Monday, March 31, 2008
Another update, more pictures!
I still absolutely LOVE Greece and it's STILL amazing! I have a little less than a month left in this country, and then back to the good ole U. S. of A....
In local American news, this past weekend the University of Michigan Hockey team won their first 2 games and rounds of the NCAA Hockey Tournament in Albany, NY and has advanced to the 2008 Frozen Four in Denver, CO!!! If I were in America, I would have been in New York, and I will have been in Denver (again... I was at the NCAA tourney last year in Denver). Michigan will play Notre Dame on Thursday the 10th, and then if they beat the Irish, then they will have to play the winner of the North Dakota/Boston College game on Saturday the 12th.
GO BLUE!!! BEAT THE IRISH!!!!!! GO BC!!! Beat the Fighting Sioux!
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kodak gallery northern greece: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.9p8rq4th&x=0&y=kn76g0&localeid=en_US
kodak gallery greek independence day: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.652niq91&x=0&y=-awykxw&localeid=en_US
facebook northern greece 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2364004&l=5f92d&id=2232176
facebook northern greece 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2364044&l=8f32d&id=2232176
facebook greek independence day: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2364073&l=c7693&id=2232176
Enjoy!
-MANNYTHEGREEK
Sunday, March 23, 2008
SPRING BREAK PICS!!!!!
I'm back in Athens, FINALLY! Our six-day trip to Northern Greece was very fun, but it is nice to sleep in one place for more than 3 nights in a row, for the first time since before March 6th (that's 17 days!)... Our program people cleaned up our apartment and washed our sheets and towels (like they've done before while we've been gone on trips), but this time my apartment received an added surprise-- we have a fridge that's actually BIGGER than a mini-dorm-sized fridge.... it's a HUGE, NORMAL-sized fridge! Today, I went to the grocery store and filled up my portion of the fridge, and I didn't hold back..... cuz it's GLORIOUSLY SPACIOUS NOW!!!! haha..... besides that, we have to get back into the grind of school work and writing papers, as tomorrow (Monday) will [unfortunately? :) ] be our first class since March 6th... I will update about the Northern Greece trip at a later time.
Until then..... here are hundreds of Italian and French pictures for you to enjoy!
**first will be all the Kodak pictures, and underneath that will be the Facebook versions**
-------------------------------------------
KODAK GALLERY
---ITALY---
album1 [Sorrento & Capri]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.8s7ny3n9&x=0&y=-tefmvs
album2 [Mt. Vesuvio]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.ba5ut25x&x=0&y=bnw6s7
album3 [Rome at Night]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.51l06o1h&x=0&y=7bgizy
album4 [Vatican City & Basilica di San Pietro]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.7erd3v91&x=0&y=m3sig
album5 [Colosseum, Roman Forum, & across the river]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.62rdjzlh&x=0&y=-68cdym
---FRANCE---
album6 [Aix-en-Provence]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.3mgt0ovp&x=0&y=-wufdag
album7 [Paris, Notre Dame, & Musee d'Orsay]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.8p97n4z9&x=0&y=-f6abrs
album8 [The Eiffel Tower album]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.236hl691&x=0&y=dzs5m3
album9 [The Statue of Liberty, Arc de Triomphe, & Champs-Elysee]
~http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.2oijcz6t&x=0&y=ra80o2
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---ITALY---
album1 [Sorrento & Capri]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360143&l=b8575&id=2232176
album2 [Mt. Vesuvio]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360738&l=f80aa&id=2232176
album3 [Rome at Night]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360740&l=0cf23&id=2232176
album4 [Vatican City & Basilica di San Pietro]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360746&l=5e7f4&id=2232176
album5 [Basilica di San Pietro cont'd]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360751&l=6a936&id=2232176
album6 [Colosseum, Roman Forum, & across the river]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360755&l=d09ee&id=2232176
---FRANCE---
album7 [Aix-en-Provence]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360762&l=e7f42&id=2232176
album8 [Paris, Notre Dame, & Musee d'Orsay]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360767&l=0ebaf&id=2232176
album9 [The Eiffel Tower album]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360773&l=42d3c&id=2232176
album10 [The Statue of Liberty, Arc de Triomphe, & Champs-Elysee]
~http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360778&l=522d4&id=2232176
-MANNYTHEGREEK
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Spring Break v2.0!
