http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LaurenGoBlue/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LaurenGoBlue en-us Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:13:05 UTC Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:13:05 UTC After an extremely long night in Prague the five of us hopped on a plane and headed to Amsterdam Since we got there really early we werenrsquot allowed to check in yet and since we had heard so much about Amsterdam pancakes we found a pancake house to sit and have breakfast at. The pancakes were very thin and I had bananas on mine and it was deeeelicious After that we walked around for a http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-292718.html We went to bed pretty early after our big dinner in Prague and woke up early for breakfast in the hostel and to plan our day. Our friend Rachel had met us the night before and she had a list of places she wanted to see throughout Prague so we took her map and schedule and started walking We went to a castle the main bridge in the city and a Frank Gehry building that was amazing We had gotte http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Czech-Republic/North/Prague/blog-292579.html We finally got to Venice midafternoon walked out of the train station and were surrounded by water beautiful architecture and just amazing views of the boats and people all around Erica and I hopped on a water bus to go to our hostel which was on the island of Guidecca in Venice. We got there checked in and while it was a little sketchy with our 16 person dorms no internet and smelly s http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-290984.html Well the semester is finally over Yay After staying at the Unite LrsquoHabitation designed by Le Corbusier in the amazing apartment we packed up our things and continued to Nice where we dropped off our things and hopped on another train to see our final site Le Corbusierrsquos grave. We were a little nervous getting on the train because first there was a strike going on causin http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Switzerland/South-East/blog-290311.html Erica and I woke up in Lyon excited to move on with the trip but little did we know that this would be the craziestweirdestcreepiest Friday the 13th of all time...Erica and I were really tired and people kept coming to our door saying that we had to go to 1 at the train station...knowing what time the train left we weren't really worried so we took our time packed up and left our room to he http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d--Azur/Marseille/blog-287651.html We met for our last group dinner at this amazing cafe down the road from our cafe. We celebrated our last couple of nights in Paris and JJs birthday with a huge meal on the university and lots of wine and fun The next day our final day in Rome we had our second scan of Paris and our final scan of the trip to see four different Le Corbusier buildings. We got up early hopped on the metro and http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-286625.html Friday night we finally got our chance to go into the Louvre and it was awesome We saw the pyramid which really isnt all the big because the entire Louvre is underground but it was still amazing We went in and saw the Mona which again really small and built up but still super cool and tons of other art before heading back to the hotel and having some drinks with the group and going to be http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-285879.html After our meetings in the morning everyone kind of split off and did their own thing seeing different sites and such I did some work in my room for a few hours before heading to the Louvre with Lindsey and Le. I decided to wait to go in because on Fridays after 6 it is free so I walked around with them to some shops and fruit stands before they went in and I hopped on the metro back to where http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-284413.html Today is our 3rd day in Paris and so far it has been amazing We arrived two nights ago around 17.00 and were just so excited to put down our bags and unpack for 10 days I am in a double with another girl Erica and everyone is placed in doubles and triples around a hotel not hostel meaning sheets and towels....yesssss and we are located in a great district with tons of food and shopping http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-283661.html So after our crazy day of traveling we finally got to Geneva and were thrown into a completely different world and culture and language. We had finally just become used to the Italian language and people and now that we could finally communicate we were flown over Italy into the world of the Swiss and French We arrived there pretty exausted so we went to our hostel and went to bed early Th http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Geneva/blog-283212.html So finalllllly we left Rome and headed for Ischia After a packed train ride a bus ride in which a member of my studio had to tackle a guy for trying to steal his shoes and an incredible ferry ride we were finally landed on the island for Ischia We didnrsquot get there until around 5 so we ran to our hostel in which we got an entire balcony and three huge attached rooms for everyone whi http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Campania/Ischia/blog-281204.html 10 days in Rome gone already Geez...it flew by and because of very limited internet time I am going to try to some it all up in one blog entry and hopefully be able to get back on track once we leave here and their crazy no wireless waysOur first day we got to have a slack day to do laundry and get to know the city on our own terms and being EXAUSTED from all of the traveling before we deci http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-279657.html Okay...so due to having absolutely NO internet anywhere and going to so many different cities in a really short amount of time I am going to do a quick recap from Ferrara until getting to RomeMay 12 13th These nights we spent in Ravenna and Rimini which was amazing because we were finally on the water We got to Rimini in the early afternoon and were so exausted from architecture stuff we de http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Rimini/blog-277856.html While we werenrsquot quite ready to leave Parma because it was just a great little town we continued on our way southwest toward the water and to Mantua Mantova. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived there to see that it was very similar to Parma small and lively. I was particularly excited to be there because the two history papers I wrote were on Romanorsquos work and Leon Albe http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Ferrara/blog-275527.html Yesterday we left Milan after a great two days and hopped on a train to Parma We spent the night walking around the town getting an amazing group dinner with lots of pizza and catching up on some work we had put off. Today we woke up early and walked to the a piazza and got straight to work measuring and mapping out the public space. We got done around 15.00 and walked around the town look http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Parma/blog-275521.html Alright...fun is over...now for work time...Okay not really Last night we all went to dinner as a group to kick off our Spring Urban Walks Studio. Since it was on TCAUP we dined at an AMAZING place in Milan and the group bonded over different pastas and red wine. After a great conversation we went to bed early to prepare for day trip to Como.Today we took the train in the morning to Com http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan/blog-274870.html Today is our last night in London and we can't believe it came so fast granted we did miss a night due to stupid flights Last night we went to a late dinner and had some drinks but found it hard to find any place to stay at for too long because we were surrounded by crossdressers and mostly gay couples Apparently we wandered to SoHo a predominantly gay part of town which had a really co http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-273236.html Yesterday kicked off our trip out of Detroit towards London and while we are still super excited anything and everything has gone completely wrong thus far We started off in Detroit with an hour weather delay and while we would be pushing it to get to our connection in Atlanta we decided it was worth the try to make it with the half hour we had in between flights. Well...our hour delay turn http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Georgia/Atlanta/blog-272593.html This week kicked off our RomeParis study abroad trip and we are all so excited The first day we worked with our GSI Joss in learning some basics of both French and Italy and worked with Dawn in learning some measurement techniques that we will be using in various cities in Europe to measure different buildings and areas. Yesterday we did some more language and measure work and then moved http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Michigan/Ann-Arbor/blog-271903.html