HOME!!!

Well after a bus, 3 trains, 2 planes and a car ride I finally made it back home to Reno last night.  It's very good to be home.  Now I need to make plans for working the rest of the summer and figure out what I'm going to do about med school and all, lots of fun I know.  I'm sure at one point this summer I'll make it out to Utah for a visit or two.  Until then though I think this is the end of my blog.  Thanks for reading, I may start another one soon if I feel like I have something interesting to write about.  Till then cya!

The Long Ride Home

Well I've just about reached the end of my time here in Europe.  Today I took the bus and went and saw Wales for a few hours.  The Cardiff Castle was kind of neat and then I walked around the city a bit and also saw the museum.  I got back here to Bristol at about 4 PM and will start making my way to the airport tonight.  I'm flying out of the Gatwick airport at 9:50 AM tomorrow (I flew in to Heathrow) and it turns out the cheapest and easiest way to get there is by taking the train.  Only problem is that the cheap train leaves at 8:40 tonight and gets me to Gatwick at about 1 AM so I'll get to hang out all night in the airport before spending the whole next day on a plane, oh well.  I'm flying first to Philadelphia where I will have a 2.5 hour layover before catching my final flight to San Fransisco.  I'm meeting my Dad there and we're going to see the Giants play the Atlanta Braves.  After spending the day Thursday cruising around in the Bay Area we'll head back to Reno Thursday night.  All in all this has been a really fun trip and I'm glad that I did it.  Hopefully next time I come to Europe there will be someone that can come with me.  Here's some pictures:

Cardiff Castle Keep

Entrance to Cardiff Castle
The SS Great Britain, I took a tour this is the first Steam Powered ship that crossed the Atlantic, it made the world smaller and they have a jet engine from the Concode aircraft in the museum too which also made the world smaller.

A crooked church tower in Bristol

Pictures!!

Here are some pictures in no particular order form Rome, enjoy!

The Metro in Rome has some very long escalators.

The Roman skyline from the Victor Emmanuel Monument, you can see St. Peter's in the background (far dome on the right).

Looking up the hole of the Pantheon.

In front of the Four River fountain, a place featured in Angels & Demons (where one of the Cardinals is killed).

Looking over some of the Ancient ruins after my Palatine Hill tour.

The Colosseum, this was the first place I visited when I got to Rome.  To see more pictures you can always go to my Picasa page.

Jetlagged...

Sorry for the lack of posting while in Rome.  I did keep myself pretty busy there so didn't spend a lot of time on the Internet.  I have to say that Rome is probably the city I have enjoyed most while out here in Europe.  On Friday I started off by getting a tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.  The Vatican really is one busy place.  If you don't book a tour then you end up having to wait in very long lines to get in and see the museum.  The tour seemed a little brief considering there are about 11,000 rooms in the Vatican Museum but our guide really wanted to just show us the important things and a lot of time was spent fighting with crowds.  Apparently the crowds were nothing compared to summer crowds so make a note of that if you ever plan on visiting the Vatican.  The main attractions at the Vatican Museum are the Raphael rooms, some Roman and Greek sculptures, some tapestries including one of the Last Supper, and of course the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  One thing interesting about the Last Supper tapestry is that this is probably a better depiction of the da Vinci painting than the painting itself due to the years of poor maintenance on it.  Apparently the original painting does has been ravaged by age so badly that you can't even make out anything under the table.  The tapestry on the other hand was made using "cartoons" or sketches of small pieces of the painting which the sewers based their work on so it looks like what the original did back when it was brand new.  There are countless other things in the Vatican Museum I could talk about but really I suggest you just check it out yourself someday.  At the end of the museum you are spit out into the Sistine Chapel which is fairly amazing.  It's not quite as big as I imagined though.  From the Sistine Chapel whose ceiling focuses on the Old Testament I went over to St. Peter's Basilica which focuses on the New Testament.  St. Peter's is HUGE!  I'd imagine you could fit several Sistine Chapels inside its walls.  Unfortunately I didn't get to climb the dome because of the long line but it was impressive nonetheless.  I highly suggest taking at least a few walking tours in Rome, I think I learned a lot from my guide at the Vatican as well as at the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.

