Alright everyone, here is the last of my semester abroad. There's a good chance that I am going to miss a few things from my last week in London, but here you go. 

During my final week in London I was able to do a few of the things that I had yet to do. I saw two more shows that last week. The first was Les Mis, which is a classic that I had to see before leaving. I was a little skeptical but the show was very good and I am very glad I went and saw it. I also saw a show at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The play was Romeo and Juliet, which everyone has heard of, and it was nice because I had to read the play back in high school, so I knew what was going on (which is sometimes difficult when the actors are speaking in the way that the play was originally written). I also went on a boat cruise on the river Thames with my entire group from St. John's. It was a cool way to see the city and have a last hurrah. Throughout that week I often went walking in parts of the city that I enjoyed to see them one last time.

Friday marked the arrival of Steve into London. He got in late that morning and right away we got to it. One thing I hadn't seen since I had been over here was the Tower of London. It would've been a shame to come back and say I didn't see the tower. The tower was really cool, it served as an old fortress and prison for the British Monarchy. It housed some pretty important political prisoners and was the site of many hangings and beheadings. The tower also had a very interesting exhibit on King Henry VIII. It contained many artifacts and clothing that the king himself used and wore. After the tower we walked along the Thames and into the city. We stopped at a few pubs that are absolutely hopping when the Financial district closes down for the weekend. The pubs are so full that everyone spills onto the streets around them. We got dinner at a pub in the city, Steve tried the bangers and mash and I got a steak and ale pie. 

After dinner we met up with a few people for my group. We had intended to do a pub crawl on Fleet street, the site of many of the oldest pubs in all of London. We made it to The George which was a 17th century pub and then to a pub called the Bank of England. The second pub, was just that, a converted bank to pub, it featured all of the Fuller's beers (which was the brewery that my parents and I toured when they came to visit). After our brief pub crawl we headed to the Absolut Ice Bar. I'll include some pics, but it won't do justice, the bar was completely made of ice. The bar, the floor, the walls, the chairs, the bar tables, and our GLASS was made of ice too. You can only go into the bar for 40 minutes and you have to have a reservation, but when you get there they put these huge blue parkas on you to keep you warm (which includes a glove to hold onto your ice glass). After the ice bar, we went to a pub called O'Neils, which was our usual hangout throughout the semester because they feature great cover bands. 

On Saturday we were a bit slow to get up and moving. When we did finally get up we went to Nottinghill to check Portobella Road market and to stop at the Churchill Arm's for lunch. That night Steve and I went into the center of the city to walk around, get some souvenirs, and tried to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (the Hard Rock in London is the ORIGINAL and was set up by Clapton himself). Unfortunately, there was over a two hour wait, but there happened to be a pub close by that was actually quite famous where we went and had a great dinner. That night we met up with some of my friends at a cool back alley pub by our flat for a drink. 

On Sunday I had to pack up all of my stuff (for the entire semester), luckily I had most of it done. Once we got out and dropped my bags off at the administrative building for the day, Steve and I set out to central London again. We got some last souvenirs, had a great (the best ;) fish n chips at a small microbrewing restaurant. After dinner we went to see the show Stomp, which featured a bunch of incredibly talented individuals who played music for an hour and forty minutes on...unconventional...instruments (buckets, brooms, trash cans, etc.). Because our flight was so early on Monday and because the airport we were flying out of was a bit remote, we actually had to spend the night in the airport on Sunday. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because we needed the extra time. We flew through a discount carrier which tries to rack up as many fees possible (which is understandable considering we got tickets for the both of us for just over $20). Thus, their checked baggage allotment was just 15 kg, my bag was 28 kg, and they charged 15 pounds per kg over...which would've been about $260. We had to buy a cheap plastic bag and do a bunch of reshuffling in order to make it all work, it did, thankfully. 

We got into Dublin on Monday morning and found the hostel that we were staying at. The hostel actually had an incredible location. The first thing we did was head to Gahllager's Boxty House for a traditional Irish breakfast. Both Steve and I thought it was the best way we could've started the day, it was delicious. We walked around the city center for awhile getting a feel for the city before we headed off to the Guinness Storehouse. The Storehouse is on the grounds of the Guinness brewery and walks you through the brewing process and the history of Guinness. After a few hours walking around we got a complimentary Guinness in the Gravity Bar (which offers an amazing 360 degree view of Dublin). After the tour we went to a pub for dinner called The Brazen Head. The Brazen Head is probably the most famous pub in the world, and its been around since 1198, that's right 1198! Our food was great, an Irish stew and a beef and Guinness stew. Our hostel was located in an area of town called Temple Bar, which is known for an incredible nightlife featuring about as much live music as you can imagine, 7 nights a week. We bounced around to three different pubs listening to live acts. Our final pub, a place called The Temple Bar, had a performer named Dave Rooney who was unbelievable. Steve and I liked him so much that we actually walked away with a CD. 

On Tuesday we took a bus tour through the Irish country side. We drove up into the Wicklow Mountains, saw some amazing hidden lakes, Oscar Wilde's house, the Sally's Gay (from PS I Love You), the fields where Braveheart was filmed, an ancient Monastic ruins, and got to spend sometime in a small Irish village. Pictures cannot do justice to the beauty of the sites we saw on that Tuesday. Some of the views were literally breathtaking. That night we ended up getting tickets to go see the Fray. The show was awesome, especially since it was a small venue (in the US they play at large 15,000+ seat venues). Afterwards we went to a pub to catch some more Irish music where we were hit on by a girl from Galway for quite some time.

