So I've decided that many of the good things in this world reside in Italy. For example, Michaelangelo's David, which, when seen in person, knocks everything else out of the park. The Leaning Tower too, in the medevil town of Pisa, is an exciting sight for a wandering tourist like me. And the food - oh boy the food...if I were to live in Italy there would be a good chance I would weigh twice what I do now. Florence is a great city, filled with reminders of a time long past and marked with the signature of thousands of famous Renaissance artists.
So, yes. Italy is a fabulous place.
After we left Rome last Thursday, we went to Pisa to spend some time taking in the sights. It was gorgeous out - probably close to 70, so we laid in the extraordinarily green (to my Minnesota eyes) grass to catch some rays and eat lunch. We walked around and explored, but since we are on a 21-day train limit we left for Florence after only 2 hours.
Our train was an hour late to Florence, which was a real bummer since it cut down the time we had before museums closed (one thing I dislike about Italy is their train system). Anyway, we would only have time to go to one museum that day so we decided to hit uup the Acadamie, which was really cool. It was a small museum but had many famous paintings and all the pictures were labeled and described in English, which really enhanced the experience.
We stayed in a neat hostel that night, one that was filled with travelers like ourselves. We ended up meeting a guy from Seattle and hanging out with him for most of the night. We also got a free supper and breakfast included with our rent payment, which was very welcome.
The next morning (Friday) we got up and walked around for awhile. We had planned to leave for Trento at 11, but Tim wanted to see a few more museums so he changed his ticket to leave later. I decided that I was museumed out, so I opted to keep my ticket and spend my time walking around, reading and writing. It was a quick train ride back to Trento, and since I had 2 hours before Tim arrived I enjoyed a sit in the park where I fell asleep and got perhaps a little too much sun. I also chanced to meet an old Italian man (he was 82, he kept tellling me) who lived in Trento. He said he used to work at the "hottest bar in Venice. In San Pedros square. Hottest Bar. Martini Martini, gin, whiskey sour. Hottest bar in Venice. I was 20. Now Im 82. 82. 82..." (and so on and so on) I believe he had Alzheimers or didnt know what he was saying in English, so it was a very interesting conversation.
Federica picked us up again and we went back to her place, where her parents had another wonderful meal ready for us. Later we went out with Fede and a few of her friends to get some ice cream and we actually ended up going to a Cherl Porter jazz/soul concert, which was really funny. She sang in English and I suspect nobody in the audience really knew what she was singing about. It was a great concert though and the piano player was phenomenal.
Saturday afternoon we headed out for Fribourg, Switzerland, where I am at the moment. We are staying with Delphine and her family, who are friends of Tim. Last night we had a very Swiss meal - cheese fondu. It was much different than I ever would have expected as it consisted of dipping bread and potatoes in melted cheese. As many of you do know, I am not much of a cheese fan, but surprisingly on this trip I have had plenty of cheese...and I have enjoyed it as well. Strange.
I believe I forgot to write about two strange incidents that happened to me in Rome. When we were in line to go into the Coliseum, I looked back and 3 people behind us was our friend Joel, who we had met 6 days earlier in Nice. He was alone so we invited him to join us for the day. It was very random we were at the Coliseum at the exact same time...
But even more ridiculous was who I met at the Pantheon later that day. We were on our way out when I noticed a big dude wearing a Bethel Football t-shirt. Who was it? James Foster, who graduated a year ahead of me from Hillcrest. It was probably the most insane random meet I have ever experienced, especially since I hadnt seen him for 2 years. But really, what are the chances you meet someone you know from high school at the Pantheon in Rome? Wow. Turns out he is studying in Europe and was on a trip during his break throughout Italy. We both had a good laugh indeed. Small World...
Anyway, we have exactly one week left on our rail pass and then 2 weeks left in Norway. I am getting really excited to see all my old Norsk friends and am pumped up for some NOrwegian mountain. Tomorrow we spend another day in Fribourg and might even get a chance to go to a hockey game...haha.
Also, if anyone reading has extra questions about anything in particular, dont hesitate to ask. It is hard to go into great detail without writing for hours and hours...so hit me up - calvinbrue@gmail.com
And Ive been thinking...on this trip I have had only two regrets,
1) That my elementary and high school years didnt stress the importance of learning another language.
2) That I didnt bring a scooter...
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Downlow.
Today went by in a blur. We spent our morning sleeping in, which was both delightful and refreshing. Then it was on to Vatican City, a 45 minute walk through downtown Rome.
