Monday, January 7, 2008
Venice, Italy
Is beautiful! See...
We celebrated Christmas (American Christmas... French Christmas was in Milan...) in Venice. Sam and I celebrated together one night and the next night the four of us went out to dinner at a restaurant next to the Rialto Bridge.
This is the Rialto Bridge:
Here's a photo of the inside of two Gondolas... the epitome of Venice tourism.
The second day that we were in Venice we went to the top of some tower (that I unfortunately cannot remember the name of) to see the city from above. I have several more pictures taken from the tower but I chose this one because you can kind of see the mountains through the fog (there's a lot of fog in Venice, but luckily we had really nice weather while we were there).
We celebrated Christmas (American Christmas... French Christmas was in Milan...) in Venice. Sam and I celebrated together one night and the next night the four of us went out to dinner at a restaurant next to the Rialto Bridge.
This is the Rialto Bridge:
Here's a photo of the inside of two Gondolas... the epitome of Venice tourism.
The second day that we were in Venice we went to the top of some tower (that I unfortunately cannot remember the name of) to see the city from above. I have several more pictures taken from the tower but I chose this one because you can kind of see the mountains through the fog (there's a lot of fog in Venice, but luckily we had really nice weather while we were there).
Milan, Italy
Milan, Italy; one of the great shopping capitals of the world.
Andrea Duntz; shopping enthusiast.
Total Amount of money spent while shopping in Milan: 17 Euro ($24.94)... on postcards and stamps (stamps are ridiculously priced at $1.47 a piece).
What I'm saying, and my mother can attest to this, is that it's truly amazing - an act of god if you will - that I didn't buy a single article of clothing. I'd planned on buying a coat here (I needed a new coat... see Vienna for further details) so was rather disappointed that I was unable to find anything in the only city that I'd actually planned to shop in.
Other than my complete dismay over the shopping situation IN MILAN?!??! (of all places... seriously....) it was alright. Our hotel was next to one of the major shopping streets (grrr...) so the location was good (but useless).
Of course we went to the Duomo (Duomo is Italian for Dom. Dom is German for cathedral. Cathedral is English... so this is where my explanation ends) and also to Sforza Castle (Castello Sforezesco - http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/lungaRestaurato.html) - both of which were very nice.
The picture below is of part of the Duomo. I was standing in front of the Duomo taking a picture of an adjacent building when a man came up to me and grabbed my wrist. Long story short:
Stinky ugly guy comes, grabs my wrist. I pull away. Stinky ugly guy grabs my wrist again. Stinky ugly guy puts something in my hand. "Something" is actually seeds. I realize this the same time a flock of pigeons do. For the next three minutes thirty-so pigeons gave me bird flu. Then stinky ugly guy tried to charge me for it (10 Euro = $14.67). I gave him 40 cents ( = $0.59) and pretended that I didn't understand English.
As I walked away another man approached me with a handful of string, he called them bracelets, and offered to sell me one for, "Only one Euro!" I again pretended not to be able to speak English and it was at this point that he said, "Italiano? Español? Français?" He speaks four languages and he's selling pieces of string next to stinky ugly guy.
Andrea Duntz; shopping enthusiast.
Total Amount of money spent while shopping in Milan: 17 Euro ($24.94)... on postcards and stamps (stamps are ridiculously priced at $1.47 a piece).
What I'm saying, and my mother can attest to this, is that it's truly amazing - an act of god if you will - that I didn't buy a single article of clothing. I'd planned on buying a coat here (I needed a new coat... see Vienna for further details) so was rather disappointed that I was unable to find anything in the only city that I'd actually planned to shop in.
Other than my complete dismay over the shopping situation IN MILAN?!??! (of all places... seriously....) it was alright. Our hotel was next to one of the major shopping streets (grrr...) so the location was good (but useless).
Of course we went to the Duomo (Duomo is Italian for Dom. Dom is German for cathedral. Cathedral is English... so this is where my explanation ends) and also to Sforza Castle (Castello Sforezesco - http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/lungaRestaurato.html) - both of which were very nice.
The picture below is of part of the Duomo. I was standing in front of the Duomo taking a picture of an adjacent building when a man came up to me and grabbed my wrist. Long story short:
Stinky ugly guy comes, grabs my wrist. I pull away. Stinky ugly guy grabs my wrist again. Stinky ugly guy puts something in my hand. "Something" is actually seeds. I realize this the same time a flock of pigeons do. For the next three minutes thirty-so pigeons gave me bird flu. Then stinky ugly guy tried to charge me for it (10 Euro = $14.67). I gave him 40 cents ( = $0.59) and pretended that I didn't understand English.
As I walked away another man approached me with a handful of string, he called them bracelets, and offered to sell me one for, "Only one Euro!" I again pretended not to be able to speak English and it was at this point that he said, "Italiano? Español? Français?" He speaks four languages and he's selling pieces of string next to stinky ugly guy.
The Alps
... were beautiful and apparently not deadly.
To my fellow carsickness-suffers:
Before traveling through the Alps there are a few things one should take into consideration.
To my fellow carsickness-suffers:
Before traveling through the Alps there are a few things one should take into consideration.
- High altitude
- Winding roads
- Tunnels
Strasbourg, France
To make a long story in bad English very short... Francois (resident Frenchman and driver) thought it necessary that we make a stop in France. Not because Strasbourg is a beautiful city... not because it was relatively on the way... but because he insisted upon having French wine. All in all we didn't spend very long in Strasbourg, just long enough to visit the Christmas market and see the city center.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
In case I die in the Alps...
Francois (France), Okan (Turkey), Sam (Alabama), and I are going (by car) on vacation together over the holiday break.
Fran's driving... I'm a little worried... we're driving through the Alps... it's winter... and I get car sick...
Here's what we're going to do if we don't die in the Alps:
December 22nd:
Depart Dortmund at 4 a.m. and head to France. Visit wine cave.
December 22nd (later):
Arrive in Milan, Italy (after surviving the Alps).
December 25th:
Arrive in Venice, Italy. Celebrate the birth of Christ... most likely with pizza and a water-taxi.
December 27th:
Arrive in Vienna, Austria. Find "Sound of Music" postcard for Sam's grandma.
December 30th:
Arrive in Prague, Czech Republic. Celebrate the New Year and enjoy the dollar to CZK exchange rate.
January 2nd:
Arrive in Dresden. Return to Germany and experience Dresden's emergance, "as a cultural, political, and economic centre in the eastern part of Germany" since the reunification in 1990.
January 4th: Return to Dortmund.
Fran's driving... I'm a little worried... we're driving through the Alps... it's winter... and I get car sick...
Here's what we're going to do if we don't die in the Alps:
December 22nd:
Depart Dortmund at 4 a.m. and head to France. Visit wine cave.
December 22nd (later):
Arrive in Milan, Italy (after surviving the Alps).
December 25th:
Arrive in Venice, Italy. Celebrate the birth of Christ... most likely with pizza and a water-taxi.
December 27th:
Arrive in Vienna, Austria. Find "Sound of Music" postcard for Sam's grandma.
December 30th:
Arrive in Prague, Czech Republic. Celebrate the New Year and enjoy the dollar to CZK exchange rate.
January 2nd:
Arrive in Dresden. Return to Germany and experience Dresden's emergance, "as a cultural, political, and economic centre in the eastern part of Germany" since the reunification in 1990.
January 4th: Return to Dortmund.
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