"Ich bin ein Berliner"

We took an evening train to Berlin and arrived at Hauptbahnhof station around midnight. The station is the most amazing one I've seen... very modern with 3 different spacious levels with clear views of every floor, made out of mainly steel and glass, and some technological gadgets such as advertisement bulletins that hung from the ceiling and rotated, escalators with motion sensors that stopped when not being used frequently, etc. We didn't have reservations for a hostel that night so we just slept at the station. I didn't get much sleep but felt safe with police officers roaming the floors all night. While we were falling asleep some drunk Polish guy told us to watch out for Polish pickpockets, since there's two things Poles are good at: stealing and drinking! We had a nice conversation with him about Poland and its people, and he happened to be 21 also so it was interesting to share perspectives with someone the same age as me.
The next morning we headed to our hostel (Inn-Berlin) on the metro, but got there a little too early so I walked around a bit. Around 8 AM we were finally let into the hostel, so we checked in but had to wait till about noon until our rooms were ready. I spent this time checking emails and going online etc, and went to sleep when we were finally let into our rooms. I woke up around 5 PM and eventually decided to go to a night club with Pepe. While we were looking for it (Q-DORF) we ran into some Middle-Eastern looking guys who were looking for the same place, so we talked with them and found it together. They were in front of us in line, but when they showed the bouncer (who was a huge, intimidating guy) their IDs they were denied entry... even though I heard one of them complaining in German about how he was from Hamburgh and spoke perfect German and his friend was from London, while the Americans behind him (us) couldn't speak a word of German. However, the bouncer let Pepe and me in despite this fact. This was my first encounter with an act of blatant racism to the extent of someone being denied entrance into a building. It bothered me the whole night and I became extremely upset when I was walking home later because I wished I would have stood up for them (maybe by publicly refusing to go inside and calling the bouncer out as a racist)... it was an extremely shocking event though and I don't think anything could have prepared me for it. If something like this had happened in America I bet that it would be all over the news and the bouncer would be arrested or sued. It certainly made me appreciate American civil liberties, especially the recent advances of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60's.
Anyway, the club was located underground and was huge with over 15 different bars and dance floors/rooms. Almost everybody there was white (go figure). Everyone seemed to be dancing without touching each other (except for some couples) which was very different from what is normal in the U.S.. I tried meeting some people but eventually gave up because no one spoke English, so I just enjoyed the music for the rest of the night until I found Pepe and headed home. By the way, everywhere I've gone so far in Europe, American music is by far the most popular kind that is played, which brings me comfort and makes me proud, haha. From what I've seen the same seems to go with movies too.
The next day I slept in, went to the grocery store and bought some food to cook for breakfast. Then we took the metro to Brandenburgh Gate where we took pictures, then walked to the Victory Column where Barack gave his speech less than a month ago! We walked around some more looking at more sights until we got tired and went back to our hostel and slept.
Today we went on the Third Reich tour where we learned all about Hitler's rise and fall. We saw the Reichstag, his bunker, and the building where the "Euphanasia" techniques (really methods for killing such as the gas chambers etc) were initially developed and used. I've always found it hard to grasp that WWII was so recent, but seeing all these sights definitely had an impact on me (although most of the buildings from Nazis are now gone, since most were bombed by the Allies).
Tomorrow I will go on the regular free walking tour of Berlin and might end my last night with the pub crawl, because Tuesday morning I leave for my main destination: Roma!

Victory Column (Where Barack gave his speech!)

