and I were able to pretty much figure out the system by the end of the day. When we got off our last metro, we walked to Notre Dame and toured the inside. The famous cathedral is definitely huge and it was cool to see the flying buttresses and gargoyles on the outside. I also enjoyed yet another statue of La Pieta located behind the altar. The first La Pieta I saw was Michelangelo's at St. Peter's in Vatican City (La Pieta is Italian and refers to Mary's mourning of Jesus after he was crucified and lay in her arms).
After Notre Dame, we walked along the Seine River, passed the many street merchants and to the Louvre. Laura and I decided not to go inside the museum due to time constraints (if I'm going into the Louvre, I want to respect it by spending half the day there), but I know I will return some day. Seeing the outside of the Louvre was quite impressive itself, since it is so HUGE. And for the fact that it used to be a royal palace. We walked through the gardens and stopped for some lunch. We continued on our way through the Tuileries Gardens and fountains, and were soon on the famous shopping avenue Champs-Elysees. Laura and I walked down the street, looking through the windows of famous stores and looking at the many people strolling along. We stopped at a post office so Laura could mail some postcards and then stopped for cafe. I had chocolate (hot chocolate), which was very rich and delicious. We kept walking down the street until we reached the Arc de Triomphe and viewed it in the daylight. Then we turned and walked down the other side of the street. :) It really is shopping central, and Laura and I went into a sunglasses/eyeglasses store and tried on a bunch for fun, and then a while later we stopped in a store that was having a big sale and each bought a dress or two. This was especially nice for me, as I only had two sets of clothes to wear due to my estranged luggage.
Once our shopping was done, Laura and I took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is bigger than I could have ever imagined. As we crossed a street and turned a corner, it first came into view and I immediately began taking pictures. Laura kept telling me I would get better pictures as we got closer and were actually underneath it and in the park, but I really couldn't help being excited. Soon we were underneath the Tower and in the park, and it's hugeness is absolutely unbelievable. Laura and I sat in the park for a while and decided that instead of staying to see the Eiffel Tower light up in the dark (which was still at least 3 hours away), we would stop by a grocery store to buy food for a light dinner back in Bougival. We took the metro/RER and then a train and walked very slowly due to sore feet back to the house. We had a relaxing evening and light dinner of grapes, crackers and cheese, and of course wine. This was the perfect way to spend my last day in Europe, and I had a great time with my cousin!
After Notre Dame, we walked along the Seine River, passed the many street merchants and to the Louvre. Laura and I decided not to go inside the museum due to time constraints (if I'm going into the Louvre, I want to respect it by spending half the day there), but I know I will return some day. Seeing the outside of the Louvre was quite impressive itself, since it is so HUGE. And for the fact that it used to be a royal palace. We walked through the gardens and stopped for some lunch. We continued on our way through the Tuileries Gardens and fountains, and were soon on the famous shopping avenue Champs-Elysees. Laura and I walked down the street, looking through the windows of famous stores and looking at the many people strolling along. We stopped at a post office so Laura could mail some postcards and then stopped for cafe. I had chocolate (hot chocolate), which was very rich and delicious. We kept walking down the street until we reached the Arc de Triomphe and viewed it in the daylight. Then we turned and walked down the other side of the street. :) It really is shopping central, and Laura and I went into a sunglasses/eyeglasses store and tried on a bunch for fun, and then a while later we stopped in a store that was having a big sale and each bought a dress or two. This was especially nice for me, as I only had two sets of clothes to wear due to my estranged luggage.
Once our shopping was done, Laura and I took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is bigger than I could have ever imagined. As we crossed a street and turned a corner, it first came into view and I immediately began taking pictures. Laura kept telling me I would get better pictures as we got closer and were actually underneath it and in the park, but I really couldn't help being excited. Soon we were underneath the Tower and in the park, and it's hugeness is absolutely unbelievable. Laura and I sat in the park for a while and decided that instead of staying to see the Eiffel Tower light up in the dark (which was still at least 3 hours away), we would stop by a grocery store to buy food for a light dinner back in Bougival. We took the metro/RER and then a train and walked very slowly due to sore feet back to the house. We had a relaxing evening and light dinner of grapes, crackers and cheese, and of course wine. This was the perfect way to spend my last day in Europe, and I had a great time with my cousin!
