My Final Week in Italy

FLORENCE
After leaving Rome I had about a week to do some final traveling around Italy before flying back home to the US. My first stop was Florence to stay with Pepe and his CEA friends and see more of the city. I spent my time with Pepe discovering different parts of the city, having delicious meals, and talking about how Europe has changed us for the better. Some things I wish to bring with me back to the U.S. are the traditions of apertivo (having a drink such as wine in the evening with a snack such as bruschetta, honey and cheese, etc.) and digestivo (grappa or limoncello, drunk after dinner). My time in Italy has also changed me in the way that I am slightly less frugal (I spend a little more now to enjoy myself), I have a better sense of fashion and style and have a nicer wardrobe, and I eat slower in order to savor the flavor of my food. It was nice to have Pepe show me around Florence for several days because it allowed me to get to know the city fairly well. I particularly love the Renaissance architectural style of Florence. The main difference between Florence and Rome is that Rome is a much bigger and busy city with Roman ruins and fountains everywhere. Both places are beautiful however. When I first arrived in Florence from Rome, I stepped outside the train station and saw and heard large flocks or rather swarms of birds that filled the sky till it was nearly black (there were literally thousands of them). I commonly saw large flocks of birds like this near Trastevere and the Tiber River in Rome. I walked a short 10 minutes to the Duomo where Pepe lives and called him. He told me he was getting a cup of coffee but that I should still be able to get into his apartment by buzzing in and telling one of the other CEA students who I was. I met Pepe’s actual roommates , who were about to leave to fill a jug of wine for that night’s Christmas party, so I quickly threw my bags in Pepe’s room and joined them. I saw Pepe on the way to the wine shop and he told me to meet him at the apartment after I and his roommates were done. The shop was interesting because it had large jugs of wine (as big as a huge cauldron) which were tapped with their tubes ending at the bar. We were able to sample our own tapped wine and pick our favorite to fill the jug up, for only 20 euro. We each paid 5 euro, which was a great value considering we were each receiving about one and a half bottles worth of wine each. The girl filling our wine at the bar was extremely friendly and would politely correct our Italian while speaking to her (what a great way to improve our language skills). The wine we chose was Vino Rosso Montepulciano. We headed back to the apartment, had some of the wine for apertivo, and then went to a restaurant where I had ravioli and gnocchi. Pepe showed and explained a bit more of the city to me before we headed back for the Christmas party. The next day we spent most of our time shopping. We went to an open air market where I bought a deck of cards showing different sites in Italy, and I touched the wild boar (which guaranteed my return, similar to tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain in Rome). In another piazza (with medieval buildings and a cathedral) there was a Christmas festival and market where I had some strudel and hot wine. That night we had one of the nicest meals… probably THE nicest meal… while in Italy. I was in a castle restaurant resort in the hills outside Florence and Pepe heard of it from a shop owner he befriended who knew the owner of the restaurant. It was a four course meal with champagne and red wine, fresh (very moist and mushy) mozzarella with meat slices, pasta, pork and potatoes, an assortment of desserts including tiramisu and chocolate with dessert wine, and finally a digestive of grappa, mandarincino, and two different kinds of wine spirits. The next day we slept in, went to Pepe’s school to use the internet, and at night we went ice skating. I did surprisingly better than I thought I would… I didn’t fall once. I can only remember going ice skating once before several years ago and I remember falling frequently and not having much fun. I guess my motor must have developed over the years, and in good fortune to because I had a blast. For dinner at a restaurant I had spaghetti Bolognese. I took my time walking back to Pepe’s to enjoy the sights, especially the view of the Ponte Vecchio from another bridge. Florence and other Italian cities such as Rome are decorated with Christmas lights etc, creating some beautiful sights. The next day I headed to Civita di Bagnoregio, between Florence and Rome.

CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO (Tuesday)
I am on the train from Orvieto to Florence. It is 6:45 pm. I just was in Bagnoregio to see Civita, and I think it is one of my favorite places in Italy. To visit Bagnoregio I had to take a blue Cotral bus which arrives outside the train station at Orvieto. It is amazing how efficient public transportation is in Europe. You rarely have to wait more than an hour for a train or bus to where you want to go. My bus from Orvieto to Bagnoregio was filled with Italian high school students to the point where I had to stand up at the front of the bus for 15 minutes until enough students got dropped off at their houses and there was a free seat for me. The bus was loud with boys and girls shouting and laughing like any American high school bus would be, but it is interesting to hear only Italian accents and language. When I neared Bagnoregio I could see Civita and it stunned me with its beauty. I looked back at it with awe just like I did with the Colosseum when I first saw arrived in Rome. The bus stopped at an inconspicuous place on a road circling the central area of Bagnoregio. The bus driver gave me some brief directions and I started walking towards Civita. Much of Bagnoregio has medieval style architecture, with large stones around the doorways and plaster on the façade that is faded and worn. The main road on the upper terrace (near the center and bus stop) is lined with medieval style buildings, and I walked down the street to get to Civita. I asked for directions when it looked like I was leaving the main part of the city, took a right down a small road, and eventually when I turned a corner Civita appeared in the distance. I have seen Civita in pictures, but nothing can prepare for the joy you feel when you see it in front of you for the first time. Civita is a small medieval village located on a plateau sticking out in the middle of a valley. There is a small, long bridge that connects Civita to Bagnoregio, and when you first see it you think that you are looking at some sort of fantasy castle which would only exist in a Disney movie. I took some pictures of myself in front of it (gotta love the timer setting on modern digital cameras) and saw a man walking down the bridge and asked him to take a picture of me as well. Now that I am finished with my beginning level Italian class I can speak Italian fairly well and have few problems asking questions and understanding responses in Italian. It was cloudy out but it didn’t detract from the beauty of the moment. The valley and hills surrounding me were lush with green vegetation and Italian homes and farms/vineyards were sprinkled throughout. I finally reached the plateau and entered the main gate of Civita. The small town is an amazing step into a medieval experience, with buildings of the style composing the entire village. Parts of the plateau are gradually eroding, leaving ruins and single facades with nothing but scenery behind them. Once you first enter Civita and look at the facades behind you, the windows above the doors show the sky instead of the inside of a building). Civita is so small that less than 15 locals reside in Civita year long, and they mainly make a living by catering to tourists. I only saw a couple locals during my visit, including a lady in the church at the main square, and I only saw 5 other tourists. It is extremely pleasant to walk in a village with no cars, only a few people around, small plants, and buildings built several hundred years ago. The combined effect made me feel as if I were a medieval villager, and seeing a stray cat meandering around and hearing the bell chime from the church’s tower completed my fantasy/illusion. When I entered the main square it started to rain but it didn’t bother me the slightest bit. I explored every nook and cranny of the village, taking in the rough stone walls and paths and tile roofs. Stairs, facades, and windows were covered with plants and ivy, and I saw many heavy wooden doors with bronze attachments. I especially like the door knockers depicting animals holding the hoops in their mouths, torch/candle holders bolted to the stone walls, and curved metal railings of balconies (which I have seen all over Italy). Near the opposite end of the village I saw a young Italian couple (about my age) taking pictures and saw a rainbow peaking out of the hillside in the distance. I also saw an old small space which must have once served as a stable. The main square is dominated by the church and its tower, and there are a couple other large buildings lining the piazza. There are only one or two main paths running from Civita’s main gate to the end, and all the other side paths have beautiful views of the valley below near the plateau’s edge. There are still inns, restaurants, and especially shops that sell and or serve wine, olive oil, and bruschetta. Virtually all these places were closed, but I saw Rick Steves’ video of when he went into one of them, saw fresh olive oil be pressed, and had bruschetta with olive oil and tomatoes. I first heard of Civita by watching his video. After about an hour of exploring Civita, I decided to start heading back to Bagnoregio in order to catch the last Cotral bus back to Orvieto. While walking down the bridge I was greeted by the sunset ahead of me so I stopped to take a few last photos. I walked back to the bus stop and had some time to spare so I grabbed a café (small strong espresso) at the bar while standing up (the Italian way), grabbed some snack food at a nearby shop, and waited for the bus to arrive at the stop (it came shortly after 17:25). Civita was an incredible experience, and is right up there next to Capri as one of my favorite places in Italy. It find myself to be very happy and peaceful whenever experiencing a small, peaceful town/village without the bustling disturbance of cars or lots of people, walking down peaceful, small paths and every corner I turn being surprised by another amazing site. The scenery of both of my favorite places in Italy (Civita and Capri) is also extraordinary because they provide opportunities to look down at the environment below. There is something about man to want to build high and look down at the world below him and experiencing this phenomenon is one of my greatest passions. My train will arrive in Florence (or Firenze as the Italians say) shortly, where I will visit with Pepe one last night and prepare for my journey to Vicenza tomorrow.

AFTER CIVITA
After I got back to Florence from Civita, I took a picture of the Duomo and the nearby statue of Brunelleschi (the famous Renaissance architect of the dome) and entered Pepe’s apartment where they were having apertivo. After apertivo Pepe and I took a short walk outside to reflect on our journey. Some of us wanted to go out, and after convincing the rest of them that they should (I knew how important it was to live every night up the last week since I already knew it how hard and sad it is to leave everyone and the city your last night), we went into a bar where there was a Beatles cover band playing. We spent the entirety of our time there playing beirut/beer bong (although we were a little rusty since most of us haven’t played for over half a year back at college. The next morning I packed and headed to the train station where Pepe met me (he was there already saying bye to another friend), showed me how to catch the bus to the airport, and we said our final goodbyes in Europe. I caught a train north to Vicenza, known for its famous architect Andrea Palladio, where I would stay at the next 3 nights and also visit Venice (Venezia) the next day.


