Dolomite Pics!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Pics of the Dolomites!!!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.610819970250.2089006.52900396&l=9c3679778c&type=1
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Roma - Colosseum and other really old ruins.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609979235090.2088708.52900396&l=c42b92b268&type=1
Check out some pics from Rome!
What pics should we post next? More Rome, Dolomites, or Florence?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Cinque Terre Pics
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609419411980.2088480.52900396&l=bacf012562&type=1
We have posted pics from the Cinque Terre on Facebook. Anyone can check them out by going to this link.
Hope you enjoy!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Florentine Art
Hi all, we have been in Florence for a few days now. I've been enjoying my conference while Danielle has been getting some studying done. We were able to visit the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia before the conference started on Thursday. Here is Danielle with a description of the art that we saw:
At the Uffizi we saw art dating back to the gothic era. The gothic style focus more on the story of the art and less on the artwork and realism of the art itself, the art was actually meant to tell stories to the illiterate people. Therefore, it was two dimensional with figures commonly floating in space. As the Renessiant era came the art work began to focus more on the painting, style and realism of the work and less on the story. Three dimension paintings became the big thing, here we see Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Botticelli. I actually saw a painting by Botticelli that I once tried to replicate when I was in college. The original is obviously much better than anything I can do, but I was neat to see the original of something I have attempted to recreate.
At the Accademia the obviously notable thing is the David, which is a huge statue done by Michelangelo of David before he meets with Goliath. It really is awesome to see and does not disappoint even after all the hype.
Ciao,
At the Uffizi we saw art dating back to the gothic era. The gothic style focus more on the story of the art and less on the artwork and realism of the art itself, the art was actually meant to tell stories to the illiterate people. Therefore, it was two dimensional with figures commonly floating in space. As the Renessiant era came the art work began to focus more on the painting, style and realism of the work and less on the story. Three dimension paintings became the big thing, here we see Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Botticelli. I actually saw a painting by Botticelli that I once tried to replicate when I was in college. The original is obviously much better than anything I can do, but I was neat to see the original of something I have attempted to recreate.
At the Accademia the obviously notable thing is the David, which is a huge statue done by Michelangelo of David before he meets with Goliath. It really is awesome to see and does not disappoint even after all the hype.
Ciao,
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Quick Update
Hi all, I am just writing quickly to let you know what we have been up to. Monday was mostly spent traveling from Monterosso to Ortesei. It took a long time. We had a short time to sit on the beach in Monterosso before traveling and then a little time to see the Alpine city of Ortesei once we arrive. Tuesday we did some excellent hiking and that took most of the day. Today (Wed), we hiked a little more, then took a bus down to Bolzano and spent a few hours. We then took a train to Firenze (Florence) that was scheduled for 2.5 hours, but took 5 due to inclement weather in the mountains. We had wonderful pizza tonight and must wake early tomorrow to see a couple museums (my conference starts in the afternoon). I will elaborate on the Dolomites in a later post. Auf Wiedersehen (I was able to use some of my Deutsch from high school in the Dolomites)! Now for some Italian - Bueno Noche!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Blistered feet and calloused calves
Today we went on the walking/hiking path that goes between the five town along the coast where we are staying. Its actually quite a hike, Eric sweat like mad! But it was fun and very pretty. I also found an allergic reaction on my arm today, not that uncommon for me. But I bought a cheap watch for this trip without thinking about the fact that I am allergic to cheap metal. On top of which i walking with my cheap purse facing the wrong way so that the metal caused an even worse reaction....not good decisions.
-Danielle
To elaborate, we hiked for around 4 hours today on very scenic hiking paths. If we have time we will post some pictures of our hiking. The hike gave us the chance to see each of the five towns in person, see each town from the hills, and walk through the vineyards of locals. We enjoyed the hike very much, although it was challenging and I probably lost an eighth of my body weight in sweat. For lunch we stopped in Corniglia during our hike and had some seafood pasta, it was yummy. After the hike we had Gellato in Riomaggiore and decided that chocolate with a fruit flavor makes the best combo!
