Florence

Michelangelo Hill!
Duomo
Giotto's Bell Tower
Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti
Our great meal at Garibaldi's.


December 14, 2009 (continued)
Forgot to add that we went to Saint Marco square with a loaf of bread and thought it would be fun to feed the pigeons. Dad and I started throwing pieces and about 200 birds flocked around us. There were about 5 that landed right on Dad, and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t throw the bread, so the birds started landing on me. I couldn’t decide if I should scream or laugh, and the birds just kept on coming. Eventually we ran out of bread and the birds left us alone1 We went to McDonalds (didn’t get food!) for the internet and then we took the waterbus through the Grand Canal to the train station.

We boarded the train for Florence and met a really nice Australian couple about Scott’s age. Scott played cards and computer games with them most of the trip – I just listened to their wonderful accents! Most of the time we traveled by beautiful green fields, but we went through a mountainous pass right after Bologna it was snowing and the trees were all frosted white. There were really long tunnels so we only got glimpses of the beautiful snow, but the glimpses were amazing!

We got into Florence about 4pm and Scott located our hotel, which was very close to the train station. The hotel was nice – not like Venice – but in a pretty good location. We asked the hotel for a suggestion of where to eat and it happened to be a place Scott had been with his group from Point Loma. Dad got a huge pizza and bruschetta (the best I’ve ever had) and Scott and I had spaghetti and fried pork steak (ok, in Indiana it’s a tenderloin!) and both were amazingly good. The portions were huge, but we had to keep eating becaue it was so good. Afterwards we came back to the hotel and just fell asleep.

December 15th, 2009

We started the day with a great breakfast at our hotel and then went to the Accademia where Dad and I saw The David statue for the first time. No picture could ever compare to seeing the actual statue – it was so amazing. There were also unfinished Michelangelo sculptures of slaves. It seemed like the people were trying to get out of the marble! There was also a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph display (with a Andy Warhol and a couple of Michelangelo sketches thrown in). We also walked through a marble sculpture room that had hundreds of marble busts and bas reliefs.

We walked to the Duono and got to go inside to see the amazing ceiling. The outside was just as ornate as the inside with lots of different colors of marble. There was a huge bell tower designed by Giotto. We saw the original statues of the Rape of the Sabine and the Gates of Paradise. It was really cold out so we headed for the Uffizi Gallery. We was the Birth of Venus, and spring by Botticelli. We saw Rembrants, Titians, Raphaels, DiVinci’s, and tons of others. There was a beautiful view of the River Arno from the museum.

After the museum we went by the Medici Palace and into the leather market. We had fun shopping around, and actually ran into the Australian couple again. We came back to the hotel and rested for a bit, then Scott and I went out to take pictures at night. We brought back Donner Kababs (I had chicken! Dad and Scott went with the traditional lamb!) grapes and chocolate! We watched a Cary Grant movie with dubbed Italian voices (not quite as good as the Italian Simpsons or Benny Hill of last night!)

December 16, 2009

We started out the day with a nice breakfast of croissants and coffee and tea, and then we headed off to the Santa Maria Novella basilica, where we saw Massaccio's Trinity Fresco, Giotto's Crucifix painting and the great inside of the church. We then headed past the Uffizzi, saw the Pont Vecchio bridge, and then caught a bus to the top of Michelangelos Piazzalle. It was a great view of the city, and we also went to the San Minato Church up there. The only dissapointment was the gift shop being closed, as we all wanted to try the honey made by the monks. We had a late lunch of pappa di pompadoro, priuscutto, and bruschetta with white wine. (Thanks Richard for the suggestions - we're going to Rome tomorrow and once again accept any ideas!!)

Song of the Day

Snow in Venice, now off to Florence

December 13, 2009 Sunday
Though it’s hard to believe, Venice just keeps getting better! We had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel of apricot croissants, bread with a nutella like spread, and toast with Italian honey. We decided to skip the church service and instead went to Murano on the waterbus. We went to a Furnaco where a glass master demonstrated glass blowing and sculpting – he created a vase and a fish sculpture as we watched. We walked into a shop and were given a personal tour of the “upstairs” special glass display1 Maybe we looked rich! There were so many special glass sculptures and sets of glasses with gold etching. Dad liked the life sized glass clown! We walked down to the main street of Murano and looked in every window at the great displays, but it was really cold, so we headed back to the water bus. We got on the wrong waterbus, but it took us completely around Murano, so it worked out great! We did manage to get the right waterbus back to Venice, where we had a great pizza and peach iced tea. On our way back to the hotel we passed a swap meet and Scott bought a really unique watch! It was freezing so we headed back to the hotel! Scott and I went out for a quick run to a yarn shop (yeah! Italian yarn!) and we brought gelato back for dad!