ARRIVING IN VICENZA
I arrived in Vicenza late at night after a long day’s travel from Florence. I got off at the train station and walked all the way to my hotel, checking the map and directions periodically to make sure I was going the right way. It started drizzling a little bit and was cold outside, so I walked quickly. Vicenza is a pretty small town, and I walked from the southern end of town (where the train station is) to the east and north until I got to my hotel. I was a little wet when I tried to check in, and my reservation wasn’t on the hotel computer so it took a little while before I was able to get my room. Once I got the keys to my room I got settled in and went outside to explore the town at night and find a place to eat. I discovered how to get to the main part of town, looked at a few sights, and found a nice restaurant recommended in my Lonely Planet Guide located a little north of the center of the town. I ordered pasta and enjoyed a basket of various types of bread and a glass of red wine while taking in the ambiance of the restaurant. Then I headed back to my hotel to go to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and walked to the train station with my backpack to go to Venice.


VENICE
As the train approached Venice (Venezia), the strip of land for the train tracks were surrounded by water on either side, so it was somewhat like approaching an island on a road. It was a cloudy and slightly drizzly day unfortunately, but it didn’t take much away from the excitement and atmosphere of Venice. Once I stepped outside of the train station I saw the “Grand Canal,” which is the main canal of Venice and curves through the entire city in an “S” shape. Across the train station, right next to the canal, there were a couple tourist booths where I bought my boarding pass for the taxi ferries which stop at various points along the Grand Canal and other main points of Venice. Rather than boarding a taxi ferry first, I walked to the right along the Canal from the train station and crossed a modern bridge to check it out and get a better feel for the area I was in. The bus station was across the bridge, and I kept walking south and through the city hoping to come to an intersection again of the Grand Canal. I decided to take Rick Steeve’s advice of getting lost on purpose, so that I could see how the Venetians really live without too many tourists ruining the ambiance. There were many small arched bridges to cross the small canals, and small boats docked all along the canals. The city is like Amsterdam except much more compact and smaller canals, creating a busier feel to the city.
I found a taxi ferry stop along the Grand Canal (after working my way around some dead ends along it), and hopped on. I rode it all the way down to the end of the Canal, to St. Marks Square, the main part of the city and the biggest tourist spot. St. Mark is Venice’s city saint, his symbol, the lion, is shown many of the big landmarks of Venice, such as St. Mark’s Basilica, the Clock Tower, and a staute of a lion on a freestanding column next to a similar statue of st. Mark himself in human form, all located in St. Mark’s square. Along the dock of St. Marks Square where I got off the ferry taxi, there numerous gondolas docked next to a “Servizo Gondole” sign and men waiting around for customers. I heard gondola rides were somewhere around 100 euro usually so I didn’t even try to go on one, especially since I had my boarding pass to get myself around, and I thought a gondola ride would be something better to do with a girl. There was a large cathedral on its own island across the canal from the dock. In St. Mark’s square itself there were numerous pidgeons, well known to be part of the scenery in the square. The main building which I came to see was Doge’s Palace, which I learned about in my architectural history class. The Doge was the lord of Venice, and the palace was his residence and the location of government practices. I paid for a tour of it, and walked around its various halls and rooms, and even saw the dungeon and armory rooms, where I saw a chastity belt on display (the first one I’ve seen in my life). The Doge’s Palace is built in the Venetian Gothic style, which is distinct because the Italians have always been very proud people and didn’t want to adopt the Gothic style of the rest of Europe, so they put their own twist on it with more ties to it. The pointy arches is Gothic, but the curvy, ornate designs such as the 4 leaf clover like openings on the second story arcade are definitely unique to the Venetians.
It was getting dark when I left the palace so I walked around more of the city just outside the square and looked for glass shops. Venetian glass is very well known and there are a ridiculous amount of glass shops. I bought a colorful shotglass and a colorful, spiraling wine stopper for a good price after looking in various shops for a bargain. There were Christmas lights up, giving a nice touch the city. I had to go to the bathroom, and ended up going to the same McDonalds just to use the restroom twice that day because finding a restroom was surprisingly hard. I saw another Bavarian styled group of huts selling Christmas trinkets and food, next to a park and nice college building. I walked all around the city, took the ferry and took pictures of famous sites along the Canal, and stopped at a Bar next to the Casa d’Oro (Golden House) to have Sushi with a glass of red wine. I took a picture of the Casa d’Oro across the canal next to the fish market. I also walked on the famous Rinaldo Bridge, the most famous and cherished of the many large bridges crossing the Grand Canal. Earlier I went to another nearby bar for appertivo munched on the food they had there with a glass of wine. Then I took a ferry back to St. Mark’s Square and had a beer at Aurora, a place recommended in my Lonely Planet guide. It was funky with neon lights and paint, and weird posters on the walls. I stayed extra late in Venice because I was only there for the day, so by the time I got on taxi ferry to go home it was already around 11. I enjoyed the views along the canal at the front of the boat, even though it was cold, while heading towards the train station. Apparently Bono from U2 owns one of the buildings along the Grand Canal. I arrived at the train station, made one of the last trains back in the direction towards Vicenza, but missed the last train actually going to Vicenza so I was stuck in town between Venice and Vicenza. They were closing the station for the night and it was very cold outside so I certainly wasn’t going to sleep out there, plus there were bums and other sketchy people outside the train station so I decided that a hotel right next to the train station would be the best idea. It ended up being a decent and cheap stay. I woke up early the next morning and caught one of the first trains back to Vicenza.


VICENZA
I wanted to visit Vicenza partly because I wanted to spend time at a place in Italy that is not very well known but mainly because I wanted to see works by Palladio, specifically the Villa Rotonda, and see where he lived. Palladio is a famous architect, and most of the buildings in Vicenza,Italy and a good portion of Europe are of his "Palladian" style. He used classical motifs, and studied many of the ancient ruins in Rome. He helped to revitalize classical architecture, and was one of the key figures who jump-started the Reniassance, at least for architecture.
My first sight-seeing goal in Vicenza was to see, the “Villa Rotonda.” I learned about the Villa Rotonda in my history of architecture class. It is basically a square plane, symmetrical on both planes (identical every turn of 90 degrees), with a dome on top, and temple styled base and steps up to the entrances on all 4 sides. It is considered among many to be the quintessential Renaissance building. Thomas Jefferson even based the design for his home, Monticello, after it. I bought two tickets for the bus there at a coffee shop next to the stop, boarded the bus, and was surprised that it actually could have been walked to within half an hour. I followed the street up the hill and looked left at the gate of the Villa. The gate was locked, and apparently it was off season for visitors so I was contempt looking at the villa through gate. It was an amazing feeling to see a building for the first time that I learned about and knew how much it had influenced the field of architecture, with I style that I admire. I walked to the right of the street, directly across from the Villa Rotonda and walked up another road lined with stone walls of other villa sights, looking back to see if I could get a better view of the Villa Rotonda. I tried scaling up a wall to get a better view of the villa and take a better picture without trees in my way, but it was wet so I decided it wasn’t worth the effort after a couple tries.
I continued walking north up the road, and passed by another well known villa (mentioned in my Lonely Planet Guide), with Dwarves lining the stone walls. I kept walking further North up the road until it curved and let out onto the main street cars use to get up the hill, providing an awesome lookout over the city. I snapped some photos, sat and admired the view for several minutes, and tried to pick out some of the major monuments of the city. Then I started walking down the hill next to an arcade running downwards with the slope of the hill. I reached one of the main roads I passed when had first arrived, and walked through the park just North of the train station next to the entrance of the center of town. I ate at a popular sizzler-like chain restaurant and had spaghetti, pizza, and a small personal bottle of red wine. I heard the voices of some American girls, and I thought of how I would be hearing English on the regular only a few more days.
After lunch I continued walking around with my Lonely Planet guide and looking at more of Palladio’s buildings. One of his Villas even had an exhibit dedicated to him in it so I spent a couple hours there, learning about him and his work. I learned how he had studied the ancient monuments in Rome, and I saw some of his original drawings/plans. When I left it was starting to get dark, and there were lights strung on the streets (as is common throughout Italian towns because it was around Christmas time). Practically every building of downtown is in the Palladian style, so I enjoyed looking at every building. I walked around for a little longer, had a Spritzer with an appertivo (of olives and chips if I remember correctly), and walked back to my hotel room to sleep.