The Vatican is an interesting place. Considered a city-state, it lies in the heart of Rome and is encompassed by massive walls. When we got there we really had no idea what was going on. Hundreds of people were standing around taking pictures of St. Peters Basilica, a huge church that is the focal point of the Vatican. Our lucky streak picked up again, as the Pope made an appearance 25 minutes after we got there. But I guess considering I have (and still dont) no idea who the Pope is or where he is from, perhaps it isn't a very big deal? Anyway, he had a pretty tricked out golf cart that he drove around in.
We went to the Vatican museums, which is home to many famous artistic works including the Sistine Chapel. When looked at in a picture, the Sistine Chapel looks pretty impressive; when seen in first person, it is almost unbelievable. Its detail and the amount of time that must have gone into it is ridiculous. The rest of the museum was also fun, but the Sistine Chapel was definitely the best thing I've seen in awhile...
After we hitched a train to a small Mediterranean town north of Rome to catch some rays and enjoy the beach. The sunset was brilliant and the salty air very pleasant. After a few hours we headed back to our hostel.
Anyway, I have yet to give a true rundown of how things are played out here in Europe with the trains and how we travel everywhere. For the most part, we have a very rough itinerary that is constantly changing, a nice aspect of train travel. We can decide the night before if we want to go somewhere, or even the day of if the destination is close enough. If you remember, we planned on taking a ferry from Barcelona to Rome, but because of date issues with hosts, things we'd heard from travelers and locals, we decided to skip that part and reroute to Northern Italy.
Trains are very easy to catch here in Europe. Every city has a train station that is continually sending trains all over the place. Unlike the US, it is rare that someone will drive to the next town, let alone drive for even an hour. Trains are much more efficient, cheaper and the system Europe has is very well done. Because we have a Eurail Pass, we can ride any train we want for free. The only hitch is if the train requires a reservation (a night train or a "speed" train), we have to pay an extra fee of 3-15 Euros. So far we've made it with only several fees, riding the smaller trains that go through more country.
Once we decide where to go, we check a computer or ticket officer to see when the next train leaves. On trains we mostly read, chat or nap (it is easy to sleep on trains when you are tired). Most trains have groups of 4 chairs facing each other, some in compartments, but mostly they are exactly like any tour bus. Usually they have room, but during peak hours can be cramped. I usually enjoy train rides, especially when going through the countryside, which is often very beautiful.
Once we get to the town we are going, we find a map and locate a tourist office to find hostels (if needed). Tourist offices have been extremely helpful (since we didn't book any hotels before we left) and always find us good deals and nice places. We've been lost, but have not yet been lost for good...
So anyway, hope that gives you a better idea of how and when we end up where we do. Tomorrow we take an early train to Florence to spend the day and night doing what may well be our last "touristy" type stuff. Then back up to Trento to pick up our bags (we left our large packs there and took only small packs to Rome - much easier) and on to our Northern journey - Switzerlan, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We have about 26 days left in Europe, so it should be quite the ride!
The Vatican is an interesting place. Considered a city-state, it lies in the heart of Rome and is encompassed by massive walls. When we got there we really had no idea what was going on. Hundreds of people were standing around taking pictures of St. Peters Basilica, a huge church that is the focal point of the Vatican. Our lucky streak picked up again, as the Pope made an appearance 25 minutes after we got there. But I guess considering I have (and still dont) no idea who the Pope is or where he is from, perhaps it isn't a very big deal? Anyway, he had a pretty tricked out golf cart that he drove around in.
We went to the Vatican museums, which is home to many famous artistic works including the Sistine Chapel. When looked at in a picture, the Sistine Chapel looks pretty impressive; when seen in first person, it is almost unbelievable. Its detail and the amount of time that must have gone into it is ridiculous. The rest of the museum was also fun, but the Sistine Chapel was definitely the best thing I've seen in awhile...
After we hitched a train to a small Mediterranean town north of Rome to catch some rays and enjoy the beach. The sunset was brilliant and the salty air very pleasant. After a few hours we headed back to our hostel.
Anyway, I have yet to give a true rundown of how things are played out here in Europe with the trains and how we travel everywhere. For the most part, we have a very rough itinerary that is constantly changing, a nice aspect of train travel. We can decide the night before if we want to go somewhere, or even the day of if the destination is close enough. If you remember, we planned on taking a ferry from Barcelona to Rome, but because of date issues with hosts, things we'd heard from travelers and locals, we decided to skip that part and reroute to Northern Italy.
