Long Road Home

“You wake up and you’re nowhere.” I have been home for an entire day now and I can hardly remember being away. It really is strange how the mind works this way. Was it all a dream? After a ton of sleep, I am finally back up to spec for my home. I am even getting used to the 100+ heat down here. I’m really glad I have a pool to chill out in. I am struggling to catch up with everyone I left behind about my trip. That’s why I wrote this, so it can help a lot. Where was I? I stayed up until 3:45 am at the hotel in Rome and made my way to the airport. We got there at 4 and still hadn’t checked our bags until 5:30!! The Rome airport is horrible. So unorganized. We then got the fast-track through security because our flight was boarding at 5:50. We made it with plenty of time, though, and said goodbye to a few friends at the airport. It was then I realized that I was losing more and more friends. We may not all be together in one place ever again. More likely even since we all are from different places. We had a layover in Frankfurt Germany. Not much happened. Then we got on our 10 hour flight to Houston. Too bad we weren’t all sitting next to each other. The flight didn’t seem to last as long as I thought it would. Tylenol PM may have had something to do with that lol. I continued to doze off the whole flight. Then every time I would wake up, the flight attendants would be stuffing food and drinks at me. They had a few movies too, but I didn’t pay attention. At Houston, went through security and got my bag only to get right back on a plane to San Antonio. Said goodbye to my last few friends on the way. At least they all live in Texas too. My parents and grandparents were happy to see me at the airport. Although, they didn’t recognize me at first because of my adventure hat. I practically sneak-hugged my grandma. We then went and ate something I had been missing most of the trip, a fat, juicy steak. Last of all, I had another two hour drive home. Total travel time from leaving hotel in Rome to Home: 26 hours. Overall, I had a great trip. I met a lot of new friends, did a lot of cool things, saw a bunch of cool places, walked all over the place, ate authentic, fresh food, learned about art and architecture, and basically broadened my horizons. The world is not flat after all. If I had the opportunity, I would do it all over again and keep it exactly the same. Now my trip is over, and I have nothing to write about for a while. I’ll just have to work on planning a trip for the sequel. ;)

Rome Sweet Rome

Yesterday, we all went to the Roman forum and the Colosseum. We got the same long-winded guide for both of those places too. We entered the forum and sat down in one spot for a whole hour while he talked! I feel like I would have been better off walking around on my own. Although it was very interesting when he talked of the story about Julius Caesar. He pointed out right where all the events occurred. I have walked where Caesar walked. Although now the forum is ruined, literally. I really wish I could have seen Rome at the peak of its power. The whole forum would have been just amazing to see. We then made our way to the colosseum after a long while. On the way we saw the arch of Constantine and a few people acting like gladiators outside. They were also selling wooden swords. I was really tempted to buy one and have an epic sword battle inside the colosseum. I actually learned a few things about the colosseum. Did you know that the columns are numbered and the seats were numbered and they actually had tickets with assigned seating? They also served snacks and drinks there too. Sounds like a modern football stadium if you ask me. I know it’s obvious but you have to go there if you ever go through Rome. You have to see the inside. It may be a little bit smaller than you would expect but it is still, pardon the pun, colossal. And on the way out, wouldn’t you know it, someone carved the Texas A&M emblem into one of the pillars by the exit. Whoop!! Although I was proud, I was also a little disappointed that aggies would help carve up the colosseum like that. Oh well, I guess it’s not lying, stealing, or cheating... Didn’t do anything else that day besides dinner and working on my assignment. 2000 words! That seemed like way too much to ask for. I shouldn’t have waited so long to write it. I ended up choosing a bad one to do too. I got to about 650 and I was done with all my original thoughts about it. Finally, it was 3 in the morning when I decided that my stretched out, 1300 word paper would have to do. It was a terrible night. Then this morning was the final exam. It was a two essay questioned test. I wrote a page for one and a page and a half for the other. I really hope my answers were good enough. I was really burned out after the previous night. Later me and a few other people walked around town for one last time. We went by the castello san angelo, the Jewish Ghetto, and the Circo Maximo. Too bad it was sabbath, all the things in the Ghetto were closed down. I thought the Circo Maximo was going to be a building, but it was a wide open field with steep sides. That was where the Romans used to have chariot races like in Ben Hur. The racing track was still just as flat as it must have been back then. Then in the evening we all had a small going away party and said our goodbyes to each other and our awesome professor Steve. We sat around a fountain drinking wine the whole time. Then later that night we went to the Trevi Fountain and I finally got to throw my three coins. The first wish is a secret, second is for love, and the third is to come back to Rome. We then made our way back to the hotel. I have to be in the lobby at 3:45 am so I’m just going to stay up the whole time. Or attempt to...

