city of lucca

It was a morning of people rolling out of bed slowly one at a time. Around 12:30, Lucca was graced with our presence. We all split up into a little groups and it was naoh, Daniel and I today. We wandered through looking for the flea market and all the churches that were open. At the foot of one of the churches was this absolutely fabulous book seller who had books from the 1800’s for only 1 and 2 euro. I found some letters addressed to Giuseppe Spadoni, circa 1908-1932. The paper is so old that it almost falls apart when you touch it. It was a rush to find something so personal and so fragile in such great shape for me to have!! The three of us found a restaurant right by the church that had excellent pizza for 4 euro each. I was FULL. It was getting close to our scheduled meet up time back at the car so we started heading towards the wall that encompasses the whole city (we parked just on the outside of the wall). There were steps the went to the top of the wall and you could walk around the entire city up there. We just walked a partial way and ran into everyone relaxing on a bench atop the wall. After congregating, it was back to the villa for dinner, wine and dancing. Both nights so far have gotten pretty rowdy and I only see it getting crazier. It’s a day off tomorrow so I’m thinking there will be lots of hangovers and laying around..

-L dawg

train to florence, lucca

I’m feeling a bit more like a human being today. I think the sickness is finally fading and I’m on the road to recovery. YAY! We took another train from Venice today, up and over to Lucca. We had one transfer in Florence and once we got to Lucca, the majority of us visited the gelatoria. Horia and Bill had to rent some vehicles for transportation around Tuscany, so that took a little time. We all piled into the cars, with a few seats being shared by more than one person, and drove to the villa just outside Lucca. The house is huge and everyone has made their nest in their rooms. A couple of us went to the market to get groceries for the week since we will be cooking dinner everynight. No more eating out!!! I got all my own stuff to cook my delicious vegan meals and everyone else chipped in to a larger pot to get all the Italian meats and cheeses famous in this region. Dinner was wonderful and the attitude was exciting. Everyone seemed to be a bit looser out in the slower, quieter parts of italy. This is going to be a fun week. I MISS JESSE! Only 9 more days…

-lyyyyyyndsey

biennale day 2...AWFUL sickness

I think this is it. I’m pretty sure this is the closest to death I’ve felt in awhile. I have the cold sweats and everything around is really far away one minute and then super close-up. I made it a really short day at the biennale, a quick walk through of everything just so I could see the exhibitions, and then think about them at a later point when I wasn’t dying. I saw purple spots and had crazy vertigo when I got onto the ferry to come back over to the other island. It was scary. Rest, sleep and more rest now.

-yucky lyndsey

biennale di venezia

So I have a fever and I can’t breath out of my face. It feels like a ton of bricks in my head and someone pounding on my chest. I went and got some flu tea from the farmacia and a couple other remedies suggested to me. I want this thing to go away, no ruining my trip dammit! We snuck onto the ferry that took us across the canal to san marco. We walked along the canal on our way to the biennale and ran into an exhibit on the way. Im pretty sure I will have to start a whole other blog for the happenings at the biennale so I wont get into specifics. There were a lot of interesting and very political things at this biennale, almost an overload. We were there for about 5 or 6 hours, and then we headed back to the other side. Bill, Horia, Dave and I ran into a great discount market where huge bottles of water were 12 cents and I bought 3 days worth of food for 6 euro. We had a picnic out by one of the canals at sunset and talked. I had pickled asparagus and basil olive oil artichokes on top of a rosemary foccacia bread, some fresh tomatoes and roasted red and yellow peppers. It was delicious and the sky was beautiful. Its time for some rest so I don’t feel like crap tomorrow.

-sick girl

train ride to venice

It was supposed to be an early morning, but there is always someone who holds us up. It’s the worst when we are held up long enough to miss the buss, leading to the whole group missing the train to Venice. Oh well. We all sucked it up and caught the next crowded bus, squeezing everyone in and making it on time for the next fast train. Va bena!! Lots of hungover faces and dizzy eyes filing onto the train and settling in for the 4.5 hour ride north. We played 20 questions, cards, wrote in journals, listened to music and napped. Ciao Venezia!! The weather is so dramatically different from hot rome. Its 70 degrees and sunny, with a very slight cool breeze. It almost feels like fall compared to down south. We got the next ferry bus along the canal to giurdini, the island we were staying on. Of course we got of on the wrong stop and ended up walking a bit, but it was nice out and who is going to complain about getting lost in VENICE?! We all did our own thing for dinner, which was the market for me, fresh veggies and peanuts! I met up with some people at the closest café/bar and we had some wine together and talked about the current happenings. All in all, it was a simple day of travel and settling. Im starting to feel sick, lets hope its not going to manifest!