After leaving the Vatican I spent the rest of my day wandering around Rome.  I saw the Castle d'Angelo where the Pope used to hide out when Rome/Vatican City was under attack.  I also went by the Pantheon but couldn't go in because they just had a mass and weren't opening it to the public yet.  That night i was able to see Angels & Demons at a theater near my hostel.  It was really cool to see that since it all takes place in Rome and I recognized many of the sites as places I had been that day.  The movie itself was OK but I think I did like the book better.  For some reason they changed a few things in the movie that I thought they really should have left in to make it more exciting.  When Saturday came around I slept in and stayed in bed for as long as I could.  I had been feeling a bit of a sore throat coming on Thursday and things got a bit worse Saturday.  Mostly it's just been a sore throat and headache and it's gotten a lot better now.  When I finally did get going I went and saw the Pantheon from the inside this time and a few other sites that I hadn't gotten to yet and then made my way to the airport to catch my flight back to Milan.  I decided to not spend the night in the airport this time and made my way to the hostel but when I got there they had cancelled my booking because I hadn't shown up at my check-in time (I was 52 minutes late).  I was really annoyed that they would do this.  How are travellers supposed to know exactly when they will arrive at a hostel in an unfamiliar city anyways.  Fortunately or unfortunately they were able to get me a spot at another hostel in town.  First off the directions they gave me to this hostel were not as obvious as the lady made them sound and if it hadn't been for a couple of Hungarian girls who noticed that I looked lost and happened to be staying at the same hostel I might not have found it.  That night at the hostel was probably the worst night of this trip.  My headache was getting bad again and I was feeling a little more sick than before and the hostel was very noisy so I couldn't get right to sleep.  The bunk I had was one of those cheap metal ones that squeaks every time you move.  It was also incredibly hot all night in there to the point that at 4:15 I got up and wandered around a bit because I just couldn't stand lying in bed sweating anymore.  I took a shower to cool off and then tried going back to sleep and was able to get in a few hours.  I spent the rest of the morning in Milan just walking around.  I'm glad that I didn't have more time there.  I really couldn't find much interesting in that city.  I know that I could have seen the actual Last Supper painting but I had heard that generally you need reservations month es in advance for that.  Finally I made I went back to the airport and made it back here to Bristol.  I think at one point Italy was really starting to wear on me or maybe it is just this trip in general but I think I'm ready to come home now.  The plan is to leave Wednesday morning so I'll be spending all day Wednesday flying and then make it to SF that night to see the Giants game with Dad.  Don't get me wrong though I have loved the trip but I think a month is about my limit for time traveling on the road.  Oh I'll post some pictures too it's just gonna take me some time to upload them and get it all together.

When in Rome

Well I made it to Italy!  It was quite the adventure.  My plane first came into Milan last night and I was going to spend the night at a hostel there but when I got in I figured out that it would take an hour to get to the hostel and cost about 20 Euro's so I decided to just hang out at the airport since I would be coing right back there in the morning anyways.  I wasn't the only one that had that plan.  I think my flight was one of the last to come in that night but there were tons of people camping out with sleeping bags and everything for the night.  At about 3:30 AM the security gaurds made us all move to another part of the airport but otherwise it wasn't too bad.  I've had this problem with being cold in England at night, not a problem here in Italy.  It's been around 80 during the day and mid 70's at night, I think.  Anyways I got in to Rome today and found my hostel here and dropped off my bag then spent the rest of teh day touring around.  I first went to the Roman history museum which had lots of marbel Roman sculptures and a few bronze as well.  There was also some ancient Roman art there too.  The real impressive thing about all of the stuff there is that most of it is nearly 2,000 years old!  After the museum I headed over to the Colliseum or "Colloseo".  and just before going in got sucked in to a tour group which actually turned out to be pretty good.  I'm debating going on a tour tomorrow for the Vatican, it's expensive but I think it may be worth it.  Oh one thing I've noticed about Rome is that there is a lot of graffiti here.  The metro especially is just covered with it.  I'll try to get a picture while i'm here.  I learned a lot about the Colliseum from the tour, I'd reccomend it if you ever come here.  After the Colliseum I walked through the Palatine Hill with a guide there as well.  I got lots of pictures but I think I'll hold off posting them as my laptop battery has to last this whole Roman trip.  Next I headed back towards the Colliseum to get some dinner.  It's kind of fun ordering off an Italian menu with little to no English and having Italian waiters.  While eating we had an accordian player serenade us, very good Italian atmosphere.  After dinner I just headed home and am now here at my hostel.  Sleeping in a hostel is a different experience.  I'm in a room with 9 other people this time and as before it's a coed dorm.  It seems safe and clean though which is all that matters to me.  Well I think that's it for tonight.  I'm going to try to make the Vatican tomorrrow and I'll let you know all about it.  Goodnight!

Touring London

Wednesday May 20, 2009 2:47 PM GMT

Well as many of you know I went out to London on Monday and Tuesday of this week. I caught the bus early in the morning on Monday but there was a road closure so it ended up taking an extra hour to get from Bristol to London. Once I made it to London I found a place to get the classic London Fish & Chips. The place was called the Shakespeare and it was a little bit expensive and not all that impressive. Oh well, I guess there's only so much you can do with fish and chips. After lunch I started walking around. It's tough to remember exactly what order I did everything in now but I went by Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey and Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, the Tate Modern, London Eye, my hostel, and back to Victoria Station to catch Wicker. I wanted to go into Westminster Abbey but they were charging £15 so I figured maybe another time. I did go into the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square. I enjoyed the national Gallery much more. I don't think I've ever been a big art history fan before but this trip has definitely made me appreciate it more after seeing it in the Smithsonian, Met, and here. I think my favorites are the religious pieces. Maybe it's the fact that I'm tired of seeing the exact same set of Mormon religious art everywhere in Utah. I think someday I'd like to have a lot of non-Mormon religious art in my home. That Tate Modern is a museum of modern art and is pretty interesting but not worth paying to get into (thankfully it is free). I think the most interesting thing about it is the building itself. It's a giant warehouse and when you walk in it's like walking into a big hanger or something. Most of their space is empty. I didn't care much for most of the pieces in the museum. Some of it is really just out there. They had some ticketed exhibits I didn't see and maybe those are better but I don't know. From the Tate I walked down the river Thames (pronounced"Tims" by the British) to the London Eye. This thing is huge. I didn't ride it as it was expensive and I didn't want to really take the time but it would be fun some other time when I come back here (yes I do plan on coming back). After checking in at my hostel near there and grabbing something to eat at a not so good Chinese buffet I headed over towards Victoria Station to check out the theatre's I'd seen earlier. Turns out you can get a last minute nosebleed ticket to Wicked for just £15 so I did that. I really did enjoy the show. It wasn't exactly what I expected though. I'm not sure that it was the music that I enjoyed so much either. I think I just like the story and the conflicted characters in it. It was interesting too to see the differences between the musical and the book.