LAKE COMO
I checked out of my hotel in Vicenza in the morning and walked with my luggage towards the train station, snapping a picture of the triumphal arch dedicated to Palladio along the way. My first train stopped in Milan and I had to wait about 40 minutes for my next train. Milan’s station is extremely nice, with its large semicircular steel frame and glass forming the main part of the station. I spent most my time with the many other waiting passengers guarding my luggage and looking up at the schedule of departures to see what gate my train would be departing. Eventually I boarded the train, and as it approached Como the scenery began to get more mountainous since we were heading towards the Alps. Once I arrived I walked out of the train station and followed my directions to where my hotel was. While out of the train station I thought of how George Clooney had probably been here many times since it is the main train station of the Lake and he lived in one of the many small lakeside towns, Laglio. On my way to the hotel I tried finding an internet point which I read about in my Lonely Planet Guide, but the shop seemed to no longer be there. My hotel was closed temporarily but I read a sign outside its door to talk to someone at the restaurant next door, so I did and waited there while having lunch until the hotel opened up and one of the ladies working at the restaurant gave me my key and showed me to my room. The hotel and restaurant must have been owned by the same person. For lunch I had a sandwich on a French roll and an Augustiner beer, an Oktoberfest beer. I was also given two codes to punch in order to get into the main door of the apartment complex and the door into my particular hall of the complex. The key was just for my particular room. It was a nice room because it was along the front side of the building on the second floor (or first in European standards because they call our first floor zero) and I had a somewhat nice view of the lake. After getting settled in I walked outside to the Lake where I saw many different flocks of birds (ducks pigeons and geese) waddling around and picking up the bread that people were feeding them. Next a walked down a path along the lake with Christmas lights strung above in the tree branches to the main square along the lake where there was an ice rink and stands next to it with people watching the crowded skaters. On the other side of the rink there was a Bavarian styled Christmas festival, with logged huts covered in pine tree branches. I walked more into the center of town (which is the main town of Como, from which Lake Como gets its name) and I found another open air market, although this one just had umbrellas over tables instead of huts. I continued to walk around the center of the city and saw most of the main sites including a couple cathedrals and the old city wall, along the outside of which was a vast market. I also went into a shop recommended by my Lonely Planet guide and bought two nice skinny silk ties (Como is known for its silk). At the end of the night I walked further along the lake to towards the outskirts of the city where there was a ferris wheel (although then closed because it was late), a monument to Alexandra Volta (the Como local who invented the electric battery and who the “volt” is named after I believe), and a fascist style building which was very tall, plain and imposing. I sat on a ledge near the water for a few minutes and enjoyed the tranquility of the silence and the lights gleaming off the dark water, then walked back to hotel and slept.
The next morning (Sunday, December 21st) I woke up at 8:30 AM, took a shower and got ready for the day. Then I went to a nearby bar where I had a cappuccino and a croissant (joined with some other Italians, it’s how we start breakfast) followed by walking down the opposite side of the lake that I walked to the other night (this one was closer to my hotel) to find the train up the mountain. However, I discovered that I walked too far so I back-tracked until I discovered that the small station was in a wooden building. It was actually pretty close to the bar and my hotel. I bought my ticket and boarded the train, and after a few minutes it started heading up. I stopped once momentarily while heading up and then the track eventually split into two as it passed a train heading down. There were no drivers in the trains so it must have been controlled from the station below. The tracks up the mountain were steep and it reminded me of the train ride up to Capri a few months before. When I arrived at the top I got out of the train and saw a breathtaking view of the lake and town below. I walked around a bit for a clear view (with no trees in front of me) to take pictures and saw a band wearing Santa hats and playing Christmas music. The sun was to the south since it was winter and I was at the south of the lake since that is where Como is located, plus I it was morning and I was on the east side of the lake looking west so it was an opportune time to take pictures. I wasn’t able to see any snow on the peeks of mountains from below, but once I got up to the top I could see them north in the distance… beautiful! Eventually I found the actual look-out spot (with coin-activated binoculars). The whole city of Como could be clearly seen below. It was an amazing way to get my bearings with what I had seen the day before (and I’ve already talked about how wonderful it feels to look down at the environment below). I took the train down and went to “Port 2” to buy my ticket for a ferry over to Bellagio but found out it would leave at 2:00 instead of 1:30 so I spent the next half hour meandering around the Christmas stands surrounding the ice-skating rink in the main piazza. I bought a gelato and some almond taffy with pistachios in it. The stands were Bavarian in style (with warm wine served, German food like wurtzel and strudel. The stands were similar to the ones I saw in Florence earlier in the week. I went back to the port and boarded my ferry. Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down “Y.” The lake is huge, so with only a few brief stops at comparatively major towns between the two cities, the total trip took about 50 minutes. Some of the noteworthy sites I saw along the way to Bellagio were the most fancy and expensive hotel of the Lake Como (the lakefront Villa d’Este), George Clooney’s hometown of Laglio, a waterfall, the villa where the ending scene of Casino Royale was filmed (where bond shot the enemy with a sniper rifle), and several awesome views of snowy Alps ahead. It was surprisingly warm today and when I was on the mountain earlier taking pictures I took off my jacket. The skies were clear and beautiful. Bellagio itself definitely lives up to its fame (it’s what the Casino in Vegas is named after). It is a very small, comfy town with few cars, stone steps, beautiful and colorful narrow tall buildings connected to each other and balconies filled with plants sticking out… all of this with the beautiful combination of a terraced/sloped building site and the scenery of the mesmerizing lake and snow capped mountain in the distance… che bello! I only had 2 hours at Bellagio since the last ferry to Como would leave at 5, so I headed north to the very tip of the crutch (the northern most part of Bellagio, since it is located at the crutch of the upside down “Y” shape of the lake). The area is a port with a small park next to it to sit on benches and gaze at the scenery. I walked out to the end of the dock and took pictures… from this point I could see somewhat well down the 3 arms of the “Y,” although the most impressive was the main body of the lake straight ahead to the north of me with the snowy Alps in the distance. After taking in the memorable view, I noticed that the sun was getting low so I headed back to the center of town and explored a little further south. When I only had a little over half an hour before the ferry would arrive, I walked back to the main port. While I waited for the ferry to arrive I watched the sun set. As I was soaking up one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen (pink clouds, glimmering water, snow peaked mountains, a beautiful Italian town and a sole ramp stretched out over the water before me), I contemplated the end of the last new destination that I would explore in my 5 months in Europe… I couldn’t have asked for a better scene for that moment. I boarded the ferry when it shortly arrived, (although I had to quickly buy another ticker because I mistakenly thought that the one I bought back at Como was round-trip). The ferry ride back was also beautiful, with the lights of the different towns shining like stars in the dark and casting wavy reflections on the surface of the lake. I arrived back at Como about 50 minutes later, stopped by my hotel quickly to drop off my bag, and strolled down the lively and festive streets of the city (lit by Christmas lights). I bought a nice white scarf at the outdoor market lining the old city wall. It only cost 5 euro… what a deal! After buying my scarf and walking around a few minutes, I heard the “Last of the Mohicans” theme being played so I followed my ears to find a few Native Americans playing the music. They looked like real Native Americans by blood and were dressed up in Indian outfits. They performed extremely well and the music touched me because I knew I was leaving back home for the US in two short days, so I bought their CD as a token of my appreciation and so I could listen to it when I got back home. I ended the night with an apertivo at a bar crowded with locals. I had a glass of vino rosso (red wine) with an assortment of snacks, including black and green olives, fruit, thin and small pizza slices, and bread with choices of spread. I walked down a couple more streets and peaked into some shops, then went back to my hotel. I am spending the last hours of my night writing my experiences down. Tomorrow I will head back to Florence… it will be my last day in Europe!

SOME OF MY THOUGHTS
I have mixed feelings about going home, but overall I feel content with what I have seen. I would still like to see San Gimignano, see Pompeii and Capri again, and see the only town of Cinque Terre I missed (Vernazza). However, these are all reasons for me to come back to Italy! After travelling around Europe and living in Italy for a while, I have become used to seeing new and amazing sites… it just doesn’t have quite the same effect as when I first arrived and started exploring. I am looking forward to coming back home, seeing my family and sharing with them all that I have seen and learned, and to see just how much I have really changed (since I have heard, somewhat experienced from my short time in Scandinavia 4 years ago, and believe that the greatest culture shock I will experience is when I come back. I don’t feel as if I need to come back… I don’t feel the slightest bit homesick and haven’t this entire time, but it is for the best in order to keep progressing with my schooling and other goals. It will also be fun to experience the transition in America first hand when Barack Obama becomes President. I wish I could have been there on election night but it was also amazing to experience the overnight change of Europeans’ perspectives of Americans for the better. I am not looking forward to working hard again, and not having much free time or opportunities to explore new places, but nothing in life is easy. I’ve had an amazing time but it’s time for me to get back to work again… and I can look forward to more European trips like this in the future, just not perhaps as long as my 5 month experience that I am about to end. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to study abroad, especially in a country as beautiful and as majestic as Italy. It is amazing to look at a map of Italy now and to think of how I’ve been to most of its main attractions and most of Rome’s as well! I know that I will miss cobblestone streets, gelato and thin, delicious pizza available everywhere, al-fresco dining with tables filling streets, exploring amazing Roman ruins, hearing a multitude of different languages that I can’t understand, seeing everyone around me dressed nice every day, being able to visit some place nearby filled with history and/or art, being able to go into just about any bar in the early night and have apertivo, many little things including using euro instead of dollars and round prongs instead of flat ones in outlets, using a clothesline instead of a dry to dry my clothes, and seeing Italians break petty laws that Americans would usually follow (such as J-walking, parking on curbs, etc). Perhaps what I will miss most besides the beauty and architecture of Italy is the feeling of being free and able to go on a journey and explore someplace new without the worry of too much schoolwork holding me down. The things I want to take from Italy back home are a new sense of pride in dressing nice, slowing down to enjoy my food and the scenery, learning how to cook delicious Italian meals, and partaking occasionally in Italian routines and traditions, such as apertivo, breakfasts of cappuccino/café with a cornetto, digestif, and taking my time to enjoy my meals. I will miss paying for something and not having to worry about the tax or tip, and will at first be slightly annoyed at waiters bothering me to see if everything is alright instead of leaving me alone until I let them know I want something =). Truthfully, it hasn’t really hit me yet that my time abroad is over. I see myself coming back soon. Overall, I would still choose to live in California because it has the best climate in the world in my opinion and has a lot to offer. What I love about Italy (the sights, food, etc.) gets dull after living there awhile. The grass is always greener on the other side, so why not build a gate in the fence and visit the other side once in a while =). Alora, it’s been amazing Italy, thanks for a wonderful journey that I will remember for a lifetime!