-lg

vatican museum and the sistine chapel

We stood in line for a good hour and a half to two hours this morning just to enter the museum. Once we were inside, it was a maze through all the rooms and halls of the enormous building that once housed some of the most famous artists in history, and the daily quarters of former popes. Every wall was covered in fresco or oil painting of some dramatic religious scene, putting pictures to the words that so many have lived by. We were all separated from the group a few times, but all found each other in front of the school of Athens painting. BRILLIANT!!! Such an amazing piece of work, only to be followed by walking into the Sistine chapel. I think we all needed a neck brace after that since everything is on the ceiling. There it was, creation of man, and so many other panels right above my head. Its hard to look at anything else after a day full of famous, classic pieces of art. We relaxed for a bit around the hotel for a couple hours and slowly wandered our way through tiny walkways and hidden alleys to the pantheon. I had seen so many pictures of the Pantheon before and studied it so much in history classes, famous for being the largest self-supporting dome, pretty much in the entire world, but I could never describe how cool it was to stand inside and hear the effects that take place with the sound, or acoustics. A quiet breathy whistle would echo for seconds after you stop. The only light inside was from the huge hole in the ceiling which was made to be permanently open, and the sun coming through the hole throughout the day would illuminate the statues lined up around the walls. As I gawked at the elaborate tomb for the one and only Raphael, a group of singers began an angelic performance of a short song that made everyone stop in their tracks to listen. Highs and lows, louder and soft, everyone had chills when they were through. Another short walk wandering through the streets at dusk, we were heading BACK to the pizza place for our last night in Roma. Wine, grappa, limoncello…..the usual. SLEEP…

-lyndsey

the Vatican

Banana, orange juice and an apple for breakfast and off to the Vatican church first thing in the morning. The line was already starting to wrap around the circle, but it was moving quickly, filing the tourists like sheep into the church. Its Sunday so mass was going on and the priests were singing, their voices reverberating off the 360 foot ceilings made of gold and the marble inlay floors soaked in 1600 years of religious and political history. Frescos and mosaics decorate every wall and beautiful sculptures of a saint or a former pope sit comfortably looming over you. Everything inside was on such a large scale that it made me and everyone else in there feel very small. I proceeded to the underground tombs of dead popes and the religious royalty from neighboring countries. It smelled cold and there was definitely an aura of death all throughout the room of tombs. There were 2 guards standing by Pope John Paul II and shushed people as they walked by, “silenzio.” We all met outside around 1pm and decided to split up, eat, then meet at the Capitoline (huge museum with a ton of famous pieces by Caravaggio, Tintiorelli and more) sometime later. The smaller palace had mostly Greek and Roman sculptures, we didn’t spend too much time on this side of the museum. The other part of the museum, Palazzo dei Conservatori, was covered with colorful frescos and had masterpieces of huge sculpture of Constantine, Bernini's Medusa and incredible paintings by Veronese, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. There were so many paintings and sculptures in this museum that I had studied in several art history classes over the years and it was very cool to be so close as to breath on them. I could see the textures and really visualize the process of making the pieces. What a great experience. We walked along the tiberina river, all the way back to our hotel Emmaus. OFF my soar feet and screaming legs for about an hour before we decided to go back to the same restaurant for dinner since last night was so great. We were greeted with 3 free pizzas and 2 liters of free wine, just as a starter. The meal continued like this, surprises of free things and the waiter was getting friendlier with us as each liter disappeared. The night developed into a rowdy one of partying in the grassy knoll in the middle of the street outside the hotel. FUN night. Maybe more tomorrow…

