Trip in Pictures

So, I finally made it through the 873 pictures I took on my trip. It took quite some time, but I definately had some good ones, I also have some terrible ones but you win some you lose some. This process got me thinking that I should post a single picture from each city I visited and tell you a bit about it and why it was worth posting for you. It will be a good challenge for me and hopefully interesting for you.

So, here it goes. My favorite from London is actually already posted, so I will pick a second one. It would be silly to just pick the one. This one was actually taken on the same day as the one from the bridge. I like this one beacuse it is the Royal Mews with the London Eye peaking over the top of the building. Martin and I had waundered a bit through the park before almost stumbling on the gravel practice area and then the building which was stunning. The sky and clouds were also quite extra ordinary. It was just a good time and it looks so British.

Next is Cambridge but my pictures are quite terrible from this daytrip. The reason is that is rained and hailed while I was there. The buildings are beautiful but also so very similar that it is hard to pick a picture. This one seems to sum up the college atmosphere of cambridge. I was actiually just trying to stay dry during a particularly strong burst of rain and it happened to be a school of some sort. The students were wearing uniforms and it just had this collegiate feel.




Paris the beautiful city was next. I had so very many pictures of Paris both this time and last time that it is hard to make a choice. So, I am picking the weird and trippy picture of the side of the Centre Pompidou. This is the inside out modern art museum. The pipes on the outside are color coded by their function and it is just a strange and intriguing building overall. So, enjoy the funkiness of this building.


I made a daytrip to Versailles the former palace of Louis the 14-16th. It is amazing and the literal size of a city. It was amazing both for the palace as well as for the gardens. The fountains, the actual garden space, and of ourse Marie Antoinette's private little village. I had a really hard time chosing just one picture to sum it all up. I finalyl decided nothing would sum it up and picked a picture of a bit of the gardens with a temple for Aphrodite in the middle, It is elegant and a little remote but a real part of the gardens. I just thought it was pretty.


After Paris I took a trip to Caen and Bayeux in Normandy. I actually did not take very many pictures during this basically 24 hours, but well, this one is pretty ok. This is a picture of the Catherdral in the center of Bayeux. Bayeux, the home of the tapestry was also the first city, all be in tiny to be liberated during WWII. This catherdral was the refuge for the people of the city and survived the onslaught. It is still the center of the city and a great meeting place for the people.



I next moved on to Alsace and the city of Strasboourg which I was skeptical if I would like the first night but ended up being a great place to spend a day. This picture is of a traditional Alsacian house in the typical style. If I remember correctly it is the oldest one in town. It was built by the grocer in town who used the arcades underneath for selling the produce. It is really a neat building with the exposed beams and is in the main square. The cathedral is next to it, which put it in the rich district in the past.





On to Switzerland. My first city was Lausanne in the French part of Switzerland. I really did not enjoy this city or the people very much, but well, they have a really big lake that looks almost like an ocean. There are sail boats and gulls galore. It was definately the nicest place I could find to relax after the stress of the trip and the terrible people at my crappy hostel for the night. The smell of the water reminded me of ebing home in some way, which actually might be why I did not have a good day there.

Thankfully I moved on to a great city next. Bern in the German speaking part was great, a wonderful place to walk around, lots of shops, but also a playground behind the cathedral that overlooked the city and the river running through it. This picture is from the little playground. It shows the mountains and the river, two of the most important parts of the city I think. It does not live up to the beauty of Bern, but well, I still like it.


After leaving Berne was Lucerne. This picture choice was actually quite simple. The most touching display on my entire trip was this lion in agony. It is amazing to stand under this memorial for Swiss mercineries from the French. The lion is caught in the wall in the final moments of its life and the agony and pain on it's face is palpable. It was one of the very few times I cried on the entire trip.

My next stop was Interlaken. A place to recharge in an area that felt like Montana only cleaner. I don't really have much to say about Interlaken itself, but the Alps were neat and relaxing. The hostel I stayed at was definately in my top three, both for everything that they offered and the great people that stayed there. I ended up picking a picture of the Alps with a paraglider in the shot. I wanted to go paragliding but I chickened out and didn't.

After a nice time in Interlaken, I moved on to Zurich. I actually did not spend very much time there, which was ok. It was enough time to find the national musuem which was in a great old castle style building, with neat little accents of leaves built into the stones. It was definately worth looking at and although I didn't go inside the outside was very well done. A nice way to finish my time in Switzerland.





