I arrived this evening just in time to witness Viterbo with a makeover! Flowers lined the streets of the usual grey medieval area for San Pellegrino In Fiore. (It’s kind of like a celebration of spring when flowers are put out and many are for sale) Vendors were set up, people were out and about and many shops were open! This is very rare for a Sunday here. (Usually the town shuts down on Sundays). I grabbed my camera and took a walk inside the walls. After getting gelato from my favorite place I walked through the crowd and took in all the color as the sun was setting.
I ended up at the Papal Palace were the crowds were congregating. I found out that there was to be a fireworks show…so instead of returning to my room to study for finals, I stayed for the fireworks! And they were amazing! It was such a great way to spend my last Sunday evening here. I’m going to miss this enchanting place!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Croatia!!!
Just a while ago I visited a country that I had honestly never heard of until coming to Europe. Croatia is becoming a hot spot for tourists here in Europe, but I was lucky enough to travel there before it becomes more touristy.
We took an overnight ferry from Ancona, Italy to Split, Croatia. It was quite nice, but the ferry was rocking. Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Our first sight of Croatia was the beautiful clear blue water…and rain! All morning in Split it rained! I packed an umbrella, but my two traveling buddies didn’t. So after they bought some we were able to walk around. The Diocletian’s Palace was great with its walls, ruins and underground mazes. That afternoon we took a ferry to Brac Island. I got an amazing view of the mainland and the large island. After docking we walked through the small town of Supetar. It was so picturesque and quite there! Some of the old houses were a little run down but had so much character! Later we played on the pebble beach. I have never seen anything like this! The water was blue, teal, clear and so beautiful! For lunch I had a tuna steak while overlooking the ocean.
The next day was a long one, but wonderful nonetheless. I woke up at 4am to be ready to catch the 6am bus to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The bus ride was 6 hours!...but the view was awesome as we rode along the coast for a long time. Upon arriving (we really didn’t know what stop to get off at) I found out that we were a 4km walk from the place we were staying. Luckily the guy who we are renting a room from was able to get us. He was a nice old man…but his place was only worth the 15 euros we paid. That afternoon we went out for our adventure at the lakes. We spent about 6 hours just walking along the paths at the lakes. A bus took us to the top lake and we started walking from there. The path was mainly wood planks that weaved through countless waterfalls of numerous sizes. The lakes they filled were blue, green and teal. The nature here was so beautiful and peaceful. I absolutely loved it here! At some points the small waterfalls overflowed onto the walkway. I climbed many steps to peak into a cave and to get a bird’s eye view of the lakes.
The next morning the nice old man made us breakfast and took us to the bus stop. After another 6 hour bus ride we were back in Split for the evening. We ate a nice dinner (7.2 kuna = 1 euro) and finished in time to catch our over night ferry back.
I really like this country and all it’s diversities!
We took an overnight ferry from Ancona, Italy to Split, Croatia. It was quite nice, but the ferry was rocking. Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Our first sight of Croatia was the beautiful clear blue water…and rain! All morning in Split it rained! I packed an umbrella, but my two traveling buddies didn’t. So after they bought some we were able to walk around. The Diocletian’s Palace was great with its walls, ruins and underground mazes. That afternoon we took a ferry to Brac Island. I got an amazing view of the mainland and the large island. After docking we walked through the small town of Supetar. It was so picturesque and quite there! Some of the old houses were a little run down but had so much character! Later we played on the pebble beach. I have never seen anything like this! The water was blue, teal, clear and so beautiful! For lunch I had a tuna steak while overlooking the ocean.
The next day was a long one, but wonderful nonetheless. I woke up at 4am to be ready to catch the 6am bus to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The bus ride was 6 hours!...but the view was awesome as we rode along the coast for a long time. Upon arriving (we really didn’t know what stop to get off at) I found out that we were a 4km walk from the place we were staying. Luckily the guy who we are renting a room from was able to get us. He was a nice old man…but his place was only worth the 15 euros we paid. That afternoon we went out for our adventure at the lakes. We spent about 6 hours just walking along the paths at the lakes. A bus took us to the top lake and we started walking from there. The path was mainly wood planks that weaved through countless waterfalls of numerous sizes. The lakes they filled were blue, green and teal. The nature here was so beautiful and peaceful. I absolutely loved it here! At some points the small waterfalls overflowed onto the walkway. I climbed many steps to peak into a cave and to get a bird’s eye view of the lakes.
