Just arrived in Istanbul tonight after a lovely week in Greece...and I almost freaked out on the plane when they didn't announce that we were going to Istanbul. It was some strange jumble of sounds that turned out to be Constantinople. Now, this was a Greek airline, but seriously, they should call it what it is. You'd think they'd know the song, anyway. It's Istanbul, not Constantinople, buddy.
To backtrack a bit, Greece was great. We started in Athens with the Acropolis. Gotta say, the city surprised me. I had heard that it was old, dirty, and inefficient, but it apparently cleaned up nicely for the Olympics a few years ago. The metro was cleaner than DC's, and all the signs were in Greek and English, so really easy to get around. The Acropolis was neat, but it's a half day venture. Besides that and shopping, there's not a whole lot to do. Fortunately for us, our second day happened to be the same day the Champion's League Final (that would be European soccer...I had no idea till last week) was being held in Athens. There were literally thousands of Liverpool fans (most without tickets!) that came and filled the city with loud, sometimes belligerent drinking and chants. Lots of chants. And songs. And the same songs over and over and over again. We watched the game on TV with a ton of Liverpool fans, and they even made up a song about going all the way to Athens without a ticket for the game: "If you haven't got a ticket" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it." Pretty entertaining. Then I spent the most pleasant night in the airport that I've ever had. This was only the third time, but it was amazing compared to Glasgow and Marseille. There were hundreds of people there because the game had just ended and they had early flights (8 of which got canceled). Sad Liverpool fans were sleeping everywhere. We joined some of them in the small museum in the airport till we got kicked out at 4 AM. The best part was finding a Domino's pizza in the airport. It tasted just like home. Greasy goodness.
In order not to make this too long, Santorini was amazing as well. We stayed in Oia (sometimes spelled Ia cause that's how you say it) at a youth hostel that has a courtyard with a fountain in it. Nice place. The first day, Joe, Vanessa, and I found a little "beach." It was more like a rocky cove thing, but it worked. It rained the second day, but we had met this guy at the hostel who we went to the island's main town, Fira, with. Pirates of the Caribbean III was playing in English, so we saw that. About an hour and a half in, the movie stopped playing; I thought it was broken, but no, just intermission. So strange. The movie itself was pretty weak, but seeing a movie in our language at the theater was so great...besides the Greek subtitles, but that was ok too.
The great thing about Santorini was that I didnt even know what day of the week it was. It didnt really matter. Totally felt like the middle of nowhere...geographically, not in terms of people, because the cruise tourists were rampant. The days kind of blend together, but besides the beach and movie, we rented ATVs and drove around the island, found a nifty English bookstore (more about that later probably), and met three of the girls from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (in the bookstore). The island was fun, but after a while, it was more about the people to hang out with than the next beach to go to. We met a lot of really cool people just passing through or overstaying their visas or figuring out what to do with their lives. So that's about it for now, but there's tons more that if I get a chance I'll write about later!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
ok, so I realize I havent posted in forever, but I havent even seen a computer since Monday...so here is the update: finished exams on May 10th, and then we all had to pack and clean the apartment for a few days, and it took that long. Dad and Kay got to Rome on the 14th, and for the next few days we saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican, Colosseum, Forum, etc etc. That was the first time I went to the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel. It was rather impressive, but the guards kept yelling at people to be quiet, so the ambience wasnt great. They also have this amazing collection of ancient Egyptian stuff. Some people resent the fact that these mummies (yes, real mummies!) and tombs arent in Egypt, but it was fine by me that they were in Rome. So if youre hanging around the Vatican for the day, definitely hit up the museums, but get there early...as in 1.5 hours before opening because the line is looooong.
