Cruising through Greece!

Okay, so I don't have much time but I have to give a little update of where I am. Right now we are in Rhodes, Greece-one of the islands in the Mediteranean. It's a fantastic island-beautiful beyond words-with a very interesting history. There are two parts to it-old and new city. The old city is medieval with walls and large ditches where motes used to be. Most of it is still intact so you can see the levels of defense they had to protect themselves from the Turkish invasions. There are several forts, outer walls, inner walls, cannons, guard towers and all kinds of stuff. I definitely wouldn't want to try to invade. From what I understand, the city was basically always at war-someone was always trying to get this land and I can see why. It's a beautiful island. The new part of the city is really pretty and it seems like people here have a lot of money-nice buildings, nice cars, nice shops, etc...
We spent the morning on the island seeing all the tourist sights and then the afternoon has been spent hanging out on a gorgeous beach. The water is so blue and clear that you can see everything and it is the perfect temperature as well. I couldn't imagine a more ideal day, it's been wonderful. In fact, the whole cruise thus far has been that way. I am not sure how I could have lived this long without going on a cruise, it is SO fun. The ship is beautiful and the weather has just been unbelievable. We've spent every day hanging out by the pool and eating every hour. It's heaven.
Yesterday we got to see a great little island called Mykonos-exactly what I picture when I think of Greece. All the buildings and churches are white with blue trim and all the locals just hang out all day. They were all so happy and relaxed and they live in the most beautiful place ever-maybe they know something I don't?
All I know is that I love life right now. Every day I get up and go to the top deck so I can see the sun rise, explore a great new place, hang out by the pool/beach, and then get dressed up for a four hour dinner in the dining room. Then I retire to my room where the bed has been turned down for me and when I wake up in the morning we are somewhere else so I get up and do it again. No wonder cruising is addicting!
Tomorrow we go to Santorini, another Greek Island and then to Athens and on to Turkey from there. There are several waiters on the ship from Turkey and Greece so I am trying to learn as much as I can from them about their countries and their experiences. So much to see and so much to learn, I am just trying to soak it all in.
Anyway, I'll post more in a few days after we've seen a few more ports. Everyone needs to come to Greece though, it's not possible to be in a bad mood while you're here, it's just too beautiful.

Roma Fantastica!

