Manda Ritch
Entry 6: June 22, 2008
Well today is our last full day in Lugano, Switzerland. We have spent most of the week working on class projects and getting everything together for the end of our trip. We spent this morning finishing up everything for our classes! We are so happy to be done! After that we had lunch and then some time to kill so I brought out the Disney Princesses coloring book and colored pencils. I think that this coloring book was one of the best things I brought with me. There were about 12 of us sitting around the table coloring after lunch. It pays not to have any schoolwork left to do. I think we will be continuing our coloring party tonight after we all pack because we have nothing else to entertain ourselves with.
Tonight we are having an end of the trip dessert party because we are all going to different places tomorrow and we will be losing our full-program people. I, like most of the girls, will be sad to leave behind our new friends that are going on to London for five more weeks but we will see them soon and they will have a wonderful time!
We are getting up bright an early tomorrow morning to catch a train to Paris. It is going to take us about 11 hours to get there! Very long day! However, I am sure that it is worth it. We have already planned out our trip for Paris because there is so much we have to see. We have three days and four nights there this week. One day we are planning to take a trip to Versailles. Another day we are going to go to the Louvre. Then another day we are going to see all the sights like the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc di Triomphe, Notre Dame, and so forth... I think we are going to have a lot of fun.
On Friday Phylicia and I are leaving behind Katie and Annelise (our London people) and heading back to Switzerland. I think it will only take us about six or seven hours for us to get from Paris to Zurich. That is a lot better than our trip tomorrow! We will stay Friday night in Zurich and then fly home on Saturday! Our time here is coming to a close and while we are sad to be leaving Europe, most of us are ready to come home and see our family and friends. We all have a ton of stories and pictures to share. It has been an amazing six weeks in Europe! I can't wait to see you all!
Entry 5: June 18, 2008
After Interlaken we made our way to Stechleberg, a very small town near the Swiss Alps. The Swiss Alps are lovely and there are waterfalls everywhere. You can leave your window open and listen to the falls all day! It is great!
The next morning we were transported by gondola to Gimmelwald, a small farming village high up in the mountains. From there we hiked to Murren where we could take some lovely pictures of the surrounding mountains. The hike was very intense and exhausting. I am sure our legs will look a lot better when we return to the States. After the quicker, faster run back down the mountain, we took the gondola back to solid earth and proceeded to take a shower. Funny thing about these showers is that you pay one Swiss Franc and then you are blessed with 5 minutes of hot water. However, if you do not keep up with how long you have been in the shower then beat on being blasted with freezing cold mountain water. Such a refreshing experience!
The next day we head back to Interlaken where instead of participating in extreme sports we decided to spend three hours making jewelry. It was a very therapeutic and relaxing experience compared to the previous day. I made some lovely earrings and a matching anklet all by myself—a rewarding experience indeed. Finally we called it an evening and headed back to our tent. That’s right a tent in Switzerland while it is raining and cold. Let me tell you, I do not suggest a tent in Switzerland. We experienced a very chilly evening.
After thawing ourselves the next morning we began another long trip, six hours to be exact, to get to Lugano. So now we are the guests of Franklin College where we will be staying for a week until we leave for our last travel break. We have very nice rooms with our own little kitchens so we have been making ourselves dinner each night. We have our own rooms, which is kind of sad since we have all been living together in such close quarters for the last four weeks but we are all happy to have some space to ourselves. Only 10 days left of our wonderful adventure. It has passed by so fast!Entry 4: June 11, 2008
I believe the most beautiful beach I have ever seen is located in Cinque Terre. We just left the small town of Monterosso this morning and I am missing it very much. The water was so blue you could see the bottom of the ocean! The town was charming and sketched into the side of the mountains. It was kind of like we were getting the best of both worlds—the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. We spent most of our time lying on the beach in the sun. Actually we probably spent too much time in the sun considering all of us were burnt at the end of the day. The backs of my legs look like the color of a finely boiled lobster. However I hope it will settle down into a tan by the end of the week.
Today we made our way up to Switzerland. It took us about 7 hours to get here and four different trains. We are staying in a small town with lots of young people. However we are only spending the night because we are getting ready to head up to Stechlberg and Gimmelwald tomorrow. Switzerland is a beautiful country with gorgeous snow covered mountains. It is actually kind of warm here too considering that the top of the mountains are covered in snow. Tomorrow we will hop on another train and make our way to Stechlberg where we will be doing some hiking and seeing more of the glorious Swiss Alps.Entry 3: June 5, 2008
Venice is my favorite city in Italy! I liked Rome but it just did not compare to the adventure we had this week! I am a beach person so maybe being near the saltwater lifted my spirits. When we arrived on Monday we wasted no time before exploring the city. We walked around Saint Mark's Square just as the sun was setting and the lights were coming on. It would have been very romantic if I had not been there with four other girls.
