europe through the viewfinder

SALAMANCA

2007-08-08T19:22:00.001-07:00

GIMMELWALD

2007-07-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

LAKE BLED

2007-07-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

SALZBURG

2007-07-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

yeah that's right, its back to photos of europe. sorry its taking forever. its summer so im preoccupied with things like sun, slip n'slides and sailboats. here are the photos from salzburg. there should be a set of photos from lake bled, slovenia (from the days prior to these), but my computer went wacky and photoshop quit before i could edit/upload so itll be a couple days before i get them up. cheers.

Bling-Blingin'ham Wanderings

2007-07-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from the Euro-fotos for a sec. These are some shots from my wanderings around B-Ham in the last week.
(Caution: pictures contain "eff" word)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia

2007-06-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

VIENNA

2007-06-28T13:01:00.001-07:00

2007-06-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

I know I'm behind on posting photos, but I promise to have new stuff up soon--maybe tonight. I've still got Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to post so keep checking back.

It feels good to be back in the swing of things here in Bellingham. Looks like work will be fun as usual and I'm starting my summer school, color photo class this afternoon so I'm pretty excited to get back in the dark room, especially since I'll be working in a new medium. I'm sure I'll be throwing some of those photos up too so like I said, keep checking.

Cheers

MUNICH

2007-06-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

2007-06-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

did some updating. the blog's got a new name and a new look. hope you like it.

cheers

CRETE

2007-06-18T16:48:00.001-07:00

IOS

2007-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

SANTORINI

2007-06-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

ATHENS

2007-06-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

BOLOGNA...finally

2007-06-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

BARCELONA...finally

2007-06-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

only a few months late and in no particular order.

trains, planes, and...well, mostly just trains and planes.

2007-06-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

after over a day of plane travel im home. i had an amazing time in europe and have a few more stories to post, and a lot of photos so dont stop checking this thing. once ive recovered in the next few days ill start posting my favorite photos. cheers.

Versailles? More like Ver...y-big-waste-of-time

2007-06-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry Mom.

Im headed out of Paris for Bruges in a few, thought I'd update you all on my travels here.

Yesterday was another jam-packed day. Got up around 9.00, ate, and headed out for Notre Dame and d'Orsay around 10. Notre Dame was pretty, but I think I'm partial to the Duomo. Maybe I've seen too many pictures, I don't know, but I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. Seems to be the theme of this city so far. After, I spent awhile being "impressed" by the likes of Manet, Courbet, Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh at the d'Orsay. Excellent museum. Far more entertaining than the Louvre. Could have spent awhile longer gazing at the works, but I wanted to make sure I had enough time to head out to Versailles before Napolean's tomb and my night bike ride.

As you can already tell from the title, I didn't like Versailles. I didn't really know what to expect. Just figured big house, but I got more than that. It was a scaffolding-covered, noisy, overcrowded, overrated, human-zoo. I found none of the rooms all that impressive, just gaudy...completely expected from the French. No offense. I dont know how a structure of its size can be claustorphobic, but with so many people crammed in and so much noise it was a real pain in the you-know-what. I just wanted to see the gardens, but they make you think you have to walk through to entire palace to get to them. Not true. Wish Id known that earlier. Wasn't really a fan of the gardens either. I prefer the English style, let-it-flow, overgrown, natural looking gardens to the French "I control nature", manicured, uniform gardens. It kinda takes away from the idea of a garden in my opinion. To each his own I suppose. Anyways, the most enjoyable portion of my brief, brief visit to Versailles was probably the 2 and half minutes of sleep I got on the train back. I definitely spent more time on the train to and from than I actually did at the palace. No plans to return ever again.

Once I was back in Paris, I took a quick walk to Napolean's resting place in the Dome Church. Pretty spectacular, post-mortem digs he's got. Snapped a shot with France's own emperor himself (or at least his massive tomb) and then enjoyed some rest in the park, or garden, or whatever outside.

The highlight of yesterday was definitely the night bike ride through town. We met at the Eiffel and grabbed some bikes from the nearby shop then rode down rue de St Germain des Pres through the Latin Quarter and over to Notre Dame where we stopped for ice cream at Paris' best ice cream shop (GROM in Florence has some competition). After that we rode along the river, across a pedestrian bridge full of picnickers, and thru the Louvre. Definitely the coolest way to see the Louvre. Very few people can say they've taken victory laps around the fountains and pyramid on a beautiful Paris evening (bikes are not allowed there during the day). We made a quick pass through Place de Concorde and then it was on to our boat for some free wine and a night cruise down the Seine. It was absolutely beautiful. Everything was lit up and we got to enjoy the Eiffel in all its glory when the "millenium light show" kicked in (theyve strung blinking lights all over the tower, started for the millenium celebration, and the people loved it so much it stuck). It goes off every hour between 10 and midnight and its quite spectacular. Anywho, we had a great time and got a little buzzed, but Im sure everyone slept great afterwards. I know I did. And now Im off to Bruges.

