London

My last destination in Europe was London. It was my first time in a English speaking country in quite a while, it was very weird. I can remember looking out the window on my way to the hotel, seeing people on the sidewalk and thinking to myself "i could step out of this car right now and talk to that person without any problem" the absence of a language barrier was quite a shock. For the first time in four months i could understand every conversation around me. It was a mind overload.

London was a fantastic city. Something like 9 million people live in the 36 different burrows of the city. It is quite an expensive city, it is more expensive to live in London than Manhattan. I saw more Ferrari's in one weekend in London than I did in four months in Italy. The city itself was so dynamic. A high end financial district, a theater district larger than Broadway, and every important governmental building in the country exist in London. I liken it to a cross between Washington DC and New York City. The pubs were as advertised. They were all very old, classy and meet all my expectations. I wish we had pubs like that here in America.

London was a great place to visit before my return to America. It acted as a buffer between the extremes of Italy and America. It is a very modern city that is steeped in history. A section of the original roman wall still exists right next to the Thames river. The English people stayed consistent with the notions I had of them. Built from numerous encounters around different parts of Europe. They are generally polite and extremely funny. They make fun of everything and everyone, no one is exempt. The French were a favorite target, which i enjoyed very much. The beer was flat, not warm, but very tasty ( watch out Munich!) and the food was pretty featureless but still good.

We didn't spend the entire time in London. The second day there we drove out the Windsor castle and Stonehenge. Windsor castle was really cool. It was the Fourth and most traditional castle I saw all term. Originally built by William the Conquer around 1070 it still acts as a residence for the royal family. The queen was actually there in the castle they day we were there...i tried, but she didn't respond when i asked her if she was on facebook. Windsor castle was where the queen received president Obama on his recent visit to the U.K.

Stonehenge came after Windsor. Let me first say Stonehenge was my idea. I had to convince the rest of the family to do it and it was well worth it. Such an interesting area and structure. My advice about Stonehenge and Windsor is consistent with the advice i have given all term to my faithful readers (all 3 of you not including my parents) go see them for yourself. Its the only way to really appreciate it.

I enjoyed London, it was a good way to say goodbye to Europe for a while. I wish I had more time to spend there but I will just add it to my "places to return to list".

I have yet to spend a week back in America and my head is still spinning. I liken my return to America to my arrival in Florence just not quite as intense. I am still getting used to things in the states and I anticipate that it will be a few weeks before I am fully comfortable. I have been asked many times about my term abroad. How i liked it, do i miss it. Stuff like that. Its a struggle to put my past term in perspective and I'm sure everyone who was there with me can relate to the struggle. I miss Florence and the people I shared it with very much. I don't expect that to change.

This will be my last blog post as I am no longer in Italy. There isn't anything to blog about anymore (summer internship!? ....no?....okay...you sure?) since I'm American again I will see most of you soon and those I will not see soon you can always call me or text me. I am now accessible by simple modems of communication. This blog turned about to be a really useful and valuable thing. It kept you barbarians from blowing up my inbox (with a few exceptions, you know you are) and I can always keep this URL close so I can look back at any given time. I want to thank you for reading, no matter  how regular your reading was. the responses I got from everyone keep me motivated to keep writing. turns out keeping this blog updated was more fun than I thought it would be. I don't know how to sign off so i will leave you with two quotes from Sir Winston Churchill because I feel that is appropriate.. One profound the other is more of my taste.

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it"

Lady Nancy Astor "Winston, If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea
WC: "Nancy if you were my wife, I'd drink it"

Stereo Love - Edward Maya (everytime I hear this song it takes me right back to florence. big song in the clubs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

Normandy

Day two in France the whole family took the trip up to Normandy to see where the allied invasion of Nazi occupied Europe began. Being a family of history lovers, who will routinely discuss magna carta and the roman empire at any dinner table ( not nerdy at all) this trip to Normandy has been long anticipated for all of us.

First was Point Du Hoc, where army rangers scaled an 80 meter (really high) cliff to take out large nazi artillery emplacements that threatened the beach landings. The area had been kept prett much the same since WW2 and it was really cool. We were climbing inside and out of old german bunkers and gun emplacements. But one of the coolest parts was that nobody ever filled in all the craters from naval bombardments and bombing runs. And Point Du Hoc got blown to hell previous to the invasion. So there were a lot of craters and a lot of the craters were exceptionally sized. Gave you a good idea that the Nazi’s weren’t too keen on hanging around there much. In fact they ended up moving those guns in land three miles before the invasion. Came as quite a surprise to those Rangers when they go to the top of the cliffs, but of course they got the job done.

