2/2/2007
Well, I am finally home. I was unable to blog in the final days like mike did even though I wanted to because time was tight and I am cheap! I was not willing to pay 10 Euro for 30 minutes just to write a blog while in the hotel. To put things in perspective, in Rome it cost me €2.70 and €3 in Paris for the same amount of time.
I feel like I did not take full advantage of Amsterdam. I was so stressed out about the final exam and making sure that I was caught up on my journals (I am not doing as well in the class as I would like to thus far) that a lot of my free time was spent preparing school work. While I know that it was completely necessary I wish I could have done more. I have that feeling about all the cities though. There was so much to do and so little time to do it in. In Rome there was the Domus Aurea and countless classical and renaissance collections that I did not see. In Paris one word, Louvre—I saw one hundredth of what was there. I saw the Mona Lisa, I saw the Niki of Samothrace and many of the great masterpieces but I did not see anything in the vast Egypt or Mycenae exhibit. I could have spent the whole trip in the Louvre if you gave me the chance. Our time in Amsterdam…I felt like I hardly saw the city at all. I did see the Anne frank house, Rembrandts house, small portions of some great museums but there is so much more! And that is not even to say anything about Antwerpen or Den Haag (I must reiterate that this will someday be my place of residence). Three weeks is nothing when you list all the places and things that we saw. When I look back we really packed a lot into three weeks especially considering we saw a lot that the normal tourist would not take the time to see.
If you could not tell from my past blogs, I am someone who really enjoys going off by myself (or with a maximum of two other people) to experience the city. So, on the last day in Amsterdam, when the girls went shopping and the boys rented bikes (if you read mike’s blog on the subject you would be as amazed as I was that they survived—the roads were truly treacherous), I went do discover the city on foot. I went to an open air market that had anything anyone could possibly ever need including toiletries, clothes, food (ever seen a fresh eel?) fabric…for cheap too! I found everything that I had been looking for that I never even thought of. I had a blast there. That night we met at the hard rock café as a class. I was on the opposite side of town so I had to do a little navigating. I trekked across the city by myself to meet everyone. There is a tram but it is easier to walk in my opinion, so I did. I felt completely safe walking alone at night. Now, where we went later that night I would not feel safe without my group of giggly girls. The red light district, which we affectionately called “the RLD”, was an amusing adventure to say the least. Imagine a group of 6 girls walking through the RLD where there are mostly men looking very sketchy and women in the windows scantily clad making the eyes at everyone who passes, even us (“she works hard for the money…”). We had fun though. Some people were more comfortable than others though. We went into the first “erotic supermarket” and giggled the whole time. We were even approached and invited into a peep show for the “education like none other” as the guy who was at the front door put it. We finished off our last night by a visit to the coffee shop next to our hotel where through the week many of our group became regulars.
I think that everyone was excited to go home. I could have gone back to Rome by myself instead of getting on the plane with the group but I think I could spend the rest of my life in Rome if given the opportunity; Paris and Amsterdam too now that I think about it. Well, it is a good thing that I am living in Germany next year when I study abroad for my senior year in Marburg. Now I know exactly where to spend my weekends while I am in Germany.
All in all, it was an excellent experience. I can’t wait to go back!
Thanks to all who read my blogs!
Permanent Link
1/29/2007
it has been a while since i bogged, i know but this is because in
Holland there are barely any public internet because like in the US,
most homes have access. in our hotel we have wifi but no
computers to use it on.
anyway, Amsterdam is my kind of city. the diversity here is the
best i have ever seen. people are actually interested in other
cultures here. we went to look at a church today and there
happened to be an exhibit inside the church about Istanbul. now,
in the US there would normally be academics and people of Turkish
descent at such an exhibit but here there were average people.
they are so open here, of course in the stereotypical way but also in
unexpected ways.
i am having a little time dilemma. today is my
birthday...right? but since i was born on the west coast and i am
now in Europe the exact hour of my birth meaning the hour at which i
will have been alive for exactly 21 years will be at 8am on the
30th. it is perplexing if you think about it. oh well i
suppose. i have not gone out much because i am not interested in
the "local flavor" if you know what i mean. i will be applying
for an internship which demands a drug test when i return so i am not
risking it even though it is completely legal here. i am actually
having a hard time finding a regular bar here. everything is
"Coffee Shop" around here. but the city does have so much to
offer other than that.
with that said about Amsterdam, i must say that i enjoyed France much
more than i expected. i would recommend Paris to anyone. the
transportation system is easy to navigate and the streets are
safe. not to say that i did not have any run ins with the
stereotypical French attitude...there are some who give the French a
bad name and i did meet quite a few, but overall many people were very
obliging.
only 4 more days. yesterday was Den Haag (my future home btw) and tomorrow is Antwerp.
ciao!
