In this page I will list the places I have visited and, where appropriate, I will include links to the photos I took. Use the comments to tell me more places to go!

Cazorla and Baeza, Andalucia (Spain)
January 11 - 14, 2008
This was for my Orientation Trip sponsored by SLU. We stayed at Hotel Villa Turistica. Friday was the 4 hour drive from Madrid and stroll around the pueblo of Cazorla; Saturday was a long hike, which included a tour of the town’s castle El Castillo de Yerba; Sunday we did Active Turism: zip line, rappelling, rock climbing, horseback riding, and mountain biking; Monday we visited an olive oil co-op factory, toured Baeza and had a feast at a hotel in a nearby town that had another castle (but it was closed for restoration). Pictures

Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
January 19, 2008
This was a university-sponsored trip to about an hour southwest of Madrid with a professor as our guide. Toledo (pronounced ‘Toll-lay-dough’) has both a modern/new side and the original/historic side that people claim hasn’t changed since it was first made; both physically defined by a huge wall. The Tajos River surrounding the southern half of the city protected it from invasion for many years. Off and on it was debated to be (or actually served as) the capital of Spain because of its rich religious communities’ history (there are Jewish, Catholic, and Moorish cultures), but lost its capital-ness to Madrid because Madrid is centrally located in Spain. Toledo is also considered to be the hometown of the famous Spanish painter El Greco (which does not mean The Greek in Spanish, by the way; that’s El Griego), some of whose paintings we saw in The Cathedral and a museum-like chapel for the Count of Orgaz. The Cathedral was breath-taking on the outside and I’ve never seen anything so overwhelmingly gorgeous on the inside. They really needed those 250 years to build it. No pictures were allowed of either of these places and I would have no idea how to begin to capture them in an even remotely respectable manner.
Pictures

Segovia (Spain)
January 26, 2008
This was another university-sponsored trip to about an hour northeast of Madrid with that same professor from Toledo’s trip as our guide. We were very fortunate that it wasn’t quite as cold as Toledo the weekend before. Segovia is most famous for two monuments: the 1st Century, mortar-free (!) Roman Aqueduct and Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle, El Alcázar (which just means ‘Castle’ in Arabic, so it may seem like there are a lot of ‘Alcázars’ in Spain). Of course, like every other town in Spain, there was a fabulous central plaza, bustling with activity on such a beautiful day. We even caught the end of a wedding! We also visited Segovia’s Cathedral and a convent with a mausoleum dedicated to Juan de la Cruz, who’s literary works were highly recommended by our guide–once our Spanish is good enough to appreciate him, though. Unlike Toledo, Segovia is known for it’s food and since it’s just a short drive away on the other side of a mountain, many Madridleños will trek over just for a good meal. I sought out the Ponche Segoviana and this big-bean soup called Judiones de “La Granga”. i did manage to avoid the conchillo (suckling pig) that the town also boasts as a gastronomic treat.
Pictures

Cordoba and Granada, Andalucia (Spain)
February 1 - 3, 2008
Another trip to Southern Spain (Andalucia) but this time with my Spanish Culture and Civilizations class. We were exploring the Arabic roots of Spain in Cordoba with the Mezquita-Catedral (it was a mosque for a number of centuries but the Reconquest resulted in it becoming a Cathedral, so there’s a very interesting mix of styles and symbolism) and then a 2 hour bus ride brought us to Granada for flamenco and the infamous Alhambra. Pictures

Paris, France
February 14 - 17, 2008
Paris, the City of Light: an in-depth cultural excursion to Paris, center of art, architecture, fashion and much more. Take guided tours of the Louvre and d’Orsay museums, and explore another fascinating Parisian museum the Pompidou. Visit some of the majestic churches of Paris—Notre Dame Cathedral, Saint Chapelle, Sacre-Coeur. Ride to the highest platform of the Eiffel tower and view the layout of the city along the banks of the river Seine. Walk the streets of Paris, on guided tours, and sense the history and diversity of one of Europe’s great capitals. We will be staying at the Hotel Cluny, located across the street from the famous Sorbonne University, down the street from the Pantheon and across from Luxembourg Garden in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Pictures

Avila (Spain)
February 22, 2008
A day trip to a small town an hour-and-a-half outside of Madrid to see the historic walls surrounding the town and learn why UNESCO (committee of the UN) declared it one of the most historic cities of the world. Pictures

Roma, Italy
February 28 - March 1, 2008
I was super-efficient here in terms of money spent and sites seen. I almost saved 20 euros when the woman at the B&B forgot how much I owed her. Darn. The city where crosswalks are optional (lights are rare) and you feel like you’re in Tourists-R-Us. I could definitely see how Paris was inspired by Rome, though I think Paris was much cleaner (less graffiti and better kept), but Roma has a few hundred years on Paris. I found baby carrots! Pictures

Florence, Italy
March 2, 2008
I hopped on a train from Roma to Florence to meet Caro and we walked around the city. The weather was excellent and since int was a Sunday we went to service in the Medici-funded (like everything else in the city) Duomo. We also managed to pick-up some high school aged boys from Florence (no way were they the 19 they claimed…’age is just a number’ ha!) and Caro convinced them that we were Muslim with the mere response to their question ‘Who’s your prophet?’ Pictures

Ravenna, Italy
March 3, 2008
Small, unbelievably quaint town not far from Bologna. We opted to not buy the pass for entrance into many of the city’s churches, but instead enjoyed the unbeknown last day of nice weather. Pictures