The next morning the nice old man made us breakfast and took us to the bus stop. After another 6 hour bus ride we were back in Split for the evening. We ate a nice dinner (7.2 kuna = 1 euro) and finished in time to catch our over night ferry back.
I really like this country and all it’s diversities!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
French Switzerland…and France!
How can I be so fortunate to visit so many beautiful places?! True beauty is what I found in Switzerland. My friend here, Casey, had a friend living in Geneva and she invited me to go with her to visit! On the flight there we went over the island of Sardegna and the snow topped Alps. Erin, Casey’s friend, lived in the dorms and we were able to stay with her for about $8 a night. This is very cheap for Swizerland! The first night we got to eat fondue out on Lac Leman. It was so good!
Erin had class our first day there so I got to see a friend from K-State in Lyon, France. It was an expensive 2 hour train ride there, but way worth it. The scenery paid for the trip! Lyon was a very nice city and I had a great time with my friend. She is practically fluent in French and had been to Lyon numerous times, so we had a stress free day. We sat for a long time on these Roman ruins there taking in the sun and catching up.
The next day we traveled to nearby Montreux also on Lac Leman. This is one of the most beautiful places I have been. The lake was so clear and the snow-capped mountains around just set a wonderful scenery. The air there was so clean…it’s like I could smell the clean. (True mountain fresh scent!) Flowers were in bloom around the lake and there were also palm trees. We ate a picnic lunch out on a doc and were visited by one of the many swans. Later we took a nice long stroll along the lake to visit Chateau de Chillon, a palace that sits right on the water. It was like a true castle with a moat, prison chambers, and a weapons room. On the walk back we stopped to look at some of the characters of the move Ice Age that were created from some sort of tree branches. We had some amazing ice cream on the wait for the train. It gives me hope that there is life after gelato.
The last day there we just walked around Geneva and enjoyed the nice clean city. On the lake is Jet d’Eau, Europe’s highest fountain! Also there we enjoyed Swiss hot cocoas and watched the swans. I also spent too much money on Swiss chocolate. I bought some to bring home…and it is actually still here!
Erin had class our first day there so I got to see a friend from K-State in Lyon, France. It was an expensive 2 hour train ride there, but way worth it. The scenery paid for the trip! Lyon was a very nice city and I had a great time with my friend. She is practically fluent in French and had been to Lyon numerous times, so we had a stress free day. We sat for a long time on these Roman ruins there taking in the sun and catching up.
The next day we traveled to nearby Montreux also on Lac Leman. This is one of the most beautiful places I have been. The lake was so clear and the snow-capped mountains around just set a wonderful scenery. The air there was so clean…it’s like I could smell the clean. (True mountain fresh scent!) Flowers were in bloom around the lake and there were also palm trees. We ate a picnic lunch out on a doc and were visited by one of the many swans. Later we took a nice long stroll along the lake to visit Chateau de Chillon, a palace that sits right on the water. It was like a true castle with a moat, prison chambers, and a weapons room. On the walk back we stopped to look at some of the characters of the move Ice Age that were created from some sort of tree branches. We had some amazing ice cream on the wait for the train. It gives me hope that there is life after gelato.
The last day there we just walked around Geneva and enjoyed the nice clean city. On the lake is Jet d’Eau, Europe’s highest fountain! Also there we enjoyed Swiss hot cocoas and watched the swans. I also spent too much money on Swiss chocolate. I bought some to bring home…and it is actually still here!
South of Italy
Just two weeks ago I traveled with the program group to southern Italy. It was my first time to be in this area and I could definitely tell a difference. The first stop was in Naples (Napoli). The crime rate is higher here, so we were strictly instructed to be aware of our belongings and to not draw attention to ourselves (well, try our best…we do look like foreigners no matter what we do). We got a tour of Palazzo Reale there. It had fancy rooms, paintings and statues. Also we had some free time for lunch to try out the original pizza! I definitely had the best pizza in Italy here. The bread was thicker and the sauce and mozzarella cheese was so yummy!
During our long weekend trip we stayed near the coast in Sorrento. Our hotel restaurant overlooked the ocean and we got a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. Outside my window was the area where they grew lemons and oranges; the ones they gave us to eat. Lemons, and other citrus fruits, are prevalent here. The lemons were huge and some were bigger than coconuts! It was common to see every area of land being used to grow something. If a house had a small extra area, something was being grown there. The area here has a very Mediterranean feel.
