There and back again, a European Trip.

Well the Journey is over but the memories keep bubbling back up to the surface and i realized i had not yet posted on this blog. I felt a quick summary of my travels would do very nicely.

London:
SAVED BY THE UNDERGROUND!!!!!
Got to experience a high society theatrical performance in which one of the highlights was a lady passing out in the crowd.
Bowling could become an Olympic sport if combined with ice skating like the sign implied: "Bowling and ice skating HERE!"

Florence:
THE BELLLS!!!!!!! EARLY MORNING, MID MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVENING, AND LATE AT NIGHT! I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THE BELL DOWN ON CAMPUS WAS AS LOUD AS IT GETS.
Gelato: love hate relationship. Liquidarizi (hate), everything else (love). GM
Cant forget Tulio the jealous ghost.

Venice:
I cannot remember a time i was more mistaken about a city. Upon arrival it was hot and muggy and I was almost pick pocketed on the vaparetto. But as soon as we ditched our luggage our attitudes skyrocketed. PS we also had a delicious meal which may have impacted it in some way
Creepy Italian men.
Learning small amounts of Italian on the boats.
More gelato. GM
More Tulio.
Luckily the Kracken stayed below the surface the entire trip.
Helped Flip a group of Italian's boat after it flipped in Lido.

Vienna:
A bit of a dip in the trip.
Did laundry.
Hung out with Ali.
Ate Kurrywurst.

Prague:
EURO2008!!!!!!!!!!! Who ever missed out on this splendiferous extravaganza has slipped a few notches in my book.
Ate some delicious gnocci.
Realized i was outta cash.
Cheered with the crowd.
Met some very cool folks at the club.
Cheered a lil more.

my life is now complete haha
Devin

Euro2008

So I hope that everyone is home now, safe, sound, and sleeping in to catch up on all the lost sleep from this whirlwind trip. It's been a blast. No one was pickpocketed, no one missed a transfer bus or train or flight ... Success!

We got to end our trip in the extremely beautiful and friendly city of Prague, which--like Vienna--is one of the hosts for the European Cup 2008 (or Euro2008), so we got some exposure to football (soccer) frenzy. The beautiful old square created quite the contrast for a huge soccer-ball tent, giant screens, and port-o-potties.

On our last evenings, we discussed some of our favorite memories from the trip, and our favorite cities. Most of us agreed that Florence was among the best of the cities we visited, though not the most livable (too touristy, too small). That was at a point in our trip when we weren't too tired, and most everything went right there. Plus, it was small enough to navigate without public transport. And beautiful. Dr. Zellmer took a group of students on a walk through the countryside while Ms. H went wandering on the north side of the city with Grainne, Cate, and Michaela. Both great ways to end the day in Florence.

For my part, London and Prague remain the most livable of the cities we visited, while Florence and Venice -- and other Italian cities I've been to -- are the most fun for tourists. So pretty that no matter how talented you are with a camera, you will get gorgeous pictures. Vienna was the most lack-luster: just another big city, not particularly pretty or friendly, but with a nice palace (Shoenbrunn gardens were definitely the best part of that trip).

We also discussed what, if anything, the U.S. does better than Europe. The list is short:

1. Free water in restaurants and free refills. (Fighting dehydration was unfortunately one of the themes of the trip.)

2. More school and job flexibility, though we didn't get much chance to discuss this with Europeans.

3. ... I know there was something else, but I forgot!

What Europe does better than the U.S. was easier:

1. Pedestrian walkways in its cities. Much easier to get around on foot.

2. Bread. The kinds and options are so much better than in the States!

3. Cheese. And fizzy water, according to Dr. Z. And most food-related items. (Good food is available in the States, just expensive. Not the norm as it seems here.)

4. Public transportation.

5. Dance clubs, and other opportunities for teens to have fun and mingle outside of the shopping mall.

6. Architechture - the new and the old.


And so EuroDash2008 comes to a close. I would like to hear final comments from all of you when you have had a chance to recover and reflect.

Welcome home, everyone!

Grainne's Account

This trip has been simply amazing. London flew by in a blur and I do wish we had spent more time there. It was fascinating to see the graves and execution spots of some of British history's most famous. Highgate Cemetery, too, was extraordinarily beautiful- we saw Marx's grave but were unable to find neither George Eliot nor Cristina Rossetti's gravestones. I loved seeing the David and Botticelli's Venus in person. There were two different paintings of Adam and Eve in the Academia that I enjoyed very much as well. In both, Adam simply looked bewildered and dazed out of his mind, while Eve looked very devious and entirely certain of what she was doing. In Venice, Cate, Michaela and I all went to the beach island of Lido at sunset and swim in the entirely deserted and extremely beautiful Adriatic Sea for hours, which was definitely one of the single best experiences of my life. The one full day we spent in Vienna we went to one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and got to go on a gigantic ferris wheel and plenty of roller coasters whilst taking in most of central Vienna. Prague is, by far, the creepiest city we've been to. The elevator in our hotel has not doors, only a sign that reads "Warning! Moving Wall." And finally, Cate and I have completed our mission to climb at least one large tower or building in every city (St. Paul's in London, the Duomo in Florence, the bell tower in Venice, Stephan's Dome in Vienna and the clock tower in Prague), from which we've seen beautiful views of all of the cities.