Trains are very easy to catch here in Europe. Every city has a train station that is continually sending trains all over the place. Unlike the US, it is rare that someone will drive to the next town, let alone drive for even an hour. Trains are much more efficient, cheaper and the system Europe has is very well done. Because we have a Eurail Pass, we can ride any train we want for free. The only hitch is if the train requires a reservation (a night train or a "speed" train), we have to pay an extra fee of 3-15 Euros. So far we've made it with only several fees, riding the smaller trains that go through more country.
Once we decide where to go, we check a computer or ticket officer to see when the next train leaves. On trains we mostly read, chat or nap (it is easy to sleep on trains when you are tired). Most trains have groups of 4 chairs facing each other, some in compartments, but mostly they are exactly like any tour bus. Usually they have room, but during peak hours can be cramped. I usually enjoy train rides, especially when going through the countryside, which is often very beautiful.
Once we get to the town we are going, we find a map and locate a tourist office to find hostels (if needed). Tourist offices have been extremely helpful (since we didn't book any hotels before we left) and always find us good deals and nice places. We've been lost, but have not yet been lost for good...
So anyway, hope that gives you a better idea of how and when we end up where we do. Tomorrow we take an early train to Florence to spend the day and night doing what may well be our last "touristy" type stuff. Then back up to Trento to pick up our bags (we left our large packs there and took only small packs to Rome - much easier) and on to our Northern journey - Switzerlan, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We have about 26 days left in Europe, so it should be quite the ride!
SPQR.
It seems absurd to think about how small the world really is, considering the significant places I have been in the past two weeks. Only a little over a week ago I was viewing the Mona Lisa in Paris, Big Ben in London before that. Now I am in Rome enjoying excellent weather and the Coliseum and Vatican city, tomorrow I will be back up in the Italian Alps and the day after hiking through the Swiss Mountains. Modern travel rocks my world.
Trento turned out to be extremely fun. We ate great food and it was really relaxing to have some fresh air away from the clustered tourist exhibits we were growing accustomed to. Both days in Trento we hiked up the snowy Alps and tried our hand (most miserably) at snowboarding and other snow sports. It was ridiculously warm on the mountain, despite there being 5 feet of snow in some places. After hiking we would head back to the house for some Italian hot chocolate (more like hot chocolate/pudding) and hanging out. We played a lot of music, sang karoake (both in Italian and English), and even experienced being a double-minority (in gender and language) when we went out for pizza with 8 Italian girls to celebrate Italy's "National Women's Day"
We left Trento on early Monday morning to catch a train to Venice, where we spent the next 13 hours until a night train would take us to Rome. Venice was interesting, but there are no major landmarks or very touristy things to do (unless you pay 140 bucks for a gondola ride). So, we wandered around - literally wandered since the streets are interwoven with the various channels that have given the city its popularity. It is a very small city and you are able to walk from one side to the other very quickly. We enjoyed a lot of stops, sitting down to rest and read by the rivers.
Our night train to Rome was so-so. We met an italian guy our age who was fun to talk to and he spotted us each a sandwich and a snickers bar - a very welcome midnight snack. We slept little on the train as it was extremely cold and we had no blankets, but we felt refreshed once the sun came out in Rome.
Rome was great - I only have a brief time to write, so it will not do the city justice. We saw the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Palitine hill, huge churches, thousands-of-years-old buildings and other amazing structures. This has been a great place for me, the Coliseum being my favorite thing. The weather has also been profoundly wonderful, usually close to 60 and sunny. Today we head out for Vatican City, which I hear is enormous in the number of famous sculptures and rich art history. Who knows...maybe we'll even see the Pope?
Trento turned out to be extremely fun. We ate great food and it was really relaxing to have some fresh air away from the clustered tourist exhibits we were growing accustomed to. Both days in Trento we hiked up the snowy Alps and tried our hand (most miserably) at snowboarding and other snow sports. It was ridiculously warm on the mountain, despite there being 5 feet of snow in some places. After hiking we would head back to the house for some Italian hot chocolate (more like hot chocolate/pudding) and hanging out. We played a lot of music, sang karoake (both in Italian and English), and even experienced being a double-minority (in gender and language) when we went out for pizza with 8 Italian girls to celebrate Italy's "National Women's Day"
We left Trento on early Monday morning to catch a train to Venice, where we spent the next 13 hours until a night train would take us to Rome. Venice was interesting, but there are no major landmarks or very touristy things to do (unless you pay 140 bucks for a gondola ride). So, we wandered around - literally wandered since the streets are interwoven with the various channels that have given the city its popularity. It is a very small city and you are able to walk from one side to the other very quickly. We enjoyed a lot of stops, sitting down to rest and read by the rivers.
