So this would be our last class field trip of the year with a Dr. Lenox class - this time with math. Early in the year of math class, we voted on a which subjects we wanted to learn about in class and now we are finally on the last subject of symmetry, patterns, reflections and such. We met in Trafalgar Square and proceeded into the National Gallery, London's best collection of aftwork, in search of mathematically conceptualized paintings.
Our assignment was actually to look at two paintings or artists and blog about which, if any, mathematical concepts can be found in the gallery. The first thing I noticed were the paintings of Raphael. Although it was impossible for me to measure the actual length of the paintings, it appeared that they followed the 1.7:1 Golden ratio on the outset of the paintings which usually appears more pleasing to the eye. There were also symmetrical themes in Raphael's paintings. Although there wasn't an actual identical pattern there were usually balanced themes on both sides of the painting. For example, the Ansidei Madonna was a painting with the Virgin Mary centered, flanked by two people on either side, both men holding their staffs leaning in. Also, below her throne, there was a repeated glide reflection of what looked not too different from a grecian key.
The other painting I wanted to comment on was Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting. Although there was no direct noticable patterns from what I could tell, I very much liked the take he took by paintin the Sunflowers. even on a dreary London day, they somehow seemed so bright and cheery and even made me feel even happier than I already was.
Overall, the national gallery is not quite my cup of tea. I have been there before and have nothing against it, howver, I just wish I had a deeper understanding and appreciation of art and mathematical symmetry. That pretty much sums up my exciting day of class!
I now have only my last weekend to blog left and I hope to try and squeeze a blog somewhere before I leave London for Greece, Cairo, and Jerusalem & Bethlehem.
Until next time!
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Class Project: Cholera Epidemic in London...One life-changing pump.
So once upon a time, there was an old city called London. It was very old and very very over populated. This city drank lots of water from its very large pump system. Because the city was old, it didn't actually have a sewage system. Instead, what people did was dump their poo waste in holes they dug in the ground or through their basement and then covered them up. This probably led to a stinky city with lots of germs and stuff that people back then didn't know about. Anyway, one day, a certain family living near a centralized pump that took water from the well beneath it, had a little girl who was sick with cholera. Cholera was, and still is a very dangerous bacteria that can kill people if it goes untreated. Well this little girl with cholera had soiled clothing that was dumped near the pump in one of the poo holes. Unfortunately, the well had a slight crack in it which allowed just enough cholera germs from the soiled clothing in the poo hole to actually infect the entire well.
Soon enough, people started dying all over the place. Nobody could figure out what the problem was and why everyone was dying. Remember that London was horribly overpopulated (even moreso than it is now) and people could catch diseases very easily. Eventually, a smart man finally figured out that the only thing in common of all the people in London dying was that they all drank water from that well. Very quickly, they sealed up the well and within a couple weeks, people stopped dying from cholera. However, the damage was done and many people had died. Less than 10 households in a square mile of the pump did not suffer any fatalities. This is a very sad story but ironically enough, the pump still exists to this day.
Thats where we come in. After learning about this historically significant story about cholera, Dr. Lenox was gracious enough to offer the math class extra credit if we could find this pump and take a picture with it, and with the John Snow Pub right next to the pump, and then mention the story in our blog. So, viola! Here is the story, the pictures, and the blog. :)
Cheers!
Switzerland (and France, Germany, and Austria) and the ALPS!
As promised in my France blog, I'm attempting to catch up on the past couple weekends in which I have failed to blog in a timely manner. Finals are approaching really really fast with my last Psychology quiz tomorrow and then two finals, math and PR/advertising, on Wednesday. Thursday, my group of Sarah, Mike, and I, present our major cluster project that we have been working on for the past 3-4 weeks nonstop. So that's my current update. Now it's time to go back in time a few weeks in November.
It is November 20th, 2009. This trip may be the most unique trip because it is the one where we (myself, Alyssa, Renee [aka the badger], and Melinda [aka ginger]) actually have zero plans at all. It's another Friday, and this time, it is Alyssa's 20th birthday. For a solid week, I actually felt significantly superior and more mature than Alyssa because I was a whole year older. Now she has caught up to me and everything is back to normal. Anyway, unlike Paris, we all didn't get to go out to eat because of one minor detail.
We rented our own car and drove all around Switzerland the surrounding area.
So we rented our car from Geneva airport through Europecar. It was cool because in Switzerland, you only need to be 20 whereas in other parts of Europe, the minimum rental age is 21. So we drove through Geneva for a little while and then headed on NorthEast. Renee was my copilot for the majority of the trip (she was fantastic and was the only one under 20 at this time) and made her only mistake from the getgo. She had me turn right (accidently) instead of going streat. As a result, to get to our destination, Zurich, we had to go around Lake Interlaken and take the route through the Alps. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The route we took from Geneva to Zurich must have been one of the most enjoyable, and terrifying, rides I have ever ridden. While we all took turns driving (even Renee for a little bit), I was designated mountain driver which was perfectly fine by me except for those times when the speed limit was 50km/hr going around a 90degree turn with nothing separating us from a 1000ft drop except for a little wooden fence.
The drive through the alps was beautiful. We even slept in our car (which was absolutely FREEZING). So we finally arrived in Zurich and hung out for a little bit. It is a nice town. But we decided to go travel to the country very near to the North. Germany. So we crossed the border into Germany and then headed East into the next country, Austria! Austria was equally beatiful with its Alps and such. We looked for the Von Trap family but didn't see them. So we drove up the mountains and kept looking but to no avail. We consoled ourselves with the fact that we could see snow above us and grass below us - very interesting combination if you don't live near the mountains.
Well anyways, we ended up revisting Zurich (north actually) to see the Rhein falls which, I must say, were a bit of a disappointment, especially if you've seen Niagara Falls. We heard words such as "best falls in Europe" and such but they seriously were maybe a third the size of Niagara and not nearly as impressive. We also visited Lindt chocolate factory but it was closed when we got there so that was also slightly disappointing, but still, it was well worth the trip to the Swiss Chocolate factory.
So we drove back to Geneva. This time we took a more Southern route than before which also led us through the Alps and eventually through the Northernmost part of France as well. We had nothing to eat throughout our trip but foods from German supermarket giants Lidyl and Hofar (known in the States as Aldi) because, for example, a whopper costed 11 swiss franks ($12) and the a Starbucks coffee was pushing 10 swiss franks. So it was definitely economical to shop in bulk than eat out in town.
So it was a completely and utterly joyful ride through the mountains. The Swiss Alps definitely made the Rockies look like a child compared to the Alps. All in all, this trip was also very relaxing as we got to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and still didn't have to spend very much money at the same time because we didn't really go out much (exept we saw 2012 in Luzern for 16 Swiss franks a ticket) and instead enjoyed each others' company and of course, we enjoyed the beautiful Swiss Alps.
So that concludes my weekend. While we didn't get to see any Eiffel Towers, Colosseums, or Stonehenges like I have in the past, I did get to see 4 countries and an immense section of the world's most popular mountain range, for the price of a rented car and 2 tanks of gas. This ended up being a priceless experience and I thoroughly enjoyed this entire trip.
Now I need to update you on my latest weekend trip before my time runs out here in London.
Love you all friends and family!
-Milt
It is November 20th, 2009. This trip may be the most unique trip because it is the one where we (myself, Alyssa, Renee [aka the badger], and Melinda [aka ginger]) actually have zero plans at all. It's another Friday, and this time, it is Alyssa's 20th birthday. For a solid week, I actually felt significantly superior and more mature than Alyssa because I was a whole year older. Now she has caught up to me and everything is back to normal. Anyway, unlike Paris, we all didn't get to go out to eat because of one minor detail.
We rented our own car and drove all around Switzerland the surrounding area.
So we rented our car from Geneva airport through Europecar. It was cool because in Switzerland, you only need to be 20 whereas in other parts of Europe, the minimum rental age is 21. So we drove through Geneva for a little while and then headed on NorthEast. Renee was my copilot for the majority of the trip (she was fantastic and was the only one under 20 at this time) and made her only mistake from the getgo. She had me turn right (accidently) instead of going streat. As a result, to get to our destination, Zurich, we had to go around Lake Interlaken and take the route through the Alps. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The route we took from Geneva to Zurich must have been one of the most enjoyable, and terrifying, rides I have ever ridden. While we all took turns driving (even Renee for a little bit), I was designated mountain driver which was perfectly fine by me except for those times when the speed limit was 50km/hr going around a 90degree turn with nothing separating us from a 1000ft drop except for a little wooden fence.
The drive through the alps was beautiful. We even slept in our car (which was absolutely FREEZING). So we finally arrived in Zurich and hung out for a little bit. It is a nice town. But we decided to go travel to the country very near to the North. Germany. So we crossed the border into Germany and then headed East into the next country, Austria! Austria was equally beatiful with its Alps and such. We looked for the Von Trap family but didn't see them. So we drove up the mountains and kept looking but to no avail. We consoled ourselves with the fact that we could see snow above us and grass below us - very interesting combination if you don't live near the mountains.
