Barcelona Day 1 Pics - Old City
Barcelona Day 2 Pics - Gaudi (Previously uploaded)
Barcelona Day 3 Pics - Markets and Montjuic
Zurich and End of Barcelona
Firenze (Florence)
Roma (Rome)
Vatican
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Europe trip - Picture updates
Added a few pictures to each of my posts (updated through Rome Part 1), so check them out even if you've read the posts already.
Hope to have the whole albums (and links in the posts) updated soon, by next Tuesday when I'm back in London at the latest. Will have separate post with all the album links when it happens.
Hope to have the whole albums (and links in the posts) updated soon, by next Tuesday when I'm back in London at the latest. Will have separate post with all the album links when it happens.
Europe Trip - Roma (Rome) - Part 1
10 April 2010
Ancient Rome tour, Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, Castle of Angels & Bridge, and Piazza Navona
Staying at the Yellow hostel, about ten minutes walk from the Roma termini – the walk felt very long with all our stuff and not being sure where exactly it was. Staff required payment before check in, but their phone lines were down so couldn’t use credit card and made us go get cash to pay for the rooms before they let us drop our stuff in the room. Their policy makes sense, but when an inability to pay in credit card is their fault they definitely could have bent the rules in this case. Staff spoke good English but was only moderately helpful, not really giving any of the recommendations on places to eat and what to do that we had in Barcelona and Florence.
Rome seems much larger, busier and dirtier than Florence in general. Something that was immediately apparent was the need to take the metro to get around. Our hostel was within walking distance of the train station but relatively far from most of the sites, but at least there was a metro within a short walk. For as big of a city as Rome is, their metro is very underdeveloped, with only two lines – none of the underground stations every few blocks as is the case in London. While the service itself seemed in pretty good order, the trains were covered with graffiti, and how I imagined trains might have been in New York in the 80s. The metro was pretty convenient for getting to most of the sights though.
Went on a tour of most of the ancient ruins the afternoon we got in – was much more expensive than the other tours we had been on, at 18 Euro for a walking tour. Our tour guide was a Canadian who had been living in Rome and running tours with his partner for a few years now (side note: this could be a great backup plan – if school/work doesn’t work out after graduation, just move somewhere to Europe and learn the language [German, Spanish, French, Italian] while providing some sort of service to tourists or teaching English for a couple-three years).
For the cost, I wasn’t thrilled with the experience that we got from the tour, since much of the information and stories that he told we had covered already in Latin or was available on Wikipedia. It was really cool seeing places that we had learned about though, including the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus), the Forums, the Pantheon, Colosseum, and Palatine hill.
There was also Marcellus’s theater (which apparently actually has apartments inside today that are used by the rich/famous), which was by Rome’s Jewish quarter, which has a beautiful and relatively large synagogue. Apparently, the synagogue was funded at least in part by parties who weren’t thrilled with the Vatican, and wanted to build a synagogue that dominated that area of town so that the Pope would have to see this synagogue everytime he looked over from the top of St. Peter’s.
The Pantheon was extremely cool as well, being almost completely intact as opposed to almost all of the other major ruins in Rome and across Europe. It has since been consecrated as a Catholic church, and the interior is very beautiful, but the oculus (which has let in light, rain or shine, everyday for over 2000 years...too cool) and the sheer scope of the temple itself are absolutely incredible.
We also saw the Venetian Plaza, the modern day city center, which all the major roads lead to (apparently making traffic a nightmare) and the huge and glorious monument to Vittorio Emanuel II, the first king and unifier of Italy. Apparently, Italians have historically HATED this monument, since it cost a ton of tax money to build and doesn’t serve a purpose (it’s not Parliament or the executive residence or anything; there’s just a museum inside). I thought it was pretty cool
though.
I rationalized the cost of the tour by telling myself that the mythology/ancient Roman history refresher was nice (even if it could’ve been done via Wikipedia), and also that we stopped by a very tasty/cheap pizzeria as well as a gelato shop that we ended up coming back to a couple days later.
After the tour we went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, both of which were absolutely packed with tourists (but still very impressive nonetheless, so maybe rightfully so?). Check the pictures for more
Pictures of Rome (ancient Rome tour, Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, Castle of Angels & Bridge, and Piazza Navona)
On Saturday we had seen most of the major sights so we went to the Castle of Angels, where there was a market that was open along the Tiber river in the shadow of the Castle. The bridge right in front of the Castle is also gorgeous, with a number of beautifully carved statues adorning its span. The weather was positively lovely that day (75 and sunny with a warm breeze), and so we meandered from the Castle to the Piazza Navona, back through the Pantheon and to the Trevi Fountains. Again, check the pictures for more.