3.18.08 – Tuesday
REAL-TIME UPDATE:
I’m back in
SPRING BREAK RECAP:
WEDNESDAY / MERCREDI: I continued my Spring Break trip from
THURSDAY / JEUDI: Hayley and I took a train to Paris from Aix-en-Provence / Marseilles sometime in the late morning and arrived early in the afternoon… it was a TGV train which got us there in just over 3 hours. It started to rain basically as soon as we left the train station, and did not stop for the rest of the night, sadly. We dropped our bags off at the hostel and then set out for our first
FRIDAY / VENDREDI: Hayley and I woke up really early (for our standards) at around 7:30, 8:00 am on Friday morning, even when we had our alarms set for 9:30am. We were très perplexé, as we both notoriously sleep in late and normally sleep for an unnatural amount of hours :) So I decided to take a shower since I was so awake, and when I came out of the bathroom, Hayley had fallen asleep again but I didn’t wake her, so we ended up leaving our hostel room around 10 or 10:30 I think. Today it didn’t rain (except for about 10 min at one point during the day) but it was overcast the whole day and the temperature was kind of cool. The first thing we did was take the metro towards the
SATURDAY / SAMEDI: This day was our last day in
SUNDAY / DIMANCHE / KYRIAKI:
----- The short story: I spent my first day EVER in three different countries—that is, actually spending some time in the countries, not just a short little layover or connecting flight. I woke up in
----- The long story: I had my first flight of the day from Marseilles to Rome at 10:00AM, so I woke up at 8am, Hayley walked me to the bus stop in Aix and saw me off, I took the bus to the Marseilles Airport, got my bag checked just in time, went through security which lasted about 2 minutes, and boarded the bus that drove us to our small, external-propeller-propelled plane. The flight was about an hour and 45 min, but the only problem was that I had a 7-hour layover in
Whew….. what a long and AWESOMELY AMAZING trip! I’m so fortunate and thankful that I got to experience what I did… Thanks so much, Mom and Dad!!
And after these long days of exploring the big city of Rome and the even BIGGER city of Paris, my feet hurt and have plenty of blisters… thankfully I haven’t been walking as much on Sunday and these past two days (as we’ve been on the bus for the majority of the trip so far) and my feet have somewhat recovered…
Alrighty, time to go explore the city of
-MANNYTHEFRENCHIE
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Spring Break v1.0 update!
Recap: FRIDAY -- I flew from Athens to Rome on Friday for a 5:30pm flight (it was delayed 20 min), then I took a train from Rome's airport to Rome's main train station (which I just barely made it on -- I got my bag squished in the fast-closing train doors, then the doors reluctantly opened and I pulled it in), I bought a ticket for a train from Rome to Naples (and this train, of course, was delayed 30 min). I finally arrived at the Naples train station around 11pm, and all the trains to Piano di Sorrento (where my friends booked our hostel for the weekend) had stopped for the night, which meant I had to take a taxi. I arrived at the hostel a little after midnight, and Carrie and her friend Ashley greeted me at the door! They were relieved, because they could not get a hold of me at all earlier while I was on the train...
SATURDAY -- In the city of Sorrento, not only was it raining, but it was a DOWNPOUR. So Carrie, Ashley, Vidi, Lauren (Carrie's other two friends -- everyone on this Sorrento trip is from the University of Michigan), and I went to a café and I had my first Italian beverage -- a cicolato caldo (hot chocolate) which was AMAZING -- I think it was made from a melted chocolate bar! mmmmm... We walked around the town (in the rain, with umbrellas) and decided to go find tickets to go take the ferry to the island of Capri. We did, and let me say, Capri Sun was nowhere to be found -- note the double meaning :) ... We took a cable car on the land, walked around, and ate a nice restaurant (my first Italian meal) and I got shared magharita pizza and ravioli with Carrie..... sooo good. We took the ferry back to Sorrento, bought some groceries, and cooked some pasta for dinner at the hostel, which was scrum-diddly-umpscious!