I am just finishing my third wonderful day in Rome so I figure it's time to report. Tomorrow we leave for Civitaveccia, where the cruise dock is, and start our 11 day tour of the Mediterranean. We are definitely excited for it (I am especially looking forward to fresh fruits and vegetables) but I am sad that my time here is over. Rome is a fun city.
When we were in Paris I thought the Louvre was so great partly because the building that held such precious art was a precious piece of art itself. Well, if the Louvre was cool, Rome is amazing because the whole city is basically one big museum. You don't have to go far to find ancient ruins, and the chances are the place you are staying is ancient itself. Our first day was consumed with ancient Rome. We started at the Colloseum where we received a first class tour and then continued with the tour guide through the old Roman Forum and up to Palatine Hill (where Rome got its start way back when). 4 hours later we were still walking through ruins and temples and basilicas until we found ourselves at the top of Capitol Hill. Here modern and ancient Rome merge seemlessly giving you the complete view of what Romans are all about.
The last big sight we viewed that day was the Pantheon which inspired the much later and greater St. Peter's Basilica. Just as we walked in the building, a boy's choir began singing and we realized it was the beginning of a Friday night mass. The acoustics in the Pantheon are excellent and we heard the whole thing.
So, after viewing an entire day worth of Roman architecture and listening to hours worth of Roman history here is what I think. Romans were basically big bullies. The whole city was founded by two random twin boys raised by wolves (supposedly) who fight to the death for the throne. Romulus beats out Remus and is therefore King-a bloody beginning that sets a thousand year trend. Rome's history is violent and brutish, full of deceit and betrayal, and they love to tell it even today. They were incredible warriors and they used intimidation any chance they could get. Every building still here today has something to do with the biggest and the best. Everytime they had another victory in battle or conquered another poor little struggling nation they would build a gigantic arch and have a "we're the best" parade. They turned the losers into slaves and forced them to worship their pagan gods and fight starving animals for sport. I'm not saying the Romans were putting on a false show, they really were the biggest and the best, I just think it's kind of rude that they flaunted it so shamelessly.
Despite their lack of humility, they really were an incredible world power. I wonder if they would have believed it if someone told them their reign would not last forever. Either way, they have left a legacy that I have found fascinating to walk through and I'm so glad so much of it is still here.
Second day was Vatican City-a country in and of itself. We decided that since it was Saturday (the busiest day of the week) and in October (during the peak of tourist season) we would pay a little extra, get a group tour and skip all the lines. I quite enjoy doing the tours anyway because having someone give in depth explanations for what we are seeing and telling us the stories behind the sights makes it much more memorable and valuable to me. I don't mind paying extra for my education. I think we made the right decision because the line would have been 2.5 hours or more and I don't like standing in lines when I could be actually seeing stuff.
Anyway, I really wanted to savor and appreciate the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica, but unfortunately it wasn't quite the experience I had hoped for. I think the main problem is that it was just too crowded in there. We had a good tour guide and even though there were 50 in the group, we each got headsets and he talked into a mike so we could all hear what he was saying no matter where we were in the museum. But they kind of rush you through (because there are 1000's of people waiting in line to get in) so he would talk as we would dodge people while trying to get a quick glance at whatever he was talking about. The headsets were great but if you got too far away from him (which didn't take much to do) you couldn't hear anymore, so on top of dodging and viewing you had to speed walk through the crowds. All of that on top of being surrounded by hot and sweaty Europeans made for a tiring and semi-unenjoyable three hours.
Having said all that, the Vatican is still a must see and there are treasures that do make the misery worth it. The Sistine chapel was amazing but I was disappointed by how disrespectful people were. It says in EVERY language possible "silence," but people still talked-and not even in hushed tones. So the whole time you are viewing the chapel all you hear is SHHHHHH over the crowds and the guards clapping and shouting "silencio!" Very ineffective. It also says no cameras and yet flashes were going off everywhere. The only place that actually was quiet was the crypt, but that's because there were only dead people down there.
St. Peter's Basilica is enormous and GORGEOUS. It was pretty neat to have a tour guide take us through because he explained many of the relics-including a nail and a piece of the Savior's cross-and some about the early Christians and even the Catholic church today that I was unaware of. I have loved learning all about the church and Christian history and I am in awe of what some of the early Christians sacrificed to stay true to what they believed.
We actually found an LDS church not too far away to attend today and it was so nice to feel so at home in such a far away place. We just happened to pick the mission president's ward so he and about 10 missionaries greeted us in English and then provided head sets and translations for us so we could understand all that they were saying. It was great. All the members were so nice and so beautiful. Why is that? Italians are some of the most beautiful people I have seen anywhere-children and adults alike, everyone looks like a model. I feel very self conscious walking around these streets, especially in my backpacking attire.
This afternoon we have wandered from piazza to piazza people watching and window shopping. Even though there are more churches here than anywhere else I have seen, it seems as if most people not in them-they're shopping instead. One of my favorite things has been sitting by the fountains eating Gelato listening to the music in the square and looking at local artists paintings. It's just a fun place to be. We have had 3 days of absolutely perfect weather made even more perfect because I haven't seen the sun in 6 months. The sunshine makes everything better and so does pizza. The food is MUCH more to my liking here than it has been in cities past and I think my pants are getting tighter.
Anyway, that's Rome in a nutshell, it's been a marvelous experience. I am wondering what awaits me in Greece and Turkey but I'm guessing it has something to do with naked statues and power hungry egotistical leaders who have nothing better to do than think of ways to immortalize themselves in history.
Ciao!

Next stop...Barcelona?

