Ireland - Pubs, Pubs, and ... More Pubs.

Hey guys,

Well... this is almost it. The second to last blogpost .. do your best to hold your tears back. I know I am. I'm going to try to treat you guys to one of my best blog posts ever. Sitting here in my room, I don't have much else better to do for the next few weeks of my winter break. I'm not trying to call my shot here, but just giving you guys a heads-up that this is the best I got. That's all.

We got to Dublin late the first night, around 11. Quickly hopping on a bus, which was relatively easy to find seeing that everyone spoke English for the first time in a long time, we made it into the city. Most people would have thought the most difficult part of their journey was over, but not us: no, we had to pick between Burger King and McDonalds, stationed right across the street from each other. No wonder Ireland's economy has been doing so bad, when people can't bring themselves to choose between greatness and more greatness. Geez.

After, we found our hostel pretty easily and headed out early the next morning. It worked out really well, actually: one of my roommates, who I was traveling with (Chris Kerner), had 2 of his brothers come out to Dublin and meet up with us. Patrick, the older brother, had decided to rent a car, and was nice enough to allow us myself and Halley, a good friend of mine who was traveling with, to hop in as well. That day, we drove across the country to Galway, eventually ending up in Doolin, where our hostel was.

The next morning, we jumped in the car and made it down to the Cliffs of Moher, which my casual blog reader will probably either know by "the CLIFFS of INSANITY" or the cliffs in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. If you don't know who Andre the Giant is or what a Horcrux is, well, you know the cliffs by their proper name then. Which is probably for the best, for the average muggle. Does anybody want a peanut, by the way?

In any case, they're pretty magnificent. We stood there, breathing in some great-tasting air and taking in the drop-dead gorgeous sight for about an hour or so. I don't know if I've ever felt so alive. Also, I think part of appreciating something like the Cliffs of Moher has to be done internally. Sure, you can stand there next to someone and remark "Hey man, those cliffs are pretty big, huh" but to me a natural landmark like the Cliffs has something to say too: "Listen man, you're pretty small." Just food for thought, you know.

For the remainder of the day, we took a beeline down to Cork, by way of Blarney Castle. The drive down was magnificent. I know I probably sound a bit like a little fairy thus far ... "Oh the landscape is just so pretty, words would not be able to do justice to it!" whole attitude, but it's true. Ireland and Greece were the two countries with the grandest landscapes that I saw, but in two different senses.

You could tell the Blarney Castle was a major tourist attraction even from a cursory glance of it. The turnstiles, the spiked metal gate surrounding the grounds, and the perfectly manicured landscape gave it away all too readily. I was hoping for more of an abandoned castle, the sort of thing that when you happen upon, it becomes yours. Not in a physical sense, obviously. What I'm getting at, is that it's not commercialized in any sense at all. Instead, what we got what a worn path to a bad-tasting rock we had to smooch so we could tell people about it. But hey, we did it. It's just one of those things.

Cork, where we spent our 2nd night in Ireland, was a pretty boring city, as much as I hate to say it. Ireland is pubs, pubs, and ... more pubs. The only other thing that Cork offered us was an amazingly easy place to get lost, as well as some disgruntled fellow hostel-stayers who were ticked off I never returned their adapter. But that's a story in itself.

The next day we decided to check out Cork before our bus out of town (i.e. this is where the Kerner brothers got a little sick of us and left). If it's midday, you're in Cork, and you don't feel like going into a pub, you're out of luck. We walked into that town at a slow, leisurely pace, and about an hour later, we speed-walked out of it.

Catching our bus around 1, we returned to Dublin around 4. More beautiful sights, a quick hamburger stop, and viola, we were there. Our first stop in Dublin, seeing as we hadn't seen much of it that first night, was the Guinness Factory. It was pretty cool. The beers there seemed to taste more deliciously creamy than anywhere else. Guinness was my favorite beer in the world, by the way. Some of those Belgium ones are pretty good too ... I don't consider myself a beer expert by any means, even after my semester studying abroad, but I think it's ok to name a few favorites.

Next, while Chris and Halley went back to the hostel, I headed over to some of my family friend's place, Keiran and Siobhan. They put me up for the night, and were very nice. Their kids, Richy, Thomas, and Daniel, I think, were alot of fun. We hung out at a local pub near our hostel for a couple hours, and called it an early night.