Pictures if you missed them – Rome part 1
Ancient Rome tour, Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, Castle of Angels & Bridge, and Piazza Navona
Staying at the Yellow hostel, about ten minutes walk from the Roma termini – the walk felt very long with all our stuff and not being sure where exactly it was. Staff required payment before check in, but their phone lines were down so couldn’t use credit card and made us go get cash to pay for the rooms before they let us drop our stuff in the room. Their policy makes sense, but when an inability to pay in credit card is their fault they definitely could have bent the rules in this case. Staff spoke good English but was only moderately helpful, not really giving any of the recommendations on places to eat and what to do that we had in Barcelona and Florence.
Rome seems much larger, busier and dirtier than Florence in general. Something that was immediately apparent was the need to take the metro to get around. Our hostel was within walking distance of the train station but relatively far from most of the sites, but at least there was a metro within a short walk. For as big of a city as Rome is, their metro is very underdeveloped, with only two lines – none of the underground stations every few blocks as is the case in London. While the service itself seemed in pretty good order, the trains were covered with graffiti, and how I imagined trains might have been in New York in the 80s. The metro was pretty convenient for getting to most of the sights though.
Went on a tour of most of the ancient ruins the afternoon we got in – was much more expensive than the other tours we had been on, at 18 Euro for a walking tour. Our tour guide was a Canadian who had been living in Rome and running tours with his partner for a few years now (side note: this could be a great backup plan – if school/work doesn’t work out after graduation, just move somewhere to Europe and learn the language [German, Spanish, French, Italian] while providing some sort of service to tourists or teaching English for a couple-three years).
For the cost, I wasn’t thrilled with the experience that we got from the tour, since much of the information and stories that he told we had covered already in Latin or was available on Wikipedia. It was really cool seeing places that we had learned about though, including the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus), the Forums, the Pantheon, Colosseum, and Palatine hill.There was also Marcellus’s theater (which apparently actually has apartments inside today that are used by the rich/famous), which was by Rome’s Jewish quarter, which has a beautiful and relatively large synagogue. Apparently, the synagogue was funded at least in part by parties who weren’t thrilled with the Vatican, and wanted to build a synagogue that dominated that area of town so that the Pope would have to see this synagogue everytime he looked over from the top of St. Peter’s.
The Pantheon was extremely cool as well, being almost completely intact as opposed to almost all of the other major ruins in Rome and across Europe. It has since been consecrated as a Catholic church, and the interior is very beautiful, but the oculus (which has let in light, rain or shine, everyday for over 2000 years...too cool) and the sheer scope of the temple itself are absolutely incredible.
We also saw the Venetian Plaza, the modern day city center, which all the major roads lead to (apparently making traffic a nightmare) and the huge and glorious monument to Vittorio Emanuel II, the first king and unifier of Italy. Apparently, Italians have historically HATED this monument, since it cost a ton of tax money to build and doesn’t serve a purpose (it’s not Parliament or the executive residence or anything; there’s just a museum inside). I thought it was pretty cool
though.
I rationalized the cost of the tour by telling myself that the mythology/ancient Roman history refresher was nice (even if it could’ve been done via Wikipedia), and also that we stopped by a very tasty/cheap pizzeria as well as a gelato shop that we ended up coming back to a couple days later.
After the tour we went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, both of which were absolutely packed with tourists (but still very impressive nonetheless, so maybe rightfully so?). Check the pictures for more
Pictures of Rome (ancient Rome tour, Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, Castle of Angels & Bridge, and Piazza Navona)
On Saturday we had seen most of the major sights so we went to the Castle of Angels, where there was a market that was open along the Tiber river in the shadow of the Castle. The bridge right in front of the Castle is also gorgeous, with a number of beautifully carved statues adorning its span. The weather was positively lovely that day (75 and sunny with a warm breeze), and so we meandered from the Castle to the Piazza Navona, back through the Pantheon and to the Trevi Fountains. Again, check the pictures for more.
Pictures if you missed them – Rome part 1
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Europe Trip - Firenze (Florence)
7 April 2010
Got up at 5 am on 6 April (Tuesday) to get the first train to Firenze (Florence) at 7 am but it was sold out and we hadn’t reserved tickets before we got to the station. The next train at 9 was also sold out so we didn’t leave until 11 and ended up getting in around 5pm in Florence.
We wandered around the San Lorenzo market before dinner, where there were probably a
hundred shops that sold a TON of leather goods that were all advertised to be genuine Italian leather, made in Firenze. There were also the requisite fake Rolexes and Chanel/Prada/D&G bags. The vendors of these fakes weren’t quite as advanced as those in Barcelona, who had a 2’x2’ blanket of sunglasses that they could pick up or unfold into a complete display in seconds, but they were still very talented at loitering with their goods without drawing too much attention.
We woke up early the next morning to go see the original David sculpture by Michelangelo in the Academia gallery without having to queue for so long. Having been imitated and photographed so many times, it was still quite a sight to behold the full-sized statue in all its glory. Florence only continued the art binge that had started with visiting the Tate Modern just before leaving for Europe – it had many more classical works though. The Academia also had Michelangelo’s “slave” sculptures and other works from the Florentine Rennaisaince including some by Botticelli and Lippi among others.