SUNDAY -- The 5 of us (four girls and me) woke up early and hiked up the volcano called "Mt. Vesuvius". It is located between Naples and Pompei, and it is the volcano that destroyed the city of Pompei. It was an awesome adventure! After that, we went to the Naples train station, and parted our ways. The girls took a train to Florence (where they are studying this semester) and I took one to Rome. When I arrived that evening, I got some awesome dinner (lasagna) at a place called Mamma Mia......... mmmmmmmmm best lasagna of my life! I then ventured out into the unknown of the city called Rome, and man, it is the most amazing, beautiful, and tremendously big city I have ever been to! When I upload pictures, it will obviously explain it better than words.
MONDAY -- Since it was raining in Rome for the majority of the day, I decided to go visit the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica. AMAZING. I never knew how big the Vatican was... everything I saw was just wonderful. Again, pictures will explain better when I upload them. I had another amazing dinner of Penne Al'Italiana and Sirloin steak that night...
TUESDAY -- Today it did NOT rain, so I explored the rest of the city. I love Rome. The only bad part was that my feet blistered up... I finally figured out that I should buy some shoe inserts, so I did about 30 minutes ago, after all my hiking, of course :)
Well, I wanted to leave you all with an update half-way through my Spring Break adventures, because I was afraid I might forget a lot of stuff that I did! Tomorrow I fly to France, and Thursday I will travel to Paris via train with my friend Hayley, return Saturday night, and fly home on Sunday!
That's it for now---
-MANNYTHEITALIAN
Friday, March 7, 2008
Peloponnese trip picture links are finally up! + upcoming Spring Break
First and foremost -- I would like to wish my dad a Happy Birthday!! I love and miss you, Dad! Have a great day, today! :)
Sorry for the super long delay, but I've been very busy lately, between writing a couple of papers, Alanna visiting over her Spring Break, a day trip to Aegina, and getting ready to leave for Spring Break.
Speaking of Spring Break..... I'm leaving today, Friday March 7th, for Rome, Italy!!! My destinations will include Rome and Sorrento in Italy, and Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and Paris in France! I'm so excited I can't even control myself!!! I will return to Athens the following Sunday, March 16th. I'm meeting up with my friend from Michigan, Carrie G (who studies in Florence), in Sorrento, and then meeting up with my other friend from Michigan, Hayley B, in Aix-en-Provence (where she studies) and we'll travel together to Paris for the weekend.
Immediately following everyone's return to Athens from Spring Break, the Study Abroad program is taking us on our Northern Greece trip, including Thessaloniki on Monday the 17th until the following Saturday! Man, I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling in the next 2 weeks..... ready GO!
Without further ado... the links!!
***KODAK PICTURE LINKS SHOULD WORK NOW***
Peloponnese trip: Day 1 -- NEMEA, TRIPOLI, & SPARTA
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.bz0getwd&x=0&y=-s16b48
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2350425&l=53eac&id=2232176
Peloponnese trip: Day 2 -- MISTRAS & MESSINI
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.3oaiy2e5&x=0&y=-3avybq
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2350486&l=694e9&id=2232176
Peloponnese trip: Day 3 -- METHONI FORTRESS & PALACE OF NESTOR
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.9vquwgf1&x=0&y=-dioaxh
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2352668&l=39678&id=2232176
Peloponnese trip: Day 4 -- OLYMPIA & PATRA
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.1b662bdp&x=0&y=-ltpksx
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2352672&l=88183&id=2232176
Peloponnese trip: Day 5 -- MONASTERIES MEG. SPILEOU & AGIA LAVRA, & KALAVRITA
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.40h49pct&x=0&y=-eqzsxs
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2352679&l=80eec&id=2232176
DAY TRIP TO ISLAND OF AEGINA
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.c7zxxq7h&x=0&y=-kih4d5
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2352689&l=067b6&id=2232176
MORE ATHENS
KODAK GALLERY: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=99f8smt.anskvs19&x=0&y=-1y2ocd
FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2352692&l=5eb14&id=2232176
--MANNY OUT!