The following morning, before our flight later on that afternoon, we met up at the St. Patrick Cathedral. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Europe without phones is an experience in itself. Agreeing with a fellow college student beforehand to meet up across an entire city, that neither party has ever explored with no method of communication in between, can be a little bit sticky to say the least. I was probably waiting outside in the snow for about an hour ... but I can't say I haven't done the same, or worse, to my friends during the semester at some point.

We checked out the Cathedral and roamed the city for a couple hours. Dublin is a modern city, yet retains much of its traditional Irish roots. I really liked it. I bought a Guinness shirt my mom was sure to disapprove of, and had my last Guinness.

I definitely mean to come back someday. A couple of the places I went to spoke to me, but not many more so than Ireland. Hanging out in a pub, listening to some Irish folk song, I felt right at home. And even if I didn't know that I was Irish, I think I would still feel the same way.

James

P.S. Thanks for staying tuned ... I know, I know, that was a long time to ask someone stay tuned. But you did.

P.P.S. Pictures here.

Finals Week - Ireland and a Papal Audience Coming Right Up

Stay tuned.

Barcelona baby

Hola chicos y chicas,

First off, I'd just like to mention that spanish is not the primary language of Barcelona, which is incredibly annoying. The primary language is Catalan, and has only been so for the past 10 to 15 years. The reason why this is, is that the province that Barcelona is in wants to be independent from Spain. Therefore, they force this language upon the region, although it sounds nothing like spanish: actually, it's more of a combination of German and French than anything else. Not knowing this, me and my friends were very confused when we couldn't understand many of the signs in the airport, although most of us could speak spanish. Oh well.

Once we got off the plane, it took us some time to find where we were sleeping. We were staying with my family's very good friends who live in the city, but the streets in Barcelona are confusing to the max, and we didn't get there till 1AMish. This family, the Oriol's, were so nice. Matt and I had no complaints whatsoever.

For our first day in Barcelona, we headed out to La Sagrada Familia. It was loopy. It's design was the type that your supposed say to "Yeah Gaudi, that's a great idea you got there. But..." Instead, they actually built it. In all seriousness though, it is pretty cool. The statues in the front of the church are definitely unique. Looking at churches like La Sagrada Familia though, I can't help but thinking that the art of sculpture has gone backwards since the time of the greats.

Our first night in Barcelona, we went out to a party outside of the city. On our way there, we actually were part of a car accident on the highway. The driver was looking for something in the car, and swerved into the traffic coming the other way. Our car just missed another car, and both lost their mirrors. I was pretty scared.

The party was alot of fun though. We made many friends and ended up hanging out with a girl we met in the city the next day. She walked us around, and showed us much of the city that Matt and I had missed the previous day. That night, the Oriol's took me and Matt out to dinner. What he had was called: "Tapas," which where you order many different dishes of food, and share them all. It was absolutely delicious.

Our last day, the Oriol's went with me and Matt on a tour of the Barcelona FC stadium. For me, it was the coolest part of Barcelona. I definitely want to go back to a game one day. We toured the locker rooms, the press conference room, etc. They even had the actual World Cup Trophy there! It was the coolest thing. I probably took more pictures of the stadium than the rest of Barcelona to be honest.

Jacimo.

Pictures: aqui.

Italy Class Trip - Florence, Venice, and Assisi

Hey guys,

This past weekend my entire class went on a trip to Florence, Venice and Assisi. All three of those cities probably deserve a blogpost of their own, but for brevity's sake, I'll try to cram them into this one.

Florence was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful cities in Italy that I've been to. The city was filled with magnificent statues and massive palaces, left behind from the ages. As we walked around the city, we learned about the interesting rivalry between the Medici and Strozzi families that over time, made the city one of the world's elite. The Medici would built a palace on one side of the city, and on the other side the Strozzi would try to build a bigger one. As the battle for control over Florence escalated, the city grew and became more prosperous as a result.

The river going through Florence was also pretty cool. Apparently at one point, violence between the two rivaling families of Florence was so great that the Medici family constructed their own private bridge over the river, in order to avoid street fights. Pretty intense stuff.

In Florence, at La Accademica, they had the David by Michaelangelo. I honestly spent 45 minutes to an hour looking at it ... it is easily the most perfect statue I have ever seen. Me and my good friend, John Bascom, were saying that we thought the statue was about to jump off the display stand it was on. (It didn't.)