For dinner we had simple pizza. I tried to convince Danielle to have the Arugula pizza rather than just Margharita, but she refused. She made the right decision. A table next to us had the arugula and their pizza was covered, head to toe with uncooked leafs! No good.
Fun Facts:
1. Ristorante and Tractoria both mean restaurant in Italian. If anything, the tractoria is usually an older establishment.
2. While stones may be uncomfortable at the beach, they wipe off without water much better than sand.
3. Blondes stand out in Italy! This one may be obvious, but out of all the beautiful women at the beach, a group of Italian teenagers decided to hit on Danielle while she was swimming.
4. The train tracks in Riomaggiore had the trains on opposite tracks than you would expect. Plus, you have to go underground to cross. Plus, they only come once an hour at 5 on a Sunday. In short, we missed our first train in Italy. Let's hope it's the last!
5. Italian babies are cute.
6. So is Danielle (just found that out by glancing at her).
-Eric
p.s. We will be sunbathing early tomorrow morning than taking a train to Bolzano with a final destination in the Dolomites!
-Danielle
To elaborate, we hiked for around 4 hours today on very scenic hiking paths. If we have time we will post some pictures of our hiking. The hike gave us the chance to see each of the five towns in person, see each town from the hills, and walk through the vineyards of locals. We enjoyed the hike very much, although it was challenging and I probably lost an eighth of my body weight in sweat. For lunch we stopped in Corniglia during our hike and had some seafood pasta, it was yummy. After the hike we had Gellato in Riomaggiore and decided that chocolate with a fruit flavor makes the best combo!
For dinner we had simple pizza. I tried to convince Danielle to have the Arugula pizza rather than just Margharita, but she refused. She made the right decision. A table next to us had the arugula and their pizza was covered, head to toe with uncooked leafs! No good.
Fun Facts:
1. Ristorante and Tractoria both mean restaurant in Italian. If anything, the tractoria is usually an older establishment.
2. While stones may be uncomfortable at the beach, they wipe off without water much better than sand.
3. Blondes stand out in Italy! This one may be obvious, but out of all the beautiful women at the beach, a group of Italian teenagers decided to hit on Danielle while she was swimming.
4. The train tracks in Riomaggiore had the trains on opposite tracks than you would expect. Plus, you have to go underground to cross. Plus, they only come once an hour at 5 on a Sunday. In short, we missed our first train in Italy. Let's hope it's the last!
5. Italian babies are cute.
6. So is Danielle (just found that out by glancing at her).
-Eric
p.s. We will be sunbathing early tomorrow morning than taking a train to Bolzano with a final destination in the Dolomites!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Day 2: Roma + Day 3 Monterosso (Cinque Terre)
Roma, second day: We started in the morning by checking out the Borghese Galleria. It has some very nice sculptures and paintings from Renaissance times. Danielle and I both enjoyed the artwork. We then walked around the shopping area of North Rome, but didn't take time to shop because I was hungry! On our way to Vatican City, we stopped for pizza. It was interesting. Danielle had pizza with baby tomatoes and I had pizza with peppers and mushrooms soaked in oil!
Vatican City:
We had our tickets for the Vatican Museum beforehand, but a guide service approached us. For 20 Euro a piece we were able to join a tour group. The experience took longer, but our guide was full of personality and we learned more of the history of the artwork. After the museum, we saw the St. Paul's bascillica. It may be the most beautiful church in the world! It is huge and adorned with artwork wall to wall.
We then stopped at a fortress in the area and grabbed a nice bird's eye view of Rome. Afterward we walked back to Hotel Boccaccio and enjoyed some Gellato!
This night we went out to a dance club in South Rome. It was hopping! We met some Israelis looking for a club, but they didn't have women in their group, so they couldn't go inside :( But Danielle got the two of us in! We danced the night away until 3:40 and caught a taxi home!
Next morning we woke up tired and ran to the Rome Termini to catch our train to La Spezia, to connect to Monterosso al Mare. The Mediterranian is amazingly blue! We parked our butts on beach chairs and took in the sun/ swam in the sea. What a relaxing experience!
Interesting things Danielle noticed:
Italian men aren't afraid to drink fruity/girlie drinks.
Italian men shun deodorant.
