Globetrotting

Well I've been back from my week-long whirlwind tour of Europe for about a week and now that jetlag is wearing off, I thought I'd post about the trip. It was a lot of fun and I've got a ton of pics up on facebook, having made my first photo album (first three actually) ever. My brother Paul and I visited Florence (1 day), Rome (1 day), Berlin (2 days), and Paris (3 days). While I'd been to all but Berlin, I wasn't going to say no to another chance to travel!

I revisited the Uffizi with my brother in Florence and he actually was able to explain to me some of the pictures since he took an AP Art History class in high school and probably remembers about 95% of the material. In Rome it was blazing HOT. We were there on Sunday, and a feast day...Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul no less. The Pope said Mass but sadly, we missed it. The Vatican Museum was also closed and my brother opted not to stand in the massive line and die of dehydration to see St. Peter's. So we went Church-hopping for the rest of the day and found a treasure: Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa de Avila.

It was absolutely stunning. Also, St. Teresa is my confirmation saint and Bernini is one of Paul's favorites, so it meant something special to both of us.

Berlin was a lot of fun. It was also a lot cooler and there weren't as many tourists as in Rome. We got to visit the Pergamon Museum and the Old National Gallery the first day, taking in relics from Greece, the Middle East, as well as paintings by German artists. The second day we took a look at the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, both sites of where the city was divided during the Cold War. My favorite mural on the Berlin Wall involved quite an unlikely hero.
After a relaxing time in Berlin, we headed of course to the ever marvelous Paris and boy did I ever get my fill of art. Our first day we visited the Musee d'Orsay, which is chockful of beautiful Impressionist art by Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir. It even had Whistler's Mother! And of course on the second day there was the Louvre and while everyone crowded around the Mona Lisa my brother and I looked in as many wings as we could. We spent six hours in there and didn't come to close to seeing everything.
Of course we saw the Eiffel Tower and went to Mass at Notre Dame to end our time. Paris had many tourists but with more time, it seemed a lot more relaxed. Of course the entire trip was a bit spoiled at first because the airline LOST MY BAG and though I arrived on a Saturday, I didn't get it until Tuesday evening. Otherwise though, the vacation was great and I returned home with a lot more info about art stuffed in my head.

Now things are pretty much back to normal. Our pool finally got finished while I was gone and it is so nice to relax in it. Work continues as usual. I'm now a registered Rice grad student and have a random roommate. In less than a month I'll be heading to hot and humid Houston and I'm getting a little nervous and excited. I hope everyone else is having a great summer! Take care guys!