Cheers

Paris, gotta louvre it!

2007-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

HAHAHA, see what i did there? i slay myself.

anyways...spent my second day in paris today. im not a big city person, and i definitely find paris a bit overwhelming, but im enjoying my time. i visited the rodin after arriving yesterday, and spent most of the rest of the afternoon shooing off bums and gypsies during my cliche eiffel tower picnic and strolling along the river. theres a great wildlife photo exhibit on display along the seine in front of the tower. i enjoyed it. im staying in montemartre (northern paris...funky hilltop nieghborhood), so i took a walk to the sacre cuer (i cant spell) and caught an evening view of the city below before heading to bed.

today was packed. met for a free walking tour near notre dame. took in all the sites (from the outside, hence the 'free-ness')...notre dame, saint chapelle, louvre, d'orsay, toulieres, dome church, hotel invalides, eiffel, etc. afterwards, i got a bite to eat and went for a quick louvre visit. thats right quick. wasnt impressed. saw the have-to's: mona, venus, crown diamonds, egyptian artifacts, and then spent most of my town browsing the flemmish and dutch painters, mostly sitting in the rubens room. im over renaissance art. took a quick look thru the french and italian stuff, but it makes me sleepy now. i think i was more impressed with the amount of people you can pile in front of little mona lisa, and the military security strapped with machine guns. after the louvre, strolled down champs elysees and up the arc. i ran into that sexy italian chef on the food network. i forgot her name, but shes hot in person and i may be in the background of a spot for her show...i was laughing at the ridiculous traffic below. 12 roads converge at one intersection and they havent bothered to put in stop lights...hmmmm. took the lift up the eiffel just before sunset and walked teh stairs down. its pretty, i could almost see seattle. thats a lie...go figure. i couldnt really see anything. it was pretty hazy, but still nice. now im back at the hostel. thats my day. tomorrow: go in notre dame, d'orsay, and versailles, then an evening bike and boat tour thru this "city of light" as they call it.

cheers.

This may be a long one...

2007-06-04T04:55:00.001-07:00

Its been far too long since Ive updated the 4-or-so of you that read this on my travels. You may have even forgotten I was in Europe. Well, Im still here and doing fine.

Last I guess I mentioned Munich and Vienna...that was a few weeks ago. Since then Ive wandered the streets of the "city of the future" Ljubljana, Slovenia. I also had the pleasure of sleeping above a the one bar at Lake Bled, Slovenia, in what seemed like a pay-if-you-want hostel. Despite the noise late at night, it was fine.

From Ljubljana I caught a train to Salzburg. Salzburg was great. I stayed in a couple very nice B and Bs run by nice old ladies. After two nights in Salzburg I spent an evening in Lucern, Switzerland...nothing special. Seemed nice I suppose. Then it was off to Interlaken for the afternoon before heading high into the alps to stay at the Mr. Steves recommended, Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald. Gimmelwald was wonderful. Definitely my favorite place so far. Its a small town on a cliff about 5000 ft in the alps. From the small Lauterbrunnen valley, you catch a gondola practically to the doorstep of the Mountain Hostel. Its lush, green hilly pastures right to teh base of jagged, snowcapped peaks. Havent been to a more peaceful place yet. I met a lot of cool people. Plenty of fellow American travellers. If not anything else, we all had at least one thing in common, a Rick Steves guidebook. After Gimmelwald it was off to Lausanne and Geneva. Both a complete waste of time. Shoulda stayed in Gimmelwald an extra couple of nites. Flew to Madrid from Geneva and joined up with a friend, Kyla, and her friend from Italy, Marco. We were able to snag some free lodging with friends of friends and what not, and did a fun overniter in Salamanca and a daytrip to Segovia. Both were great. Salamancas the epitomy of European university town, but definitely a fun place and Segovias a bit overtouristed, but worth an afternoon.

Kyla and Marco took off for Barcelona, and I spent a day touring the Prado and Reina Sofia. They were just about the only things I was interested in seeing in Madrid. It was a nice quiet day. Caught a train to Sevilla the following day and had a great time relaxing at the cafes, eating tapas and drinking Cruzcampo and Jerez (thanks for the tips Ry).