Well anyways, we ended up revisting Zurich (north actually) to see the Rhein falls which, I must say, were a bit of a disappointment, especially if you've seen Niagara Falls. We heard words such as "best falls in Europe" and such but they seriously were maybe a third the size of Niagara and not nearly as impressive. We also visited Lindt chocolate factory but it was closed when we got there so that was also slightly disappointing, but still, it was well worth the trip to the Swiss Chocolate factory.
So we drove back to Geneva. This time we took a more Southern route than before which also led us through the Alps and eventually through the Northernmost part of France as well. We had nothing to eat throughout our trip but foods from German supermarket giants Lidyl and Hofar (known in the States as Aldi) because, for example, a whopper costed 11 swiss franks ($12) and the a Starbucks coffee was pushing 10 swiss franks. So it was definitely economical to shop in bulk than eat out in town.
So it was a completely and utterly joyful ride through the mountains. The Swiss Alps definitely made the Rockies look like a child compared to the Alps. All in all, this trip was also very relaxing as we got to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and still didn't have to spend very much money at the same time because we didn't really go out much (exept we saw 2012 in Luzern for 16 Swiss franks a ticket) and instead enjoyed each others' company and of course, we enjoyed the beautiful Swiss Alps.
So that concludes my weekend. While we didn't get to see any Eiffel Towers, Colosseums, or Stonehenges like I have in the past, I did get to see 4 countries and an immense section of the world's most popular mountain range, for the price of a rented car and 2 tanks of gas. This ended up being a priceless experience and I thoroughly enjoyed this entire trip.
Now I need to update you on my latest weekend trip before my time runs out here in London.
Love you all friends and family!
-Milt
Parlez-Vous Francais??
Bonjour! So this has officially been my longest gap of blogging about my weekend trips. For one, I'm now 20. This does not entail that I have been a little hermit crowding my room, but rather I have been extremely busy and entirely consumed with the weekday activities most collegiate students near finals must get through. As you can see, I have not actually posted about my past three weekends but rather I've only posted class assignments and a holcad article. Apologies especially to my family back home. I know you're eager to read about my latest stories and I will try to get them to you one story at a time as quickly as possible.
So take yourselves back to the second weekend of November. Novemer 12, the eve of my Friday-the-13th birthday, to be exact. Miles, Alyssa, and I flew EasyJet to Charles De Gaulle Airport near Paris France. It is here that I got to truly test my three years of high school French and my 1 semester of 201 level French. In class, I had never received less than an A-. However, I hardly felt like the straight-A student I had become known as when I was thrown into the French native speaking city of Paris. Throughout the weekend, I was essentially the spokesperson of our groups as everyone else was either a spanish or latin student (or in alyssa's case, italian). It was fairly easy enough to start conversation:
"Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?"
However, if they spoke back in French, all I heard was a blur of French where I only picked up a couple words at a time. Anyway, after checking into our hostel in Montmarte, we dec
ided to get a headstart on the rest of the WC students who were coming to Paris on Friday. Around 11pm we found a nice looking little restaurant called La restaurant d'Albert. It is here that we had the most delicious salmon pasta ever. Much to my surprise, Alyssa secretly mentioned to our wonderful French waitress that it was my birthday and maybe they could stick a candle in my creme de caramel. Oblivious to this all, I was surprised when the TV shut off and all the lights dimmed. The restaurant was already fairly empty but suddenly this very joyful rendition of "Happy Birthday" began playing on the loudspeakers...Out comes the waiting staff bringing my creme de caramel - with an enormous sparkler that looked like it belonged more in a fireworks show than on my French dessert. A wonderful phone call from my family wishing me a happy birthday concluded my night as we all prepared for our big weekend.
Friday was the first day of our tour with International Friends. We checked into the 3-star tourgroup hotel early and, since we had a couple hours to kill, Miles and I stumbled upon
this tall building near our hotel with grass growing out of its walls. We explored the inside and actually found that it was the host venue for the Paris Masters tennis tournament. Seeing the eventual tournament winner Novak Djokovic was winning convincingly, Miles and I decided to purchase tickets for the very next match featuring the World #2 Rafael Nadal versus #9 Tsonga of France. I have never witnessed tennis at any level higher than my high school friends played. The match itself was quite an enjoyment with hard-hitting serves and incredible returns. The speed of the game is much quicker than it looks on TV. After watching the first set, Miles and I had to go meet our tour group.
Friday's part of the tour featured a nice little bus ride to the world famous Eiffel Tower. It is here that our group, led by Tony - the short bald British man, boarded our cruise boat on the river Seine. From our tour boat, we got a wonderful view of Paris. Needless to say, It was quite a highlight to an already eventful birthday. Our busride home we met some new friends, Olga and Derek, who we eventually went out to dinner with that evening where I got to taste duck fois gras.
Saturday began our full day of guided sightseeing. We headed into the historic district of Montmarte and got to visit the world-famous eglise de Sacre Coeur, or, the church of the Sacred Heart. To date, this is my favorite cathedral I've visited. The Sacre Coeur's placement on th
e high point overlooking Paris with nothing but the sky behind it can only cause one to gap in awe. Its Byzantine style or curves and points with the white facade are especially pleasing to the eye. After climbing the stairs up to it, we explored the equally beautiful interior of the church. A few of us decided to continue our exploration and we decided to climb to the very top of the Sacre Coeur (which involved several hundred winding steps) to get the best view of the entirety of Paris. It is here that our tour group actually left us WC students atop the Sacre Coeur. However we were not complaining because we decided that enjoying our time was more fun.
We eventually met up with our tour group after lunch where we continued onto Notre Dame. This cathedral is not only the namesake of a prestigious university and the home to a hunchback named Quasimodo, this cathedral was France's finest example of gothic architecture. With its flying buttresses and gargoyles, and overall forboding presence, Notre Dame was quite an impressive building. How they built such a building still beats me but the this cathedral actually makes my top-3 list of favorites. The inside was absolutely massive. with it's multiple archways and incredible stain glass windows, Notre Dame must be able to hold several thousand in one service.
After visiting Notre Dame, many of us continued the second half of Saturday's tour to Versailles. Now I honestly did not know much about Versailles except that it was some palace with some gardens and that a treaty was signed here after a world war. What I did not expect was the product of King Louis XIV's lavish spending on himself. The guy actually employed every good French painter for one sole purpose - self portraits. Now I had visited Buckingham Palace a month earlier but even the home of the Queen did not compare to this palace. Room after room was adorned with gold, silver, precious stones, and of course, several life sized paintings of king Louis XIV. The Gardens were equally as impressive with their unique shrubberies , fountains, and gorgeous landscaping.
That evening, my Westminster friends and I all decided to meet at the Eiffel Tower to and climb each and ever step of the way. Nearly our entire WC group was in Paris this weekend so it was here we took our famous group picture. The Eiffel Tower does not need much more explanation except that it was beautiful and worth every step of that intense climb.
Our final day in Paris involved our trip, to, in my opinion, the world's greatest museum -
The Louvre. Now don't get me wrong, London has several fantastic museums, especially the Britis
h Museum. However, the Louvre takes the cake on this one. The place was once a fortress and also a palace and massively enormous doesn't give this place enough credit. The Louvre houses perhaps the most famous painting of all time - The Mona Lisa. It also is filled with dozens of other incredibly famous works of art and achievement. I could honestly spend a week straight in this museum and still not see everything there is to see. However, due to time constraints and an eventual evening flight to catch, we were restricted to only visiting the most well-known exhibits.
At this point, the main tour group departed back home leaving me back with my original group of Miles and Alyssa. From the Louvre, we decided to walk to the Arc de Triumph. Big m
istake. Climbing the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur had taken its toll on our legs. Despite Alyssa's warnings of how far the Arc was from the Louvre, Miles and I were stubborn enough to walk the entire walk down the Champ D'Elysees. Nearing the heart of the city, we got a true feel of how unique Paris is as a city and how it has maintained its look as one of the world's most famous cities. The Arc de Triumph is the world's second biggest arc and simply lies in the center of a huge intersection. Once again, Paris did not cease to impress me with yet another world famous landmark.
From this point, Miles, Alyssa, and I had a few more hours left until we had to depart for
our flight home. Here we had our fun with the Parisian underground system. Unlike London, the French don't actually monitor the gates to get in and out of each station. As a result, we discovered that we could, like many of the locals, hop over or climb under each gateway. With only 1 one-journey ticket, Miles, Alyssa, and I managed to navigate our way through the underground system to Moulin Rouge, and eventually, back to the airport.
All in all, Paris is my favorite city surpassing Venice. If I ever get the chance I would come back in a heartbeat. It was perhaps the most complete visit of a city I've done yet. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triumph, and Moulin Rouge are pretty much things I hope to keep in memory for the rest of my life. Speaking of life, I now need to blog about my weekend trip in the Swiss Alps.
Au Revoir!
