I appologize as it is a bit grainy I had to cut its file size in half to get it onto blog spot (meaning I had to loose some quality). I plan to blog one last time when some Strathclyde students arrive in Clemson next semester, otherwise thank you so much for reading and keeping up with me I really appreciate all of you.
A side note* This is my 50th post, I just wanted everyone to know because it was my unspoken goal to write to you 50 times.
I'm back...actually I've been back for almost two weeks now. I got the internship/job with enterprise rent-a-car for the summer. I like to think that this is a somewhat impressive feat considering the state of the economy and that I did most of the interviewing via phone in Scotland (a shout out of thanks to Amy who recruited me) . So far I've been learning a lot on the job and I'm so thankful that its hands on and never dull.
It is also ironic and I seem to have overcompensated because my new job has me driving all kinds of vehicles all over the place.
of the intersecting roads that surround the ancient red sandstone building. It was probably once a church and maybe still is, but on this morning it was to be used for a very different purpose. There we huddled like cows before a branding, knowing that what lay before us would bring no joy, yet left choice less by the powers that be. 925 a.m. the doors open and we are led into a room, it is just more than dimly lit by the stain glass windows that embellish its ceiling. We take our seats in the tiny desks which form long rows that nearly disappear into the distance. We are surprised to see our professor a tiny spec in the front of the room, she seemed so harmless before today. I'm sitting near the back of the room yet we can hear her cackle, such a small thin lady with dark wispy hair, most of us didn't even see it coming. We should have known she would be harsher than her friendly presence tricked us into thinking, it wasn't like she hadn't warned us. She had with her a large clock on a stick that was left standing at the front of the room, much like an extra watchful eye over her students. The room looked very much like that of the Hogwarts dining hall it just lacked floating candles and ghost...or so I thought.
Scott barely made it...at one point during the battle I glanced at him and he was being held in a hypnotic trance by his exam. I never got the chance to drag him out but somehow he recovered on his own. One secret we learned is that exams do not like pencils, they say to always use pen, but I think they lie to us to make the students easier to handle.
We got a tour with an English speaking guide (as recommended by some other American and Canadian hostel dwellers). The tour was fantastic and it even included a little tour at the end where we were told all about a large section of pagan ruins that is located next to the coliseum (temples, churches built on temples…ect). Scott and I toured Rome on our own during the afternoon. We saw all kinds of things that were built around the time of Christ if not before (crazy!). 
One of the hardest things to get used to in Rome are the rules of the road. Cars here have to stop for pedestrians…this is very confusing to my well trained “look both ways before you cross the street” mentality which has been well reinforced by Glasgow. Apparently in Rome people just cross the street when they feel like it and the traffic waits for them, I’m really glad I don’t drive here as this would be very frustrating to me. My strategy for crossing roads in foreign countries is based on the padding theory. The theory goes something like this, So long as there is someone between you and the on (or potentially on) coming traffic you have padding and should therefore cross the street. Your chances are better with locals as chances of actually having to use the padding are greatly reduced.
The day before yesterday, Scott and I got on the metro and rode it to the other side of Rome. We joined the same tour guide we had the day before, but this time for a tour of the Vatican. We did this for two good reasons. First there is over 9 miles of different walking paths through the Vatican. Secondly it is estimated that if you spent one minute looking at every piece of art in the Vatican you would be there for some 12 years (We just wanted to hit the important stuff). Thus we greatly enjoyed the three hour tour (although our feet didn’t). We got to see everything I wanted to
…which was mostly the Sistine Chapel (we took a few illegal photos inside). That evening Scott and I were out and about seeing other historical parts of the city. We paused on the Spanish steps…the significance of which is still questioned by us. On the steps we were hailed by Amber and Jessica (I met Amber on the flight over the Atlantic, she’s studying in Edinburgh). We found it odd to run into each other again somewhere so very far away.
We decided to get back together that evening, in the meantime Scott and I went and found a fantastic Italian dinner. The dinner was so great (slow) that we were very late for our evening meeting. We tried to make up for it by buying them drinks at a local pub. 
