Firenze, Italy

May Twenty Seventh, 2012 –

I got up early this morning because I had to do some laundry again.  I went strait to the launderette and threw my clothes in and then went strait to look for a SIM card for my burner.  After purchasing the SIM I went back to finish my clothes and fold them.  Today was the classes first day in Firenze, Italy.  Everyone met up at the hotel at 12:00 and we threw our bags in a room so we could go to the Ufizzi Galleria right by Brunelleschi’s Duomo.  Today Anoop told Brady and I to lead the group to the desired location and luckily we had walked by it last night on our way to Osteria de Benci.  We led the group there quickly and flawlessly.  When we got there we saw more statues outside of the galleria, and then we continued on inside.  Once we were inside we saw many works of art and sculptures by some great artists of the past. 

 Brunelleschi's Duomo

After touring the gallery I had to walk back to the hotel to get my SIM card password out of my bag in order to get my burner to work.  I made it there and back in about 20 minutes, which was definitely a brisk pace.  The group met back up outside the gallery at 2:30 and then we walked to the Academia Gallery.  This is where “David” the real sculpture is held.  This sculpture was absolutely amazing because of its balance and shear size.  A neat thing about the sculpture is the fiber optic sensor it had on it in order to observe excessive vibrations.  This sculpture was absolutely phenomenal not only because the size and balance, but also because nothing was holding up the massive structure. 

Gates of Paradise

Lastly we walked to Ponte de Vecchio and walked across the bridge to see all the shops along it and view the bridge itself.  On our walk home we passed by some street vendors selling everything from leather to jewelry and all sorts of knick-knacks. 

 Ponte de Vecchio

For dinner a couple of us walked down the street to a quick pizzeria for some take away.  I told them to give me the best pizza they had and “Rocky” the one who took my order hooked it up.  This was definitely some of the best pizza yet.

May 22-26, 2012 Lets just call it paradise

May Twenty Second – Twenty Sixth, 2012 –

Today on the Twenty-Second of May we caught up on blogs and rest once again.  This was a good break from all of the walking and a good chance to settle down for a little bit.  At around 4:30 we all met up downstairs and we walked to the metro and rode to the Spanish Steps.  When we got there we got off at the wrong stop and ended up having to walk in circles for a few minutes and then finally found them.  We walked to the top of the stairs and took in the surrounding church and the crowd around the stairs.  After the Steps we got into teams and started trying to find our way around Roma with just maps and trial and error.  Our first stop was a fountain that was next to a modern art building.  Next we went to the Trevi Fountain and I tossed one Euro into the fountain like all the tourists.  I also got some Gelato Crème Carmel, which was some of the best I have had so far.

Next up it was Dave’s and my turn to take us to Campo De Fiori, which was a big plaza and had the Drunken ship in the same area.  We all stopped for a small snack and a little beer, after the snack we navigated our way to the only island in the Tiber.  This was a pretty cool place, but the Church owned it so we could not get to it.  It also started raining so we all separated and found places for dinner.  We stopped at a restaurant right across the street and I had a delicious white fish and mashed potato dinner called the Cernia alla mugnaia. 

The next day Brady, Jack, Sumner, Dave, and I all left for Positano on the Amalfi coast for our free days.  We hopped on a high-speed rail from Roma to Napoli, which only took about an hour and a half.  From Napoli we jumped in a cab that took us all the way to our hotel in Positano called the Royal Domina Hotel.  This place had a great view and everything around it was beautiful.  Where we stayed was a hill town with a sea view.  The town had houses built into the sides of it and houses stacked one on top of the other. 

We went to the beach every day and on our walk down we would always stop at the Delicatessen to pick up freshly made Panini’s and Nastro Azzuros Birre.  The beaches were black sand that turned into small little pebble rocks, and then into larger smooth stone beaches.  The water was an amazing blue, but at times had many jelly fish.   We met some nice people on the beach most days; a couple from Brazil and some guys from Colorado.  We would stay on the beach until about 5:00 everyday then walk back up the hundreds of stairs to our hotel.  After showering and relaxing for a little we would go to dinner.  We had some amazing local dinners here and some great house wines. 

One night we met an American, Derek that was a lot of fun and quite hilarious.  I think he was just so excited to see some American’s that would actually drink more that one or two relaxing drinks.  He told us about his idea to open up and Irish pub in the area, which personally I think would be awesome since it is such a touristy place. 

Unfortunately we had to leave this paradise, but we made our way by bus to Sorrento, and then an hour and twenty-minute train ride back to Napoli.  Once we got to Napoli train station we got a quick pizza at the station and then to our 2:50 high-speed train to Firenze.  This took about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Napoli because we had to go back through Roma. 

When we got to Firenze we found Kyle and Tanner and tried to get a hotel at the Hotel Boston.  This was a very small place, and the main guy at the front desk spoke almost no English.  Once we discovered that there were no rooms Brady, Sumner, and Jack found a place right down the road with 4 beds for a good price.  We took showers and then hit the town for dinner and some drinks.  We went to Osteria de Benci and had another amazing dinner.  I got the Drunkhaard Noodles, which are like regular spaghetti noodles but soaked in red wine and a lite cream taste to it.  We also got 2 liters of the house Chianti for the table.  This was an awesome dinner that carried us on to the Lion’s Fountain Irish pub that was filled with American college students.  We got one beer and hung out for a little while, then decided to head back to the hotel since we had a good bit to do in the morning before “class” started b

Roma and the Vatican

May Twenty First, 2012 – 

Today was another very early start.  We met up at 8:00 this morning downstairs in the hotel lobby.  We then left for the Vatican, which unfortunately on the way it was pouring down rain.  We hopped on the metro here and rode it to the Vatican, but we had a little bit further to walk to get there.  We stood in the middle of the Vatican grounds where the Pope comes out and the hands circle it, welcoming you into the house of God.  This was a pretty cool idea that they had so long ago especially with it working so well.  We stopped after this and finally I tried the gelato, Nutella, and it was awesome.  