So take yourselves back to the second weekend of November. Novemer 12, the eve of my Friday-the-13th birthday, to be exact. Miles, Alyssa, and I flew EasyJet to Charles De Gaulle Airport near Paris France. It is here that I got to truly test my three years of high school French and my 1 semester of 201 level French. In class, I had never received less than an A-. However, I hardly felt like the straight-A student I had become known as when I was thrown into the French native speaking city of Paris. Throughout the weekend, I was essentially the spokesperson of our groups as everyone else was either a spanish or latin student (or in alyssa's case, italian). It was fairly easy enough to start conversation:
"Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?"
However, if they spoke back in French, all I heard was a blur of French where I only picked up a couple words at a time. Anyway, after checking into our hostel in Montmarte, we dec
ided to get a headstart on the rest of the WC students who were coming to Paris on Friday. Around 11pm we found a nice looking little restaurant called La restaurant d'Albert. It is here that we had the most delicious salmon pasta ever. Much to my surprise, Alyssa secretly mentioned to our wonderful French waitress that it was my birthday and maybe they could stick a candle in my creme de caramel. Oblivious to this all, I was surprised when the TV shut off and all the lights dimmed. The restaurant was already fairly empty but suddenly this very joyful rendition of "Happy Birthday" began playing on the loudspeakers...Out comes the waiting staff bringing my creme de caramel - with an enormous sparkler that looked like it belonged more in a fireworks show than on my French dessert. A wonderful phone call from my family wishing me a happy birthday concluded my night as we all prepared for our big weekend.Friday was the first day of our tour with International Friends. We checked into the 3-star tourgroup hotel early and, since we had a couple hours to kill, Miles and I stumbled upon
this tall building near our hotel with grass growing out of its walls. We explored the inside and actually found that it was the host venue for the Paris Masters tennis tournament. Seeing the eventual tournament winner Novak Djokovic was winning convincingly, Miles and I decided to purchase tickets for the very next match featuring the World #2 Rafael Nadal versus #9 Tsonga of France. I have never witnessed tennis at any level higher than my high school friends played. The match itself was quite an enjoyment with hard-hitting serves and incredible returns. The speed of the game is much quicker than it looks on TV. After watching the first set, Miles and I had to go meet our tour group.
Friday's part of the tour featured a nice little bus ride to the world famous Eiffel Tower. It is here that our group, led by Tony - the short bald British man, boarded our cruise boat on the river Seine. From our tour boat, we got a wonderful view of Paris. Needless to say, It was quite a highlight to an already eventful birthday. Our busride home we met some new friends, Olga and Derek, who we eventually went out to dinner with that evening where I got to taste duck fois gras.
Saturday began our full day of guided sightseeing. We headed into the historic district of Montmarte and got to visit the world-famous eglise de Sacre Coeur, or, the church of the Sacred Heart. To date, this is my favorite cathedral I've visited. The Sacre Coeur's placement on th
e high point overlooking Paris with nothing but the sky behind it can only cause one to gap in awe. Its Byzantine style or curves and points with the white facade are especially pleasing to the eye. After climbing the stairs up to it, we explored the equally beautiful interior of the church. A few of us decided to continue our exploration and we decided to climb to the very top of the Sacre Coeur (which involved several hundred winding steps) to get the best view of the entirety of Paris. It is here that our tour group actually left us WC students atop the Sacre Coeur. However we were not complaining because we decided that enjoying our time was more fun.
We eventually met up with our tour group after lunch where we continued onto Notre Dame. This cathedral is not only the namesake of a prestigious university and the home to a hunchback named Quasimodo, this cathedral was France's finest example of gothic architecture. With its flying buttresses and gargoyles, and overall forboding presence, Notre Dame was quite an impressive building. How they built such a building still beats me but the this cathedral actually makes my top-3 list of favorites. The inside was absolutely massive. with it's multiple archways and incredible stain glass windows, Notre Dame must be able to hold several thousand in one service.
After visiting Notre Dame, many of us continued the second half of Saturday's tour to Versailles. Now I honestly did not know much about Versailles except that it was some palace with some gardens and that a treaty was signed here after a world war. What I did not expect was the product of King Louis XIV's lavish spending on himself. The guy actually employed every good French painter for one sole purpose - self portraits. Now I had visited Buckingham Palace a month earlier but even the home of the Queen did not compare to this palace. Room after room was adorned with gold, silver, precious stones, and of course, several life sized paintings of king Louis XIV. The Gardens were equally as impressive with their unique shrubberies , fountains, and gorgeous landscaping.
That evening, my Westminster friends and I all decided to meet at the Eiffel Tower to and climb each and ever step of the way. Nearly our entire WC group was in Paris this weekend so it was here we took our famous group picture. The Eiffel Tower does not need much more explanation except that it was beautiful and worth every step of that intense climb.
Our final day in Paris involved our trip, to, in my opinion, the world's greatest museum -
The Louvre. Now don't get me wrong, London has several fantastic museums, especially the Britis
h Museum. However, the Louvre takes the cake on this one. The place was once a fortress and also a palace and massively enormous doesn't give this place enough credit. The Louvre houses perhaps the most famous painting of all time - The Mona Lisa. It also is filled with dozens of other incredibly famous works of art and achievement. I could honestly spend a week straight in this museum and still not see everything there is to see. However, due to time constraints and an eventual evening flight to catch, we were restricted to only visiting the most well-known exhibits.At this point, the main tour group departed back home leaving me back with my original group of Miles and Alyssa. From the Louvre, we decided to walk to the Arc de Triumph. Big m
istake. Climbing the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur had taken its toll on our legs. Despite Alyssa's warnings of how far the Arc was from the Louvre, Miles and I were stubborn enough to walk the entire walk down the Champ D'Elysees. Nearing the heart of the city, we got a true feel of how unique Paris is as a city and how it has maintained its look as one of the world's most famous cities. The Arc de Triumph is the world's second biggest arc and simply lies in the center of a huge intersection. Once again, Paris did not cease to impress me with yet another world famous landmark.From this point, Miles, Alyssa, and I had a few more hours left until we had to depart for
our flight home. Here we had our fun with the Parisian underground system. Unlike London, the French don't actually monitor the gates to get in and out of each station. As a result, we discovered that we could, like many of the locals, hop over or climb under each gateway. With only 1 one-journey ticket, Miles, Alyssa, and I managed to navigate our way through the underground system to Moulin Rouge, and eventually, back to the airport.All in all, Paris is my favorite city surpassing Venice. If I ever get the chance I would come back in a heartbeat. It was perhaps the most complete visit of a city I've done yet. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triumph, and Moulin Rouge are pretty much things I hope to keep in memory for the rest of my life. Speaking of life, I now need to blog about my weekend trip in the Swiss Alps.
Au Revoir!
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Sports in Europe
As part of my duty being an international reporter for Westminster's brillian newspaper, The Holcad, I was asked to write a feature article on the differences in sports between Europe and the US. So below is are the fruits of my labor for those of you who can't access the actual Holcad.
Over on this side of the pond, where the rain often falls and where people drive on the wrong side of the road, there abides a craze for a certain sport called football. Not the smash-mouthed hard-nosed big-hit football that we Americans have come to expect. This game of football actually involves feet the entire game. Speed and “touch” are the most important skills involved but so are strength, stamina, and aggression. This game, also played in America, is commonly called soccer.
It is neither the sport nor the name that differs so greatly from the States, it is the fans. Simply put, the soccer fans in Europe are insane. Steeler Nation, I’m sorry but you are not the world’s greatest fans. Not even close. I have never witnessed a sport in the US where 75,000 fans stand and jump in unison while chanting their teams fight song for 90 minutes straight. Only in European football is it common for fights to break out among opposing fans every single game. Penn State’s most successful “White-Outs” would be considered an average fan support at best in Europe.
However, it is not even the fans in the stadium that amaze me the most. It is the loyal British fan watching the games in the pub. In central London, I visited one pub in particular, the Sports Café, which is lined wall-to-wall with TVs covering the various football games. The building is packed like a can of sardines. Men and women alike are sipping on their pints of beer or cider while rooting on their team. A roar of cheers bursts from an entire section of the pub. Liverpool just scored against Barcelona and now has the lead. Cursing is heard from the small contingent of Barcelona fans that are outnumbered by their Liverpool counterparts. The Manchester United fans, that are winning their own game 3-nil, break up a fight in the pub.
After the night’s games, victorious fans celebrate by parading through the streets of London, often drunk, picking fights with fans that, bitter from their defeat, are equally as inebriated. Windows are broken, bottles are thrown, and victory chants can be heard throughout the streets. It’s a good thing everyone here uses public transportation instead of getting behind the wheel. Needless to say, nothing in America quite matches up to the craze possessed by European football fans.
Some critics argue that soccer is a soft sport, made for pansies etc. However, I encourage you to go watch one of WC’s soccer games and see how physical it actually is. Running, diving, heading, sliding, and shoulder charging for 90 minutes is not nearly as easy as it looks. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.
But for those of you who still want something European that is as physical, solid, and hard-nosed as a game of American football, I suggest you watch a game of Rugby. Rugby operates similarly to American football, but with fewer rules. The goal is to score a “touchdown” or
kick a field goal. However, forward passes are illegal, pads are non-existent, and the only rule for tackling is you can’t use a headlock. Rugby is Europe’s second most popular sport and is also very popular in Australia. It is also the only sport I know of where players sit out 3 months with liver and kidney injuries. Playing with a concussion is quite normal and players have been known to have their ears bitten off in the process of gang tackles. Rugby rivals the roughest play in American football and is not a sport for the timid.