Im currently in Granada and have been since Saturday. Its a great city. Probably my favorite, along with Sevilla, in Spain. Its got a great mix of north African and Spanish style. Very beautiful, and with the exception of the amazing Alhambra, it has been more about relaxing in the sun than speeding through the sights. Ive really enjoyed my time here in Spain. Ill be heading back to Sevilla for the evening, before going to Paris early in the morning.

Thats life so far. Less than two weeks left. Its been an amazing trip, but Im also looking forward to the return. Its been a long time gone. Hope all is well back home.

cheers.

Munchen and Vienna

2007-05-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Tana and I parted ways saturday afternoon in Crete. She flew back to Florence and I to Stuttgart where I spent the evening before heading to munich for two days. We were definitely bummed to be going separate ways, she was a great travel partner. We had a lot of fun together. Santorini was amazing. Ios was nice and relaxing. Our hostel in Ios was wonderful and we had a lot of fun partying for the evening. Crete was interesting. Iraklion was a ____hole. Our hostel was gross, but it is the only hostel in the city. It took us 2 hours to find the hostel and then it just turned out to be crappy, but we only stayed for the evening. We went to Knossos the following morning to visit the Minoan ruins...thought it would be a lot cooler than it was, but it was a pretty cheesy tourist trap. We were happy to escape Iraklion in the afternoon for Chania, a much more beautiful setting. Its a nice Venitian beach town where we spent our last night. Our accomodations were nice and close to the town and beach and we celebrated our last nite with a nice seafood dinner (I had the seafood, she´s allergic). It would have been wonderful to stay a few more days in Greece. The weather could not have been better and it was such a wonderfully relaxing place to be. Now I'm in Vienna after a night in Stuttgart and 2 days in Munich.

Stuttgart was fun, but I never actually saw the city. I got to my hostel around 10pm and enjoyed friendly conversation with Alexander, a young German engineer and some loud, but fun members of a Romanian men's choir, over a few drinks in the hostel bar. I'd only planned on a beer or two, but the Romanians insisted I try their specialty liquor. It was like a heavy Ouzo. I don't know what the liquor is called, but with a brand name like "Vlad" (the impaler) it can only be evil. It was all in good fun and I still caught an early train to Munich.

Munich was nice. Much warmer than expected. I was able to knock out most of the sights in the first day, but I spent Monday actually soaking them up with a climb up the 300 steps of Peterskirche (spelling?) tower for some amazing Munchen views and a beer at the Hofbrauhaus. I caught a 5.30 train to Vienna and have been enjoying my time here.

Woke up at 9 for a bike tour of the city. Took in all the major sights while getting soaked in the rain. That wasn't expected, but it just felt like home. I was exhausted by the end of it, so I'm relaxing for the evening before taking in some museums and hopefully a climb up the cathedral tomorrow. Slovenia on Thursday morning. That's plan...we'll see if I stick to it.

Cheers,

AL

Greece...

2007-05-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

After 2.5 exhausting days of travel we arrived in Athens Friday evening. The ferry ride was one of my longest travel experiences so far. We missed our original train to Ancona (Italy's ferry port) and had to wait another day, only to miss our planned ferry at 1.30 Thursday afternoon so we waited in the Ancona ferry terminal until departing on our 7.00pm Superfast ferry to Patras. I wouldnt exactly call a 20-hour ferry trip "superfast." The boat was nice (outfitted like a tiny cruiseship), but getting off of it was even nicer. Once in Patras we waited again (seems to be a theme in Europe) for our 6pm train to Athens. The train was full and I found myself standing for the first two hours. We finally reached Athens around 10.00pm Friday.

It was a bit dodgy at first, but I warmed up to it the following afternoon with a stroll through all the sites. The ruins were amazing and served as a wonderful time capsule for the past. It was amazing to see how much is still preserved after thousands of years and millions of visits. The food was as delicious as I expected and the cheap junk in the Plaka was worth a browse. I had to add to my collection of hideous European souvenir shirts. I'm sure you'll all be delighted to see what I've collected thus far. Two days in Athens was plenty of time and now we are relaxing in Santorini.