Venice was incredible. From taking the watertaxi out to the island, to walking around, the entire time we spent there was an experience of a lifetime. I felt it was our class, and then just old, retired couples there. Stumbling across the random waterways filled with gondolas, hidden piazza's with beautiful violinists, and delicious gelato shops, Venice was a real treat.

The famous Piazza San Marco was probably the coolest part of Venice. We didn't get to see it flood, but it was cool nontheless. Saint Mark's is right there in the piazza, as is the Palazzo Ducale, the palace of the royalty of Venice. Inside there was the world's biggest painting, as well as rooms filled with gold, famous paintings, and weaponry. Venice's history is very interesting .. they stole the bones of St. Mark from Alexandria in order to gain legitimacy in Italy as a major power, as every other big city had a patron saint.

And finally, Assisi. Assisi was so beautiful and quiet. We saw the tomb of St. Francis, some of his belongings, where he died, the rose bush he jumped into (cool story behind that one), and the chapel he built with his own hands. Loads of really sweet stuff. We also hiked up to where he lived for awhile (a hermitage up in the mountains). I wish we could have stayed longer.

I don't know if you guys can tell, but I'm defintely running out of gas on this blog thing.

Jacimo.

Pictures: here.

The Vatican Museum and Monte Casino

Howdy,

A little while after getting back from 10 Day, our class was taken on a class trip to the Vatican Museum, which is full of some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures: Raphael's School of Athens, The Discourse, and Transfiguration, Lacoon, the Sistene Chapel, and many other famous works. It was incredible seeing them in person.

The Sistene Chapel is was probably my favorite thing in the museums, although the School of Athens was equally cool. There's so much to see in the museum that it's completely overwhelming, however. I was lucky enough to be walking around with one of my friends who had been there a couple times in his life, so he knew his way around pretty well.

A week or so afterwards, I decided to go to Monte Casino over the last free weekend I had. It turned out to be an awesome decision. Monte Casino is so incredibly peaceful; I would probably be a saint too if I lived up there.

Jacimo

Pictures: here.

10 Day - Munich

Hey Guys,

Munich is in southern Germany, near Mad King Ludwig's famous castles in the Swiss Alps. I didn't get to the castles, but did do an awesome self-guided walking tour of the city. Munich is a very up-scale, rich city, and there's some pretty awesome stuff to see.

In Marienplatz, the main square of Munich, stands the Old Town Hall and the New Town Hall. Which is actually very confusing, as the New Town Hall looks ancient and the Old Town Hall looks like it could have been built yesterday. Right around the corner are the famous Beer gardens, where people can be found hanging out and drinking beer pretty much whenever.

There are some pretty cool churches in Munich, too. St. Peter's is right by Marienplatz, as well as the massive Frauenkirche cathedral, a spectacular building that is one of the best known symbols of the city. Inside, it's one of the most majestic, massive structures I've ever been inside. But perhaps my favorite church lies about a 10 minute walk from Marienplatz, called the Asamkirche. It was built by 2 brothers to be their own, private chapel but was found out one day and opened to the public. See the pictures.

Bringing us to the beer halls: Munich is home to some of the world-famous beer halls, most notably Hofbrauhaus, where my friends and I spent some time our last night over 10 day. We had an awesome time, and most of my class was there, as it is a UD tradition to meet up at the Hofbrauhaus the last day of 10 day. All in all, Munich might have be my favorite city in Europe.

Jacimo.

Pictures: here.

10 Day - Prague

Ladies and Gents,

My first thought on Prague (no lie): "Why does this city even exist?" I had learned nothing about it during any of my studies of western civilization, and hardly knew it existed before I traveled there. Turns out, Prague is loaded with history and is dirt cheap, and I'm very glad we went.

One of the interesting things about Prague is that it relies on its own currency: the crown. 1 USD = around 18 crowns, and it was extremely hard to keep track of how much things were worth. It was probably the strangest thing that has happened to me so far in Europe when I took out 1000 crowns from the ATM at the train station in Prague, and it gave me ... 1 bill back. A 1000 crown bill. Chris took out 2000 crown, and got back ... a 2000 crown bill. Most places didn't have enough money in their cashiers to give change back for it, so it was annoying. Not to mention very tempting, as most shoe places sold Nikes for around 2000 crowns. I was drooling.

