I Love Munich, Zurich

I am writing this from a painfully difficult keyboard, so it will be short.

Today is Jac and my first anniversary. That would have an exclamation mark if this bloody thing had one...

We are stayig at a nice hostel in Zurich. It is just beautiful here. Last night the Swiss lost to the Ukraine so today everyone is cranky.

We were in Munich during the World Cup which was definitely an incredible experience, but I will have to elaborate upon it when I am more able to. One litre beer steins at the Hofbrauhaus, anyone... (no freakin question mark either arrrrghghghg)

Anyways, screw you guys, I am taking my wife out on the town.

Venice

We found a rarity in Europe: free internet at a cool little cafe!

We-re in Venice and it's bloody hot and humid here. It's also reminding us of Winnipeg quite a bit because, being built on a marsh, Venice has lots of mosquitos. The rest of our group are complaining a lot louder than us tough 'Peggers. Pansies.

What to say? Venice is a lovely town when you can get over the fact that you're melting all the time. We went on a ridiculously expensive but very cool gondola ride yesterday. Seeing Venice from tiny little canals was really cool! The romance factor was pretty low since we were sharing the gondola with 2 other couples, but it was an experience that we couldn't pass up.

A guidebook sums up Venice nicely: a city of elegant decay. It's beautiful, sinking, and slowly falling apart. I've enjoyed it thoroughly.

Today is our last day here and then it's on to Munich and World Cup madness!

Thumbs Up!

This summarizes what I think of my Europe travel term as I reach the halfway point... and it also comments upon a painful reality.

I was chopping some Romaine lettuce for supper yesterday (we made a wonderful chicken caesar salad) when my over-sharpened knife chopped through a very small corner of my thumb. It's right off. The piece was stuck to the side of the knife and looked remarkably like the garlic we were chopping up earlier. It was about the size of a pinkie nail or so. Lots of blood led to lots of bandage. It feels pretty good, all things considered. We also have two first-aid certified lads on the trip who helped me out a lot.

But onto better things than me being a lesser man than I once was. We just arrived in Ravenna yesterday after a lovely time in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. I'm being preempted by Jac right now who is about to take over on the typing....

matt is a bit drunk right now, plus his thumb makes it hard to type. so.

the amalfi coast in southern italy marks the most tropical and luxurious part of our journey.
its on the bay of naples in the mediterranean and lemon trees grow abundant on the streets. its really mountainous and i cant believe some of the 'roads' we had to drive on. intense.
so we sat on the beaches and lazed around the coastal towns, taking boats, buses, swimming, walking, and exploring caves.

the site was also right by mount vesuvious and the ancient town of pompeii. pompeii was really cool.. it was buried by the volcano's explosion in 79 AD and 7 metres of volcanic ash left the roman town immaculately preserved. we spent an entire morning exploring the villas, theatres, and public baths of the romans. fascinating the level of technology they had for 2000 years ago.

now i am writing this on a beautiful evening in a lovely central italian town near ravenna. its not touristy at all here cause nobodys heard of it. the beer and wine are very very cheap and matt is taking advantage of this. he had 2 660ml bottles of euro-beer in the last hour as we walked around town. wine is as low as 2 bucks a bottle here.

one last thing: world cup soccer. or football as they call it here.
its really crazy. world cup only happens every 4 years and its all about national pride. people eat sleep and drink soccer. in sorrento the italians won their first game and there were fireworks and festivities going way into the night. couldnt sleep for all the horn-honking.
personally i would rather talk to people than watch the games. but all the excitement is fun.
(germany will be extreme to the point of dangerous. its where the games are held, and mobs are known to break out, so naturally our profs are nervous).

When in Rome

When in Rome... enjoy yourself.

I just spent my first full day in Rome enjoying the sights of the Vatican. We went through the Vatican Museum which is one of the top art collections in the entire world. Highlights included the Laocoon Group (ancient Greek sculpture), Raphael's "School of Athens" and of course Michaelangelo's majestic Sistine Chapel. The last one was utterly incredible, it far surpassed what I could have imagined. Some of the painting literally looked like it was sculpture, the detailing and shading was so superb. This was followed by a trip through St. Peter's Basilica and then up to its roof for a stunning view of the Vatican and the rest of Rome. It was incredible.

Speaking of high points in art, we also went to check the Accademia in Florence to see Michaelangelo's Prisoners and of course David. David was incredibly detailed and looked like he was about to come to life. I never thought that a sculpture could look so alive. And then his Prisoners were also incredibly powerful: half formed figures struggling to escape from the stone that they're trapped in.

On a personal note, I saw a ridiculously opulent cathedral in Siena that helped me to understand the excesses that the Reformers were pissed off about. I'm also really tired and looking forward to tomorrow's free day to rest and relax.

So, that's it from Rome for now. We're here for two more days and then it's off to the Amalfi Coast. Should be some incredible sights!

Birthday, Buses and Florence

We are in Tuscany in the heart of Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. We spent yesterday and the day before on a bus for most of each day, but it was worth it to be amongst this grandeur. Yesterday was my birthday, so although it was lame to spend most of it on an uncomfortable bus, things picked up once we got to the campsite. This campsite is like a frickin resort complete with gelati, a bar, a disco, pizzeria, supermarket, waterslide and more things that I can't remember!

Firstly, the cook team questioned Jac and made one of my favs for supper: chicken fettucine alfredo with some cookies for dessert. Yum yum. I also received a bottle of wine and some anonymous person slipped bloody fifty euros in my tent! I am blessed.

Then we went to the on site discotheca. It was pretty fun, but the drinks were overpriced and the scene was frickin young. Although I am old now... But anyways, the DJ played some pretty good house and a good time was had by all.

We just got back from the Uffizi gallery here in Florence and saw many of the Renaissance masters - da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Carvaggio and too many others to think of. There's going to be way more of this art to come - it is kind of overwhelming.

So, this 27 year old man bids you all a fond farewell until next time.