Tana and I took a cheap flight out of Athens this evening and arrived just a few hours ago. It was hard to find lodging on such short notice, but we stumbled across a killer deal on the internet this morning and pounced. We have an "apartment" in a development with 6 others thru a rental/tour company. Aside from the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, internet access, etc. we also have a wonderful patio with a view of the surrounding "mountains" and black-sand Perissa Beach, a shared pool, and a rental car...there was even a puppy running around when we arrived, but I don't suppose he comes with the place. The car's an interesting extra, I doubt it will get a whole lot of use, but it'll be nice in case we want to wander further out on the island. All this for 75 euro seemed fine with us last minute. Its definitely not what I plan on spending during my solo travels, but I suppose we're treating ourselves to a relaxing couple days post-school (Thanks again Mom and Dad!). I'm really looking forward to a fun few days on the islands and I will keep you all posted on the adventures.

superslow ferry

2007-05-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

mom, dad, and all others that are wondering about my whereabouts. im enroute to greece aboard a not-so-superfastferry. in the end it will have taken 2.5 days to get to greece...what an adventure! the boats nice. people arent so friendly, but theyll help you cus its their job. slept on the floor. the seats we got were like first-class plane seats. comfortable enough, but there were no people other than a nice british couple in the "air seat room" with us so we just got pillows and crashed on the floor. missed breakfast...didnt know they would have set eating schedules. internet is expensive and precious so im keeping this short, but i thought id let you all know where and how i am. ciao.

SRISA STUDENT FASHION SHOW

2007-04-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

(Thought I'd start "signing" my work.)

Still sorting through Barcelona pics, but hope to have 'em up soon.

Troubled Child Stars

2007-04-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

In case anyone's wondering if I actually do work here, I've posted a couple 'rough' images to be used in my current and final digital imaging project. The completed product will be a series of postage stamps with the theme "Troubled Child Stars." Currently working on Drew Barrymore in her cute, cokehead days; Macaulay Culkin in his pre-drug, hanging-out-at-Neverland Ranch-days; and Gary Coleman. Also included in the series: Michael Jackson, Corey Feldman, and Lindsay Lohan.

GARY

DREW

P.S. The final product and a few other pieces of work will be exhibited at the SRISA Spring Student Show at my school. Anyone interested in flying to Florence for the evening of April 26 to check out some great student work is encouraged to do so. (I designed the invite.)

italian

english

Sometimes I Wish I Was Taller...

2007-04-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Easter at the Duomo: As told through a series of photos of the back of peoples' heads.

Cinque Terre Pics

2007-04-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre and an Explosive Easter

2007-04-12T04:21:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre was beautiful last weekend. Our first day was spent in Monterosso, the fifth town. After a quick lunch of bruscetta, we passed out on the beach under the sun. That night we enjoyed an enormous bucket of mixed seafood at Belvedere (a local favorite) and finished the night off at one of the few bars in town, filled with American students and appropriately named, "American Bar." Not reserving a room ahead of time left us to spend a cold, but clear Friday night on the beach. We awoke to the warm morning sun and spent all day Saturday hiking between the five towns, from Riomaggiore back to Monterosso (Vernazza was my favorite). We caught a 5.00 train back to Florence, Saturday evening, and woke early on Sunday for Florence's Easter festivities. In the morning they put on a large fireworks display in front of the Duomo, although seemingly unsafe, it was quite entertaining and quite important to Florentine's considering the size of the crowd. Flaming dove zips down a cord through the nave of the Duomo and out the door where it strikes an elaborately designed cart loaded with explosives and then the whole thing goes "KABOOM" for about 15 minutes. Had the dove not lit the fireworks, and just bounced off the cart, the city would have a year of bad luck (last time that happened the soccer team had their worst season...coincidence?). It was pretty neat to see, but by the afternoon the crowds were just too obnoxious and overwhelming and the best place to be was our apartment. It has been sunny and warm all weekend, of course attracting more and more tourists, so we're off to Barcelona for the weekend. Looks like rain, but that won't keep us from the sights. A friend of Brendan's and his friends, all studying in Barcelona, were here the other night and will be showing us around their city this weekend. It should be a good time.
Hope all is well with everyone.

Ciao!

- pics from Cinque Terre, Easter, and Barcelona to be posted next week.

Afternoon, Day 2: Pompeii

2007-04-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

Photos from my trip to Pompeii (the same weekend as the Amalfi Coast). Quite a well-preserved city after having suffered such devastation. Our guide was a great help; without him I would have had no idea what I was looking at, but with a few descriptions you can really start to see the original structures. Enjoy.

Overlooking an amphitheater, left, and gladiator training grounds (much like our gym) right.