BACK TO FLORENCE FOR MY LAST DAY IN ITALY
I woke up early, checked out of my hotel, and walked back to the train station to catch a ride back to Florence. On my way to the station I snapped a photo of a statue of Alexandra Volta. When the train finally arrived in Florence, I walked to the hostel that I was planning on staying at but saw that it was closed, so I went to a nearby internet point and used a computer there to find another place to stay. I found a nice place just a block away, and when I checked in it turned out that the place I would stay was actually an apartment right next to the train station, which is where I needed to be the next day in order to catch a bus to the airport. It was a nice place and cheap… even nicer than my apartment in Cinque Terre, but I like having apartments to stay in… it makes for a pleasant experience. After getting quickly settled in I headed for Michelangelo’s point… I wanted to see all of Florence during sunset. Along the way I took pictures of Palazoo Vecchio, my favorite building in Florence, and the statues of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci along the path of the Uffizi Gallery. I eventually made it to the top of Michelangelo’s point and saw an amazing sunset… just like the night before at Lake Como but overlooking the city of Florence… it was truly and unforgettable experience and a perfect symbolism for the end of my journey. I could see the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio dominating the skyline of the city, against a backdrop of pink sky. I took a picture of a copy of the statue of David, which was there since Michelangelo’s Point is clearly a place dedicated to the artist. Another copy of the David stands outside the Palazzo Vecchio where the original once stood, and the original itself is now inside the Academia museum. I walked back down and walked back into the center of the city to do some last minute souvenir shopping and a place to eat, while enjoying the scenery around me. I bought some Marzipan (a sweat, marshmallow-like candy that is glazed on the outside and tough) for Jon because he wanted to serve the family it for Christmas, and I bought a nice p-coat like all the other Italians wear. I dropped off my bags at my apartment and walked towards the Palazzo Pitti area (past the Ponte Vecchio) where I heard there were many nice restaurants. I found a place that looked good along a piazza and went in. I ordered one of the best meals I had: gnocchi with tomatoes and in a sauce topped with parmesan cheese, a side of bread with oil and vinegar, red table wine and a bottle of water. I spent another hour or so walking around Florence and taking some last pictures of sights, including the Ponte Vecchio, a statue of Machiavelli along the path of the Uffizi Gallery, some statues in an open covered area outside the academia , the door of the baptistery of the Duomo, and the Duomo itself. As I walked away from Point Vecchio and Duomo for the last time I looked back at them several times, knowing that they were the last main sites I would see in Europe. When I got back to the apartment I met the only other person staying there for the night, about a 30 year old man who was living there for a couple of months while writing a book on a new philosophical perspective he wanted people to know about. We talked about philosophy for a little bit and then I went to sleep. The next morning I woke up early, bought a ticket for the bus to the airport at the train station, and waited for it to arrive outside. It was nice that the train station was only a minute walk down the street from where I spent the night. The bus came and I arrived at the Florence airport about a little less than 2 hours before my flight. I checked my bags and went through the security checkpoint, and then bought some wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to bring home and show my family. I had a window seat while flying to the next airport Frankfurt (and had window seats for the other 2 flights back to San Francisco luckily) so I had a nice view of the Alps while flying over them so I took pictures. I had to pick up my tickets to Chicago at the check in desk and had to go through security again, but the wine, olive oil and balsamic vinegar that I bought was allowed to go through even though it had the duty free wrapping and tape on it, so I bought a small suitcase and checked it in. When we arrived in Chicago it was snowy. I had to recheck in my luggage and when I took my wine bag off from the luggage claim and opened it up I noticed that one of the wine bottles had broken. The suitcase was soaking so I threw it away (oh well, at least it wasn’t too expensive) but everything else I bought was ok so I packed it into my 2 original check in bags and went to the check in desk area of the airport. At the security point where they check incoming international passengers they had a new technology where they scan the fingerprints of non U.S. citizens and take mug shots of them. At the check in area the lines were huge because of the bad weather, plus it was the night before Christmas Eve, and the Chicago O’hair even made national news (I saw a CNN camera there and my family told me that they saw it on the news). The lines were extremely long, over an hour wait, so I missed my plane and slept on one of the cots that the airport provided for the many people who missed their flights. I was able to get on the first standby flight the next day (scheduled for around 10 AM but really leaving over an hour later), and the snow had started to clear up as well. As I approached SFO I had a great view of the Bay Area… it was nice to see it again. I landed at SFO and when I exited the terminal Jon and my Dad were there to meet me. It didn’t feel too weird to see them again, and I didn’t experience much shock. Mainly I was excited to see my family again and enjoy the winter break. When we drove back to my house I saw the rest of my family. I caught up with them and enjoyed our usual Christmas Eve traditions, then eventually went to sleep because I was somewhat jet lagged and didn’t sleep much the night before. I was finally home.

My Last Days In Rome

I have many pictures from the second half of my semester in Rome which I will put up and write about, but I can more vividly remember about my last few days in Rome. The weekend before my last week Stephan and Yolanda visited me, so I showed them around many of the main sites and took them to some good places to eat including a Blue Ice gelateria. The last thing we saw together was the Colosseo (it was my third and final time) but ran out of time for the tour of the Forum so my roommate Pat and I went the next day since we already paid for admission. I typically would go out to Campo de’Fiori for drinks with my CEA group, so I showed Stephan and Yolanda the area when they visited me. However in the very beginning of the semester Pat and I found a really nice bar, “The Old Bear” or “Bear Bar” as we like to call it, and we didn’t go back until the last couple of weeks because it took us a while to remember exactly where it was and it was often closed without any signs outside. It was here where we had our 2nd to last group dinner with some CEA friends. I got the sampler plate of the appetizers which included different kinds of sliced meat, some mozzarella, olives, and a slice of a cheesy pie… yum! The next day was my last full day in Rome so I tried to visit the Villa Giulia which is the main museum for Etruscan Civilization that preludes the Romans. Also I saw its nymphaeum in a picture my sophomore year when I was taking my history of architecture class (although I saw it when looking it up myself and not during class) and was impressed by it. Unfortunately it was closed since it was a national strike that day but I saw the outside of it and many other interesting sites along the way. Oh well, it’s just another reason to come back to Rome some day! I also walked around the huge park in the northern part of the city where the Villa Borghese is located, and discovered an area with many marble busts lining the paths including those of Da Vinci, Marco Polo, etc. That night I went out to dinner for the last time with my CEA friends at a place right next to the Colosseo. I had bruschette with cheese, spaghetti carbonara (with small pieces of pork), wine and ending with a traditional digestive of limoncello. Then most of us went for the first time to the ICE CLUB, a bar made entirely of ice close to the Colosseo and they even provide you with parkas and serve you drinks with cups made out of ice. I first heard of this kind of bar from Jon when he visited one in Stockholm. Then we ended the night by going to Scholar’s for the last time, where we usually end our nights, except this time we would say goodbye to friends for good. My other roommate Ryan moved out earlier that night so it was just me and Pat left when we woke up the next morning. It was Saturday morning, December 16th, our program end date. We wrote “CEA Fall 08” on our shoes and threw them out on a pole like previous CEA students who lived in apartment did… so there were a total of 5 pairs of shoes hanging from the pole. It would be exciting if they or even more were still there whenever I visit Rome again. I threw my Converse shoes which I bought before I left the US and had worn while seeing all the major sights in Europe and Egypt. I spent my last few hours packing my bags, shipping a couple boxes home, and cleaning up the apartment. Then I left it for the last time, leaving my keys inside. Most of my friends left for home on Saturday but I was lucky enough to fit in a week of traveling before I headed back to the U.S. I first decided to stay in Florence with Pepe for a few days because it was a free place to stay and I wanted to see more of the city. Before I headed to the train station I walked to the nearby Trevi Fountain to toss a coin into it and ensure that I would return to Rome.
I am content with my time in Rome. I have seen all the major sites and several small ones, which is a prodigious task considering how large Rome is. I can close my eyes and visualize all the significant parts of the city. What is especially nice is that I know the location of most of the Ancient Roman structures, and can imagine what it might have been like for Julius Caesar when he walked from the Roman Forum to the Curia of Pompey where he was assassinated.
I love Rome because every corner you turn you are bound to run into an ancient Roman ruin, and see sites that affected the history of the world. What I will miss most about Rome and Italy are their beauty: Tiled roofs everywhere, cobblestone streets, narrow high alleyways, wooden shutters, balconies filled with plants, walls covered in ivy, stone or old plaster on the facades of buildings, arches making up windows and doors, classical motifs such as pediments over windows, statues decorating some buildings, sloping steps, and undulating hills with small towns, villas or vineyards. However after living somewhere for awhile you begin to become complacent about the beauty around you until you realize that it will soon be gone. I’ve always tried to keep this in mind my entire time in Europe and because of it I feel like I saw a lot more than many of my peers and appreciated it more too. I am sure that I will return to Rome sometime in the near future, and I will enjoy seeing the same sites that I had seen and few that I didn’t get a chance to see. No matter how long it will be until I visit, it will seem trivial compared to the thousands of years some of the Roman monuments have been standing!

Assisi, Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre

ASSISI
Last weekend I took a trip to Assisi, Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre. CEA scheduled a day trip to Assisi on Friday, so I and a few girls in CEA decided to meet up with my roomate Pepe in Florence afterwards instead of heading directly back to Rome. Pepe, the girls and I all wanted to see Cinque Terre so we made plans to see it as well. I booked our hostel in Cinque Terre and bought our train tickets, and on Friday morning almost everyone in CEA:Rome met at Piazza Bologna (the closest metro stop to our school, where we always meet for excursions) and boarded the bus. When we approached Assisi, we saw a beautiful stone town built against a hillside. The bus parked in a public parkinglot and we were greeted by our tourguide. We took an outside, covered escalator up the hill to the main gate of the city. Virtually all the town is made from a white and pinkish stone, and it looks clean since much of the stone was restored after an earthquake. I love stone as a construction material, and I also love the different Italian styles of building/architecture, so when these two are put together in an entire city I'm in awe. I walked around the city constantly taking pictures with every corner I turned and every minute architectural detail that caught my eye. After passing through the first main gate of the city and walking down the road, I watched workers in an adjacent olive orchard to the left (towards downhill) fetching the olives by scraping the branches and catching the olives in a net.
Assisi is known as the town of St. Francis. His basilica is located here along with the cathedral of his partner, St. Claire. Assisi is the twin city of San Francisco (because of St. Francis, go figure), my city of birth and the major city of my home, the bay area. St. Francis was a wealthy individual who wanted to become noble to gain more power and social statues, so he became a knight and fought in battle in order to gain a noble title. During a battle he was captured by the enemy and imprisoned. His time in prison changed his life, and when he was released he came to Assisi and started living a spiritual life. He met Claire, a beautiful girl, and convinced her to cut her hair and live a spiritual life as well.
We first visited St. Claire's cathedral, and while approaching it I saw flying butresses, which got me excited. The cathedral also has a horizontal stripe pattern on the outside (alternating layers of pink and white stone). Horizontal bands are a typical style of Italian cathedrals. When we went inside we went down into the crypt and saw the preserved body of St. Claire (covered in wax) as well as some preserved artifacts of St. Claire and St. Francis such as their clothes, rosary beads, etc.
Then we headed towards the Basilica of St. Francis, and along the way we passed by the main piazza where I saw an ancient Roman temple which is now turned into a church. When we first entered the basilica we headed down to the crypt to see St. Francis' tomb. Most of the crypt was used as a shrine to him, and his stone coffin was located in one side of a stone circular pillar which we walked around. I noticed several small wallet-sized portraits of people thrown in the iron-gated spaces along the stone pillar. We climbed back up the stairs to the nave of the basilica and started examing paintings on the walls. The basilica of St. Francis is worth seeing not only because it is an impressive piece of architecture and houses the tomb of St. Francis, but also because it has some of the most important pieces of work depicting the developement of Renaissance style painting. Giotto, the famous painter who created linear perspective painted several frescoes inside the cathedral. It is interesting to see the development of linear perspective throughout the basilica as Giotto and his followers tried to better depict reality in their paintings. The mentality of artists in this era is fascinating to think about; they were on the brink of a transitional age in art from extremely symbolic to a much more realistic representation of space in paintings/drawings. Most of these magnificent paintings are located on the upper level. The frescoes on the ceiling and walls at the end of this level is severeley damaged due to an earthquake (much stone fell down yet the stained glass windows were not damaged)!
After the basilica we had a large, 5 course meal with meat and cheese platers for apetizers, 2 pasta dishes, a meat dish (with lamb, veal, chicken and potatoes) and a delicious lemon-merange-like pie for dessert. After the late lunch we had a little over an hour to split up and wander around the town before meeting back outside the main gate and getting on the bus. The beautiufl valley and hills in the distance as well as the beautiful stone architecture surround me made for a very pleasant experience. Assisi is one of my favorite cities in Italy and I highly recommend it to anyone. As usual, the pictures don't even do it justice for how beautiful Assisi (and the rest of Italy for that matter) actually is! We boarded the bus and the girls and I were shortly dropped of at the Assisi train station to head to Florence!

