Taken from the Schloßberg in Graz.

Work has begun on photos from Paris and Bruges, and should be done soon. Meanwhile, look over Graz, Vienna, Munich, and Strasbourg.

Strasbourg is a city of some importance; part of the EU government meets there, and it was at one time an important point on the trade routes from Italy into Northern Europe. They have a nice cathedral (Notre Dame de Strasbourg, a common theme), which some of us climbed.

Had a pretty nice dinner with beef bourignon, probably misspelled, and then late that night electrocuted myself while trying to switch from my laptop to my camera battery charger, shutting off power to all the electric outlets on the second floor. Other than an odd stinging sensation in my right index finger for about a day, no ill effects to me, but there were a lot of people unhappy, though understanding, that their iPods were not charged for the trip to Paris. People were charging iPods and doing their hair in the hallways in the morning, which was actually pretty funny.

The night we arrived, after the welcome dinner, a group of us went ahead and headed over to the Eiffel Tower. After some confusion about Paris Visite three-day Metro passes, we all rode over there on the subway. However, since the top was overcrowded, none of us actually went up into the tower. We were there for twilight though and stayed until after 11, when it finally got dark. A short and futile search for créme brulée followed.

The next day, following an art lecture, we went to the Louvre. Is that museum ever huge. Lots of very interesting things there, including the Mona Lisa, which while iconic I personally do not feel to be all that impressive. I mean, yeah, it’s very good. But is it Leonardo’s best work? Is it the greatest painting of the Renaissance? I’m not so sure, but there it is all the same. Afterward, some of us went to visit Notre Dame (de Paris), which is on the Ile de la Cité, in between the banks of the Seine. Very cool. Possibly even cooler, if not as well known, is the Sainte-Chapelle, which was built by one of the Louis-es to house various relics given to him by the Pope, including part of the True Cross. The place is absolutely beautiful, with over 4000 sq. ft. of stained glass, enough so that the walls appear to be made of it. Really awesome.

After the next day’s music lecture, we went to the Centre Georges Pompidou, which is a museum of modern (20th c., and now some 21st c.) art, but not until after a long lunch break. So I headed up to Montmatre on the Metro along with trip leader Dan. When we reached the summit we split up, with myself going to Sacre Cœurs, which is the church that is at the top of the hill (very nice) before decending to the base to find the Moulin Rouge. On the way I stopped at a Champion grocery store and decided to go in and buy a baguette and pear for lunch. After waiting in line for 10 minutes, the lady at the register couldn’t ring up my pear because apparently you have to weigh and tag your fruits and vegetables yourself. Since I was already starting to run late, I didn’t have time to go back and fix it so I just stuck to the mini-baguette I had purchased. Got down to the Moulin Rouge, took a couple of pictures from outside, and quickly dropped down into the Metro station that is right there.

Get to Châtelet-Les Halles station, which is near the Pompidou, except for the fact that you come out in the underground shopping center of Les Halles. So at this point I have no way what the correct exit to take is, or for that matter where an exit is, and I of course pick one on the wrong side of the complex. At this point I’m starting to worry, since I’m running late for the meeting time and starting to run up on the time at which we’re supposed to enter. I walked back across the entire shopping center (well, the park built on ground level above it), saw the building through the skyline, and did make it in time. I also had time to eat my baguette.

Pompidou is a modern art museum. I will pretty much leave it at that. Did notice there were a number of school groups, of mostly second-third grade kids, which seemed kind of odd.

Had a Royale Cheese at McDonalds, fulfilling my debt to Pulp Fiction. Setting off on my own, I took the Metro to the Place de la Concorde, and then walked the Champs-Elysees, which was pretty interesting. At the Arc de Triomphe, some veterans and current French soldiers were visiting the Tomb of the Unknowns that is there.

Finally that evening, went to a jazz club for our final music class trip. Maybe twenty of us went to the same place, called Sunset, where we heard the Wasabi Quintet (which is oddly named as there are only four regular players). Nothing amazing, but then again it was a Monday night. The percussionist was pretty good though, and had one really awesome drum solo.

The final day, I went to the grocery store next to the hotel in the morning before we went off to the Musée D’Orsay. Turns out this is the only grocery store in all of France that does not sell baguettes. Sure, you can buy parbaked baguettes, but being without an oven they wouldn’t have done me much good. So I got a pear (finally) and “Sticks d’Alsace,” which is one way of keeping the Germans out of the pretzel business.

The Musée D’Orsay is a very good museum.