Permanent Link
1/25/2007
this is our last day in Paris so i went to one of the churches that we have been assigned to write about. so i am just sitting there across the street studying the baroque elements of the facade and a bum/transient walks up the stairs of the church, next to the door, whips it out and urinates. then he zips up and walks into the church. after i have thoroughly studied the outside of the structure i venture inside. there is the urinating bum among many others praying at the altar. since it is so cold (well below 0) the homeless hang out in churches. ps- it is frigid! you know that feeling when you are so cold that your skin hurts when it starts to defrost...yeah, that describes this. and think, Amsterdam will be colder.
prior to that we went to st Sulpice (yes the davinci code one) and the Arch of Triumph which was built by Napoleon in celebration of his awesomeness. i climbed to the top, all 240 steps (i had to take a potty break half way- good thing there was a bathroom half way up). the view is great. all roads leave to the arc. from above it looks like a star/sun with the arc in the middle. i did not get to go back to the Louvre like i wanted to because time just did not permit. this makes me sad because i did not see everything that i wanted. i did not even get into the Egypt exhibit. oh well, that just means that i will have to come back soon.
the Eiffel tower was amazing! we went to the top which was crazy. we could see everything! it was cold, frostbite cold, but the adrenaline of looking out from that high and going up the elevator (*made of glass) and seeing everything getting smaller by the second made us forget about the cold. on our way out it was really dark and we had to walk through a sketch park so we had a little escort. as soon as we started walking these three soldiers came out of no where (armed with big guns ;)...) and just walked with us to the metro. they do not smile but i walked along side one of them and got him to crack a smile.
tomorrow it is off to Amsterdam for the final leg of our tour!
hi mom! love you! dad and bro too!
Permanent Link
1/23/2007
so Venice was the best yet. i love Rome and would not have given up my time there for anything but if you want to just go for enjoyment and a little bit of history i highly suggest Venice. there is nothing like a city on the water. i did most of my shopping for all my friends in Venice too. Venetian glass makes great gifts.
the overnight train to Paris was an experience all unto itself. there are four people to a couchette which would not be anything difficult (there are 2 bunk beds in each) if every person did not have a suitcase into which they themselves can fit. well, my suitcase was big enough for me and it was too wide for the aisle to our couchette so i had to carry it. needless to say, my biceps were a bit sore. so imagine four girls, each with a bag the size of mine and then the countless purchases everyone has made. it was tight. we made it work but getting into the couchette in the first place was a challenge. we had to remove the ladder which allowed the second bunk to climb up and fold down the table too just to all fit in. we were not even the worst scenario either. there was the same size couchette with 4 girls and 2 boys all in the same one. upon arrival at 8am (we could not check into our hotel till 3) we had to get the the hotel to put our luggage in a locked room. well, the train to the hotel was 2 metro lines and about 8 flights of stairs. recall that our suitcases weigh from 40 to 70+ pounds. again, biceps = ouch. the accommodations in Paris are interesting. it is a youth hotel. that means dorm style with the bathroom down the hall and 2 bunk beds. the boys are paired up with two total strangers. the view from the room is worth it though. we open the window and there, with in touching range, is a Gothic church, gargoyles and all.
last night we met up with my roommate's class who just so happens to be staying across town. this is dr. badey's western governments class. we went out for dinner and had a drink. it was really good to see her because i think i needed a break from the group and see how other group dynamics are happening to make me feel better about ours. the down side was that i missed curfew at the hotel and had to (although i was completely willing and grateful to) stay in my roommate's hotel room. she had a massive bed and a better shower than we do so it was a great break. then, i woke up at 6 am and took the metro by my self back to my hotel. the metro here is so easy and safe to my surprise considering the complicated roman public transport system.
tonight it is supposed to snow and we are going to the Eiffel tower. it should prove to be the sight of a life time.
we went to Versailles today the the Louvre yesterday but i will report on those later. lets just leave it at the fact that i have checked several things off of my life "to do" list. this includes seeing the venus de milo and the niki of samothrace among many.
also, since i came to Paris i have this notion to sing the bonjour song from Beauty and the Beast...and we have, all through the streets. i know, way to call attention to ourselves right. i just cant believe that i remember all the words to it.
ps- it is colder than i anticipated in paris. my nose may fall off.