Our night train to Rome was so-so. We met an italian guy our age who was fun to talk to and he spotted us each a sandwich and a snickers bar - a very welcome midnight snack. We slept little on the train as it was extremely cold and we had no blankets, but we felt refreshed once the sun came out in Rome.
Rome was great - I only have a brief time to write, so it will not do the city justice. We saw the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Palitine hill, huge churches, thousands-of-years-old buildings and other amazing structures. This has been a great place for me, the Coliseum being my favorite thing. The weather has also been profoundly wonderful, usually close to 60 and sunny. Today we head out for Vatican City, which I hear is enormous in the number of famous sculptures and rich art history. Who knows...maybe we'll even see the Pope?
Friday, March 6, 2009
Italians.
Tonight I experienced my first home-cooked true Italian meal and let me tell you it got better with every bite. We left Nice this morning after breakfast at our hostel and headed for Trento, Italy, a city of 105,000 a short distance north from Venice. We are staying with Federica, another exchange student friend of Tims, which is a real blessing and also very fun as we get to meet and talk with the family. Tonight was quite entertaining as neither of her parents speak a word of English, but we had a good time sharing stories through translation and sign language.
We had a 10 hour train ride that was somewhat long and boring, but we made it across nearly the entire northern part of Italy. Funny thing - I ran into 2 people (who were traveling separetely from each other) from Minnesota, which gave me a good laugh. Small world, I guess.
We will be staying here in Trento for the next few days and are going to take short trips to Venice and the surrounding Italian Alps, which are beautiful. I am looking forward to tomorrow and a short hiking trip up the mountain and maybe a sled ride. The weather has been nice and supposedly will be sunny and beautiful tomorrow.
Anyway, I am going to go sleep and hopefully be rested enough to catch a sunrise coming over the Alps? I think that would start off the day right...
We had a 10 hour train ride that was somewhat long and boring, but we made it across nearly the entire northern part of Italy. Funny thing - I ran into 2 people (who were traveling separetely from each other) from Minnesota, which gave me a good laugh. Small world, I guess.
We will be staying here in Trento for the next few days and are going to take short trips to Venice and the surrounding Italian Alps, which are beautiful. I am looking forward to tomorrow and a short hiking trip up the mountain and maybe a sled ride. The weather has been nice and supposedly will be sunny and beautiful tomorrow.
Anyway, I am going to go sleep and hopefully be rested enough to catch a sunrise coming over the Alps? I think that would start off the day right...
Nice Views.
I´ here in Nice, know to some as the capital of the French Riviera, which, despite the rain is quite the beautiful place - God´s creativity is surely prevalent. We arrived yesterday morning (Thursdy) and were planning to catch some rays by thhe Mediterranean and proceed to Venice on a night train. But, as some things go, neither turned out as we planned. Upon arriving to Nice, it was steadily raining, so we took a quick train to Italy, as we were craving some good pizza for lunch. After wlking around for about an hour we headed back to Nice. We went to the ticket office hoping t catch a night train to Venice, but it turns out the night train doesn´t run during these months. So we booked a train for this morning (which leavs in 1 hour) and decided to find a hostel to sty at for the night. We found a room for 17 Euros and ended up making a friend from Canada. We all walked around Nice for 6 hours, and there are places here that make you forget you are still in France. palm trees and endless ocean view is quite a refreshng sight - especially in Marceh.
Anyway, Im off for Trento, Italy today to meet a friend who is letting us stay with her family. It should be a good time and Im ready for some Italian food!
Anyway, Im off for Trento, Italy today to meet a friend who is letting us stay with her family. It should be a good time and Im ready for some Italian food!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Countryside.
Well, I promosed a quick runthrough of the days I couldn't write...so here it is.