On Wednesday we finished up our site seeing of Dublin. We went to a prison called Kilmainham, which was a prison in operation from the late 1700's til the 1924. We learned a ton about Irish history while at Kilmainham. After the jail we went to do the tour of the Jameson Distillery. I had a blast at the distillery and learned a ton. I was even selected to be one of the whiskey tasters, where I compared a scotch, American whiskey, and Jameson. After the tour we walked around the city a bit, we saw St. Patrick's Cathedral (the St. Patrick that we American's drink to every year). For dinner on Wednesday we decided to go back to the same place we got that great Irish breakfast. The restaurant was great, completely authentic and very rustic. A two man band was playing traditional Irish folk music. We had oysters with our Murphy's and then had two excellent meals. I had to try a boxty while I was in Ireland, it consists of a meat wrapped in a potato pancake, and then covered in a gravy of sort. I had a gammon ham boxty with a honey mustard gravy. Let me tell you, it was amazing, simply one of the best things I've ever had. Steve can confirm as he tried it as well, it was delicious. That night, of coarse, we explored the pub scene in Ireland. We went and watched a Champions League football match (soccer game) at a pub called O'neils while indulging in some Galway Hookers. The Hooker's were great and not too expensive (A Galway Hooker is a beer of course, a great tasting bitter ale). Afterwards we decided to go to a famous hotel known for its traditional Irish dancing. It was pretty impressive but we only lasted for about 20 minutes. We then went to a few more places checking out the great music that Dublin has to offer every night of the week. 

On that Thursday we ended our journey in Dublin and headed back to Philadelphia. We both slept pretty well on the plane and were greeted in Philadelphia by Sarah and Adeline. I got to spend some time, brief but quality, with my Goddaughter and Sarah was nice enough to bring me some lunch. After parting with the Philly crew I continued onto Chicago and then back to Minneapolis where I was met by my parents and two bros. Needless to say, I was gitty the whole plane ride back and setting foot in Minnesota was awesome. 

Maybe sometime this weekend I'll take a few minutes to recap my experience, talk about what I enjoyed most (even though each trip seems to have been my favorite), and share any final thoughts I had on the experience. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks. 

The Past Week

Hey everyone, I figured I'd write something short to you all, no pics this week. Just wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to. I really haven't done too much fun stuff, I've been busy as my finals started last week and conclude this upcoming week. I've been spending a lot of time writing papers and what not. On Easter Sunday I went to the grocery store to get some food for an Easter dinner I planned on making. Of course, nothing was open, not one grocery store! I was quite bummed (but couldn't get anything the day before because I didn't get back from Munich til midnight. So, I made do with what I had for breakfast before heading to Westminster Cathedral for Easter Mass. The church was beautiful and it was the first time I was able to make it to Westminster. After mass a few of us went out for our Easter dinner which was...fish and chips. It was delicious indeed but not quite the Easter dinner I had envisioned. What was funny is that, although the grocery stores were closed, the pubs and bars were open. We actually went out to see a cover band on that Sunday night, because we didn't have class Monday (much of the city shuts down on Easter Monday). 

On Monday I had to work on homework for most of the day but it was much needed. On Tuesday I had my final exam for Art History. After the exam I went to see the musical Billy Elliot with most of our group. The show was pretty good, not my favorite, but worth seeing. After the play we went out for Eric's birthday. He was celebrating his 22nd birthday so we stopped at a pub. 

On Wednesday I had class...but as for after class, I can't think of what I did quite yet.

On Thursday, same story, I had class, but can't seem to recall what I did all afternoon. That night a big group of us did go out in central London. 

On Friday I woke up and went to Hyde Park for awhile. After that I went to the Sigmund Freud house and museum. The museum was really cool and really well kept up. It was the actual house that Freud lived in when he escaped Austria after Nazi occupation. His office was still intact with his famous patient couch and all his worldly possessions. 

On Saturday morning a group of us got up and went to Portobella Road Market in Nottinghill. The market was packed but it was a lot of fun wandering around aimlessly. After the market we went to a famous pub for lunch called the Churchill Arms. It was the pub that Winston Churchill actually lectured as he was an up and coming politician. The cool thing about the pub too, it only serves Thai food. Not to mention, really good Thai food. The concept of an English pub serving Thai food really represents London as a city. Its very metropolitan, and you have the English history combined with the history of the world (Over 1/3 of London is made up of foreigners). I actually stayed in on Saturday night because I had to read an entire 400 page book and then I have spent today (Sunday) writing a book review on it. I have a final presentation and test tomorrow as well, so I won't be doing much else but homework for the rest of the day. 

Hope everyone is doing well, I hope the MN weather is improving, and I look forward to my return in less than 2 weeks! 

Germany and Austria

Hey everyone, it hasn´t been too long and I´m at it again. Since I last wrote to you I have done quite a bit in a short amount of time, let me briefly recap it for you. On Monday of last week I was planning on going to see the show Les Mis with Rachel. We went to get tickets but it was sold out so we decided to go to a cabaret called Le Clique. It was an excellent show and was extremely entertaining. It contained various acts of comedy, magic, and unbelievable talents. After the show we met up with some friends at a local pub called the Porcupine.

On Tuesday I was lucky to get to go to a Pablo Picasso special exhibit at the National Gallery in London. It was nice because my art history professor was able to give us complimentary passes to the exhibit and it was probably something I otherwise would not have done.