There is one more sport in Europe that is rather foreign to the US. Cricket. It is Great Britain’s national sport and is widely popular especially in India. The only sport comparable is baseball but even baseball holds very little in common with Cricket.
I have been living in London for over a month and still have not fully grasped the terminology used in Cricket. From what I understand, the game sort of goes as follows: The pitcher, or “bowler”, throws the ball at a wicket. The batter hits the ball and runs with a teammate in a circle around the 22 yards-long “pitch” before the ball is returned to the bowler. Multiple runs can 
be scored with each lap made around the pitch. Outs can be recorded by either a fly-ball catch, or, if the bowler gets the ball back and knocks down a wicket before the batter and his running partner return to hit the ball again. There are a lot more rules and variations that I don’t – and probably never will – quite understand. I suggest you do further research if you are interested in learning more about cricket.
All in all, European sports are quite fascinating. Not only are the sports different than American sports, the fans differ as well. Europeans live and die with the success, or failure, of their teams. There is no such thing as a bandwagon because people here are so loyal to their teams. Getting involved in European sports has been one of my favorite experiences while here in Europe. If you ever find yourself in a foreign country, I encourage you to take this experience and add it to your own. Find a pub, watch some “football”, and you can also become a part of what it means to be a true sports fan.
Alice in Wonderland - Class Assignment
So our latest technology learned in class was about a little program called Alice. This isn't the same little girl in the story most of us are familiar with. This Alice was actually developed by some nerdy smart people at CMU. First let me start by saying it takes absolutely forever to download. However, once I downloaded it all night for 5 hours, it didn't even open the file. I tried getting it from someone's flash drive and that may have worked but I decided not to try because of reported viruses from the other computers by that same flash drive.
Anyway, on to the actual program. Basically, Alice is a nice little program that allows you to create your own animated movies. The detailed tutorial walks you through the entire process of how to make things move and how to time it and speed it up or slow down. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it, it can be quite fun.
I learned how to make an ice skater jump up and down and skate forwards and backwards. I also made a bunny, disturbed from a nap, jump and squash a cell phone. I also learned how to make penguins sing notes of my choice and then record the melody created. The possibilites are endless in combinations of what is available to use. I think programs like Alice are very fun but can be time consuming for even the simplest movements. I read online that they are coming out with a newer version - of which I'm eager to see what it has to offer.
While the graphics of the characters and movements aren't exactly realistic to say the least, it is mind boggling to imagine what the creators of computerized films (like Toy Story) must go through to just get through one scene. Overall, I'm glad I got to learn how to use Alice. I doubt I'll go make movies for fun unless I'm really bored. However, I do have a new appreciation for what it must take to animate films. I would recommend it to other people only if they have an interest in computer animation. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble of learning how to use something you probably won't make worth your time.
That's all I have for Alice. Apologies for being so late on my latest adventures of Paris and Switzerland Alps stories. I'll blog on those as soon as I get the chance. I also have a newspaper article to post about sports as well. Until then, I'll "ttyl" or talk to you later!
Anyway, on to the actual program. Basically, Alice is a nice little program that allows you to create your own animated movies. The detailed tutorial walks you through the entire process of how to make things move and how to time it and speed it up or slow down. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it, it can be quite fun.
I learned how to make an ice skater jump up and down and skate forwards and backwards. I also made a bunny, disturbed from a nap, jump and squash a cell phone. I also learned how to make penguins sing notes of my choice and then record the melody created. The possibilites are endless in combinations of what is available to use. I think programs like Alice are very fun but can be time consuming for even the simplest movements. I read online that they are coming out with a newer version - of which I'm eager to see what it has to offer.
While the graphics of the characters and movements aren't exactly realistic to say the least, it is mind boggling to imagine what the creators of computerized films (like Toy Story) must go through to just get through one scene. Overall, I'm glad I got to learn how to use Alice. I doubt I'll go make movies for fun unless I'm really bored. However, I do have a new appreciation for what it must take to animate films. I would recommend it to other people only if they have an interest in computer animation. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble of learning how to use something you probably won't make worth your time.
That's all I have for Alice. Apologies for being so late on my latest adventures of Paris and Switzerland Alps stories. I'll blog on those as soon as I get the chance. I also have a newspaper article to post about sports as well. Until then, I'll "ttyl" or talk to you later!
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Class Blog - Twitter
Twitter. We all hear about it, yet most of us don't know what it is, or what it stands for. I was once a part of this group, however, thanks to my Computer Science class on the Internet, I have now learned what it takes to be a "tweeter". Twitter basically is a little update, limited to 140 characters, in which people post things about themselves, their lives, their thoughts, or even hold conversations back and forth with each other. I just began using my twitter account (twitter.com/miltiadisC) recently as part of a class requirement and I already understand what can cause its addiction.
One of the main reasons people tweet is because we can be followed by people, and in turn, follow others. As Dr. McMinn says, we are social creatures by nature. So this makes sense that people would enjoy being involved in other people's lives. Personally, I enjoy following people who I emulate such as Baltimore's Ray Lewis or even twitter health updates. It gives me an opportunity to follow and keep up with not only celebrities and sports stars but also friends and family. Likewise, people can follow me as well.
It's rather strange to be followed. Imagine a person who pretty much follows you everywhere they go. You would call that person a creeper right? However, it is comforting to know that I can limit what that person knows and sees about my life by simply censoring what I say. I do think it's a little creepy considering I have a follower who I have no clue who that person is. It is a little disturbing but if statistics from my psychology class are correct, that person is not likely to be a pedophile. I rest at peace.
So why do people tweet? That is the question of the hour. Now I could never actually record everything I do in life, however, I certainly would like to remember the little things I do each day. Twitter gives me that opportunity to record little tidbits of my day and be able to follow other people doing the same thing. Celebrities have Twitter and now I can be one of the first to hear about their comments on certain events and such. It's incredibly addicting, especially if you have constant Internet connection. I learned in class that thousands of people are both getting Twitter accounts, and using Internet connections with their cell phones each day. I think the technology as a whole is very interesting and that it does need to be carefully used. Twitter is a nice tool and an excellent way to get your opinions out there. However, one must be careful not to use it too much and become absorbed into the virtual world of the Internet.
According to what I learned in my computer science class, Twitter is a form of what is coined as "microblogging". If you know your prefixes, micro means small/tiny, so basically If I could condense this entire blog into something small (say 140 characters), it could be considered a microblog. Microblogging is a newer craze that is just beginning to catch on. Most microblogging can be done through cell phones and this has been increasing popularity. However, I can only imagine what the future holds for microblogging. I think something using bluetooth technology and a Twitter-esque display would be interesting. Kind of like I can pick up nearby people's bluetooth signal and through that, maybe I could see their personal Twitter and as a result, reach a mutual understanding with them. For example, a guy walks into a pub and picks up the bluetooth of a girl who just posted how she wished Manchester United would stop under-achieving. The guy is a Man U fan and viola, there is an instant connection between two strangers. I think something of this type of form that would help form relationships, and thus satisfy the need to belong (in psychological terms), and make instant connections with random strangers. Like all new ideas, only time will tell.
In the end, I still don't know if I will continue using Twitter the way I have been as part of my class requirement, however, I at least will be more understanding when people say they need to get on Twitter every hour or so. It is something new and is worth giving a shot, even if you are as stubborn as I am. Only time will tell when and where the latest technological craze will happen. Until then, I will be more than happy to think about Paris this coming weekend. :) Au Revoir!
One of the main reasons people tweet is because we can be followed by people, and in turn, follow others. As Dr. McMinn says, we are social creatures by nature. So this makes sense that people would enjoy being involved in other people's lives. Personally, I enjoy following people who I emulate such as Baltimore's Ray Lewis or even twitter health updates. It gives me an opportunity to follow and keep up with not only celebrities and sports stars but also friends and family. Likewise, people can follow me as well.
It's rather strange to be followed. Imagine a person who pretty much follows you everywhere they go. You would call that person a creeper right? However, it is comforting to know that I can limit what that person knows and sees about my life by simply censoring what I say. I do think it's a little creepy considering I have a follower who I have no clue who that person is. It is a little disturbing but if statistics from my psychology class are correct, that person is not likely to be a pedophile. I rest at peace.
So why do people tweet? That is the question of the hour. Now I could never actually record everything I do in life, however, I certainly would like to remember the little things I do each day. Twitter gives me that opportunity to record little tidbits of my day and be able to follow other people doing the same thing. Celebrities have Twitter and now I can be one of the first to hear about their comments on certain events and such. It's incredibly addicting, especially if you have constant Internet connection. I learned in class that thousands of people are both getting Twitter accounts, and using Internet connections with their cell phones each day. I think the technology as a whole is very interesting and that it does need to be carefully used. Twitter is a nice tool and an excellent way to get your opinions out there. However, one must be careful not to use it too much and become absorbed into the virtual world of the Internet.