Brandenburg Gate

Hotel Adlon (Where Michael Jackson dangled his baby Blanket over the balcony, located in the same square as Brandenburg Gate)

I AMsterdam

Wow, what a progressive place Amsterdam is! Our train arrived at the Amsterdam Central Station and we walked directly to our hostel (The Flying Pig Downtown), which was located just off of the Damrak (main street running off of the train station). We walked around a bit, ate (large Dutch pancake), and spent the rest of the night getting caught up on our email, blogs and sleep. The next morning we continued to explore Amsterdam and took the free walking tour which started at 11 AM, meeting in front of the national monument. The company running it, New Europe, has multiple tours like this in various cities throughout Europe, and the tour is free but your tour guide is so good that you end up wanting to tip him at the end. I learned that the city was made by damming the Amstel river, hence the name Amstel-dam or Amsterdam (the Dutch named practically everything in this obvious way). The fact that the city is dammed up meant that the whole community had to work together in times of need in order to repair the dam and prevent or respond to floods, so there was a great sense of tolerance, community and welcoming of all people since everyone was dependent upon each others’ survival, and that mentality still exists today. One of the main cultural aspects of Amsterdam is its large number of bikes and bikers, leading to 3 story bike racks the size of parking garages, the much larger likelihood to be hit by a bike than a car when crossing the street, and the tendency for the Dutch to throw unchained bikes into the canals so that a crane has to dig them out of the water every day. Also, The Dutch were taxed according to floor width of the first floor (plus as many Dutch as possible wanted to live along a canal) so most buildings are tall and narrow with steep, narrow staircases. This makes moving furniture in and out of the houses hard so the buildings are purposely built leaning slightly forward with hooks sticking out of their facades near the roof so that anything large or heavy can be hoisted up and through a window using a rope without scraping the front of the building.

The Dutch were great sea merchants, bringing great wealth to the nation. When rich sailors returned to Amsterdam after being at sea with only other men for several months, one of the first things they wanted was some female companionship, which is why prostitution developed. The Netherlands officially legalized prostitution in 2000, and since then sex-workers (as they are properly called) don’t have to worry about any dangers since the Red Light District is now regularly patrolled and under video surveillance, with two police stations on opposite ends of the district. In fact, the Red Light District is the safest place in all of Amsterdam since it is so heavily watched and no criminals would dare take any risks when under such high surveillance. Also, sex-workers are considered equal to any other profession and pay taxes and receive benefits, have unions and are respected by the community for their contribution to the economy. In fact, there are panic buttons in every sex-worker’s room and if anything goes wrong causing her to push the button, all the nearby locals will rush to the scene and make sure the abusive client regrets his actions.

Amsterdam is also known for its high tolerance of marijuana. What is interesting though is that it isn’t actually legal in Amsterdam, just de-criminalized. The use of the drug is essentially given a blind eye, which is why the places where they are sold are called coffee-shops instead of any more revealing name. Efforts to stop the high prevalence and use of both hard and soft drugs by force was ineffective, so they de-criminalized soft drugs (which are naturally made) and focused solely on hard drugs (which are made by man). The result has been extremely effective, with only about 9% of Dutch citizens now using marijuana whereas about 15% of citizens from countries such as France, England and the U.S. using marijuana. With similar success, the legalization of prostitution has led to sex-workers having lower STI rates than the general population because they always use protection at their job whereas most of the general public (especially in other countries besides the Netherlands) tend to be more careless when it comes to using protection. Most of the people who actually smoke and use the Red Light District are actually tourists. More focus has been spent on educating the Dutch general public of the serious dangers of hard drugs, with coffee-shops displaying warnings and educational materials about hard drugs. The main problem for Amsterdam locals is no longer a drug or prostitution problem, but rather a tourist problem with packs of people now crowding the city to experience the freedom the city provides, but in return also blocking bike lanes, etc. The high number of tourists sure boosts the Dutch economy though (btw coffee-shops and Red-Light District companies are taxed much higher than other businesses, at around 50% of their income rather than the normal 25% or 30% of most normal Dutch citizens).