On a serious note, as Prague was one of the only major cities not bombed during WWII, most of the city survives in its original state. There's an incredible castle that Chris and I walked to, as well as an incredible bridge spanning across the massive Vltava river that Prague is built on. I also went to the Rudolfinum, home of one of the oldest concert halls in all of Europe. Also, the tower of the main square in the old center of the city has one of the most amazing clocks on it I have ever seen. Back when it was first made, it was such a world wonder that the people of Prague blinded the man who made it, to ensure they were the only city to get one. Be sure to see the pictures on that one. Apparently later on in his life, he went into the machinery of the clock and pulled out a vital piece. The clock was so intricate that it took the master engineers of the time 100 years to fix it.

Prague turned out to be one of my favorite places during 10 day. The Czech Republic is a beautiful place, and I'm glad I went.

Jacimo.

P.S. Pictures hurr.

10 Day - Berlin

Hey guys,

Berlin is a very modern city. As soon as the train eased to a stop, I thought to myself that Berlin could be any other American city. Walking the streets, I could have been in Washington D.C., New York City, or even Providence. Obviously, this was due to WWII: architecturally Berlin was devastated from top to bottom, making modern Berlin very modern indeed.

However, the highlight of our stay in Northern Germany was to be found at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, about an hour long train ride outside the city. Concentration camps are the kind of thing that you can't just slap words onto. I could honestly sit here into the wee hours of the morning typing away and would not come close to conveying the emotional effect that it had on me, and everyone else I was traveling with. See the pictures for more on that front.

Coming back from the camp, we toured as much of Berlin as we could with the rest of the day. We walked through the triumphant arch, the "Brandenburg Gate" as well as saw the "Reichstag Building," or the main building of the Nazi Regime. We also went out of our way to see the Berlin Wall, which was really cool. Today, Berlin allows a portion of the wall to stand, and on it painters to express the great joy of the world towards the wall's falling. Got some awesome pictures of that.

And as always, German beers are very good. Someday I want to go back and try "Bock" beer; me and Chris met a man in a bar who gushed on and on about it, and was not pleased when he found out that the bar didn't have it. That same guy, Christian, wanted Chris and I to know very badly that Germany is nothing like what it was back during the time of WWII, and that it was very hurtful for Germans when Americans come into the country expecting everyone to be marching around town in formation with Hitler mustaches.

In short, Germany was definitely one of my favorite countries over 10 day. I think I learned alot from Christian too: not that I thought all those things about Germany, but hearing from another college student about how Germany feels about WWII made it so much more real to me.

Jacimo

Pictures here.

10 Day - Amsterdam

Amsterdam, summed up in 10 pointers:

1. French Fries (some of the best in the world).

2. Indian street merchants (same as everywhere).

3. Red Light District.

4. Rembrandt's house.

5. Mad cool waterways.

6. Anne Frank's house.

7. The "I amsterdam" logo.

8. The Heineken Factory.

9. Legalized marijuana everywhere.

10. Van Gogh Museum.

Jacimo.

P.S. Pictures here.

Teaser for Amsterdam .. do they even need a lock on the door with that kind of security?

... Or even a door?

10 Day - Brussels

Hey guys,

On to Brussels. Before I get going, I just want to let you guys know that I'm cracking up as I write this, as I think it's pretty funny that I'm drinking wine and blogging instead of hanging out with the crew tonight. Not that I don't enjoy updating my blog and all, but this is not something I could picture myself doing before tonight. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses. )

From Paris, we took a 2 hour train to Brussels. We got there around 9PM, and I decided to stay with my priest friend in Leuven, Fr. Mahar, about a 45 minute train ride outside of Brussels, while my friends decided to stay in the city. Due to a mix-up at the train station, I got to the American College, were I was to be staying, around 12:30PM. Even so, Fr. Mahar took me out to dinner and we had a great time. Belgium apparently is world-famous when it comes to their beer, and I immediately fell in love with the one that Fr. Mahar ordered for me, the La Trappe Quadrupel. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses.)

The next day, I headed into the city. Brussels is also well known for it's waffles and chocolate, and both are delicious. "The Waffle Factory" probably has the best value for their waffle around town. We started off the day going to a place that was well known to be the best waffle place around for breakfast, and started walking about the city. Brussels has some amazing architecture, especially in the main square of the city. Check out the pictures.