According to what I learned in my computer science class, Twitter is a form of what is coined as "microblogging". If you know your prefixes, micro means small/tiny, so basically If I could condense this entire blog into something small (say 140 characters), it could be considered a microblog. Microblogging is a newer craze that is just beginning to catch on. Most microblogging can be done through cell phones and this has been increasing popularity. However, I can only imagine what the future holds for microblogging. I think something using bluetooth technology and a Twitter-esque display would be interesting. Kind of like I can pick up nearby people's bluetooth signal and through that, maybe I could see their personal Twitter and as a result, reach a mutual understanding with them. For example, a guy walks into a pub and picks up the bluetooth of a girl who just posted how she wished Manchester United would stop under-achieving. The guy is a Man U fan and viola, there is an instant connection between two strangers. I think something of this type of form that would help form relationships, and thus satisfy the need to belong (in psychological terms), and make instant connections with random strangers. Like all new ideas, only time will tell.
In the end, I still don't know if I will continue using Twitter the way I have been as part of my class requirement, however, I at least will be more understanding when people say they need to get on Twitter every hour or so. It is something new and is worth giving a shot, even if you are as stubborn as I am. Only time will tell when and where the latest technological craze will happen. Until then, I will be more than happy to think about Paris this coming weekend. :) Au Revoir!
The Irish know their beers...
Let me just begin by saying Ireland is not known for its impressive buildings, its number of bridges, or even its rolling plains (Scotland takes that prize). However, everyone envies a thing or two about the Irish and it is all summed up on Saint Patrick's Day. Ireland is not defined by its cities or even its green countryside dotted with countless cows and sheep. Ireland gets its identity from its great people, its pubs, and Guinness beer.
We arrived in Dublin and bought one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours that take you around Dublin stopping at each sight-worthy place to be in London. Our first stop was at this little park where we began playing on the little swing set. A burly policeman came up to us. "how old are ya?" he asked. "19" we replied. "so you're not 4 or 5?" he said. "umm no, we answered" we answered. "well let me put this nicely, ADIOS" he said. Walking with a purpose, we walked quickly to our bus stop and hopped back on.
Our next main stop in Dublin was at the famous Guinness Factory. Imagine Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - with beer instead. It was very impressive. We learned how they g
row the barley and roast it. How they use pure water from the mountains, and even some history on Sir Arthur Guinness. What I found astonishing is that Guinness is celebrating its 250 year anniversary. That makes it older than the Declaration of Independence! We got to learn how to taste beer (compliments the wine tasting we had in Italy), and also learned how to craft the perfect pint of Guinness. The Guinness factory is composed of 7 floors which makes it one of the highest buildings in Dublin (they have a height restriction). At the very top, we were able to sip on our pints of complimentary Guinness and get a good look of the city of Dublin. After our Guinness tour finally ended, we hopped back on a tour bus and made it back to the bus station in time to travel across Ireland to our next destination, Galway.
The 3 and a half hour bus ride was a bit uncomfortable but we eventually made it to the small town of Galway. Galway sits on the West end of Ireland near the Atlantic Ocean. We knew we were in Ireland when the directions from the bus station to our hostel gave us pub by pub directions. Irish people are very nice. They like to crack jokes on themselves first before they crack on other people. They are very welcoming and have no qualms with Americans, unlike some other countries in Europe.
Saturday was spent pretty much all day searching around the little shops for the famed Claddagh Ring which consists of a pair of arms as the band, the hands come togethe
r at the top of the ring holding a heart with a crown on top. The hands represent friendship, the heart, love, and the crown, loyalty. When a girl wears the ring with the point of the heart facing herself, it signifies the fact that she is in a relationship. If she wears it with the heart pointing outward, it means her heart is open to the world. After the girls found what they were looking for, we all headed out to find a good pub to celebrate Melinda's 20th birthday. We took the advice of one of the jewellers to cross the river and find an authentic pub with live music, which we did, and better prices.
The pub was rather crowded but we did find ourselves seats. I love how much the Irish drink and don't show any effects of it. I saw countless people go up for their 3rd pint, their 4th
pint and even 7th and 8th pints without any problem whatsoever. Personally, I'm pretty much toast after 3 or 4. After the Irish band finished playing, we walked back home where Melinda got her birthday wish - a kiss by a true Irishman.
Sunday we headed back to Galway and met back up with Mindy, Kate, and Kelly (who hung out with us in Galway) and went out to dinner. After dinner, we went to a Dublin pub (they also had live music) which had another awesome atmosphere filled with candlelight and rusticness. Nothing beats Irish pubs. I love the English ones but something about Irish pubs, the people, or maybe the Guinness beer, is special. Our weekend was coming to a close quickly so we had to figure out what to do with the rest of our time.
Alyssa and I had a 6:40am flight for Monday morning (which would have us back in time for our 9am math class) but much to our dismay, the earliest shuttle bus to the airport didn't leave until 7am. So we took our Rome experience with us and camped out for the night inside the airport. Unlike Rome, we found a nice little carpeted corner and had quite an enjoyable sleep, that is, until around 4:30am when it seemed that tons of people suddenly came to airport and made such a racket that sleep was impossible. So we woke up, hung out at the airport, and waited for our 2.5 hour-delayed flight to finally take off. That pretty much concludes my Ireland trip! Next up, my #2 country to see, Paris, France. A Beintot! Until next time!
We arrived in Dublin and bought one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours that take you around Dublin stopping at each sight-worthy place to be in London. Our first stop was at this little park where we began playing on the little swing set. A burly policeman came up to us. "how old are ya?" he asked. "19" we replied. "so you're not 4 or 5?" he said. "umm no, we answered" we answered. "well let me put this nicely, ADIOS" he said. Walking with a purpose, we walked quickly to our bus stop and hopped back on.
Our next main stop in Dublin was at the famous Guinness Factory. Imagine Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - with beer instead. It was very impressive. We learned how they g
row the barley and roast it. How they use pure water from the mountains, and even some history on Sir Arthur Guinness. What I found astonishing is that Guinness is celebrating its 250 year anniversary. That makes it older than the Declaration of Independence! We got to learn how to taste beer (compliments the wine tasting we had in Italy), and also learned how to craft the perfect pint of Guinness. The Guinness factory is composed of 7 floors which makes it one of the highest buildings in Dublin (they have a height restriction). At the very top, we were able to sip on our pints of complimentary Guinness and get a good look of the city of Dublin. After our Guinness tour finally ended, we hopped back on a tour bus and made it back to the bus station in time to travel across Ireland to our next destination, Galway.
The 3 and a half hour bus ride was a bit uncomfortable but we eventually made it to the small town of Galway. Galway sits on the West end of Ireland near the Atlantic Ocean. We knew we were in Ireland when the directions from the bus station to our hostel gave us pub by pub directions. Irish people are very nice. They like to crack jokes on themselves first before they crack on other people. They are very welcoming and have no qualms with Americans, unlike some other countries in Europe.
Saturday was spent pretty much all day searching around the little shops for the famed Claddagh Ring which consists of a pair of arms as the band, the hands come togethe
r at the top of the ring holding a heart with a crown on top. The hands represent friendship, the heart, love, and the crown, loyalty. When a girl wears the ring with the point of the heart facing herself, it signifies the fact that she is in a relationship. If she wears it with the heart pointing outward, it means her heart is open to the world. After the girls found what they were looking for, we all headed out to find a good pub to celebrate Melinda's 20th birthday. We took the advice of one of the jewellers to cross the river and find an authentic pub with live music, which we did, and better prices.The pub was rather crowded but we did find ourselves seats. I love how much the Irish drink and don't show any effects of it. I saw countless people go up for their 3rd pint, their 4th
pint and even 7th and 8th pints without any problem whatsoever. Personally, I'm pretty much toast after 3 or 4. After the Irish band finished playing, we walked back home where Melinda got her birthday wish - a kiss by a true Irishman.Sunday we headed back to Galway and met back up with Mindy, Kate, and Kelly (who hung out with us in Galway) and went out to dinner. After dinner, we went to a Dublin pub (they also had live music) which had another awesome atmosphere filled with candlelight and rusticness. Nothing beats Irish pubs. I love the English ones but something about Irish pubs, the people, or maybe the Guinness beer, is special. Our weekend was coming to a close quickly so we had to figure out what to do with the rest of our time.
Alyssa and I had a 6:40am flight for Monday morning (which would have us back in time for our 9am math class) but much to our dismay, the earliest shuttle bus to the airport didn't leave until 7am. So we took our Rome experience with us and camped out for the night inside the airport. Unlike Rome, we found a nice little carpeted corner and had quite an enjoyable sleep, that is, until around 4:30am when it seemed that tons of people suddenly came to airport and made such a racket that sleep was impossible. So we woke up, hung out at the airport, and waited for our 2.5 hour-delayed flight to finally take off. That pretty much concludes my Ireland trip! Next up, my #2 country to see, Paris, France. A Beintot! Until next time!
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
ITALIA!
What an absolutely incredible 10 day stretch!