On Wednesday I flew to Munich on a last minute unplanned trip. It was actually quite the airport hassle and for awhile I was thinking I was meant to not go on this trip. It started by me not correctly reading my flight time, and thinking it was an hour later than it actually was. I ended up rushing to the airport and had arrived at the exact time my flight was supposed to start boarding. I hadn´t even checked in and the line was tremendously long. When I finally got my ticket I sprinted to security only to get denied because my backpack was too big for carryon. I was extremely frusterated because I had used the bag as a carry on 5 or 6 times already. I had to rush back to check my bag, but I didn´t have enough to pay in cash, so they had to send me to their info counter to do a credit card transaction. When I finally got back to check my bag they told me because it had straps that I should bring it to oversize luggage to insure that it doesn´t get caught up. Again, I SPRINTED through security, and as I was sprinting to my terminal, I was literally the guy in the airport whose name was being called via the loud speaker: would Mr. Brandt please report to gate 18 for your flight to Munich. I ended up arriving and was the last passenger on the plane. BUT, I made it. Of course when I landed in Munich the baggage reclaim quit and all bags were picked up, except mine never came. I was talking with the airline staff two grounds crew workers came up with my bag saying it was almost left on the plane. To say the least, it was a very hectic start to the day.

When I got into Munich I was realizing that not booking any hotels or hostels might´ve been an issue, I was really roughing this trip out. I did contact three of my friends from Ireland to meet up with them and they were staying with a guy. They asked if I could stay with him and luckily the guy said yes. They met this guy, Tom, threw an online program called couch surfers in which you get in contact with people in different cities and they let you crash on their couch. My friends from Ireland have hosted a few people back at their place. After I dropped my bag off we headed straight to none other than the Hofbräuhaus. It´s probably the most famous place to drink a beer in the world. We ordered some sausages and saurkraut and beer by the liter. It was a great night, a little too much beer was consumed, but it was a great night that I was able to spend with some good friends from St. John´s. We made it back to Tom´s apartment and stayed up talking about Germany, the US, and whatnot while listening to music around a Hookah.

On Thursday we made our way around town consuming sausages, seeing the Glockenspiel, and some of the great Bavarian architecture. We then found a great park that we chilled at for a couple of hours. After the park we went to Augustiner´s (the most famous beer in Germany) but we made it to one of their brew houses for a half-liter of beer. It was great, they still keep their beer in wooden kegs. After our pint we went to train station and booked some train tickets to Salzberg, Austria. We went online and lined up another place to crash at and then made our 2 hour decent to Austria through the Alps. It was a beautiful and peaceful train ride and we could tell we were in for a good Friday. When we got to Salzberg we found the guys place, who was ironically a Tom again, and crashed for the night. Tom had a beautiful apartment that overlooked the Alps, he loved having us and the company, I kind of got the vibe that he was a lonely 34 year old, so this couch surfers thing was a great way to meet people from different cultures.

On Friday we got up extremely early because we wanted to see the entire city in just one day. Our plan was to pretty much throw the map to the side and see the whole city by foot, Salzberg is a relatively small city that lies just at the base of the Alps. We made our way around and into some beautiful parks during the early morning. The city is surrounded by three massive mountains and then has one high point right in the center of the city. We summited the hill, went and saw the fortress that overlooks the whole city getting great pictures all the while. By early afternoon we decended into the city center. Salzberg has one of the most classic, untouched, bavarian city centres that still exhists. There is so much culture and so little English. The restaurants and shops are like something I´ve never seen. For those who have seen Sound of Music, its where the movie was filmed in (1967) and it seems like nothing has changed since. It is also the city where Mozart was born and raised so there are a lot of references to him around the city. The city had street performers on violins and accordians playing classic German-Bavarian songs that really help make the atomoshpere. The city also has three very old and beautiful church´s that we were able to tour. By late afternoon we decided that we had seen enough of the city. I got a train ticket back to Munich and my friends from Ireland continued on to Vienna, Austria (they are backpacking for awhile). I called the first Tom we stayed with and he said it was cool that I come back to Munich to stay with him for night. My train ride back was just as beautiful as the one on the way there and I got back to Tom´s place to call it a night.

I woke up pretty early to hit Munich. I started the morning by heading to the Olympiapark. This is where the 1972 olympics were held (Mark Spitz breaking records and the terrorist hold up). The Olympic grounds were extremely modern and unique when they were built in 72 and trust me they still look crazy unique today. The grounds have been very well kept up and it is absolutely beautiful. Great green grass, walking and biking paths, all on a hill and around some man made lakes. 

After checking out the Olympic grounds I decided to go to BMW Welt. This is the BMW headquarters and main global showroom. It also contains a BMW museum as well as a room with all of their concept cars. It was really great looking at cars I'll probably never be able to afford...no actually it was a cool experience and the building had some awesome architecture. Around noon I decided to head back into the city center or Marienplatz. The city center was absolutely packed because a) it was 78 degrees b) it was a Saturday c) FC Bayern Munich had a football match (soccer game). The beer gardens were absolutely packed by noon. Literally thousands of people were sitting out at these out door beer gardens. I had to stop and grab a half liter and enjoy all of the commotion. I continued on getting some lunch at an our door sausage stand. I couldn't complain about the German cuisine, it was awesome. After some more walking I decided I need to relax at the Hofbrauhaus one last time, it could've been my last. Both levels and the outdoor garden were packed. Luckily a friendly local told me to grab a seat at the corner of his table. He was a really nice, educated, and well traveled man. We talked for almost two hours about the cities I had scene, what he thought of them, and then he talked about the US cities that he had visited. After my time at the Hofbrauhaus I decided to go to Englischer Park to people watch and enjoy the beautiful weather. I ended up staying all afternoon and got pretty sun burnt. After the park I had to head back to London. I got to the airport extremely early after my previous airport experience. With my luck my flight was delayed an hour :) Karma. But, I made it back and had an awesome trip.