Permanent Link
1/16/2007
so really, we did get so lost. everyone wanted to call it a day early after going to the ruins today but i could just not do it. feet tired? well, yes. unbelievably so. and yet we trekked on. I'm not sure exactly all where we went on our little adventure back to the hotel but we did see the circus Maximus and a key hole in the door of a private garden which has trees that perfectly frame st. Peter's from a distance. we have bus passes which were of no use because neither of us had used the bus anywhere before and so navigation of the bus schedule was not going to happen but boy did we try.
today we saw san Carlo della quattro fontane which houses the Ecstasy of St.Theresa and we took a better look at the church we got kicked out of on Sunday because of mass. the Caravaggio's that were housed in that church were awe inspiring. then it was off on our own to ancient Rome. we took a trip back a couple of millennia to the times of Marcus Aurelius and Constantine. we ventured through the ruins of the forum and to the Colosseum. it is amazing to me how the technology for these great architectural achievements existed at such a time to say nothing of man power and money to construct them.
yesterday we went to Florence. talk about awe inspiring. Brunelleschi's Duomo is great in its mass and decor. some went to the top of the dome, i had a sudden onset of a fear of heights which kept me on the ground. next time i swear i will do it.
tomorrow it is on to the Vatican to have an audience with the pope! and see all the wonders which western civilization has created that reside in the Vatican. i am excited to see the Pieta. i must warn everyone, i may cry because of its beauty. then it is off to Venice! i hope to blog either before we leave Rome or in Venice but it i don't, next is Paris.
ciao bellas
Permanent Link
1/14/2007
So we arrived yesterday midday and had a tour of the city de Roma! i would recommend flying KLM! upon arriving at our cozy little B&B on Piazza Navona we were given time to freshen up. Dr. Terrono lured a Miriam, a student on our trip, onto the piazza where her longtime RMC boyfriend magically appeared on one knee ring in hand and proposed. how romantic right! while i am on this girlie romantic kick i might as well comment on how attractive European men seem to be. Italians and dutch alike. this is why i am never coming back to the states. even if i just get to look here it is worth it. although the communication thing may be difficult because while most people do speak some English here, the attractive ones who want to flirt with me do not. **sigh** well i guess i will just have to stick with Grandma's warning on Italian men.
on a sappy note as well, upon seeing the Pantheon i shed tears. Only my professor saw but i know that she understands. i cant explain why but seeing that which Roma has to offer sends emotions i rarely have. upon seeing Caravaggio's works in Santa Maria del Popolo i felt chills down my spine. This city has so much to offer from the best minds in the history of civilization i am left in awe in the very presence of it. just the thought as i walked the roman forum to the Colosseum, the steps that the likes of emperors and senators of the greatest empire the world has seen...ah, i cant even explain.
what we are here for though is to study Baroque art. we spent today going in and out of churches, cathedrals rather. i would be lying if i said i was comfortable to treat the churches as tourist while mass was going on. in fact, i felt we were being incredibly disrespectful to religion as a whole as a philosophy, especially when there are signs which ask us not do enter to spectate during services. i am a full believer in Gratia Artis but i can not rap my mind around the feeling that i got impeding on these people's sacred time. what is done is done, i just wish that we used Sunday to do something outside of the churches and went to the churches during the week.
tomorrow we go to Florence.
arrivederci for now
it is good to feel like i am connected to the land of my ancestors. i wonder if i will have the same emotional reactions in paris and amsterdam where i have no lineage...
Permanent Link
1/10/2007
i have never been prouder to be an Italian! we have spent more time talking about Italian Baroque art than that of any of the other countries. but how can one argue when such a country has produced the likes of Bernini, Gentileschi (my personal favorite), Caravaggio...Michelangelo! the first day of class when we went over the itinerary of the trip itself i got so excited i had tears in my eyes. i have been studying rome since the 6th grade and since then i have longed to go. even though they do not fit into the curriculum, we can not go to Rome without seeing the ancient wonders. i will go to the Colosseum and the forum. luckily the Vatican is on the list of class trips. ah, my stomach gets in knots with anticipation just thinking about it. i want so dearly to just hop on a plane right this second! did i mention that we are staying in Piazza Navona! this is a square which was Roman emperor Domitian's Circus where he would periodically fill it with water and have full scale naval battles! so much of human civilization's greatest minds walked the streets that i will walk! can you feel my excitement? i don't know how else to indicate to you the gravity of my angst but to use more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
!!
!
!!!!
we leave on friday!
Permanent Link
1/3/2007
I am coming to learn the cost of studying abroad. While most of my peers are having a grand time partying and sleeping in during their break, I have a bit of work to accomplish before I return to RMC. The exchange is that, well, most of my peers are going to be sitting in class for the next month when I will be in Europe. Still, I have a lot of reading and writing to do before January 8 when we report for class. My cost benefit analysis deems the work to be more than compensated by the experience that I will have the three weeks I spend in Rome, Venice, Paris, Antwerp and Amsterdam. Wish me luck because I have 100 pages to read and 25 pages to write and I have not started. Oops!
Packing is going to be the real challenge. I have to have wardrobe options in Europe but I can only carry so many bags.
Permanent Link
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)