Off to Italy. My first stop was Milan. It turned out to not be a very interesting city as I did not have the money or love of fashion to make it worthwhile. The ultra gothic cathedral was rather cool though. It seemed a bit like the textbook description of gothic times about 100, I loved it for it's over the top architecture. It definately had style all it's own.







Hooray for Venice. I really loved this city, from the cute shops all selling the same thing, to the canals filled with boats and gondolas to the crowded tourist areas of Piazza San Marco. I enjoyed walking around and getting lost, listening to a group of women talk even though I could not understand them, and most of all walking over so very many bridges.


Florence may have started out being rainy and uncomfortable, but the city itself was beautiful, vibrant and had amazing wine. One of the best places was standing in the campground and being able to see the city from above, especially as the sun was setting and the light was amazing. It was easy to see why this was the home of the renaissance and artists such as Michelanglo. Especially with a catherdral as unique and awe inspiring as theirs. So, as my picture for this amazing city I pick the catherdral in all of it's glory.




Siena was a surprisingly nice place with so much more to see than I expected. As the home of Catherine of Siena her house as well as the church she prayed at was of special interest. There was also a zebra striped cathedral and Il Campo which is the town square as a shell shaped brick square with a tower in the middle. I think Il Campo was where I spent the most time, including climbing the tower and reading on the bricks. It is also the perfect people watching local. So, it is my pick for this one picture journey.




Rome is simply overwhelming. There is so much to see and do that it is almost impossible to choose. From the Vatican to the remains of ancient Rome it has so many aspects and faces. I am not religious, but the Vatican was simply amazing. What really caught me was that around every corner there seemed to be another piece of ancient Rome. That being said, the ancient pieces are my favorite. I picked this picture because it seems to sum up the importance of the history of Rome and how phenomenal the remains are even if they just give a small idea of the greater whole.

Pisa was a quick stop on my coastal trip to Nice, France. The best I can do for this very quick stop of about 2 hours is a typical shot of the tower with a bit of the other buildings in it's compound. I don't really know what else to say about it, it is a tourist destination and well, I think I saw more tourists then actual sites in my quick stop.






Nice is the perfect place for me to have ended my trip. The sun, beach, people watching and French atmosphere were a great way to unwind and prepare to go back to the reality of the states. Here is the token picture of the beach and water as I spent an entire day laying or sitting there enjoying the sun and reading a book.




So, I hope you have enjoyed this one picture each trip through Europe.

Home again, home again

Basically my last night in Nice I began my journey home and it took close to 2days to actually getting home, but I made it. At 9pm I took a train to Marseille from Nice. It took 3 hours, but it was rather cozy in a reclining seat and I had a nice nap. Once in Marseille I had no way to get to the airport, which would have been a problem, except that I had one day left on my rail pass in France, so having a ticket in hand I convinced the rail workers to let me spend the night in the train station. There were 4 of us, and it was sort of like camp but with uncomfortable wooden seats as a bed. I survived though and took the earliest shuttle bus to the airport. I got there at about 6am, bought breakfast, checked in, went through security and made my way to a gate close to mine, where I curled up and slept for a couple hours. My it was comfy. As more people arrived I moved and began reading my time away beofre my 10am flight. That flight lasted an hour to Frankfurt, Germany. Where I had to change planes to go to WA DC. The Frankfurt security was quite intense, my passport was checked, and then I had to have my bag and my person go through security again. Ah the joy of a frisk search and being picked to have my sweatshirt tested. I made my flight with a few minutes to spare though, so all was good. That flight was nice and long so I dozed off and on. The next plane change was not so pleasent though. In WA DC I had to go through customs, which is normal but considering I only had a carryone bag it was terrible to have to wait through all the checked baggage as well. It took forever and I just knew I would never make my flight. Between the customs, and more security checks, I was no where near my gate when final boarding was called. So, I set off running and was literally the last person on the plane before they closed the gates. Bah, running withmy backpack. I finally made it to Seattle at 8pm Pacific time.

I ended up spending 19 hours in transit from Marseille. Yikes, plus the train trip etc.

I was so happy to go home, Mom made me eggs which I had really missed and I gave my parents their gifts and told them some of my stories.

I am really glad to be home and surprsiingly not very tired. There is so much going on in my head now that I am sure I will have further posts about my trip to come.

Pisa and Nice

I left Rome early, very early actually in order to make everything fit in my day.

I was excited to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The walk from the train station was quite a pain in the ass, 30 minutes in foot each way. It was so worth it though, so very worth it, it looks so much cooler in person especially with all the other matching building around it. I loved my break to see it, I really did even with the major sketching looking people and far too many tourists.