-Lyndsey

meeting up with the group

I packed my stuff up and left the hostel at about 8 a.m. I walked to the tabacchi and bought my bus ticket to the Vatican, which is just on the other side of town. I could’ve easily walked but my bag is heavier than I am. So I’m waiting at the bus stop, looking for the number 64 and a man walks up to me. He asked me if I was waiting for the bus, and obviously I was since I was at the bus stop with my ticket in hand. He continues to tell me that the bus drivers are on strike and its very good that he ran into me or I would be waiting there all day. He grabbed my wrist and started dragging me down towards piazza republica where a bunch of vans were parked, rambling on about the strike in rome and not to worry because he has saved me the waiting time and will now drive me wherever I want to go. I was wondering what exactly this guy was getting out of this and started to ask how much this service cost. He avoided the question and that’s when I turned around and started walking back to the station. He was chasing after me telling me I was making a big mistake and grabbing at me. I used some bad words and I think I scared him off with my gestures. Immediately after, I hopped on the next bus, which was the 64. The buses weren’t on strike after all. I took the bus all the way to the end of the line and made my way down to the Vatican. I ran into Horia, my professor, and noah on the via fornacci. I put my stuff in the storage room of the hotel Emmaus and wandered out towards the Vatican to catch a glimpse for the first time. It was beautiful. Overwhelming and intricate in every detail. The statues of all the saints lined up around the circle, staring at me as I spun in circles of awe. I caught a glimpse of a beard and there was Daniel! We went and got a cup of espresso by the hotel and waited for more people to show up. At 11am we were allowed to check in, so we did. I brought my things up to the room and headed out in search of another vegan restaurant that was near where we were. A wild goose chase is what it turned out to be, ending in settling for a small deli with a salad that I had to pick the cheese out of. How deceiving of them to cover the cheese with delicious carrots and olives! Jerks. Once everyone had arrived from their different parts of the world, we headed out for a night stroll to the coliseum, and parts of the roman forum. I saw all this stuff yesterday but it was so beautiful and different by nightfall. On our way back, we stopped at a restaurant that had a pizza oven built in 1810. 200 year old pizza was pretty damn good. The waiter was in good spirits, witty and sarcastic which made the dinner that much better. Lots of wine, grappa and full bellies. Time for rest.

-L dawg

roma on my owna

Eight in the morning couldn’t have come quicker, but I was glad to get out of the hostel. I started with my destination being the colliseum. Two hours later I made it there(really only 20 minutes from the hostel if you don’t get lost). Getting lost was the theme of the day today. I tried my hardest to get as lost as I could, and find the pumping heart of rome. I wanted to find the veins, the hands, the people and places that were hidden away from all the tourists. I found a lot and also managed to stumble across a ton of huge monuments as well. Late afternoon I attempted to find a vegan restaurant called arianca blu. It looked wonderful online and I was excited to see my option here in rome. I noticed the people on the streets started to disappear as I walked on, and the graffiti was getting bigger and meaner, the smell of trash was increasing and the bass in the air was pounding harder. Trash was everywhere but I was determined to find this place. As I was walking down the street of the address I had written down, I started to realize that this place was probably not open. I was 4 doors away, 3 doors, 2 doors and there it was. The metal door was rolled up but the lights were off. I pulled on the door, almost as if I was seeking refuge from the scary street, the door opened. The chairs were stackd on the tables and it was dark. I peeked around and saw a man sitting, staring at me. I’m not even sure why, but I asked anyway, “are you open?” Hmmmmm, I wonder what he said. NO. It took me a bit to get out of that neighborhood, but I made it. Im still alive but still really hungry. I gave in a just had some marinara pizza and went for a seat on the street. Nine hours of walking and 2 failed attempts at vegetarian restaurants, my calves were screaming at me to stop. I had a slow meal for dinner, the way the romans do and by myself. Lots of wine, yummy wine. Here I am online again…..meeting up with class tomorrow. Familiar faces, unfamiliar places.

-lyndsey

Teaching and Italy

Busy day. I had so much fun teaching today. I had all the materials ready so all the kids had to do was decorate the front of their sketchbooks. They had so much fun with all the colors of felt and construction paper. GLUE EVERYWHERE!! Too bad I can’t stay forever!!! So after school, I packed and we were off to the airport. We got a little lost on the way because the normal route that mary and Charlie take to Frankfurt-hahn was closed. We ended up going through bernkastel and along the Mosel River. It was so gorgeous. I made it there with plenty of time to spare. I was a little nervous going to italy on my own which was a weird feeling. I haven’t been nervous about traveling, even by myself, for as long as I’ve known me. The plane arrived in Rome 20 minutes early so I ran outside to try and catch the earlier shuttle going into the city. Six euro and 45 minutes later I was inside the city walls and at the Termini stazione. It was HOT and 11pm. My pants were starting to stick to my legs and my back was coated in sweat from my huge backpack. I started walking down the busiest street I saw so I wouldn’t get robbed in an alley. Only 6 blocks later I had arrived at the Yellow Hostel on via Palestro. The girls and guys at the front were very pleasant and friendly even in the sweltering hot lobby. Up to the 5th floor to my room, which I was sharing with 6 other people, and I dropped my stuff off on my top bunk. It was very silent in the room and pretty uncomfortable, not to mention hotter than hell, so I came downstairs to the bar and am taking advantage of the free internet. I think im tired enough to go to sleep, so here I go.