"Forum." All the main political offices, temples, and important buildings would have been situated around this. Pompeans would have hung-out there like Romans did, or Italians do in the piazzas. Vesuvius in the background.

Remnants of a temple.

Assorted archeological finds.

More finds and a plaster cast of a Vesuvius victim. The person would have been incinerated, but the ground produced a mold.

Forum from different view.

Roads.

Wall.

Street lined with business, homes, bars, brothels (Pompeii was Dionysian--incredibly sexual), etc etc.

Colosseum...model for Rome's.

Brendan and Pompean.

Lemons and citrons (large lemon-like fruit).

Morning, Day 2: Sorrento

2007-04-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Capri & Anacapri

2007-04-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

CEA-guided excursion to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii this weekend. The Amalfi Coast was gorgeous. These are the pics from Capri and Anacapri.

Why I Find Italians Slightly Strange...

2007-03-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

They don't put ice in their drinks because they fear it will "re-freeze" the [warm] food in their stomachs, causing digestion problems.

They bundle up in warm weather so they're not visibly sweating.
(And yes, that would mean they're sweating under all their layers which is even worse.)

Sunshine, Siena, and Otzi

2007-03-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

With the exception of photos I haven't posted lately so I thought I'd write a little bit about my time here lately.

We returned from a wonderful spring break tired and in no way ready to start up with classes again. Last week brought the warmth and beauty of the Tuscan sun. We were able to spend a bit of time wandering around outside soaking up those wondrous UV rays and fighting the crowds at the gelateria. Our [last minute] plan for last weekend was Sicily, but we couldn't find cheap plane flights, so while my roommate Graeme (who booked ahead) was wandering the southern island, Brendan and I spent a sunny Saturday afternoon in Siena. It was a beautiful city full of medieval character, but an afternoon was plenty of time. We returned to Florence that evening just in time to celebrate St Patty's Day with a few Guiness at a local Irish pub, The Lion's Fountain. Sunday was spent catching up on homework and sleep. This weeks been flying by..fine by me. A CEA trip to Pompei/Capri was the plan for this weekend, but there was a mix-up with some confirmation emails and Brendan and I were scheduled to go with another group on March 31. While our roommates are on the not-so-pleasantly-windy Amalfi Coast, Brendan and I are trekking to Bolzano, Italy, the gateway to the Dolomites, to enjoy some fine Austrian cuisine, the company of 5000-year-old "Otzi the Iceman," and the sight of mountains and snow...where we'll hopefully get to do a bit of hiking. It looks like it'll be a nice weekend away from the ever-growing crowds of Florence (hope you're ready Mom and Dad). With such a wonderful apartment so close to the city center, I suppose it's only fair we have to put up with noisy tourist after tourist straggling past our building. That's the latest.

Arrivederci!

Otzi, the fairest of all "icemen."

BUDAPEST...finally.

2007-03-19T04:01:00.000-07:00

the weather didn't exactly cooperate.

PRAGUE

2007-03-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Cloud formations over castle

Czech musician with a curious spectator

View from castle

Changing of the Guard, Prague Castle

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

On Charles Bridge

Kids enjoying the view from Charles Bridge

Czech architecture

Street

Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square

Prague Castle Basillica

Inside basillica

BERLIN

2007-03-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sky over Humboldt University

Hip new architecture

Early evening, end of walking tour

Strange back-alley, street art

Cathedral

Boy Biking

Walking tour guide at the Holocaust Memorial

Bugatti dealership

Memorial to Book Burning

Brandenberg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

The Wall with one of few remaining pieces of Nazi Architecture in background

PRAGUE and BUDAPEST coming along slowly...

2007-03-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

Its noon on Thursday. We just got in to Budapest and things are going pretty well. The last three days in Prague were wonderful. I think its my favorite city so far. Everyone was friendly, the weather was perfect for sightseeing and photo ops, the food was delicious...couldn't have asked for a better time i don't think. Getting to Budapest was an adventure this morning. Long story short, miscommunication (go figure, seems common over here) lead us to the wrong train in Bratislava and we ended up walking back along the tracks a little ways to the Bratislava main station at 6.30 in the morning. Sounds worse than it was, but I'm tired and in need of a nap so I have to cut it short. We're here, we're safe, and it looks like we've got a fun and interesting 3 and a half days ahead of us. Until then...