Out of Proportion

Today I went to the Vatican. Everything is HUGE!! Even the cross on the very top is at least the height of two men. The columns, the apostles, the dome, the alter, it is all just so big. You take a picture and see the people like ants standing next to, well everything. We were on a guided tour and our guide was really informative and made us excited to see the sistine chapel. On the way there, he stopped just a few too many times for my taste. After talking about the fifth or sixth sculpture in the hall, I went with one other guy around on our own adventure in the Vatican. We booked it to the sistine chapel and just gaped and awed at the grandeur. It was everything you would have thought, and then some. You could see the detail from the floor. It took him years to finish that place and he made it glorious. I am always drawn to the center where God creates Adam with a touch of his finger. We then proceeded to climbing to the tallest point we could get to on top of the dome. If I see another set of stairs in my life it will be too soon. At one point, the walkway was slanted so you had to tilt your whole torso to get around. I’m not saying it wasn’t worth it, though. We could see all of Roma from the top. Cross another one off the bucket list! Breathtaking is all that describes this experience. We made our way down more easily with a brief stop at the souvenir shop that had a Vatican SHOT GLASS that I really wanted. Just kidding, but very ironic. The staircase let us out in St. Peter’s. If everything looked big from the top, it looked enormous looking up from the bottom. It really was an amazing place. I took so many pictures that I’m really surprised my camera didn’t die on me. We both walked back slowly to the hotel from Vatican city exploring every alleyway in between. We found a really good meal for lunch for only 7 euros a piece. I had some kind of pasta with meat that looked and tasted like thick bacon. As we sat there, a guy with a guitar and a guy with a saxophone just came up and started playing. They were actually really good. We also made a stop at the Pantheon aka huge domed building. I really don’t know how they could make a dome like that. I’ve seen some domes in my day but this one was particularly large since it was flatter and covered a larger circumference. It was pretty cool how there was a large hole in the center and the light shone through. Now I’m back at the hotel resting. Not looking forward to my 2000 word paper. Procrastinating as I write...

All Roads Lead to Rome

We left pretty early this morning. Sent all our bags ahead of us on a van and we got on a bus. Not much happened on the way. Everyone sleeps, as usual, on the trips anywhere. I watched “The American” and it was pretty good. It was a bit of a thinker and needs another look at before I can appreciate it, though. I really don’t think many people would like it very much because it doesn’t have very much dialogue. He just does things and is a very quiet person in general. It was in Italy, though, so it made me a little excited to maybe see something from the movie around here. We also made a  relatively short stop in Sienna. Sienna is a small walled city that sits on top of a tall hill. It overlooks the whole surrounding area. Going around was a lot of walking up and down hills and stairs but it was all worth it. I saw a famous area where there is an annual horse race that the jockeys can hit each other off of the horses. It is in a round square (more like an oval) in front of a large church. Since it was lunch time, we wandered away from all the touristy areas to find some chow. After a few more old buildings and scenic overlooks, I ate two slices of pizza and a gelato for 6 euros. Later we caught up with our teacher who told us of a place with huge cheese wheels. He wasn’t kidding! They had 80 pound, 5 year old cheese in that store. They also had cheap wine. My favorite place was right outside the gate where our bus was parked. There was a small park area that had shade trees and looked out across the landscape. Both the breeze and the view were welcome. We got to Rome and hit the ground running. We walked with our teacher around the hotel area to see some of the monuments. Did you know there are more obelisks in Rome than Egypt? We concluded with the Trevi Fountain which seems to be crowded ALL the time. Our hotel room is very nice here, not borderline haunted like in Florence. I got a big room on the corner. Harry Potter is already out here in Italy. I really want to go watch it even if it is in Italian. Then all my friends who actually read the books would be so jealous that I saw the end before they did. Then I would spoil the ending on Facebook...Muahahaha..haha. 

