ROME!

I have no idea why I haven't been updating my blog... I have a computer at the hostel and everything!

My first day here was pretty jam packed with site seeing.  I asked the front desk at the hostel where I should go and he drew me a loop with about 10 sites and said I could do them all in one day - which was almost accurate... I couldn't quite do them all :)

The first thing I saw was the Santa Maria Maggiore.  It is a beautiful church that is right down the street from our hostel.  It was pretty impressive during the day, but it is gorgeous at night!  In the evening it has this sort of surreal aura to it.  It's almost eerie... I know, it is weird to describe a church like that, but it is really different :)

Anyways, my next stop was to the Piazza della Repubblica.  The plaza had a very old brick church (if I remember correctly) that was dedicated to the great scientists of our times - namely, Galileo Galilee.  I found it quite interesting to have a church dedicated to science, but then I realized that they were simply trying to say that through science we can discover the beauty that God has created for us.  There was a very neat stain glass dome with pictures of stars.  I will put in a photo later, but I don't know if you will be able to see the details.  One other cool thing that I liked about this particular church was a video that they had playing in a back room.  It was an experiment that a man conducted on the moon that proved Galileo's theory that if you dropped a hammer and a feather at the same time on the moon that they would hit the ground at the same time, as the moon has no atmosphere.  Anyways, watching a hammer and a feather drop and hit at the same time was pretty cool!

My next stop was at the Trinita del Monti, which I didn't know where the Spanish steps until this morning - three days later :)  Anyways, they were pretty cool, but I hear that if you go at night time, they are packed with people.

Later, I went to the Piazza del Popolo, but I don't really remember what was there... I guess when I update the blog with photos later, I will be able to fill you in on it a little more!

Next, I made my way to the Pantheon!  Apparently it was dedicated to all of the gods of Ancient Rome and actually means "all gods" in Greek.  It has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world - which is pretty impressive considering that it was built over 2,000 years ago!  Another interesting fact is that the famous artist Raphael is buried there because it used to function as a tomb as well.

My next stop was the Fonta di Trevi or Trevi Fountain.  It was the most impressive fountain that I have ever seen.  I believe that it is made almost completely out of marble or some other stone.  The carved figures are all Roman of course and they are huge!  The water falls surround them... truly incredible.  I can't wait to show pictures of this one!  On last fact is that supposedly 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain DAILY!  The proceeds are used to help the needy.  Also, it is said that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you are sure to return to Rome in the future.  I guess I am going to see Rome again sometime!

My final stop before seeing the Roman Coliseum was the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II.  An incredibly huge monument that I can only describe with photos.  This too is incredibly beautiful at night.  It seems as if all of Rome is lit up at night.

My final stop was the Roman Coliseum, which I will visit the inside of today.  Let's just say that at night, this site is epic!  I found myself imagining what it would have been like in the past - gladiators, chariots, lions, horses, fighting, and thousands of people.  I am really excited to tour the inside today!

So that was day one, I will have to update you about the Vatican Museum later tonight!  I hope everyone is doing well!  I haven't heard from you all in a few days!!! Must not miss me that much ;) haha

The Vatican Day I

Today I am visiting Vatican City! But I won't be seeing all of it because I found out that, since tomorrow is the last Sunday of the month, I can go for free!

So now I am going to St. Peter's Basilica and then probably to the inside of the Coliseum :)

Rome has been great so far! I am staying at the Chianti Hostel. It has a very friendly staff and the people are all social and fun! I'll update you all later on what I've been up to more detail (I'm about to go through security at the Basilica!!!

Mini Bike Racetrack

The streets of Rome are filled with Vespas and motorcycles today! They are zigzagging all over the place :). I even met some Irish people who wouldn't walk on a particular street because it scared them so much...

More A Coruña

The natural life in A Coruña was beautiful, but there were several man-made phenomena as well ;)

Fat Man Sitting in front of Torre de Herucles

Fat Man Standing in front of Ocean

Silver Surfers

FreeBird!

A Coruña - Beautiful Coastline and Plenty of Walking (Post from September or Early October)

A Coruña was another beautiful coastal city, but it was very big (unlike Finisterre).  I believe that I arrived on a Sunday, so most of the tourist sites were closed.  So, in order to prepare for the next day, I walked to all of the tourist sites and prioritized them.

A Coruña is unique because it has a huge maritime walkway which circles most of the city.  One could rent a bike or simply stroll along the coast for miles - absolutely beautiful.  Anyways, the picture below was taken just outside of my hostel.  It was the first thing I saw when I arrived at the maritime walkway.

My walk continued and I soon saw the many boats of the bay.  I soon realized how much I actually like boats.  They ranged from Coast Guard boats to Sailboats, but they all were unique and interesting to me.

I think that the sailboat above with the sun is enough to convince anyone to want to learn how to sail!

I forgot to mention that the maritime path leads to all of the main tourist sites.  The first site I came upon was the Torre de Herucles (Hercule's Tower).

The above picture is the tower with a statue of Hercules...

Backside of the Tower with the beautiful blue sky that was out that day...