Reflection of the view from the Uffizi terrace - big dome is the central church (Duomo)
We then walked to the Uffizi, where we waited almost two hours to get in (apparently in can be up to 5 during peak summer hours) – we rationalized the wait by saying we had waited as long for roller coasters; this was for a much better cause. Originating as the private gallery for the Medici family (who pretty much controlled Florence during the Renaissance and also ended up having a couple popes) that is today one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world, it is organized into two LONG corridors that branch off into 50+ rooms that are roughly organized by artist. The corridors themselves have sculptures of famous artists and paintings that line the top portion of the ceiling. The Uffizi has countless masterpieces and such famous works as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and La Primavera (Spring), and other works by Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Raphael among others. There was also rooms that contained ancient sculptures from Greece and Rome, as well as an entire room (the “Niobe” room) dedicated to a set of sculptures depicting the gods’ vengeance on the children of Niobe, who bragged to the mother of the twin deities Apollo and Diana that she had more chiIdren. The room itself was gorgeously decorated as well, with beautiful gold ceilings and four huge works that covered the upper half of the high walls. I could’ve easily spent days in the gallery, but we didn’t get in until close to 1 and barely spent the afternoon there. Both Academia and Uffizi cost 6,50, but the Uffizi earned its cost MUCH more easily. The only unfortunate part was that the most famous room, the octagonal “tribuna” was under renovation, although the works were still shown in a recreation of the room.
The rest of the day was spent hiking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where there was a bronze version of the David and a gorgeous view of the city. We stayed until sunset – the pictures were breathtaking.
Pictures of Firenze
Random thoughts: really wish it was easier to tell what’s authentic and what’s not in markets. Very difficult for officials to enforce some of the claims that are being made, so it seems very easy to be tricked into overpaying for inferior products. I think that it’s also hard for a lot of the tourists to learn how to negotiate prices very well (especially the American, to whom the whole haggling process is very foreign) and what to look for as signs of a good product, so the only information they have is what the seller provides, which is obviously biased. Maybe this is just the natural method of diffusion of money from the privileged to the poorer, although I’m sure most of the vendors do very well.
Also very nice that the whole of Florence is extremely walkable – no need at all for public transportation or taxis.
Finally, as much as I love the skylines of cities such as New York and Chicago, really like how the dominant/tallest buildings in European cities are typically older and not huge (e.g. Sagrada Familia in Barca, and Duomo in Florence) so that there are great views from the natural hills (e.g, Park Guell in Barca, Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence).
Pictures if you missed them – Florence
Got up at 5 am on 6 April (Tuesday) to get the first train to Firenze (Florence) at 7 am but it was sold out and we hadn’t reserved tickets before we got to the station. The next train at 9 was also sold out so we didn’t leave until 11 and ended up getting in around 5pm in Florence.
We wandered around the San Lorenzo market before dinner, where there were probably a
hundred shops that sold a TON of leather goods that were all advertised to be genuine Italian leather, made in Firenze. There were also the requisite fake Rolexes and Chanel/Prada/D&G bags. The vendors of these fakes weren’t quite as advanced as those in Barcelona, who had a 2’x2’ blanket of sunglasses that they could pick up or unfold into a complete display in seconds, but they were still very talented at loitering with their goods without drawing too much attention.We woke up early the next morning to go see the original David sculpture by Michelangelo in the Academia gallery without having to queue for so long. Having been imitated and photographed so many times, it was still quite a sight to behold the full-sized statue in all its glory. Florence only continued the art binge that had started with visiting the Tate Modern just before leaving for Europe – it had many more classical works though. The Academia also had Michelangelo’s “slave” sculptures and other works from the Florentine Rennaisaince including some by Botticelli and Lippi among others.
Reflection of the view from the Uffizi terrace - big dome is the central church (Duomo)
We then walked to the Uffizi, where we waited almost two hours to get in (apparently in can be up to 5 during peak summer hours) – we rationalized the wait by saying we had waited as long for roller coasters; this was for a much better cause. Originating as the private gallery for the Medici family (who pretty much controlled Florence during the Renaissance and also ended up having a couple popes) that is today one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world, it is organized into two LONG corridors that branch off into 50+ rooms that are roughly organized by artist. The corridors themselves have sculptures of famous artists and paintings that line the top portion of the ceiling. The Uffizi has countless masterpieces and such famous works as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and La Primavera (Spring), and other works by Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Raphael among others. There was also rooms that contained ancient sculptures from Greece and Rome, as well as an entire room (the “Niobe” room) dedicated to a set of sculptures depicting the gods’ vengeance on the children of Niobe, who bragged to the mother of the twin deities Apollo and Diana that she had more chiIdren. The room itself was gorgeously decorated as well, with beautiful gold ceilings and four huge works that covered the upper half of the high walls. I could’ve easily spent days in the gallery, but we didn’t get in until close to 1 and barely spent the afternoon there. Both Academia and Uffizi cost 6,50, but the Uffizi earned its cost MUCH more easily. The only unfortunate part was that the most famous room, the octagonal “tribuna” was under renovation, although the works were still shown in a recreation of the room.
