The Last Foot In Italy

The last place I visited in Italy (like I havent been there before) was Pisa. My flight was on time and on schedual. I was very excited to be getting home except for the long flight. 28 hours of being awake is forever and a day on an airplane. Except this time I wasnt drunk when I landed.

The Museum für Moderne Kunst

This was a sweet modern art museum. The photography of Taryn Simon was on display at the time when I visited the museum.

The Reich and It's Mark

Yes, We went to a museum and saw a Nazi Reich Mark. It was sweet... I mean, who else sees this stuff. I know its kinda a bad time in history for the German people but you have to ask people about it. The few people I asked about it had little to say about it... They kinda wanted to forget it happened. I dont blame them but I think its interesting.

The College of Frankfurt

Being the outgoing individual I am, I saw these kids who looked like they were as old as me what they were doing that night at a bar. They said that me and scott could come along with them to some sweet college party. Little did I know that It was in the basement of the College. I dont know what it is about Europian colleges but they seem to promote alcoholism. Oh well... Ill take their cheap but fantastic beer for pennies on the dollar.

The Christmas Market

I have to tell you that getting the bratwurst in the Christmas market in Frankfurt are the best. They are about 4 times as long as the bun you get. Cost... 3E. Sold. I had one every day I was there. They are all cooked over an open fire. Tasty

The First German Beer

I couldnt tell you what it was... All I know is it was at 4am after Ryanair delayed our flight for 7 hours in Pisa. It was a well earned beer. Did I mention that it was in Frankfurt?

The Tomb

So this is Michelangelos Tomb. Its in this church called Santa Croce. I know it looks really really cool but you have to see it in person. Inside the church they also have Machiavelli, Dante and Galileo just to name a few.

The Second Suprise Visit

Scott... who is Andy Spaulding friend that I met in Palermo came down to Florence for the night because his train was booked up. He claimed he wanted to live the life of Derrick... I dont think he could handle it.

The Cover Up

So quite frequently we go to this bar called Bep Bop. They have cover bands there all the time. This one in perticular is an Oasis cover band... So i think the older people reading this blog might not know what that is but its a fun time all around. They also have a great Beatles cover band... but not as good as 1964.

The Thieve Nation

So pretty much everything that is anything in England is from somewhere else... Usually stolen during an occupation or colonization. If you think of england is there much national history that you can go see in a museum? I dont think so. When I think of it all i can think of is the Magna Carta. Thats just a piece of paper.

The Best Museum Ever

I forgot to menchion that I went to the coolest museum ever. They had real Dinosaur bones for real. The British Natural History museum was the best place ever.

The Phantom Phonebooth

I know that this picture is totally awesome but were in London and you have to take a picture in one of those phonebooths. I mean... your only there once and if you dont get that picture you never will. And yes... It looks just like the movies.

The Worst Idea Ever

I dont know what English Universities say about drinking but I know back home that for the most party Universities hate drinking and all the other "extra-curriculars" that go along with that. Katie, the girl we were staying with, took us to her "College Bar". Yes the bar is in the dorms of the college. No need for a lengthy walk to a real bar just go in the basement of the dorm to grab a quick drink... or five.

The World Wide Theater

We walked by the famous Globe theater in London. We didnt go in. I just thought I would show you a picture of something youll never see.

The Stolen Relics

After our little walk to Trafalgar Square we took the "tube" to the British Museum. Its that one that is always shown in movies about mummies and things of that sort. Probably because there is more of Egypt in that building then there is inside the great pyramids.

The Square

This is Trafalgar Square. We asked some guy in the square what it was for and he kinda got angry at us because we didnt know but retorted that, "its to commerate the battle of Trafalgar, not that we care anyway." English people... How Rude!!!

The King and That Building

Guy Fawks tried to blow up this building on November 5, 1605. Yeah Yeah... everyone knows that little rhyme...
Remember Remember the 5th of November
the Gun powder treason and plot,
theres no reason the gun powder treason
should ever be forgot, Guy Fawks Guy Fawks
twas his intent to blow up the King and the Parliament.

If you didnt know it then now you do... Its Guy Fawks day every 5th of November in England to celebrate English Monarchal Tyranny (that was sarcasum).

The Scariest Place Ever

Although I did not go inside the Tower of London I know its the scariest place ever. This is where for hundreds of years English kings tortured political rivals. Sounds bad?

The Wrong Way

If you didnt notice... the cars are on the wrong side of the road in London. How many times did I almost get run over? too many to count.

The Bridge

Tower Bridge is just one of those things you have to have your picture in front of. Its like that London thing that you have to do... So here is mine. History on the bridge: It opened in 1894 and its span is 244 ft. Its still a two lane bridge and not very effective at carrying the traffic of modern london. Anyways... I saw it.