Afterward, took the Metro (on my own, again) to the Luxembourg gardens, ate lunch there, and walked to the Parthenon, which I did not go into due to lack of time and the fact they charged admission. From there I skirted the Latin Quarter, which looked pretty cool except for the fact some person or people had plastered over many of the roadsigns whith what I am sure was humorous or raunchy Latin phrases, making it difficult to find the Metro station I intended to depart from. Finally found it and headed to the Musée Rodin, which is in a nice Rococo towhnouse. Looked at lots of sculpture, and spent some time in the gardens, but the rose garden was not as impressive as I thought it was going to be.

After finding out what other people were doing, and seeing that no one else had this planned, I set off for the Eiffel Tower again with the intent to get to the top. I only had to wait in line about ten minutes to get a ticket to climb to the second platform, which is about 115 meters and 700 some odd stairs up. The more expensive elevator had a wait on the order of hours, and climbing the Tower is one of those experiences you can’t get any other way. Once to the second platform, I bought the supplement ticket to take the elevator to the top, which is only accessible by the lifts. Standing at the top of the tower is like nothing else I have done. It is so absurdly high, with the top platform at somewhere around 300 meters, and all you’re standing on is this mountain of steel spaceframe. It’s an unforgettable view.

Went with a group celebrating a couple of early birthdays (didn’t want to interfere with finals in Bruges) to have dinner. Had an escargot appetizer (thanks, Disney Cruise Lines!), beef with pepper sauce, and créme brulée. And an absurdly overpriced beer. Afterward, we headed to the Seine to do a cruise through the city. We didn’t all make it until about 2230, so we ended up on the day’s final cruise at 2300.

It just so happens that that day was the summer solstice.

It just so happens that in Paris, this is a good excuse for a party. So both banks of the Seine, and many bridges, were absolutely packed with partygoers of varying sobriety. There was yelling and screaming and the occasional person who decided to splash beer at us from a bridge as we went under, but it wasn’t a problem. It was an amazing thing, and one heck of a party.

The Metro was packed; because of the party, it would be running all night. At a certain point it would only go to certain stops where there was live music but some of us, myself included, were early enough that that wasn’t a problem. A wonderful final night in Paris.

So the next day it was off to Belgium and the city of Bruges (the French spelling, the prevailing local spelling is the Dutch “Brugge”). It’s a charming city, not very big, but quite a tourist attraction, especially for other Europeans and American college tours. It was historically important because along with Brussels a lot of money ended up there from commercial activities. Unlike Brussels, Bruges’ canals are still there, criss-crossing the city though with a network nowhere near as extensive as Venice’s.

Actually, on our first day there we took a side trip to Brussels to look at some Art Nouveau architecture. This wouldn’t have been a problem but for some reason we could not go directly, but had to go by way of Gent, and even then there was traffic that stretched the trip to over two hours long. We arrived in Brussels late for our tour guide, got lunch, and did an abbreviated version of the tour. Exhausted simply due to travel, most of us went back home on the bus, though a few others stayed behind and took the train back later. Worked on my art final paper that night.

Class the next morning, then finished my art paper (the particular internet cafe was not a fun experience), then I rented a bicycle and rode all around Bruges, literally. And rode through town, and such, until I had to return the bike and go to dinner.

Next day, took the music final, then went on a tour of the Hendrik brewery with the music prof and leader Dan. After the post-tour beer, got some quick lunch, went to see the Michelangelo in the church down the street (a Madonna with Child, and one of the few Michelangelos not in Italy), and then joined up with the music prof and leader Yvette and rented bikes again. We rode the 15-16 km or so up to the North Sea in a 8-10 mph headwind or so. Not fun. But we got there pretty quickly anyways and hung out at the beach for a short while before heading back with what was now a tailwind. Purchased some Belgian beer for export to the UK because it’s very good and that’s the cheapest I will ever see it, then went off to dinner and packed.

Bus to Oxford. Went through the Eurotunnel, actually at the same time as Group 3 who drove up early in the morning from Paris to Calais. But their driver is legally allowed to drive faster than ours (don’t ask, I don’t understand it) so they got to Oxford before we did.

Biggest shock: when we stopped for lunch, the prices were the same as they were in Europe. Except for the small detail that the Euro symbol changed to the symbol for the British pound. And the number was the same. Eeek.

So we got into Oxford eventually and moved in. I’m in Staircase 24, which interestingly enough is in a seperate building known by no other name. Dinner last night was pretty good, and I stopped by the campus pub a bit later for a pint of bitter and to do some socializing. Worchester (pron. “Wuhster”) College is a very cool place, and there will be photos coming soon, but I have to take some first! I’ve got photos up through Belgium though, and I’m processed up to Strasbourg. I’ll be working on Paris and Bruges photos this week.