I find the Dutch attitude towards prostitution and soft drugs interesting, and think we may be able to learn some things from it. They recognize that both are very likely to exist not matter what they do (either through the dangerous underground/black market if they try to control it by force or by legalizing it and having much more control over it… which has turned out to be effective and good for the national economy). I am not sure whether the circumstances are the same to make it work in the U.S., but I think it would be beneficial to try educating our population more on the differences between soft and hard drugs (to reduce hard drug use) and educating children about proper and useful sex education at a younger age. Dutch children are taught sex education as early as 12 or 13 and as a result have lower birth, abortion, and STI rates! Norweigans learn sex education as early as 11 or 12 and have similar results. Overall Amsterdam is a very progressive place. I am glad I visited it now because in the near future it will likely be gone: the number of coffee-shops and Red Light District windows have been capped by the Democratic Christian party, and as a result more and more of them are disappearing until soon there will be no more left. This will likely lead to the unsafe black market circumstances the market was in before marijuana and prostitution became tolerated/legal. By the way, I apologize if I offended or made anyone uneasy while reading what I wrote above, but perhaps if we changed our mentalities of drugs and prostitution as a subject that shouldn’t be talked about and should be physically removed whatever the cost, we may find a more reasonable and effective approach.

After the tour I went to the Van Gough Museum. It was interesting to see how his paintings changed over time with the places he went, people he met, and increasing severity of his illness. My favorite painting of his that I saw in the museum was the Wheat Reaper… I really liked his method of using thick paint with straight brush strokes to further aid the sense of direction of the compositions in the painting. The initial chaotic direction of the wheat then being cut by the reaper and collected into much more orderly bundles had an awesome contrasting effect, and I heard that the story of the Grim Reaper also originated here in Amsterdam which also adds to my appeal to the painting.

Yesterday I walked around Amsterdam and went to Anne Frank’s house. It is now a museum but was once the building of her father’s jam-making business and was where she and her family hid from the Nazis for several months until being discovered. It was a moving experience: walking through all the rooms, and reading corresponding parts of her diary to the places and things I saw. She was constantly in fear and of course what happened to her and all the other Jews during that time was horrible. I could easily imagine her life during these few years, so it was a powerful way to experience history. Tonight we will leave for Berlin, my last stop before Italy! It has rained a bit in every city I've been to so far so I should see some more sun in the upcoming days =).

Dam Square

Retrieving bikes thrown in the canal


View down a canal



Anne Frank's house (in the center with the black ground floor)



Enjoying some beers at the bar in our hostel (The Flying Pig Downtown)

Being a Belgian

Brussels is a small city especially when compared to Paris or London. We arrived at our hostel early (around 9 AM) but couldn’t check in till 1 so we left our bags in the luggage room, walked around (finding the Manneken Pis statue which was small and located in a discreet street corner, which is odd since it is the national symbol of Belgium), and ate Belgian waffles at a restaurant located on one of the main squares. We also sampled some free chocolates at a store called Chocopolis, located in the same square. After eating, Pepe decided to go back to the hostel until check-in time but I decided to walk around the city, seeing the Royal Palace, European Union building, and Grand Place. The Grand Place is the main square of the city, and it happened to be the last day that a very large flower carpet was on display in the center of the square… a pleasant sight. I headed back to the hostel, checked in, slept, and walked to Grand Place to meet an Italian girl and her boyfriend who offered to show us around the city (she had been working in Brussels for the last couple years). We went to a bar and I tasted one of the famous beers made by local monks, which I highly enjoyed. Then we headed to a party that her friend was having, where I met a few people from all over the world. I forget how many of them were French or Spanish, but we were greeted by kisses on the cheek (as I was by a few girls when I was in Paris), but I was even greeted the same way by one of the French/Spanish guys. I had read about how even men may greet with kisses on the cheek in southern cultures, but it is a definite culture shock to actually experience it! I spent most my time at the party talking to a girl from South Africa, and we had a nice conversation about politics, global warming, etc. The next day Pepe and I woke up and went to the train station as soon as we could to catch one of the earlier trains to Amsterdam.