-L

Bitburg middle school

I went to Bitburg middle school today!!! In the beginning, the fifth grade art class was not as pumped as I was, but I think I got them closer to my level by the time the bell rang. I pulled out all the watercolors and the markers, we tested and experimented with different materials on plain old paper. I got them to open up a little with me, and with each other. Garrison, the art teacher, has given me the opportunity to create the curriculum, or ideas for the projects for the rest of the class. He is an English teacher and isn’t very confident when it comes to art, so that’s where I came in. Its such a blast to be around those kids and show them the way paint thinks. I can’t wait until Thursday when I get to teach!!!! Ive created a sketchbook out of hard paper, drawing paper and ribbon, and cut out all the materials so the kids can all make their own in class. I’m filling in the whole sketchbook with directions for Garrison and different fun things he can do with the kids. I hope to be able do this for my own class eventually. So much fun!

-L

the market and the windmills at kinderdijk

I picked out the kosher pieces of the continental breakfast and the sum was plenty. Off to the market for some fruit and veggies and a walk around town before heading out. One more chance to get lost in s’hertogenbosch! An hour to the west were the windmills at kinderdijk. There were 18 or 19 of these massive structures, some with the sails out and spinning, and some stood perfectly still with its bones showing. Mary and I walked past some people camping right next to the water and they were going at it like wild rabbits. It was pretty funny and also surprising, seeing as how there were hundreds of people walking by the tent going out to the windmills. After the windmills, 4 hours back to bitburg. We thought about going out to rittersdorf for a blues type fest that was going on, but the couch was calling our names..

-L

s'hertogenbosch, holland

Immediattely after mary returned home from her meetings at school, getting everything ready for the new school year that starts Monday, we got in the car and headed out to Holland. I slept for most of the way, until we were 20 km outside s’hertogenbosch and we hit traffic. It was HOT and we just wanted to be there. A nice homeless man helped us when we were trying to park the car. We walked past the huge gothic church into the shadows to our hotel, just a few doors down. After checking in we roamed around in search of some tasty dutch food. Turns out the one good vegan restaurant in the city was closed, “SPACE FOR RENT.” After our stomaches were yelling at us, too loud to ignore, we chose to eat right out front of our hotel. A sunset, church bells ringing and a vodka tonic. Perfect.

-L

belgium and getting really lost

So we were on our way to monschau through Belgium. And we get to a direction on the mapquest printout that said, “Turn Right.” I think that’s where everything went wrong. The next four directions said, “Turn left. Turn Right. Turn Right. Turn left.” We are now almost back to where we got off the autobahn, an hour ago. I tossed the mapquest directions in the back and grabbed the REAL map and navigated us through malmedy, elsenborn and some small abandoned town until we got to Monschau. It only took 2 and a half hours for a trip that should’ve taken an hour. We were ok with it though because we stumbled upon some very interesting towns that had hedges as tall as the houses they were in front of, and a whole town that had not one person in sight. Once we drove down into the narrow valley that looked only wide enough for the river running through it, we parked the car at the handworkers market near the river and walked down further into Monschau. You would never even know it was there if you didn’t trust the people walking in front of you to lead you to this quaint little village. The buildings were stacked, leaning against each other for support as to not fall into the river rushing below them. What a beautiful town and it was so cool how hidden it was from the rest of the world. Mary and I took some pictures and headed back up to the car after making a few small purchases!! It took us about an hour and a half to get back to bitburg, of course we got lost again after being SO confident that we knew our way. Directly to mark's house (a fellow teacher of Mary's) to pick up a bike that I ended up riding home through the farm fields and the town. Its been way too long since I've ridden. It was an awesome day and I can't wait for another one tomorrow!!

-lyndsey

croatian food in bitburg

I slept in LATE today and it felt good!! I didn’t do much of anything today, mary was at school in meetings and Charlie was around the house. I went over to school for a bit and uploaded pictures but that’s about it. We went for Croatian food in town tonight. The salad was good, but the vegetarisch dish ended up being a bit more dairy than I had thought. I asked for no cheese and no hollandaise sauce, which is what it said it came with. Then the food came and the veggies were soaked in butter and sour cream. The salad filled me up though, so Charlie had a big buttery lunch waiting for him the next day!! Haha! Rainy day, puzzle time.