And I started class today. Sounds like they will be fine. Lot of reading to do though.

Graz, though we were only there for a day, was pretty amazing. They have a big hill right in the middle of the city called the Schloßberg, which is like having Stone Mountain in downtown Atlanta, and it has trees on it. Pretty cool. They also have the first serious river I’ve seen all trip, the Mur. Puts the Arno and Tiber to shame.

Vienna is an interesting place, I wasn’t all that taken with it, though the music was wonderful. Went to an opera (Die Zauberflöte, or The Magic Flute) the first night and visited the Bösendorfer piano factory on the third, and did the Vienna Mozart Orchestra that night as well, though that was my least favorite concert so far. Too gimmicky.

Came into Munich Tuesday. First real rainfall we’ve had, so no one really went out that night after the orientation dinner, which was in a hotel in a suburb clear across Munich. Someone shoot the travel agent. Did a trifecta of art museums (the Alte and Neue Pinakotheks and the Pinakhotek des Moderne) the first day, and then walked around the city center and up into the English Gardens, which is a huge city park. Afterward, a group went to the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in the world, where I somehow managed to drink zwei Großen (that’s two one-liter mugs, if you’re keeping count) of beer, which in retrospect was a bad idea. In any event, this morning we had class, in the same hotel as the welcome dinner, and we took the U-Bahn to it. Bad idea, it took just as long as riding on our bus and was far less comfortable.

This afternoon, most of us went to the Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Dachau, which Jan had previously volunteered to drive us to if we wished. Very unreal experience. I can’t really explain what it was like, but being on the grounds, and walking through the gate…suffice it to say it’s very moving.

Finally went to a grocery store this evening; bought a loaf of bread and a wedge of brie for €1.98, which along with a snack salami stick was dinner. Even though I didn’t finish all of it (just try eating a whole baguette someday), it was still a great deal. Also picked up a couple packs of Haribo gummy bears and some trail mix.

Tomorrow we depart for Strasbourg, which is the stopping point for us on the way to Paris, our true destination. The travel part of the trip is winding down, and I’m feeling a sense of relief knowing that I’ll be off the road soon.

Check the Rome, Venice, and Padova galleries for more.

I’ve gotten to Graz. We were in Venice the past few days, but I’ll get to all of that shortly.

I left you in Rome. Second day we were supposed to tour Ancient Rome, but that was sort of screwed up by a huge parade celebrating Italy’s unification (June 2). Saw the Colosseum, then walked back by way of the Pantheon (closed by that time due to the holiday), the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain, where I did the obligatory coin throw (backwards, over the shoulder) to ensure my return.

Next day we checked out a bunch of Roman churches, nothing spectactular. Until the last one. S. Ignazio di Loyola (might have the exact name wrong), the Jesuit home church, is called by Rick Steves’ guide a “riot of Baroque illusions.” Most impressive is the dome, which, upon walking under it, you realize does not exist. Really worth seeing if you are ever in Rome. That night, we celebrated one of the other group member’s birthday out at the Spanish Steps. Over half the group (26 of us) sang “Happy Birthday” out loud in public. All sorts of fun.

Went to Venice the next day, which took all day. That evening I walked to S. Marco (St. Mark’s), the main square of Venice. I then attempted to walk back, ending up back at S. Marco. I then attempted to walk back, nearly ending up back at S. Marco when I ran into Dr. Haydon and Joe. We eventually got back to the hotel.

Next day, visited (with the group) the Accademia dell Belle Arte, and our first modern art museum, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. However, the crowded, touristy nature of Venice was really getting to me, and having spent two weeks with the group I really wanted some time to myself, so I didn’t really do anything that evening after dinner.

The following day was the group’s day trip to Padova by train. We went in order to see the Scrovegni Chapel, the only known complete cycle of works by Giotto. Very impressive. Also impressive was that it was the most carefully preserved art in Italy, with the entire chapel having its own microclimate, visitations limited to 25 people every 30 minutes, and each trip inside the chapel limited to 15. They’ve made it all very high-tech. After seeing the chapel, I set off on my own through the streets of Padova to find St. Anthony’s Basilica. I eventually did, by way of the river and a fruit market; not the direct route. Found the church, very interesting place. Did not see the relics (that chapel was closed at the time I was there) but did see St. Anthony’s tomb. Tried to get back to the train station; ended up walking in a loop back to St. Anthony’s. Tried again by a different route, stopping about 1 km away from the church in a tobacconist’s shop to ask directions, and turns out I got it right the second time. Hopped the train back to Venice, and once again didn’t do anything that evening, having decided that Padova was way cooler than Venice.