On Thursday we caught the train to Cinque Terre, which is in Liguria on the northwest-ish coast. Cinque Terre means Five Lands, and it's just five little towns along the coast connected by hiking trails (and a train). We stayed in Vernazza (google image search that one; it's a pretty sweet view). Unfortunately, I got some kind of a cold the day before leaving Rome, so the first day in Vernazza I was not up to par. 13 hours of sleep later, though, I was up and ready to hike. We did the first part of the trail from Vernazza to the town just south, Corniglia, to get a picture; that one was a bit rough, so we took the train after that to the town furthest south, Riomaggiore, and walked from there north to Corniglia. The walkway was kind of cut into cliffs, so on the left hand side all you saw was the Mediterranean. Amazing is a vast understatement. We also met these Sicilian twin brothers who have a restaurant in Vernazza. They told us all about what they make, etc etc, and showed us where Rick Steves (the European tour guide-extraordinaire) mentioned them in one of his books. Their place wasnt on the water, but the food made up for it.
This morning, we hopped a train to Venice and just arrived. So...I'm gonna check out some gondoliers.
On Thursday we caught the train to Cinque Terre, which is in Liguria on the northwest-ish coast. Cinque Terre means Five Lands, and it's just five little towns along the coast connected by hiking trails (and a train). We stayed in Vernazza (google image search that one; it's a pretty sweet view). Unfortunately, I got some kind of a cold the day before leaving Rome, so the first day in Vernazza I was not up to par. 13 hours of sleep later, though, I was up and ready to hike. We did the first part of the trail from Vernazza to the town just south, Corniglia, to get a picture; that one was a bit rough, so we took the train after that to the town furthest south, Riomaggiore, and walked from there north to Corniglia. The walkway was kind of cut into cliffs, so on the left hand side all you saw was the Mediterranean. Amazing is a vast understatement. We also met these Sicilian twin brothers who have a restaurant in Vernazza. They told us all about what they make, etc etc, and showed us where Rick Steves (the European tour guide-extraordinaire) mentioned them in one of his books. Their place wasnt on the water, but the food made up for it.
This morning, we hopped a train to Venice and just arrived. So...I'm gonna check out some gondoliers.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The last two weeks have been busy busy busy. I dont know if I'll even have time to write about it all before I have class (at the Roman Forum...how cool is that). Candace and Katie visited two weekends ago from Cairo and Edinburgh. On Saturday, Candace and I went to Anzio, which is this little beach town about an hour away. The Americans landed there in WW2, and that's mostly what it's known for. We saw the beach and some surfers, but then it started raining, so we headed back to Rome, and I bought a lovely book in English. Overpriced, but sort of worth it. Going back to Barnes and Noble and having the entire store in my language is gonna be amazing.
Right before and after that weekend, I had three papers and a presentation due....so that's why I havent' written much. Last weekend I went on a field trip to Pompeii, which was AMAZING. Just being in the south first of all was great; it was warm and sunny the whole weekend. There were lemon and orange trees everywhere, and to top it all off, we stayed at this sweet hotel overlooking the water in Sorrento.
Even though we didn't get to climb Mt. Vesuvius, the trip was great. The ruins at Pompeii are so well-preserved that you can actually tell what they once were, as opposed to Rome where a rock represents an old temple. They also had the plaster molds of people who died in the eruption...some of them even had teeth. And did you know that only 10% of the population of Pompeii died in the eruption? I thought it was most of the town, but nope.
On Sunday we went to Herculaneum, which was also destroyed in 79 AD. It's more intact, but less of it is excavated. That was pretty neat too; even the top floors of some buildings were preserved.
Yesterday was Liberation Day (when Italy was freed from Mussolini and the Nazis). I went to the Vatican for the Pope's audience in the morning. I actually saw him this time! He was zipping around on the Pope Mobile. Then Joe and I went to Villa Borghese (a huge park by the Spanish Steps). We found a pond where you can rent rowboats. There were tons of families there because of the holiday, but we waited in line for one anyway.
Other good things: we got internet in the apartment yesterday! And the school paid for it! It is quite nice not to have a 25 minute trip just to check email. I also finished my last paper of the semester this morning. Soo...I am hanging out and booking hostels and flights till finals!
Right before and after that weekend, I had three papers and a presentation due....so that's why I havent' written much. Last weekend I went on a field trip to Pompeii, which was AMAZING. Just being in the south first of all was great; it was warm and sunny the whole weekend. There were lemon and orange trees everywhere, and to top it all off, we stayed at this sweet hotel overlooking the water in Sorrento.