On Tuesday we went to visit the Murano Island where they make the beautiful hand blown glass jewelry, vases, etc. We actually got to go in one factory and watch the master glassblower make Christmas ornaments. We also spent some of the morning walking around the shops on the island and comparing prices. Our parents would have been so proud of our smart shopping habits.
Next we took a vaporetto (water-bus) to the island of San Michele, also known as the cemetery island. The unfortunate occupants of this island are only allowed to be buried here for 10 years before they are removed to create room for other people. Real estate is very expensive on the island of San Michele. It was amazing and slightly disturbing to see how many graves were located on the island. Moving on to a happier subject, we spent the rest of the evening doing some more shopping for ourselves and for gifts for others.
Wednesday was a more relaxed day. We got up bright and early just so we could be the first people in line to enter Saint Mark's Basilica. The church was breathtaking. Two merchants stole Saint Mark's body from Egypt and brought it back to Venice where they had built this incredible church to house his remains. Next we took a little stroll over to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum where we were able to view famous pieces of art by Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, and so forth. It was a very interesting experience but we enjoyed ourselves. Next, we slipped in a tiny nap before heading out to do a little more shopping and to find some supper. Overall I felt like this trip was a success. My group had a great time and I think we were all sad to leave. I know I was.Entry 2: May 29, 2008
Let us talk about our Rome trip. First off my group consisted of Lauryn, Phylicia Katie, and myself. We got to Rome just fine and checked into our hostel (do not worry, it was a very nice looking hostel) and found out that our room was on the fourth floor. Now in Italy fourth floor seems to be code word for fifth floor since their first floor is really the ground floor. After hiking up five flights of steps (no elevator), we fell into our surprisingly warm room. Come to find out our air conditioner did not work. That evening we spent most of our time walking around Rome trying to find the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The Spanish Steps were grand and gorgeous. If you could get past all the people sitting on them then the scene was splendid. Next we went to the Trevi Fountain. This was my favorite part of the entire trip. We threw one coin in each, hoping for a speedy return to Italy.
The next day we were surprised to discover that our toilet had detached itself from the wall and flooded our room and bathroom. After complaining to the hostel staff, we spent an enjoyable day in the sun walking around ancient Rome. We saw the Colosseum and the Casa d'Augustana. Then, after finding that we are all red and tired, we took a break for lunch to catch our breath and recover. After some pizza and soda we caught a bus to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was breathtaking and the size extraordinary. The fact that the Pantheon has stayed intact since 80 AD confirms that the Romans were ahead of their time in construction and architecture.
Our third day in Rome was very exciting. Our first thing on the agenda was to be blessed by the Pope. That’s right. We were able to get the golden tickets to be blessed by the Pope on Wednesday morning. We sat in the hot sun for two hours listening to seven different languages, waiting for the end of the service just so we could be blessed.
After our blessing we rushed out of Saint Peter's Square and to the Vatican Museum. At the Vatican Museum we rushed through all the rooms. I am sorry to say that we only had one goal in mind; we had to get to the Sistine Chapel and everything that stood in our way kind of got passed up (we have visited a lot of museums by the way). The Sistine Chapel was incredible! It was not exactly what I had imagined, smaller and darker, but the paintings are unbelievable. It is almost like Michelangelo’s paintings are coming to life and jumping off the ceiling. I have to say that the Sistine Chapel was my second favorite place in Rome.
Entry 1: May 20, 2008
Today was a very, very busy day here in Italy. I woke up early to go on a walk but found it to be raining outside again! It has been raining since we got here and we checked the weather for the next few days and it is suppose to rain continuously until Monday.
This morning, after our usual breakfast of croissants and fruit, we had Italian class for an hour. We worked on asking questions in Italian. This comes in handy when we are out shopping. Next, I had my interior design class for three hours. We went over Gothic and Roman architectures, more specifically, cathedrals and churches.
After class, we had lunch, which is always amazing! We have two older ladies that cook for us each day. Today, to our happy surprise, they made us soup! We were all very happy to have something to warm us up. The rain keeps the air cold in the servi. For the second course we had a kind of beef stew with lemons, olive oil potatoes, and zucchini.
After lunch we were able to visit the city museum, where we were able to study some of the works of local artist from the 13th and 14th Century. One of the more famous artists was Piero della Francesca. After our educational field trip, we did a little shopping! Our professors introduced us to a young woman who has created her own jewelry shop. She still lives with her family but has her own silver jewelry company. She makes her jewelry by hand in a little shop on the first floor of her parents' house. All of her work was lovely! Finally we headed back through town to the servi, stopping to buy and umbrella and a few gifts from what has become one of our favorite shops! Tomorrow will be uneventful with just class and homework and probably more rain... Ciao