FLORENCE
After Assisi we got on the bus and were dropped off at the local train station to catch a train to Florence. It was just Maritza and Nicole with me at this point because Cara and April slept in and would meet up with us later in Florence. When our train arrived I followed the main road to the Duomo, next to where Pepe’s apartment was located. We met Pepe at outside and walked into his apartment to drop off our bags. After about an hour Cara and April arrived so we met them near the train station, dropped off their bags, and ate dinner at a nice restaurant Pepe recommended. I had a calzone with a beer… absolutely delicious! We spent the rest of the night sightseeing. In the morning we saw Michelangelo’s David in the Academia. I was impressed just by the sheer size of the statue, yet as I got closer to the statue I noticed and appreciated the fine detail that went into Michelangelo’s work. The veins in his arms for instance gave David the allusion that he wasn’t just a statue but a live giant marble human being. Some other interesting sites which I saw in the academia were the half-completed statues of human beings taking form from their marble blocks, a room full of plaster preliminary statues with their wire frames sticking out, as well as some old renaissance clothes and a book from medieval times. During the day we also saw the Duomo (cathedral) with its famous dome designed by Brunelleschi, Pointe Vecchio which was the only bridge not bombed in Florence during WWII and has been lined with gold shops since the time of the Medicis, and the Palazzo Vecchio, which was my favorite building in Florence. The first time I saw it I was stunned by how tall it was (it was hard to believe that an unreinforced stone tower could be built that tall during the Renaissance and still be standing today). It was originally the building of the city council but the rich and powerful Medici family bought the building so they could live in it and built another building next to it (now the Uffizi Gallery?) for the city council to meet. There was also a private elevated walkway connecting the Palazzo Vecchio and across Ponte Vecchio to the other side of the river so the wife of Medici wouldn’t have to walk in the stench of everyone else below. The last thing we saw before leaving Florence was the Palazzo Pitti, where we walked up its back gardens and had a great view of all the major sites we saw that day. We walked by the Forte Belvedere and walked back down the hill and at pizza and drank wine in a small pizzeria. After lunch we hopped on our train towards Pisa and Cinque Terre.

PISA AND CINQUE TERRE
We had a little less than an hour wait in Pisa before our next train to Cinque Terre so we all headed quickly to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was surprisingly far away from the train station for such a small city, taking us over 20 minutes to walk over there at a fast pace. We only had time to snap a couple of quick pictures and then the girls took a small cab back to the train station while Pepe and I ran back. Pepe and I missed the train by a few minutes however, so we took the next one which eventually got us on the same train to Cinque Terre as the girls (their train must have stopped at more of the smaller stations along the way). Needless to say, we were all surprised to see each other when we got off our train at Riomaggiore, the lower of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. We followed the road from the train station to check into our apartment for the night, but found a note outside the door with our keys (good thing no one took it)! The stairs up to our apartment were dark but once we opened up the door we were pleased with the apartment. It was nice to have an entire small apartment to ourselves for a night. We spent the rest of the night having dinner, buying wine and drinking it down near the small port on some rocks right by the ocean. I really liked the scenery… many tall colorful buildings with typical clothes hanging outside them on clothes lines, stone roads, and the small Italian town-feel all next to the ocean. The next morning we checked out of our apartment, bought some tasty pesto pizza for breakfast, and headed towards the beginning of the path to hike on to the next town. Before we entered the hiking trail, near the train station, we had to pay a small fee for a pass and then we were on our way. It was a fairly short hike to Manarola, taking only about 15 minutes, but the hikes would get harder to each successive town. Each path we hiked ran right along the with stunning views of small Italian towns on the edge of vertical cliffs in the distance. Manarola looked much like Riomaggiore except it was built more against the sloped terrain so it had many terraced buildings and vineyards which we hiked up to. During our hike to the next town, Corniglia, we crossed a chain link bridge (like a rope bridge) which was exciting since it was unstable. Once we got to Corniglia we had to climb up several flights of steps in order to enter the actual town on the top of the cliff. It seemed smaller than the previous two towns but had more terraced vineyards and had an awesome viewing platform, where we could see the towns we just visited and the ones we were planning on seeing. The next two hikes were supposed to be much more lengthy and hard so we decided to take the train to them. The girls really wanted to see the last town, Monterosso, so we headed there first. When we arrived we realized that the town they actually were thinking of was Vernazza, the most famous of the 5 towns, so we decided to quickly explore Monterosso and then head over there. Monterosso was much more spread out and had a lot of beach space so I went down there to collect some gravel for my sand/gravel collection of places I’ve been. The ocean was a clear light green which is a nice contrast from the murky ocean I’m used to back in California. We got on a train in the opposite direction but didn’t realize that it was a direct rain back to the first city we visited, Riomaggiore, so we walked back into the center of town to pass some time before the next train. However, we didn’t realize how quickly time had passed so we just missed the train back! We decided to spend the rest of our time until our train out of Cinque Terre arrived sitting near the small port like the night before and had some snacks and wine, and enjoyed our last minutes in Cinque Terre. It was too bad that we missed the main town, Vernazza, but I still had a great time and that is always a reason to come back to Italy! =)

My Perspectives on the Election from Abroad

I really couldn't be happier with the way the election turned out a couple nights ago. I've been supporting Barack Obama since before he announced his candidacy in Chicago, Illinois on February 10, 2007. It is almost surreal to believe that I was part of the movement which helped elect him as the next President of the United States. I feel more inspired than ever and am extremely proud of my country. And certainly the vast majority of countries around the world are very happy with the results as well. From talking to Italians and listening to international news, it seems as though international opinion of the United States went from being despised and disliked overnight to revered and even envied for having such a great future President (one Italian told me that he now wishes he were American). It sure is nice to hold my head up high for being American (something I haven't been able to do since the start of the Iraq war). I've seen posters in support of Barack all over Europe. Even since the primaries he has been by far the most favored American presidential candidate throughout the world. And the video clips of people ecstatically celebrating on all corners of the globe after the results came in was extremely heartwarming.
From the beginning, what I admired most about Barack was his genuineness, intelligence, common sense and judgment. The crown jewel of all his attributes, however, is undoubtedly his gift as an orator and ability to inspire his audience. He gave me and millions of other volunteers and supporters the belief that each of us had the ability to make a difference... that our "voice could change a room, and if it could change a room it could change a city, and if it could change a city it could change a state, and if it could change a state it could change a country, and if it could change a country it could change the world." Indeed, this grassroots movement paid off, and not only did it help to elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States, but the networks of organized people throughout the country are still here to do grassroots work in any way the future president needs. His campaign was one truly by the people, and his administration will help form a government that is more for the people, with less influence from corporate lobbyists and special interest groups.
I am looking forward to an Obama administration which is going to be much more open, encourages involvement from its citizens, and which doesn't ignore or block opposing viewpoints. An administration that summons both Democrats and Republicans around values that we all share, and helps unify our country to make further progress.
Last night for my "Living Italy" culture class we went to a news/talk show in on of the RAI studios and sat in the audience at it was broadcasted live. They talked about Barack's election as president for the whole 2 hours, and seeing it was an amazing first-hand experience for how much influence the U.S. has on the rest of the world.
Here's the youtube link to the show (I'm shown briefly at 3:03 and partially at 3:52 in the video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyqk5HTIoO8
I am greatly looking forward to coming home now, which should make leaving the beauty, food, and dolce vita of Italy not as hard. =)

Greece & Egypt

DAY 1
My friend Jeremy and I left for Athens on Thursday afternoon from Rome's Fiumicino airport. The security check point had a long line so we had to run through the terminal to make it to our plane. While waiting to board we saw some American girls in our program who said they were going to Greece as well for their semester break. We flew with Olympic, Greece's national airline. The meal we were served was slightly different from what I was used to, and I mistakenly thought that the cream for the coffee which I would later be offered was liquid butter or some kind of sauce, which I foolishly dipped my bread in. It turns out Greece doesn't eat that differently from what I was used to after all. We arrived in Athens and took the metro to the city center. Athens is a large city, but it's beautiful because nearly all the buildings are white. When we got to the building our hostel was located in, we had to take a lift that didn't have an inner door (we could touch the outer doorways as the lift was moving) and it could only carry a maximum of 3 people. We checked into our room and went to sleep.