Even though we didn't get to climb Mt. Vesuvius, the trip was great. The ruins at Pompeii are so well-preserved that you can actually tell what they once were, as opposed to Rome where a rock represents an old temple. They also had the plaster molds of people who died in the eruption...some of them even had teeth. And did you know that only 10% of the population of Pompeii died in the eruption? I thought it was most of the town, but nope.
On Sunday we went to Herculaneum, which was also destroyed in 79 AD. It's more intact, but less of it is excavated. That was pretty neat too; even the top floors of some buildings were preserved.
Yesterday was Liberation Day (when Italy was freed from Mussolini and the Nazis). I went to the Vatican for the Pope's audience in the morning. I actually saw him this time! He was zipping around on the Pope Mobile. Then Joe and I went to Villa Borghese (a huge park by the Spanish Steps). We found a pond where you can rent rowboats. There were tons of families there because of the holiday, but we waited in line for one anyway.
Other good things: we got internet in the apartment yesterday! And the school paid for it! It is quite nice not to have a 25 minute trip just to check email. I also finished my last paper of the semester this morning. Soo...I am hanging out and booking hostels and flights till finals!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
The Vatican sure knows how to throw a party
Today is Pasquetta...that means everything in Rome shuts down, and everyone takes a little vacation. I should be writing one of my four papers, but I figured that since everyone else gets a day off, I should too. Mostly it's been spent procrastinating and gazing at the jar of Nutella on the shelf.
This weekend was packed, though. On Friday I went to Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with Joe and Vanessa. There had to have been at least 10,000 people packed into the little space between the Colosseum, the Arch of Augustus, and the Roman Forum. We found a nice grassy spot by a bunch of nuns. We got there almost two hours early, but there was no way we could get near the railing to see the Pope. They hand out little books that have the readings and responses so you can follow along. For some reason I was under the impression that part of it would be in English, but nope, all Italian with some Latin thrown in there for fun. Other than the Pope being there and giving a little speech at the end (oh, and being at the Colosseum), it was like any other stations of the cross.
Saturday was Vanessa's birthday, and you know what that means...excuse to go to Hard Rock. Tasty and delicious like always.
Sunday was hardcore. I got up at 5 to start the tram ride/hike to the Vatican by 6. We got there at 6:45, and there was already a pretty sizeable crowd waiting outside the gate. It was supposed to be a line, but I don't think there's any concept of "line" in Italy, so it was a crowd. They started letting people in at 8:15, and I snagged some seats in the front section about 10 rows back. Not bad for battling with 50,000 other people with tickets. At least we got seats; people without tickets had to stand...and that Mass was a good 2.5 hours. It seemed like we were surrounded by Germans...and this crazy Santa Claus-looking guy who was waving an Austrian flag plastered with pictures of John Paul II (I saw him on Friday too).
I was listening to my iPod waiting for the service to start at 10:30 when I heard someone playing guitar. And I thought to myself, 'Who on earth brings a guitar to Easter at the Vatican? I think they supply some pretty good music and don't really need backup.' But then I realized that it was two nuns playing guitar and starting a sing-along because, well, I guess they just didn't bring their iPods. That was actually a lot of fun. They were singing something in Spanish that I couldn't understand (except "emanuel"), but even the Germans were singing along.
Mass was really nifty too. Except the singing, which was in Latin, almost every other section was done in a different language. And then when the Pope said his message at the end (the one CNN was all over because he said the war in Iraq produced nothing good), he said Happy Easter in over 60 languages. That was impressive.
This weekend was packed, though. On Friday I went to Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with Joe and Vanessa. There had to have been at least 10,000 people packed into the little space between the Colosseum, the Arch of Augustus, and the Roman Forum. We found a nice grassy spot by a bunch of nuns. We got there almost two hours early, but there was no way we could get near the railing to see the Pope. They hand out little books that have the readings and responses so you can follow along. For some reason I was under the impression that part of it would be in English, but nope, all Italian with some Latin thrown in there for fun. Other than the Pope being there and giving a little speech at the end (oh, and being at the Colosseum), it was like any other stations of the cross.