Our second day in Paris involved much the same as the first, except we were much better with the subway system. We started out at 8 o'clock with hopes to get into the Louvre before it got to packed. When we got there, the line was pretty small and better yet, we found out that on the first Sunday of the month, visiting the Louvre was free, so lucky us! We walked around and viewed paiintgs like the Mona Lisa and Libertie Leading the People and , my favorite, the Raft of the Medusa by Gericault. It was a great experience, but after two hours I was exhausted and had to opt out for a short nap at the hotel. A week straight of running around in foreign cities nonstop can definately wear you out...
After the nap, we enjoyed things like the National Assembly, I went up the Eiffel tower, the Catacombs - which probably was one of my favorite things (Thanks for the tip, Michael!). The story goes that once upon a time, Paris' graves were so full and many had begun to smell, so some smart guy got the idea to dig up all the graves and stack the bones and bodies in underground tunnels. Now, they let you wander through the tunnel - which is literally chalk full of bones, bones, bones -often stacked to the ceiling! It took us a good forty five ,inutes to walk through the whole thing - pretty crazy if you ask me. I nearly stole a skull, but figured I'd have no room for it in my pack...
Now I am sitting in Rennes, France, at Tims aunt and uncles house. It has been great to be here and our hosts have been extremely kind. Yesterday we enjoyed relaxing, great French food and breads, pastries and playing games, as well as touring the beautiful city of Rennes.
Today Tim and myself took a trip north to Bayeux and Arromanches, little towns near the D-Day beaches. It was fun to see and I love the history that is so alive in these places. The port of Arromanches was awesome. During the war and after D-Day, it was used by the Allies as a major port. They built a hugh floating dock that allowed tanks, jeeps and other equipment to be easiy loaded on to land. Some of the dock still rests out in the channel. We also took a picture on a tank, which had probably been a dream of mine since I was 6.
After we went to see Mont St. Michel, one of the seven wonders of the world. It is a huge castle that was built on an awesome island of rock. We went at night, so it was all lit up and also very empty, which was great. But, today was also the first day of rain for us and it was very windy and cold, so after being out for a little we went to a Crepéry and had a very good meal.
The French countryside is beautiful and train rides through are very enjoyable, especially when it is bright and sunny out. Tomorrow we leave Rennes and will head to Paris where we will either connect with a train to Bordeaux or to Italy - we havent decide yet. Oh the joys of the non-tourist season and being able to travel on a whim! Either way, I may not have internet for a few more days. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a nice bright day...and perhaps a few more crepes?
Au revoir!
Our second day in Paris involved much the same as the first, except we were much better with the subway system. We started out at 8 o'clock with hopes to get into the Louvre before it got to packed. When we got there, the line was pretty small and better yet, we found out that on the first Sunday of the month, visiting the Louvre was free, so lucky us! We walked around and viewed paiintgs like the Mona Lisa and Libertie Leading the People and , my favorite, the Raft of the Medusa by Gericault. It was a great experience, but after two hours I was exhausted and had to opt out for a short nap at the hotel. A week straight of running around in foreign cities nonstop can definately wear you out...
After the nap, we enjoyed things like the National Assembly, I went up the Eiffel tower, the Catacombs - which probably was one of my favorite things (Thanks for the tip, Michael!). The story goes that once upon a time, Paris' graves were so full and many had begun to smell, so some smart guy got the idea to dig up all the graves and stack the bones and bodies in underground tunnels. Now, they let you wander through the tunnel - which is literally chalk full of bones, bones, bones -often stacked to the ceiling! It took us a good forty five ,inutes to walk through the whole thing - pretty crazy if you ask me. I nearly stole a skull, but figured I'd have no room for it in my pack...
Now I am sitting in Rennes, France, at Tims aunt and uncles house. It has been great to be here and our hosts have been extremely kind. Yesterday we enjoyed relaxing, great French food and breads, pastries and playing games, as well as touring the beautiful city of Rennes.
Today Tim and myself took a trip north to Bayeux and Arromanches, little towns near the D-Day beaches. It was fun to see and I love the history that is so alive in these places. The port of Arromanches was awesome. During the war and after D-Day, it was used by the Allies as a major port. They built a hugh floating dock that allowed tanks, jeeps and other equipment to be easiy loaded on to land. Some of the dock still rests out in the channel. We also took a picture on a tank, which had probably been a dream of mine since I was 6.
After we went to see Mont St. Michel, one of the seven wonders of the world. It is a huge castle that was built on an awesome island of rock. We went at night, so it was all lit up and also very empty, which was great. But, today was also the first day of rain for us and it was very windy and cold, so after being out for a little we went to a Crepéry and had a very good meal.