The rest of the day was spent hiking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where there was a bronze version of the David and a gorgeous view of the city. We stayed until sunset – the pictures were breathtaking.
Pictures of Firenze
Random thoughts: really wish it was easier to tell what’s authentic and what’s not in markets. Very difficult for officials to enforce some of the claims that are being made, so it seems very easy to be tricked into overpaying for inferior products. I think that it’s also hard for a lot of the tourists to learn how to negotiate prices very well (especially the American, to whom the whole haggling process is very foreign) and what to look for as signs of a good product, so the only information they have is what the seller provides, which is obviously biased. Maybe this is just the natural method of diffusion of money from the privileged to the poorer, although I’m sure most of the vendors do very well.
Also very nice that the whole of Florence is extremely walkable – no need at all for public transportation or taxis.
Finally, as much as I love the skylines of cities such as New York and Chicago, really like how the dominant/tallest buildings in European cities are typically older and not huge (e.g. Sagrada Familia in Barca, and Duomo in Florence) so that there are great views from the natural hills (e.g, Park Guell in Barca, Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence).
Pictures if you missed them – Florence
Europe Trip - End of Barcelona and Zurich
5 April 2010
The rain had cleared up by the time we left the Picasso Museum, and we took advantage, getting some great sandwiches (bocadillos!) from a nearby place called Txirimiri (Basque-Navarre cuisine – again, with the high degree of autonomy of different Spanish regions). The warm weather of Barcelona (65+ the whole time we were there), however, was apparently conducive to a flash thunderstorm that reminded me of summer in Ohio. It went from completely clear, blue skies to DARK grey and thunder in about 15 minutes just as we were leaving for the train station. We barely ducked into the Metro (moving with a HORDE of others) before the rain started.
Night train was long (almost 15 hours) and we just had reclining seats, not a bed, but there were some gorgeous views of snow-capped mountains and lakes as we were woken at 7 am for a passport check as we passed through France into Switzerland.
PICTURES: from end of Barcelona, including along the Mediterranean, pictures from the night train to Zurich, and pictures of Zurich, including on a boat ride onto Lake Zurich.
Zurich, located along Lake Zurich near the mountains of East Switzerland, was perhaps as beautiful as Barcelona but in a starkly different way. There were none of the palm-tree lined streets or beaches, and none of Gaudi’s colorful architecture, but the air and water were incredibly clear and the buildings were seamlessly integrated with the landscape.
Random thoughts: no Euro here, instead there’s the Swiss Franc, which exchanges about 1:1 with the US dollar. Prices, though, were definitely at least as expensive as the rest of Europe – a 20 oz of Coke was about 5, and a very simple salad or wrap was 8. We stayed at a budget hotel in Kloten, about a 15 minute train ride from city center, and it was very convenient that our Eurail pass covered the commuter train as well as the boat ride onto the lake. Still not sure if it’s worth it though, since we had to pay 50 Euro supplement for the night train (although I guess it was 100+ Euro without).
Pictures if you missed them - Zurich and end of Barcelona
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Europe Trip - Barcelona and Tarragona
4 April 2010
Just finished our longest stay in a single city (Wednesday to Sunday – 5 days) and I don’t think we could’ve picked a better place than Barcelona.
Placa Real, off Las Ramblas
We (I’m also travelling with a friend from Case, Katie, and her friend Jenni) flew into Reus (about 100km from Barca) on Tuesday night and spent the night in the nearby (about 7km from the airport) city of Tarragona. Morning of Wednesday was spent in Tarragona, which is about the size of Cincinnati (~100,000+) and is famous for ruins from Ancient Roman times. It’s also right on the Mediterranean, and has some beautiful scenery, as well as a beautiful cathedral.
Took a train to Barcelona Wed. afternoon, and spent the rest of the day wandering around Barceloneta, a neighborhood along the beach (Barcelona is also on the Mediterranean). The next three days are better documented with pictures (three separate links!)
Thurs – Old city (mostly gothic quarter) tour and Las Ramblas, the most famous street
Fri – Gaudi tour, including Palau Guell, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera, Temple de la Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell
Sat – Markets (San Antoni and Boqueria) and Montjuic (including Poble Espanyol, a huge outdoor exhibit of architecture from across Spain built for the 1929 World Fair, and the National Museum of Art of Catalunya and the Montjuic Fountains)
Sunday we had originally planned to be in Zurich, but there wasn’t an available night train until Sunday night (getting in Monday), so we ended up spending an extra day in Barcelona. Since it was Easter, we decided to go to mass at Sagrada Familia, the magnificent (and still under construction!) Gaudi church, which was truly breathtaking. The mass was in Catalan (the primary language in Barcelona and the rest of the region; Spain is extremely federated), but part of the service also allowed for readings in a few other languages, and my friend Katie got to do one in English, which was exciting.