Saturday was Vanessa's birthday, and you know what that means...excuse to go to Hard Rock. Tasty and delicious like always.
Sunday was hardcore. I got up at 5 to start the tram ride/hike to the Vatican by 6. We got there at 6:45, and there was already a pretty sizeable crowd waiting outside the gate. It was supposed to be a line, but I don't think there's any concept of "line" in Italy, so it was a crowd. They started letting people in at 8:15, and I snagged some seats in the front section about 10 rows back. Not bad for battling with 50,000 other people with tickets. At least we got seats; people without tickets had to stand...and that Mass was a good 2.5 hours. It seemed like we were surrounded by Germans...and this crazy Santa Claus-looking guy who was waving an Austrian flag plastered with pictures of John Paul II (I saw him on Friday too).
I was listening to my iPod waiting for the service to start at 10:30 when I heard someone playing guitar. And I thought to myself, 'Who on earth brings a guitar to Easter at the Vatican? I think they supply some pretty good music and don't really need backup.' But then I realized that it was two nuns playing guitar and starting a sing-along because, well, I guess they just didn't bring their iPods. That was actually a lot of fun. They were singing something in Spanish that I couldn't understand (except "emanuel"), but even the Germans were singing along.
Mass was really nifty too. Except the singing, which was in Latin, almost every other section was done in a different language. And then when the Pope said his message at the end (the one CNN was all over because he said the war in Iraq produced nothing good), he said Happy Easter in over 60 languages. That was impressive.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Amsterdam
So here's the first post about spring break. Vanessa and I went to Amsterdam on the 17th. We flew through Zurich on Swiss Air, and let me tell you, there's a reason they were voted the no. 1 airline in Europe--Swiss chocolate, cucumber sandwiches, and leather seats for everyone! For free! (well, the food, not the seats) Those were some of the most relaxing flights of my whole life. There's just one minor detail...Switzerland is not in the EU, so when we got to Amsterdam (back in the EU) they gave us a bit of trouble for not having our piece of paper that registered us with the government (different from a visa)...but the Italian government in all its bureaucracy hasnt given anyone their permesso di soggiorno yet. So that was a bit of an explanation. They let us through anyway, but with a stern warning to have it next time.
We got to Amsterdam about 7 or 8 PM and not knowing a word of Dutch. But we found our way to the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station since I had printed out directions to the hostel from there. We found it pretty easily and realized from some of the other people checking in that we were definitely not far from the red light district. It had a curfew and 24-hour security, so that eased our...uneasiness..but the drunk guy breathing down Vanessa's neck did not. But since the hostel didnt allow any alcohol or drugs there, he had to leave, and all was good and right in the world again.
Our room was up three flights of stairs, two of them being those twisty Dutch ones where you have to hug the wall so you wont miss a step and tumble down. Overall, it was a pretty clean place, and they even have free breakfast (with 4 options!) every morning. It's called Shelter City, and if you're ever in Amsterdam (and under 35 ish), it's a good place.
On Sunday, Vanessa and I wandered around to find the Anne Frank House--the main reason we had come to Amsterdam. It was quite a windy walk. Apparently most of Europe, while sunny and warm the week before, was cold, windy, and rainy the week of our spring break. Wonderful. I almost got blown over. More than once. We made it there, though, and since I had bought tickets online, we passed the entire line and walked right through the side door. Yes, it was a cold and windy (and later rainy) Sunday in March, and the line was around the block. Buy tickets ahead of time.
I had already seen pictures of the annex and office before, so I sort of knew what to expect, but what really surprised me was how small it was. The rooms were tiny; I really dont know how they fit more than one bed in some of them. To get up to the second floor, you had to climb stairs that were basically a ladder, and the people hiding were there for over two years and did that every day. The museum also included the offices in front of the annex and the building next door that had some of the family's original pictures and the diary. They also told the story of what happened to each person after they were found and arrested. It was good to see the real building finally, and I even saw some things I hadnt read about before.