Overall I thought Brussels was a small city in which all the major sites could be explored in half a day. Although the important parts of the city are well-kept, I saw lots of graffiti, even on the pedestals of bronze statues in a couple parks right next to the EU building. I savored the chocolate, waffles, and beer that Brussels specializes in (and there are MANY chocolate shops!). Belgians certainly know and love their beer, and I saw many of them drinking it for breakfast. My next stop is Amsterdam!

Manneken Pisseur

Belgian waffle (with ice cream)

Chocopolis (Belgian chocolate store)

European Union Building

Grand Place


Beer brewed by monks in an abbey!

J'aime Paris!

We arrived in Paris around 5 pm and were greeted at the gate by our French friend Trinh (who studied at Cal Poly last year). While walking to her car we were pleased to hear music playing in the parking garage (something which would be nice to have in America). Pepe was surprised with how low the ceiling was and how small the cars were. We drove to the Sacre Couer Cathedral and took pictures. This was also the location of one of the scenes from the movie Amelie (where she used arrows to lead the guy she liked up the steps). Then we had a 3 course meal at an Italian restaurant called Fuxia. I had Scaloppine Boscaiola (bull meat with pasta), along with a cheese-pastry dessert and a bottle of Sicilian wine which I shared with Pepe. Then we headed to Trinh’s sister’s house where we would stay for the next two nights.

The next morning we took a metro/train to the center of Paris, ate at a café and went on a hop-on, hop-off boat tour of Paris which runs up and down the Seine and stops at all the major sites along the river. We got off at the Eiffel Tower stop and paid to go all the way up to the top. It was much higher than I expected and it offered an amazing view of all of Paris, so it was definitely worth the extra money to go all the way up to the top. It was a nice moment for me because I have been very familiar with all the famous sites in Paris since I took French in high school, and I was finally able to see them all at once before my eyes. The Eiffel tower itself is a marvelous structure (although many Parisians initially wanted the tower to be demolished), and I felt that it definitely lived up to its fame as the French national symbol, especially at night when it is illuminated by blue lights and sparkles with many small lights for 10 minutes at the top of every hour. As a future structural engineer, it was also nice for me because the tower is essentially just a structural body, and yet it is still very beautiful. It is also noteworthy because it has very little wind resistance since the wind can pass right through it, allowing it to be taller with less sway. That night we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant with Trinh, her sister and her sister’s husband.

For a farewell-lunch the next day, Trinh’s sister made us an authentic French meal of potatoes, meat (mainly ham but also some beef), lettuce, and different kinds of cheese which are placed in a small frying pan which is put on a central heating dish, then once the cheese is melted a wooden stick is used to scrape the cheese onto the ham and potatoes. It was a delicious meal and reminded me of Fondue. We said farewell to Trinh and her sister then headed to the Latin quarter of Paris (located south of Notre Dame), where we checked into our hostel (Young & Happy Hostel). After walking around different shops to put together a dinner for myself (wine, grapes, baguette, cheese, and meat), we walked to the Pantheon then headed down Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, and walked down to the Eiffel Tower for a second time to see it during its night-time splendor while eating a crepe. Paris is definitely best seen at night and would be a great place to visit with someone you love.

The next morning we visited Versailles. The line to get into the palace itself was long but I thought it was worth seeing the many ornate rooms, paintings, and the famous Hall of Mirrors. Louis XIV was an unpopular monarch but he sure knew how to show off and live lavishly. The gardens were even more impressive to me due to their vast size and upkeep, as well as the tremendous amount of statues lining the walkways. I also studied Versailles in my architectural history class, where I learned that forests were then seen as dark places filled with evil and danger, and by bringing forests under control by turning them into orderly gardens, it was believed that this would lead to a place that was much more safe, benign, and Christian-like. Since Louis XIV was a very religious man and thought he was divine himself, it’s no wonder he has such a large garden and has a chapel and many godly murals and statues. In fact the largest mural ceiling in all of Europe (maybe even the world) is in his palace, depicting Hercules ascending into heaven. That night we had an authentic French dinner at a restaurant called Au Piano Muet, located down the street from our hostel. For my entrée I had a cheese tart and salad, and for the main course I had beef bourguignon, followed by the best crème bulle that I’ve ever had for dessert! To top it off we had Medoc wine from Bordeaux and cleansed our pallets with the endless basket of bread complimentary in every French restaurant. That night we met a Canadian girl and went out to a couple pubs with her. On our way over to the pubs we noticed many people with candles heading towards Notre Dame so we followed them into the cathedral where we saw part of a religious/worship projected video by candlelight… quite an unforgettable experience.