It had rained Saturday night, and Sunday morning was still pretty dreary so we spent a few hours in the Picasso Museum (free Sunday!, since it was the first Sunday of the month). The museum focused mostly on his early work, and included works from his childhood and training as well as his time as a young adult in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, among others. It was really interesting seeing the evolution of his very distinct style of art, and the museum did a great job of presenting its collection of works. I also recently visited the Tate Modern in Britain a couple times before I left, and could definitely see this interest in art continuing (I still don’t understand a lot of it, though…)
Couple random thoughts about Barcelona:
It has a great metro system: perhaps not as comprehensive as London’s underground but very clean and modern, as well as affordable.
There’s also great diversity between different areas, but all definitively part of one vibrant city. Barcelona has some of the greatest modernist architecture in the world, with all of Gaudi’s works prominently on display, as well as some incredible traditional cathedrals and markets. The different quarters of the city, such as Montjuic hill and Barceloneta beach, add a lot of character to the city. At the same time, it’s also one of Spain’s most important cities economically, with many international businesses with branches in the city. Seeing it all from the top of Park Guell, though, it’s all connected and part of one Barcelona.
The presence of Gaudi’s and Picasso’s work (and especially the imitations in the many souvenir shops) makes the whole city very colorful. Coupled with the sunshine, it's a nice change from the relative grey of London and Cleveland.
Pictures if you missed them
Barcelona - Old City
Barcelona - Gaudi
Barcelona - Markets and Montjuic
Just finished our longest stay in a single city (Wednesday to Sunday – 5 days) and I don’t think we could’ve picked a better place than Barcelona.
Placa Real, off Las Ramblas
We (I’m also travelling with a friend from Case, Katie, and her friend Jenni) flew into Reus (about 100km from Barca) on Tuesday night and spent the night in the nearby (about 7km from the airport) city of Tarragona. Morning of Wednesday was spent in Tarragona, which is about the size of Cincinnati (~100,000+) and is famous for ruins from Ancient Roman times. It’s also right on the Mediterranean, and has some beautiful scenery, as well as a beautiful cathedral.
Took a train to Barcelona Wed. afternoon, and spent the rest of the day wandering around Barceloneta, a neighborhood along the beach (Barcelona is also on the Mediterranean). The next three days are better documented with pictures (three separate links!)
Thurs – Old city (mostly gothic quarter) tour and Las Ramblas, the most famous street
Fri – Gaudi tour, including Palau Guell, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera, Temple de la Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell
Sat – Markets (San Antoni and Boqueria) and Montjuic (including Poble Espanyol, a huge outdoor exhibit of architecture from across Spain built for the 1929 World Fair, and the National Museum of Art of Catalunya and the Montjuic Fountains)
Sunday we had originally planned to be in Zurich, but there wasn’t an available night train until Sunday night (getting in Monday), so we ended up spending an extra day in Barcelona. Since it was Easter, we decided to go to mass at Sagrada Familia, the magnificent (and still under construction!) Gaudi church, which was truly breathtaking. The mass was in Catalan (the primary language in Barcelona and the rest of the region; Spain is extremely federated), but part of the service also allowed for readings in a few other languages, and my friend Katie got to do one in English, which was exciting.
It had rained Saturday night, and Sunday morning was still pretty dreary so we spent a few hours in the Picasso Museum (free Sunday!, since it was the first Sunday of the month). The museum focused mostly on his early work, and included works from his childhood and training as well as his time as a young adult in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, among others. It was really interesting seeing the evolution of his very distinct style of art, and the museum did a great job of presenting its collection of works. I also recently visited the Tate Modern in Britain a couple times before I left, and could definitely see this interest in art continuing (I still don’t understand a lot of it, though…)
Couple random thoughts about Barcelona:
It has a great metro system: perhaps not as comprehensive as London’s underground but very clean and modern, as well as affordable.
There’s also great diversity between different areas, but all definitively part of one vibrant city. Barcelona has some of the greatest modernist architecture in the world, with all of Gaudi’s works prominently on display, as well as some incredible traditional cathedrals and markets. The different quarters of the city, such as Montjuic hill and Barceloneta beach, add a lot of character to the city. At the same time, it’s also one of Spain’s most important cities economically, with many international businesses with branches in the city. Seeing it all from the top of Park Guell, though, it’s all connected and part of one Barcelona.
The presence of Gaudi’s and Picasso’s work (and especially the imitations in the many souvenir shops) makes the whole city very colorful. Coupled with the sunshine, it's a nice change from the relative grey of London and Cleveland.
Pictures if you missed them
Barcelona - Old City
Barcelona - Gaudi
Barcelona - Markets and Montjuic
Monday, April 5, 2010
Beginning of Europe Trip - Barcelona Pictures
Five AM in Zurich - up early to catch a train into Florence.