Next day. Went to the Basilica dei Frari (Church of the Friars, I think), which was a cool church with a lot of great art. We happened to be there while the parochial school students were rehearsing for an end-of-year choral performance, which was pretty cool. Kids were cute; there’s a photo in the gallery. Took a vaporetto (the water bus) from there to S. Marco, but didn’t go in because I didn’t feel like waiting in line.

That was when my Venice changed. I went to a vaporetto station that had service to Murano island, where the famous glass is made. The boats were different, for one, better suited to the open lagoon than the more flatwater-oriented vaporetti that work along the Grand Canal. The boat ride was absolutely amazing, skirting the coast of Venice, seeing the beautiful southeast part of the island, past S. Marco. Trees instead of buildings, grass even. Decided I’d go back after Murano. Met some other students at the last stop before the boat headed across the lagoon, then went to Murano. Saw some really cool glass and even a glassblowing demonstration. Went back to S. Elena, the stop I had picked out earlier, and walked around that part of Venice on my own. Away from the crowds and the tourists, Venice started to make sense.

I eventually found my way to the north end of the island, and decided to finish the circumnavigation of the island on the open lagoon vaporetto. It was in S. Elena and on the open water that I found my Venice.

That evening, we went to a concert by the Interpreti Veneziani of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and a couple other pieces. Absolutely amazing performance. They are a small chamber group, about eight people, and the concert was in a pretty small church. Really cool; I bought a CD. The cellist was particularly entertaining, with exaggerated head motions that were completely senseless; Dr. Haydon described it as “posessed by the music.”

Today we went from Venice to Graz, a relatively short trip. Austria so far is pretty cool. It’s unfortunate, I think, that we are only spending a day in Graz, as it is a surprisingly interesting and very picturesque place. I’ll tell more about it after I’ve seen it tomorrow.

Other than my Venetian depression, the trip has been amazing. I’ve got a midterm paper to finish, so I’ll leave you for now. Auf wiederschen!

Pisa was fun. Three of us (Julia, Alek [pronounced Alex], and I) bought train tickets in English using the automated ticket machine, then headed to Pisa. No one ever checked the ticket. Rode the bus to the Plaza of Miracles (Piazza dei Miracoli), and no one ever checked the ticket. Bought a ticket for the cathedral, baptistry, cemetery, and the two museums, which were diligently punched. Stared at leaning tower, took obligatory tourist picture (might get my hands on that later; by then my battery had died). Rode bus back to train station; no one ever checked the ticket.

We checked the departure times to S.M.N. Firenze (Santa Maria Novella, Florence) and found there were plenty, so we set out away from the station to find a reasonably priced dinner, after our overpriced lunch. About six or seven blocks later, after a couple of false starts, we found a corner grocer-type-place that had some food. Of course the owner spoke absolutely no English, and our Italian is rudimentary at best. Alek tried to buy chicken wings, which involved flapping his arms, which failed. We ended up with two roasted chickens on the counter. After a quick conference, we got the shopkeeper to put one of them back, and he offered to quarter it, which we graciously accepted. So for €6 total, the three of us each had a good bit of roast chicken. We got back to the station at five of seven, bought a ticket at the automated machine for the 7:01 train, and headed back to S.M.N. Firenze. We got stopped for 15 or 20 minutes along the way due to some sort of electrical or scheduling problem, but eventually made it back.

No one ever checked our ticket.

The next day, we set off for Rome. Due to a suggestion from trip leader Dan, the bus went to Rome by way of San Gimignano, a neat little Tuscan wine town, which while touristy, offers amazing views ofthe surrounding countryside, and has intact city walls and famous towers. Didn’t climb any of the towers, but it was a neat place. Some people went to the supermarket that was by the bus checkpoint[1], and found six packs of 2L water for under €1.50. I’ve just been drinking tap water, which has been fine, but for people without water bottles, the 2L packs were quite a steal.

So we visited the Vatican today. Absolutely amazing place. Other than some difficulties with the tour guides–we were supposed to have two, and split into groups, but only one showed–we had no real problems. The Vatican museums were cool, but we didn’t really get to spend enough time in them. The tour led into the Sistine Chapel, which other than the disrespectful crowd (asked to be silent and not to take photographs), was an absolutely amazing experience. Honestly, I was not as impressed by the ceiling as by the Last Judgement (also by Michelangelo) on the wall behind the altar, but the whole place is amazing.