The notion of living in a completely foreign country for 10 days was definitely something, I must confess, I was a little uncomfortable with. However, after the past 10 days I just experienced in Italy, I cannot wait to travel again. I feel as if I've been bitten by the travel bug. I want to see new places, meet new people, eat new food, and learn more about other cultures.
It all started at the airport. We flew with British Airways (excellent service, I recommend them to anyone) into Fiumicino Airport outside of Rome on Thursday evening after Psychol
ogy class. Considering our limited student budgets, we all decided it would be cheaper to spend the night in the airport instead of booking an extra night with our hostel in Rome. By the time we landed and settled in the airport, all the seats were taken up so we found ourselves an abandoned corner that looked semi-clean and we camped out. That night was one of the coldest I have ever spent. No blanket and only my zip-up sweater between the cold tile and myself, I essentially slept curled up like a ball in a futile attempt to conserve as much body heat as possible. At 6:00AM, we were awaken rather suddenly by workers of the airport, so we stretched and hopped on the train towards our first destination. Rome.
We arrived at Rome, and checked into our hostel. The view from the balcony was of Saint Peter's Basilica. We were literally right across the street from the walls of the Vatican. The first da
y was the main tour of the Vatican. We walked through all of these chapels and little churches. We got to see the Vatican museum. The entire place was adorned with gold and silver and marble. You could almost smell the earthly riches in this place. After seeing painting after painting and fresco after fresco, sculpture after sculpture, we finally had reached the end of the road where we had been following the signs point to the "Capella Sistine". Actually, I felt a bit underwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. Sure it was bigger than I expected, but I think that the entire trip could be shorter instead of following those signs for over an hour. It was very beautiful but I the beauty was ruined by all the tourists talking loudly and the guards trying to shush everyone while at the same time, yell "no photo!" at the tourists silly enough openly take pictures of the painted chapel.
By this time, our main group of eight had broken into twos and threes so Alyssa and I continued our journey from the Vatican City into Rome on foot. With only a tourist map fro
m our hostel to guide us, we courageously went into the city. Our first stop was the Castle of Rome. We fell into a tourist trap here and took some pictures with guys dressed up like Roman soldiers and ended up having to pay a little fee. We then walked through the city seeing the big piazzas, the Pantheon, and random fountains. The next day, our group met back up again and we took the underground to see the Colosseum. This building is absolutely ancient. It used to seat between 50,000-75,000 people which blows my mind because professional stadiums hold people in that number. The place as a whole was pretty incredible. We then went next door to the Palantino, which was the palace of Caesar back in the day. It was an enormous layout of ground which I could 
hardly believe was dedicated to one man over a thousand years ago.
Our group then traversed the southern parts of Rome and we stumbled on one of the local food markets where be bought ourselves delicious fresh cheese and salami and two bottles of red wine to go along with it. It was a very inexpensive alternative to the restaurants and piazzarias that Rome has. We then went to Rome's most famous fountain, the Font de Trevi, and it lived up to every expectation. There were massive amounts of people just congregating in this place, tossing
coins for good luck, and even touching the actual water. We explored the rest of Rome that we could feasibly walk. We left by underground and made it back to our hostel after we took a night walk to see Saint Peters Basilica.
The next morning we stopped inside the Basilica to check it out for a Sunday morning and then hopped on our train to our next destination, Florence.
We arrived in Florence and checked into our hostel. We then walked around the city for a little bit. Evening was falling quickly so we didn't get to see much of Florence in the day time
, however, seeing the Duomo (Florence's biggest church) was very impressive. Florence has a lot of leather goods in their markets and it smelled a little funny. Overall, Florence was cleaner looking, although not as impressive structurally, as Rome.
The next day, we discovered that museums are closed on Mondays which meant we could not go see the famous Da Vinci museum etc. Instead, we took the opportunity to go into the countryside on a tour of Tuscany which included wine-tasting :)
The Tuscan countryside is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my entire life. The wine tasting guy was this hilarious, short, chubby Italian guy who spoke with broken
English. After tasting some delicious wines, including the famous Chiante wine, we tasted some fresh olive oil and also some rare truffle oil. Our next stop on the tour was in an actual vineyard where we were taught how wine is actually made. It is here where we were treated to an Italian meal of pasta, bread, and delicious cheese and honey. We also got to relax and admire the beauty of the Tuscan countryside. We also visited a tiny little town which has won the world's best gelato (kind of like ice cream) 2 of the past 3 years. It was good but I'm not sure what distinguishes good gelato from great gelato. 
Our final morning in Florence consisted of a walk to the Piazze del Michelangelo where we got the best view of all of Florence. This was my favorite part of Florence and well worth the walk to get to the vantage point. We walked to the train station and caught the train to our next destination, Venice.
We actually didn't stay IN Venice. We stayed in a tiny town called Vigonza. The description of the place was an 8 bedroom private shared bathroom. What we didn't realize was this pl
ace was actually a HOUSE. We had the whole place to ourselves and it was by far the most comfortable place we had stayed in thus far. The owners were Italian and didn't speak much English. However, they were incredibly nice and hospitable. They went and got us some oregano for our home cooked meal of pasta, olive oil, and fresh baked bread. The owners also owned a pizziaria and actually treated us to pizza the following night. It was an awesome experience - especially when the owner's wife tried to get Steve to marry their daughter ha ha.
Venice was my favorite city. It is so unique and so impr
essive in every way. From i
t's water canals to it's Venetian Murano glassware (Venice's most famous export), Venice was a city filled with charm and class. If you can deal with an occasional whiff of that fresh fish smell from the fish market, then Venice actually smells pretty nice as well. The Venetian architectural style is a cross between the Roman and Byzantine styles which gives it a unique identity as far as structure goes. It also has more bridges in the city than any other city in the world (Pittsburgh is number two on that list). We all walked around and explored the city of Venice. Like Rome and Florence, the city can be very touristy in most areas but we managed to f
ind the places where the loc
als lived and got an inside perspective of the city. The highlight of the trip must be our ride on the famous Gondola. We had a Gondola man who looked like an Italian Antonio Bandaras give us the 25 minute ride through the canals of Venice which only gave us an even deeper appreciation for the city. I really loved Venice and it was an awesome experience.
From Venice, our group split, some of us went to Milan and flew back to London while the rest of us visited the smaller town of Verona. Verona, as you Shakespeare buffs would know, is where the story of Romeo and Juliette takes place. It also is famous for its ancient Arena, which is similar to that of Rome's Colosseum. The most famous part of Verona is Juliet's balcony where the famous lines "oh Romeo, oh Romeo, where art thou..." took place. leading into the place was a wall covered and smothered with little love notes from people all over the world. Verona was a very nice place and a very relaxing part of our trip.
From Verona, we took the train to Milan and caught our flight back to London. Italy as a whole was a very beautiful place and excellent for a 10 day vacation. I do plan on visiting southern Italy and Sicily next time I return. Until then, Ciao ITALIA!
The notion of living in a completely foreign country for 10 days was definitely something, I must confess, I was a little uncomfortable with. However, after the past 10 days I just experienced in Italy, I cannot wait to travel again. I feel as if I've been bitten by the travel bug. I want to see new places, meet new people, eat new food, and learn more about other cultures.
It all started at the airport. We flew with British Airways (excellent service, I recommend them to anyone) into Fiumicino Airport outside of Rome on Thursday evening after Psychol
ogy class. Considering our limited student budgets, we all decided it would be cheaper to spend the night in the airport instead of booking an extra night with our hostel in Rome. By the time we landed and settled in the airport, all the seats were taken up so we found ourselves an abandoned corner that looked semi-clean and we camped out. That night was one of the coldest I have ever spent. No blanket and only my zip-up sweater between the cold tile and myself, I essentially slept curled up like a ball in a futile attempt to conserve as much body heat as possible. At 6:00AM, we were awaken rather suddenly by workers of the airport, so we stretched and hopped on the train towards our first destination. Rome.We arrived at Rome, and checked into our hostel. The view from the balcony was of Saint Peter's Basilica. We were literally right across the street from the walls of the Vatican. The first da
y was the main tour of the Vatican. We walked through all of these chapels and little churches. We got to see the Vatican museum. The entire place was adorned with gold and silver and marble. You could almost smell the earthly riches in this place. After seeing painting after painting and fresco after fresco, sculpture after sculpture, we finally had reached the end of the road where we had been following the signs point to the "Capella Sistine". Actually, I felt a bit underwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. Sure it was bigger than I expected, but I think that the entire trip could be shorter instead of following those signs for over an hour. It was very beautiful but I the beauty was ruined by all the tourists talking loudly and the guards trying to shush everyone while at the same time, yell "no photo!" at the tourists silly enough openly take pictures of the painted chapel.By this time, our main group of eight had broken into twos and threes so Alyssa and I continued our journey from the Vatican City into Rome on foot. With only a tourist map fro
m our hostel to guide us, we courageously went into the city. Our first stop was the Castle of Rome. We fell into a tourist trap here and took some pictures with guys dressed up like Roman soldiers and ended up having to pay a little fee. We then walked through the city seeing the big piazzas, the Pantheon, and random fountains. The next day, our group met back up again and we took the underground to see the Colosseum. This building is absolutely ancient. It used to seat between 50,000-75,000 people which blows my mind because professional stadiums hold people in that number. The place as a whole was pretty incredible. We then went next door to the Palantino, which was the palace of Caesar back in the day. It was an enormous layout of ground which I could 
hardly believe was dedicated to one man over a thousand years ago.Our group then traversed the southern parts of Rome and we stumbled on one of the local food markets where be bought ourselves delicious fresh cheese and salami and two bottles of red wine to go along with it. It was a very inexpensive alternative to the restaurants and piazzarias that Rome has. We then went to Rome's most famous fountain, the Font de Trevi, and it lived up to every expectation. There were massive amounts of people just congregating in this place, tossing
coins for good luck, and even touching the actual water. We explored the rest of Rome that we could feasibly walk. We left by underground and made it back to our hostel after we took a night walk to see Saint Peters Basilica.The next morning we stopped inside the Basilica to check it out for a Sunday morning and then hopped on our train to our next destination, Florence.