The next day Scott and I got on a train heading to Venice. We had to carry our luggage all about the canals because we were mostly out of euro’s and the baggage holders didn’t take card. I decided to buy something in Venice from an outdoor vender, but I only had 2.80 Euros left and the item I wanted was more. The very nice old gentleman who owned the place let me buy said object with some American dollars as well. As Scott and I are walking away (out of sight of the dealer) we get hailed by this guy. He flashes a badge and says he is French tax police. He asks me how much I spent on the item…I was a little taken aback and didn’t really want to answer in case the really nice guy who sold me said object was going to be in trouble, so I stalled. He didn’t like me stalling so he made sure we understood that he was the police and dragged his buddy over (both were in civilian clothing). I finally divulged what I had paid and had to explain that I had paid with two currencies. They said thank you and that we were not in trouble at all, so Scott and I went on our way. We snapped a few photos and ate a delicious lunch/dinner. Then we had to hop on the bus out to the airport (Ryanair never lands people conveniently in the middle of any city, their airports are always on the outskirts).
…or attempted to sleep in the airport. This helped make the whole day in London seem boring. Maybe we were just sick of looking at old stuff. Anyway, we did London pretty well for a day. We saw Buckingham palace, Big Ben, the London Bridge and more. The only thing we really missed out on was the changing of the guard. Scott and I were so sleep deprived that we decided to find a local theater and just watch a movie. We watched Duplicity which was really good. 
Then we walked by Buckingham palace on our way to the bus station where we caught the midnight bus back here to Glasgow. We arrived yesterday morning at 7am. I got about 3 hours of sleep on the bus.
growing in the middle of the platform. Then we saw one elderly lady on the ground having fallen down the stairs (she had lots of people looking after her). Again, on our way up an escalator we watched another elderly woman take a dive. Someone managed to stop the escalator and a herd of people rushed in to attend to her as well (we were on the stairs next to the escalator with heavy packs on so there was nothing we could do). Our hostel in Nice will go down as one of the not so great hostels we have stayed at. We had to find “the pink lady (another elderly woman)” in a restaurant. She led us to our room saying “wee” a lot but speaking very little English. Our room was basically a college kid’s dormitory. The Pink lady had to kick some kid out of the room (this involved lots of yelling in French…rather entertaining), apparently (we learned later from two Canadian girls who were also sharing the room) he kept trying to find empty beds at night and not pay for them. One of the guys was staying there while he studied at some local university so the whole place had random magazine photos and posters all over the wall (he said they were to make it feel more like home). Scott and I left the Canadian girls who were watching the first season of scrubs and went out to enjoy an excellent dinner and afterwards we experienced the 
Mediterranean Sea shore which was very rocky.
I know that my train (the first train scheduled to leave from that station that morning) is not supposed to leave for another 15 minutes so I make sure Scott doesn’t jump on and we stand there as this scene unfolds. As we watch, an amazingly in shape yet aged couple runs down the platform, the wife jumps in the door of the train car, then the man chasing after her makes a flying leap into the train (this involved grabbing car handrails and pulling himself on against the accelerating train). A moment later we see his head as he leans out of the doorway looking back at the small crowd of us standing on the platform. He had this big grin on his face that seemed to represent a combination of a relieved “I made it” and a happy “I feel like a kid again”. Mind you this all occurs because of and through the only open door on the train…the one I opened. I’m pretty sure that the train the couple jumped onto was a bunch of cars used by railway workers for storage because as it passed I noticed that it was filled with hard hats and yellow vests, it also had a random small engine pushing it down the track out of the way for the train that came shortly thereafter to take us to Ventimiglia. I’m pretty sure that I have just caused a chain of events that might change history forever (For example: They missed the right train which means someone who was supposed to pick them up misses some important meeting. At said meeting he or she would have stopped some corporation from making a huge error. Said error causes the corporation to lose billions, thus it has to file bankruptcy. Thiscauses thousands of people lose jobs. The now jobless employees get desperate and cause political hysteria. Hitler the 2nd rises to power on promises of prosperity for all, thus we go into WW3…and it’s all my fault).
(we caught the view just after sunset with the red lining still in the clouds which came with a cool and gentle evening breeze…neither of which we had to pay extra for). I also bought my first pair of aviator sunglasses (something I’ve always wanted, even though they are kind of ugly) from a street vender. He approached me and I decided that the lowest price I would pay for the glasses was 10 euro…unfortunately I told him this right away (this was due to not being ready to bargain and him starting off at the stunning price of 30 euro). I then forced him to make change for a 20 as he begged me to raise my offer and I threatened to walk away…I probably enjoyed this event a little too much (no they are not polarized mom, and yes I know he probably only paid .50 cents for them). 
From Pisa we caught a train ride to Florence where we ran into a gaggle of New York girls who knew the street our hostel was located on (a blessing because for the first time this trip we didn’t have walking directions to our hostel). We had a private room and bathroom which is really nice after some of the hostel situations we have experienced. Still no internet, but my internet addiction cravings are waning as I’ve been deprived for so long. Side note* Internet is one thing that I think should be everywhere, If everyone has the ability to get online and learn anything they want and communicate with anyone they want to then everyone has a chance to better themselves. (Yes I know that means everyone needs access to computers ect…but it’s a thought/start).
without anyone noticing or caring enough to say anything. There are supposedly (according to Scott who had to do a research paper on the Dome) 463 stairs to the top. The top of the dome was excellent, a beautiful view of Florence, but I got a little intimidated by the height inside the Dome. Some ancient person built an overhang at the base of the Dome which is already a good ten stories high. My trust of ancient architects is probably not what it should be. After the Dome Scott and I toured a famous bridge 
and an outlook dedicated to Michael Angelo. We enjoyed some genuine Italian food for lunch (Lasagna for me, Pizza for Scott). Then we wandered around Florence enjoying statues and pretty views of vineyards and Italian mountains. For 
dinner Scott and I decided to try a pizza place that had a sign outside claiming to have the best pizza in the world. The pizza was good (stove cooked), but I think I’ve had better in Chicago. Florence was definitely an excellent stop and I would go back again in a heartbeat. With any luck I’ll find free internet in Rome so I can post this before I have to add any more to it.
But so far the hostel is very pleasant there are some Americans and Canadians about and the bathrooms and beds are clean...I still can't beleive Im in Rome!
s still playing everywhere). It took us several tries before we found a place we felt comfortable ordering food. Everything seems to cost more in Switzerland in general. There is wifi (internet) in the hostel…if you pay for it.
The store had marked down all its chocolate. We witnessed one lady filling two shopping carts to the brim with chocolate bunnies. We figured it must be a deal so I grabbed a milk chocolate one and Scott grabbed two dark chocolates before the lady had cleared the shelves entirely of them. We got to the cash register to find that the 9 inch tall 6 inch wide bunnies were only 1.60 Swiss Francs each (that’s like $1.30). I’m down to the torso on mine, and like the Chocolate Show guy said yesterday after squeezing apart a chocolate bunny …”it’s ok to eat, look!, no bones”.
we’ve found (like on local said) most of the people to be very introverted (maybe it’s a rich thing).
Hopefully we can stream some home church services tonight when we reach Nice (this of course depends on the hostel having internet).
We got ready and went out to the tourist office . They were very unhelpful when it came to good hikes in the area (girly females). But they did give us a map which gave us a good idea. We hiked up a ridge on the edge of Interlaken. The Swiss Alps are everything pictured and some.
The scenery was breathtaking and so was the strenuous hike way above sea level. On the way up Scott and I noticed a girl hiking alone behind us with a full backpack on. We did our best to stay in front of her and thought we had succeeded when we turned a corner and there she was chilling at a lookout point (we think she passed us at a point where we paused to take photos). Anyway, it would be nice if the tourist office here hired people like that, but o-well.
and we were hoping for water because we had been stupid and not taken any with us. We were unlucky because they don’t officially open up for another two weeks (there is a steep mountain train that takes people to the top that opens up then as well). Scott and I took to melting mountain snow in our hands and drinking it (three cheers for potential parasite infections later). The funny thing is that even though there was some snow on top of the mountain it was almost 80 outside and we were sweating a lot. I also got a light sun burn today. Anyway, we hiked the ridgeline a short distance…this involved trying to step in the footsteps of others because the snow was pretty thick. We came across a really steep but open meadow and just sat there and enjoyed the mountain breeze, light smell of pine trees and the beautiful view of Interlaken
and the lake next to it. Around 2:30 we headed back into town and grabbed some ice cream in a nice little outdoor café that let us enjoy the mountain views from the town. Then following a brochure’s advice we went to a chocolate show.