ciao

berlin so far

2007-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

So we're in Berlin. Got in last nite. the plane/train rides were interesting. we flew pisa to lubeck, took a bus from lubeck to hamburg, and a train from hamburg to berlin. we were not expecting to sit in the hamburg train station for 3 hours but that was the case. we also werent expecting to pay €50 for an hour and a half train ride, considering the ride from florence to pisa is €5...but thats how it goes. it was an adventure and we had a good laugh cus we werent sure wed make it, but luckily everybody we asked for help was real nice and willing to give us directions. one guy even got us on the right bus and told us exactly where to get off when we were looking for our hostel here. its a nice, laid back hostel. our roommate last nite was a bit of a jerk, but he left this morning and we wont have to deal with him. we made it to a concert last nite ('the brazilian girls' out of nyc. great mix of electronic, pop, world-ish music. really fun show). that was a lot of fun. weve been eating well and drinking good beer...finally. the food is cheap and plentiful. the women at the clubs last nite were beautiful and it looks like were gonna have a fun and busy schedule while were here. were real excited to take a free walking tour of the city later that will knock out all the important sites we want to see. the weather isnt great, but that was to be expected. the three of us are having a lot of fun. i think were gonna go look for a beerhall in a few and i dont wanna use up all our time on the internet, but i will post again soon. looks like its going to be a wonderful spring break. hope all is well back home.

cheers,
al

"Carnivale" in Viareggio

2007-02-27T02:16:00.000-08:00

i put that in quotes because we're all pretty sure 'carnivale' ended on ash wednesday, but the party was saturday/sunday. it was a fun time, but we all crashed by midnight because the city didn't seem too lively. apparently that's because locals didn't make it out until around midnight. oh well, we had a good time. it was raining, so we couldn't really enjoy the beach. but the beach was being bulldozed anyway, so it might not have been that fun. the town is pretty sleepy and male cross-dressing seems popular on carnivale...strange little place viareggio is. sunday it poured and poured and the trains were on strike so we weren't able to leave until 3.00 by bus...a very packed bus. it took us a solid 2.5+ hours to go a distance that probably should have taken 1.5, but it made for a good laugh after everything that had been happening all weekend. seemed like something was out to get us. enjoy the pics. hopefully i'll have some more, but i forgot my little camera and am trying to snag these from the people that actually got some good ones...

as you can see we put a ton of thought into our costumes

Pisa

2007-02-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

Preview of Pisa

2007-02-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

Nice & Monaco

2007-02-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Digital Imaging Project 2

2007-02-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

1 of 2 posters designed for my digital imaging class. face is a sketch i transferred to photoshop and colored. still familiarizing myself with the wonders of pshop. i like the sketch better for now, but i more or less achieved the colorful, sketchy abstraction i was going for.

*not an actual event

connection is not reliable, so photos from nice are being posted slowly. maybe ill have better luck with connection at school. thanks for keeping up with the blog. things are going well around here. hope all is well back home.

al

2007-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

whats this madness about britney spears' hair? i was horrified to hear about it, but good thing cnn.com made it front page news.

im allergic to france

2007-02-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

we just got back to florence from nice, france about 30 minutes ago and i can definitely say i was a bit disappointed in the whole trip. although uncomfortable, the 8-hour bus ride thursday was not too bad...until tonite, when we realized it really only takes 5 hours. now im wondering what happened to the other 3 hours of my time thursday night.

the first day in nice was warm and sunny and the water looked real tempting. we enjoyed walking around the city despite the construction on what seemed like every major street, causing serious congestion...luckily we dont have to drive anywhere over here. we lacked a proper guide book and had a difficult time finding anything real interesting (or reasonably priced) to do, so we mostly explored and enjoyed our time around the beach. confused on the dates of 'carnival' we hit the streets late friday night in hopes of a crazy european holiday, but in fact it didnt start till the next night, so we just sipped a few pints at a pub and listened to great live music. i havent been feeling well at all and when we left for the bars friday night, my arms broke out in hives which went away as soon as i got inside the bar...musta been something in the air.

saturday was overcast and breezy. we went to monaco. its an interesting place. lots of money. wonderful views. amazing boats and cars. way too gawdy for my taste, but set in an absolutely beautiful backdrop...as is every city in the french riviera. unfortunately, i was miserable. about 10 minutes after we got off the train i started to break out in hives and feeling a bit feverish i was ready to head back to nice after an hour and a half. luckily monacos small, i saw what i felt i needed to, and the train ride back is only about 20 minutes. i have no idea what the problem was, but im guessing im allergice to france. i got some medicine at the pharmacy and it seemed to take care of the problem. that night was the first big night of carnival, but im not sure i understand the hype because it seemed a bit like a cheesy mix between fourth of july and the macy's thanksgiving day parade. a few children were in costume. people were spraying eachother with silly string. and there were some very odd parade floats. i think its a bit wilder in venice. we still had fun saturday night, but all of us were ready to head home.