After lunch, we went into St. Peter’s Basilica. You could easily spend four or five hours there. Amazing architecture, amazing sculpture, amazing everything. It’s just a wonderful space. I stopped for a few minutes in the space reserved for prayer, which I’m glad they had, and was something missing in the Florentine churches.

Walked outside the Basilica and climbed the cupola. Great view of Rome. Not quite as cool as the Duomo at S.M. del Fiore in Florence, until you come back down. On the roof of St. Peter’s is a small area with its own souveneir shop and post office drop. So several people are getting Vatican postcards from the roof of St. Peter’s.

I had had pizza for lunch, and we ended up at a pizzeria for dinner, so I got some fried breaded balls of unknown composition instead. It turned out that they were rice (sort of a risotto), one with tomato sauce and a bit of hot, molten mozzarella inside, and the other with peas and a cool, solid pice of mozzarella inside.

As I’m sure you’ve figured out, I’m loving this whole experience.

[1] Buses in these cities can’t actually stay in town, and in fact are charged even to enter. Rome seems to be an exception, but in Florence and San Gimignano, the busses must stop outside the city at a checkpoint.

Been very busy the past few days, obviously, but Florence is a neat town. We leave tomorrow for Rome, and we’ve pretty much run out of things to do in Florence, so a few of us are taking the train to Pisa for the afternoon to see the tower.

A quick rundown of what I’ve been up to…Muse del Duomo, which has the original panels from the east doors of the baptistry, which are these amazing bronze reliefs. Really beautiful, and valuable enough that they’ve put copies on the actual baptistry. Went to the Accademia, saw Michelangelo’s David. It’s big. Really big. Went to the Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti. Not as many flowers as I expected, but the view from the rose garden at the summit of some of the surrounding lands of Florence is very nice. Went to a symphony. Fun stuff, though it was hard to stay awake through the entire Brahms Symphony No. 1 (which was nearly an hour long!)

Stood in line for four hours to get into the Uffizi gallery. We couldn’t get reservations, and they didn’t choose to postpone the
lecture, so we couldn’t get into line until nearly 9:30. But the gallery has so much amazing art in it, it’s no surprise. Bottichelli’s “The Birth of Venus” is in there, among others. In fact, it’s the only gallery with three Leonardo da Vinci, just sitting there on the wall.

Went to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, which is not the same as the Medici Chapel thta we were supposed to go to. Not our fault (trip leader Dan bought the wrong tickets), and after the Uffizi line debacle, the chapel was made optional anyways. Went to church at S.M. Nuevo, designed by someone famous I do not recall. In Italian. Luckily they had a sheet with most of the non-Liturgy of the Eucharist responses, which helped. And “Amen” is still “Amen.”

Saw the sun set at the Pizzale del Michelangelo, up on a hill southeast of the city. Amazing view.

Ate dinner at Il Latini, which is one of the best restaurants in Florence, at which I think we got a deal. Three of us ate for €60, though I had the most so I paid half. Absolutely amazing soup and roast beef. And the house wine was pretty good too. I got some strawberries after the meal, then they put a plate of almond biscotti on the table and give everyone a small glass of sweet (undrinkably so) wine on the table that you dip into. Wonderful stuff.

In a couple of minutes I’m leaving for the Bargello, which has Donatello’s David, then we’re heading to the station to get tickets to Pisa.

We arrived safely and very tired in Florence yesterday at about sunset local. We did a short walking tour today, in which I banged my head on an iron security window dealie that was sticking out into the sidewalk, drawing blood and everyone else’s concern. We also saw the Brancacci Chapel which has some cool frescoes. After the group tour ended, a bunch of us went up into the cupola of the Duomo, from which you can see all of Florence. Very cool.

The flight to London was very comfortable, though I didn’t get much sleep. BA does a good job. I had a window seat from London to Pisa, so I got to see the Alps as we passed over, which was also very cool.

Just to get you situated, it’s twenty to seven right now local time. I’ve got no idea what time it is back in Atlanta…my watch says noon. My body seems to be acclimating.

I’ve been taking lots of photos and hope to get some of them up on Sunday or Monday before we leave Florence. I’ve only found one wireless point where I can use my laptop, and it’s a bit of a hike, so I plan on doing it only once.

Everything’s going well. More photos are being posted by the day, so check it out.

I was going to post regular updates here, but it hit me that rather than write in my personal journal, write emails home, and write posts for the blog, it would be best to just copy the emails home with some edits as posts here. So that will be starting presently, until I run out of Wi-fi access. Will finish in Venice.