Some Beach

On my free day in Florence, I decided to go to the beach. It was an hour and a half train ride, but it was totally worth it. It was about 2 when we showed up and we snaked out way through a small town to the beach. It was a huge beach with tanning chairs and umbrellas everywhere, too bad they were all reserved for some reason. The public section of beach was ten meters at the very end of the beach by the levy. It was crowded and all the reserved parts were empty. It was a beautiful beach, though. One of the only places that you can look from the water and see mountains in the background with small snowcaps. It was so much quieter at this beach than any american beach I have ever been to. From thirty meters away we could still hear the surf. I swam for a while and we hung out in the water. Then we all laid out in the sun and took a few siestas. I only got a small area of sunburn on my shoulders. It would have been worse had I been back home where the Texas sun is way harsher than the European sun. By the time we left, we were completely relaxed and content. I really missed the beach and the sea. It is very peaceful and rejuvenates me. I believe it was Melville that wrote “I take to the sea when it is a dreary November in my soul.” We had a bit of an issue getting back, however. We had just gotten our tickets and the train was about to take off. So, we go and open the door and when the first person got on the doors shut and the train abruptly left with him on board and the other three of us watching it fade into the distance. It took us another two hours to get back to the Florence hotel, but we found that he made it back okay. By then it was really late so we left quickly to go back to a nice restaurant. We ate so much!! It was like Epic Meal Time. We had mixed appetizers, wine, pasta, and a mixed cheese platter. All for 20 euros a piece! That mixed cheese platter was outstanding. It had different kinds of cheese and bread and it had fresh honey. The brie was like heaven in your mouth. You would take a piece of bread and a piece of cheese and then top it off with honey. I said “I never want to eat anything else again in my whole life!” It was that good. A fitting ending for Firenze. 

This is why I came

Florence has like a small big town sort of feeling to it. But here, unlike Venice, you can’t just wander every alleyway and wind up at a pizza place. Still pizza and gelato around everywhere, just not as cheap or as good. I do have to say, though, that we ate at a place the first night and had four appetizers, wine, salads, pasta, and limoncello. It turned out to be 16 euros a piece and it was delicious! Last night we tried to go back to the same place, but wound up next door since it was closed. It was even better! You know it must be good when you sit down and nobody working there speaks any English. Actual Italian food the way it is meant to be eaten. I had spaghetti al pesto. I will never again eat my spaghetti with tomato or meat sauce. Hands down best spaghetti I have ever had. I am going back to that place again tonight, since it was just as cheap as the place next door. You see, this trip I have learned that to find the best places, you must go off the beaten path from everyone else. Like yesterday, I walked like four miles to find a really good gelato place across town. The day before, I walked straight up a hill for a really good view of the city. The streets were deserted, but I started to feel like I was actually in Italy. Gotta get away from all the tourists, street vendors, pickpockets, and the random guys trying to sell things or asking for money. They are all over the place!! Especially in front of the Duomo. That building is MASSIVE! The dome is just an unreal size. Even today it would be hard for us to reproduce that dome. Then the baptistry doors across the way are also amazing. They are solid metal and they have such intricate designs down the lengths of them. Really astounding detail by the artist. I also got to see Santa Croce where they have the graves of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Dante. Also where they had the bonfire of the vanities outside in the courtyard. We also went to see the art museums. Of course, no pictures. Got to see the original Birth of Venus, Primavera, more nativity scenes, and the best of all David. You come from a room of paintings and look to the right and there standing under a skylight in the middle of a round room stands David. There is a moment of sheer grandeur that just takes your breath away. He is an amazing piece of work for his time. He is also a lot larger than you would think. Probably twice the size of an actual person. You get close up and you can even see some of the veins slithering up his arm. A similar piece was at the end of the museum, but the detail in it was even better, in my opinion, than David. There really are some amazing things I have seen on this trip. 