December 14, 2009
After another wonderful breakfast at our awesome hotel we decided to walk around Venice one last time. It was amazing, because it started snowing - real true flurries! Scott and I were quite impressed, Dad maybe not so much so! We are going to Florence on the train in about an hour - any suggestions about what to do would be great!

Song of the Day

Venice!!!

Our train station out to Paris from London!Harry Potter!

Big Ben!~!
Buckingham Palace
Christmas at Notre Dame
On top of the Eiffel Tower
!
Amazing/huge hotel in Venice with a great view..more pictures to come!
St.Marks Basilica I think!


December 11,2009
We boarded the train for Venice at the Paris Bercy station. We were in a sleeper car that held 6 people, but there were only 5 of us. We shared the coachette with a French couple that were going to Verona. We didn’t speak to them much, but we did try a little! Scott and I were on the top bunks and dad was on the bottom! Dad and I woke up about 7 am and just watched the sunrise over the countryside leading into Venice. There were beautiful vineyards, church steeples, and mountains in the background. We got to Venice about 10 am and got a water bus to our hotel, which turned out to be AMAZING!! The room was huge with a mural ceiling and windows opening onto the canal. It was located right off the Grand Canal, near the Rialto, so it was an easy walk to St Marco Square, with St Marks basilica and Doges palace, and the million of shops. We ate lunch at a sandwich shop on the Grand Canal – Dad had the best turkey salad sandwich he’d ever had and Scott and I had calazones. Dad and I had our first Italian Gelatto (dad had strawberry, I had strawberry and cherry, scott had pistachio and mint) We bought a little glass snowman and then walked back to the hotel for naps. We ate dinner at a spaghetti/lasagne place and then got another gelato on the way back to the hotel. We went to a grocery store for water, because Scott said we shouldn’t drink the tap water, and then came back to the hotel. Scott has been playing his guitar for us, too!

December 12,2009
As pathetic as it sounds, we are sitting in a McDonalds in Venice listening to Brittany Spears...but at least we have internet! Venice is beyond belief - I could never have imagined how great it is! The entire city is surrounded by water and unlike London and Paris, we can walk everywhere we go. It is so relaxed and peaceful - we could so live here! Last night we had spaghetti and lasagne at a little bistro kind of place near the grand canal. There are Christmas lights decorating all of the walkways and the store windows - of which there are thousands. It is pretty cold - at least from a southern California point of view - and we all have to wear mittens and scarves. Today we walked around St. Marco square. We stopped in a Vivaldi display of violins and how they were made, ranging from about 500 to 1850's. there were even violins with trumpets attached. We eventually ended up at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum where there were Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollack, Klee, Dali, Severini and a special display of Prendergast watercolors. It was great seeing the original artwork so close up. After walking around for about 4 hours we got some great sandwiches and went back to our hotel where Scott played guitar while we relaxed before our gelatto run! We're going to try to see the Vetruvian Man at the Accadamia tomorrow, after the service in the St. Marks basillica.


Song of the Day

LONDON-PARIS!!!!! All of it in a summary :)

We will post pictures when we have better internet, we are in KFC in Paris right now haha.

This is written by my Mom and I of the past few days :)


December 5, 2009
Dad and I arrived at Heathrow Airport in London about 6 pm and met Scott at the central bus station. We then took the underground to where we thought our hotel was, and then again when we found out where it really was! Our hotel had 2 bedrooms and a kitchen/living area. Scott and I went to a little grocery store and made little microwave pizzas at the hotel.

December 6, 2009
We left the hotel about 8 am and as we started walking through Hyde Park it started pouring rain! We followed some horse guards (watch for loose chippings) through Wellington Arch and ended up at Buckingham Palace. We then walked over toward Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. We ate a muffin and tea/coffee then went to the Sung Eucharist service at Westminster Abbey, where we sat in the actual choir throughout the service. After Westminster we walked over to the National Gallery and saw amazing art! We walked across the Jubilee Bridge and saw the London Eye, Thames River Parliament, and Christmas outdoor shops. We ate at the Silver Cross pub (Scott – fish and chips, Dad and Susan – meat pie) then went by underground to Paddington Station and back to our hotel.

