Oh Sooole Miiiooo…

It’s been awhile, here we go.

The entirety of last week we spent in Italy. We spent 4 days in Rome, 2 in Naples, and 2 in Florence.

In Rome we saw tons of ancient architecture, from the Colosseum, to the Pantheon (not Parthenon), to the Market, Column, and Forum, of Trajan. We also saw the Vatican including St. Peters, The Musei Vaticani, and The Sistine Chapel. We also saw tons of Bernini and Michelangelo, (and other ninja turtles) sculpture and fountains.

In Naples we took the train to Pompeii and spent a day there exploring the 200 acres of ruins, and the next day visited the Isle of Capri. We also visited a sweet Spanish castle where we took some awesome pics (to come).

In Florence we spent the whole first day on our RENTED SCOOTERS flying around the Tuscan hills. We visited a cool town called Greve, and ate lunch, and of course took pictures. On the way back town we ended up having to get on the highway and then dart in and out of traffic (AWESOME) in downtown Florence. I finally felt like a real European. Luckily I spent several years in high school training as a professional getaway driver. How else do you think I pay for all of my shoes? My driving skills prevailed and we made it back to hostel safe and sound.  The next day we spent seeing Florence, most importantly Santa Maria Della Fiore and the surrounding area. Sweet Action.

When I organize all my pictuers, I will post some. You’ll have to come back.

I’m a Daaaaaay Tripper. Sunday Driver, Yeah.

It’s been a long time, friends. Hope you didn’t miss me too much. In the last week I have taken a day trip to Köln, and two to Aachen, along with assorted class time and other such nonsense.

Köln involved a visit to the Ludwig pop-art exhibit, a city tour, a visit to the Lindt chocolate museum, and a guided tour of Köln Cathedral. The chocolate museum was amazing, due to my love of chocolate, and the fact that they were giving it away. Awesome. There was a ‘history of chocolate’ section, as well as a small manufacturing area that we got to play in. Sweet action. Apparently Sav’s likes chocolate too:

The coolest part of the trip, however, was our tour of the cathedral. It took 800 years to complete, and was the only thing left standing after WW2. We were shown around the interior, and saw the standard parts of an enormous Gothic cathedral, but then we were led up a sketchy elevator to the roof where they let us climb around ABOVE the vaults, on the catwalks, and in the towers. Vivian Paul would be so proud (haha):

	Paul, Vivian
	Professor
	Location A104 Phone (979) 847-9283 Email vlp@archone.tamu.edu Website: archone.tamu.edu/architecture/faculty/paul/mainframe.html
	B.A., (Art History), University of Oregon, 1964 M.A., (Art History), University of California-Berkeley, 1966 Ph.D., (Architectural History), University of California-Berkeley, 1975
	Dr. Paul’s area of specialization is architectural history, emphasizing medieval architecture, history of construction technology, and computer applications to the study of historic architecture.

 

As we walked around the outside and I was looking DOWN on flying buttresses and clerestory windows, I was amazed by the scale at which these people were able to build.

 

And then my dreams were smashed. As we entered the space between the vaults and the roof, I realized IT WAS SUPPORTED BY IRON. WHAT? Those post-Gothic liars.

After I got past my shock and anger, I saw some really awesome architectural elements that I won’t bore you with, being that most of you don’t give a rip about architecture (a post for another day). Instead I will distract you with shiny objects and pretty pictures.

 

Moving on, I have also made two trips to Aachen. One was a class trip where we visited the Palatine Chapel, and our studio prof’s university to watch some final presentations. In German. Whatever. The Palatine Chapel is of special interest to me, being that I am doing an extensive presentation on it for my online course. I thought it would be a good idea to load myself up with coursework during my semester away. In short, it is the octagonal center of Aachen cathedral that was built as a private chapel for Charlemagne. It has cool polychrome stonework, some dried up bones they claim are Charlemagne’s, and some cloth that’s supposed to be Mary’s cloak, and Jesus’s loincloth. Holy underwear, sweet action. Cue the photo:

On a completely unaffiliated note, this past Sunday, Jacob, Gavin, and I took a second trip to Aachen to visit Carolus Thermen. Aachen is known for its spring water, and its Roman baths, but we are not so easily convinced! As advanced students of architecture, we know better than to take people at their word! One must go, and see first hand! So we did. A massage, and two hours in baths and saunas later, we decided that, on this particular occasion, they weren’t lying. Touche, Carolus Thermen, touche. This whole ’study abroad’ thing is killer. Visiting all these countries, eating all this food, and investigating spas… I hope I make it back (lying).

 

This is all, you can stop reading now.