The French countryside is beautiful and train rides through are very enjoyable, especially when it is bright and sunny out. Tomorrow we leave Rennes and will head to Paris where we will either connect with a train to Bordeaux or to Italy - we havent decide yet. Oh the joys of the non-tourist season and being able to travel on a whim! Either way, I may not have internet for a few more days. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a nice bright day...and perhaps a few more crepes?
Au revoir!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Euros.
So, in the past few days, I have been unable to update, as I was without a computer in Paris...I am now in Rennes, France, a beautiful city, writing very slowly on a French style keyboard where all the letters are in different spots on the keyboard and all my words have red spellcheck lines under them because they are not French...but I zill type my hardest,,,so please pardon my errors!
Paris turned out to be quite the adventure. We took the Eurostar train from London, which goes under the English channel. It was an excellent experience, despite thinking we lost our tickets for about half an hour and getting my knife confiscated (forgot it was in my bag - sorry Dad). Anyway, upon arrival into Paris we had no plans for where we were going to stay that night and I was a bi toverwhelmed at first with the first language barrier we encountered. We were pestered by a guy who supposedlly worked for the City of France to book a hostel with him, but we followed our instincts (quite wisely; I might add) and went instead to an infor,ation booth, where a very friendly guy found us a room for two nights at a three star Best western for 25 € a night, which was a good deal since most hostels charged 30 in France. When then stumbled down the street towards where we thought our hotel was and found it after 30 minutes or so of wandering (I feel like Paris was full of wandering...not always a bad thing).
Our first stop in Paris was the Palace of Versailles. And earlier when I said the crown jewels were excessive...well, I should have held my toungue for they are nothing compared to the splendor and goldenness of Versailles Palace. Everything was gold. Everything was huge. Everything was marble. It was probably the single biggest splurge of wealth I have ever seen, ever imagined, in one place. It took us a good 3 hours just to walk through the building and another 30 minutes to walk through just a section of the magnificent (even in Feb.) gardens. It seems Louis the XIV didn't care for much, especially the wealthfare of his people, since most of the French treasury had to have been emptied to build this monster Palace. The most amazing things for me were the huge paintings all over the ceilings and walls. Some had to measure close to half a basketball court; no joke.
After that we slowly made our way to the Eiffel Tower and hung out for a while pondering the good things in life like friends, smiling, crowns of gold, fields of gold, gold, crepes, French bakeries, big intellectual words, and sleep...sleep which is in the foremost of my mind at the moment. So, I will sleepily have to take my leave and hope to fill in the rest of the missing days tomorrow!
Paris turned out to be quite the adventure. We took the Eurostar train from London, which goes under the English channel. It was an excellent experience, despite thinking we lost our tickets for about half an hour and getting my knife confiscated (forgot it was in my bag - sorry Dad). Anyway, upon arrival into Paris we had no plans for where we were going to stay that night and I was a bi toverwhelmed at first with the first language barrier we encountered. We were pestered by a guy who supposedlly worked for the City of France to book a hostel with him, but we followed our instincts (quite wisely; I might add) and went instead to an infor,ation booth, where a very friendly guy found us a room for two nights at a three star Best western for 25 € a night, which was a good deal since most hostels charged 30 in France. When then stumbled down the street towards where we thought our hotel was and found it after 30 minutes or so of wandering (I feel like Paris was full of wandering...not always a bad thing).
Our first stop in Paris was the Palace of Versailles. And earlier when I said the crown jewels were excessive...well, I should have held my toungue for they are nothing compared to the splendor and goldenness of Versailles Palace. Everything was gold. Everything was huge. Everything was marble. It was probably the single biggest splurge of wealth I have ever seen, ever imagined, in one place. It took us a good 3 hours just to walk through the building and another 30 minutes to walk through just a section of the magnificent (even in Feb.) gardens. It seems Louis the XIV didn't care for much, especially the wealthfare of his people, since most of the French treasury had to have been emptied to build this monster Palace. The most amazing things for me were the huge paintings all over the ceilings and walls. Some had to measure close to half a basketball court; no joke.
After that we slowly made our way to the Eiffel Tower and hung out for a while pondering the good things in life like friends, smiling, crowns of gold, fields of gold, gold, crepes, French bakeries, big intellectual words, and sleep...sleep which is in the foremost of my mind at the moment. So, I will sleepily have to take my leave and hope to fill in the rest of the missing days tomorrow!
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