Goodbye Venice, Hello Paris!
Our last night in Venice was wonderful. Our pilgrimage group met in the outdoor sitting area of our hotel and had a local drink called a Bellini (named after the artist) which is Italian champagne with real peach juice. After a few toasts we made our way to our restaurant just pass St. Mark's Square. We enjoyed the largest meal of our trip - the antipasti included fried vegetables like cauliflower, zucchini, and artichokes along with stuffed mushrooms, the first course was fettuchini Alfredo with the most amazing noodles I have ever had, along with some kind of pasta stuffed with chopped veal. Then we had a light salad to clear our palates, and then the second course was the meat dish, with samples of beef, pork, sausage, bacon, etc. Then we had this delicious chocolate cream puff for dessert followed by cappuccino, of course. It was a fabulous meal at the end of a fabulous trip. After dinner we hung out in St. Mark's Square and listened to the bands playing around the square. No one could quite believe we were there, it was a surreal experience.
The next morning my fellow pilgrims and I said our goodbyes, and I was off to the Venice airport along with a dozen others. My destination was Paris! However, when we arrived at the airport (after a boat trip and shuttle) I discovered that British Airways was on strike in Venice and thus my plane was not leaving. Just my luck. I was immediately put on a bus to Verona and was able to catch a flight to Gatwik Airport in London. When I got to Gatwik and went to baggage claim for my luggage, it didn't show up. No kidding. The British Airways people did a report, and then I hopped a bus to Heathrow, the point of my departure for Paris. So technically I was in England for at least an hour, driving through the countryside to get to Heathrow. England was beautiful, with tons of green grass, trees, and bushes. I passed cows, sheep, and people driving from the passenger side seats of the car. ;) When I finally got on my plane to Paris (three hours later then originally scheduled) I saw a fox hanging out on a grassy area near the runway - crazy.
We landed in Paris as the sun was setting and I was able to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Laura met me at the airport and we took a bus to the metro station, passing the Arc de Triomphe all lit up in the dark - it was a cool welcome to Paris. After a few problems at the metro station, we made it to Bougival, the suburb outside of Paris where Laura will be living for a year.
The next morning my fellow pilgrims and I said our goodbyes, and I was off to the Venice airport along with a dozen others. My destination was Paris! However, when we arrived at the airport (after a boat trip and shuttle) I discovered that British Airways was on strike in Venice and thus my plane was not leaving. Just my luck. I was immediately put on a bus to Verona and was able to catch a flight to Gatwik Airport in London. When I got to Gatwik and went to baggage claim for my luggage, it didn't show up. No kidding. The British Airways people did a report, and then I hopped a bus to Heathrow, the point of my departure for Paris. So technically I was in England for at least an hour, driving through the countryside to get to Heathrow. England was beautiful, with tons of green grass, trees, and bushes. I passed cows, sheep, and people driving from the passenger side seats of the car. ;) When I finally got on my plane to Paris (three hours later then originally scheduled) I saw a fox hanging out on a grassy area near the runway - crazy.