The next day I headed to Notre Dame to see it and its famous rose window during the daylight. I studied Notre Dame and cathedrals in my class… in cathedrals the tympanum (relief above the doorway) usually depicts Judgement Day and people going to heaven or hell depending on whether or not they have faith in God. This and other sculpture work on cathedrals were used to tell the stories of the Bible to illiterate peasants in order to convert them into Christians. The Notre Dame in Paris is Gothic cathedral (more developed than the earlier Romanesque), so it was able to have larger windows (like the famous rose windows), and stylistically had more decorations like reliefs and sculptures (such as gargoyles!).

I then headed off to the Louvre and tried looking for the Lions gate entry which very few people know about (so I would have been able to enter the museum without much of a wait), but found only an exit there instead. Once I entered the museum through the main/pyramid entrance I entered the Sully section where most of the ancient and classical work is. I rented an audio-guide and took my time enjoying the Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sections. My favorite pieces were the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory statues (mainly due to their prestige), although I highly enjoyed all the Greek and Roman sculpture. The Venus de Milo was discovered by a farmer on his plantation and is famous for its S-shaped curve of the body, being armless, and having high detail in the waves of the dress. The Winged Victory statue is simply awesome: a winged goddess/angel (missing her head and arms) is landing on the bow of a ship, with the wind ripples apparent in her dress… although made of marble it looks incredibly light as if it were about to take off and fly. I then rushed to the Mona Lisa which was crowded as I expected. I think it is overrated because it is small and just a portrait, but it’s amazing how her eyes really do seem to follow you as you walk through the room. I then ate a quick dinner and realized that the Louvre would be closing early since it was a holiday (it usually stays open late on Fridays), so I had to leave earlier than I would have liked but I’m sure that I will be back. I then went back to my hostel, ate a sandwich-like crepe and headed back to the Louvre that night to meet up with some American girls who Pepe had met and we went to some pubs with them. We made plans for all of us to see Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial, so we got up early the next morning and headed there by train and bus.

It was powerful to see the thousands of American gravestones, and made me appreciate the sacrifices that American soldiers have made. I walked down to the beach and soaked up the site, envisioning the battle that had taken place only a little more than 60 years ago (strange because it was relatively recent and yet now is a quiet cemetery with many peaceful visitors). I collected some sand from the beach as a souvenir… I might start a sand collection as some travelers do. We missed the first bus back to the train station so we got back to Paris too late to make it to Brussels so we had to cancel our first night’s reservation at our hostel and instead slept on a train docked at the Paris du Nord station. I was sleeping on an uncomfortable bench initially but then the police came, checked everyone’s tickets, and made everyone who had a ticket sleep on the train or else be kicked out of the station since they were closing it for the night. I actually slept decently on the train on a row of seats and used my bag as a pillow. We then took the earliest train (at 6:55 AM) to Brussels.