I think this was probably one of my most fun weekends, if you like beer there's probably no better city in the world. You never have to feel bad, people are out in masses consuming beer at all times of the day. 

I'll update again next week with all my happenings over the coming week. Have a happy Easter and take care. 

London, Edinburgh, and Paris

Hey everyone, its been awhile since I've checked in with you all, my apologies! I've had a pretty crazy few weeks and as most of you are aware, my parents were over here for ten days. The time flew by and I'll surly miss a few things, but I'll try to get you all the lowdown. Before I start though I thought I'd let everyone know that I heard from United Health and found out my start date, location, and the part of the company I'm going to be working for. I don't start until September 1st, so that means I'll be spending the summer with my bros which should be a great experience before I enter the "real world". I'm going to working out the Golden Valley office and I'll be working for one of their subsidiaries called OptumHealth. I'm excited to be with Optum, my first interview was with the VP of Optum and he had apparently put in a request for me to join his team after our initial interview. As for the past few weeks, I'll rewind back to Thursday the 19th of March. My parents flew in bright and early, I actually met them at the airport prior to my class for the day. Once I got them checked in at their hotel I had to go to class, they caught up a bit on rest before we tackled the city with the storm. On the first day we did the must see tourist spots. We went to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and around that whole part of the city. After doing a short amount of walking we made our first pitstop at a pub called 'Adam and Eve' (the only reason I remembered that was because it was the first, or beginning, Adam and Even, I think you get it). That night we had a great English pub dinner. Greasy fish n' chips and pints of English Ales. Metal mouth and myself even tried some pork scratchings (deep-fried pig skin) being the true diplomats that we are. After dinner we went and saw the show 'Wicked'. The show was absolutely amazing and I'm pretty sure that all three of us enjoyed it. On Friday morning we got up and went to an area of town called Hampstead. Hampstead is a great part of London with a very unique feel to it. It's a pretty spendy area of the city to live in because of its quaint neighborhoods and rural feel within the city. We then walked around the Hampstead Heath which is a huge park with trees, walking paths, and green grass. The amount of large parks in London is quite amazing actually, with the size of the city and the population, you just wouldn't think they would have the space for this expansive parks. After Hampstead we headed to a part of town called Camden. I've blogged about Camden before-it's a market town with some pretty crazy and unique shops. We wandered around for a few hours before getting lunch.

I can't really remember what we did after Camden but I know we went to several pubs that afternoon night. I know we went to a famous pub called 'The Lamb and Flag'. 

On Saturday we went to the City, which is the financial district of London (also where the G20 protests are going on this week). We walked along the Thames and saw the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Afterwards we went and walked around St. Paul's Cathedral. After snapping a few pics we headed towards central London to a place called Covent Garden. Covent Garden is known for its market style shopping and weekend performers. The place was absolutely packed. We ended up going out for pub food again and then to see the show 'Avenue Q'. I really loved this show, it didn't have the same Theatrical experience as wicked but it was funny and a bit vulgar, geared towards an adult audience. 

On Sunday we got up to go to church at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was my first time in St. Paul's and wow was it beautiful. After church we headed to Greenwich. I let my parents explore the different museums and snap some pics on the Prime Meridian. I had already been to Greenwich and needed to do some reading for my Monday classes. 

On Monday I had class from 10-5, so my parents took a day trip to see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the city of Bath. It sounds like they loved their trip although the weather didn't cooperate all that well. I met up with them at the local pub near my place called Gloucester Arms when they got back. 

On Tuesday we went to Oxford street so my mom could get her shopping in. Not sure if she really got anything, but Oxford is a famous place for shopping. We continued on towards an area of town called Soho. After lunch I split with my parents and let them continue shopping. That night we went out with Eric and did the London Eye. We got some great views of the city and its a must-do when it London, so we were obligated. After the Eye we went and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. London is known for their Indian cuisine and neither of my parents had ever had it. I must say they both loved the food, as did Eric and myself, I've developed quite the tongue for a good curry. 

On Wednesday morning I had class, so my parents decided to go see St. James' Park and Buckingham Palace. They got to watch the changing of the guard but unfortunately didn't get to see the queen. After they got done with that and my class was out we met up to do a tour of Fuller's Brewery. Fuller's is the only brewer within the city of London. The tour was great and very interesting. 

Our tour guide was a classic cockney Brit with a dry sense of humor. My mom was one of two girls on the tour so she got a few shots from our guide. At the end of the tour we got to do a full sampling of six beers followed by a pint of our favorite. It was kind of a hammer-session and I think we were all feeling a bit week in the knees after consuming 3 pints in 30 minutes. For dinner on Wednesday we went and had some Caribbean food. London has large Caribbean populations that emigrated from the English colonies post WWII. We went to a place called Jerk City for some great jerk chicken. 

We also ordered a fried fish appetizer. To our surprise it was literally a fried fish, a whole fish fried and still intact. It was actually very tasty, and of course, being the culinary oddball that I am I had to try one of the fish eyes. It started out pretty good but I didn't expect the middle to be as hard as it was! After dinner we went to one more famous pub for a pint called 'The George'. 