December 7, 2009
We woke up about 7 and left the hotel. We went from Paddington Station (Paddington Bear!) and went to Kings Cross Station where Platform 9 ¾’s is located. After pushing the Harry Potter cart we ate breakfast at the Eurostar station St. Pancras and then went on the train to Paris. We got on, not realizing that we were beginning one of the best train rides ever! We were upgraded to first class, and we got really amazing service. We were first offered drinks, then our lunch menu came - fresh baby greens, rosemary rolls, rhubarb custard with honey butter, sausage or salmon quiche, coffee, wine and tea and chocolates! This for a 2 ½ hour trip! We got to Paris and immediately went to buy our tickets for the metro and found out mastercard had canceled dad’s account. We got the tickets anyway and headed for our hotel in the Bastille. After getting our room we went on the metro again to the Eiffel Tower. We spent 2 hours in line and about an hour at the top most level. It was amazing! It started to rain right after the 8 pm light show and we decided to leave.. We went by metro to St. Michels and saw Notre Dame and ate the most wonderful crepes in the world. We walked around the streets of St. Michel and then around notre Dame. We then came back to the hotel and Scott and Susan watched some Death Note anime!

December 8, 2009
We got a late start and left the hotel about 9 am. We had breakfast at a little pasterie shop in St. Michel then went to the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore. After browsing the bookstore we went into Notre Dame where a service (with a choir) was being held. We walked around the church admiring the amazing stained glass windows and architecture. Then we headed by metro to Versaille – or so we thought. We actually ended up at the end of the wrong line and had to figure out the right place to go when no one around us spoke English. Scott actually figured out all that we needed to do, and we arrived at Versailles palace. We saw the chapel, the hall of mirrors, Loius XIV bedroom, Marie Antoinettes bedroom/salon. We walked through the vast gardens and eventually, after many miles of walking, ended up at Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet hideaway. We took a little tram back to the main palace because we were all too tired to walk anymore. We ate at a little sandwich shop and then got on the train back to Paris. It started raining as soon as we got off on the Champs le Elysse which was completely decked out for Christmas with little shops and tons of lights on all the trees and stores. We walked all the way to the Arch de Triumphe,, were a veteran’s service seemed to be taking place. We took a bunch of pictures and then came back to the Bastille, where we ate fresh crepes as we walked back to the hotel.

December 9, 2009
Today we woke up really late and left about 9:30 from the Bastille Station. We went to the Louvre, but there was a huge line, so we decided we’d eat breakfast at McDonalds first. The McDonalds was right next to the Louvre and we ordered a breakfast special which had a sort of egg mcMuffin, 3 croissant like pastries, yogurt, orange juice and hot chocolate or coffee. The line was much shorter, so we went in the pyramid entrance. The museum workers were on strike, and had blocked off the ticket booths, so we got in for free! We saw pieces from the Parthenon, Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, Jacque Louis David, and lots of others! We bought some postcards and had a drink at Starbucks to fill them out. We decided to go see the Oblelisk, and I told Scott I wanted to go to the Jardin De tullieries, and we happened to be right by the enterance. It was the coolest park! Lots of chairs, and thousands of trees! We happened to walk by a little museum so we just got in line and it was amazing! It was the Orangerie Museum and We saw the original Water Lilies by Monet, Picassos, Renoir, Derain, Cezanne and others! After the museum, we did go to the Obelisk and then we walked down the Champs Elyssee again and got roasted chestnuts! My feet hurt and I was really tired, so we got on the underground and went back to the Bastille by metro. Scott went to a grocery store and I fell asleep!

December 10, 2009
We woke up and packed everything up, then went by metro to Montmarte, which is a huge chapel located on a hill overlooking all of paris. We toured the amazing chapel and walked around the little village where many famous artists lived. We went to the eiffel tower, and then headed to Scott's teacher's place to pick up his guitar and suitcase. We got there early and are sitting in a KFC waiting! We get on the overnight train tonight for Venice, Italy.


Song of the Day

il est ne le divine enfant- we heard it on the way up the hill to Montmarte

Athens and now London.. and then Paris tomorrow!!!!