DAY 2
We woke up at 7:45 so we would have enough time to find the bus station to catch a ride to Delphi. After over an hour of searching, a bus driver drove us down the street for free and directed us around the corner to the station's discreet location. The station's location wasn't well labeled, plus everything was in Greek so we weren't very familiar with the language or the letters (everything in Greece is written in Greek letters, a major difference from the rest of Europe that I have visited so far). Even though it took us over an hour to find the station, the bus was scheduled to leave at 10:30 anyway so we didn't loose any time off our trip. We were originally planning on visiting Thermophylae (where the Spartan 300 battle took place against the Persians) but found out that it wasn't accessible from Delphi so we decided to just spend more time in Delphi. The ride provided some awesome views of mountains, and it only took 3 hours to arrive to Delphi, which we were pleasantly surprised by because we thought it was supposed to take 6. In fact, when we were passing by some ruins I wanted to get out even though I thought Delphi was another 3 hours away. Luckily these were the ruins of Delphi that I traveled to see! We checked into our hotel and quickly went to the Museum for an hour before it closed at 3.
Among the highlights which I saw at the museum (located next to the archaeological site) are a statue of Antonius (Emperor Hadrian's lover who drowned in the Nile); weapons, helmets and shields; a pediment relief of a lion eating another animal and a large bull of silver next to two golden statues. After the museum we took pictures of the stunning scenery. The ancient ruins and modern small town of Delphi are built on the top of a rocky gorge with a mountain towering directly behind it. I'm pretty sure that the Greeks must have built their city here largely for defensive purposes. After taking pictures of the scenery we walked around town looking inside several small souvenir shops. The shopkeepers ranged from extremely nice and intelligent (a young woman) to pushy (old men who were just trying to force customers to buy things). I know not all older male merchants in Greece are like that, but I met an exceptional amount who were pushy throughout Delphi and Greece.
At night we headed towards a modern theatre built in the Ancient Greek style (along a hill/mountainside). The acoustics which the Greek theatres are known for is amazing... such that when I stood at the very back in the seats I could hear my friend whispering to me from the center/stage. Then we walked around some more shops until closing time (there are may souvenir shops in Delphi and it is such a small town that browsing them is one of the main activites to do in Delphi... the city is undoubtedly geared towards tourists. Inside one shop we met a merchant who collects official reproductions of Greek artifacts in museums. He even provides his friends and himself with the armor and costumes to do reinactments for the History Channel. One thing I learned is that the famous spartan lambda (looks like a pyramid or upside-down "V") represents the pyramid of social status with the king at the top (in the case of the 300 Spartan soldiers at the battle of Thermophylae, the king was Leonidas). Only the king and his royal army could have this symbol on their shield, and it was believed that one always had to have their shields raised with the lambda pointing directly up so that if they were killed their soul would be able to ascend up into heaven. This motivation for the soldiers to always have their shields raised of course did wonders for their defensive capabilities, and is likely one of many reasons why Spartans were such great warriors. We walked around for the rest of the night and saw a church and several cats, and walked to the top of the town where we began to hike a little up the mountain for a nice view. After that we headed back to our hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 3
We woke up at 7:45 again and had a buffet breakfast including strawberry and cherry juice for the first time (I really like the strawberry juice but the cherry juice was a bit too sweet for me). The food itself was typical: eggs, cereal, toast, etc. that you would expect in any other hotel. Since the town of Delphi is built up against a mountain the city terraces up, so from virtually anywhere you have a great view of the Ravine below, even from the room where we were eating breakfast in our hotel. We then headed to the archaeological site and spent over 3 hours there. There were columns remaining from what once used to be a portico. I saw how they constructed many of their round temples (a flat stone foundation with a raised portion along the perimeter to provide a barrier for the stones that laid against it). There were many exedrae which once displayed statues and there were ruins of treasuries (which were like modern city banks). Perhaps the most important structure in all of Ancient Delphi was the Temple of Apollo (all Greeks were told to visit it at least once in their lifetimes). It is a large temple that today still has its basic foundation, entrance ramp, and a few large columns intact. The small, square-planned temple of Athena had been heavily restored so we could see close to what it would have looked like in the past. We also saw the remains of an ancient Greek theatre and a stadium (which is shaped like a Roman circus, although flat instead of circular at one end). These kinds of stadiums are where many of the olympic-style games took place. Also, there was an abundance of Greek writing throughout the ancient stone walls and slabs of the site. It was amusing to think of the men and women who created and lived in Delphi, and wrote these words over 2,500 years ago.
We then left the site and walked to some other nearby ruins (10 minutes away) to see the gymnasium and Sanctuary of Athena. In the gymnasium I saw a wrestling pit that looked like a large, deep hot tub with the water drained. The Sanctuary was circular in plan with some columns and a frieze. I saw a large boulder on the site and a temple that was largely destroyed near it, so a rockslide probably occured here. We also had a nice view of all the ruins we just saw at the main archaeological site. We headed to town to buy our bus tickets back to Athens, but we had several hours before we had to leave so we started hiking up the mountain to see the Shrine of Apollo and possibly a cave.
The beginning of the hike was more hilly than rocky, but once we reached the rocky part we had a great view of the town and ruins below us and it felt as though we were ancient Greek or Spartan warriors climbing up to the top of the mountain to visit an oracle or worship at a temple. Along the way up we saw sheep, turtles, and then a bull hearder with bulls and a ranch near the top (where the mountain started to flatten out a bit). We thought this area would be the top of the mountain (at least it appeared to be the top from where we were standing below) but it turned out that the mountain was stepped so we still had a large distance before we could reach the summit. After two and a half hours of intense climbing with only a few quick breaks, we decided that we wouldn't have enough time to see either of the sites so we started heading back (we didn't know it would take so long to reach the sites because the location on the map made it seem much closer). If we had an extra hour we probably could have made it though . On the way down we had amazing views of the surrounding mountain terrain with the ravine and lake in the distance. When we made it back down to the town of Delphi it was a totally different experience. While hiking I felt as if I really could have been a Greek soldier in the past. It was very desolate and peaceful, and we had to use track-finding skills to travel on the not-often traveled trails. It felt transformational to come back into a modern city. The hike was the most intense workout I've had my entire time in Europe. We had a little time to spare before the bus arrived so we sat down in a cafe near the bus station and waited. I got a Greek-style coffe which was strong, tasty and had some of the crushed up coffee bean in it. The European coffee that I have had tends to come in small cups and is stronger than American coffee. We boarded the bus around 6:15 pm and headed back to Athens. When we arrived and were walking to the metro station, we found a place that a local recommended which served cheap, delicious gyros. Once at we were at our hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 4
When we woke up at 8:00, I discovered that it had rained and the clothes which I put out to dry were soaked (it didn't bother me though because I didn't need them immediately and I figured they would dry eventually). Also, my legs were sore from the hike we took the day before. I'm not one to let petty things get in the way of having a great time though, and I always look forward to the excitement of the day. We went to the other, larger bus station this time (there are 2 major bus stations in Athens) and had no trouble finding it unlike a couple days before. I find it helpful to ask the locals where something is whenever I am unsure... even if they speak little English they can usually point me in the right direction). At the station, I had a frostyccino (the equivalent of a Starbucks frappucino) which I had been craving since I arrived in Europe. Our bus left for Mycenae at 10:30. Mycenae is another small town like Delphi, although in a flat valley instead of near a towering mountain range. We waited over an hour for a bus to take us from the city to the ruins of Mycenae (about 2 km away) but it never came so we decided to start walking. Within a couple of minutes a nice man offered to give us a ride about half the way their on the back of their truck (we offered them money as thanks afterwards but they kindly refused). Within another couple of minutes walking we got a taxi to take us take us the rest of the way to make sure we would get there in time (it was a Sunday). The fare was only 3 euro! When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the site wouldn't close until 7 pm.. We arrived there at 1 so we had plenty of time to explore!
Mycenae is an ancient fortified village built on a hilltop/acropolis with massive/monolithic stones as well as smaller stones with mud for minor walls. It dates back from the 13th century BC. They were the ancient Greeks. According to myth, King Agamemnon was the Mycenaen king who led the attack on Troy. The main attraction of the ancient village is the famous Lion's Gate. It is the main, stone gateway into the city with a pediment ontop of the lintel depicting two lions standing to the side of a column. I saw it for the first time on the History Channel, and it was amazing to see it in reality. The pediment is the supporting the stones stacked around it, forming a corbeled arch. It is a remarkable engineering feat for that far back in time... and they seem to have been incredibly more advanced than their contemporaries!
Another amazing engineering feat to note are their tholos (bee-hive shaped tombs) which are basically corbelled arches spun around 180 degrees to make a tomb, constructed by building up a mound of dirt for support while stacking the stones around it, then emptying the terrain out of the tomb once it was completed. We also saw a large circular graveyard in the fortress, as well as many other gates, tombs, and the museum. Inside the museum we saw a replica of the famous Mask of Agamemnon which was found in his nearby tholos/tomb. Around the time that the site was closing we ran back to town in the rain. It was a fun experience, and along the way we saw another tholos. It felt like I was an ancient Mycenaen trying to travel to another nearby town without the invention of an umbrella. Whenever I am removed from modern society and am in an area know to be inhabited by an ancient civilization, I take myself back to their time and wonder how it was to live like them. Within about 10 minutes we were back in modern civilization and we ate at a nice restaurant while watching the rain pour down. I had an Alpha beer (brewed in Greece, the other major beer is Mythos) with amazing moussaka and bread on the side. Moussaka is a Greek dish which tastes like a pot pie but better, in lasagna form. It consists of a thin, cheesy crust , a layer of beef, and a large layer of potatoes topped with melted cheese (I bet Tom would love this meal... he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy). After the meal we continued walking back into the center of town in the rain. We waited for our bus, and on the drive back we sat next to a Greek lady who spoke almost no english but discussed Greek and Roman art with us, using my Roman art book which I brought along with me as a guide. We got back to our hotel in Athens around 11. It rained there too so my clothes were even more wet than they were when I left that morning, but it didn't bother me. I had a great day. =)

