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Got home today...don't think I'll be blogging my summer so thanks for keeping up throughout the year.

Still in School

If you're reading this and currently bored on summer vacation just think about how I still have 2 weeks of exams ahead of me...

Rome (can't think of a good title)

So after a week in Greece, Will headed back to Prague and Jenny and I headed over to Rome to spend five days. We stayed at The Beehive apartment called the Acacia...very very nice and highly recommended, also cheap (60 euros a night for a massive room, sharing bathroom, internet, and a kitchen). They have a hostel part too but it was all booked up.

St. Peter's

While I felt pretty good about getting a feel for Greece (at least the touristy side of it), Rome is an absolute monster to tackle. Photo-worthy churches on every corner, Vatican City, St. Peter's, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and countless museums top the list.

The first full day in Rome we decided to wake up "early" and go to the Vatican Museum. I say "early" because on the one hand it was 8am, earlier than we'd woken up all vacation (except to catch flights) but apparently it wasn't early enough. By the time we arrived at the museum entrance, the line was unbelievably long. (Even though it was off-season, the last Sunday of each month is free entrance).

The Trio-Turned-Duo inside St. Peter's

As Lara told us also, Italians (who were on some school break and touring their own city) don't line up, they clump up and each clump then lines up. This was the fattest and longest line (or "queue", to be British) I've ever seen...and I remember lining up for opening night of Batman Returns when I was 7. So we decided to head over to St. Peter's to spend the morning, walked to the top of the dome, which was exhausting but totally worth it.

View from the top of the dome

Strap me up and send me in

We eventually got into the Vatican Museum, deciding to wake up at 6:30 to beat the crowd. Turns out this time there wasn't a significant line because everyone had to pay. No pictures, but I have to say the Sistine Chapel is probably the most stunning piece of art I've ever seen, even taking for granted the fact that Michelangelo did it UPSIDE DOWN.

Jenny reading from the trusty Lonely Planet guide at the Roman Forum

Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, we did it all. Walking everywhere (because we're cheap) gave us a great feel for the city. It was also nice to see the lives of students there, visiting John Cabot (running into fellow BCers even) and seeing Lara and Christine's Real World-esque apartment. Many thanks to Lara for taking us out and showing us around. Even though we grossly overpaid for paella (yes, we ate paella in Rome...but before you yell at me it was our last night and we went Italian all the way before that!), the sangria was pretty good.

Trevi Fountain

Yes, I tossed a coin in (5 euro cents)

Resting on the Spanish Steps

I guess I'll end here with another quick blurb on food: pastas in general were pretty good, but I feel like you could get similar or better pastas back home in SF (for a similar price or cheaper). Of course I didn't try upscale restaurants, so that's a different story. Pizza was different, refreshingly so. Cheap wine, expensive water...balance each other out. The gelato (recommendation: Old Bridge Gelateria by Vatican City) was amazing...I'm definitely going to miss that, and they were open late too.

Enjoying a pizza-sandwich thing

That's it for now, heading home on Tuesday for some more R&R with the family. It will have been about six and a half months since I last step foot in the United States. I can't wait to use money that fits in my wallet and to look the correct direction when crossing the street, not to mention eat a giant In-n-Out burger...thank god it's getting close to dinner.

"Ciao",
Chu

"Hellas" Fun

To kick off the 5 weeks of vacation, I spent the first two in Greece and Rome. It was a Bay Area reunion of some sorts, as Jenny and Will joined along for the ride. Because there's sort of a lot to say, this will be a strictly Greece post.

A quick note: the rest of the pictures can be found in the "My Photos" link on the right.

I've heard mixed reviews of Athens and Greece in general. On the one hand it's full of history and the Acropolis is of course a must see. On the other hand I've been told there isn't much else to do in Athens and it has a sort of run-down feel to it. Both views are right in their own way. It's always cool to actually see the paintings, sculptures, and buildings you learn about in class, and that was one of the most amazing things about Athens. Walking around through the narrow streets you can almost always see the Acropolis up on the hill, and as far as ruins go, it carries a very powerful aura.