Big Ben (Old Ben, as Grandpa says hah) and Parliament
Three generations on the Metro
Three generations on the Metro
Buckinham Palace!
Big Ben and the London Eye
Temple of Posiedon in Sounion
Temple of Posiedon in Sounion
The famous/amazing restaurant with the best Moussaka in the Plaka

The Acropolis from the hill right next to it, great dark sky with the sun right on it. Posiedon/Zues sculpture in the Athens Archealogical Museum



Athens was a perfect way to end Euroterm and get me ready for my mini Euroterm with my Mom and Grandpa.

In Athens, Eugene and I went to the Parthenon, the new/amazing Acropolis Museum, the Athens Archaelogical Museum, went out to Sounion to see the Temple of Poseidon on a hour long bus ride along the coast, and we ate at the same amazing restaurant three nights in a row!! The Acropolis was everything I was expecting and more, the first two days before we had gone up, it had been raining on and off, and when we decided to go up the hill (which was right next to our hotel) it turned out to be a perfect day. There were cloudy skies in the background but the sun decided to light up the Parthenon, Propylea and Erecthion just right. I have some pretty cool pictures. We also hiked up a hill next to the Acropolis that is basically at the same level and got great shots looking at it. There was also a rainbow going over the white city of Athens all day, it was a perfect day. Every night we ate dinner at this amazing place called Vaizantino's, where we got to get to know the waiters and try some of the best food in Greece. We had moussaka, souvlaki, spinakopita (probably wrong spelling), baklava, and the best greek salad. I will never forget the food they made there. Our trip to Sounion was great, we got a bus ride right to the Temple of Posiedon, and I can see why the ancient Greek's thought it was where the god of the sea lived because it was a amazing view of the Mediterrean, almost a full 360 panorama of it. We sat at the cafe on the hill looking at the Temple as the sun was descending drinking fresh orange juice and coke, it was a really good trip. We stayed in the Plaka area of Athens which is mostly restaurants and gift shops, but I think my favorite part. Every night Eugene and I got back to the hotel and there was a scary/funny movie on t.v. it was pretty funny, and entertaining. The week was great and then I headed off for London to meet my MOM in GRANDPA, that I haven't seen in sooo long.

I got on the plane for London, flew over Croatia and Switzerland and Paris, landed in Gatwick, took a hour bus ride to Heathrow, and finally met them! We got lost finding the hotel thanks to me, but we did make it, and when we got there, they upgraded us to this Huge room on the top floor with a kitchen, two beds, a bathroom and a living room with a t.v. and couch and table, all because Mom was nice to the front desk guy, so we had good luck from the start. We realized we only had one day in London really, so we planned it out, and packed it all in. We started by walking through Hyde Park (where it started pouring rain) but it was still nice, then we went to Buckingham Palace and saw the gaurds, we walked under the Wellington Arch, went to a cool church service at Westminister Abbey where we sat right next to the choir, and we went to the National Gallery and saw a ton of amazing art. We ate at a nice London pub and then came back to the hotel, because we were all exhausted. It is a great start to our trip and tomorrow morning we are going to see Harry Potter's thing in Kings Cross station and then we will head off to Paris at 11 in the morning!!!! It is really great that I get to be here with my Mom and Grandpa, both who really haven't experienced it yet, I can tell they are loving it already.

Song of the Day



French Word of the Day

excite- excited

End of Euroterm, Turning 21 and now.. ATHENS!

Montmatre from Musee de Orsay
Van Gogh!
On the Champs
First drink on my birthday!!!! Hot wine (rouge vin chaud)
My hotel! On the same street as the hostel I stayed at last night!
First view of the Akropoli!
View from the window of my hostel, so beautiful outside
On the plane on the way to Athens, one of the best views I've ever seen. There were mountains and clouds and the sky was orange and yellow and blue, it was great.


Euroterm is done, I seriously can not believe it. It feels like it went by way to fast. This has been the best experience of my life and it's going to be something I look back on forever. The group I was with were some of the most important people in my life and I have learned and grown with them in so many ways. The last day before everyone left was my birthday, so it was happy and sad at the same time. I had a great birthday spending the day with John and Dana. Dana and I walked all around Paris looking at the Christmas decorations and the christmas village shops. It was really nice. My mom sent a package for my birthday with Hostess cupcakes and candles, and I handed them out to everyone at our last dinner in the Fiap. People put 21 candles on one hostess cupcake for me and no one knew that it was the special kind of candles that don't burn out, so there was this huge flame coming from one cupcake, with smoke blazing on top of it, and me trying to blow it out over and over, it was seriously amazing. We tried pouring water on it and finally someone put a cup on top of it. It was really funny and a nice way to end the last dinner haha.