DAY 5
We woke up very early at 5:30 to throw some clothes in our bags and take the metro down to Pitraeus, the main port in Athens. After getting off the metro we found the office for the ferry we were taking immediately, so we bought our tickets, grabbed some breakfast, and boarded the ferry. The ferry was about the size of the ones I'm used to taking to and from Whidbey Island in Washington, but looks more like a cruise ship and has less room for cars and more room for people. The company is called Blue Star Ferries. Our destination was the Greek island of Santorini, south of all the other islands in its large cluster but still a littl noth of the island of Crete (home to the ancient Minoan civilization). The trip took 10 hours so I killed the time by watching the sun rise, resting, taking pictures of the many island as we passed them by, and reading my Roman art book. We arrived at Santorini around 3 pm. The owners of the hotel we were staying at picked us up from the port and drove us to the hotel, called Manos Villa. Santorini is a crescent shaped island with a volcano in the middle of its water. Our hotel was located near the main city in the center of the island, Fira. When we arrived at our hotel we were given a complimentray meal and glass of wine, as well as plenty of useful information. We quickly got settled in and headed outside. While we were waiting for our bus to Fira one of the hotel owners with her daughter drove next to us and offered to give us a ride into town (about a 5 minute drive). We thanked them and then walk towards the edge of the city. The coastline was composed of vertical cliffs (much like the Amalfi coast of Italy), so we walked down a zig-zagged path down almost to sea level, trying to avoid stepping in the piles of donkey poop. We took a donkey ride back up to where we started and walked up a little farther to watch the sun set (I am pretty sure it provided the best view of the the whole city, island and volcano. When the sun was nearly set we found a place to eat and watched the sun sink behind the volcano. The place was called Lithos, recommended by Lonely Planet, and for dinner I had souvlaki, a greek dish which is basically shish kabob pork. We walked around shops for the rest of the night until they closed (around 8 pm, rather early for a toursit spot in my view). We took a taxi home, and I had a nice warm shower and went to sleep.

DAY 6
We slept in till around 10, got up and headed towards the lobby to have breakfast. While we were talking to the owner she told us that the Blue Star Ferries workers were on strike so our ferry wouldn't be coming that day (we were expecting to go back to Athens in the afternoon). While eating our breakfast we contemplated what to do for another day stranded on the island. We decided to rent an for the ATV and explore the southern part of the island (a common activity for tourists to do here). The hotel owners were friends with the moto rental company so they arranged for them to pick us up from the hotel, plus two American girls who we were sitting next to during breakfast were planning on doing the same thing. The ATV only costed $15 to rent for 24 hours and we had to pay for our own gas, what a deal! After showing them my license and Jeremy's credit card, we were given some basic instruction and were on our way! (We were thinking about renting some motor bikes but you need a motor-cycle license for it and Jeremy didn't bring his driver's license anyway.
Having an extra day in Santorini was actually a blessing in disguise because renting the ATV and exploring the island was probably the most fun I've had in a long time! We decided to drive to Ancient Thira first, on the eastern end of the island and south of us. We drove up a winding road, similar to Lombard street in San Francisco, except much longer, more rugged, and up a mountain! Once at the top it was very windy. we parked our ATV and entered the site for free, expecting to see a couple small ruins. However, we were surprised to find a whole village of ruins, including a theatre, basilica and several residences, built out of the local lime stone and mud.
Ancient Thira was originally a port town and naval base ruled under the Ptolemies (during the Greek Hellenistic period). After Alexander the Great died, his best generals were given control of his different territories. Among Ptolemy's land, he received this island and Egypt (Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemic dynasty). After the Romans conquered Greece, they also inhabited Ancient Thira (I saw some ruins of an ancient Roman bath). While looking around the ruins I heard and saw some fighter jets fly by, which reminded me of Rob. I saw some cool reliefs, including a ram skull depicted on many columns, and a shrine with animals depicting the different Greek gods). The ruins could almost rival Pompeii. It is not quite as well preserved or as large as Pompeii, but it provides an awesome view of the ocean and landscape below, and you can see other small islands in the distance. The experience was completely amazing because I never even heard of Ancient Thira before, yet here I was just stumbling upon one of the coolest archaelogical sites I've seen. We then rode our ATVs back down the winding path of the mountain, while looking out at the amazing view.
We decided to drive to the black sand beach, which was located just south of Ancient Thira but we had to drive west and then east to go all the way around the mountain in order to reach the beach. Along the way we filled up the tank with gas and stopped at a restaurant to eat some pork and chicken gyros. Nearly every gyro place we visited in Greece puts french fries in them and dashes them with chilli powder. Also, I was surprised by the fact that pork was used instead of lamb (all the gyros I had in the US used lamb). We arrived at the beach with black sand after perhaps 30 minutes of driving. We parked the ATV and walked along the beach, collecting volcanic sand and rocks. The sand is black because it is volcanic, coming from the nearby volcano. Then we drove west to the other southern end of the island and went to the red beach (terrain with a high iron content sticks out along this part of the coast, which then becomes oxidized and eroded to form the sand). We saw the sun set and drove back to back to our hotel. It was dark by the time we arrived. We took a quick break then drove to Fira and went to wonderful place called "Lucky's Souvlaki's" where we ate 2 delicious gyros and a half liter of beer for only 6 euro. We drove back to the hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 7
I woke up around 7 AM and called Dad to wish him a happy birthday (Greece is 10 hours ahead of California so it was around 9 pm there). I went to sleep for another 2 hours, woke up, ate breakfast, checked out and drove back to Fira for the last time to turn in our ATV. We walked down the stairs (which we rode the donkeys on before) down to the small port to take a ship to the volcano. It was an awesome ship because it looked like a pirate ship, completely wooden with sails (although it used a motor to get us around). We left the port at 11, and shortly docked at the volcano to hike up it. I can't remember if I've ever hiked up a volcano before, but this must have been my first time hiking up a volcano which is its own small island. Either way it was interesting to be surrounded by black volcanic stone. Near the top there were areas where I could feel the geothermal heat and smell the stench of sulfur escaping through small holes. Many vast crater-like holes form the landscape of the volcano from the volcano blasting large portions of land away (the last explosion/eruption was in the 1850s). We got back on the ship and sailed to sulfuric hot springs in a small bay. I went swimming in it, which was fun because it was about as warm as bath-water. We sailed back to the port, walked up the spiraling path (careful not to step in the donkey poop) and grabbed another gyro at Lucky's (to go) before tacking a taxi bacl to our hotel. We ate our gyros while waiting for the hotel owners to drop us off at the main port. The Ferry arrived about an hour late, so we ended up boarding about an hour later than expected (around 4). I was able to sleep for about an hour on the ferry. We arrived at Athens around midnight and went straight home and slept.

DAY 8
We slept in till 9, woke up and went to the Parthenon. The Parthenon is located on the Acropolis (or "high city"), a large marble plateau sticking out in the middle of Athens. A valley of hills and the ocean surround the Acropolis, with white buildings covering the land. We entered the ruins from the south side, where the Theatre of Dionysus and several other ruins surround the Acropolis' base. Near the top of the summit we saw a reconstructed theatre (the Odeion of Herodes Atticus) where musical and play performances still take place today. At the top of the Acropolis we were greeted with the imressive entrance portico/gateway, the Propylaia. There were several dogs laying around it. I haven seen cats and dogs lying around archaeological sites all around europe, maybe because it is a relatively peaceful area. Seeing the Parthenon itself was of course amazing... it is probably the single most popular architectural work known to man. Unfortunately it is not in very good condition because in 1687 during the Venetian wars, the Parthenon was used as an ammo depot and a stray shell hit it, causing the ammo to explode. Repair work is still being done on it so there was a lot of scaffolding along it. The Parthenon is extraordinary because of the vast size of its drums, its history, and the knowledge of visual techniques implemented when building it. The columns and steps are bowed (are thicker and thinner in different parts along their lengths) to make them look taller and straighter. It is a Doric temple so it accordingly doesn't have bases for its capitals and has triglyphs and metopes instead of a running frieze. I saw the pediment of the Parthenon in the Bristish Museum in London, so it was nice to finally see the structure itself.
The other structure on the acropolis is the Erechtheion, with it's beautiful caryatids or female-figured columns. It is an ionic temple so it does have bases for its columns and has a running frieze. When we were finished at the summit we walked around the base of the Acropolis to see the rest of its surrounding ruins, including a small cave. Then we tried to find the Agora, the ancient market place of Athens (essentially equivalent to the Roman Forum). We decided to climb a large marble rock (with steps carved into it from ancient times) and were surprised once at the top to find an amazing view with the Agora laid out right in front of us. The rock was an awesome hang-out spot, and we sat there for 5 minutes just enjoying the view. Marble tends to be slippery, especially when it's been walked on by so many feet, so we had to be carful getting up and down the rock. We entered the Agora and first went to the reconstrcted stoa (a typical Greek public building). It was by far one of the most beautiful buildings I've been in, or at least under. The low sun cast a shadow cast amazing shadows of the columns along the floor, creating an alternating light and dark pattern across the floor. Wooden beams crossing along the ceiling mixed with the marble columns holding the ceiling up, and the fact that it was a double portico gave it visual depth. To top it off, there were beautiful staues lining the spaces between the columns, and at the end of the halls there were round arches with plants shown through them. The Ancient Greeks sure knew how to create beautiful spaces. Having plants and vines can really liven up a building, and I've seen this common feature throughout Italy and Greece.
We walked around the rest of the Agora, saw a statue of Hadrian (The Roman Emperor who travelled extensively to Greece and loved everything Greek). We went up a small hill to the Temple of Hephaistos (the best preserved temple in all of Greece)! The hill provided an awesome view of everything which I just saw in the rest of the Agora as well as the Acropolis.
We left the ancient ruins of the Agora and walked along the modern Agora, lined with restaurants and shops. It had a very nice ambience. We looked at shops and had our last gyros washed down with a Mythos beer to cap-off our last night in Greece. When the shops started closing around 8, we headed to the airport for our early morning flight to Cairo, Egypt. I really loved Greece and it is my second favorite country in Europe after Italy. The delicious gyros, the abundance of beautiful ruins, sculpture, and contemporary architecture, and the amazing scenery all make me certain that I will be coming back sometime in the near future for more.