One of the funniest things I stumbled across during my 10 day was that the national symbol of Brussels, similar to the US's bald eagle, is a peeing boy. What possessed the leader of Belgium to do something like that eludes me, but I think it's pretty funny nonetheless. Another ridiculous aspect of Brussels is a urinal built against a church, so you can urinate against one legally ... obviously a popular tourist attraction.

That night, we ended up in the Delirium, a world famous bar that boasts the "world's best beer," the Delirium Tremens, as well as more than 30 beers on tap, making it one of the largest bars in the world. It was pretty cool. Just don't try to steal one of the Delirium Tremens special cup, as they taser people outside for it. Sometimes I feel like I could summarize Brussels in 3 words: beer, waffles, and chocolate. But mostly beer. (No worries Dad and Mom, just a few glasses.)

The best,

Jacimo

PS. PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=564095&id=824235363&l=a30861dade

10 Day - Paris

Hey Guys,

Sorry about the wait. Truth be told, there's so much to tell I don't think I could do justice to my trip even in one massive blog post. So I've decided to break it down to a blogpost for each city; this way I can get it done in more manageable slices, and it'll keep you guys on your toes.

Well, well, well. I'll start by saying Paris is ridiculously expensive. While this wasn't wholly Paris's fault, as admission to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower did take it's toll, food is very pricey, as are hostels. No complaints on this end as to the quality of either, but the price-tags did have me thinking about the joining the strikes there for a bit.

From the top, we arrived in Paris with a bang. Literally. The landing of our flight there was the worst one I've ever been a part of. I was fast asleep right before the landing, and as I woke up to it, it felt like bouncing up and down on a trampoline. I guess that's to be expected when you fly with RyanAir, the cheapest flying service of Europe.

Our first day, we started by taking the metro to the Louvre. The metro was the nicest I've seen in all of Europe, and according to my man Rick Steves, most certainly is. We walked in the back entrance to the Louvre, and accordingly, were not impressed in the slightest. After wandering around in the back courtyard for 10 minutes or so, we finally walked out into the middle of things. The front of the Louvre is stunning, as is the famous glass pyramid. We toured the Louvre for 3 hours or so, and saw the Mona Lisa on the way. My friends were letdown by it's small size (it's probably about 3 feet by 2-ishy) but I enjoyed it nontheless. The museum was filled with thousands of stunning works of art, and was a real pleasure to see.

From there, we walked across the city to Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a spectacular church from head to toe. The inside, however, is dark and gloomy. As I walked around, I slowly started to appreciate the church's design: the material world around us, at eye level, is not fulfilling, while raising one's eyes to God, and the heights of the interior of the church, is much more satisfying. The stain glass windows are dazzling.

Grabbing some ham crepes on the way out, we took a metro to the Eiffel Tower. It's alot bigger in real life than you think. As we approached the city via bus from the airport, my initial viewing of the tower from a distance had caused it to appear minuscule. By foot, however, the thing was a skyscaper. Standing directly underneath it was really cool: it spanned hundreds of feet over my head in every direction. We rode the elevator up to the 2nd floor, and then to the top. The first floor consists of a snazzy restaurant, about 300 euro per person too snazzy. The views from the top were stunning; we caught an awesome French sunset.

Our second day there, me and Nico journeyed out to the Palace at Versailles, as our friends weren't really feeling up to the challenge. It was a rainy, cloudy day, but it turned out to be an awesome decision. The palace was more ornate than any other building I've ever seen in my entire life. It was almost sickening how lavish the life of the French kings was; no, it was sickening. While the people starved, King Louis XIII and his successors built one of the most sumptuous buildings in the history of man, if not THE most. The Hall of Mirrors was unbelievable. Words cannot describe it. Even the gardens were eye candy to the max: they are so large, it would take an hour to walk their length at a good, steady pace.

On our way back, we went to Sainte Chapelle, the church where the crown of thorns lies. Unfortunately, after a 45 minute wait to the front of the line, we were told that the main part of the church was closed for renovation (a common theme throughout Europe, this renovation business) but we went to see the sacristy anyway. More beautiful stain glass windows, blah blah blah. I hate how traveling around Europe so much and seeing so many beautiful things has a habit of desensitizing you to them, but it's true.