Israeli men don't like to take their women to Danceterias (alas, they couldn't enter then)!
Ciao!
p.s. Gellato is delicious, Jenny we love it!
Vatican City:
We had our tickets for the Vatican Museum beforehand, but a guide service approached us. For 20 Euro a piece we were able to join a tour group. The experience took longer, but our guide was full of personality and we learned more of the history of the artwork. After the museum, we saw the St. Paul's bascillica. It may be the most beautiful church in the world! It is huge and adorned with artwork wall to wall.
We then stopped at a fortress in the area and grabbed a nice bird's eye view of Rome. Afterward we walked back to Hotel Boccaccio and enjoyed some Gellato!
This night we went out to a dance club in South Rome. It was hopping! We met some Israelis looking for a club, but they didn't have women in their group, so they couldn't go inside :( But Danielle got the two of us in! We danced the night away until 3:40 and caught a taxi home!
Next morning we woke up tired and ran to the Rome Termini to catch our train to La Spezia, to connect to Monterosso al Mare. The Mediterranian is amazingly blue! We parked our butts on beach chairs and took in the sun/ swam in the sea. What a relaxing experience!
Interesting things Danielle noticed:
Italian men aren't afraid to drink fruity/girlie drinks.
Italian men shun deodorant.
Israeli men don't like to take their women to Danceterias (alas, they couldn't enter then)!
Ciao!
p.s. Gellato is delicious, Jenny we love it!
Day 2: Roma + Day 3 Monterosso (Cinque Terre)
Roma, second day: We started in the morning by checking out the Borghese Galleria. It has some very nice sculptures and paintings from Renaissance times. Danielle and I both enjoyed the artwork. We then walked around the shopping area of North Rome, but didn't take time to shop because I was hungry! On our way to Vatican City, we stopped for pizza. It was interesting. Danielle had pizza with baby tomatoes and I had pizza with peppers and mushrooms soaked in oil!
Vatican City:
We had our tickets for the Vatican Museum beforehand, but a guide service approached us. For 20 Euro a piece we were able to join a tour group. The experience took longer, but our guide was full of personality and we learned more of the history of the artwork. After the museum, we saw the St. Paul's bascillica. It may be the most beautiful church in the world! It is huge and adorned with artwork wall to wall.
We then stopped at a fortress in the area and grabbed a nice bird's eye view of Rome. Afterward we walked back to Hotel Boccaccio and enjoyed some Gellato!
This night we went out to a dance club in South Rome. It was hopping! We met some Israelis looking for a club, but they didn't have women in their group, so they couldn't go inside :( But Danielle got the two of us in! We danced the night away until 3:40 and caught a taxi home!
Next morning we woke up tired and ran to the Rome Termini to catch our train to La Spezia, to connect to Monterosso al Mare. The Mediterranian is amazingly blue! We parked our butts on beach chairs and took in the sun/ swam in the sea. What a relaxing experience!
Interesting things Danielle noticed:
Italian men aren't afraid to drink fruity/girlie drinks.
Italian men shun deodorant.
Israeli men don't like to take their women to Danceterias (alas, they couldn't enter then)!
Ciao!
p.s. Gellato is delicious, Jenny we love it!
Vatican City:
We had our tickets for the Vatican Museum beforehand, but a guide service approached us. For 20 Euro a piece we were able to join a tour group. The experience took longer, but our guide was full of personality and we learned more of the history of the artwork. After the museum, we saw the St. Paul's bascillica. It may be the most beautiful church in the world! It is huge and adorned with artwork wall to wall.
We then stopped at a fortress in the area and grabbed a nice bird's eye view of Rome. Afterward we walked back to Hotel Boccaccio and enjoyed some Gellato!
This night we went out to a dance club in South Rome. It was hopping! We met some Israelis looking for a club, but they didn't have women in their group, so they couldn't go inside :( But Danielle got the two of us in! We danced the night away until 3:40 and caught a taxi home!
Next morning we woke up tired and ran to the Rome Termini to catch our train to La Spezia, to connect to Monterosso al Mare. The Mediterranian is amazingly blue! We parked our butts on beach chairs and took in the sun/ swam in the sea. What a relaxing experience!