Barcelona ended up as our next stop purely because it is the starting place for a cruise we were hoping to get on. It wasn't in the original plans and frankly I wouldn't have minded if it had stayed that way, but I guess it's all part of the adventure.
So, night trains are not my favorite. Actually they are now my arch enemy. It was possibly one of the worst nights of my life. I would rather have stood for 12 hours. I am hoping to arrange things to I don't ever have to take one again but it did get us safely from Paris to Barcelona arriving just as the sun was coming up over the water. Just as we were gathering our stuff to leave the room, a piece of metal jumped out at me and almost cut off my thumb. It had nothing to do with me at all, it was all the stupid ladder's fault. Cursing the train and everything associated with it, I walked-thumb in hand-straight to the dock where we sat for most of the day. We were unable to get on but by the time we left my thumb ran out of blood to gush so the day wasn't a total disappointment.
We were starving so we headed to find something to eat. I was so excited to eat something un-french but my hope died as we walked through the streets finding shop after shop full of none other than french baguettes. They didn't have quite the same amount of mayonnaise but everything else was the same. Why??? I ended up eating at McDonald's-which I would never do in the states, but I was desperate!
Fortunately that was the end of disaster and we found a really nice place to stay right off La Rambla-the main road where everything goes on. Now, if Barcelona had been the only place in Europe I had seen I would have thought it was a pretty cool city. But, come on-London, Paris, Barcelona? Pretty much doesn't compare. It was fun though and it was a nice break from non stop sight seeing. We wandered around the city and had a much needed good night's rest. In the morning we saw the major tourist attraction-the Sagrada familia-an unfinished but massive chapel begun over a century ago, scheduled for completion in 30 years or so. It was neat I guess but we were ready for the next city.
So, the question is where am I now? After much contemplation on what we should do and how we should best spend our time (and not forgetting my intense hatred for night trains) we chose to fly to Rome, and what a good choice that was! We just found out we have gotten on the cruise we wanted the most (which leaves from Rome on Monday and goes to many ports in Greece and Turkey) and which gives us 3 wonderful days here. We found a fantastic bed and breakfast to stay in and have already had an unbelievable day-Rome is back up to par with our other sight seeing show stoppers. I'll give details about Rome in another entry but I have to say I LOVE IT HERE!

Paris #2

Still reading, eh? Thanks mom.
So because of the cooler weather (which got much better after the first day I might add) the crowds were relatively small for Paris standards which made seeing everything much more manageable. We only had to stand in line once and it was for less than half an hour-unheard of in the summer months. Therefore we decided to take a walking tour from Notre Dame all the way along the Seine ending up at the Arc de Triomphe all the way at the other end of the city. Paris is filled with one world class gem after another-intermixed with a fascinating history. The tour took us to Sainte-Chapell where we walked into a beautiful basement chapel for the servants, impressive enough to be worthy of my entrance fee. When we climbed the stairs my breath was literally taken away-not because of the stairs but because of the view. That has never happened to me before. The real chapel, constructed by and for King Louis IX (the only French king who is now a saint) is beyond words. The title means stained glass and it gives meaning to why Paris is called the city of lights. From the outside the building is gray and lifeless. From the inside it is a world of glorious and dynamic color shining through 15 separate panels telling the entire Christian history from Genesis to the crusades. On the final circular pane in the back of the chapel is depicted the 2nd coming of Christ, the climax of all Christendom. I could have stayed there and basked all day long. No matter what else I see, it will definitely be one of the highlights of the trip never to be forgotten.
That chapel is contained within the Palais de Justice-home of France's Supreme Court. Interestingly, so is the Conciergerie-the prison which has, for hundreds of years, housed political and religious criminals awaiting trial and possibly death. Marie Antoinette herself spent almost two years there before her execution at the guillotine and many original artifacts from her stay still remain. The stories of torture and misery are extensive for any whose fate sent them to this place and the darkness and despair are made all the more dramatic because of the contrasting light that lies less than 10 feet away.
Moving on we strolled through the Tuileries Garden-the Gardens of the Louvre palace and down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc, climbing 284 stairs to again view Paris at night this time watching the cars below. The Arc is in the middle of an enormous round about that merges 12 large boulevards with no signs, lane lines or traffic lights, it's just one big free for all. We must have spent a solid hour up there trying to figure out how everyone gets out unscathed. It is a mystery to me because from up above it looks like complete chaos. Every once in a while a car would just stop somewhere in the middle and I know they were down there crying (like I would have been) wondering how they got into this mess and how they were ever going to get out.
One last day in Paris led us to the Palace of Versailles. Um, we thought the Louvre and its grounds were amazing but it was nothing compared to this place. It is an hour outside of Paris and it is UNBELIEVABLE. Louis XIV created it and man did he do a good job. It represents Paris at it's peak and it is all about the good life of France-parties, riches, and all of the finer things in life. I'm not going to try to explain it-you just have to see it for yourself.
A few hours at the Orsay (housing the greatest compilation of impressionist art in the world) found us completely satisfied with (and exhausted) from the trip and ready to crash on the night train out of town.
I have added French History to my list of "to do's" when I get back and I can hardly wait to get started. I am pretty sure I would never want to live in Paris, France, but I would jump at the chance for a return visit (although next time I'm bringing all my own food!)