We landed in Paris as the sun was setting and I was able to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Laura met me at the airport and we took a bus to the metro station, passing the Arc de Triomphe all lit up in the dark - it was a cool welcome to Paris. After a few problems at the metro station, we made it to Bougival, the suburb outside of Paris where Laura will be living for a year.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Venice Part II
Since I couldn't write much on my last post, I'll catch everyone up on what's been happening here in Italy for the past couple days. :) On Sunday, we traveled from Ravenna to Venice and stopped in Padua to visit a couple churches. The first church we visited was the Scrovegni Chapel, with walls that are covered in paintings done by Giotto. Each painting tells a story of Jesus, Mary, and various saints. It was extremely beautiful, but because it is SO humid in Padua, visitors can only spend 15 minutes in the chapel at a time, AND only 25 people can be in the chapel at one time. On top of this, visitors must sit in a "special" room for 15 minutes in order to be de-humidified. Seriously, it was very odd, but basically just a room with a lot of air-conditioning. We then had a lovely lunch and celebrated mass in the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (who is actually from Portugal, but don't try to tell any Italians that ;) ). After Padua, we rode on the bus for an hour and were in Venice! We took a water taxi to our hotel and then had dinner on the Grand Canal. Very beautiful, and cooler thanks to the breeze from the water.
On Monday we awoke in Venice and were soon on our way to St. Mark's Square, followed by mass in the Basilica of St. Mark, which was very cool. We then toured Doge's Palace and had the rest of the day to ourselves. After Steph and Angie got train tickets, we did some jewlery shopping in the sweltering heat. The sun and humidity is really intense, but as long as you are in the shade it's bearable. After shopping we rested at the hotel and had another nice dinner on the Canal.
This morning we woke up and went on an excursion to the nearby islands of Burano and Murano. Everyone had a wonderful time - the boat ride was beautiful (as long as we were sitting in the cool breeze), and the islands were small and quaint and we saw buildings painted beautiful bright colors of purple, blue, green, and pinks. In Murano we watched how Murano glass is made and did some more shopping, though mostly just window shopping. Tonight is our festive farewell dinner near St. Mark's Square. It has been a wonderful pilgrimage! Tomorrow I'm off to Paris to visit Laura!
On Monday we awoke in Venice and were soon on our way to St. Mark's Square, followed by mass in the Basilica of St. Mark, which was very cool. We then toured Doge's Palace and had the rest of the day to ourselves. After Steph and Angie got train tickets, we did some jewlery shopping in the sweltering heat. The sun and humidity is really intense, but as long as you are in the shade it's bearable. After shopping we rested at the hotel and had another nice dinner on the Canal.
This morning we woke up and went on an excursion to the nearby islands of Burano and Murano. Everyone had a wonderful time - the boat ride was beautiful (as long as we were sitting in the cool breeze), and the islands were small and quaint and we saw buildings painted beautiful bright colors of purple, blue, green, and pinks. In Murano we watched how Murano glass is made and did some more shopping, though mostly just window shopping. Tonight is our festive farewell dinner near St. Mark's Square. It has been a wonderful pilgrimage! Tomorrow I'm off to Paris to visit Laura!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Venice
Today is our first whole day in Venice. We arrived last night after stopping in Padua and seeing a beautiful chapel that you can only enter if you are de-humidified first. It is VERY hot and humid here, but bearable in the shade and with a breeze from the canals. Right now I'm in an internet cafe with Angie and it is pretty expensive and I only have like 5 minutes, so I can't write about everything that has happened. But Venice is very beautiful and we were all excited to get here. Today we had mass in the basilica of St. Mark and then went on a long walk to the train station so Steph and Angie could buy tickets. After that we had lunch and shopped for murano glass jewelry - very pretty! Tonight we are going to have dinner on the Grande Canal and walk around some more! Hopefully I'll be able to write more later, maybe in Paris! Bye for now!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Journey to Ravenna
This morning we traveled from Assisi to Ravenna, which is either very near Tuscany or in Tuscany, I can't really remember. It was about a three hour drive and the countryside was absolutely beautiful. First we passed vineyards, then drove through mountains that were covered with green trees as well as rockfaces. It was kinda like the Rocky Mountains but on a smaller scale. We drove across a long highway on big concrete stilts and passed under many tunnels. Lunch was in Ravenna (pizza, I really like potato pizza), followed by gelato. Then we toured three beautiful Byzantine churches (Basilica's of Saints Vitale, Apollinare, and one more) full of GORGEOUS mosaics. When we walked in and saw the mosaics for the first time they literally took my breath away. The golds and blues are beautiful. We are now finished touring the churches and I'm in a little internet cafè around the corner from our hotel. We have dinner in an hour and I'm sure it will be fabulous. Tomorrow we travel to Padua and then arrive in Venice in the evening!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Relaxing in Assisi
As soon as we were settled in our hotel room, we were off to explore the quaint and charming town of Assisi. Not only do we have a beautiful view of the Church of St. Francis, but every street we walk down is so beautiful that at first we were stopping and taking pictures every few minutes. The majority of the buildings are stone, and the streets are small and lined with shops and apartments. The streets are also very steep - there are a lot of hills and steps, but it is so cute! I don't know how else to describe it.