The Gang and The Queen

This is the gang that I went around England with. This photo is infront of the "Royal Palace". Its me, Jacqueline, Scott and Katie. We stayed with Katie for 4 nights and I think by the end we were wearing on her last nerve... were not really that much into cleaning up after ourselves. It was a good trip though... I dont think Ill ever go back.

The Surprise Visit

So after we went "home", meaning to the bus station, from the club I had to stay awake for the both of us so that we wouldnt get robbed while we were sleeping. Andy can fall asleep in the middle of a hurricane.... Anyways... this man shows up out of no where waiting for the bus too. I get to talking to him because I like to talk to strangers at 4 in the morning and he tells me he is doctor from Rome. Max.. the doctor... is an optometrist. He comes to Trapini to work on kids eyes or something like that. He is a saint. Anyways... when we get to the airport he buys me a coffee so I figured I would include another amazing person that I ran into. PS... That picture is after 36 hours of being awake and Im still hot!!!

The Friends We Will Never Forget

These guys were some German tourist that we met in the club and turned out to be alot of fun. Drinks were cheap and they had alot to say. They told me things to say to people when I go to Germany in a few weeks including... Geben einen Kuss... Give me a Kiss. NICE

The Bass Ackwards

Some how I always have a way of falling ass backwards into something thats fun and good. So me and andy are walking around trapini... a small town at 11:30 or so looking for something to do until we can catch a bus to the airport at 5am the next morning. We found this club called Muna club. We walk in and they take our bags from us and instantly pour me and andy a free shot... yeah it was red white and blue too. They really know how to make stupid americans happy.

The Third Time

So this photo is of Super Clean Trapini (no sarcasum). Why were we in Trapini instead of Palermo? Ill tell you... Ryanair does not fly in or out of airports that make sense. So we had to take the last train to Trapini to catch our 8:00am flight the next day. We walked around Palermo and found the coolest places and did I mention that the streets were white marble... try and find that anywhere else.

The Workers Party

So when we were in Palermo later that night we saw a huge protest in the streets. The cops came and broke it up but there is a bunch of communist workers yelling and screaming about something.... it was in italian.

The Sand by the Sea Shore

The next day we were walking down this beach in Palermo (it was 80F) and Andy and his friend Scott spot this huge rock or hill or whatever you want to call it. Yeah... they climbed up it. I sat on the beach and watched. It was nicer. Ask andy about his stomach pains on the mountain and you might get a good story out of him.

The Pizza Place

So everyone always says something about Sicilian pizza but how many people do you know who have actually been to Sicily to see if its all its cracked up to be? Yeah Yeah... I'm that guy who has been there and will swear on a bible that this pizza is better then Imo's... Yeah its that good.

The Best of the Best

So this is the Temple of Zeus in the "Valley of the Temples" in Agregento. Its amazing. Photos dont do it justice... but its all you got until you go there.

The Conservatory

So after walking through about half of the ruins someone in our party looks down in this valley and spots what we think are Orange trees. We try to find a path down but we couldnt and finally found a sign that said there was a nature conservatory down in the valley. We walk down a short path and run into a woman in a small booth. She tells us we can all have a free orange from her basket of oranges and tells us a little about the conservatory. It all went in one ear and out the other because I think if the gods tasted these oranges they would switch from ambrosia. I ask her if i can buy some oranges and ask her to name her price. I got a huge back of oranges for 3E... I would have paid 50. Then we go down into the groves of trees in the valley and she tells us that they have 9 extinct species of oranges in the valley. We eat fruit off the trees even though its "strictly forbidden". They had a variety of orange called the "Sour Orange". Im going to order a crate of these.

The Ruined Ruins

After we made it to Palermo (Sicily) we decided to go to this town called Agregento to see the worlds largest greek ruins. They were sick.

The Second Ryanair Debacle

So yes... Our flight left out of pisa at 6:10 am on wednesday morning. We left for the train station to pisa at 4:00... got on the 4:30 train and made it to the airport a cool 30 min before our flight left. Ryanair requires you to be there 40 min before your flight leaves or they wont let you on the plane... that nice. So I had to take the train from Pisa to Palermo. This is the longest train in the world. We were on the train from 6:45am until nearly midnight. This photo is when we were on the train ferry... yes the train drives onto a boat to go across the straight between Italian mainlan and Sicily.

The Dukes Palace

So when andy was in town on a sunday or something we went to the Duke of Florence palace in the Uffizi Piazza. We thought we were going to see the Uffizi gallery but we ended up in this place for some reason. It cost a cool 4.50E to get in so we were fine with that. Let me tell you... the Ceilings in the place were second to non. This is the main dinning hall and the whole ceiling is a mural.. or several murals.

The Tourist

My good friend from high school came to visit me from the states for the the week of thanks giving break... We had a great time. Apart from screwing up pretty much every trip we went on we fell ass backwards into things that make no sense even now... How good things happen to bad people is amazing.