View from the Tower

And... For Mom and Dad, a picture of me near the tower's wall...

There really isn't much to say about the city in general.  For me it was the nature and the ocean that captivated my attention.  I don't think that words can describe what I saw, so instead of trying to talk about the many miles I walked around the coast, I will just show you through photos.  The following (probably several) photos are what I think captures the beauty of A Coruña.

Torre de Herucles...

Part of the City

Kind of looks like Big Sur or Carmel...

 

Even though the wind is blowing up my shirt - making me look fat - I put this one in for the parents :)

One of the last things that I did in A Coruña was go to the aquarium. It was very cool, although not as good as Monterey's. They had a whole exhibit was themed like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which was pretty fun. Anyways, the only pictures that I have from the aquarium are from my little friend below:

Another Day at Another Park in Barcelona

Today I went to Park Güell, an incredible park that was designed by Gaudi.  Gaudi has many of his architectural works displayed around Barcelona.  I would say that he is the best designer/architect that I have ever seen.  His ability to combine nature both within his stone work and within their surroundings is phenomonal.  I cannot wait to show you guys photos of what I was seeing.

I think that I spent about two hours in the park walking around and observing the scenery.  It was really really neat.  Anyways, I have one more full day left in Barcelona.  I am excited to get back to Madrid to get working on a project (I know, I know... I actually do have school) 

Anyways, the project should take a few days and then I am not sure where I am going next.  I miss everyone!!!

A Relaxing Sunday in Barcelona

Today was very laid back. I slept in until noon and decided to go for a long-needed jog. I ended up in a popular park where I found a zoo. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see it. It turned out to be a fantastic zoo with a very wide variety of animals (some of my favorite being - cheetahs, tigers, meerkats, dolphins, and various primates). In fact, it was quite amazing to see how gorillas interact! Their intelligence, like the other primates, was very easy to see. I was fascinated by them and read a great deal about them. There was even an exhibit which showed a painting done by a primate. Let's just say that it was far better than I could ever do.

I spent a few hours there and returned to the hostel to catch up on some reading. That's when I remembered that I don't think I ever mentioned jumping into the Mediterranean! If I did, it's worth mentioning again :). I jumped in the Mediterranean! So now I've been in the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Mediterranean...

Barcelona

Barcelona has been a lot of fun so far.  In fact, I think I might like it better than Madrid.  I haven't done much though because I know that I have time to see the city.  But so far, I've walked Las Ramblas, swam in the Mediterranean, and been to the Picasso Museum.

Today I am going to be more productive.  I am going to see a very famous cathedral and spend a few hours in a park.

Oh yea... and my friend got his pocket cut open at the club and his wallet was stolen!  So crazy!!!  I am going to be extra careful when going out.

Barcelona!

I just arrived in Barcelona... after a rough nights sleep on a train next to a crazy guy :)

Finisterre

Wow! I never was able to write about Finisterre (or A Coruña)... My first trip outside of Madrid.  Ok, so to refresh your memory... I had just finished seeing the dunes and driving through the crazy windy roads before Finisterre.  I arrived at my nice hotel and set my alarm for before sunrise - the main goal being to be at Finisterre (the end of the world as the Roman's called it) for sunrise.

Thank God for my dad because he called me and woke me up before sunrise.  Apparently I slept through my alarm.  I ran to the car and drove to Finisterre, about a 15 minute drive.  It was literally a race against the sun, but I beat it.  The above picture is the first thing I saw... beautiful purple and pink colors over a dark sea.

Because I was in such a rush, I forgot my camera.  So, all of the pictures that you will see during this post were taken from on my Blackberry Tour.

The scenery was beautiful and as the sun rose, things just kept getting more and more brilliant.  I approached the lighthouse and was eager to gaze out into the endless ocean - to experience what the Roman's did so long ago.

However, when I reached the end, I was a bit disappointed.  I didn't get the feeling that it was the end of the world.  I saw land to my left and to my right.  I didn't feel like I was at the furthest tip of the earth.  I was determined to get the full experience, I just didn't know how.  Then, I saw some fishermen.  They were climbing down the rocky face of the cliff and that's when I realized that I had to follow them.  Surely I was going to get the experience I so eagerly desired from wherever they were headed.  I followed them down and snapped some pictures on the way down.  The shoe that you see is made of a hard metal and is placed there as a monument to the hikers of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.  There were several burned pairs of shoes surrounding the monument - a sort of ritual for those who had hiked so long.

Note the steep area I climbed down...

Anyways, I continued along my journey and was slowly beginning to see why they called it Finisterre.  All of the surrounding earth began to disappear the closer I got to the sea.  I lost the fisherman for a little while, but then saw them off in the distance.

I don't know if you can see them, but the fisherman were waaaay below me when I spotted them again.  I kept on climbing down the mountain, completely forgetting about the fishermen.  My eyes were drawn to the edge of the rocks were the sea met the earth.  I knew it was a bit slippery and maybe a bit dangerous, but I knew if I was careful I'd be alright.  I headed for the edge only to find more fisherman!  Jackpot... they verified that my instincts were dead on.  I was at the best spot in Finisterre.

