One great thing about Barcelona is that you can walk around randomly and every 5 to 10 minutes you’ll just happen across an interesting-looking building (the ‘normal’ buildings are also quite nice). The most famous of these buildings were designed by the modernist architect Antoni Gaudi and of them his masterwork is the yet-unfinished cathedral La Sagrada Familia. Earlier in my trip I saw both Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and Il Duomo in Firenze, both of which are very large, intricately-detailed places of worship that took over a century to complete. One of the thoughts I recall having was that nobody in modern times has the ambition or the patience (not to mention the life-expectancy or the funds) to spend so long constructing a single building. However, La Sagrada Familia is pretty much just that. ... read more

There are two major youth hostels (auberges de jeunesse) in Nice and they are located in drastically different places. One of them is a short walk to the train station, a short walk to the old town with lots of restaurants and a short walk to the beach. Then there’s the one I stayed at. The primary means of reaching this hostel is taking a bus from the old town up a giant hill and for the first time since I’ve been in Europe, I was not pleased with the workings of the public transportation. The bus routes were labeled in a confusing way and, at least for the bus I had to take, the buses didn’t come very often. They also stopped running just after 9:00. Luckily, I really enjoy walking everywhere, so much so ... read more

So when I was looking up hostels in Firenze I found one that had a super high rating. On closer inspection, though, it wasn't actually in Firenze, but rather in a small town called Tavarnelle about 40 minutes outside of the city. At first I was disappointed, but then I remembered that I had wanted to see some of the Tuscan countryside and I realized that Tavarnelle would be a much better base of operations for doing that than would Firenze, so I booked a couple of nights. I figured out that there was a regional bus that started in Firenze and ran through the town, so I got a ticket and hopped on it in the late afternoon. The only problem was that I didn't know the route and I didn't speak any Italian. My ... read more

I should really think twice about naming these posts late at night. During my stay in Firenze I visited the Uffizi Gallery. I figured since Firenze was such an important Renaissance city I should see some Renaissance art while I was there. The gallery certainly delivered it in large quantities. Now I’m certainly no art expert and I should definitely be one of the last people you consult if you want insight into art of any kind; however, there is one banal observation that I would like to make and reflect on: the paintings in the gallery, particularly those in the first dozen rooms, were almost entirely religious in nature. This should come as no surprise to anyone given the era, but what I found interesting was how heavily represented the images were of the Madonna ... read more

Wow, a great couple of days there in Grenoble. The city itself wasn’t all that special, but the mountains surrounding the city are awesome. Yesterday I had the pleasure of hiking to the highest peak around the city and I think it was really the highlight of the trip for me so far. I love doing athletic things and I love being in Nature. I really should make an effort to go hiking or camping more often. Open invitation for anybody who wants to come with me. The hike was actually less challenging than I was expecting. I think I overestimated how fatigued my legs would be and underestimated how good of shape I’m in. I was definitely going at quite a faster pace than the signpost estimations, and that included stopping to take pictures. At ... read more