Barcelona Day 1 Pics - Old City
Barcelona Day 2 Pics - Gaudi
Barcelona Day 3 Pics - Markets and Montjuic
Barcelona Day 1 Pics - Old City
Barcelona Day 2 Pics - Gaudi
Barcelona Day 3 Pics - Markets and Montjuic
Friday, April 2, 2010
Long overdue March Update and Start of Europe Trip - Part 5 (trip Itinerary)
Note: part 4 is still being written, but I wanted to share my itinerary now
march 30 - april 4: barcelona
april 5: zurich
april 6-7: florence
april 8-10: rome
april 10-11: naples and capri
april 12-13: venice
april 14-15: vienna
april 16-17: prague
april 18-19: berlin
PS: congratulations goes to my brother, who just got into Yale!
march 30 - april 4: barcelona
april 5: zurich
april 6-7: florence
april 8-10: rome
april 10-11: naples and capri
april 12-13: venice
april 14-15: vienna
april 16-17: prague
april 18-19: berlin
PS: congratulations goes to my brother, who just got into Yale!
Long overdue March Update and Start of Europe Trip - Part 3 (SPORTS!)
Things have been far from usual in the world of sport-watching (and playing) this term. Usually I live with a bunch of other guys that watch and talk about games together with me, but I mostly haven't found someone with that broad interest in most all sports.
Haven't watched nearly all the English Premier League soccer I've wanted, finding myself often occupied or out of town on the weekends when games usually are. I didn't realize the extent to which Brits cared about rugby football (it basically subsitutes for American football) - and this was on full display the past month during the annual Six Nations rugby event. Almost all the pubs were showing games, and during our travels to Scotland, Ireland and Wales there were sure signs of national pride from all six nations, something that I wish was on display for Americans.
NOT to say that we don't have any - watching the Olympics (and especially the U.S. Men's Hockey and four-man Bobsled) made me incredibly proud to be from America. On a somewhat related note, I feel a sense of pride presenting my American passport as I travel throughout Europe, with the hope that I will always be able to represent my country (and all the other social groups I am a member of) well. Talking to some of the other international students reminds me of the convenience that being a US national affords in traveling to other nations, especially throughout Europe, where no visa is required to visit for a relatively long period of time (as it is for nationals of most non-EU nations).
It was interesting watching the BBC coverage of the Olympics with all events streaming live on the internet. The lack of US-focused coverage (and the presence of GB-focused coverage) put a different spin on things. For one, it was really interesting watching from a perspective where the goal was to get three medals (as opposed to winning the medal count). It was also nice being able to watch the whole of the competition, as well, rather than just watching USA plus just a few of the other notable teams.
Watching US sports has been a real challenge due to the lack of places that air the coverage as well as the time difference (primetime US is 1am UK, so even if a bar or pub has the right channel it is often closed). I´ve resorted to watching streams online - this has worked out extremely well of late for March Madness, where CBS has no country IP restrictions on streaming, as is the case for most US content. This is extremely fortunate, considering that unlike American football and the Olympics, in which the Brits typically have a passing interest, they don´t really care at all about basketball, let alone the college variety. The tournament has also been extremely exciting, and although I´m abroad for the Final Four I feel like I´ve already gotten all the madness I can handle. Not sure how I feel about a possible expansion to 96 teams, however, but we shall see.
Streams online were a little more difficult during NFL playoffs, when the times were inconvenient and the NFL didn´t have any online streams available. NFL.com is very good about highlights, however, but for the actual games other online streams from sites such as justin.tv had to be employed and weren´t always reliable. I was also in Edinburgh during the Super Bowl and was extremely disappointed that I missed what turned out to be a great game. This was definitely one of the times I wish I could have been in the states, watching at the Phi Psi house while clogging my arteries with deep-fried food.
Baseball is also about to start and I am extremely hopeful that I can make progress this summer on my goal of visiting all the MLB stadiums. Intensive as they are, I am only trying to do two fantasy baseball teams this year (down from 5 last year, and 8 the year before that) and have recently done my first auction-style draft (again, at an ungodly hour thanks to the time difference). I am sad that I won´t be able to enjoy opening day (instead will be in Zurich!)
Finally, I haven´t been able to get as much physical exercise in as I would like, but I did get the opportunity (thanks to my hallmate Noah) to go to an Ultimate practice in the UK. Having not exerted myself strenuously in a good couple months, I probably ran harder than I should have for the three-hour practice and was sore for about the next week. Practice was in Regent´s Park, and close enough to the zoo that you could hear some of the animals. Even though it was late February (and the fields were predictably soggy and mushy from the London rain and lack of ventilation), the temperature was fantastic (perfect for running, and only a slight rain for part of practice) and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Difficult schedule and expensive cost meant that gym membership was prohibitively expensive, so I´ve also recently undertaken the hundredpushups exercise regimen, with the goal of doing a hundred pushups consecutively. My brother apparently did this a while back (and tried to get my dad to do it too?...not sure how that went lol) and it´s been a decent workout so far. Hopefully I´ll be able to finish on schedule after I return (or perhaps even continue it on my trip)
Haven't watched nearly all the English Premier League soccer I've wanted, finding myself often occupied or out of town on the weekends when games usually are. I didn't realize the extent to which Brits cared about rugby football (it basically subsitutes for American football) - and this was on full display the past month during the annual Six Nations rugby event. Almost all the pubs were showing games, and during our travels to Scotland, Ireland and Wales there were sure signs of national pride from all six nations, something that I wish was on display for Americans.