Venezia

Venice is more than what you see in the movies. There are canals everywhere, yes, but only one is big enough for an actual boat chase. It is amazing just to get lost in the middle of the winding alleyways. I got lost on more than one occasion. The very first day, in fact we all went wandering around the city to find dinner and got lost. Venice is LOADED with pizza and gellato stands. And the best part is, they are CHEAP! Very nice after Switzerland. Every time you go somewhere, there’s another gellato place. But gellato is so orgasmic. Way better than ice cream! The first place we wound up someone had a gellato milkshake with mango and kiwi and he said it was the best thing he has ever eaten. Venice is a really romantic place to be. It would be great to take people on dates with all the gondolas and the lights on the water at night. San Marco square is pretty awesome. Between the bell tower, San Marco cathedral, and the Doge’s palace I feel like I’m actually back in time. I actually feel like I’m in Assassin’s Creed. I have been to Venice, Florence and Rome in that game. Actually being in the spots where I assassinated people gives me some odd flashbacks. I look at all the old buildings and think “I have climbed all over these buildings before”. The pigeons will attack anything that looks remotely like bread. I saw a Japanese baby getting attacked because its parents thought it would be a good picture to have their kid on the ground with pigeons swarming. I had an obsessive whim the whole time I was there to kick a pigeon. By the end of our time there, I kicked a total of four. They didn’t get hurt so it was fun. One of them was under a table and between the legs of me and another guy so I let that pigeon have it. It couldn’t dodge it in time. It flew off as fast and as far as it could and almost got caught by a dog next to the table haha. I got to see where Indiana Jones pops up out of a tunnel outside a church and I saw where Johnny Depp jumps from the roof onto a tent roof at the marketplace on ‘The Tourist’. I got to see all the artsy things and the historical things that anyone would want to see. No pictures in any of them. I’m getting really tired of looking at all these religious paintings everywhere. There’s only so much Madonna and child that you can stand. I finally bought a few things in Venice because it isn’t all designer stuff. I got an adventure hat, a red striped gondolier shirt aka my new Where’s Waldo shirt and even a V for Vendetta mask! I mostly stuffed my face with pizza though. Did you know that there’s really only about 30,000 Venetians left. Most of the place is just tourists everywhere. Me and another guy ventured south away from the city and were very pleased with the experience. We could actually breathe at a park with trees and grass. A much different scene for Venice. It was very peaceful away from all the other vacationers. This, I said, is what traveling to Europe should be about. Finding the places where nobody else goes, seeing the local culture, taking a breather. My experiences in Venice were great and I would like to go back some day. I would stay out of the busy streets and canals and opt to a place by the park that I saw. Until next time Venice. 

P.S. Shout out to Elizabeth who has a way cooler adventure hat than me. ;)

Lucerne!!

I wake up and I’m in a dream. Lucerne will be my new home. It is very clean, as if people walk behind you with a broom. The lake is simply beautiful. It is also full of swans. I really wanted to catch one but their heads look like snakes about to strike. I think they would be really mean. The people are nice too. Such a contrast to Paris. The food was really expensive though, the waitress the first night kinda ripped me off giving me a 7 frank water instead of tap. It turns out you can drink straight from the water fountains outside too. The buildings were plain, but they had really nice decorations painted on them. Like instead of having golden window frames and shutters, they just painted them on. Then we visited the Picasso collection. I wanted to leave after the first room. His art is atrocious. I genuinely think that he got famous and said “let’s see what they’ll want to buy from me today”. We walked around town after that. I got some good chocolate and very briefly looked at watches. Some of those watches cost more than a car! It is impossible to get lost in Lucerne. I know, I tried. We went to this statue that was on the other side of the map from us and it only took ten minutes. Then we went to this old wall with watchtowers and got a birds eye view of the city. Beautiful. On the way down we saw llamas, of all things, and some small mountain cows with hair over their eyes. Then I met up with everyone at the beach. The water from lake Lucerne comes straight from the mountains. If I were home and turned the water as cold as it will go, it still wouldn’t compare to the lake! But the water was very clear and I swam around for a while. Probably one of the only times you feel better when you get out of the water on a beach. There was one lady there that was topless! Normally that would be exciting, but you should have seen her. She had skin like leather, her complexion shared the color of my boots, she was like in her fifties, and generally would have been unpleasant to look at with clothes on. At one point she struck this playboy pose laying down with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. But other than her, there were many, many girls around. There were like four good looking girls to one of anyone else on the beach. Switzerland gets better and better :). For dinner, we actually found a supermarket and spent 12 franks for a lot of food and wine. Then we met up with everybody again at the beach for the sunset and to hang out since we are always way too loud in hotels. But now I must say goodbye to Switzerland and make my way to Venice. 

Blending in, or not...