We arrived in Florence and checked into our hostel. We then walked around the city for a little bit. Evening was falling quickly so we didn't get to see much of Florence in the day time
, however, seeing the Duomo (Florence's biggest church) was very impressive. Florence has a lot of leather goods in their markets and it smelled a little funny. Overall, Florence was cleaner looking, although not as impressive structurally, as Rome.The next day, we discovered that museums are closed on Mondays which meant we could not go see the famous Da Vinci museum etc. Instead, we took the opportunity to go into the countryside on a tour of Tuscany which included wine-tasting :)
The Tuscan countryside is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my entire life. The wine tasting guy was this hilarious, short, chubby Italian guy who spoke with broken
English. After tasting some delicious wines, including the famous Chiante wine, we tasted some fresh olive oil and also some rare truffle oil. Our next stop on the tour was in an actual vineyard where we were taught how wine is actually made. It is here where we were treated to an Italian meal of pasta, bread, and delicious cheese and honey. We also got to relax and admire the beauty of the Tuscan countryside. We also visited a tiny little town which has won the world's best gelato (kind of like ice cream) 2 of the past 3 years. It was good but I'm not sure what distinguishes good gelato from great gelato. 
Our final morning in Florence consisted of a walk to the Piazze del Michelangelo where we got the best view of all of Florence. This was my favorite part of Florence and well worth the walk to get to the vantage point. We walked to the train station and caught the train to our next destination, Venice.
We actually didn't stay IN Venice. We stayed in a tiny town called Vigonza. The description of the place was an 8 bedroom private shared bathroom. What we didn't realize was this pl
ace was actually a HOUSE. We had the whole place to ourselves and it was by far the most comfortable place we had stayed in thus far. The owners were Italian and didn't speak much English. However, they were incredibly nice and hospitable. They went and got us some oregano for our home cooked meal of pasta, olive oil, and fresh baked bread. The owners also owned a pizziaria and actually treated us to pizza the following night. It was an awesome experience - especially when the owner's wife tried to get Steve to marry their daughter ha ha.Venice was my favorite city. It is so unique and so impr
essive in every way. From i
t's water canals to it's Venetian Murano glassware (Venice's most famous export), Venice was a city filled with charm and class. If you can deal with an occasional whiff of that fresh fish smell from the fish market, then Venice actually smells pretty nice as well. The Venetian architectural style is a cross between the Roman and Byzantine styles which gives it a unique identity as far as structure goes. It also has more bridges in the city than any other city in the world (Pittsburgh is number two on that list). We all walked around and explored the city of Venice. Like Rome and Florence, the city can be very touristy in most areas but we managed to f
ind the places where the loc
als lived and got an inside perspective of the city. The highlight of the trip must be our ride on the famous Gondola. We had a Gondola man who looked like an Italian Antonio Bandaras give us the 25 minute ride through the canals of Venice which only gave us an even deeper appreciation for the city. I really loved Venice and it was an awesome experience.From Venice, our group split, some of us went to Milan and flew back to London while the rest of us visited the smaller town of Verona. Verona, as you Shakespeare buffs would know, is where the story of Romeo and Juliette takes place. It also is famous for its ancient Arena, which is similar to that of Rome's Colosseum. The most famous part of Verona is Juliet's balcony where the famous lines "oh Romeo, oh Romeo, where art thou..." took place. leading into the place was a wall covered and smothered with little love notes from people all over the world. Verona was a very nice place and a very relaxing part of our trip.
From Verona, we took the train to Milan and caught our flight back to London. Italy as a whole was a very beautiful place and excellent for a 10 day vacation. I do plan on visiting southern Italy and Sicily next time I return. Until then, Ciao ITALIA!
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Natural History Museum Today, Italy Tomorrow!
Fall break is officially upon us.
After tomorrow's Internet Psychology of course...
Today, I took my last midterm in math class and following the normal Wednesday schedule, I would have gone to my computer science class to learn more about routers, packet switching, cyborgs, wikis, and the lions, and tigers and bears (oh my!) that computer science is all about. However, as part of our class interaction with technology, Dr. Lenox arranged a class field trip to London's famous Natural History Museum to examine the interactive technologies used in the exhibits - especially in the newly opened Darwin Center.
I must tell you, I was not all that excited to walk through an exhibit center about a scientist so controversial like Darwin. However, it was a nice change of pace from computer science (which we took the final for on Monday) so I approached the museum with an open mind and even more open arms...
Before going to the Darwin center, I went through the dinosaur section (which is one of the world's best dinosaur collections) and probably bored Alyssa to death with my geeky science knowledge about dinosaurs that I gained from my childhood dreams of becoming an archeologist. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the dinosaurs despite the lack of interaction on the exhibits.
Next I went to the Darwin center which is a brand new section of the museum. It started in "the cocoon" which also serves as a state-of-the-art lab for over 100 leading scientists in insect preservation.
Walking through the cocoon was very interesting to say the least. I've never been a big fan of bugs - in fact, I'm terrified of bees (especially bumble bees), and I'm a posterchild candidate for arachnidphobia. I ended being a big boy (and also trying to impress Alyssa, although I think my fear of bugs may exceed her own if possible) and braved the exhibits of bugs and stuff.
One of the first things I noticed were the walls. They were filled with electronic tv screens of "experts" talking about the nearest exhibit. Some walls contained picture slideshows of nature while others portrayed images from a projector. Overall, wherever I went, I could count on being informed simply by staring at the walls.
The other main technology I was impressed with was the Nature Plus Card. Basically, what this card did was remember what exhibits you interacted with by a simple scan. Near every station, a fancy-looking touch screen interactive booth was present. One would simply touch what categories they're interested in learning about what was related to the exhibit. After the screen ran its course, you scan your card and when you go home, you can actually enter your card number in on the website and learn more about those topics on the touch screen. This was a very sophisticated technology because children can impress their parents by gathering their information online from the museum website.
Overall, I, as a bit of a natural science myself, rather enjoyed the majority of the museum. I was not a fan of the Darwin center but that may be because I don't like insects or some of Darwin's theories...however, I got to get a future look ahead at what all technology is coming to. I can only wait and see when even more sophisticated stuff makes its way into museums and such.
That's all I have for now. I'm still writing my major "catching up" blog from the past couple weeks and I will try to post that before I leave for Italy tomorrow.
Believe me, I'll have a blog posted for that one as well.
until next time,
Ciao!
After tomorrow's Internet Psychology of course...
Today, I took my last midterm in math class and following the normal Wednesday schedule, I would have gone to my computer science class to learn more about routers, packet switching, cyborgs, wikis, and the lions, and tigers and bears (oh my!) that computer science is all about. However, as part of our class interaction with technology, Dr. Lenox arranged a class field trip to London's famous Natural History Museum to examine the interactive technologies used in the exhibits - especially in the newly opened Darwin Center.
I must tell you, I was not all that excited to walk through an exhibit center about a scientist so controversial like Darwin. However, it was a nice change of pace from computer science (which we took the final for on Monday) so I approached the museum with an open mind and even more open arms...
Before going to the Darwin center, I went through the dinosaur section (which is one of the world's best dinosaur collections) and probably bored Alyssa to death with my geeky science knowledge about dinosaurs that I gained from my childhood dreams of becoming an archeologist. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the dinosaurs despite the lack of interaction on the exhibits.
Next I went to the Darwin center which is a brand new section of the museum. It started in "the cocoon" which also serves as a state-of-the-art lab for over 100 leading scientists in insect preservation.
Walking through the cocoon was very interesting to say the least. I've never been a big fan of bugs - in fact, I'm terrified of bees (especially bumble bees), and I'm a posterchild candidate for arachnidphobia. I ended being a big boy (and also trying to impress Alyssa, although I think my fear of bugs may exceed her own if possible) and braved the exhibits of bugs and stuff.
One of the first things I noticed were the walls. They were filled with electronic tv screens of "experts" talking about the nearest exhibit. Some walls contained picture slideshows of nature while others portrayed images from a projector. Overall, wherever I went, I could count on being informed simply by staring at the walls.
