Backlog

I have wayyy too much to go over now to bring this blog up to date. For the past few days especially, I have been running around like a badger with a [insert end of bad analogy]. So, I will hit some highlights to the best of my ability.

Something Familiar
So, back to my first spring break: semana santa. After returning from Italy, I had a couple of days in Sevilla. I spent the first resting since the entire Italy trip kept me pretty perpetually tired. The next day (Tuesday) I hit the street to watch some of Sevilla's famous Semana Santa pasos, which consist of 'nazarenos' (people dressed in outfits strangely similar to the KKK...see picture) parading through the street carrying crosses, candles, or massive, heavy float-like things that involve a sculpture of either Jesus or the Virgin Mary. They're pretty impressive, but the popular religion here is very unique...and a little sad.


After that, I jumped on an early flight and headed to Madrid to meet up with my family! As it turned out, their flight was delayed by some harsh weather, but they made it eventually. While I waited, I explored Madrid a little bit, including an actual Egyptian temple that was given to Spain by Egypt's government decade ago. The Temple of Debod is now...in a park in Madrid.

It was wonderful to see everyone, and we absolutely tore up the tourist scene around Madrid. We saw one of the top art museums in the world in the Prado, went to Toledo and visited the neo-Gothic cathedral there, and took a trip to El Escorial to see the palace/basilica that contains the final resting place of the monarchs of Spain from Charles I (AKA Charles V) on. Afterwards, they came to Sevilla, and it was a joy to show them around the my city. We saw the cathedral, Alcazar, and took a day trip to Ronda. I especially enjoyed smoking pipes with dad while watching the night-lit cathedral in Sevilla, a wine and cheese picnic in Ronda, and a marvelous (and much needed) back-rub from Deborah and Mary. I miss them already, but it's not but a couple months (hopefully) until I see them again.

Iceland...
...evidently the world's largest producer of volcanic ash...and heartache. I know I may be skipping some things that I have done or stories I could tell, but I can't seem to focus enough to recall them. In short, what has been occupying my mind over the last few days is the deconstruction of my big trip.

My second spring break is here now, and since the end of February or beginning of March, I have been planning a trip to London, Paris, and Barcleona. As you have probably heard, a volcanic eruption in Iceland has canceled flights all over Europe. The London portion of my trip is effectively wasted, and now Paris is questionable. I have a flight from Madrid to Paris on Monday, so my friend and I are going to look tomorrow morning and see what the chances of it actually taking off are before buying bus tickets and going to Madrid. Ayayay. What can we do though? Nothing but hope and pray for the best...it's a curveball. But, we'll see what happens, and there will be updates to come! I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I wasn't already in London and stuck there indefinitely. Actually, that may have been kind of cool. But whatever.

So, either Paris on Monday or not. Whatever happens, I remain yours, TJT.

"Honeymoon?"

So, it's obviously been a while since I've updated. This is due to the immense amount of jumping around that I did during Semana Santa. So, I am dividing it into at least 2 posts, and this is the first.

ITALIA!
So, I had been really excited to go to Italy for a long time, and the time finally came! A short flight from Sevilla to Madrid, a long layover, and then a flight from Madrid to Milan, and before I knew it I was there! And immediately once inside the airport, my dear friend Rachel was waiting for me! She is studying in Milan for the semester, and she was gracious enough to coordinate my visit. I can't say how great it was to catch up with her or how kind to me she was while I was there. It meant the world to me. We went to the central square, saw Milan's duomo (cathedral) at night, and ate some real Italian pizza (wonderful)! After a tiny bit of sleep, we packed up and headed for Florence early the next morning!

Honeymoon?
As we walked into Florence to begin our day, Rachel and I passed a multitude of street vendors. [NOTE: For those gentlemen that are privvy to the art of UBM, you may appreciate this new level of awkwardness]. One of the vendors watched us walking by and promptly posed a one-word question that used what was possibly the only word of English he knew as we walked by: "Honeymoon?" Not awkward at all. Needless to say, we got a great laugh out of it and continued on with the visit.

Belleza Extraordinaria
Florence was AMAZING! The day we spent there was one of the best days I've had in Europe! Part of it was that it was well-organized and I had a wonderful amiga to share it with, both thanks to Rachel, and part of it is that Florence was just an amazing place. "The Cradle of the Renaissance" some people call it, and it is clear why. We saw the duomo of Florence, which has a massive dome and is very impressive on the outside. We then proceeded to the Uffizi Gallery, which possibly has the best Renaissance art collection in the world. My favorite artist from the gallery was actually Botticelli, which surprised me, but he had several works that I really liked, including analogical paintings of the virtues. After the Uffizi, we stopped by "Grom" for some gelato (in the city of its invention!). The picture says it all.

After the gelato, we proceeded to the Academia to see Michaelangelo's David. There are lots of other works of art in the Acadaemia, but as we rounded the first corner and saw the masterpiece, everything else faded away. One thing they don't tell you is how big it is...they calculate that Goliath was probably 9'9" tall, but the statue of David had to be over 12 feet (ironic!). We spent over an hour marvelling and trying to dive into the intricacies of this glorious work, and it was one of my favorite parts of the day. Each side of the statue seems to reveal a different sense or aspect of David, and it is probably the greatest work of art I have ever seen.

After the Academia, we walked down to the Duomo's bell tower and climbed it. The view of the city from the top was absolutely captivating as the sun began to slowly go down. The 420-some step climb was 100% worth it.

After that, we proceeded to the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) for sunset and the Piazzale Michaelangelo for a nighttime view of the city. We ate dinner at a small, cozy restaurant with Rachel's friends Sabrina and Yap (sp?) who are from Canada and Holland respectively. Good times, and another short night's sleep led us back to Milan for a tour of the duomo, lunch (pizza again), and an AC Milan soccer game!

The inferno (AC Milan's fans) were raging, and despite the draw, it was a great experience! Once again, a small stint of sleep separated me from another trip...this one back to my home [thousands of miles] away from home--beautiful Sevilla.

The rest of Semana Santa was great, and I'll describe it later, but the trip to Italy was unforgettable. I'll see Rachel again, and perhaps I'll even make it back to Florence, but I don't think that day will ever be reproduced. I joyfully remain yours.