While ice rains down in St. Louis....
Stuck with 2 Americans ;) in Barcelona.
In Gaudi Park.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Barcelona: December 2007
While ice rains down in St. Louis....Stuck with 2 Americans ;) in Barcelona.In Gaudi Park.
Travels, Travels, Travels.
The past couple months have been quite busy with travels. I would have liked to return to the States for a short stay over the winter holidays to see the family and catch up with friends (and sorry for those of you I had promised to see!), but flight prices were outrageous, so I set off around Europe instead. And while spending Christmas alone (or rather with another traveler) was a bit strange, I had a great go of it traveling and am glad I opted to stay in Europe for the break. That said, I can't wait to see you all this summer!
On the with the travels! I did a little warmup for the 3-week expedition mid-December, paying a visit to Barcelona with a couple friends, Anna and Cassidy, who have come to be quite the travel buddies! Then on the 19th I set off for the real adventure. I ended up seeing Brussels and Leuven, Amsterdam and Utrecht, Berlin and Potsdam, Florence, Rome, and Naples in just under 3 weeks. Luckily, I managed to see most cities with friends, save for Berlin over Christmas :(, and a couple of the days in Rome including New Years :(, although even then I met several nice travelers in hostels. I have to say I enjoyed every city, although some things stand about each of them. I loved Rome, Florence, and Berlin for their history. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift than a week of Belgian and German beer. The feel of Holland, both its cities and people, was surprisingly my favorite of the 4 countries, although I didn't really go in with any expectations. And finally, Naples had the greatest views; and it was nice to finish out the trip with one of my good friends, Andrea, and his family who lives there.
I'll save the stories for another time; but here are a few pictures and there will be plenty more to follow!
Ah, Naples!
In Utrecht with Dirk.
The Reichstag.
In Florence with Abdu, Daniela, and Micol.
With Andrea in Naples: home of the world's first (and still greatest) pizza!
On the with the travels! I did a little warmup for the 3-week expedition mid-December, paying a visit to Barcelona with a couple friends, Anna and Cassidy, who have come to be quite the travel buddies! Then on the 19th I set off for the real adventure. I ended up seeing Brussels and Leuven, Amsterdam and Utrecht, Berlin and Potsdam, Florence, Rome, and Naples in just under 3 weeks. Luckily, I managed to see most cities with friends, save for Berlin over Christmas :(, and a couple of the days in Rome including New Years :(, although even then I met several nice travelers in hostels. I have to say I enjoyed every city, although some things stand about each of them. I loved Rome, Florence, and Berlin for their history. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift than a week of Belgian and German beer. The feel of Holland, both its cities and people, was surprisingly my favorite of the 4 countries, although I didn't really go in with any expectations. And finally, Naples had the greatest views; and it was nice to finish out the trip with one of my good friends, Andrea, and his family who lives there.
I'll save the stories for another time; but here are a few pictures and there will be plenty more to follow!
Ah, Naples!
In Utrecht with Dirk.
The Reichstag.
In Florence with Abdu, Daniela, and Micol.
With Andrea in Naples: home of the world's first (and still greatest) pizza!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
London: Photos
With Jen and John outside St. Paul's Cathedral.
With Charlie and Maggie in Picadilly Circus wearing our new hats!
With Charlie outside of Big Ben.
Wicked in London!
Wicked stage!
In front of the Tower of London Bridge
With John in front of the Tower of London.
On the HMS Belfast.
Captain O'Brien.
John and Pat aboard the HMS Belfast.
A taste of London.
With Charlie in the British Museum.
The Rosetta Stone.
Paris: Photos Part II
On the Seine with Cassidy.
Americans Anna and Cassidy with our couch surfing hosts Fred and Philippe along with François, who invited us over for some French cooking!
Melting cheese to add to potatos and ham.
Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles.
Best crepes in town.
Timed picture, not quite in time...
Fairwell Paris.
Paris: Photos Part I
From the top of the Notre Dame.
Ah, Paris!
"Baila Morena" from the Sacré-Coure. See it live on the video feed below..."¡Baila Morena!"
Street music done right!
The Sacré-Coure.
The Louvre.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a 3rd century B.C. marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world.
Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde) is a 16th-century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. It is arguably the most famous painting in the world, and few other works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody.
The Borghese Gladiator - originally part of the Italian collection whose name it bears - is actually a depiction of a fighting warrior. It is a Hellenistic sculpture created at Ephesus about 100 BCE, signed by Agasias of Ephesus. It was found at Nettuno before 1611 and added to the Borghese collection in Rome. The Gladiator was valued at $1 million in the $13 million purchase of some 25+ pieces (if I remember correctly) acquired by Napoleon in 1807 from Camillo Borghese, who's government was badly in debt at the time.