NOT to say that we don't have any - watching the Olympics (and especially the U.S. Men's Hockey and four-man Bobsled) made me incredibly proud to be from America. On a somewhat related note, I feel a sense of pride presenting my American passport as I travel throughout Europe, with the hope that I will always be able to represent my country (and all the other social groups I am a member of) well. Talking to some of the other international students reminds me of the convenience that being a US national affords in traveling to other nations, especially throughout Europe, where no visa is required to visit for a relatively long period of time (as it is for nationals of most non-EU nations).
It was interesting watching the BBC coverage of the Olympics with all events streaming live on the internet. The lack of US-focused coverage (and the presence of GB-focused coverage) put a different spin on things. For one, it was really interesting watching from a perspective where the goal was to get three medals (as opposed to winning the medal count). It was also nice being able to watch the whole of the competition, as well, rather than just watching USA plus just a few of the other notable teams.
Watching US sports has been a real challenge due to the lack of places that air the coverage as well as the time difference (primetime US is 1am UK, so even if a bar or pub has the right channel it is often closed). I´ve resorted to watching streams online - this has worked out extremely well of late for March Madness, where CBS has no country IP restrictions on streaming, as is the case for most US content. This is extremely fortunate, considering that unlike American football and the Olympics, in which the Brits typically have a passing interest, they don´t really care at all about basketball, let alone the college variety. The tournament has also been extremely exciting, and although I´m abroad for the Final Four I feel like I´ve already gotten all the madness I can handle. Not sure how I feel about a possible expansion to 96 teams, however, but we shall see.
Streams online were a little more difficult during NFL playoffs, when the times were inconvenient and the NFL didn´t have any online streams available. NFL.com is very good about highlights, however, but for the actual games other online streams from sites such as justin.tv had to be employed and weren´t always reliable. I was also in Edinburgh during the Super Bowl and was extremely disappointed that I missed what turned out to be a great game. This was definitely one of the times I wish I could have been in the states, watching at the Phi Psi house while clogging my arteries with deep-fried food.
Baseball is also about to start and I am extremely hopeful that I can make progress this summer on my goal of visiting all the MLB stadiums. Intensive as they are, I am only trying to do two fantasy baseball teams this year (down from 5 last year, and 8 the year before that) and have recently done my first auction-style draft (again, at an ungodly hour thanks to the time difference). I am sad that I won´t be able to enjoy opening day (instead will be in Zurich!)
Finally, I haven´t been able to get as much physical exercise in as I would like, but I did get the opportunity (thanks to my hallmate Noah) to go to an Ultimate practice in the UK. Having not exerted myself strenuously in a good couple months, I probably ran harder than I should have for the three-hour practice and was sore for about the next week. Practice was in Regent´s Park, and close enough to the zoo that you could hear some of the animals. Even though it was late February (and the fields were predictably soggy and mushy from the London rain and lack of ventilation), the temperature was fantastic (perfect for running, and only a slight rain for part of practice) and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Difficult schedule and expensive cost meant that gym membership was prohibitively expensive, so I´ve also recently undertaken the hundredpushups exercise regimen, with the goal of doing a hundred pushups consecutively. My brother apparently did this a while back (and tried to get my dad to do it too?...not sure how that went lol) and it´s been a decent workout so far. Hopefully I´ll be able to finish on schedule after I return (or perhaps even continue it on my trip)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Long overdue March Update and Start of Europe Trip - Part 2
March 9 - First coursework of the semester (10 page scientific paper for physiological monitoring on lung volume measurement) is finally turned in. It had occupied my attention/time for the better part of a week - it's amazing how difficult familiar things (e.g. homework, working out) become when you're out of practice for so long. There's only one more assignment (also for the same class) due Monday 15 March and then it's only final exams after that (so out of a combined 4x100% of my grades, 385% is evaluated on the finals). While this is favorable for the way that I typically study, the lack of evaluation makes it really hard to figure out how well I'm doing in learning the material and how well the course is going.
March 13 (pictures, courtesy of Sulin) - Finally not a teen anymore! Went to the oldest brewery in Britain in the morning (Shepherd Neame, in Faversham) and Dover Castle (atop the white cliffs!) in the afternoon (another program trip with Butler). The combination of the historical parts of both places echoed the history that we learned in Scotland (e.g. Union with Britain, military history during independence as well as contributions of Highland units to British forces) and reminds me of one of my favorite sayings that I've heard here: that 100 years is a long time for an American, and 100 miles is a long way for a Brit. It's so true.