On Thursday we were up early to catch a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. Once landed and settled in Edinburgh we just walked the center of the city a bit as it was already getting dark. We went for an Edinburgh style pub meal at a great place called 'The End of the Earth'. This was a great, and very old pub, where I was able to try my long anticipated haggis. My mom tried my meal AND enjoyed it, until she found out that haggis was minced heart, lungs, liver, pouridge, and spices. It's served with neeps and tatties (mashed parsnips and mashed potatoes). We also had some 'pudding' for an appetizer because it was the scottish thing to do, I'm not even sure what we ate but it was great.

On Friday we ended up taking a bus tour into the Scottish highlands. The tour was great and we had awesome tour guide. I can't really tell you what we all saw, but we made several stops in the Scottish mountains, drove along the lochs, saw rolling hills and some tiny Scottish villages. The destination of our tour was of course, Loch Ness. It is to my dismay that I must report that we didn't see the monster. The Loch was gorgeous and the town we were in was great. We had a good lunch at a small cafe, I had a venison burger (venison is popular in Scotland) which was very tasty. The rest of the trip was through the highlands back into Edinburgh. 

Saturday was spent exploring Edinburgh. We got up nice and early to realize that everything was closed until 10. Thus, we decided to climb to the highest point in Edinburgh, called Arthur's Seat. It sounded like a good idea but it turned into quite the workout. After we got some pics of the city we made our way back to the city center. The Royal Mile was rustling and bustling by the time that we got there. We made our way up the road stopping in tourist shops, kilt shops, etc. Our next stop was an area of town called Leith. Leith is the part of town that is located on the sea. It's known for having great sea food and an overall good dining scene. For lunch we stopped in at a place called The Ship. The restaurant was great and our food was even better. My mom ordered the most authentic bowl of clam chowder imaginable. It had whole mussles and who shrimp right in it. 

I ordered a smoked salmon sandwich with a cup of 'chowder-like' soup that was delicious and my dad ordered a venison burger that was extremely tasty. After walking around the area we stopped for a pint before making our way back to the city center. 

That night we waited a little too late before going out for dinner. Most pubs were done serving food and everything else was packed. We ended up going to a so-so restaurant for our final meal which was a bit of bummer, but we definitely had a great culinary experience over our 10 days together. 

On Sunday we had to fly back to London and then I had to bid my parents adieu. Their flight was overbooked and both were offered a $1,000 travel voucher with their dinner for the night compensated as well as a night in hotel. They could have traveled again later in the year, flew out to Philly a few times, etc. But, they chose not to take advantage of the offer (or to spend another night with their eldest son). I was definitely giving my mom a hard time about passing up the offer but they did have to get back to the boys and my mom had to get back for work, understandable.

After my parents I had a little school work to take care of over the next few days, however, knowing me I didn't give myself much time at all to relax. On Tuesday I FINALLY made it to Tate Modern for my art history class. Tate is one of the most famous museums in the world. It contains only paintings and sculptures post 1900. As a modern art museum it is without a doubt the world's most famous. On Wednesday after class I decided to take one of the girls on the trip for a date, Rachel, as featured in several pics. I tried to impress her with my culinary techniques making stuffed chicken breasts, baked yams, and a dark chocolate and strawberry ice cream (not store purchased!). After dinner we then went to see the Phantom of the Opera. I'd never seen the Phantom and let me tell you, it was AMAZING! Before my trip over here I had no idea that I'd enjoy theatre so much. Granted, London is supposed to have the best theatre in the world, but every show I see seems to blow my mind. 

On Thursday I began my next European journey. I, and some friends, went to Paris for the weekend via the Eurostar, a train that travels beneath the English Channel. Before I even begin I have to say that I think Paris has been my favourite city that I have traveled to. The weekend wasn't the 'most-fun' but as a city, I loved Paris. When we arrived we made our way to our hotel passing by Moulin Rouge on the way. Our hotel was extremely nice and was in a great location. On Thursday night when we got in we decided to do a little foot traveling to see the city at night. At first we headed through a park that was extremely well up kept before making our way to the Arc de Triumph. 

I have scene several Arc de Triumph's in Europe, but the one in Paris is 'THE' Arc. It was pretty spectacular, right in the middle of a round-a-bout, and we definitely snapped our fair share of pics. We then made our way to the Eifel Tower which can be seen from anywhere in the city at night.

 Once we got their we took a ton of pics (I probably have 200 pics of the tower that were accumulated over the weekend). Eric and I discovered something called 'fireworks mode' on our cameras and were experimenting while capturing some great pics of the tower at night.

 I also tried my first crepe on Thursday night and it was a strawberry jam crepe (Crepes are pretty much all I ate in Paris). 

On Friday morning we started by walking towards 'central Paris'. We walked to the Parisan Opera House which is the most famous opera house in the world. Right next to the Opera House was a huge department store called the Galleries Lafayette. The Galleries is a huge, crazy-expensive, department store that rivals Harrod's of London. We walked around and gawked at things we couldn't afford, I actually did make one purchase at the Galleries and that was a gondola shaped baguette from the gourmet food section. 

We continued walking through Paris in awe of the beauty of the city before making our way to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We ended up touring the church at the perfect time because on Friday's at 3 they bring out the 'crown of thorns' and do a ceremony. 

After seeing the inside of the church we went to the top and threw the bell tower in search of Quasimodo. 

We got a great view of the city from atop the church but never found the hunchback. After Notre Dame I got my second crepe of the trip. This time I got a cheese, egg, and ham crepe and it was crazy-delicious. Crepes were perfect because they were inexpensive, authentically French, and tasty in a VERY expensive city. After eating we made our way to The Louvre. Now I know I've said I've been to some famous museums, and you probably are wondering how so many could be famous, but the Louvre, by far, is the most famous art museum in the World. This museum was massive! It is also the home of the Mona Lisa, which I saw and got a pic of. There are also some very famous sculptures in the Louvre. We didn't spend too much time there because we were tired and it was so busy. 