-lyndsey

rodemack and the french countryside

About an hour south on the autobahn is province lorraine and the magnificent French countryside. Almost every building you see is eroding away and crumbling from the 300 something years its been standing, but still being used daily for farming and living. Off the main road tucked in a valley is the tiny little village of rodemack. Most of the houses here are from the 1600s and balancing on crumbles of stone. It is a crazy sight and and even touching the stones, you can feel the history. The walls surrounding le maison on the top of the hill had huge holes in them that were obviously from a cannon ball or some powerfully large intrusive weapon. After walking through the whole village we got back in the car and drove around the countryside, discovering new towns and different scenery for hours. Getting lost is the most fun because that’s when you find the best stuff. I love france!

-lyndsey

cows and the market

Our stock of veggies and good eats was low today, so we decided to take a trip to Luxembourg where there is a huge market that would satisfy all our grocery needs! We made a quick stop while driving on the farm roads to hang out with the cows. They have such personality and character, very happy cows. At the market, we loaded up on eggplants, celery, cucumbers, onions, zucchini, and lots more. Everything we bought was from a close surrounding country like france or Belgium. Healthy, sustainable life is what its all about!! I cooked dinner tonight: roasted asparagus, sautéed veggies and quinoa with a fresh salad topped with cucumbers and celery. Its was yummy!! Time to finish harry potter and sleep..

-lyndsey

The Luxembourg woods and a couple castles

Today we were off to Luxembourg to visit a couple castles and to play in the lush forest. A quick stop at the labyrinthe where the massive rocks are stacked so high and in such a way that it is easy to get lost in the crevasses. Moss grows on everything here, and the air smells cold and damp. Down the road is chateau beaufort, a castle that was built in 1140. It is mostly ruins now, but some rooms, including the dungeon is still as it was in the beginning. It is easy to picture the castle as it was at one point and see the royalty that resided in the massive chambers. About 20 kilometers away is vianden where the castle sits high above the small village. With a keyhole to the gate of the castle as long as my arm, I wondered of giants lived there. It only rained a little, not nearly enough to spoil these sights. We made a stop at the school on base to check email and keep in touch with the rest of the world, almost as a reality check from the surreal sights of the day.

-lyndsey

trier

After 11 hours of sleep, I was feeling somewhat refreshed following my long day of travel. Mary, Charlie and myself hopped in the car and drove 25 minutes down the road to trier. Strolling past the porta nigra, the black gate, that was erected in about A.D. 180 by the romans is quite surreal. You can almost hear the history that the gate has survived. It is made of 180 huge sandstone blocks that have blackened over time and are 6 tons each. It is the largest surviving city gate north of the alps. SO cool. The square in the center of town is decorated with farmers booths loaded up with the freshest veggies and a table offering wine tasting from a local vineyard, one of hundreds. The buildings are all traditional style german architecture and stand proud, squished in their place. We walked around just taking in the beauty and did a little shopping as well. How could you not with so many cool shops lined up in front of you!? Back to the house after a couple hours and a relaxing evening ahead of us.

-lyndsey

germany....eventually

8 hour flight, charlotte to London. Arriving with only a backpack full of clothes, books and an empty stomach, I headed to the Gatwick express train that took me into the heart of London-victoria. I had to find my way to the right bus out of the dozens running through the bus terminal that would take me straight to the stansted airport. 23 euro later, I arrived at stansted airport with 40 minutes before my flight to Frankfurt-hahn took off. Ryan air gave me a little runaround with checking my bag and where I had to drop it off before I could enter the gate. I didn’t complain though because my flight was only 4 euro. i finally made it to the plane with 5 minutes to spare, just enough time to settle into the public airbus (no assigned seating). Frankfurt-hahn at 1230pm, I was greeted by mary and Charlie and a big warm pretzel mit semp! The drive back to bitburg was beautiful, or at least the part that I was awake for. The rest of the day I managed to stay awake at the house, spreading out and unpacking a bit. Its good to be here. A little reading and a phone call, and then off to bed..

-lyndsey

leaving charlotte

I wont miss the heat, I will miss mom and pop. It was a nice relaxing couple weeks in north Carolina with the folks. Mostly days of staying in and hiding from the cruel sun and 104 degree temperature. Getting everything together and ready by 430pm today was a little stressful, and mom packed up the u-haul trailer so pop and her could take off towards Wisconsin directly from the airport after dropping me off. We got everything done in time and we were off in our separate directions. SO LONG! The European travels begin…

-lyndsey

in charlotte

leaving in 2 days. countdown to paris with my loverboy.

<3