The Aphrodite of Milos, better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. It is believed to depict Aphrodite (called Venus by the Romans), the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Its arms and original plinth have been lost. From an inscription that was on its plinth, it is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
November 2007
November was a busy month. Classes are in full swing, the work schedule has filled up a bit, and I have finally done some real traveling. I won't bore you with the details of classes or work, as most responses haven't been too keen on either of those, but there is plenty to share about travels!
PARIS:
With a few trips to cities around Madrid under my belt and a bit of a friend network here in Madrid I finally scheduled a few flights around the rest of Europe. In the first half of the month I traveled to Paris with a couple friends for 5 days and had a chance to see a few of the big sights. Without having to cram it all into a short weekend we were able to enjoy several walks along the Seine, pastries, wine and cheese, fall weather, and good company throughout the day between some of the sights. We also tried (for the first time) staying with locals rather than paying for the customary hostal. After searching a site called CouchSurfing.com we wound up finding several nice Frenchmen who offered us a couch or floor to sleep on. So we spent nights 1 and 2 with a couple guys to the north of the city and nights 3 and 4 just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower. Of all the things we saw, the Louvre was by far and away my favorite. For those who haven't been, the museum is comprised of three wings, each with three to four floors, offering the most comprehensive display of world history in the world. Outside the Louvre, while visiting the Sacré Coure, Notre Dame, and Eiffel Tower were all impressive, the company really topped things off. The third night of our stay we started the night off with a classic French meal: potatos, melted cheese, and an assortment of meats all served together over a few bottles of French wine with our hosts Philippe and Fred. Then we headed across town to an Irish pub before grabbing crepes at 5 in the morning. Sunday we headed out to Versailles for a few hours to tour the Palace and gardens. Passing through the Hall of Mirrors was a neat experience, and learing a little more about French history was interesting as well. We capped off the trip with a few bottles of my very favorite Hoegaarden beer and a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Paris is definately a city still near the top of list to visit. What a place!
LONDON:
In the back half of November I ventured up to London for a few days, where I met friends John, Jen, and Maggie (very nice to meet that weekend), from high school who are studying abroad this semester, and caught up with my friend, Charlie, who came in from Bristol for the weekend. After much anticipation (most of which coming from Uncle Tom!), we got a taste of London, kicking things off with Stephen Schwartz's, Wicked! While it was bitter cold, we also enjoyed seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. Without much time (or motivation from those of us who had traveled to a different country every weekend of the semester), we enjoyed St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London from the outside. After crossing the Tower of London Bridge on Saturday and losing feeling in our fingers the two girls demanded we stop for a cup of coffee. Completely turned off by the prospect of drinking Starbuck's in Europe, John and I opted to tour the HMS Belfast, a battleship commissioned into the British Navy in 1939 that led the naval bombardment off Normandy in support of the Allied landings of D-Day, before being retired to where she is permantly docked on the Thames. That night we enjoyed our first taste of England's famous Fish & Chips while walking along Oxford St., two kilometers of shopping (although we wisely started toward the end). Later that night, after exploring the Soho and Picadilly Circus districts, I had a chance to see Mizzou's football team defeat #2 Kansas and take the top seed in national rankings. A few British ales at 4 in the morning made the victory all the more sweet! On our final day, the boys all took a trip to the British Museum, where we saw the Rossetta Stone among the best collection of Egyptian artifacts I have yet to see. After a few minced pies and normal pasteurized milk (none in Spain) for lunch, Charlie and I took a peek at a few works by Rembrandt and Monet in the National Gallery before calling it a night. Like Paris, London is a city I would love pay another visit soon. The theatre is great, national museums and historic sites are many, and the Fish & Chips are addictive!
I'll follow this entry with some of the photos from the trips! And I have also added a few videos (see right pane) from a bull fight I saw here in Madrid a couple months back.
