On the Road

Me and my Packs in the Snow
Originally uploaded by stevegin_2000.

Well, I made it to Barcelona!

I'm afraid I used up all my bandwidth for this month on my Flickr account, so there will be no more pictures until 1 December, which is pretty soon.

Since I last posted, I've been to both Lausanne, Switzerland and Avignon, France.

Lausanne has a cool museum of art done by unprofessional artists, most of whom were psychopaths of some sort. Very interesting and some decent art as well.

Avignon was quite beautiful and very stylish. I enjoyed the Papal Palace and the Pont d'Avignon and I liked shopping and eating there too.

Barcelona is a spectacular city that I am really starting to love. Everything here is very beautiful and the people are very relaxed and friendly. I have yet to visit the museums and Gaudi buildings, but I will get to that soon. The hostel I'm in is right on the beach, but the weather is not permitting much beaching. I went to a football match tonight in the biggest capacity stadium in the world (or so I'm told). It was very cold, but the stadium was very neat and the game was okay. We will be staying here for a while, so that I can go see the Royksopp concert on 1 December. Then it's off to Paris!

Zurich and Geneva with a Bullet

The last four nights or so I've spent in Swiss towns. It's very cold here and I can't get on to France yet because of some French rail strike which is hopefully nearly over. I'd like to get to Avignon soon and then to Barcelona.

The Kunsthaus art museum in Zurich was top-notch, especially for the impressionism stuff. Geneva is a cool place too. Lots of shopping and everyone seems to speak French. Switzerland is a pretty expensive place. It's a minimum of 15 CHF for dinner, which is about 15 CAD. Tomorrow, we go to Lausanne.

Rome, Milan, Vienna - A Whirlwind with Sickness

Hey Blogreaders!

I´m in Vienna now. Just got here and will have to fill you all in later. No pictures for the time being because I can´t get MY computer online and have to deal with these net cafe things.

Rome was a cool place. Too bad I was sick with a fever. Actually, I still saw most of the important sites... minus the Vatican and Sistine Chapel... well, that just means I´ll have to go back.

Milan I enjoyed a lot. I saw a doctor there and got some pennicilin for my softball sized tonsils, which seems to be working. Very functional city that seems to work for something other than tourism, which was a nice change.

Anyhow, I gotta sign off now, but hopefully you´ll hear from me soon.

Farewell to Field School

The Class
Originally uploaded by stevegin_2000.

Today is my last full day in Prato.

It's been a good run, but the time has come to move on to other places (starting with Rome). I'm going to miss the people I've met here and I really hope that our paths cross at junctions ahead. I know they will, but I hope they are meaningful and not just saying hello at SFU.

There are also some things I'll miss about Prato. The Duomo, the church bells, the little cafes and tabachis whose names I can't recall, Monash University and our wonderful Italian instructors Carla and Irene, the Sunflower, the street parties the foreignness and all the wonderful people who don't understand me.

We had a fun and wacky time last night at the local beer barn, which was a nice culmination of our emotions swimming in some very big and very strong beers.

Best wishes and happy trails to all my fellow field-schoolers and to everyone at home, see you in a month!

A Weekend in Venezia

Venice and Me
Originally uploaded by stevegin_2000.

This past weekend was the Venice trip. I first travelled there with the entire class, then stayed on for an extra night along with Vicki, Melody and Shannon.

Venezia is a strange place -- probably like nothing you've ever seen, unless you've been there. I enjoyed its strangeness, but I don't think I would really want to go back. It is intensely touristy and once you've seen ten or twenty canals and gondolas, you've seen them all. I've also had my fill of glass and mask shops. I might have liked to see some of the galleries with the paintings by Bellini and Tiziano, but I have been a bit galleried out (and churched out) by Firenze, Siena, Assissi, etc.

The Biennale Modern Art Exhibition was cool. Modern art is really disturbing, funny, exciting, lovely.

Well, my last week here has finally started. I'm a little anxious about leaving, but I have lots to do before I go. We have a planned trip to Volterra and San Gimignano on Thursday, Friday or Saturday I'm going to Rome and then Milan and Cremona. Then to Vienna...

Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre -- An Exciting Long Weekend!

A Sunset in Riomaggiore
Originally uploaded by stevegin_2000.

As the sun sets in Riomaggiore, my time in Italy is coming to a close. In about a week and a half, the field school officially closes and I start to wander off in other directions.

Last weekend began on Thursday morning, when the class travelled to the walled city of Lucca. Lucca is another strange and beautiful city, surrounded by these beautiful walls that are great for walking or cycling around. They are much like the Stanley Park seawall, but a lot less sea (none) and a lot more wall.

The next day, the class travelled to the nearby town of Pisa. You've probably heard of the Tower of Pisa. Well, it IS in Pisa and it is Leaning and it was very cool to see and climb. Ascending the stairs, I constantly felt like I was listing to one side or the other. The view from the top was spectacular.

In the afternoon, I travelled with four classmates to the Cinque Terre. The second we stepped off the train, we were assaulted by the splendour of the landscapes along the seaside. Massive looming cliffs bordered by sparkling water reflecting the brilliant sunlight have both a magestic and calming feel to them. I want to worship and hug them at the same time. We hiked between the Cinque Terre (or 5 lands), which are five little towns that run along the coast. We swam in the clear water and sunbathed on the beach. We had seafood dinners, watched a free concert, and enjoyed some of the Ligurian nightlife. Before I die, I want to spend some more time in this little paradise.

Overall, a fantastic weekend that followed with a week of catching up on assignments. Please go see my photo gallery -- my camera couldn't capture all the emotions I felt when I experienced these things, but they're pretty damn good if I may say so. Tomorrow, I travel to Venezia, which I am very excited about.