After Point Du Hoc we went to Omaha and the American cemetery near by. It was really odd to be on the beach. It was a very quite and peaceful place. Such a contrast from the events that made that area so famous. I was very impressed and pleased with the American cemetery. The honoring and remembering of our fallen soldiers has been taken care of gracefully. It was a pleasant and surreal experience. It was awesome to finally see the physical place where the invasion began, our “finest hour” as it is referred to sometimes. It was cool to be able to physically see the lay out and scale of the invasion. I highly recommend a visit here once in your life. It is a focal point for major events that shaped our country and the  modern political environments around the world.

Small side note. Family also saw the Palace at Verssie. Insane stupid amounts of wealth and gluntony. Beatuiful grounds and palace. But not very tasteful in my opinon considering the state of the common man in France at the time and the lavish existence of the kind and queen. Kinda puts a bitter taste in your mouth. The French royalty seemed to liken themselves to the Roman Caesars. They had themselves painted and sculpted to look like them. A fact that my French tour guide didn’t like to bring up. The same way she didn’t like to discuss the Mona Lisa and how it was “brought” to France from Italy.

Also the French have an odd habit of getting pissed off every 100 years of so and tearing everything down. That’s why Paris is such an old city but looks so modern. 

Paris and Champagne

If you have been reading my blog diligently like you know you should be, you would know that I have a slight allergy to smug personalities and have left Florence with my family to venture to Paris. Your previous knowledge of my slight physical flaw and physical relocation will help you relate to my experience in France.

Paris was one of the more popular destinations that I didn’t travel too during my time abroad. So I was a bit excited to finally see this so fabled and highly touted city. I can first say that you can’t deny the beauty of the city. Hang around the Siene river and you will be subject to many exceptional views. The pictures with this post serve as a small testament. You keep in mind that they were taken with a mid-level digital camera at night and on the move. So if these images can be produced in such circumstance you can imagine what the real thing looks like.

HOWEVER in the end I was not as impressed with Paris as I thought I might be. There are countless Jazz clubs, museums, theaters, and historical buildings to see, they make the allure of Paris quite apparent. But the inhabitants (parigans ) seem to realize just how exceptional their city is and this causes their world views, tastes, and idea of acceptable people to end at the city limits. This “Paris frame of mind” is very apparent. But I don’t want to discourage you from visiting or skew your view of the city. There are good qualities to Paris, I suggest you visit and make up you own mind about it

France is well known for its Champagne and its so happens that our first full day in France my family and I took a tour of the Champagne region of France. Now it is a truth that the only real Champagne in the world comes from the region of Champagne. This is because the sparkling drink was invented and named after that particular region. It is the same way that they only real Chianti red wine comes from southern Tuscany in the Chianti region.

Champagne was a wonderfully beautiful area. Long sweeping green hills, thick forests, the whole deal. I didn’t get a chance to get many good pictures of the region. But you can take my word, it was a beautiful region and when have I ever steered you wrong (discount the time I had you invest in lead bottomed rowboats). We had a couple tastings and even saw the grave of Dom paragon the monk (yes monk) who invented champagne. It was cool to see the amount of production and tradition involved in the champagne process. It is a very lucrative business and I feel it always will be. To top it all off we saw a old barrel of Champagne that Napoleon himself got krunk off of. If intoxicated world conquers/ kingdom exiles is your sort of thing you would have loved it

KO and the West Coast Kid

This is a fresh new track from KO (Kevin O'Conner) and the West Coast Kid (yours truly). I produced the beat one day when I was bumming around. Kev and I thought it would be fun to spit over it. Both our second verses are shout outs to people who lived with us in Florence. So you might now get all of the references. but if you ask I can explain.