The next day we went to visit the ruins of Pompeii. It was so sunny and warm! The ruins were awesome to walk through. They are still excavating. It was built in 9-8th century B.C. There were remains of a forum, houses, market areas, fast food places of the time, and theaters. The people in the city didn’t know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano until 79 A.D. when Vesuvius erupted covering the town with meters of ash within a few hours. That afternoon I went with a smaller group to climb the only active volcano on mainland Europe. The bus actually took us up a good part of the way, but it still was a workout walking up the sand-like steep mountain. I had a blast up there! The view was great and the volcano was fun to play around on!
Day 3 brought on a beautiful drive along the Amalfi Coast. I’ve never seen anything like this. It was completely picturesque. The cliffs were beautiful with the blue-clear water crashing into the coast. I honestly don’t thing I can describe it with justice! The windy, vespa sized road showed us charming white housed built into the cliffs. In Amalfi we visited a church and got some more free time to explore. The streets here were typical to many Italian towns and were small with lots of character. Colorful clothes were hanging from the windows and people had small lemon and fruit stands. Here I ate a seafood lunch and had swordfish and mussels. (very good!) I got to play in the crystal clear ocean for a little bit and see the cliffs up close. That evening a few friends and I watched the sunset over the coast in Sorrento.
On our way home the last day we stopped in Caserta to see La Reggia “The Versailles of Naples.” It was very similar to Versailles in France. The rooms were elegant and the gardens were beautiful too. It took a good 40 minutes to walk from the palace to the end of the gardens. Along the way were fountains and pools filled with fish. It was a very open area with plenty of grassy areas to rest in.
Southern Italy is a beautiful area and is a place I would love to go back too. I didn’t get to visit Capri or Ischia so maybe that will be on the itinerary for next time!
During our long weekend trip we stayed near the coast in Sorrento. Our hotel restaurant overlooked the ocean and we got a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. Outside my window was the area where they grew lemons and oranges; the ones they gave us to eat. Lemons, and other citrus fruits, are prevalent here. The lemons were huge and some were bigger than coconuts! It was common to see every area of land being used to grow something. If a house had a small extra area, something was being grown there. The area here has a very Mediterranean feel.
The next day we went to visit the ruins of Pompeii. It was so sunny and warm! The ruins were awesome to walk through. They are still excavating. It was built in 9-8th century B.C. There were remains of a forum, houses, market areas, fast food places of the time, and theaters. The people in the city didn’t know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano until 79 A.D. when Vesuvius erupted covering the town with meters of ash within a few hours. That afternoon I went with a smaller group to climb the only active volcano on mainland Europe. The bus actually took us up a good part of the way, but it still was a workout walking up the sand-like steep mountain. I had a blast up there! The view was great and the volcano was fun to play around on!
Day 3 brought on a beautiful drive along the Amalfi Coast. I’ve never seen anything like this. It was completely picturesque. The cliffs were beautiful with the blue-clear water crashing into the coast. I honestly don’t thing I can describe it with justice! The windy, vespa sized road showed us charming white housed built into the cliffs. In Amalfi we visited a church and got some more free time to explore. The streets here were typical to many Italian towns and were small with lots of character. Colorful clothes were hanging from the windows and people had small lemon and fruit stands. Here I ate a seafood lunch and had swordfish and mussels. (very good!) I got to play in the crystal clear ocean for a little bit and see the cliffs up close. That evening a few friends and I watched the sunset over the coast in Sorrento.
On our way home the last day we stopped in Caserta to see La Reggia “The Versailles of Naples.” It was very similar to Versailles in France. The rooms were elegant and the gardens were beautiful too. It took a good 40 minutes to walk from the palace to the end of the gardens. Along the way were fountains and pools filled with fish. It was a very open area with plenty of grassy areas to rest in.
Southern Italy is a beautiful area and is a place I would love to go back too. I didn’t get to visit Capri or Ischia so maybe that will be on the itinerary for next time!
Studio Art
It’s been three years since I’ve taken an art class…so, when there was an opportunity to take one here in ITALY I took it! This has become one of my favorite classes and I quickly realized how much I missed making art. We meet once a week for a couple of hours. Our teacher, Ferdinando, doesn’t know much English, but with the little bit he knows and the little bit we know of Italian, it works! The class started out with doing sketches. We went through more classic styles and ended the semester with contemporary art. We were studying frescos and got to paint landscapes with eggs and natural pigment. (We used coal for black). A few weeks ago we painted to music for contemporary pieces.