It took a grand total of 12 hours to get from Rome to Nice, what with my 2 hour break in Pisa. That is quite a long day on the train, well 3 trains actually. It makes me tired to write about it actually. I met several great people along the way, but it was quite a long day.

Once in Nice, I found my hostel, with a great location, although super tiny room. After checking in and taking a well needed shower, I took a walk to the beach which was surprisingly pretty considering it was after the sun had gone down. I went to be early but it felt good to have a bit of sea air.

The next day, my last in Europe I spent soaking up sun, and calming down at the beach. It was great, just a book, sandwich and sun and I was happy. I did spend some time with people though, shich was also nice, but I think the beach did me the most good.

Rome

So, Rome actually ended up being great. I don't know what I would have done without taking the guided tours offered through the hostel I stayed at. The tours of both the Vatican and a walking tour of Ancient Europe really sped up the process of seeing the important parts as well as allowed for all of the history to really make sense and put into context exactly what I was seeing.

I especially enjoyed seeing the Sistine Chapel. It is just so much more amazing than you expect it to be. I know, you all hear that a lot but it really is stunning especially as you look at Michelangelo's progress.

Rome

Wow, Rome is a bit overwhelming. I will have to write more later as people are waiting for the computer. I made it to the Vatican and saw the sights of ancient Rome. It was great, but I think I have a broken toe or at least sprained, so it has been tough to walk around. Tomorrow I am on the train tomorrow to Pisa and then Nice.

Siena

I loved Siena. The train ride was a bitch, but it ended up being a beautiful city. I loved how cute and tiny it was. The Il Campo, the town center is like a big shell. It was so fun to sit and people watch, which I did basically all day. I did climb the tower, which was a wonderful view of Tuscany. I also went to Catherine of Siena's home and then the place where she worshipped. It was rtaher surreal. The bacillica was not worth it, but well after so many churches they all start looking the same. I did meet a cool American girl and we must have talked for like 3 hours, she was great.

Florence

I really like Florence. It is a great place to waunder around, nicely compact and with enough people watching to be had. I have more fun waundering around the city then actually doing something of worth. Although, seeing Michelangelos David was really amazing, as was the doumno (Catherdral). I have been hanging out with two other Americans, one from Seattle (Ballard) and the other from Boston. It has been really great to have company. We stumbled on a great pizza place after way too much waundering last night, with a very good house red wine, so we went back tonight for pasta. It is just one of those great places, that could easily be a tourist trap, except it is far enough out that the tourists never find it. It has been fun to explore Florence, but I am also quite excited about going to Siena tomorrow. I have to do laundry, that is all I really know. Luckily I am staying at an HI hostel which means it will not be the best, but will have laundry faciilities, oh and it will not be a tiny leaky tent like my current place.

Italy- Milan and Venice

Hooray Italy. Ok that is howthe post should begin, but it has not quite lived up to my stadards. Ah well, not every place can be perfect, it is still great to be travelling.

Milan
Milan was, well a bit boring. It is supposed to be this great European town, with history and the Doumo (Cathedral) and well, all it basically had was the doumno and a few shops. I was excited to be there, and had fun for a bit, but well, the Cathedral is basically it. Oh and my hostel was a bit substandard. I had a bed that moved from the wall when I climbed to the top bunk, and well the bathroom was a bit scary. The breakfast was great though, which is a plus. I met some cool people though, and one even travelled with me to Venice as we were staying the the same camping place in Venice.

The Train
Yes, the train gets its own section. It was well, a disaster. They fill up Intercity trains to the max, and there are not seats for everyone who has a ticket. Keep that in mind as I say that I sat in the aisle outside of a compartment sitting on my backpack as I had no seat, for an hour. After the hour I was upgraded to a pop down seat in the aisle. Almost an hour later I was finally in a seat, a real seat. I never knew a real seat could feel so good.

Venice
Venice is amazing and could easily be one of my favorite places. After the nightmare of the train ride, Venice was a breath of fresh air. I loved it. The shops filled with carnival masks and murano glass, the bridges over canals, the fact you could get lost holding still. It was great. Do not tell my mom but I bought her a carnival mask, now I am just trying to keep it in one piece on the way home.

Florence
It is raining, I got in today at 4pm to rain and it is supposed to rain tomorrow. i am sleeping in a tent at a campground, so yeah, rain sucks. Ah well, it has an amazing view of the city. Tomorrow I am going to museums and the city though even with the rain.