The Acropolis from the roof bar of our Hotel

We also visited the Archaeological Museum and the original Olympic Stadium, but probably the highlight of Greece was a day trip down to Sounion, recommended by a number of people including Mr. Neil Shea. If I remember correctly it's on the southernmost tip of mainland Greece, about an hour and a half bus ride along the coast to get there. A number of things in Sounion take your breath away, from the vibrant blue of the ocean to the panoramic of endless water and the imposing ruins from the Temple of Poseidon. The pictures, while more effective than my description, don't even do justice to the views. We happened to catch perfect weather too.

Temple of Poseidon

Temple from Afar

At night we met up with some of Will's Williams crew studying abroad in Athens. Many thanks to Ashley and everyone for showing us around and taking us out.

The next leg of the Greece trip took us to Rhodes, the easternmost of the Dodecanese islands. We chose it because we thought the weather would be the nicest, and the island is big enough that it would be open in the off season. While some shops and restaurants were bustling, the majority were preparing for the onslaught of tourists and sun-seekers sure to come in the following weeks. But we were able to get good deals on flights and accommodation, so it was all good.

Will and Me in Old Town

The town of Rhodes is divided up into Old Town and New Town. While the latter has the usual shops and cafes, the former consists of a fortified medieval town with an enormous castle. Lying side by side, the contrast of Old and New is pretty cool.

Will and Jenny in front of Old Town castle

The weather was actually not as nice as we'd hoped. The third day it was actually cloudy and windy, but we were able to take advantage of some warmth, even taking a day trip to Lindos, on the eastern side of the island. Whitewashed buildings surrounding its own acropolis created another picturesque island view. We even took a swim in our own little ocean cove...a few degrees too cold, but felt almost like a hot tub compared to Stinson back home.

The site of our swim

Quick bit on Greek food: Greek salad, tzatziki (garlic yogurt dip), souvlaki, saganaki...we fell in love with all of it. We eventually learned that it's much better to order many small appetizers and one or two entrees and share it all. Definitely a success in the food department, especially the tzatziki, which I think we'll all miss very much.

Jen and Will with Greek Salads

That's pretty much it for Greece. Rome comin tomorrow.

Madness

Would you want to mess with this guy?


Me neither....giterdone BC.

Ramblings

Hey everyone, sorry it's been a while...but my life hasn't really been that interesting these past few weeks. Glenn and Tom (fellow BCers) are visiting me right now. We'll see if we come out of the weekend with some photos.

Quote of the day, maybe even the week, Malcolm Gladwell, in his exchange with Bill Simmons, on Darko Milicic:

"He's like the kid in Jamie Escalante's class who still manages to fail calculus."


Next Saturday I head off to Athens, Rhodes, and Rome for two weeks. So I'll check back in after that.

February Ramblings

Sorry I haven't been updating this thing very much...but honestly nothing much has been going on in London life. After travelling a lot last semester I've decided to take this ten weeks of term and do the British thing, so that explains the lack of international flavor recently. As for those Saturday excursions around London I am supposed to take, I'm hoping those will resume next weekend with a trip to Camden Market.

I did celebrate a 21st birthday this past Monday though, meaning I'm ready to officially retire from the process of aging. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. Isn't it weird how as of the 13th my driver's license became like 350 times more valuable? Before it was just a card to get me on the plane or (if need be) something to hand to cops. Now it's my pass to this whole new (now legal) world previously unexperienced. It would be very exciting, except I sort of turned 21 in the alcoholic sense right when boarded the plane for the UK...

Anyway, enough of that, here are some pics from the birthday night (a few bars, burger and a free birthday supersize of my drink at Burger King, getting screwed by Taboo on our Long Beach Iced Teas, and finishing off at a Chinese restaurant, not a food stand, a legitimate restaurant...unbelievable):

Jon, Irf, Alex, and Me (my eyes are still open...a good sign)

The Ski Crew plus Rene

2-1 at the Piccadilly Statue

Rene and Danimal

I really wish I remember what was so funny...