Being at these sites which were the center of so many movies, books, and lives was powerful. I just wish it didn't cost so much.

Ciao,

Jacimo

P.S. I know I spell Jacimo wrong. Deal with it.

P.P.S. PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=563418&id=824235363&l=0df87232a9

A Canonization Situation

Hey guys,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a canonization at St. Peter's. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The canonization was on Sunday, so I spent Saturday night in Rome with family friends. I had brought one of my good friends from UD to stay also. They took us out to their favorite pizzeria and gelato places in Rome, and we called it an early night. At 7:30, we caught the bus into St. Peter's, a 3 minute bus ride away. However, we didn't have tickets to get into the ceremony, so we wandering around the crowd, asking anyone who spoke English if they had extra tickets. Luckily, after about 10 minutes, an Italian nun had a few extras and we were in. Scampering as close as we could to the main altar, we were camped out in our seats around 8. After a two hour wait, the Pope came out on his Popemobile and all 90,000 of us in attendance went absolutely berserk. The Pope said mass, and 3 hours later, proclaimed the 6 beautified people all saints. Just being a part of the ceremony was an amazing feeling.

In other news, this Friday I leave for Switzerland to start off my 10 day trip, traveling around Europe. From there, I go to Brussels to stay with Fr. Mahar, Amsterdam for a night, then Berlin, Prague, and Munich. I can't wait.

Additionally, instead of going to the men's retreat, I've decided to make a pilgrimage to Monte Casino, the site of one of the first monasteries in the world, as well as tour as many churches in Rome as I can.

Ciao.

James

You can see the pictures here.

Greece.

Hey guys,

Greece is absolutely amazing. There's not really much more to it. The mountains and the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas provide a glorious backdrop to some of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen. The trip lasted 10 days total; on day 1, we drove down to Barri and saw the Basilica of St. Nicholas, where Santa Claus is buried. His bones secrete this liquid called manna, which many revere to have sacred properties. They sell it in the gift store, but it's really expensive (sorry to get your hopes up like that, Mom).

Interestingly, Barri, for the small port town it is, has a rich history. Not only is it the resting place of St. Nicholas, but it was one of the last places in Europe that crusaders would pass through on their way to the Holy Land. Both on their way and coming back, they would give gifts to the town. Thus, over the years, Barri grew in wealth and power.

From Barri, we took an overnight ferry to Greece, to a small town called Patras. When we arrived in Patras, we took the bus first thing in the morning over to Olympia. There, we went to the Archaeological museum of Olympia, went to mass, and called it an early night.

The next day, me and my roommates all slept through our mandatory wakeup time, at 8, till 11. We were told we would have a wake-up call in the morning, but we were the only room not to have a phone in the room. We missed seeing the Temples of Hera and Zeus, as well as the ancient Olympic stadium. And we now have to write a 6 page paper. I tried arguing that missing those sites was more than enough punishment in itself, but they wouldn't buy it. Ugh.

After lunch, we took another bus over to Delphi, the site of the ancient Oracle. Delphi was really cool, as it was where I met the the culinary masterpiece I like to call the gyro. Gyros are worse for you than a Big Mac but better tasting than anything else I have ever had in my entire life, and believe me, we got along really well. But on to more important things. At Delphi, we saw the main temples and the place where the Oracle would tell her prophesies, as we walked in the footsteps of thousands of travelers before us throughout the ages.

Right after we were finished seeing the Oracle, me and my good friend, John Bascom, decided to climb Mt. Parnassus. At the top, waited the Cave of Dionysus, an ancient cave dedicated to the worship of the God of Wine and Revelry. Our English Professor told us it was up there, and only one other student had ever made it. We basically ran up the mountain for about 3 hours, following the only path we could find. We didn't make it, but the views up there were incredible.

The next day, we left for Athens. Athens is both one of the most aesthetically pleasing and ugly places I've been to yet in Europe: surrounding the beauty of the Acropolis, Pnyx, and Agora, lies a city jam-packed with concrete, where every building is the same and it's easier to get lost than in a labyrinth. Flatten the landscape and subtract the Acropolis, and Athens would get no tourists. At all. Furthermore, anyone that decided to go would get so lost in the city they would never find their way out. However, the food is to die for (GYROS!!) and the shopping there is a good time. My only regret is that I wanted to spend more time on the Acropolis than the alloted hour and a half. We also went to the Theater of Dionysos at the foot of the Acropolis.