I highly enjoyed my time in France. Ireland seemed too similar to America in its food, language and culture and only had a few amazing sights, although seeing the Guinness factory was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the Irish jig music and pub scenes. I liked London more than Ireland because it was slightly less similar to America, had much more history and amazing sites to see, plus it was more advanced with the transportation systems (although the Tube can initially be very confusing). France was much more pleasant for me since I was speaking a language other than English rather successfully. Also, the city is extremely beautiful (especially at night), and I was able to experience an authentic French lifestyle while staying at Trinh’s sister’s house. Although the French have a reputation for being cold/mean, once you “break the ice” with them and speak a little French they are just as warm as anyone else. In fact, the French kiss-on-each-cheek greeting is more amiable than the typical hand shake that most Americans use. At the same time that I see many European ways that would benefit America, being in Europe has made me realize and appreciate American hospitality and wealth. For instance, I miss not having to pay for water at restaurants, and although I like paying exactly what the price says in Europe (service charge included instead of a supplemental tax, and tips usually not necessary) the waiters who know that they aren’t going to be tipped for their service or hospitality can be cold and just throw your silverware on the table instead of set it nicely in place, plus they rarely check on you to see if you need anything. I suppose that I am realizing that I have been spoiled by the luxuries of living in the United States. Another example is poor plumbing which has lead to showers and toilets with low water pressure in some places I have stayed (Dublin in particular). The one major benefit of living life like a European is slowing down and learning how to enjoy life. I’ve realized that the American lifestyle is extremely fast paced and I am appreciating the new aspect of the café culture of sitting down outside and slowly enjoying a drink. Europeans also seem to have more free time and holidays, and I wish that America had a gap-year between high school and college like many Europeans so that almost all students could experience what I am experiencing. I have met many Europeans my age so far and most of them seem very well informed about world issues, whereas many Americans my age know very little probably since we are physically isolated from the rest of the western world. Another amazing experience is the number of Middle Eastern women I’ve seen with veils over their entire bodies and faces… something that I would almost never expect to see in America. Maybe more Americans would be more understanding of Middle-Eastern ways and culture if we had to live with more of them. Anyway, I feel a very subtle change happening in my world-wide perspectives as I experience slight differences from my own culture and compare and contrast them. I know that I will definitely come back to Paris some day, but as for now I will continue to explore the rest of Europe and especially Italy in about a week =).

Le Tour d'Eiffel

Home-made French meal (with melted cheese)

Versailles


Louvre


Venus de Milo (inside Louvre)


Winged Victory (inside Louvre)


Omaha Beach (site of D-Day in Normandy)

London

While in London we stayed at a place called the Wigram House in Westminster, and it was wonderful. It was a college dorm that was cheaper than almost any place we've stayed at so far, and also the most hospitable, plus we had our own separate dorm rooms. Pepe go a little sick from traveling so much and not getting much sleep, so while sleeping off his illness I saw Buckingham Palace, Picadelly Square, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and Big Ben and Parliament. Then I caught a train to the Tower of London to get my bearings for the next morning. The next morning Pepe was feeling much better so we woke up early and caught a tube ride over to the Tower of London. It wouldn't open until 10 am so we walked on Tower Bridge for a bit and then went into the Tower of London. We made reservations for it ahead of time so we avoided the lines and probably saved some money, which was nice. We saw the Bloody Tower (where the two princes were supposedly murdered), Traitors' Gate, the Crown Jewels, and went on a Beef-eater tour. One of the towers had writing etched on the walls from the many prisoners held captive there, including the King of Scotland during the time of William Wallace. We then went to the British Museum and saw a lot of artifacts and sculptures. My favorite part of all of London was going to this museum, and in particular seeing parts of the pediment and other pieces of the Parthenon (The British have many nice things from all over the world, from the time that they were the world's superpower when they had a very strong navy. In fact, I thought that the Port Authority building was one of the most impressive structures in London. ). Seeing the actual pediment of the Parthenon was amazing for me because it is over 2000 years old and it is pretty much the most important part of the most important piece of architecture in the world (at least in my opinion). If I had more time in London I would have spent the whole day in that museum. We stayed till it closed and walk around a bit for the rest of the night. The next morning (which was this morning) we headed straight to the St. Pancras train station a few hours ahead of time to make sure we wouldn't miss our train to Paris. We took the Eurostar train which travels through the English Channel, which was a fun experience since it is only a couple years old and we traveled under water. And so voila, here we are in Paris. Alright I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight. Tomorrow I will live the life of a Parisian.