On Saturday we got up and made our way to a market that was further outside the center of the city. Central Paris is very clean and safe but as you get out further it gets much more ethnic and unfortunately much more dirty. It was great to see that part of the city though because it gave you a good perspective of the city as a whole. The market at first seemed like junk, but there were some shops with some cool things. A majority of the shops were clothes and shoes shops, which I wasn't looking to buy, so we didn't spend much time there. We did get some great sandwiches at the market though, so again the trip was worthwhile. 

After the market we headed back to our hotel for a bit to rest up. We then made our way down to the river (the Seine) to walk along the water, soak up some more Paris, and to see what the street vendors had to offer. I got a pretty cool abstract painting of the Eifel Tower while we did our looking. My bartering skills came out as the guy wanted 20 euros for one painting and I ended up walking away with 3 paintings for 30 euros (one for Eric, Rachel, and myself). After another crepe we went back to the Eifel tower to see it light up again at night one last time. The beauty of the tower, right within the city, is indescribable. There are also tons of people so its fun to do some people watching. 

This morning we slept in a little later than planned but we did do a little walking around, by a park and through a small antique market. We also had our final culinary experience which was to have Creme Bruelee at a sidewalk cafe. Unfortunately, because it was so beautiful out, all of the cafes were packed so we did have to eat it inside, but let me tell you, this was one of the best desserts that I've ever had. It was an excellent way to end the trip in Paris.

The next few days will be consumed with some school work, my classes are really starting to wind down (and so is my collegiate career, which is killin me!). Tomorrow night I think I am going to see a show/cabaret called 'Le Clique' and on Tuesday for my art history class I will be going to see a Pablo Picasso exhibit at the National Gallery. And then, as most of you are unaware, I am heading to Munich on Wednesday! I'm going by myself but I am planning to meet up with the guys from Ireland (who I met up with in Barcelona and who were here two weeks ago). I will also be "training" to Salzburg, Austria for one of the days in order to see the Alps. I am extremely excited but I am kind of going without a plan which should make for a crazy experience. I'll definitely blog about my trip upon my return. I'm sad that I won't get to see anyone for Easter and I hope you all have a great holiday! I'll be back in about a month so I look forward to seeing everyone. 

Barcelona

In Front of La Familia w/ Greg
Eric, Greg, and I in front of La Familia
The 6 of us on the beach Saturday night.
On the Pier of the Port.
On the beach in Barcelona!

Hey Everyone! I just got back from Barcelona, my pics for the weekend are going to have to come in a few days. Again, I didn't have a working camera so I'll have to get some of the pics from the other guys that went with me. Eric and Greg (my roommates) met up with three of my friends: Mike, Kyle, and Mark in Barcelona. Those three are studying in Cork, Ireland right now. After my tour of Italy I was planning on Barcelona to be more of a true spring break. Going out and sitting on the beach. I'm glad to report that both were accomplished. 

To start, Barcelona is an absolutely beautiful city. I have to say it has been the best city that I have visited thus far, by a long shot. It has so much to offer, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, great architecture and history, great food, great music, cervesa and sangrias, and a pretty cool night life. When we flew in on Thursday we didn't get in until pretty late. We treked across the city to find our hostel, at times got a bit lost, but eventually made it and checked in. After we checked in we met up with the guys from Cork. Some people in their hostel were heading to two beach front clubs, we joined them because we were able to get in for free. We hung out there for awhile, made our way out onto the beach, and then into another club. It was really fun to see the guys and the atmosphere was pretty crazy. The night flew by as we didn't get in til 5:30 or 6. 

When we woke up on Friday we went to the main street in Barcelona called La Ramblas. The street was packed with vendors, cool stores, restaurants, and a huge food market. We made our way down the street, got some lunch, and found the port where everyone (w/ money) parks their sail boats. We sat down in the port for awhile. After that we made our way down to the beach where we kicked it for a few hours. After hanging on the beach for awhile we continued to explore the city by foot. As the night approached and we made our plans we had heard about a pub crawl for travelers that was supposed to be pretty fun, plus we figured we'd get to meet some people. Boy am I glad we decided to do it, because it was relatively inexpensive and a ton of fun. We ended up meeting three guys named Casey, Chad, and Shawn. Casey is currently on the roster for the Tennessee Titans and he met Trevor while on the Carolina Panthers. Shawn no longer plays but Casey is still a special teams player. Chad played D1 football at Colorado with Shawn. Sorry that got a little messy, but the guys were really cool and monstrous. A group of girls from Toronto did the pub crawl as well. We made our way around to four bars and ended up in a night club. Again the night got to be really late but it was a ton of fun. 

On Saturday morning once we got up and got some lunch we headed straight for the beach. It was sooooooo beautiful. 75-80 and not a cloud in the sky. I actually got a little sun from sitting out, everyone back here in London was pretty jealous. After several hours on the beach we decided to go out for dinner. We went and got some food at a recommended restaurant which was delicious. Rather than go all out for the third night we decided to run to a store to get some beer and just went and chilled on the beach. Again, I can't even explain how beautiful it was. The waves were literally crashing in at our feet and it was a great chance for us all to catch up with one another. 