PARIS:
With a few trips to cities around Madrid under my belt and a bit of a friend network here in Madrid I finally scheduled a few flights around the rest of Europe. In the first half of the month I traveled to Paris with a couple friends for 5 days and had a chance to see a few of the big sights. Without having to cram it all into a short weekend we were able to enjoy several walks along the Seine, pastries, wine and cheese, fall weather, and good company throughout the day between some of the sights. We also tried (for the first time) staying with locals rather than paying for the customary hostal. After searching a site called CouchSurfing.com we wound up finding several nice Frenchmen who offered us a couch or floor to sleep on. So we spent nights 1 and 2 with a couple guys to the north of the city and nights 3 and 4 just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower. Of all the things we saw, the Louvre was by far and away my favorite. For those who haven't been, the museum is comprised of three wings, each with three to four floors, offering the most comprehensive display of world history in the world. Outside the Louvre, while visiting the Sacré Coure, Notre Dame, and Eiffel Tower were all impressive, the company really topped things off. The third night of our stay we started the night off with a classic French meal: potatos, melted cheese, and an assortment of meats all served together over a few bottles of French wine with our hosts Philippe and Fred. Then we headed across town to an Irish pub before grabbing crepes at 5 in the morning. Sunday we headed out to Versailles for a few hours to tour the Palace and gardens. Passing through the Hall of Mirrors was a neat experience, and learing a little more about French history was interesting as well. We capped off the trip with a few bottles of my very favorite Hoegaarden beer and a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Paris is definately a city still near the top of list to visit. What a place!
LONDON:
In the back half of November I ventured up to London for a few days, where I met friends John, Jen, and Maggie (very nice to meet that weekend), from high school who are studying abroad this semester, and caught up with my friend, Charlie, who came in from Bristol for the weekend. After much anticipation (most of which coming from Uncle Tom!), we got a taste of London, kicking things off with Stephen Schwartz's, Wicked! While it was bitter cold, we also enjoyed seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. Without much time (or motivation from those of us who had traveled to a different country every weekend of the semester), we enjoyed St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London from the outside. After crossing the Tower of London Bridge on Saturday and losing feeling in our fingers the two girls demanded we stop for a cup of coffee. Completely turned off by the prospect of drinking Starbuck's in Europe, John and I opted to tour the HMS Belfast, a battleship commissioned into the British Navy in 1939 that led the naval bombardment off Normandy in support of the Allied landings of D-Day, before being retired to where she is permantly docked on the Thames. That night we enjoyed our first taste of England's famous Fish & Chips while walking along Oxford St., two kilometers of shopping (although we wisely started toward the end). Later that night, after exploring the Soho and Picadilly Circus districts, I had a chance to see Mizzou's football team defeat #2 Kansas and take the top seed in national rankings. A few British ales at 4 in the morning made the victory all the more sweet! On our final day, the boys all took a trip to the British Museum, where we saw the Rossetta Stone among the best collection of Egyptian artifacts I have yet to see. After a few minced pies and normal pasteurized milk (none in Spain) for lunch, Charlie and I took a peek at a few works by Rembrandt and Monet in the National Gallery before calling it a night. Like Paris, London is a city I would love pay another visit soon. The theatre is great, national museums and historic sites are many, and the Fish & Chips are addictive!
I'll follow this entry with some of the photos from the trips! And I have also added a few videos (see right pane) from a bull fight I saw here in Madrid a couple months back.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
El Escorial & Valle de los Caidos
In the words of my friend who posted the picture..."Pat being a dork." A couple weekends ago a my friend, Anna, and I caught a bus to El Escorial and its neighboring Valley of the Fallen. The town is just 30 miles northwest of Madrid and well worth the trip. Here are a couple photos and some history on the sites...
In the front courtyard of the Monestario in El Escorial. 
(Didn't take this one myself, but the views are incredible.)The monestary was commissioned by Philip II of Spain in 1559, at the onset of his reign (1556-1598) in reaction to the tide of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Interesting, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the monestary and was a place in which the "temporal power of the Spanish monarchy and the ecclesiastical predominance of the Roman Catholic religion in Spain found a common architectural manifestation. El Escorial was, at once, a monastery AND a Spanish royal palace (Wikipedia)."
Valley of the Fallen. Franco commissioned the construction of the monument and the Catholic basilica at its base at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1937-1939) to commemorate the fallen. Some 40,000 are buried beneath the valley floor. The site is still somewhat controversial however...Although the valley contains Nationalist and Republican graves, the tone of the monument is distinctly Nationalist and anti-Communist; the supposed balance is rather upset by the inscription "¡Caídos por Dios y por España!" (to "those who fell for God and for Spain"); few of those who fought and died on the Republican side would have said they did so "for God". Additionally, Franco's timing of his announcement of the decision to create the monument left no doubts: on 1 April 1940, the day of the victory parade to celebrate the first anniversary of his triumph over the Republic, Franco announced his personal decision to raise a splendid monument to those who had fallen in his cause (Wikipedia).
A few other fun facts about the site:
-The cross is the tallest memorial cross in the world, rising 152.4 meters.
-Pope John XXIII declared the underground crypt a basilica in 1960, but because the dimensions of the basilica, as excaveted, are larger than those of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome a partitioning wall was built inside the entranceway and left unconsecrated to avoid competition.
-The site's 18 year construction was completed by some 14,000 convicts and political prisoners.
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