Home made Video

This is a video the guys and I made in our few remaining days in florence. Matt was sleeping so he didn't make the cut. This is all a fiction and a joke. Don't take our heavy drinking motif seriously

Also excuse the audio/ video quality. we didn't exactly have HD capabilities

Florence: the Finer things

My term in Florence ended last week. In our final days in Florence my friends and I took advantage of everything. There was a definite lack of sleep for all of us. It was our last chance to pursue the life we had been leading for the last four months. We did well, I am proud of everyone. But the week had to end eventually. Last meals were eaten, last drinks were tapped for their last drops, and the last group pictures were taken. The majority of people left on Friday night by bus to catch their flights in Rome. Goodbyes were not fun. My family arrived on Thursday so I had a few extra days in Florence. But eventually I too had to pack my bags. I left on a Monday.

One of my many illegal pictures of The David. your welcome

The majority of this blog was spent merely on my travels and the major aspects of my semester abroad. I would like this post to be about the finer things of the city I lived in. These are only the pictures I have with me. After about a month in Florence it never really occurred to me to take pictures or things in the city. So most of these are from the early days in the winter and some of my last in the spring. These pictures hardly cover it, but I’ll do my best.

Real sunset

I was very sad to leave Florence. My time spent there can not be quantified or described to a degree that you could understand it. It was far too unique and deep to try and break it down in words. I must recommend it to anyone who ever has the chance to do what I did; I say do no hesitate. There is so much to be discovered not only in the world but discovered about yourself. It is truly a shaping experience if you do it right.  As a closing note of Florence; I can say that it has jumped up on my list of favorite cities. San Francisco and Florence always have a special place in my heart. As for my time here I say: How beautiful it was, and how Blessed we were.

The team on the last night

Reverse View From the Ponte vecchio

Street art

Inside the Plazzio vecchio

Kev with Vecchio in the Background

View from Ponte Vecchio

First day in Rome

Middle of the Term in Pompeii

Last day in Florence. Literally walked to the train station after this picture


These are just some of the pictures I dug up. There are so many more and so many stories I didn't have time to tell. I went to Paris and London after Florence. I'll post on those when I get home. I have to wait to charge my camera battery and I won't have Internet till I get home. I'll have the Posts up by Monday night. I'm about to board a flight to San Fransisco, can't describe how weird it feels to be coming back to America. Europe has become the norm, but lucky for all of us. Europe's fashion did not become the norm.

Dachau

20 minutes outside of Munich is  the small town of Dachau. I was encouraged by people to visit Dachau because it was home to one of southern germanys concentration camps, used to house political and Jewish Prisoners.

Matt, Dillian, and I went on Sunday before we had to get back on the bus to return to Florence. Our trip was sobering both literally and figuratively. It was extremely odd to spend the weekend living up Munich then ending our experience there on such a heavy note. We visited the camp two days after its liberation anniversary. So there was some remembrance ceremonies going on.

I’m not going to go into depth about numbers, or stories about survivors because that could take a while. And stories like that lose their power when they are filtered through multiple accounts. But I can say that Dachau was a very intense experience that left the three of us fighting back tears when we were leaving. The comforting aspect of our experience was the grace with which the victims of the holocaust were remembered. The local residents and foundations have taken great lengths to keep the camp in good condition and to properly tell the stories of the victims of the holocaust.  

I have a few more adventures in my plans before I become American again. So don't tune out just yet

Donkey Chain Mister

Two weeks ago I went on my last trip of the semester. Traveling with the family doesn't count for two reasons. 1. the semester will be over 2. it will be much more comfortable and less stressful than traveling alone or with friends. But i'm sure the suspense is killing you. My last trip of the semester was to Munich Germany for springfest. Springfest is like Octoberfest's little brother. Still cool but not as old or as big. But if you know what Octoberfest is then you know what Springfest is. And to answer your question; Yes, Springfest was a sausage and beer fueled ruckus. We are all lucky to be alive.

First let me speak of Munich. Munich is the capital of the Bavarian region of Germany. Let me warn you Bavarians are Bavarians first Germans second. They made that clear. They have alot to be proud of. Bavaria has a very powerful and rich history and a ridiculous countryside. Spring time in southern Germany is beautiful, I can vogue. Munich has a lot of history but the city itself is pretty modern due to a necessary reconstruction after WW2 (way to go Hitler). Speaking of Hitler, Munich was the city where the Nazi party had its start and where Hitler first tried to overthrow Germany, was jailed and eventually did take over Germany...and we all know what happen after that....best tea party ever. Public transportation, museums, parks, food, the beer, soccer team, all of it great. Munich is a great place to visit my faithful readers.