Big Ben and the Eye of London


Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Pediment from the Parthenon (now inside the British Museum)!


The Rosetta Stone (broke the code for deciphering hieroglyphics)!

Bath (Roman bath & hot springs)

So to put it simply... Bath was just Amazing! The whole city is laid out in the Palladian-style, which is based on Roman Classical... that means columns and arches everywhere, all made out of the same kind of quarried or mined stone (travertine maybe?). The place looks very reminiscent of an Ancient Roman city because the Romans built a city here with a Bath complex (hence the name of the city: Bath), and the city has followed suit of the Romans and built with the same stone and a similar style for virtually all of their buildings. After arriving we checked into our hostel (YMCA) and ate at a pub where I had my best meal for the whole time I was in England: beef in madras curry sauce with saffron rice. Then we went on the city bus tour and saw all the amazing sites. There is a beautiful bridge (Pulteney Bridge) over a river which drops down several steps after passing the river... a beautiful site. Also, we saw The Royal Crescent and The Circus, both of which I learned about in my history of architecture class. They are magnificent Palladian-style buildings that John-Wood the Elder and his son built (they were responsible for bringing the Palladian style to Bath). The icing on the cake for my trip to Bath had to be my visit to the Roman Bath of Aqua Sulius museum. When the Romans conquered Britain, they discovered a natural hot springs and built a bathing complex and temple to the goddess of water (Sulius) over the springs (because to the Romans she was obviously the reason why this miracle of hot water coming out of the Earth existed), hence Aqua Sulius. The dominant feature of a pediment on one of the temple facades is the symbol of the city: the Head of Gorgon (a Celtic sun god). The museum was filled with Roman history and artifacts found in Bath, so naturally I stayed till closing. I also tasted the water from the spring after it went through the pump room, which was interesting. By the way, the Roman drain for the hot spring is still in function today (even after being buried for over a thousand years), truly a testament to their engineering expertise. That evening Pepe and I arrived in London, where we are now. We leave for France tomorrow. I will write about London later when I have time. Ciao.

Beef in madras curry sauce with saffron rice, washed down with a pint of Butcombe (The best meal I had in England).

Roman Bath of Aqua Sulius (best preserved Roman hot spring bath in the World)!

Head of Gorgon (Celtcic sun god) from pediment of main temple entrance into the bath

Pulteney Bridge

Europe at last!

Pepe and I are in Europe at last! The first flight (to Philadelphia) was filled with many Europeans (Swedes and Germans) and a Japanese man who I sat next to, so it was a fun experience. The airline charged for meals and drinks though so we waited to eat until we landed at the airport and ate a large dinner. The second flight had mainly Irish people, and meals and drinks were complimentary, which was a nice surprise. We landed at the Dublin airport a little after 9 AM (Irish time) and were surprised again with rainy weather (Dublin’s weather actually reminds me a lot of Seattle: very rainy and green grass, even in the summer!). Pepe was surprised with how small the airport was (his first dose of culture shock). We caught a bus to the city center and eventually got to our hotel which was only a couple of blocks away. We took a nap since we didn’t get much sleep on the flight and were suffering a bit from jet lag. When we woke up around 5pm Irish time (8 hours ahead of Pacific Time) we headed towards the main tourist spot: Trinity College. I really enjoyed it since the whole place is built from stone and has classical designs. The main things that I love about Europe so far are all the stone buildings and cobblestone streets. We then walked down one of the main shopping streets (Grafton St), bought sandwiches and ate dinner at St Stephen’s Green (the largest and nicest park in Dublin). After posing and taking pictures in front of some monuments at the park (such as the triumphal arch) we went back to Trinity College to meet up for a pub crawl. There were mainly Americans in our group but I spent much of my time meeting people from different countries such as New Zealand, England and Spain. Since Guinness is brewed in Dublin it is the most popular drink (and it tastes the best here at the original Dublin brewery supposedly because of the Irish water that is used and the fact that it is fresh out of the brewery). The correct way to drink a Guinness Draught is to fill most of the glass, let it settle, and then top the rest of it off so you have a nice thin layer of creamy head (due to the infused nitrogen)… Brilliant!