Oh those italian vendors by Molly Dee

Hey everybody, sorry for the lack of blogging. I've had quite a bit of difficulty figuring this beast out with all the foreign languages and such. It also doesn't help that i essentially ignored the invite thing back before we left. Thankfully, Sean S. has allowed me to sign in under his account to post this. I'd like to tell you about an experience i had in Florence (which was my favorite city by the way) outside of the famous Duomo. Grainne, Cate, and I all went down to the Duomo to climb the tower and on the way there we happened upon a couple of Italian vendors on the street selling prints. Grainne made the mistake of pointing at a painting and referring to it as "pretty". One particular vendor took advantage of the situation and proceeded to basically harass her into buying a print. The conversation went like this:

Vendor: Ah you want to buy print! i give it to you for 50 euro.
Grainne: No
V: ok for you 15!
G: No
V: You kiss me i give it to you free!
At this point Grainne briskly walked away... and the creepy vendor gave up.

Meanwhile, i approached the other vendor and said " hey you offered my friend 15 Euros for the print, hows about you give me one for 8?" He said yes! Woot for me!

So basically, Grainne got harassed and i got a neat print for 8 euros.
The end.
- Molly
P.S. Love you mama!

Prague by Michaela Carlson

We have just arrived in Prague. This trip is so amazing. We went to a performance of some of the famous hits by Mozart yesterday. It was really interesting. Unfortunately it caused many to stay up too late. We had to wake up at 5 and be ready by 5:30. Many slept on the train. I certainly did! Today many are just exploring the town. Everyone is having an amazing time.

Emily's Contribution:

This is emily on Diane's blog... hope you guys can find this!
So we are in Vienna right now, diane and i have already scoped out an awesome cafe and everything is going great. I brought so many shirts, i didnt even have to do luandry with the rest of them today...it really is all about the rolling technique so thank you mom. :)
So, everything has been amazing and im sorry i've been so internet retarded or i would be blogging on my own account.. which i cant quite figure out how to do and i would have checked in already.
Italy was my favorite by far. Cant wait to go back haha. Im taking tons of pics...havent been pick-pocketed...taking my medication...everything is awesome. I miss you people! oh and p.s. i want to learn to cook italian food.
Could you maybe blog back to me about how much money i have left in the account? im getting nervous!! its pricey over here.
thanks! love you guys,
emily.

Venezia

Just a quick note: There are very few internet spots in Venice, and they are more expensive than in Florence, so no one has been on the internet at all except myself now. But we all arrived safely and are having a blast! We've been to Murano (the glass blowing island) and Lido (where the beaches are - and some of the kids went swimming and rented a paddle boat). We've also gotten lost several times in the winding alleys. It's beautiful!
More later!

Ciao, Fierenze!

We're just about to leave Fierenze (Florence) for Venezia (Venice), so I'd like to add a few things.

We love Italy. Every one of us is enjoying the food and the beauty of the buildings and the general friendliness of the atmosphere. Florence is a small town, so easy to get around on by foot. I'm surprised Roger mentioned that it was expensive, since we've switched over to the Euro, which is better for us than the British pound, and we have walked everywhere, whereas in London we were often forced to "top up" our cards for the subway. On the whole, the expensive part is that we've really loved the clothes and food here!

We went to the Galleria dell'Accademia and saw Michelangelo's sculpture of David, among other sculptures of his and many Madonnas and Bambinos. At the Uffizi the next day, we saw many MORE paintings of Madonnas con Bambinos (Madonna and child), as well as several very, very famous Botticelli paintings ("The Birth of Venus" and "Spring"). We also saw some Leonardo da Vincis, and many Roman busts. Then Ms. Harings got hungry and cranky and drove Dr. Zellmer from the museum in order to find lunch.

Ciao!

florence-fun, but really expensive

1) its really amazing and the weather is great.
2) you can get great pictures almost everywhere except most of the museums
3) the museums are ok but they dont have alot of famous stuff
4) it is crazy expensive but the food is great
5) you cant do it all in 3 days


thats about it.

DIANE'S OPINION =)

Well i def like italy a lot better then london. i mean the sights in london were cool, but italy is just like my country. today at breakfast i looked out the window and felt like i just belong here. i cant wait to go to venice! i am happy that my roommate is emily because were so much alike and she just doesnt get on my nerves like ever. (i hope i dont get on hers lol). um i dont know what else to say really except that typing on an italian keyboard is a pain in the butt =P LOTR in london was cool, king lear was really bad(because we had to stand thru the whole thing; would have been better sitting), and the last two days in london were just so amazing because we didnt really have any schedueled activities so we just grouped together and wandered. hope that was a good update!
-Diane

Brent's First Impressions

Thursday May 29 - Today we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. Its architecture was fascinating. We had a tour guide by the name of Nigel, who told us immediately to refer to him as Nigel. We were able to visit the crypt of St. Paul's, finding the memorials of people such as John Donne, Sir Christopher Wren, and William Blake. Afterwards we went to Westminister Abbey, which was evidently home to some of the most famous dead people in Britain's history. Such were the names of Henry VII, Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Samuel Coleridge, Washington Irving, Dylan Thomas, amogst others. Then after that we wandered about, splitting into two groups so that people could have some down time. One group, seeking to go to Harod's, a department store, went off that way. My group (Dr. Zellmer, Ms. Harings, Simone, Sean Saleh, Sean Campbell, Michaela, and myself) wanted to go to the National Portrait Gallery. Spent oh...an hour there before we searched for food, taking up twenty minutes (feeling like two hours). Now here I am, sitting, writing this post for all to see.