The milk chocolate he had there won 1st place at some world Italian Chocolate event two years ago. He shared with us two 70% dark chocolate’s he had created, both were very good. We also learned a lot about making chocolate and good truffle dipping techniques. His Apprentaces have made some amazing chocolate sculptures, my favorite was a goat that only got second place. 
I ate way more chocolate than I should have and overall the whole event was very worthwhile. Scott and I spent the rest of the day relaxing here in the hostel (The Alpine Backpack’s Hostel in Interlaken) with the exception going out and finding dinner. We’ve noticed that prices here are very high, it’s probably because the rich tourists come here and go skiing. Tomorrow we are heading off to Geneve where we will enjoy an Easter service somewhere then continue on to Nice (France…again).
the next morning we got up very early ate some delicious pancakes that Destene made and rode with Brian to the train station (he dropped us off on his way to work). There Emily Scott and I hopped on a train to Fussen then grabbed a bus up to a small village called Hohenschwangau located at the beginning of the German Alps. It was from here that we hiked up to one of the prettiest castles I’ve seen (from the outside…Versailles takes it for interior décor). Castle Neuschwanstein was not actually completed because its owner (who was a lover of swans) was found dead in a lake. His psychiatrist was also found dead floating alongside him. People in power had apparently declared him unfit to rule based on his psychological condition…and then about a week later the two of them turned up dead in a lake, end of story, no one knows what really happened.
over a nearby peak, we got a tour. Honestly, it was one of the worst tours castle tours I’ve been on (just because of length). We saw about five rooms, a few hallways and climbed two staircases. There is so much more to that castle, but they claim it is unfinished we so didn’t tour it. After the tour we hiked up a short path to a bridge and got a few good photos…then not being totally satisfied we climbed up a nearby peak and got some wonderful views from the top. The view was breathtaking and probably one that photos just can’t capture. The temperature was perfect with a light Alps breeze and I was surprised how at home it felt. 
It wasn’t quite Appalachian, but close. Just before we decided to go back down we discovered a bag in a tree. We got it down to find that it was a Geocache. Geocaching is almost a sport. Basically there are GPS coordinates that GPS owners use to locate Geocaches. Geocaches have inside them (or at least this one did) a journal, a tracking coin, and a knickknack from just about everyone who has found it. We signed the journal and dated it then tossed in a US penny because no one had put one in it yet. There was everything in it already from a bouncy ball to a UK penny to a pencil sharpener. I might take up Geocacheing especially if people have put them in such incredibly pretty places.
The world is so different today that I find it very hard to mentally put myself in the shoes of people who lived and died here during that time. It seems that there has been a huge swing from life being cheap to life being very highly valued (proof = people who have a hard time allowing the death sentence for mass murders or torture of known terrorist organization members). On the way back from Dachau, Scott and I were looking lost in the Dachau train station and this very pleasant old lady named Bridget asked us if we needed help. We said we were trying to get back to Munich and she said that was where she was going and when she realized we were from the states and from South Carolina she got very excited. Apparently, she has a grandson who is living in South Carolina and she was asking us questions about Clemson and Greenville Tech because he’s 19 and figuring out what college to attend and she wants to help. She also told us a great deal about herself and how she had lived in California for a period of time. She was informing us about all of this in her wonderful German accent which sounds very much like my grandma’s (Who has a German background as well and currently lives in Wisconsin). She told us about how she was ten at the end of WW2 and saw horrible things, then she made a statement …something like “in war nobody wins because even the victor looses many young men”. It’s a thought I’ll be taking with me.
to find chocolate, a beautiful German park and a good Bratwurst. Of all of our Spring Break plans I’ve been looking forward to Interlocken the most. If tomorrow’s weather cooperates we will hopefully be able to find a decent hike in the Swiss Alps. So far Scott is (rightfully) scared of hiking with me. I assume this because he’s made comments about not trying to find the biggest, hardest, or most deadly climb Interlocked has to offer (not that I’ve been looking for it, but he knows me pretty well).