Some of my favorite classes are when we traveled around different parts of Viterbo to sketch or paint. Near the large open area of Piazza del Commune is a palace with many rooms of frescos that tell the stories of Viterbo and this area. I sketched faces of the people in the paintings here. We also made water color paintings in a park near the walls and sketched buildings that date back to medieval times.
Ferdinando is such a great teacher and his broken English just makes the class so much more fun! He invited our class out to dinner our last week here.
Some of my favorite classes are when we traveled around different parts of Viterbo to sketch or paint. Near the large open area of Piazza del Commune is a palace with many rooms of frescos that tell the stories of Viterbo and this area. I sketched faces of the people in the paintings here. We also made water color paintings in a park near the walls and sketched buildings that date back to medieval times.
Ferdinando is such a great teacher and his broken English just makes the class so much more fun! He invited our class out to dinner our last week here.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Austria
This was our last country to see on our 10 day adventure. After a night in Prague we caught a morning train to Salzburg. (fun fact: Salz means salt) The scenery was picturesque with the mountains, small houses and green hills. I ate breakfast in the dinning car and it was fun (I had never done that before)! Soon upon arriving in Salzburg we went on the Sound of Music tour. Honestly I couldn’t remember the story, but the tour description said we would get to see Salzburg and travel to the lakes and mountains. Our tour guide was eccentric and fun and excited to show us all the places from the film. There is a beautiful lake practically in Salzburg and from there we got a great view of the white fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg) high on a hill. On the tour we got to go into the Alps and stopped at a glacial lake with snow capped mountains in the background. What a picture opportunity! Music from the movie was played on the bus. From there we stopped the little town of Mondsee. This is where they filmed the wedding scene. It was a very small town near a lake and at the foot of some mountains. Here I got warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce and vanilla ice cream! (Austria uses the euro and is a pretty expensive place.)
Once we got back to Salzburg we walked around the Mirabell Gardens and passed Mozart’s residence. Salzburg is a small town of 100,000 or so, but sees a population of 300,000 during tourist season. It was a beautiful town and I liked just wandering around. We ate at Seran (recommended by Rick Steeves) and I had apple strudel again.
The next day we went to the Mozart museum. It was very nice and being a piano player I enjoyed it very much! The rest of the morning was spent enjoying the beauty of this area. We left for Vienna that afternoon. Once again the scenery from the train was wonderful! Vienna is a big city with wide open streets. It’s very clean and green. There are many museums and things to see. The next day (the last full day of spring break) was a full day. We walked to the palace of the Hapsburg family. It was very similar to Versailles in France. It was neat to see the place where Marie Antoinette came from after seeing Versailles. I really enjoyed the tour of the palace and the gardens were nice. It was a beautiful day and I could finally be comfortable without a jacket.
I went to Albertina art museum to see a Picasso and Monet exhibit. I liked the change from the renaissance art I’ve been used to in Italy. After that we rented biked to travel around the ring. Vienna’s older part is encircled by two rings of roads and trees. The bike ride was a great way to see Vienna. We rode through a park and saw a carnival. That evening we ate at a restaurant called Centimeter. Many things are sold by measurement! (sandwiches are sold by the cm) We ate typical Austrian cuisine. Three of use split a “Wheel Barrel of Garbage” that had meat, wiener snizel, 3 types of dumplings and fries. It actually came in a mini wheel barrel! It was hard to believe that spring break was over, but I was excited to get back to Viterbo…living out of a backpack is not easy!
Once we got back to Salzburg we walked around the Mirabell Gardens and passed Mozart’s residence. Salzburg is a small town of 100,000 or so, but sees a population of 300,000 during tourist season. It was a beautiful town and I liked just wandering around. We ate at Seran (recommended by Rick Steeves) and I had apple strudel again.
The next day we went to the Mozart museum. It was very nice and being a piano player I enjoyed it very much! The rest of the morning was spent enjoying the beauty of this area. We left for Vienna that afternoon. Once again the scenery from the train was wonderful! Vienna is a big city with wide open streets. It’s very clean and green. There are many museums and things to see. The next day (the last full day of spring break) was a full day. We walked to the palace of the Hapsburg family. It was very similar to Versailles in France. It was neat to see the place where Marie Antoinette came from after seeing Versailles. I really enjoyed the tour of the palace and the gardens were nice. It was a beautiful day and I could finally be comfortable without a jacket.