This morning Eric, Greg, and I decided to walk around the city a bit more before we had to fly out. We did our one really touristy thing, we went and saw a church called La Familia. Wait until you see pictures of this place, it was the craziest looking church ever. Not more beautiful than the churches I saw in Italy, but this was the funkiest looking church I've ever seen. We then headed to the Airport to head back to London.

I am pretty beat tonight but I gotta right a paper for tomorrow morning, so it's going to be a late night for the fourth night in a row. For those who didn't know, my parents are heading out here on Thursday and boy am I excited for them to come out! We're getting down there to about 6 weeks before my return. I look forward to seeing everyone when I return. Hopefully someone is planning my welcome home/graduation party. 

Italy

In the Colosseum!
Group at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
In the Roman Forum in front of Caesar August's temple. 
At the Republica in Rome.
The statue of Marcus Aurelius.
In San Pietro, Vatican, at a tomb of a pope.
In the Vatican.
Statue in the Vatican.
In the square at the Vatican washing my hands.
At the Vatican!
In Florence at some archway.
Drinking a beer after climbing what seemed like 5,000 stairs.
On the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.
The Ponte Vecchio at night, Florence. 
At a sidewalk cafe in Venice.
Venice.
On a Gondola ride in Venice.
In Venice in an ally way. 
In front of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice.
Venezia.

Hey all, I made it back from Italy in one piece! It was a trip of a lifetime and I can't believe it was something I was able to experience at such a young age. I might be a bit delayed getting some pics on here, unfortunately my camera has been acting funky on me, so I wasn't able to bring it with me, but I got plenty of pics on the other peoples cameras who I was traveling with (Almost 2,000!). 

Eric and I left for Italy last Friday. We flew into Venice and got to take a river bus to our hotel location. It was really cool to see the city at night from the water. Our hotel was literally right in the middle of Venice, we literally couldn't have found a better location. He and I found  a small restaurant where we tried some pretty good Italian sandwiches (prosciutto and the whole 9). Afterwards we just walked around the city at night until the three girls who were meeting up with us arrived. They didn't get in until almost 1 so we went straight back to rest up before the craziness of the week ahead. 

That Saturday (28th) we woke up early to get our "sight-seeing" on. I went and found a place to get coffee and walked through the Piezetta to see all the merchants and vendors setting up shop. Fog covers the city until 8 or 8:30 every morning. Venice is such a tiny city made up of tons of islands. But in this small city there are 4,000 foot bridges and over 120 churches. The architecture is amazing and you can literally just walk around in awe of the fact that this city was built on water. The first church we made our way to was San Giovanni Christomo. We then walked to a market called Campo San Bartolomia. This market was something else; there was produce, meat, bread, and fish that never seemed to end. I got some of the best grapes and strawberries that I've ever eaten. We then went and saw a site called the Rialto bridge which is a pretty beautiful and large foot bridge that crosses the Grand Canal. We walked around the city and saw lots of other sites for the rest of the morning/afternoon. After lunch we made our way back the Piazetta as a group. We went to the Basilica di San Marco. San Marco is one of the most extraordinary churches in the world (as I continue to blog I'll be talking about several other churches that are world famous). There is an incredible bell tower called the Camponile out in front of it. The church is right next to a building called the Palazzo Ducale. The Palazzo is a world famous palace-states building. It dates back 1,000 years and has an incredible history. Before we went out for dinner we decided to take a gondola ride. The gondola ride was one of my highlights of the trip. We had a great "driver?" who sang and spoke in Italian as we weaved through the "streets-waterways" of Venice. We saw Cassanova's house, Marco Polo's house, as well as the house of Antonio Vivaldi (the composer). For dinner we went out to have our first Italian pizza's. I ate so much pizza over the week but of course the first one I had to try was Anchiove. To be honest, it was a lot better than I expected but was VERY salty. I also had some Italian wine which is dirt cheap in Italy (a bottle of wine is comparable to the price of bottled water). 

On Sunday we started the morning by getting some Italian pastries for breakfast. We then took a river boat to the island of Murano. Murano is an island known for glass blowing. We watched a glass blower make a vase ->something definitely worth seeing in a lifetime. We then walked the islands streets and visited the shops with all of the glass creations. After Murano we went to an art museum called the Galleria dell' Accademia. The museum was loaded with works by some of the most famous artists of all time. After the museum I had my first sidewalk cafe coffee. It was nice sitting outside and doing the "Italian thing". However, Venice as a city isn't that well known for its sidewalk cafes. Again, we went out for dinner for pizza's on Sunday night. This time I got a proscuitto pizza (Italian ham). 

On Monday morning we pretty much headed right for the train station. We got on our train to Florence which was about a 3 hour journey, but the trains in Italy are extremely nice and relaxing. In Florence, we had an extremely centrally located hotel once again. For lunch we went and found some sandwiches ->lucked out with a spicy salami and egg plant sandwich. Again we continued our church seeing tour. We made our way to the Duomo which was an incredible church to see. The size of this church was almost incomprehensible. The church was nearly 1,000 years old. We then made our way to a statue museum called the Bargello which featured a fake of Michaelangelo's 'David' (the one that took down Goliath). We were going to see the real deal, but it was pretty expensive and we planned on paying to go to another museum the next morning. We walked to an area called Sante Croce and then along the Arno River. It was pretty cool because you got all of the Italian architecture, hillside villages, and then mountains in the background. On our river walk we saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is literally the most beautiful bridge in the world. After seeing the bridge we went and found Michaelangelo's house. That night we went out for dinner and I got bruschetta and pesto pasta which was top notch. 