I decided to sit down and watch them for a while.  I also closed my eyes, took deep breathes, and soaked in all of the beauty.  I didn't want to rush it.  I guess I was probably at the bottom for about 45 minutes when I decided that I should head back to Santiago de Compostela to return my car.  They way up was much trickier than the way down.  In fact, I didn't remember how I got down because I was so struck by the beauty of my surroundings.  I eventually forged a new path and snapped a few more photos before I was on my way.  Truly an amazing experience!

Thanks again dad for waking me up! :)

One Hour and a Half

Ok, so I have an hour and a half to upload photos from all my trips... We'll see how far I get!

Back to Madrid...

With no clue where I'm headed next! Decisions Decisions...

The Celebration

Last night was freezing cold and rainy, but it was a night that I will never forget. I stood outside in terrible weather for about 5 hours before the dominos fell; but during those hours, I was able to see Gorbachev and Hilary Clinton speak, Bon Jovi perform, and a symphony conducted.

The dominos fell in sections. So when I saw the dominos falling in my direction, I got really excited as the whole crowd screamed... But then, they stopped just before getting to us? I thought it was a mistake, but they did it intentionally and had a few more speakers speak. After the speakers were finished, the excitement continued. The dominos finished falling and a huge firework show ensued!

Truly a night to remember! It was easy to see that this was a very emotional night for the people of Berlin and the people of the world.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall!

Today is going to be a day to remember! I will celebrating the 20the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with hundreds of thousands of people in the main square of Berlin! I will hear Bush Sr. Speak and President Gorbachev, a huuuuge figure in history.

There will be gigantic dominos pushed over to symbolize the fall. It should be exciting... I'm going to take tons of pictures :)

Amsterdam

Amsterdam has been a lot of fun. Yesterday I took another free walking tour which told me a lot about the city and today, I went to the Van Gogh museum. I was hoping that I could find my favorite painting 'Starry Night' at this museum, but it isn't on display in Amsterdam. Although that was a bit disappointing, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of his artwork. A lot of people see him as one of those crazy geniuses, but this museum does a good job at showing that he worked and studied to perfect his artwork - it wasn't just pure luck that he was so good.

My favorite painting there was of a man sowing seeds. It had a bright background with a dark foreground. The contrasting colors were beautiful. Tomorrow in the evening I head to Berlin. I am very excited to see the wall and be there for the celebration. On November 9th, it will be the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall!

Spelling and Pictures

I am unfortunately writing most of this blog from my Blackberry. Sorry about the spelling errors that may occur. Also, sorry for the lack of photos! I'll do my best to upload a bunch of them when I get back to Madrid in a week or so :)

Edinburgh

The day after the cold and rainy walking tour proved to be much nicer. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day to go see the castle. It was the first real castle that I had ever seen and it was in really good shape because it still functions as a military base. It was really easy to imagine what it would have been like to live there and fight there. The Australians and I even talked about what it would be like if cannon balls were flying at the rocky face of the castle. Although this is probably because we saw the one o'clock gun. This is a cannon that they fire every day at one o'clock. Back in the day, they used to fire this gun at 1 to let the sailors know what time it was and when they should set sail. The reason it is at 1 and not at 12 noon is because the Scottish people wanted to save 11 bullets :). If they fired at 12 they'd have to fire 12 shots, not 1.

After the castle we went to the underground city. Apparently Edinburgh is built right on top of the old city. We saw old houses and streets that were buried under ground.

We ended the night by going on a Ghost Tour. Edinburgh is a particularly haunted place because the people were very superstitious during the Black Plague. There are also stories of cannibalism and a long history of suicide... Because of all of these things, the guides are able to put together a very spooky tour. My favorite part of the tour was the grave yard. There was a tombstone with a very scary face pictured. This is particularly weird when one considers that it is the natural coloration of the stone, not man made. We were then brought to the most haunted place in Edinburgh, the corner of the graveyard under the old prison. We snapped some photos and my friend caught some unexplainable glowing lights. I still don't believe in ghosts, but that didn't stop me from going back after the tour with the Australians to spook ourselves out. We went at about 2 in the morning... Very scary haha. One of the guys had a good camera which we used to create our own ghostly figures by leaving the exposure lens open for many seconds and walking in and then out of the frame.

The following day I spent a few hours in St. Andrews, which was unfortunately not enough time, but it was really beautiful along the coast! I visited the Mecca of golf and am pretty happy about that.

Today I am off to The Netherlands and then Berlin a few days later :)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh has been absolutely incredible. The hostel I am staying at, St. Christopher's, is a lot of fun. The staff is friendly and there is always something to do, as there is a bar and lounge on the first floor... Yesterday was really wet, cold, and rainy, but I decided to go on the Free Walking Tour anyway - great tour, but I ended up sopping wet and freezing.

After the tour, I grabbed a huge burger with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes which was really good. Later, I decided to go on a Pub Crawl with a couple of Australians that I had partied with on Halloween. What ensued was a brainstorming session about the name and slogan of my future extreme sports company... Can't say it here though ;)

Today I'm touring the castle and going on a ghost tour...