From Athens, we journeyed to Mycenae, the ancient palace of Agamemnon. Excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, the famous archeologist of Troy, the site boasts the alleged tombs of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, as well as one of the world's oldest still-standing entrances, the "Lion's Gate," from 1250 BC. Not mentioned on the list of famous items there, but just as notable, is the unmarked grave shaft that me and my friends decided to climb down. 10 minutes and a dead flashlight battery later, I encountered the freakiest experience of my life. I swear, Indiana Jones would have cried.

After Mycenae, our last stop was the town of Nafplion, one of my favorite towns we went to on the trip. It was fairly touristy, but not crowded by any means. At the top of the hill that looks over the city is an ancient fortress, the wall of which me and my friends climbed. It's about 20-25 feet tall, so it was pretty scary. No worries, I made it over ... I know how many of you guys would be devastated if I couldn't update my blog anymore.

All in all, Greece, in my opinion is much more beautiful than Italy (from what I've seen, at least). Don't get me wrong, Italy is pretty sweet, but it's too flat for me. Put a gyro in my hand and put me on the top of a Greek mountain, and I would be happy. Until I finished the gyro, anyway.

Until next time,

Jacimbo

P.S. The internet here is terrible. I can't even send emails 99% of the time, so hang with me.

You should be able to see the pictures hurr and hurr. Ciao.

I'm a little confused ... does this store in Athens sell mannequins or clothes?

Hit me with a comment. More posts to follow soon.

Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, Capri, the Isle of Elba, and So Much More

Hey guys! I know it's been awhile, and I apologize. I'll make up for it with this post though, I promise. Hopefully you won't get more mad that you have to read this entire thing to catch up with my life. Heh.

Well ... since Cinque Terre, I've been very busy.

School has been getting much harder for one thing, not to mention I've just started working at the Capp Bar on campus making coffee and such for my work-study ... my first coffee apparently tasted like scrambled eggs, but I was getting rave reviews by the end of my shift. Which reminds me: Joe Kaiser asked me to drop his name on my blog. Joe, you can thank me by telling people my coffee is terrible so I can actually get some homework done on the job.

In other news, 3 weeks ago UD took us to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. Both were spectacular. It was very hard to imagine life in an ancient city for obvious reasons before the trip, and after not so much. Pompeii was not at all what I expected .. I thought it was much more ruins and rubble than it actually is. There's even an Cafeteria and Pizza place preserved so well, that they -- oh wait. I guess they built those after the eurption for the tourists, but they sure had me going.

Mt. Vesuvius is similarly amazing. The massive crater in the middle of it makes it easy to picture the utter ruin and devastation that was unleased upon Pompeii. From the top of the mountain, it was extremely windy. (If not for all the gelato I've been eating, I might have blown away). We got some great pictures to say the least ... maybe more so of me and my friends than the view, but whatever.

Friday we had been bussed to the area, Saturday we saw Pompeii and Vesuvius, and on Sunday we were allowed to either head back to campus or go see Capri on our own. Being the adventurous chap I am, I decided to head on over. Capri is, by far, the most beautiful place I've ever been lucky enough to see on planet earth. I need to go back eventually. The main attraction of the island, "The Blue Grotto," is a beautiful cave. At least, that's what google images tells me: the tide was too high that day, and the tours of the cave were closed. Nevertheless, we spent the day hanging out on the beach, swimming in the Mediterrean, and exploring the island. And all we found were gelato places ... weird.

The following weekend I stayed on campus and spent 3, for lack of a better word, delightful days in Rome. They say all roads lead to Rome, but once you're in Rome, they never told you how easy it was to get lost. Not that getting lost is a bad thing of course .. but it can be stressful. On Friday, I essentially walked the entirety of the city, North to South. It took me about 2 hours. On Saturday, my good friend Bishop Evans walked me around the city and took me out to lunch. It was a fantastic day -- Rome without someone who knows their way around can only be so fun. We walked in and out of so many churches I think he might of slipped a mosque in and I wouldn't have noticed. On Sunday, I spent the morning with the Bishop and 2 of my best friends in the Vatican, and then out to lunch again. Those 3 course meals, by the way, are very filling. Not that there isn't room for gelato, of course, but it can get a little tight.