Paris, a little delayed...

So, I am actually now in Rome but I have a few minutes and have to write about my amazing experience in Paris. Let's start from the beginning.
So our chunnel experience from London to Paris was relatively uneventful (we almost didn't make it on, but since we did it was uneventful) but fun. London was rainy and cold when we left which made it easier to leave-did I mention that I love London? Anyway, when we arrived in Paris the weather, although a tad bit warmer, wasn't much cheerier and I would come to find out that the people would not be either. A few brief encounters with some people who must have been paid to be so incredibly unhelpful reminded us that we were now dealing with a whole new ballgame.
Paris is not an easy way to navigate when you don't really know where you are going and even with a good map the streets wind around and can be confusing. We had a hotel, we had a map, we had correct directions but we still wandered up and down streets for a very long time with our huge packs on our backs in the middle of very large crowds. Well, to our delight as we stood helplessly on the same corner we had passed 3 times already, an old man came to our rescue. He asked us if we needed help and he pointed us in the right direction, smiling as he sent us on our way. "What a nice man" we thought. What a nice man indeed! Half hour later and a half hour further from our hotel we realized that he had sent us in the opposite direction of where we needed to be and that we were literally only one block from our hotel when he sent us packing. I had heard Parisians loved to give Americans the wrong directions but I didn't really think that was true! He laughed all the way home while we walked around in the rain.
Luckily the owner of the Bed and Breakfast of where we were staying when we finally found it made up for him in abundance. He is a short curly haired man with a huge smile and a very french sense of humor. We had numerous conversations with him and we always left laughing. It was a great place to stay and we were within 2 minutes of Notre Dame which made our sight seeing a lot easier.
Our first night, despite the wind and rain, we decided to hit the Eiffel tower. We arrived at the top just as the sun was setting to view Paris at night-which is much better than Paris during the day. A few hundred years ago I'm sure it was clean and bright but years of pollution and decay have made it somewhat dingy and dirty. Coming from London the contrast was even greater because London is so clean and well kept. I must admit I wasn't so sure about Paris when we got there, but after viewing it at night from the highest point in the city I decided it might not be so bad after all.
We walked back along the Seine river-a walk we would come to know well over the next few days-and tried not to watch couple after couple making out on each and every bridge. There were even couples taking pictures of themselves while making out on the bridges...interesting. I didn't find Paris romantic but apparently other people do-not sure what the fascination with pda's in Paris is but the displays were rampant. Also, what's up with the food? I hated everything I ate in Paris and I thought they were known for the greatest delicassies in the world. Pretty much everything is on a baguette and it is loaded with one of three things: Mayonnaise, butter or cheese (or a combination of all three). There is usually some meat mixed in there but the majority is basically lard. The crepes were mediocre but even the pastries were not that great-maybe I just do not possess the taste buds of the French but whatever it was, I am not a fan.
Let's get to what I am a fan of-everything else. Paris is jam packed with fascinating architecture, art, and history to boot. I spent three days with my jaw on the floor trying to fathom what I was really experiencing. I thought nothing could top my London experience but honestly, Paris was right up there with it. We spent our first full morning touring the Louvre-which, being an enormous and incredible palace was a museum in and of itself. The French decorate with gusto-they leave no square inch untouched. Everything from the carpets to the ceilings were painted with scenes from the political and religious (which was basically the same thing) culture of the day. The museum was basically created when the revolutionaries took over the palace and threw open the doors for all of the commoners to see. Most of what we saw was originally the private collection of royalty including the Greek Venus De Milo, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Raphael's Madonna and thousands more sculptures and paintings from centuries gone by. The palace is huge, we only saw a select collection, but what we saw occupied the whole of the morning.
This entry is probably occupied the whole of your morning as well if you have read it all so I am going to stop and start another entry just to give your eyes (and my fingers) a break.

Paris

I have a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it-this has been the most incredible week of my life and there is too much to write at this time-I am headed to Barcelona in a few hours and from there will hopefully have more time to record what has been happening so stay tuned, there is a great entry coming soon that will make you buy a ticket to Paris before you even finish reading it!