Day one quick synopsis: Went on a bike tour of the city. It was apologetically tourist but I was glad we did it. Munich was such a big city that we saw alot of things we wouldn't have had the time to see. We saw the sights, stopped some traffic and got some good jokes form our Irish tour guide (okay maybe I was the only one laughing) Highlights of the tour A piece of the Berlin Wall, The Hofbrauhaus; one of the oldest beer halls in Germany (500 years) and the location of Hitlers first failed coup ( had lunch there with my friends), The English Park; 8 times bigger than central park. Complete with multiple fake rivers. By far the biggest and coolest park i've seen in  all of Europe. In the middle of the bike tour we stopped in the Chinese Garden, the second largest beer garden in Munich. It could hold 3,000 people. There they sold real German food and 3 types of local beer; only sold by the liter....yes liter. Needless to say things got interesting on the bike tour after a visit to the beer garden. On the way back to the bike shop we stopped by a section of a fake river where the rocks made a continuous wave and some dudes surfing it. It was awesome.

Now the main attraction. What we really came to Munich for: Springfest. Springfest was first a giant carnival with rides, food stands games, everything. Think of your local county fair and then think more German and more awesome. There are two Tents where the party is. One tent that is owned by the Hafbrauhaus, is fancy and is by reservation only. The second one, has a rock band playing, all the young people and beer everywhere. In The mugs, on the tables, on the floor, and guaranteed to be on your shirt.

The tent had thousands of people in it, all drinking tasty tasty local beer by the Liter (again beer only sold by the liter) signing along with band. Standing on the tables, dancing on the benches, yelling "Prost" (german word for toast) and hitting their mugs together. I know this sentence can't do it any justice but IT WAS FLIPPIN AWESOME.

Both Friday and Saturday night were spent in the tents with my friends. Both American and German. With the lubricant of beer making new friends was too easy. Both nights I showed up with my Americans but by the time I had my first Liter in hand I had made new friends. This was made easy by the fact that young Germans and most young eastern Europeans speak good English. They are very educated. They are also very nice once they become your friend, making you eat this, pouring their beer into yours. And about every five seconds we were all yelling Prost for one reason of another.

It was an awesome weekend. I will exclude my story about getting lost in the city my second night. I'll just say its a story... next time you see me and i'll tell you about it. Be on the look out for a video I took while in the Beer Tent and my post about our trip to the Concentration Camp in Dachau.

Its my last week in Florence so I'll do my best to post before I leave. If not I'll be writing from Paris and London.

Legend of Mr. Rager - Kid Cudi (this is the song I put up in my headphones when i'm going to meet my friends at night)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Gv12FvkCo

Eclipse - Uno Hype

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq1hkjfo5cU

Truth - Alexander

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_atFMCUJ1o

Piece of Pisa

I took a third trip up to cinque for a few days to see my Friends Taylor Phillips and Katie Waldie. Both girls are old friends from way back when. It was really fun and kinda odd to be hanging out with people from home in a place like cinque terre. Its not your expected company, but it was welcome company. However I failed to take any pictures of my few days up there. But I did take pictures of my stop in Pisa. Pisa is but an hour away from Florence but I have never gotten a chance to see the sites. On my Way home from cinque I had to transfer trains in Pisa and decided Now was my chance to spend a few hours in the city and see that tower that always looks like its about to fall. You know that one.

Historically Pisa and Florence were two rival city states that fought alot. Pisa was the more powerful of the two as they had access to the Mediterranean sea and a large fleet or trade and war ships. Pisa was a very powerful city state for hundreds of years. Their involvement in world wide conflict is more extensive than you would think. Look it up.

As everyone and their mother knows Pisa is the home to the world famous Leaning Tower. I can vogue...it definitely has some titlt to it. Modern Pisa is much Smaller than modern Florence so it took me maybe 25 minutes to walk from the train station to the Duomo Plazza where the Pisan Duomo, Baptismo and Tower are. The piazza that contains these three main structures is more impressive than i expected and it was a pleasant place to be despite the crowds and countless numbers of people all posing for pictures that make it look like they were holding up the leaning tower... super original

At the end of the day I had one of the better lunches I have while traveling. A simple hamburger and a solid tap beer. Also I was wearing my fiorentia jersey so the guys in the restaurant started calling me Mutu after Adrian Mutu the top striker for Fiorentia. For those who are completely lost; fiorentia is the soccer team for florence and Mutu is a top player for their team. After I responded in the proper Italian we continued to have a brief conversation about soccer. I found the Italians favorite team was Manchester United. What chumps.