This past weekend I voyaged out to the island of Elba, the isle where Napolean was held in captivity for some years. We spent Friday night sleeping on the beach of some random Italian town, and were in Elba by Saturday for lunch. Elba is a beautiful place; it reminded me of the Cinque Terre's. We toured the house and gardens where Napolean lived .. I did't feel all too bad for the guy. His bed was made of pure gold, for crying out loud. Friday night, however, was miserable. We decided to camp up in the mountains, and it rained cats and dogs. Literally. Around 3AM, 4 very tired, wet americanos could be found walking down the main street of Elba. We ended up staying in some guy's backyard .. it might have been the worst night of my life. What we did to anger Posiden beats me, though.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I can make it out to Ireland for Thanksgiving Break, and Barcelona and Switzlerand for our last 2 weekends. Next week I head out to Greece, where the women are supposed to be a good time. I guess I'll just have to see for myself.

Check out the pictures!

As always, God bless, and wish me luck. Ciao.

Jacimo

In order: the view from the campsite the morning of the second night, pizza for dinner our last night, and a view of Vernazza from the path to Corniglia.

From the top: Vernazza's bay with us, the bay without us,

and a view of the city from the path above before we got there. Definitely my favorite of the 5.

The Pope, Cinque Terra, and Much, Much, More

Hey guys, sorry about the delay. I've been so busy the last few days; I just got back from Cinque Terra, which are 5 cites along the coast of the Mediterranean. We walked the entire stretch of the towns from start to finish, which took 2 days total and was exhausting. The view from the mountains between the cities were absolutely incredible. The towns are called Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, in that order. Mom, I bought you some tiles for the kitchen too that are pretty awesome, from Corniglia, the third town, where we also stayed the first night. At the top you'll see some the best views from the trails. We also swam in Monterosso, Vernazza, and Corniglia. Vernazza has this awesome beach / cove area where we swam out and went cliff diving. The second night we camped out up in the mountains, which was alot of fun, minus the ants.

The weekend before, I walked up to the top of Castel Gandolfo and was 50 feet away from the Pope praying the Angelus! That was out of control .. people around me were going crazy, some were crying just to be that close to him, it was surreal. Everyone was packed into this tiny square, which they only let about 1,000 people into. We were lucky to squeeze in there; thousands more didn't get in. We spent the rest of the day at the lake at the foot of Castel Gandolfo, Lake Albano, which is a volcanic lake. The water is really warm and the sand is black, it's really cool. I'm thinking about swimming across the entire thing with my friends some weekend.

School is pretty hard, but doable. I'm trying to figure out a plan to meet up with Father Mathar and Mary in Belgium, that would be awesome. As of right now it seems I'll be traveling with some baseball players to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Munich. Hopefully I'll be able to make it over to Barcelona over Thanksgiving Break.

Ciao for now!

James

Rome

To be honest, Rome is not that good. The Vatican was pretty boring, and -- I really hope some of you guys bought that. No, Rome is amazing. We took a bus to the Vatican at 5:30am to beat the crowds, walked around for awhile, and then went to mass inside. The light came through the windows and shone on the main alter visibly, it was awesome. From inside, the main dome of St. Peter's is astonishingly high. Everything in the Vatican was much bigger and on a much grander scale than I imagined, too. After the Vatican, we stopped at a cafe, and ordered these ridiculously good buns filled with chocolate .. I wish I could remember what they were called. Not to mention Gelato might be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted; we went to one of the more famous ones in Rome. We also saw the Trevi Fountain, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Pantheon, and many more. Check out the pictures! Definetly going back ASAP.

James

Campus

It's 5pm here in Rome, and life is good. Everyone's name is Fabio and has one of these. The campus is amazing, and other than the fact that tap water in Italy is disguising, no complaints on this end. We'll be headed into the Vatican tomorrow for mass and a basic tour of Rome, I'll keep you guys posted. For now, check the pics of the campus!

James

An Introduction

What's up guys, thanks for dropping by, and welcome to my blog. I'm spending this upcoming Fall semester with the University of Dallas in Rome, and I'll be documenting my shenanigans during the trip here. Don't tell my parents, but I'll be relying on coins from the Trevi Fountain to pay my way through the semester. Wish me luck!

James