Athens and Venice

Our apologies for the long time that has passed since the last entry. Internet here is limited. Since the last time we posted, we have been through Athens and Venice, and both have been very different cities and both enjoyable in their own ways. First, we had to take a ferry from Bari, Italy to Patras, Greece, where we caught a train to Athens. We stayed in the heart of the city and experienced great Greek food, culture, and of course the Acropolis, which was the highlight of our stay in Greece. We tried to go to a Greek island, Mykonos, but unfortunately, we missed our boat--oh well, all a part of the experience!

Part of the Parthenon

Theater of Dionysos

After another long ferry ride, we arrived in Venice, Italy, which was absolutely beautiful! The canals were amazing to see as well as all of the little shops along the waterfront that sold Murano glass, in all shapes and sizes. We toured the famous Piazza de S. Marco, including the church of S. Marco, the island of Muranoas well as the Peggy Guggenheim collection, featuring many reknown artists. We even had the chance to see part of the dance portion of the Venice Biennale, which is a compilation of various contemporary art forms (this year being dance). Now we are in Vienna, Austria and starting to get tired after so much jumping from city to city! We are nonetheless happy to be here.

Part of the Grand Canal

The Church of S. Marco

Making Murano glass

Bell'Italia!

Buongiorno from the beautiful country of Italy! This is our third day in Rome, and before this we spent a day in Milan, and two days in Florence. In Milan, we ran into some rain, which luckily has been the only time we have, save for a brief thunderstorm last night. We saw the Duomo, or church, in Milan which was great to see as well. We also spent a couple of hours catching up on laundry...

So, moving on to something a bit more exciting...

The Duomo in Milan

In Florence, we stayed busy every hour we were there. Upon arriving at our so-called 'hostel,' we realized that it was actually a budget bed and breakfast, which turned out to be very comfortable and nice to stay in. Between the two days we were there, we saw the Uffizi Gallery and the Gallery of the Academy, where we saw many famous pieces of art, including the sculpture of 'David,' by Michelangelo and the 'Birth of Venus,' by Botticelli. Additionally, we climbed to the tallest hill in the city and reached the top by sunset to watch the sun go down on all of the buildings, monuments, and the river down below. The duomo in Florence was also incredible to see, with intricate patterns covering it entirely. Oh, and of course we tried our first gelatto, which was to die for.

The Duomo in Florence

The Pietà Bandini, also known as the
Deposition of Christ by Michelangelo

Mmm...

The city of Firenze, Italia

A replica fountain of David
...we couldn't take pictures of the original...

It was sad leaving Florence, but we were excited to see what Rome had to offer. The minute we got here we saw how much fun the city could be. People were on every street corner it seemed, shopping, dining, and touring. We decided the best solution was to head out and walk around to get oriented with the city and we were impressed to see all of the ruins and the Colosseum in the distance. We went to the Colosseum yesterday and it was eery to see in person with the knowledge of all that went on there during its time. After, we passed the Arch of Constantine and the Circo Maximo, where chariot races used to be held.

The sunset over some of the ruins of the ancient city

Outside of the Roman Colosseum
Inside of the Colosseum--note the labyrinth located
under the floor. The floor has since been eroded away.

Today, Kris and I toured the Vatican, going inside the Basilica and the tombs of the popes, where we saw Pope John Paul II's tomb among many others. The walk to, from, and around the Vatican wore us out, so we are going back tomorrow to tour the Sistine Chapel. On our walk back from the Vatican, we passed by the Roman Pantheon as well, where we incidently ran into the filming of 'Angels and Demons,' with Tom Hanks and Ron Howard standing near by. What are the odds? Tonight we are going to relax and splurge on an Italian meal at Campo de Fiore, a populated, yet quaint city square with numerous sidewalk cafes.

Vatican City--The Basilica

Statue of St. Peter...it is a tradition to touch his feet
in passing through the Basilica. It is also said
that the tomb of St. Peter is under the church itself.

The Pantheon

And last but not least...Tom Hanks!

Ciao!

Madrid and Paris

Well, as of today, we are going on our third day in Paris. We had a great time in Madrid, exploring the city and visiting the famous Prado Museum of Art, the Parque de Madrid (I forgot its other name), the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza de Mayor.

The Rose Garden in the Park

The Plaza de Cibeles

We took an over night train to Paris to arrive on the first of the month. Unfortunately all of second class was taken, so we were forced into first, and let me tell you--we traveled in style. Well, sort of.

Our first day in Paris, we went to the Centre Pompidou to see the Louise Bourgeois exhibition, which was excellent to see. After that, we got lunch at a sidewalk cafe and tried out the famous Nutella crepes! We decided to walk to the Notre Dame Cathedral and from there we walked to the Eiffel Tower (little did we realize it was an hour and a half walk) and we got there by sunset, where we sat in the grass and watched the lights turn on on the tower as the sun went down.

Le Centre Pompidou

Le Tour Eiffel

Yesterday, we walked through Montmartre and visited the Sacre Coeur church, one of my (Kelley's) personal favorites. We also did a bit of shopping, which is definitely to be expected in Paris! Lastly, today we are headed to the Musee d'Orsay as well as the Arc de Triomphe and les Champs Elysees, the famous street which runs around it.

Sacre Coeur

Tonight we catch the train to Milan--another over night train ride, but this time back to second class!