today we had to kill 7 hours before the bus ride and we had no idea how to do so. we tried to have a long breakfast, but we were all just to sick and worn out to even talk. we wandered up into the hills to get some really pretty views of the city and the water. im sure they wouldve been more impressive had it not been raining, but it was still a nice walk. i hate to sound so negative, but i wasnt thoroughly impressed with the south of france. the french riviera would be an absolutely beautiful place to visit again at a warmer time. crummy weather, sickness, and the annoyances of all the construction made this a less-than-perfect weekend. im sure i wouldve enjoyed slovenia more, but this was an interesting experience and we made the best of what we could.

2007-02-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

We were all looking forward to a fun weekend of skiing and relaxing at Lake Bled, Slovenia...but that was cut short when they cancelled the trip due to lack of interest. EuroAdventures gave us a discount on our next trip so we decided to spend it on a trip to the French Riviera for Mardi Gras this weekend. We'll be leaving Florence by bus tomorrow evening (probably arriving in Nice really early in the morning) and returning to Florence late Sunday night.

We're not really looking forward to it because apparently of the 75 of us going, 60 are female. I imagine you all sense the tiny bit of sarcasm in that previous statement. Should be an awesome time. We're all looking forward to it and I'm sure I'll get some interesting photos of the crazy travellers and locals dressed in their Carnival attire. I'll have to get some crazy costume myself, I suppose.

more from the dam

2007-02-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

2007-02-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

Spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Amsterdam. It was a nice couple of days, spent relaxing, speaking English, drinking heineken, eating amazing pancakes, gawking at Van Gogh's work, and of course enjoying a laugh or two in the Red Light District. Amsterdam's definitely a city full of character and interesting people. I'm sure it isn't much of a surprise to most of you that I identified with the Bohemian types there a bit better than some of the snobby Europeans I've encountered thus far. Don't get me wrong, I've met great people in every city, but the easy-going, laid-back Amsterdam lifestyle was a nice break from the crowded Florence sidewalks and relentless gypsies. The first night we stayed in a hostel/bar/restaurant right in the Red Light District (much to our surprise), but it was a clean, comfortable, and entertaining place. We enjoyed a brisk walk thru the city. Getting lost every few blocks, but eventually we met up with some friends at a bar made famous in Ocean's 12. We rose early Saturday for the included breakfast and then hit the streets to find a hostel for the that night before trying to find the Van Gogh Museum. We got situated in a nice, quaint hostel on the Singel Canal and then headed out for the Van Gogh. It was a long walk to the other side of town, interrupted by a turn down the wrong street or a photo opportunity. The Van Gogh museum was a relief from all the early Renaissance art we've become accustomed to over the last month. He's such an inspiration and it was wonderful to see his work alongside his own inspirations and predecessors. We spent hours in there and then took off to familiarize ourselves with the rest of the city. Mom, I'm sure you would have enjoyed the wonderful flower market along our canal. Even on such a cold, grey day, the flowers were beautiful. With only two days (1 full, 2 half days) in the Dam, I decided to hold off on a few sights (Rembrandt Museum, Anne Frank's house) since I'll be back in June for a couple more days. I would've loved a bike ride to the countryside, but that'll have to wait till June, since the weather wasn't exactly cooperating. It was snowing when we first arrived and stayed quite cold the rest of the time making it hard to sightsee for too long, but we managed to keep moving and thoroughly enjoyed the diverse selection of foods and a warm cup of black coffee (something hard to find in Italy) every now and again. With such gloomy weather, I found it hard to take as many pictures as I've been taking, but I snapped a few enjoyable photos (below; may post more) and was really impressed with the street art around me (as usual). All in all it was a lot of fun. We couldn't really pass up the 40 euro flight, and although it turned out to be more expensive than we all planned, it was a real fun, relaxing weekend. Something we all enjoyed a lot. Next on the list: Slovenia. That should be interesting. I'll keep you all posted.

A few from Amsterdam

2007-02-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Its all about me...

2007-02-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

and one with the roomies.

vatican

vatican

trevi fountain

colosseum

piazzale michelangelo (duomo in background)

Roma, part I

2007-02-05T02:23:00.000-08:00

just a few images from our trip to roma this last weekend. more from the vatican, trevi fountain etc. to come soon.

fountain in front of pantheon

statue in st. peter's basillica

statue/roman bath in museo vaticani

beautiful day @ the colosseum

friendly street performer

Who Knew?