After lunch we trekked to the Van Gogh Museum. It's cool if you're really into Van Gogh, but Starry Night is actually in New York, so I did not get to see that. It also has lots of paintings from his contemporaries and people who influenced his painting. Good, but not my fave. The Rembrandt museum is next door, and that's more up my alley, but we only had time for one. After we finished Van Gogh, we thought a tour of the Heineken museum might be fun. It looked cool, but you know those three "free" glasses of beer are not free, and since I dont like beer, and Vanessa doesnt like Heineken, we went to a tea place instead. It started raining right after we got inside, and pretty soon after that, it hailed. I also got to see a kid wipeout on rollerblades, so that was awesome. Hehehh....
This is already getting so long, so I'll wrap it up. On Sunday night we found a little brewery restaurant place and had amazing beer bread and soup for dinner. When we left on Monday, it was seriously snowing. Nice to see snow once this winter, but not while I'm lugging my stuff to the train station. Thankfully it didnt delay our flight at all. We got to the airport waaaay too early, but there's a lot to do in Amsterdam airport. It's like a whole mall right there, complete with jacked up prices.
We got to Amsterdam about 7 or 8 PM and not knowing a word of Dutch. But we found our way to the train to Amsterdam Centraal Station since I had printed out directions to the hostel from there. We found it pretty easily and realized from some of the other people checking in that we were definitely not far from the red light district. It had a curfew and 24-hour security, so that eased our...uneasiness..but the drunk guy breathing down Vanessa's neck did not. But since the hostel didnt allow any alcohol or drugs there, he had to leave, and all was good and right in the world again.
Our room was up three flights of stairs, two of them being those twisty Dutch ones where you have to hug the wall so you wont miss a step and tumble down. Overall, it was a pretty clean place, and they even have free breakfast (with 4 options!) every morning. It's called Shelter City, and if you're ever in Amsterdam (and under 35 ish), it's a good place.
On Sunday, Vanessa and I wandered around to find the Anne Frank House--the main reason we had come to Amsterdam. It was quite a windy walk. Apparently most of Europe, while sunny and warm the week before, was cold, windy, and rainy the week of our spring break. Wonderful. I almost got blown over. More than once. We made it there, though, and since I had bought tickets online, we passed the entire line and walked right through the side door. Yes, it was a cold and windy (and later rainy) Sunday in March, and the line was around the block. Buy tickets ahead of time.
I had already seen pictures of the annex and office before, so I sort of knew what to expect, but what really surprised me was how small it was. The rooms were tiny; I really dont know how they fit more than one bed in some of them. To get up to the second floor, you had to climb stairs that were basically a ladder, and the people hiding were there for over two years and did that every day. The museum also included the offices in front of the annex and the building next door that had some of the family's original pictures and the diary. They also told the story of what happened to each person after they were found and arrested. It was good to see the real building finally, and I even saw some things I hadnt read about before.
After lunch we trekked to the Van Gogh Museum. It's cool if you're really into Van Gogh, but Starry Night is actually in New York, so I did not get to see that. It also has lots of paintings from his contemporaries and people who influenced his painting. Good, but not my fave. The Rembrandt museum is next door, and that's more up my alley, but we only had time for one. After we finished Van Gogh, we thought a tour of the Heineken museum might be fun. It looked cool, but you know those three "free" glasses of beer are not free, and since I dont like beer, and Vanessa doesnt like Heineken, we went to a tea place instead. It started raining right after we got inside, and pretty soon after that, it hailed. I also got to see a kid wipeout on rollerblades, so that was awesome. Hehehh....
This is already getting so long, so I'll wrap it up. On Sunday night we found a little brewery restaurant place and had amazing beer bread and soup for dinner. When we left on Monday, it was seriously snowing. Nice to see snow once this winter, but not while I'm lugging my stuff to the train station. Thankfully it didnt delay our flight at all. We got to the airport waaaay too early, but there's a lot to do in Amsterdam airport. It's like a whole mall right there, complete with jacked up prices.
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