Verona, Italy
March 4, 2008
The town about an hour and a half away from Bologna with 1000 years of churches. Also the setting of Romeo and Juliet and former capital of Italy (hence it had the “Roman” theater and arena/Colosseum). If only it wasn’t raining and cold but it forced me to buy a pass for the whole town and go inside some of these buildings, which was totally worth it. Pictures

Venice, Italy
March 5, 2008
They say that Venice has more tourists than citizens, which I believe after visiting. There are a bunch of small islands near each other, though I only visited Venice. The atmosphere reminded me of Mackinac Island, actually, but with lots of churches and bridges everywhere you look. I was lost the entire time, thinking I was going one direction until I got to a landmark and realized that I was actually going the opposite direction. Oops. Pictures

Bologna, Italy
March 6, 2008
My home base for the week, though I didn’t get an official tour of the place until my fourth day there. It’s a university-town with lots of pubs, shops (some way out of the budget of the student, e.g. Gucci), museums, and restaurants. I found it to be a realistic town that people actually work and study in, rather than the touristy or quaint cities I visited throughout the week. Pictures

Ferrara, Italy
March 7, 2008
Really small town about half an hour away from Bologna by train. It was nice and quiet and I think I saw half a dozen tourists the entire afternoon I was there. I went in their castle and had a blast taking pictures of the ceiling because of the huge mirrors they thoughtfully had to keep you from craning your neck for so long. Pictures

Oviedo and Ribadesella, Asturias with a stop in León, Castilla y León (Spain)
March 14-16, 2008
Second class trip with History of Spain group to Northern Spain to visit the preromanic monuments–including the prehistoric cave paintings in Ribadesella. We also did a 14km canoing trip through the Picos de Europa. I loved the town we stayed in and being by the Cantabarian Sea was a real treat. We made a quick stop to León to see their huge gothic cathedral (a part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage) and get a bit mixed-up in the Palm Sunday celebrations. Pictures

Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
March 21, 2008
Cuenca is a small town that is known for its “casas colgadas” or hanging houses, as they are literally built into the side of the hill. My professor drove a few of us down to see the pasos and processions for Good Friday of Semana Santa. The real point was to hear Gregorian chant in the cathedral, but we managed to miss it. Pictures

El Escorial (Spain)
March 22, 2008
A half-hour bus ride from Madrid to visit the building that represents Spanish devotion to Catholicism. It’s now a museum and the weather was kind of icky, so I wasn’t as impressed with it as I probably should have been. Nearby is also the Valley of the Fallen where Franco and a number of other important Spaniards are buried under this gigantic cross in the mountains (so you can’t miss it even from a km away on the highway), but we didn’t visit it. I don’t have any pictures because I didn’t want to take my camera out, but here are some other people’s and a bit more information about the place (since I am not serving it justice here).

Linkebeek, Brugge, and Brussels (Belgium)
March 27 - 31, 2008
A lovely, luxurious long-weekend at the home of my friends’ family in the “country-side” outside Brussels. I visited Brugge and Waterloo, as well as the EU’s hometown. Lots of chocolate, waffles, fries, and–as it always happens when I leave Spain–cool, drizzly weather. Pictures

Barcelona, Cataluña (Spain)
April 11 - 12, 2008
What was supposed to be a rainy, cool two days in Barcelona turned out to be quite the opposite. I fell in love with the architecture and design of Gaudi. Also visited the Olympic campus (Summer 1992). The city is over-flowing with tourists; it’s been called Europe’s playground and my experience would most certainly agree. Pictures

Ashridge, United Kingdom
April 17 - 19, 2008
Luxurious few days with Mom at her used-to-be Medieval Monastery converted Royal summer home now business university/conference center and national park. Oh, the shades of green. Pictures

London, United Kingdom
April 19 - 21, 2008
One-day trip to London from Ashridge with my mom. We were able to see the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and its surrounding park, the National Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, and Covent Garden (plus Big Ben and Westminster Abby at night that I didn’t take any pictures of). Weather held out for us and I did my best to not worry about parting from her again on Monday and ignore the looming work I have in order to finish off the semester. Pictures

Munich, Germany
April 25 - 27, 2008
My successful attempt at being mistaken as a member of a culture of which I am not in Germany. Not knowing any German and a complex public transportation system set me off a bit, but my wanderings and the fact that many people speak some English (sounding-out German you can get English translations, too) saved me. I filled my trip with visits to 2 palaces, platzs galore, another market, 2 museums (despite my typical aversion–BMWs and science/technology/hands-on stuff are hard to resist), Olympic park, and, I decided at the last minute, a trip to the Dachau concentration camp. Pictures

Gothenburg, Sweden
May 8 - 9, 2008
Visiting my Swedish 3rd cousin in the university town of Gothenburg. It was nice comparing the two university experiences, including their academic societies (that are more like our Greek organizations) and course load/timing for taking courses. Sweden is the country I found to be most like the US, in terms of lifestyle but they do have some interesting foods (tubes of caviar, salty candy, good grains/bread). Pictures

Stockholm, Sweden
May 10 - 12, 2008
A train from Gothenburg to Stockholm brought me another one of my (third) cousins. Since she lives and works outside of the city, we stayed in a hostal that was literally a boat-restuarant with cabins underneath that were rented out. The city was one of the dirtiest I had seen. The weather continued to be un-typically warm. Visits to the first IKEA and one of the islands of the city (like NYC has islands). Pictures

London and Oxford, United Kingdom
May 10 - 12, 2008
Last stop in my adventures. Walked my feet off the first day (from Canada Water to Hyde Park and back ~20 miles) because I didn’t feel like paying for the Underground and the weather was so nice. Visited Oxford and the University the second day. Markets and more Harry Potter scenes on the drizzly last morning. Pictures