2007-02-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Looks like its Canal-Whale season.
(A portion of my first Digital Imaging project.)

Graffiti Part I

2007-01-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

graffiti from around venice. more to come.

Images from Venizia, Murano, Torchello & Burano

2007-01-29T02:15:00.000-08:00

Venice was an interesting place. It was a nice break from Florence, but definitely not somewhere I could spend more than a day or two. On Saturday we took tours of some of Venice's important religious and artistic landmarks, including Basillica San Marco in the plaza. Few people get a tour as in depth as we did. We were even invited into the crypt to see the tomb of St. Mark. It was quite the experience. Sunday was dedicated to three islands just off the mainland. At Murano we watched a glass blowing demonstration and then wandered the tiny island for awhile, but spent most of the time sipping caffe and people watching...although there were few people to actually watch. On Torchello we took a tour of one of some very old churches, but spent little time exploring since the island is nearly inhabited. And we finished our island hopping at Burano where we ate a quick lunch and snapped some photos of the beautifully colored buildings. The previous photos are mostly of Venice (canals, gondolas, piazza, etc) and Burano (brightly colored buildings, walls, etc.). I found those to be the most interesting places to photograph. I have some decent photos of the churches at Torchello, and knowing there are more to come, I'm burnt out on churches for awhile. Hope you enjoy the photos.
ciao,
al

Out on the town

2007-01-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

A few party pics. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I do go to class.

Palazzo Pitti & Boboli Gardens

2007-01-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

2007-01-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

ciao ragazzi
this weekend was devoted to some of the major sights of florence. the roommates and i spent friday hiking up to the piazzale michaelangelo (just on the outside of the city) for some amazing views of the duomo, palazzo pitti, and just about every building for miles. we walked through an old cemetary and snapped a few shots of street artists and vendors. the weather looked a little iffy but turned out to be a pretty mild day, like most so far. saturday we walked to the palazzo pitti and boboli gardens which were pretty massive. although it was a beautiful clear day and the gardens were green, they werent as spectacular as im sure theyll be in a few months. we were obviously tired from all the hiking around, but graeme (the roomie from university of tampa) and i managed to climb the 463 steps up the duomo just before it closed for the most amazing view of florence just after sunset. i was told the piazzale views were better, but id have to disagree. ill get some pics up tomorrow. its incredible to be climbing the dome inside the dome. engineering at its finest. not for those afraid of heights. i could stare at the domes paintings for hours. they are so detailed and purely magnificent. i think were all still trying to get used to the way things work around here, cus we all planned errands for today and forgot everything is closed. guess itll all have to wait. we'll probably watch some of the football games tonight, but theyre on so late i dont know how long ill be able to stand it...not to mention i could care less who wins, but it was fun to watch them last week because everyone was rooting for someone different. anywho, thats about all for now. thanks for the feedback on the photos mom. glad you like them. i suppose i better have something to show for all this, right?

arivaderci

Piazzale Mchaelangelo

2007-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

pictures in no specific order from our walk to piazzale michaelangelo and other parts of firenze.

Piazza Della Signora

2007-01-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

not exactly sure what the names of these pieces are, but theyre pretty spectacular...and massive.

mi vicinanza

2007-01-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

A few rainy day pics in the neighborhood.

Duomo

Via Ricasoli (that man is sitting on my doorstep)

Local Graffiti

More Graf...it is everywhere.

ciao ciao,
al

La casa.

2007-01-17T02:58:00.000-08:00

home away from home...not too shabby.

Ponte Vecchio

2007-01-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

I've Arrived

2007-01-15T04:15:00.000-08:00

After what felt like 2 full days of plane and bus rides, I finally arrived in Firenze. The city is beautiful, our apartment's beautiful, the women are beautiful and the food and wine are delicious and abundant...who could ask for more? After two ridiculously long days of orientation we were finally free to spend our days as we pleased (that hasn't stopped us from have our fun at night) and have been enjoying every second of free time. Classes started today and although going to class is probably that last thing I wanted to be doing while I'm here, I think they'll be quite interesting. As of right now everything is still sinking in so I don't have much to write, but I continuously be posting photos from our adventures abroad.

1st post

2006-12-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

i'll be heading to florence, italy in a few days and ill be using this blog to communicate and record my travels (rather than obnoxious bulk emails). enjoy.

destination: