I started off in Bordeaux, France with a few friends of mine from Essex. We stayed at the home of a friend of mine that was just outside of Bordeaux itself. On Sunday we went to the French coast and spent a day taking the sights and sounds. First we went to a little bay that is know for its oysters (unfortunately I didn't try any there) and spent a while waking the beach as the tide was coming in. We then drove a little to the actual coast line. It was a beautiful day to lay out on the sand. We didn't go in the water because it was freezing (it felt as if it had just melted off an iceberg). What was extremely interesting was that scattered across this beach for several miles were the remains of German outposts and pillboxes left there since the conclusion of the war. While they were blown full of sand rendering it impossible to get inside them, we could climb on top of them, which we did, giving us a great view of the coast line.
On Monday and Tuesday we went into Bordeaux and spent the days walking through the city taking in the culture and atmosphere. Bordeaux is a beautiful city. It's clean, friendly, the architecture is amazing, and the food is superb (creme brulee is 100x better in France, just an FYI). The remaining days I spent at my friends home reading some books that I had purchased at a secondhand bookshop in the city.
Next I moved on to Oporto (or Porto in English), Portugal the home of Port wine and a unique culture. I wandered the city during my stay there and tasted the local food and wine at my leisure. While the city is not 'beautiful', it possesses a life of its own that is truly something to behold. Street markets fill the squares, extremely ornate Catholic Churches can be found on nearly every street corner, wine cellars line the river for easy export, and so much more. It was a very unique place.
Next stop was Madrid, Spain, and was my favourite city of the ones I visited. The culture is extremely laid back and relaxed. While it is a big city, for the most part people aren't in any hurry to get anywhere. Pedestrians fill the streets at all hours of the day being entertained by street performers, some good and some not so good. I went to mass on Sunday at a Catholic Church not too far from my hostel. The church was beautiful, but was no where near as ornate as the parishes in Oporto. When the service concluded I went and wandered around some local Sunday markets, consisting mainly of collector coin and stamp merchants. The atmosphere was festive and relaxed. I spent the rest of my days wandering the streets trying the local Tapas and Sangria and poking around in random shops. On Wednesday I met up with Wil Flanigan (a friend from Creighton who is studying in Madrid) during the day for drinks and then met up with him later again that night to go to a local bar that a friend of his recommended. The bar, 'La Lobo del Boca', was this small little joint tucked away in a side street that hosted an open jam session every Wednesday. So we went and met up with Wil's friend and enjoyed a few beers while listening to some amazing live music. The music was a blend of Latin, Funk, and Jazz that had me hooked from the start. The musicians were outstanding and were having a lot of fun on the tiny stage.
On Thursday I flew to Rome, Italy were I finished off my trip. On Friday I went to all the major tourist spots with a few friends that I met up with in Rome. The Colosseum, the Trevi Fountian, the Spanish Steps, etc... basically anything highlighted on any tourist map was visited. The Colosseum was spectacular. The sheer size of the architecture was humbling. As we walked from sight to sight, we were constantly running past ancient ruins of Rome past. It was humbling to think of just how old this city was. On Saturday I just wandered some more side streets, and Sunday was more of the same. On Monday I spent the whole day at Saint Peter's Basilica taking in the history of the church. I walked to the top of the culpa which provided an outstanding view of Rome and Saint Peter's Square below. I spent the afternoon walking through the basilica and reflecting on the church. I ended the day by attending mass in St. Peter's Chapel which was an extremely spiritual experience. I haven't felt as close to God in a long time as I did spending the day at Saint Peter's. It was an amazing experience.
That is an large overview of my trip. Much of it is really hard to explain and will thus remain personal, but the pictures I took give a little more of a glimpse into what it was like. I have uploaded all the pictures onto facebook (all 550+ of them) and you can go and take a look at them there.
Here's a quick link http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=505139397&ref=profile
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