The next morning I went on the Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour which was great to see all the main sites of the city and learn some history. One of the main things Dublin is known for is its Georgian Style architecture (brick buildings from the 1800s with classical decorations and world-famous fancy single doors with a semicircular space on top. Something interesting I learned: after one of the British queens died the Brits told the Irish to paint all of the front doors on their Georgian-Style buildings black to show morning, so in defiance they painted it every color but black (A hint of the Irish-British rivalry)! I also saw the Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick Cathedral (Both of which were extremely beautiful). I went inside the St. Patrick cathedral and it was nice to observe much of what I learned about cathedrals in my history of architecture class (although the ambulatory was used mainly for museum exhibits to St. Patrick and Jonathan Swift instead of just chapels). St. Patrick is known for converting Pagans into Christians in Ireland (and by doing so he “drove out all the snakes/pagans from Ireland”). He supposedly baptized them in a well that was located outside the Cathedral, which was why the Cathedral was built there. I spent the rest of the day walking around and when night came I headed towards Temple Bar (the main pub district in Dublin, named after its most famous pub). I had a great time here, drinking Guinness and listening to some fine Irish Jig music… absorbing the essence of Irish merrymaking and culture. Outside the bar there were two old men playing the harmonica and ukulele, and dancing Irish Jig (the music wasn’t as good as inside but the site of an 80+ year old man swinging his knees and tapping his feet attracted a large crowd). I ended my night at another bar in the region that I went to the night before, where I met some Italians and worked on improving my Italian-speaking skills.

Yesterday I finished my Dublin experience by visiting the Guinness Storehouse. It is a unique building (Shaped in the form of a glass-pint with the “Gravity Bar” on top providing a commanding panoramic view of Dublin. From what I learned so far it seems that Guinness defines the city of Dublin. It is drunk all over the city and of course it is famous worldwide. The success and wealth of the company keeps Dublin alive (they built St. Stephen’s Green for the city’s enjoyment, and are paying for the extremely expensive restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral’s tower). Arthur Guinness was a very passionate brewer, signing a 9,000 year lease for the Guinness property by the Liffey river (although the actual source of the water used in brewing isn’t from the Liffey but a mountain spring). When Arthur’s supply of the water was challenged by the city, he wielded an axe and was prepared to protect it to his death. (Luckily a peaceful resolution was made in his favor). A funny fact is that an alcoholic rehabilitation center was located right next to the Guinness Brewery, however when the ex-alcoholics were released from the center they would smell the strong scent of Guinness being brewed and the temptation was too much for them to resist: the “best example of a reason for a relocation” as one of my tour guides put it (he also said he drinks Guinness every day “from the womb to the tomb” haha).

After the tour we caught a flight out of Ireland and into Gatwick Airport (south of central London), however the flight was delayed by half an hour. It also turned out that the London Tube route that we planned on taking was closed, so by the time we figured out what we needed to do we missed the last train into Bath. We spent last night at a cheap hotel (instead of the hostel in Bath as we expected), but took an early train this morning into Bath. It is absolutely beautiful, with Ancient Roman-Style architecture everywhere (It is definitely my favorite stop so far... even more than the little bit that I've seen of London). Anyway I am going to explore Bath right now... I will add pictures as soon as I get the time. =) Cheers mate.

Leaving SFO

Guinness Tasting Room... Brilliant!!!

Trinity College


St. Patrick's Cathedral



Irish jig music outside Temple Bar



On O'Connel Street over the Liffey River

You are now free to move about the world!

So it is now just after midnight on Monday morning. My plane will leave at 10:45 A.M. today from SFO. I am all packed up and ready to go so I'm going to get some rest now and wake up to begin my journey. I can't wait! Ciao. =)