Interesting things Danielle noticed:
Italian men aren't afraid to drink fruity/girlie drinks.
Italian men shun deodorant.
Israeli men don't like to take their women to Danceterias (alas, they couldn't enter then)!
Ciao!
p.s. Gellato is delicious, Jenny we love it!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Day 1: Roma
Yes, I know it's a bit pretentious to use the Italian names, but lets face it - they sound cooler. So I will use the Italian city names in my blogs. Recap from the flight - I got 2 hours of sleep, Danielle managed four. Some teenager in our row was fascinated with the sun that rose as we came closer to Europe - that woke us up.
It took us until noon to get situated. Warning: The train connecting the airport to city center has no air conditioning. First train ride in 90+ degree weather without A/C. That was rough on us, but we made it to our hotel.
After getting situated we sought out food. We had a couple of thin crust pizzas with mushroom on it. They were delicious, the sauce was great! Before the pizza came, the host brought us bread and a slice of eggplant to put on the bread. The eggplant had been marinating in oils and salts and was amazing!
After lunch, we toured the Colosseum and Forum. It was pretty neat to think that the ancient Romans had lived in those structures. It's amazing that some (parts) are still standing today. After that we took a siesta nap. I almost didn't wake up, but Danielle forced me. We took a walk to the Pantheon which was a sight to behold - that building is a beautiful piece of architecture. We then wandered the streets of old Rome and took in the small, winding, cobblestone roads. After wandering for a couple of hours we had some dinner. We split an appetizer of tomato and mozzarella, then each had a first course. I had some wonderful lasagna and Danielle had a tasty ravioli. We were full before we could move on to a second course. We wondered, do Italians really eat appetizer, first course, second course, and dessert in one meal?
It took us until noon to get situated. Warning: The train connecting the airport to city center has no air conditioning. First train ride in 90+ degree weather without A/C. That was rough on us, but we made it to our hotel.
After getting situated we sought out food. We had a couple of thin crust pizzas with mushroom on it. They were delicious, the sauce was great! Before the pizza came, the host brought us bread and a slice of eggplant to put on the bread. The eggplant had been marinating in oils and salts and was amazing!
After lunch, we toured the Colosseum and Forum. It was pretty neat to think that the ancient Romans had lived in those structures. It's amazing that some (parts) are still standing today. After that we took a siesta nap. I almost didn't wake up, but Danielle forced me. We took a walk to the Pantheon which was a sight to behold - that building is a beautiful piece of architecture. We then wandered the streets of old Rome and took in the small, winding, cobblestone roads. After wandering for a couple of hours we had some dinner. We split an appetizer of tomato and mozzarella, then each had a first course. I had some wonderful lasagna and Danielle had a tasty ravioli. We were full before we could move on to a second course. We wondered, do Italians really eat appetizer, first course, second course, and dessert in one meal?
Day 0: Plane
We wrote a brief entry on the iPad on the plane yesterday. To preface that entry, I should say that we boarded a plane to Philly at 1:45, and then caught a connection to Rome around 6. We landed in Rome at 2 am central time, 9 am Roman time. Here is our entry from the plane:
Day 0 Italy trip 2011 blog entry
Eric: Well we are high up in the air right now. We are watching "just go with it", the recent adam sandler movie. Dinner on an airplane: not good for meat eaters. My "chicken" was thoroughly unsatisfying in the taste dept. I should mention that Danielle's pasta was yummy tho. Well, I'm going to finish this movie, prbly watch the "Lincoln Lawyer" and then catch 3-4 hours ZZZs. Next stop: Rome!
Danielle: my food was good. I think the altitude makes u dehydrated.
Day 0 Italy trip 2011 blog entry
Eric: Well we are high up in the air right now. We are watching "just go with it", the recent adam sandler movie. Dinner on an airplane: not good for meat eaters. My "chicken" was thoroughly unsatisfying in the taste dept. I should mention that Danielle's pasta was yummy tho. Well, I'm going to finish this movie, prbly watch the "Lincoln Lawyer" and then catch 3-4 hours ZZZs. Next stop: Rome!
Danielle: my food was good. I think the altitude makes u dehydrated.
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