On Thursday we mainly shopped for friends and family members (and ourselves, of course), and then had a lovely dinner at the hotel. Assisi is in the region of Umbria, which is not the same region Rome is in, and so the food is a little different. Our first course was pasta with a white, cheesy meat sauce which was my favorite pasta so far, and our second course was a type of white pork with french fries - we were quite surprised, but apparently fries are common in Umbria.
On Friday morning we went to the Church of St. Francis and celebrated the Eucharist. The church is very beautiful with world famous frescos, and is the third most visited pilgrim site in the world. St. Francis devoted is life to simplicity and poverty and probably turned in his grave when such a big and beautiful church was built to honor him, but it is probably my favorite church yet - the ceiling of the upper church, and some of the lower is beautiful blues studded with gold stars. Our next stop was the Church of St. Claire and was also very beautiful, and is now the home of the original San Domino cross that spoke to St. Francis and led him to convert to Christianity.
The rest of the day was spent on the streets and in the shops. We actually had to visit the farmacia, or pharmacy, as mosiquitoes have been biting us and are going to be worse in Venice. Steph and I asked the pharmacist for bug spray and at first she didn't know what we meant, but as soon as I showed her a bite on my leg she immediately understood and asked "before or after", meaning if he wanted spray to prevent bites or help heal them. We replied "both", the pharmacist showed us what we wanted and we were on our way.
Tonight we are going to have another lovely dinner and art talk from Mickey. Tomorrow we travel to Ravenna, which apparently has some very nice art and cool buildings. Ciao, Ciao!
On Thursday we mainly shopped for friends and family members (and ourselves, of course), and then had a lovely dinner at the hotel. Assisi is in the region of Umbria, which is not the same region Rome is in, and so the food is a little different. Our first course was pasta with a white, cheesy meat sauce which was my favorite pasta so far, and our second course was a type of white pork with french fries - we were quite surprised, but apparently fries are common in Umbria.
On Friday morning we went to the Church of St. Francis and celebrated the Eucharist. The church is very beautiful with world famous frescos, and is the third most visited pilgrim site in the world. St. Francis devoted is life to simplicity and poverty and probably turned in his grave when such a big and beautiful church was built to honor him, but it is probably my favorite church yet - the ceiling of the upper church, and some of the lower is beautiful blues studded with gold stars. Our next stop was the Church of St. Claire and was also very beautiful, and is now the home of the original San Domino cross that spoke to St. Francis and led him to convert to Christianity.
The rest of the day was spent on the streets and in the shops. We actually had to visit the farmacia, or pharmacy, as mosiquitoes have been biting us and are going to be worse in Venice. Steph and I asked the pharmacist for bug spray and at first she didn't know what we meant, but as soon as I showed her a bite on my leg she immediately understood and asked "before or after", meaning if he wanted spray to prevent bites or help heal them. We replied "both", the pharmacist showed us what we wanted and we were on our way.
Tonight we are going to have another lovely dinner and art talk from Mickey. Tomorrow we travel to Ravenna, which apparently has some very nice art and cool buildings. Ciao, Ciao!
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