The Second Time Around

So my friend from High School (Westminster), Andy Spalding, flew into rome yesterday. We ran around rome for all of 4 hours seeing all the big sights... Vatican, Colleseum, Old Rome, Treve Fountain, and the Pantheon. In the back ground of the photo is the top of the Colleseum, (Not pictured is Andys rolling suitcase that he lugged around the city.)

The Duomo Factory

So... This was a long time ago but when I was in Milan with the family I was told a saying about italy. They always make fun of the Duomo's. They call it a Duomo factory... because its never finished. So if you have a project that seems to never end... call it a duomo factory.

The Walled City

Seina is a great city. Its on top of this huge hill that you have to walk up from the train station... that sucks. We walked down some random street and ended up in the center. Ate some great gellato and had long islands. This view in the picture is from one of the city walls out over the country side.

The World Traveler

My friends came from prague, czech republic and geniva, switzerland... they were chris bettis and Marina (some name I cant spell or pronounce). This was last weekend... but the pictures are finally on facebook so.... I can update my blog. Marina isnt in any of the photos for some reason. This perticular photo is of me and chris and scott at dinner at my apartment. Its fun.

The Monopoly Money

I know this post is late but I forgot to do it... So Swedens money is so monopoly money. This money is a 50 Kroner aka 5 bucks. When you go to McDonalds or 7Eleven (Yes they have those in Sweden) you buy a big mac for 65SEK (Kroner). I kinda throws you off. But they money seems so fake. On the reverse of the 20SEK there is a picture of a man riding a flying duck. Silly?

The Stone Man

No your not allowed to take pictures of the David but I did. This statue by Michealangelo is huge. Its like 20 feet tall. The detail in the statue is amazing and the 10E I paid to go see it was worth it... I supoose.

The City Hall

The City Hall was really neat. Its surrounded by water on 2 sides complete with stone peirs for boats to dock at. The outside of the building was adorned with these iron lions so I thought it would make a good photo... turned out the lions tried to kill me.

The Look-A-Like

H&M is the biggest store in Sweden... I think. There is one on every corner. They all have a different selection too. It is nice. My friend described H&M as one big store that fell on stockholm and broke in to a hundred peices and then they built streets and other buildings around them. I believe it.

The Sweds

So, as you can see this is some cover of playboy I found on google. The point of the photo is the emphatically express that every single girl in this country looks like this. I swear... we went into H&M the first day we were here and they just come at you. They are friendly and nice and not even mean or snotty like pretty american girls. I dont even think they know they are pretty. I love it. Ohhh.. the Sweds.

The Venice of the North

Stockholm is called the Venice of the North. Although it is not quite like Venice twisting canals one can see a resemblance. The whole city is an archipelago. Several small islands... even the royal palace is on its own island.

The Ryanair Debacle

Ok so Ryanair has to be the cheapest airfare in all of europe. Far cheaper then anything in the United States. My flight to Stockholm cost a cheap 55E. Thats pretty good. The only thing is that they have the worst customer service in the world. I lost the confirmation number for our flight and you need this to get your tickets... or so I was told. I tried to call every single customer service number and they all were recordings with no people to be found. I read some other guys blog that said just go to the airport early and you can get your tickets. So I did and guess what... I am in Stockholm. Thanks blog guy.

The Mid-terms

This week is mid terms. So very uneventful... but on thursday I fly to Stockholm.

The Masquerade

So the other day I had a round of Tequilla and then went to a Masquerade party. Its was nice. I wore a suit with a T-shirt. It all worked out.

The Temple of Zeus

At night we went and sat in front of a fountain which looks over the Pantheon. There used to be a statue of Zeus in the building but some Pope or something decided it would be be a better idea to destroy history and turn it into a church. Oh well, inside it has a huge dome with a round opening in the middle of it. One of a kind.

The Ring of Fire

On a rainly day in Rome I went to the Coliseum. I have a silly look on my face because I am getting wet. Although I did not go inside the structure I did walk around the roman ruins which looked like they were still being excavated. Too bad it was raining.

The Seperate Country

From the top of Vatican City you can see St. Peters Square. It is nice. After an crazy climb to the top of the basilica you can see all of Rome. I wish I could have seen the Pope.

The Saying

The Story behind It: When St. Augustine arrived in Milan, he observed that the Church did not fast on Saturday as did the Church at Rome. He consulted St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who replied: "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are." The comment was changed to "When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done" by Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy. Eventually it became "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

The Drink Spot

So in every corner of this city there are these little fountains, some date back to Ceasers time. They are like little drinking fountains feed by the mountain springs. This is probably the cleanest drinking water in the world but it scares me a little. I heard that one of the reasons Rome fell was mental illness due to lead poisioning. All the pipes in the whole city are lead and I doubt they brought these fountains up to date. Oh well, Im a little crazy anyway.