Buena sera and good evening from Roma, Italia.
'Tis my last night in this beautiful continent and I can only tell you that I am now a walking history book on Roman and Renaissance history.
I nearly overdosed on Renaissance art in Florence with the various Michelangelo's and Ghiberrti's lying around that magical city. Aside from seeing Galileo's grave and the famous Buonaroti (aka Michelangelo) lying place, the "David" is a majestic piece of sculpture if I do say so myself. I even managed to sneak a photo of the 17ft tall man.
After a literal 10 minute visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa (and no, I did not take the typical tourist photo of attempting to correct the position of the Tower), Evan and I enjoyed a comfy 3 hour train ride to the "Eternal City" of Rome.
Talk about the cradle of Western European civilization! Ruins are scattered around the city. We have had various loitering sessions atop marble columns only to realize that our gluttius maximus was touching history.
We toured the Colosseo and heard about how Romans were quite entertained with watching men slaughter each other. Experts estimate that 700,000 to 1 million people were killed for entertainment purposes in the arena. We also received very informative tour of the Palentine Hill, which contains the oldest ruins of the Roman Empire. Romulous is believed to have begun Rome from this very site. Talk about getting your fancy on! These emperors built dining halls larger than the main building at Stevenson, only to have it demolished to build a larger one with the reign of a new emperor.
My history senses were tingling at the sheer fact that I have walked across the same mosaic floor as Titian, Comedius, and Nero. Needless to say I was touching every ruin I could.
No trip to Rome would be complete with a tour of the Vatican, the second smallest independent country in the world (right behind another Italian state, San Marino). Now this may have been my second time seeing the Sistine Chapel, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. I sat and observed for 40 minutes in a 86 degree room with no AC, just taking in all the lifelike images from the Bible. My neck was sore afterward.
After losing my cousin in St. Peter's Square, we devoured our pasta and made plans the following day for the beach. Nothing beats swimming and tanning in the Mediterranean Sea to escape temperatures of 90+ with no AC. Did I mention that nighttime temperatures were essentially the same, but with no breeze? Yeah, it was that hot, people.
Well, tomorrow morning, my European backpacking tour ends with a flight to New York, followed the next day to LA. Thank you all for reading these adventures and be on the lookout for pictures (once I find a Costco not busy enough to unpack over 600 pictures).
love,
KM
P.S. My students are gonna have an amazing time studying world history with pictures from the actual sites. Holler!
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The American History Geek
Welcome to another blog posting by K. Merino and her travel adventures through Western Europe.
Like I stated before, being my second go-around through France, I mostly let my cousin see the monuments while I observed the French. One thing that is different is that no one says "Bless you" after sneezing. Well, maybe they did but my French is so poor I didnt even notice. All I have to say is, "Thank you French, Italian, and German phrase book."
Switzerland is a very multiethnic country. Over 45% of Geneva alone is multiethnic. Everywhere we walked (or biked for free), was an electric mix of Arab, North African, and Pan-Asian communities. Geneva is only the 3rd largest city, home to the United Nations, fondue, and of course, THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE REFORMATION!!!! Needless to say, my students next year will be seeing many a photograph of Reformation artifacts, from martin Luthers Bible, to a replica of Güternbergs printing press. Of course, no trip to Geneva would be complete without a dip in the refreshing waters of Lake Geneva.
In Bern so far, my cousin and I have jumped off a brdige into the Aare river below and floated down until our hearts content. The best part about Switzerland is that because of its close proximity to the Alps, all the city fountains pump out potable water for our canteen. We have been stopping by every fountain and indulging. Today we also visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the city complete with 16th century clock towers, and the univeristy. Albert Einstein also developed his famous, E=mc2 formula in an apartment not to far from our hostel. It was definately worth the 6.50 CH to hear more about an ordinary life turned famous.
Of course, thinking of my AVID students, I visited Bern University. This was where Einstein gave his first physics lecture to a whoping crowd of three people.
Tomorrow, we are off to Grnidelwald to hike a glacier. By next week, will shall (hopefully) have visited Zermatt, and the top of the Matterhorn. Italy is next week, so be prepared for some Renaissance history and hot tempertaures.
Guten tag to all!
Like I stated before, being my second go-around through France, I mostly let my cousin see the monuments while I observed the French. One thing that is different is that no one says "Bless you" after sneezing. Well, maybe they did but my French is so poor I didnt even notice. All I have to say is, "Thank you French, Italian, and German phrase book."
Switzerland is a very multiethnic country. Over 45% of Geneva alone is multiethnic. Everywhere we walked (or biked for free), was an electric mix of Arab, North African, and Pan-Asian communities. Geneva is only the 3rd largest city, home to the United Nations, fondue, and of course, THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE REFORMATION!!!! Needless to say, my students next year will be seeing many a photograph of Reformation artifacts, from martin Luthers Bible, to a replica of Güternbergs printing press. Of course, no trip to Geneva would be complete without a dip in the refreshing waters of Lake Geneva.
In Bern so far, my cousin and I have jumped off a brdige into the Aare river below and floated down until our hearts content. The best part about Switzerland is that because of its close proximity to the Alps, all the city fountains pump out potable water for our canteen. We have been stopping by every fountain and indulging. Today we also visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the city complete with 16th century clock towers, and the univeristy. Albert Einstein also developed his famous, E=mc2 formula in an apartment not to far from our hostel. It was definately worth the 6.50 CH to hear more about an ordinary life turned famous.
Of course, thinking of my AVID students, I visited Bern University. This was where Einstein gave his first physics lecture to a whoping crowd of three people.
Tomorrow, we are off to Grnidelwald to hike a glacier. By next week, will shall (hopefully) have visited Zermatt, and the top of the Matterhorn. Italy is next week, so be prepared for some Renaissance history and hot tempertaures.
Guten tag to all!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Bringing history back
Check out Trinity College
Hello everyone!
This is K. Merino coming live to you all the way from Switzerland, more specifically, Bern, the capital of this beautiful country.
My cousin and I have been traveling around Europe now for about a week and have two more to go. So far we have visited Dublin, Ireland and visited the prestigious Trinity University. In Paris, we did the tourist thing and went into the worlds largest museum, the Lourve. After saying whats up to La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa, we also visited the Musee dOrsay and enjoyed the cheese.
Stay tuned, more adventures to come!
This is K. Merino coming live to you all the way from Switzerland, more specifically, Bern, the capital of this beautiful country.
My cousin and I have been traveling around Europe now for about a week and have two more to go. So far we have visited Dublin, Ireland and visited the prestigious Trinity University. In Paris, we did the tourist thing and went into the worlds largest museum, the Lourve. After saying whats up to La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa, we also visited the Musee dOrsay and enjoyed the cheese.
Stay tuned, more adventures to come!
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