Wandered down to Chinatown for the first time for dinner with Sulin and Katie and had some delicious chinese food that I'd been missing for a while for dinner (thanks Sulin and Katie!). Sulin and I indulged our chinese-american upbringing afterwards, going to some of the Asian superstores in Chinatown and shopping for baozi, comparing the hot-pot sauces our families used and going through all the sweets we'd ever remembered seeing.
PICTURES (if you missed it) Brewery + Castle (again courtesy of my friend SULIN)
March 13 (pictures, courtesy of Sulin) - Finally not a teen anymore! Went to the oldest brewery in Britain in the morning (Shepherd Neame, in Faversham) and Dover Castle (atop the white cliffs!) in the afternoon (another program trip with Butler). The combination of the historical parts of both places echoed the history that we learned in Scotland (e.g. Union with Britain, military history during independence as well as contributions of Highland units to British forces) and reminds me of one of my favorite sayings that I've heard here: that 100 years is a long time for an American, and 100 miles is a long way for a Brit. It's so true.
Wandered down to Chinatown for the first time for dinner with Sulin and Katie and had some delicious chinese food that I'd been missing for a while for dinner (thanks Sulin and Katie!). Sulin and I indulged our chinese-american upbringing afterwards, going to some of the Asian superstores in Chinatown and shopping for baozi, comparing the hot-pot sauces our families used and going through all the sweets we'd ever remembered seeing.
PICTURES (if you missed it) Brewery + Castle (again courtesy of my friend SULIN)
Long overdue March Update and Start of Europe Trip - Part 1
March 1 - Went to Portabello Market for the first time over the weekend, currently probably my favorite place in London. Included among the colorful houses and shops (which probably cost a fortune, location being as they are) include the place where George Orwell once lived. It's got the famous antique market on Saturday, but the problem is it's hard to know what you want. I guess that's some of the fun in going and browsing. The part I like more are the fruit and veg stands further down the road, as well as the coffee shop (Tea and Coffee Plant?) with its specialty selection of loose teas and coffee beans, as well as hot drinks to order. Finally, there were 2-3 charity bookshops that I am also frequenting more often (thanks goes to Shining for (re)introducing me to decent literature). The biggest trouble I have is still just that I'm not sure which books are worth buying. As with so many other things (coffee, cooking, workouts, wine, beer), I'm still just figuring out the basics and trying to figure out what's right for me. I ended up getting grapes, an americano, a couple books and some dark chocolate that I'd been meaning to pick up. It didn't cost much but those are definitely some of my favorite things.
I would've definitely bought a french press for coffeemaking if I had easier access to hot water and if there the hassle in getting it home - I'm sad I'm not able to take advantage of the huge number of coffee places that buy, roast, and grind their own beans for you (top of my list: Monmouth Coffee Shop, Coffee Plant. Eager to try: Camden Coffee Shoppe). Hopefully I'll be able to find a decent source in Cincinnati (eager to try Phoenix Coffee's selection in Cleveland) Fruit and veg stands in general, not just those in Portabello, might be one of the things I'll miss most about London. Will definitely have to visit West Side Market in Cleveland (after asking my parents for their tips in selecting the best produce; they always make it seem so easy, but it takes me forever. I suppose the same could be said about a lot of other things as well.)
This week is shaping up to be gorgeous - the sun was out all day for the first time in a while and it was amazing how many UCL students packed the main quad for lunch to enjoy the weather.
March 5-8 (pictures)- Went to Snowdon National Park in Wales for my program's (Butler's) adventure weekend. The weather all week was gorgeous, and the sun even held up for our outdoor activities on Saturday (though a little cold) and for a trip to the oceanside city of Llandudno on Sunday.
For Saturday, I participated in canoeing in the morning and abseiling (rappelling) in the afternoon. Canoeing was fantastic; we went out on a lake with a great mountain view that was absolutely breathtaking. I had forgotten how hard it was to work with a partner to go in a straight line, though. I'm really sad that I can't make it back for Phi Psi's annual canoe trip (which was an absolute blast last year). Abseiling (theoretically jumping off a cliff face) was a bit of a letdown because the cliff face wasn't terribly steep and our staff wasn't particularly inclined to let us go down fast. It was probably for the better, however, considering that none of us had more than 5 minutes training. I wish that there was a way for us to have climbed some of the cliff faces there (like others we were watching were doing) - that would've been exhilarating. I kind of wish I had chosen the half-day or full-day hike for one of my activities - I hadn't really noticed the pollution in London until I drank in the Welsh air, and I wanted nothing more than to take deep gulping breaths of it.
Llandudno was how I imagined a city on the Jersey shore might have been in the 50s. It had an old-fashioned boardwalk with an arcade, a ton of shops selling homemade wares (including some cool Welsh dragon figurines) and stands on the pier that advertised fish&chips, coffee and tea, and hamburgers. The people were incredibly friendly, as well, and the barely cloudless sky matched the water washing over the beach.
PICTURES (if you missed the earlier links) WALES - courtesy of my friend SULIN!
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