I went to Albertina art museum to see a Picasso and Monet exhibit. I liked the change from the renaissance art I’ve been used to in Italy. After that we rented biked to travel around the ring. Vienna’s older part is encircled by two rings of roads and trees. The bike ride was a great way to see Vienna. We rode through a park and saw a carnival. That evening we ate at a restaurant called Centimeter. Many things are sold by measurement! (sandwiches are sold by the cm) We ate typical Austrian cuisine. Three of use split a “Wheel Barrel of Garbage” that had meat, wiener snizel, 3 types of dumplings and fries. It actually came in a mini wheel barrel! It was hard to believe that spring break was over, but I was excited to get back to Viterbo…living out of a backpack is not easy!
Czech Republic: Prague and Plzen.
We took another night train to get to Prague, and instead of getting off at the train station 10 minutes walk to hour hotel, we had a 45 minute walk. Very tiring with a backpack full of stuff! It was a pretty morning there and the view from the bridge crossing the river was perfect. Soon after arriving we went to the close train station to go to Plzen brewery (about 2 hours train ride from Prague). This was a cute community and a very nice tour. We got to taste the famous Pilsen Urquell right out of the barrel.
That evening we were quite tired so we just went to dinner. I tried a typical Czech dish of roasted pork, bohemian dumplings (knedliky) and sauerkraut. It was all very good! The sauerkraut was sweeter than I’m used to. (16 korun = $1) The food in this area is so good!
Sadly we had only one full day in Prague. There is a lot to see here but we made a few choices and saw what we could. Prague is a very beautiful city. The buildings are colorful and the river just makes if wonderful. I have found that cities with rivers are my favorite. There is just something about it that adds extra character. We walked up the river and got a good view of St. Charles Bridge. It’s the most elaborate bridge in Prague and connects the Prague Castle to the old town area. I really liked the old town. It is characterized by windy streets and many shops. There are eight towers in this area. Staromestske Radnice (Old Town Hall) has a cool astronomical clock and we were able to climb the bell tower. From there we got a great view of the main square and the market going on there. It seems that we hit what we like to call “March Market Madness.” I ate fair food there and had yummy roasted pork and beef goulash.
We crossed a bridge to make our way to the castle. Prague has many gardens and we walked though just one of them. The castle area was again like a mini town with restaurants, a church, and many shops…a very pretty area! I bought some hand made wool mittens here! On our way back to the St. Charles Bridge we stopped at a Starbucks. It was nice to be in a coffee shop where I could sit without a fee (like in Italy)! St. Charles Bridge was bustling with tourists, artists and others selling various items. It was cool to look at the art, but I wish it wasn’t so polluted with people. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at shops and wandering around. I had another great supper. I ate pork again with a creamy mushroom sauce along with some sliced potatoes baked with bacon, cheese and onions. This is arguably one of my favorite meals over spring break.
I would definitely enjoy visiting Prague again!
That evening we were quite tired so we just went to dinner. I tried a typical Czech dish of roasted pork, bohemian dumplings (knedliky) and sauerkraut. It was all very good! The sauerkraut was sweeter than I’m used to. (16 korun = $1) The food in this area is so good!
Sadly we had only one full day in Prague. There is a lot to see here but we made a few choices and saw what we could. Prague is a very beautiful city. The buildings are colorful and the river just makes if wonderful. I have found that cities with rivers are my favorite. There is just something about it that adds extra character. We walked up the river and got a good view of St. Charles Bridge. It’s the most elaborate bridge in Prague and connects the Prague Castle to the old town area. I really liked the old town. It is characterized by windy streets and many shops. There are eight towers in this area. Staromestske Radnice (Old Town Hall) has a cool astronomical clock and we were able to climb the bell tower. From there we got a great view of the main square and the market going on there. It seems that we hit what we like to call “March Market Madness.” I ate fair food there and had yummy roasted pork and beef goulash.
We crossed a bridge to make our way to the castle. Prague has many gardens and we walked though just one of them. The castle area was again like a mini town with restaurants, a church, and many shops…a very pretty area! I bought some hand made wool mittens here! On our way back to the St. Charles Bridge we stopped at a Starbucks. It was nice to be in a coffee shop where I could sit without a fee (like in Italy)! St. Charles Bridge was bustling with tourists, artists and others selling various items. It was cool to look at the art, but I wish it wasn’t so polluted with people. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at shops and wandering around. I had another great supper. I ate pork again with a creamy mushroom sauce along with some sliced potatoes baked with bacon, cheese and onions. This is arguably one of my favorite meals over spring break.
I would definitely enjoy visiting Prague again!
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