The other main technology I was impressed with was the Nature Plus Card. Basically, what this card did was remember what exhibits you interacted with by a simple scan. Near every station, a fancy-looking touch screen interactive booth was present. One would simply touch what categories they're interested in learning about what was related to the exhibit. After the screen ran its course, you scan your card and when you go home, you can actually enter your card number in on the website and learn more about those topics on the touch screen. This was a very sophisticated technology because children can impress their parents by gathering their information online from the museum website.
Overall, I, as a bit of a natural science myself, rather enjoyed the majority of the museum. I was not a fan of the Darwin center but that may be because I don't like insects or some of Darwin's theories...however, I got to get a future look ahead at what all technology is coming to. I can only wait and see when even more sophisticated stuff makes its way into museums and such.
That's all I have for now. I'm still writing my major "catching up" blog from the past couple weeks and I will try to post that before I leave for Italy tomorrow.
Believe me, I'll have a blog posted for that one as well.
until next time,
Ciao!
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Ahh Barthelona!
I am sunburnt.
Yes, in this October season of overcast skies and changing leaves, I am sunburnt. Never in my
life would I have imagined getting sunburned well into Autumn. I'm still sunburnt. Get the point? ok good. I'm sure you have already figured out that I did not catch those skin-damaging rays on this little island called the UK that is roughly the size of Montana. As you probably guessed from the post title, I was in Spain this past weekend.
It was quite an eventful trip let me tell you. We started off on the wrong foot to begin with by not actually looking up where the Reus airport - which ryanair misleadingly labels as "Barcelona" - is. It turns out Reus is a solid 60 or so miles away from Barcelona, in travellers terms, an approximately 155euro taxi ride. I'll take the heat for this one. I booked the flight and advertised it to the rest of the group who followed my lead. In my defense, I
confess it was a rookie mistake before I became the experienced travel-booker that I am now. Luckily, I Alyssa, Mike, and Lauren decided to go the economic route and booked the cheapest lodging we could find. The catch was we were placed in the town of Villanova - halfway between the airport and Barcelona.
Anyway, we arrived on time to the very tiny town of Reus. After some confus
ion, a Spanish phrase book, a busride, train ride, and taxi ride later, we arrived at...our BUNGALOW!
This place was something else. For 12euro a night, I was expecting nothing more than a hut with straw roofing and a couple hammocks inside to sleep in. It turns out that this place normally books for over 100euro a night and was basically a resort with 3 beautiful swimming pools, a restaurant, a grocery store, and gift shop. It also had a "discoteca" which sounded interesting but was quite anticlimatic when we got there, I thought I was back in daycare because the average age must have been around 5 - except for this guy who looked, dressed, and danced, like a cross between captain jack sparrow and obi wan kenobi.
So Friday night we went out to Barcelona and ate a deliciously spanish dinner. I ate this spanish panini looking thing with pepperoni-looking meat and mozzerella cheese. Sadly, the last train to Villanova left at midnight. Not liking the sound of an 80euro taxiride back home, we left Barcelona, or BarTHelona as the natives say, and returned to our bungalow.
Saturday was beach day and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was around 80degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky. The Villanova beach was very uncrowded, yet the sand was nice, clean, and the mediterranean water was warm once you stayed in it long enough. We pretty much spent all day laying out under the sun, attempting to body surf 6inch waves, and just relaxing at a day on the beach.
Our main excitement of the day hit caught us by surprise. There was this spanish guy roaming the beaches with this little box-tray of sunglasses. He was trying to sell them to everyone on the beach. You can see him in the backround triumphantly marching off after he somehow conned Mike, Lauren, and I into buy his shades. He didn't speak english and we couldn't understand his spanish so you can imagine how negotiations went with the sand drawing and foreign language counting to establish a price. I was more of a pushover and got my shades for 6 euro (his starting price was 15) whereas mike and lauren got theirs for 5 euro. Although I look like I traffik women and deal drugs when I wear those awful aviators, I must say it was rather hilarious to haggle with a salesman over sunglasses on the beach in 2 different languages. I think Alyssa caught some of it on video so if you want to actually see it, let me know and I'll hook you up.
After the beach we returned to our bungalow
where we cooked
our own meal of thick bacon, fried tomatoes, and mozerella cheese served on baguettes. It was delicious and more cost efficient. It would have been nice to visit Barcelona again but as it was already dark and we would have had limited time again, we decided to stick around and explore our bungalow resort.
Sunday came and our plane ticket left Reus at 10:30am which was a bummer because that was the only fligh to London all day. After a hectic morning and a little bit of jogging to get to our terminal, we made it.
I'm almost glad I didn't go into Barcelona again because I found out that of our other group of friends who actually stayed in Barcelona, two got pick-pocketed, one lost a credit card to an over-ambitious ATM, and another got conned into losing 100euro over a betting game in the streets.
Overall a satisfying trip. I don't know if I would bother returning to Barcelona for anything more than the beach but I did have a positive experience not doubt. Now I have two unplanned weekends before my 10day fall break in Italy. I'm looking at day trips but for now I'm just playing it by ear.
'til next time!
Yes, in this October season of overcast skies and changing leaves, I am sunburnt. Never in my
life would I have imagined getting sunburned well into Autumn. I'm still sunburnt. Get the point? ok good. I'm sure you have already figured out that I did not catch those skin-damaging rays on this little island called the UK that is roughly the size of Montana. As you probably guessed from the post title, I was in Spain this past weekend.It was quite an eventful trip let me tell you. We started off on the wrong foot to begin with by not actually looking up where the Reus airport - which ryanair misleadingly labels as "Barcelona" - is. It turns out Reus is a solid 60 or so miles away from Barcelona, in travellers terms, an approximately 155euro taxi ride. I'll take the heat for this one. I booked the flight and advertised it to the rest of the group who followed my lead. In my defense, I
confess it was a rookie mistake before I became the experienced travel-booker that I am now. Luckily, I Alyssa, Mike, and Lauren decided to go the economic route and booked the cheapest lodging we could find. The catch was we were placed in the town of Villanova - halfway between the airport and Barcelona.Anyway, we arrived on time to the very tiny town of Reus. After some confus
ion, a Spanish phrase book, a busride, train ride, and taxi ride later, we arrived at...our BUNGALOW!This place was something else. For 12euro a night, I was expecting nothing more than a hut with straw roofing and a couple hammocks inside to sleep in. It turns out that this place normally books for over 100euro a night and was basically a resort with 3 beautiful swimming pools, a restaurant, a grocery store, and gift shop. It also had a "discoteca" which sounded interesting but was quite anticlimatic when we got there, I thought I was back in daycare because the average age must have been around 5 - except for this guy who looked, dressed, and danced, like a cross between captain jack sparrow and obi wan kenobi.
So Friday night we went out to Barcelona and ate a deliciously spanish dinner. I ate this spanish panini looking thing with pepperoni-looking meat and mozzerella cheese. Sadly, the last train to Villanova left at midnight. Not liking the sound of an 80euro taxiride back home, we left Barcelona, or BarTHelona as the natives say, and returned to our bungalow.
Saturday was beach day and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was around 80degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky. The Villanova beach was very uncrowded, yet the sand was nice, clean, and the mediterranean water was warm once you stayed in it long enough. We pretty much spent all day laying out under the sun, attempting to body surf 6inch waves, and just relaxing at a day on the beach.
Our main excitement of the day hit caught us by surprise. There was this spanish guy roaming the beaches with this little box-tray of sunglasses. He was trying to sell them to everyone on the beach. You can see him in the backround triumphantly marching off after he somehow conned Mike, Lauren, and I into buy his shades. He didn't speak english and we couldn't understand his spanish so you can imagine how negotiations went with the sand drawing and foreign language counting to establish a price. I was more of a pushover and got my shades for 6 euro (his starting price was 15) whereas mike and lauren got theirs for 5 euro. Although I look like I traffik women and deal drugs when I wear those awful aviators, I must say it was rather hilarious to haggle with a salesman over sunglasses on the beach in 2 different languages. I think Alyssa caught some of it on video so if you want to actually see it, let me know and I'll hook you up.
After the beach we returned to our bungalow
where we cooked
our own meal of thick bacon, fried tomatoes, and mozerella cheese served on baguettes. It was delicious and more cost efficient. It would have been nice to visit Barcelona again but as it was already dark and we would have had limited time again, we decided to stick around and explore our bungalow resort.Sunday came and our plane ticket left Reus at 10:30am which was a bummer because that was the only fligh to London all day. After a hectic morning and a little bit of jogging to get to our terminal, we made it.
I'm almost glad I didn't go into Barcelona again because I found out that of our other group of friends who actually stayed in Barcelona, two got pick-pocketed, one lost a credit card to an over-ambitious ATM, and another got conned into losing 100euro over a betting game in the streets.
Overall a satisfying trip. I don't know if I would bother returning to Barcelona for anything more than the beach but I did have a positive experience not doubt. Now I have two unplanned weekends before my 10day fall break in Italy. I'm looking at day trips but for now I'm just playing it by ear.
'til next time!
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