QICBoy - holiday tag

Europe pics

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:20:00 GMT

Kate's has the most creative collection of photos. If you see only one set, make it hers.

Shannon's posted her pictures from Europe. She has two sets, set 1 and set 2.

Sophia posted her pictures from Europe.

Valerie has her pictures from Europe online, too.

Yen has her pictures from Europe online.

Brendan has his pictures from Europe online.

Michael and Trinahas posted their pictures from Europe online.

Day 14 : A farewell to friends

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

We said farewell to friends this morning and headed out on our long 10+ hour flight home. It's going to be really strange not having everyone around.

Day 13 : Paris, France

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Today was packed with beautiful things. We started off early in the morning towards the Arc de Triumphe. We fallowed it down the Champs-Élysées to the Louvre where we spent a good portion of the morning. I would have spent the whole day with the French Renaissance paintings if I could have but there were things to do and places to see! We set off for the opera house that hosts the chandelier thought to have inspired that of the phantom of the opera; they were closed. We headed over to Notre Dame and took the metro to meet up with our group to have dinner at the moulin rouge. That show is so spectacular that I can't even put it into words.

Day 12 : Paris, France

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Did you know that the Eiffel tower has blinky lights? It appears that they fire them up every hour on the hour. There's a search light on the top and the girders have lights just like you'd see on a Christmas tree.

Day 11 : Lucerne, Switzerland

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Our group spent the night in jail. Lucerne is a tiny little place. There isn't much to say about it. We looked all over for fondue and only found it at one place. The currency here goes a little farther than the Euro so many of the group ended up buying swiss watches and army knives.

Day 10 : Florence, Italy

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Today found us in Florence. We went to see the sarcophagi of several well known figures including Galileo and Michaelangelo. One of the locals gave us a tour of the city. The town is small and filled with tourists. This city is more like Venice in that it doesn't have as much authenticity as Rome but it's certainly prettier. We didn't see the real David, which I regret, but we saw a couple replicas. From what I hear, the real one is even more extraordinary than the reproductions.

Day 9 : Rome, Italy

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 05:07:00 GMT

The group arranged for a guide to show us around Rome. Afterwards we went to the Vatican. I think I've seen the most beautiful and the most horrific sites so far on this trip. The Vatican museum is packed full of art. The picture I've included is of a ceiling packed with paintings. The works are absolutely beautiful. I cant help but think of Pope Pius the ninth and how he ran around the museum with his hammer and chisel and chopped off all the cocks on the statues. It seems like his name should be synonymous with messing up so bad that generations will cringe when they hear what you've done. "Oh man, you really pulled a PP9 on that one". Sigh. Outside the Vatican there was a woman without a skull. In the place of bone you could see a jelly substance and beneath that her brain.

Day 8 : Rome, Italy

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Rome is raw. It has all the nitty-gritty of the old world. While it may not be pretty to people who plan on doing some shopping, it has a wealth of history for even the most casual observer. The excavations they've done near the coliseum expose thousands of years of architecture. From some vantage points you can see the evolution of the architecture all in one glance.

Day 7 : Venice, Italy

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:00:00 GMT

We're in Venice today. One of the local shops gave us a demonstration of their glass blowing. They had some amazing pieces. I imagine when you see those piece on Antique Roadshow, that this is where people pick them up. We took a ride on a gondola and went through the obligatory bottle of Viennese champagne.

It was a big day for shopping. It's a great place to find replica bags apparently. The Italians around us seemed so well dressed. As I looked around at some of the Americans (the ones not on the tour with us) I couldn't help but feel a little saddened by how well dressed the Italians were compared to us. Not only did they wear suits but the suits were obviously tailored. This is a town that cares about how it looks.

Day 6 : Hopfgarten, Austria

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 06:00:00 GMT

We passed through Dachau today. I'm feeling like death warmed over. What an ugly place. As we passed into Austria the scenery improved. We went to downtown Hopfgarten and did some shopping at Swarovski.