Blogs from Europe - page 11964

So, I got up and got packed as Alicia did the same for she was heading to the islands for the weekend. We then caught the metro and parted our ways. I got to the airport check-in to be told there is a good chance i might not make today's flight as they were nearing the plane's weight limit. So, i had to wait along with other people to see how many of us will make the flight. Well, it came down to a couple, me, and one other lady left w/ just 30 minutes before the plane departs. She then said she can take one more person and since the couple didn't want to split up, i was next on the list!!! Thank god!!! So, i rushed onto the plane and was on my way ... read more

I had never heard of John Ruskin until today, and I’m convinced that was a huge oversight in my literary education. I loved what we read of his writing, and his life was equally amazing. We took a coach from Grasmere over to Conniston, where Ruskin spent the last 30 years or so of his life. We met with Mike Humphries, the curator of the Ruskin Museum and coincidentally also the president of the branch where we’ll be going to church on Sunday. He gave us an interesting lecture on Ruskin’s life—Ruskin started out as an artist and an art critic, with a firm dedication to social welfare and religion. After gaining fame for his philosophy, Ruskin became a great advocate of socialism, imagining most of the systems that are in place today in Britain, ... read more

Geo: 48.8566, 2.35097sbc... read more

Nous voilà en plein préparatif, le départ est pour bientôt. Pour un premier voyage, on a peur d'oublier quelque chose... On fait le tour une autre fois: --billet d'avion: acheté depuis longtemps, reste à vérifier la journée même si le vol est pas retardé. --Eurail pass: acheté aussi, faut pas l'oublier ici. --Contact avec Fathia, notre contact à Paris: elle devrait venir nous chercher à l'aéroport d'Orly Sud, où on atterrit. --Un peu d'argent de poche: 200 euros et chacun notre carte de crédit, ça devrait être suffisant. --Carte d'auberge jeunesse "Hostelling Internationnal" au cas où ça pourrait être utile. --Tous nos bagages entrent dans notre sac de randonné, c'est merveilleux comme on risque de marcher beaucoup. --Notre itinéraire approximatif est déterminé, (voir la carte ci-haut), on a environ un mois, donc environ 2 nuits par ... read more

So, We got up at a decent hour, checked out of the Souvenir Hotel and headed via train to the last of the five Cinque Terre towns, Riomaggiore. We had heard from on of our friends who had gone there over Spring Break that there was a cheap hostel there, so we wanted to check it out. We were on the train at 11:30. Well by about 12:00 we had decided we liked where we were staying in Monterosso better than the hostel and the town of Riomaggiore. So, we began hiking back to Monterosso. The hike was about 6 hours of gorgeous sites and towns. We went through all four of the other towns and hiked on a path that wound it's way through the mountains along the coast. It was long, but very ... read more