Tuesday morning I got up early and headed to Victoria Station again to catch my tour bus to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. One note though about the hostel I stayed in. It was nice and clean and cheap and everything but I was sleeping in a dorm with about 12 other people and I swear about 10 of them decided to come in or leave between 3 and 3:30 AM. It was a little tough for me to sleep after that but I think I did OK. The tour itself was pretty good. I wish that I could have spent the whole day at Windsor Castle though. Stonehenge is OK but I think you can get the gist of it by seeing it from the road. In fact I wouldn't pay the fee to go in if you are planning on going out that way. You can park and see it through a chain link fence. All you miss out on is a boring audio guide and some different perspectives. Next it was on to Bath which is a nice little town that is actually pretty close to Bristol. The main attraction here is the Roman Bath's built over a natural hot spring. You can try the water which is supposed to be very healthy for you but be warned, it's awful. After touring the Bath and the small museum they have there I walked around in the town for a bit and then caught a train back to Bristol instead of riding the bus back to London and then another back to Bristol. It was a really good tour though and our guide was pretty knowledgeable.

Well by the time most of you in the States read this I will either be on a plane or already in Italy. I'm flying out to Milan tonight and then Rome in the morning. Most of my time in Italy will be spent there. I'm very excited for it. I'm going to try to make some blog posts while there depending on how well my laptop battery holds out. Here's a few pictures from the past two days.

Looking up at the London Eye, really it is huge!

My view at Wicked, 2nd to last row all the way to the side.

The "Long Walk" or teh Queen's way to Windsor Castle

Back from Spain!

Saturday May 16, 2009 10:42 PM GMT

Well I made it to Spain and back and all without getting pick-pocketed.  We had a good time in Spain.  My flight went into Girona which is a small city about an hour and twenty minute train ride from Barcelona.  We spent the first day there in Girona and saw the "Temps de la Flora" which was a big flower art festival thing.  They had displays all over the city of flowers and arrangements and some really unique stuff.  It was fun just walking around in the old town seeing all of that.  We walked through a bunch of narrow alleys that wound around with little shows and alcoves here and there.

We spent our second day in Barcelona itself.  I think we hit all the big sites there.  We first walked down the "Ramblas" which is just a big tourist trap type of street.  There are lots of shops and street performers and all kinds of things going on there.  Apparently this is the place for the pickpockets too.  They love to pick on the gawking crowds.  The Ramblas goes all the way down to the harbor where there is a Columbus monument.  From there we hiked up this hill to Monjuic Castle.  This was built as a military base fairly recently to keep Barcelona under control.  It gives a good view of the city all around.  From there we walked down through the Olympic area and finally to the metro where we caught a train out to see the football (soccer) stadium.  They wanted 17 Euros to go in and tour the stadium so we skipped that and rode the train over to the Sangrid Familia which is this really ornate unfinished church.  They've been working on it for the past 80 years or so off and on and the guy that designed it is actually dead now.  The amazing thing is that it's supposed to take another 50 years to complete!  We snapped some pictures and then made our way over to the Cathedral and then back to the place we were staying in Girona.  This morning we got up about 8 and caught our flight back to Bristol and made it back sage and sound.  The weather was real nice over in Spain and coming back to Bristol was kind of a jolt back to cold weather.  Even the pilot made some comment about not being sure why we wanted to leave Girona for Bristol.  All in all it was a good trip.  Oh one funny thing was that I kind of got a lot of trouble from the customs agent coming into Bristol.  He asked me all about why I was here, what I was doing, my degree, who I was staying with, what do they do, how much money do I have, do I have a ticket back, etc.  For a minute I was afraid they weren't going to let me back in.  Anyways I'm safe and sound back here in Bristol and ready for bed.  Here are a few pictures.  You can see the rest in my Picasa album with the link from my last post.  Enjoy!

Girona from the river with a flower thing

The Girona Cathedral with some flower artwork on the stairs.  Notice the scaffolding?  I think every church we saw in Spain had scaffolding on it or in it somewhere.

In the Olympic Stadium

The famous Sangrid Familia, someday they'll finish