At 11:30 we had our tour and luckily we were able to pass through the line with a sort of quick pass.  We finally entered the Vatican and were given a 30-minute explanation of a few things we would be seeing, mainly in the Sistine Chapel.  After this we started walking through all of the many different pieces they had in the corridors.  They say that if you were to spend one minute on every piece in the museum that it would take you 13 years to see the entire collection.  We only got a brief view of some of the pieces that they had and this was still quite overwhelming.  

Of course my favorite part was actually getting to see the Sistine Chapel, this was quite amazing at what Michelangelo was able to paint considering he was not even a painter, but a sculpture.  

After we went to St. Peter’s Basilica to view the largest basilica in the world.  This was by far the largest single thing I have seen like this.  It’s hard to truly describe the size of St. Peter’s, but it is just truly MASSIVE.  The coolest part of St. Peter’s was the sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary Magdalene and Jesus.  It was quite a sight to see, especially since that was the only thing actually signed by Michelangelo that is involved with the Vatican or St. Peter’s.

Really Old Stuff in a Place Called Roma

May Twentieth, 2012 – 

Today we started a little bit later than normal so that was a good start to Rome.  We left for the coliseum, which was a massive public stadium that held everything from speeches, gladiator battles, animal hunts, and even sea reenactments.  There wasn’t much of the original structure, just the North side that is left to see today.  Luckily the French helped save the coliseum by placing bricks on the sides where if they hadn’t it wouldn’t not still be standing today.  Another crazy thing was that how dark the actual stone was that hadn’t been cleaned.  The tour guide said that it was from all the pollution in the air that caused it.  We got a pretty good tour and were able to get some good information and great pictures.

After the coliseum we grabbed some quick food and then continued to another tour of the Palentine Hill.  This was where the emperors lived and the rich because they believed that the air was much cleaner on the hill.  I got to stand right on top of where emperors would sit in their thrones when they spoke and had meetings with his subjects. 

Later we went to the Roman Forum and this was the center of Roman culture.  While we were there we saw a bronze door and porfiri marble from Egypt.  The door was the oldest bronze door that still worked lock and everything. On the sides of this door it had a column on each side.  These were the Egyptian marble that is a deep red color and they are worth 130 million Euro’s a piece.  We also saw where Julius Cesar’s remains are buried which was amazing since people still place flowers there today.  

Our last stop was the Pantheon which was also quite amazing with its shear size and the dome that they were able to accomplish such a long time ago. 

Roma here we come

May Nineteenth, 2012 - 

This was a very early start for us, but we made it to the airport by a 25-minute cab ride.  I got breakfast at McDonald's and then went to the gate to wait for takeoff.  We arrived in Rome, Italy around 8:25 and we walked to the baggage claim to grab our luggage.  Everyone was grabbing their bags as they came around the way and then it stopped.  I noticed that everyone had their bags and that apparently mine did not make it.  I had to go to the luggage claim and file a report.  We then set off on an hour and a half bus ride to our hotel, and the bus driver was driving a stick shift and it was a pretty rough ride.  When we finally made it to the hotel we got our rooms and set out for a little lunch at Primo.

While we were walking to Campo de Fiori we came across another riot/strike in the middle of a square right in front of the Pantheon.

 At lunch I had short macaroni with a marinara sauce, sheep's cheese and milk and some meat.  This was a great first meal in Rome and it was not too expensive.  We finished up lunch and then came back to the hotel to catch up on some work and sleep.  We met back up at 6:30 to go to the Gates of Rome and after that we went to the Drunken Ship, which is an American bar.  While we were there they had student discounts and we were able to watch Chelsea win the championship.  This was an awesome time getting to watch it with so many people and actual “football” fans.  After the bar we took a cab home and went to sleep cause tomorrow is our first full day.

Our last day in Barcelona

May Eighteen, 2012 –

Today we woke up early to catch a train to Tarragona, Spain for a small day trip to a roman amphitheater.  The amphitheater was located right on the coast, except for the train tracks that separated it from the actual sand.  This was an amazing and unique place since it was right on the coast and in a beautiful coastal area.  Right across the road from the amphitheater was a roman museum that had many different types of statues, glass pieces, tiled mosaics, and many other pieces from when they were there. 

After we got done touring the area Dave and I went to a restaurant in the area called Kunan.  This was a very small and quaint place that was run by one lady, and by far was the best meal that I have had to date.  I got a Catalona salad, which had fresh lettuce, mild creamy vinaigrette, corn, the best and most fresh tomatoes, and about four different types of sausages.  I started with a local beer called Rosita, which is brewed right here in Tarragona and later I got a glass of the house red wine which was very good also. 

Anoop and Kramer ate there with us and after we were finished we walked back to the train station to wait for our ride back to Barcelona.  Once we got back we just hung out for a little and then went out to eat with almost everyone.  We went to bed early because of our 7:00 am flight.  We woke up around 4:30 and the street was almost as crowded as it was during the day.

Made here in Tarragona

Lunch

 

Dinner