I am in Athens now! I got in last night and stumbled on a hostel called Athens Backpackers, which turned out to be really cheap and in a nice location, and I also found out it was two buildings down from the hotel I am meeting Eugene at! It was really perfect. I am now in the Parthenon hotel, which is really close to the Acropolis and to the heart of the city. I walked around last night to all the little shops and saw some great street music. Now I am taking advantage of the free internet and just relaxing. Thats what this whole trip to Athens is for, just to kick back after Euroterm. Then I fly back to London to meet my Mom and Grandpa! I can't wait.

Song of the Day


French Word of the Day

La Grèce - Greece

MUNICH! last week of Euroterm.

Great hostel right next to the Oktoberfest Field
Oktoberfest Field! 200th anniversary next year!
Best pretzels ever.
These pig things where you rub the nose are all over Europe.
Cool church in the heart of munich
Amazing Dali painting, this is just a close up to show the detail.
Cool design through history exhibition in the Modern Art Museum.
River surfing in the English Garden!!!!!!!!
Beautiful, huge english garden
Christmas decorations everywhere!


Munich was so great, Dana and I spent the weekend there, relaxed, ate good food, and saw some pretty cool things.

We took a 6 hour train ride out there, stopped in Stuttgart, and ended up in Germany. The first guy we run in to is probably the strictest man in Germany at the train station. Dana and I needed to get a train ticket so we could get home, so we thought we would do it early, and we run in to this guy, who a supervisor for the Eurail passes, and is one of the most annoying workers in the world. I have not gotten as mad at someone as I did since I have been out here. He basically said that my Eurail pass worthless, because someone else messed up in the Paris station. He forced me to pay a 20 euro fee to get a new copy for my eurail pass, and I was really furious because it was not my mistake, but I couldnt do anything. I was so mad. And he also got mad at Dana for not using a ballpoint pen on hers, and that just was so insane, no one should care about their job that much. But, on to the great weekend. We walked to our hostel, and found out that it used to be an old palace. The rooms were really spacious and comfy and their was internet and a kitchen right across from our room, we were even able to do a beer tasting at the bar! It was so nice trying all the bavarian flavors. The first night there, we walked around the central part of town, saw some of the best street music so far, ate some sandwiches and saw lots of christmas decorations, which put us both in a perfect mood. We spent a couple hours in a starbucks :p found an ice rink and got hot wine and watched people ice skate in this room overlooking the rink. It all worked out really nicely. The second day we walked around the hugee English Garden, and we saw RIVER SURFING. It was unbelievable. There is a really strong current, and somehow, there is a constant wave that is in the river going through the English Garden, and there are about 5 to 6 guys on shortboards and in wetsuits riding this wave, switching off. We watched for about an hour and could of stayed there all day, one of the guys did really cool tricks flipping the board. After that, we went to the Modern Art Museum that had so many pieces. There was an entire exhibition for design with random apple computers through history and chair and car designs, it was nice. There was Picasso, Beuys, Dali, Flavin, Warhol, etc.
The rest of the trip was spent exploring, watching Friends and House, looking in shops, listening to music on the streets, eating the best pretzels ever.

Its the last week of school!!! So much stuff to do this week. Two different photo projects, literature paper, art history paper AND art history test. But I am slowly cracking away at it all, not to worried. We had our last painting class today, and I am really going to miss it. I learned so much, and am excited to paint back at home :)

Song of the Day


French Word of the Day
le volley- volleyball

Miles Exhibition

There were rooms for every album where they were playing it, and it this one, there was John Coltranes Saxophone, Miles Davis trumpet, and a letter than the piano player wrote about each song. It was really incredible.
Miles trumpet from his later funk, drugee stage.
Coltrane's sax
Miles Trumpet
Dana and I went to the Miles Davis Exhibition. It was really amazing. There were videos, 6 or 7 of his trumpets, notes, interviews, everything. I was so happy, and Dana bought me a new Miles Davis shirt as an early birthday present! haha so perfect.

Song of the Day again



!!!!!!!!!!