EGYPT
We arrived in the middle of the night at Cairo airport. Cairo is an extremely large city, and it took at least half an hour to take a taxi from the airport to our hostel located downtown right next to the Nile. We had to buy a tourist Visa before leaving the airport for 15 euro, and then right when we stepped outside the airport some locals pestered us and other tourists in an attempt to pressure us into buying expensive tours and taxi rides to our hotels. I was planning on checking to see if we could take the bus to our hostel, but the locals lied to us by saying the bus station was closed, and my roommate just wanted to get to our hostel as soon as possible so we bargained down the price and took a taxi. We arrived at our hostel and gave the driver the fare we agreed upon (75 Egyptian pounds), but then they pressured Jeremy into giving them tips so we ended up paying 100 Egyptian pounds. The dollar to Egyptian pound is a 5 to 1 ratio so we really only paid around 25 bucks for the whole thing, but I still didn't like how they were trying to trick and pressure us for more money. Once we got into our hostel however, we felt completely at ease. We stayed at the Wake Up! Cairo Hostel and were very pleased to find friendly, trustworthy staff. This was probably the best hostel I've stayed at my entire time abroad as far as friendliness and helpfulness from the staff goes. The common room of the hostel is nice because it has a great view of the Nile and Cairo Tower. The couches in the common room were also interesting because they were extremely low, built against the wall, and only had pillows rested against the wall for back cushioning. There were many Americans and other English speakers staying there with us and they all raved about the place. It opened up less than a year ago and one of the owners, Pete is already doing extremely well. He plans to open a few more hostels throughout Cairo. Before going to sleep I had a conversation with him and learned about the city. Cairo isn't as dangerous as many Americans fear it is. It is about as risky as any other large city, and rather than worrying about your safety you mainly have to worry about people trying to trick you and making as much money off of you as they can. Egypt is a very poor country, and since Cairo attracts so many tourists, many locals make their living by tricking and ripping off tourists. Every country has its problems and when a country is as poor as Egypt is (even poorer than my impression of Mexico when I visited Rosarito last spring break), the locals are desperate to make money so they will naturally try to make money wherever and whenever the opportunity rises. Pete certainly has the right business mentality in mind though because his hostel provided a place for refuge where American tourists like us could feel at ease and not be hassled, and the good word spreading around online about his hostel (it was one of the top rated ones at hostelworld.com) is making him great business. After finishing up , my conversation with him I went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to eat breakfast, consisting of hard-boiled eggs, pitas, butter, jam and tea. Pete has connections with a tour company so he hired a driver to pick us up from the hostel after breakfast and take us to the stables in Giza to ride a camel through the desert and see the pyramids. The pyramids are located right next to the edge of Giza, which many people don't expect because when they imagine the pyramids they envision nothing but desert surrounding them. When we were inside the stables the workers offered us free drinks and asked us if we wanted to take the short, medium, or long tour. We took the medium one but ended up seeing just as much as we probably would have seen during the long one (which included a view of the pyramids from a large mound of sand). I think the total for the whole experience was somewhere around $50. We mounted the camels, which was an interesting experience because you are supposed to lean back while the camel gets up in 3 jerky maneuvers. Two young boys served as our tour guides, and one of them rode on a white horse. We had to pass through the tourism police gates into the site of the pyramids, and while we were waiting someone offered us drinks but then charged us for them after we drank them (this was the worst that I was tricked my entire time in Egypt. I suppose that I was too excited from being on a camel and figured the drinks would be free since they were earlier). When we entered the pyramid zone some Muslim chanting started blasting on a nearby megaphone. This is known as the "call to prayer" and happens every few hours every day. It is crazy because the speakers/megaphones are placed throughout the city so the praying can be heard everywhere, even in my hostel. This was probably the biggest shock for me while staying in Egypt, since hearing the loud Islamic chanting is practically unavoidable and it must have a strong, seemingly unavoidable influence on people.
Riding a camel through the desert was an amazing experience. I also bought and wore a kaffiyeh (the cloth headdress with a fastening band usually worn by Arab men) to help immerse myself in the culture and the moment. We didn't travel that long of a distance (the camels were used more to travel around the site rather than to get to it), but we still rode for about 2 hours. We would stop at certain points to get off the camels (after they would sit down in 3 jerky maneuvers) and take pictures of the pyramids. We could even climb onto the pyramids to take pictures (which was surprising to me because most important archaeological sites that I've been to are protected and preserved with great care, although I suppose Egypt's poor economic condition makes preserving the pyramids less of a priority. In fact, one of the reasons why so many Egyptian artifacts are found in museums around the world is because Egypt sold them in order to lift itself out of extreme poverty and even famine). Stepping foot onto one of the pyramids for the first time was a special moment for me, thinking of how they are over 3,000 years old and the only ancient wonder of the world still surviving today. Many of the world's great leaders have seen the pyramids of Giza, including Cleopatra, Caesar, Augustus and Napoleon to name a few. We ended the tour by taking pictures in front of the Sphinx and then returning the stables. On the car ride back we stopped by the papyrus museum, where I learned how papyrus was made. I also learned that in hieroglyphics, the name of a Pharoah can always be spotted because only they could have their names surrounded by a cartouche (oval). We spent the rest of the night inside the hostel because we didn't want to risk anything by walking around the streets at night.
The next morning we took another tour that we booked online ahead of time. Our tour guide picked us up and we drove to the stepped pyramid. It was built by the world's very first architect, Imhotep. Since I am an architectural engineering major I greatly appreciated seeing this pyramid. We went into a nearby museum named after Imhotep, then drove to a museum which had a colossal statue of Ramses and some other large statues. Next we drove towards a couple small shops, and along the way we stopped and ate at a buffet-style restaurant. The food wasn't very tasty, although it was nice to be exposed to new types of food. The most authentic Egyptian dish was rice wrapped around in some kind of green vegetable; like large, warm, plain sushi. One shop which we saw was a quilting workshop (which was worth the experience just to see young children at work weaving carpets. It is sad to see children be forced into child labor due to their country's poverty, including the young kids who were our guides during the camel rides to the pyramids). The other shop which we saw sold ointments which are all natural, made from the oils of flowers, and serve as the bases of many famous cologne's such as Calvin Klein, Hugo BOSS, etc. They were much too expensive though and I had no need for fancy colognes. It is funny how just about every tour run by the locals will take tourists to these shops. An indication of this is the fact that Bill Clinton, Sting, and Martha Bush among other famous people have all been to the Papyrus Museum!
After the shops we returned to Giza and played soccer with some of the locals at the stable while we waited for our camels. We rode into the desert again, although this time for relatively cheap since we weren't going inside the archaeological site and therefore didn't have to pay any entrance fees. We rode to a nearby gypsy camp/resting place and watched the sun set. Our guides were the same boys from the day before so we became slight friends by the end of the day. Then we rode back to the stables and watched the sound and light show of the pyramids while sitting on the stable's upper story. After to show we were given a ride back to our hostel and we stayed in for the rest of the night.
We spent all the next day taking it easy, staying inside our hostel. We talked to the hostel owners some more, ate our food (mostly packaged just to be safe and not get sick), and getting caught up on homework and leisure reading. Food and everything else in Egypt is ridiculously cheap (because of the 5 to 1 ratio of the dollar and Egyptian pound). One of the nights during our stay Pete ordered Egyptian fast food for everyone who wanted it, and it turned out to be ground beef in an oily pita, and different kinds of sauces to put on it. Again, the quality of the food wasn't very good but the experience was interesting.
The last day we went to the Cairo Museum (located a block away from our hostel, next to the Nile) and spent 4-5 hours there. It is the largest Egyptian museum in the world, and millions of artifacts are located here. We saw many statues, mummies, coffins, everyday objects, etc. but the highlight of the museum was definitely the King Tutankhamon room, where I saw his famous mummy mask, along with his multi-layered coffin and other precious golden objects found in his tomb. Something which everyone should know about the Pharaohs is that the depiction of them with a crook crossed with a flail is a symbol of power: each of them were the shepherds ruling over their subjects/sheep. Also, the famous and ubiquitous symbol of an eye is that of the Egyptian god Horus (depicted with a falcon head). Horus' left eye was ripped out in battle against his evil uncle Set, and it is a symbol of protection and healing. The Eye of Providence symbol located on the back of the one dollar bill as well as the "Rx" symbol that pharmacies use both descend from the Eye of Horus. Finally, the cross with a loop, called an ankh, is the "key of life," and represents life: reproduction and/or life after death. After the museum we went back to the hostel. At night we went to the airport to catch our flight back to Rome.
I am glad I visited Egypt not only for the amazing sites, but also for the shock of being in such a different culture. The site of mosques instead of churches, hearing Muslim chanting blasting throughout the city every few hours, riding camels, seeing the dirty and poor state that Egypt is in and how children are forced to work, and the extreme desperation of people to make money off of tourists were all a culture shock. The trip has made me appreciate the wealth and prosperity that citizens from America and other non-impoverished nations enjoy. Seeing the pyramids, riding a camel through the desert, and seeing countless Egyptian artifacts in the museum were all unbelievable experiences that I will never forget. I would recommend Cairo to anyone wanting to see the pyramids and able to handle any tricks/surprises by the locals in search for easy money.




Riding a camel into the desert, and hearing the "call to prayer" on the loudspeaker.