That Tuesday (3rd) after we got breakfast we made our way to the Uffizi. Our art history made us promise her that we would go to the Uffizi and I am very glad we did. I got to see works by Rembrandt, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Holbein, Memling, Belini, etc. We went to two churches after the museum. The first was called the Orsanmichele which was built in 750! They really haven't done anything to the church since then so it was really cool (literally too, the church was freezing). Before making our way to the next church the San Spirito (which is dubbed as the most beautiful church in the world -> but I would have to disagree after going to the Vatican) we went to Mercato Centrale. This market is known for its food market and for leather market. Bags, wallets, purses, belts, gloves, shoes, anything and everything in leather they had. They had cheap stuff and crazy expensive stuff. The nice thing about Florence is that they really come down on fakes. Before I had even left for Florence I had decided that I wanted to get a nice Italian bag in Florence. Let me tell you, I found it, did some crazy bartering and have no buyer's remorse. After getting the bag we went to the food market, I got some dried fruit which was delicious. Afterwards we went and got a sandwich from a place that didn't speak any English. Greg and Eric got great beef sandwiches, mine was still good but we are pretty sure it was the intestines of a lamb/sheep. Oh well! Back to our next church, the San Spirito, the church was beautiful and crazy stainglass and murals on the wall. After seeing the church we decided to go to the highest point in Florence (which was awesome because we got some of the best views I've ever seen in my life. Rachel, one of the girls on the trip with me, had a sore foot so I piggy backed her up what seemed like 1,000's of stairs. No joke, Eric said his legs were sore and he didn't have someone on his back. As SOON as we got up the hill we found a gelato shop (BTW, gelato is delicious in Italy). We took some pics but as we were up there we could see a rain storm coming in from the mountains. We hurried back but were caught by the rain on the way back. Another Italian meal followed that night, I can't remember and forgot to write down what I got, but I'm pretty sure it was a pasta dish of some sort. 

On Wednesday morning we got up and walked to a few other markets and then got some waffles that street vendors sell for breakfast. We then made our way to the train station where we caught our train to Rome for the final leg of the journey. We were all pretty tired on Wednesday and we knew we had some intense days of sight seeing coming up. We went out for pizza but made it back to our hotel pretty early. 

On Thursday we got our coffee and then headed to the Vatican. As soon as we got to the Vatican I was in shock. The Piazza San Pietro is amazing. In front of the church are fountains that are within two half circle rows of roman columns. We first went to the museum of the vatican where we saw some more Michaelangelo sculpture's. We then went to the Sistine Chapel which is everything it is cracked up to be. The painting of the final judgement by Michaelangelo covers all four walls as well as the ceiling. It took years to for him to do and within the painting are images that would be recognizable to everyone. I got a rosary for my beautiful Goddaughter from the Sistine Chapel. After the Sistine chapel we went to San Pietro. San Pietro is the church of the Vatican. After visiting San Pietro, I will probably be let down by every church I enter, at least aesthetically. The Pieta was enclosed in the church (The sculpture of Jesus laying in Mary's arms). Many popes lay entombed but visible to the spectator within the church. The church as a whole was something that is hard to explain but the beauty was unmatched by anything I've ever seen. After the Vatican we made our way to several other sites and eventually to Piazza Nuvano which was very beautiful. We then walked to the Fontana di Trevi (which is probably the most beautiful fountain in the world). We also saw the Pantheon (a temple for the Greek gods). We went out for dinner at a sidewalk restaurant where I think I consumed the best food that I've ever eaten, at least Italian food. I started with lasagna (I don't even like lasagna that much) which was delicious. My second course was sea bass covered in a tomato basil sauce (this is what made me love the food so much). Again we had the house wine which is cheap and really good. 

Friday (6th) was probably my favorite day of the trip. We started by heading to the Teatro Marcello which is basically a big states building but has some crazy sculptures in front of it. We also saw the statue of Marcus Aurelius (from Gladiator) which was sweet. We then went to the Colosseum where we got a private tour that include the Palatino and Roman Forum. The Colosseum was one of the coolest sites I've ever seen. After seeing movies like Gladiator and all of the history of the Roman empire that we don't even realize we are exposed to, seeing the actual Colosseum was pretty sweet. After that we headed to the Palatino which was the famous Roman palace. It's mostly in ruins which is kind of sad but it was great having the tour guide to give us some history. We were then able to walk through the Roman forum which was the ruins of the major city center of ancient Rome. Some temples were still intact (including a temple with the same doors, locking mechanism, and keys from its original construction 15 centuries ago) and others were in ruins. I saw the temple of Caesar Augustus and several other names that aren't jumping out at me right now. That night we went out for pizza and pasta once again and then Eric, Greg, and I went out to an Italian bar (which kind of sucked). 

On Saturday morning we packed up all of our stuff and then left our bags at the hotel because our flight didn't leave until later that night. We walked to the Spanish Steps which was a beautiful part of Rome. We then went and had our last Italian meal which was again delicious. I had some stuffed tortellini and Eric had some canelloni (which I was jealous of because it was so good). I then realized that I hadn't gotten Tiramasu yet so I had to order it (when in Rome). When we left and were walking back to get our bags Greg and I realized that we hadn't even tried a canoli yet (a round cream filled pastry which Italy is known for), being that they were cheap we got some and I went into a dazed sugar coma. We trained to the airport and then caught our flights back. 

It was a crazy, fun, expensive, once in a lifetime experience that I was glad to have. Again I miss everyone back in the States and can't wait for May to see everyone again. Love you all and keep in touch.