 So later the other night, we got to partake in some local culture. We went down to the bank of the Seine river and drank some wine. There were actually very many people there doing the exact same thing. France is a little different culture than I’m used to. I really liked some things, but others really turned me off. We were having a really good time talking to each other’s company and then I really had to pee. I looked around and realized a small stream among the stone sidewalk coming from the nearest corner. So I helped the stream run a little farther lol. We walked along the river the next day and the whole sidewalk reeked of urine. Good thing the sidewalks are grouted like three inches down from the top of the stones. I have seen people peeing on buildings, and in the subway station as well. There is also a lot of trash, just all over the place. You can’t look anywhere on the ground without seeing the butts of cigarettes. At the river everyone was throwing bottles into the river. I actually threw mine too lol. That river must just be filthy. Earlier that day, I had the ultimate munching kind of food. It was a sandwich with two hamburger patties and chopped chicken all over the top of it with a side of fries and six different dipping sauces. It was wonderful! I didn’t even eat breakfast the next day. The food is all really good here. It’s all fresh, but expensive. The best deal I have gotten so far is 0,85 cent croissant. It was the best croissant I have had in my life! Yesterday, Sunday, I got to go around inside Notre Dame while there was a service going on. I loved the way the organ sounded. I got a video from my camera of the service and some of the stained glass windows. I really wanted to start walking around like a hunchback and yelling “Sanctuary”, but I really don’t think they would take me too kindly. I really don’t think the French have any sort of sense of humor. Then we went to the Louvre and had way too much fun posing with the sculptures. We were fist bumping this one, acting like I was getting a back massage, among some other things. Haha. We went by the Mona Lisa and it was sooo crowded! It really isn’t a large painting at all, and nobody can get close enough to it to see anything. Between the mob of people, barricades and four guards there was no way I was getting near that thing. I’m so glad I have 15x zoom on my camera. Funny thing is that I took the picture and my camera thought the face was a real person. Later that night, we all had a picnic under the eiffel tower. I finally got to go up in it; not to the very top, but halfway suited me fine. I got one picture and then my camera died on me :(. It was late by the time I got down, and no cabs pulled over for me and two other people, so we just enjoyed a stroll through Paris for one last time all the way back to the hotel. The picnic was really fun, but I think some people drank a lot more than they should have... We left for Lucerne this morning at 8. It is a long trip, believe me. Today is July 4th! And it’s Lucy’s B-day! Happy B-day Lucy! :D So we will definitely be doing something tonight. But not a replay of last night, I don’t think anyone wants that lol. 

City of Love

No more elevators for me! Haha. Paris is great! There's fresh food and wine and girls everywhere. I thought London traffic was bad until I came here. Everyone seems to want to run me over, but I was always good at playing Frogger anyway. Thursday we all went on a sightseeing tour around the city and the museum d'Orsay, but wouldn't you know I accidently left my camera's battery in the room >:(. Then a couple of us went to the Arch de Triumph. It took three hours to get there and back. We stopped in the park along the way where there were a plethora of French kisses in action. People were laying down in the park practically about to get it on right there. Everywhere we go in Europe so far everyone is making out, super PDA, all over the place. I feel so left out! lol Paris is the worst so far; or the best depending on how you look at it. The crepes here are to die for! They have little places mixed in with the restaurants that will sell you crepes with nutella on them. BTW nutella is just like peanut butter, only it's chocolate and delicious. They also have this drink called Orangina. It is like sunkist or orange Fanta but made with real juice. We have been making sooo much potty humor with the name Orangina too lmao. Later that night, we all went shopping and got food to make in our apartment/hotel rooms. We also bought wine. It was cheap and it was good. Everyone brought their own bottle and somehow we managed to go through them all. It was a fun night. Me and one other guy went with some of the girls in the group to see the Eiffel Tower at night. It was spectacular! Then at the top of the hour it started to glisten with lights. There was a crowd of people under it sitting down having a wine picnic. We almost had a problem getting back, though. We rode the train there and it closed as we were making our way back. So we were stuck for a while in the middle of Paris and didn't know where we were. Eventually we flagged down a cab and rode back. Yesterday we were on a bus pretty much all day. We went to Chartes cathedral and the palace of Versailles. Chartes cathedral was really cool. There was a maze on the floor that people used to walk on and ponder things and stained glass windows. They also had a piece of Mary's veil. The best moment of all was when there was a flash choir of people in regular clothes. The sound was really magical though. Like angels singing. Versailles was huge, but not that great, they herded us through like cattle and closed before we were finished. The painted ceilings were extraordinary. Later we got in late and I finally got to eat some escargot and french onion soup. Cliche, I know. Then we all went to a club and I got to meet some French girls. We were working on breaking down the language barrier until everyone from our group came by and wanted to meet them too. Game over. Apparently they said I look like Zach Efron... I don't know what to say to that. European music was so weird. They were mostly white too so nobody knew how to dance. It was like a bunch of fish flopping around. I didn't even know or want to do that the rest of the night. Today we just bussed to yet another remote sight. just got back and it is now 7. We really haven't been able to see it all in Paris. Class is just getting in the way. Haha then again, that's what we're supposed to be here for.