Side note: today my friends Kevin, dillian and I went to a local park to play some pick up basketball. We found one half of the they played four on four for money. 2 euro a person to get in the game. We found a fourth guy and played....it was awesome

Houdini - Foster the People (fresh new band)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUGXSiORlDc

You are a Tourist - Death Cab for Cutie (new single)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkk5wViJo-I

Cant be neutral like the swiss, labels going off after I drop this

A few weeks ago I made an impromptu trip to Montreux (roughly pronounced mont-row) Switzerland. If you remember one of my last posts I had an open weekend in april that I wanted to fill with a trip and was still deciding where I would go. Well I chose to go to Montreux and as the pictures will they you there was good reason to go. However as tranquil and beautiful as Switzerland was getting there was a bit of a mess.

I had planned to only spend one night in montreux and come home after I had seen what I could see. However the Italians in driven by their incredible work ethic decided to have all train workers strike every friday of april. I found this out about 2:45 in the afternoon on thursday. I had already booked a night in a hostel so I was set on going. At the train station I confirm what I had feared. I HAD to leave thursday if I wanted to get there at all. The snag... the last train heading up to montreux left at 5:00 pm. I was informed of this at 3:30. I had an hour and a half to run home, get my bags packed, take care of everything i needed to for the weekend...it was a bit of a rush. Also I didn't have anywhere to stay once I got there. My hostel reservation was for friday night and I had zero time to try and book a room for thursday. I hoped on a train to montreux that would arrive at 10:30pm with the notion that I would just "figure it out"

In my infinite wisdom I did not take into account the fact that Montreux was on the french/swiss boarder and nobody for a good 100 kilometers (yes kilometers) would speak Italian or any language I know. It would be all French. That made it pretty tough to just "figure it out". I arrived without a problem, I don't really remember if I ate dinner that night, but I got to where I needed to go. I let my mother know I was alive and assured her I would "figure it out". five minutes later I received a stern call form my father telling me to find a hotel and just pay for it. I was too tired and frenched out to really object. Getting to montreux was a mess but I got there.

Montreux was a "kill two birds with one stone" trip. I had a goal of seeing a real castle and a goal of going to Switzerland. Both goals where meet. Chateau Chillon is the most visited Historic Monument in all of Switzerland. It was how my medieval friends would say "a most pleasant experience, one mustith vist such a grand spectacle. Hath there be a more joyous place?" Chatueu Chillon, was beyond awesome. I pretty much spent all Friday there. The castle as I saw it was about 800 years old, but the oldest structures at the foundation of the Castle were over 1000 years old. It was great. If you find yourself in the area of Chateau Chillon, I highly recommend it. There was too much to see in the castle.

Montreux the city was great. As you can see the scenery was quite exceptional. The people were friendly and the city was small but awesome. Think Tahoe but much classier and bigger mountains. I would actually rival Montreux with Tahoe...however there is one thing that still makes Tahoe better. And it is the lake itself. Lake Geneva was a bit bigger but nowhere near as clean or clear as good ol' Tahoe. Score one for California! Can remain neutral on that Swiss!

Montreux was also a big hangout for some big names in music through the years. Our chap Freddie Mecury actually lived there for a good part of his life, Led Zapplin was a frequent visitor and When the casino burnt down in the 70's the fire served as the inspiration for Deep Purples "smoke on the water". Also every July the city hosts a giant Jazz festival. The greats of jazz came to montreux. There was a park I found that had statues some of the festival regulars. Statues of Miles Davis, Louie Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald. Needless to say, a fair share of musical talent had passed through that city.

Switzerland was awesome, I would go back if I could and I'm really glad I made the trip even though I had to do it by myself. Also I made a good discovery. I found out why some people have been mistaking me for a frenchmen (i know, I thought it was a bad joke too). I encountered alot of French and swiss french people. I must say if there was a place where I could blend it. It was there in the French side of Switzerland.

When I get more time I can post about Munich, Pisa, and other things here in Florence. So sit tight

Somebody to Love- Queen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxbFLYa0_bw

Black Dog- Led Zeppelin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2M6yV6mueg

Smoke on the Water- Deep Purple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtEfquKtj6M&feature=related

All of Me- Louis Armstrong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFzxo-XI8As