London days

allrighty then! Lord of the Rings and King Lear are both great in their own way.... though entirly uncomparable. King Lear would have been more enjoyable if we had been allowed to sit! feet pain does not let the mind concentrate on entertainment. We had a brief, 2 hour sunny spell today, which is now over and rain is gracing this city, making it quite drab. However, now we know their secret to green! now all we have to do is persuade the rain gods of Arizona to rain... one suggestion was the collapsing of bridges, not quite sure where that came from.
We are all foot-weary and rather sore, but haveing lots of fun, albeit exhaustive fun. Food is pretty good; there is a really wide variaty. Indian yesterday, Thia today and good ole Fish n chips. St. Paul's Cathedral is amazing!! though no pictures are allowed, as it is a place of worship. these British really knew their stone-work and masonry. Such intrecacies EVERYWHERE in these buildings(we also saw Westminster Abbey)
That's all for now,
Samone

Next fire alarm, remember shoes

So the big news of the night was that the fire alarm went off at the hotel at 3 a.m. We were all so disoriented and exhausted, however, that it took some time to figure out what was going on. Michaela and I stuck our head out of the door to check what was happening, and saw people pouring down the stairs, so we went...sans shoes and--in Sean Saleh's case--a shirt. It was drizzling outside, and the concierge herded us across the street to stand, huddled together, in the cold for 10 minutes while the fire department came. NO WORRIES; a water leak had triggered the alarm, and we were shortly allowed back in. Wish I'd had my camera, though, to capture our snazzy pajama party.

Needless to say, we were very tired this morning. I failed to wake up until 10 (and breakfast was scheduled for 9:30), so Cate Bacon helped out with a knock at the door. We made it to the Tower of London by noon, and were lucky enough to catch members of the Royal Navy making an official entrance into the tower. Apparently they were ferrying a foreign diplomat and his family on a naval ship parked in the Thames - Michaela has pictures of them.

In the Tower of London, a Yeomen Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress (a.k.a. "Beefeater," because they were partly paid in beef back in the day) met us -- and 100 other people -- for a tour. His voice projected well, and we caught most of the stories of murder and mayhem: Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and Lady Jane Gray were all executed there, among others.

Molly, Blake, Charlie and I separated from the group in order to view the Crown Jewels and wander through the White Tower, where relics of the Royal Armory are stored. Lots and lots of guns, pikes, and armor.

Tonight, we'll head to the south side of the Thames and the new Globe Theater to catch a performance of Shakespeare's King Lear. We're bringing our raincoats!

Frodo lives! And so do we.

We have arrived. The trip was relatively uneventful, which is exactly what we'd hoped. The British airways attendants were courteous and even tried to joke with us a bit, which went over like a lead balloon; we had trouble deciphering the joke through the thick Scottish brogue. (Mrs. McGarvey has nothing on our flight attendant!) And here we are, in the lush, COOL (60 degrees) city on the Thames!

Since we were near the front of the plane, we were the first group off and first in line for customs. Sean Saleh sailed through with his Irish passport, but then had to wait while the rest of us were casually waved through by a gentle matron who simply said, "School group? Ok," and barely glanced at the passports. Robin Eden had kindly set up a coach (aka bus) to meet us at the airport, and we made it to the hotel by 3 p.m.

Everyone took a break to get cash and food, and we met again at 6:10 to catch the Underground from Queensway station to Holborn, from where we walked to Drury Lane Theater. We stumbled into the theater just in time to take our third-row seats and giggle at the antics of the Hobbits dancing about the stage. They were catching "fireflies" and grazing our heads with their long nets. Very cute, and so was the jig with which they began the musical.

Lord of the Rings can be nothing but a spectacle, and it was. The light and set directors deserve medals, as they took us through so many set changes that I started to get dizzy. (This was also because the set often turned on stage to indicate the length of the characters' journey.) Galadriel stole the show (for me) with the Most Extravagant Entrace Ever: She and her elf minions floated down from the tree tops, doing acrobatics and singing at the tops of their lungs. Gold sparkled everywhere, and more than once we were showered with the falling leaves of autumn.

All this splendor, however, failed to keep the majority of us awake for the entire three-hour event. Yours truly had some eyelid issues. There was a moment at which I glanced up and down our row to see more shut eyes than open ones. So we all plan on sleeping well tonight!

Welcome, EuroTravelers!

Dear BASIS parents and students,

Bookmark this page. We'll be updating our status and uploading pictures on here for all parents and students to see. Feel free to comment!

Ms. Harings