(London, 8/11/11)

(London, 8/11/11)

London has the world’s only sideways art replica somethingorother of flowers, which sounds stupid until you look at the picture. They surprisingly let the public walk right up to it and touch it. I was thoroughly impressed, other than the few bald patches--surprising, since Britain's known for its impeccable lawns. The mural was on display next to Trafalgar Square. Here’s the original for comparison:

More European Sunsets:

Paris

Interlaken

Venice

(Quintanilla de Onésimo, 10/08/11)

Before the lesson about winemaking, our tour stopped at the bodega's other highlights. First--the wild pigs. They were contained in a vast field with tons of acorn trees. Apparently the best ham is only fed acorns. 

Second--the deer. This was only interesting because the deer had so many points on their antlers. 

Third--the tree. Not just any tree, this one was over 1000 years old. The tree supposedly passes along positive energy if you give it a hug. 

(Florence, 8/23/11)

Florence turned out to have every bit of Italian Renaissance history that I had forgotten from my 10th grade European history class. I remembered Ghiberti's brass doors of the baptistry, Michelangelo's David, Brunelleschi's duomo, etc., but my favorite thing was the Ponte Vecchio. I was intrigued that it was the only bridge remaining from the bombings during World War II--probably because Hitler liked art.

The bridge itself is beautiful--the whole thing is lined with colorful stores. Nowadays, they're all jewelers, but they used to be butcher shops before the Medici family (probably) kicked them out due to the smell. Each store closes its wooden panelling when it closes, which is beautiful in itself. 

The history major in me loved Florence.

(Interlaken, 08/16/11)

I was surprised to find this playground at the top of Harder Kulm, elevation 1322m. The swing was the only safe part of the playground, which included a precarious slide--now closed because some child flew off the mountain at a curve (probably). 

(Béjar, 10/12/11)

This past wednesday was a Spanish holiday, so a few friends and I took the bus to Béjar, a town surrounded by beautiful countryside, intending to hike. We ended up taking more pictures and goofing off than hiking, but the excursion was successful nonetheless.

The sign in the first picture says "Private Property, Entrance is Forbidden," which we clearly ignored in the second.