London

Well, I have just completed 3 JAM PACKED days in London and I don't even know where to start. Much of what I saw and experienced cannot be put into words. I had no idea what awaited me in this city and I am in awe of what I have learned and witnessed.

First of all-I love London. The city is amazing and it is classy and cultured in a way I didn't know a city could be. Everyone here automatically seems more refined and well educated because of that fantastic accent. I even feel dumb when talking to children here-they just sound smarter. Their manners are of a higher class as well. Christy and I went for pizza the other night and I looked around after I began eating and realized that everyone else was eating their pizza in small bites with a fork and knife. I carefully observed them and tried to mimick but I was self conscious the whole time thinking they could see right through my fake manners and know that I was not an authentic fork and knife pizza eater.

The city has more history on one block than I knew was possible and it has been all we could do to run around seeing the major things there are to see. I feel like we have seen all I wanted to see but I know I could easily fill several more days with other museums, parks, shopping and buildings.

We started on Thursday by going to the National Gallery where I saw paintings dating back to the 1500's and even earlier from some of the most amazing artists-Monet, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Renoir, Carravagio and the list goes on and on. I was in awe but little did I know that was just the beginning. We then walked around for hours viewing Big Ben, the Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Thames river and St. James Park at dusk. That night we went on the London Eye which takes you higher than any building in the city and you can see for 30 miles in every direction. How can you top that day?

Well, we did. Friday was pretty much one of the best days of my life for so many reasons. I feel like I have earned a first class education from all of what I have seen and learned here. We spent hours that morning in the Tower of London-built in the early 1100's and home to all of the Royal family and many of their political and religious prisoners as well up until the 1700's. We heard story after story of their courage, religious pursuits, dishonesty, scandals, and everything in between. There is so much more I want to know about those families. When I get back I know what I will be studying. It was amazing to be in the places where they stood and to witness what they built. Their history is fascinating. Of course we couldn't live the Tower before viewing the crown jewels. Um, I have NEVER witness anything in my life like that-it is one of the greatest collections of anything anywhere in the world and the cool thing is that the Royal family still wears them on special occasions-what would it be like to have the biggest diamond in the world on your head?

As we took a river boat on the Thames from the tower to Big Ben, I thought that it couldn't get any better than that, but I was wrong. Unfortunately the House of Lords wasn't open to view but that allowed us more time to spend in the Abbey. We went to Westminster Abbey where many of the tombs of Kings and Queens and famous English figures are housed. The beauty and ornate detail of the Abbey is beyond description but seeing those tombs there and learning of the stories behind them means that much more. We spent 3 hours there just walking around listening to the tour guide and trying to take it all in. I just hope I really remember it the way it deserves to be captured in my memory.

To finish off the day we went to the Lion King which was on Broadway for a long time but I never got to see it. The costumes and the masterminds that went into the design of that show are incredible-it was so amazing. The whole day I kept thinking of what to say or how to describe the day and I don't think I can put it into words. Therefore I apologize because this is such a second class description of a first class experience.
We finished off the tour today by spending the whole morning in the British Museum where some of the most extensive collections of Greek, Roman, Chinese, Mesopotamian, and other ancient cultures artifacts are housed. We saw Egyptian mummies, pieces of the Parthenon, and so much more. I just don't have time (or money-this internet stuff here is a rip off-8 dollars an hour!) to list all I learned.

To sum it all up, if that is even possible, I guess what I learned is that there is so much to learn. I have so many things I now want to study. I want to know about the people that lived here and all that they went through. The impression I kept feeling was that these people have stories to tell and I for whatever reasons have a desire to hear them. It has opened my mind just being here to see that there are so many people that have lived on this earth that I know nothing about and yet I feel a strange connection to them like somehow I should get to know them. They were in some ways just like me and in other ways completely different and yet their lives were just as real as mine. What interests me most is how different people fulfilled their roles as leaders. Some kings and queens were very good and honest and others were completely corrupt. For the most part they had the power thrust upon them without a choice of whether they would like the power or not and some handled it with honor and with great sense of responsibility to the people and others completely destroyed the country during their reign. It is all so fascinating and I can't wait to learn more.
Life is amazing and I am so grateful I have had this opportunity to see how other people lived their lives.

Paris next-what could await me there?