But first things first, the second day in Paris was just as fun as the first. We kicked off with a free hostel breakfast of baguettes with butter and jam (baguettes are a true French stereotype…along with small dogs and bicycles). We met James again and he took us to the triumphal arch and the Louvre. The Louvre was fantastic, although we kind of had to rush through it. I got to see the Mono Lisa along with so many masterpiece art and statue works it 
was overwhelming. We finished at the Louvre with a walk around its medieval foundation which was actually found relatively recently when they went to dig a foundation for the pyramid (I really regretted not having recently watched the “Da Vinci Code” a movie which features lots of things in the Louvre and was therefore referred to many times by James). My favorite story from the Louvre occurred during an excavation of a well in which they found a crown and have very little idea as to how it got there (My imagination suspects a person of royalty getting frustrated and chunking their crown down the well in front of everybody in a fit of rage.
types have exceptions like Julian a funny and very awesome French guy who lives a flat above mine…although he is from Nice not Paris). Anyway we completed everything we desired to do in Paris a few hours ahead of schedule so we picked up our bags from our sketchy hostel’s baggage room and walked to the train station to catch a ride to Brussels.
(it has to do with the air pressure created on the outside of the train causing pressure on the inside). We also realized we were sitting across from a man who probably had recovered from a stroke because it took him a while to find his bag (we thought a guy from Iraq had stolen it for a moment) and he was very slow. *End Currently*
Belgium waffles on the way. I got one smothered with real fresh strawberries and white chocolate. Helena had to leave us at the Arch
which I liked more than the one in Paris. We hopped on the metro, grabbed our bags from the hostel and on our way back to the train station we bought some fantastic chocolate. We had spent the day before hunting for some good chocolate. Of the Brussels chocolate shops Scott said “Chocolate shops in Brussels are just like Sam’s for lunch you can go in and get your fill of samples” and he’s right. We had went to Chocopolis and got several good pieces of chocolate each (which we have just finished eating on this train…we figure we’ll find more in Germany and 
Switzerland so we made room for it). After Chocopolis we booked it to the station where we caught the 5:10 train to Amsterdam.
is half passionate dark red with another huge heart on it. In a large and well scripted font the words “Rose of Love” is sprawling out before us on both the pillows and the bed’s comforter. It took us a good minute before we could actually laugh about this. Except Emily who died laughing and went to find her room.
We snapped it back together and plugged it in and had to break it open twice more to get the steal peice flat enough to make the connection well....but after 20 minutes of messing with it we got it to work (college kids in Europe...rock on). *Ok so I can finally tell you about this morning. Today we caught a bus out to some tourist trap Holland area. We got to tour a windmill that was/is used to crush peanuts to get the peanut oil out (which can be used for deep frying and other such applications). We unfortunately didn’t have as much time as I would have liked there, but we got to see some ducks along and a 
wooden shoe production museum. We bought some delicious bread from the bakery museum (mine was lemon Scott got cinnamon) and enjoyed the beauty of the canals and green fields that surround them. Then we caught our bus back to the train station and after letting Emily buy a ticket we hopped on the high speed train to Munich...we’ve enjoyed some beautiful German countryside, some interesting people, a stop in Frankfurt , and some rain bows that brought with them some rain. Our hope is to get to Munich and take one more short train ride to a village where Scott’s uncle’s old college roommate will hopefully pick us up and let us invade his (and families)home for the next two days. (Sorry the blogs are days behind...limited internet and computer time is putting a dampener on things, but I'm doing my best to catch up).
Anyway, today totally rocked. It felt really laid back and yet we accomplished/saw sooooooo much. This is all thanks to James who is Scott's girlfriends cousin. He's completing his master degree here in french studies and had the day off so he showed us the city and we basically kicked some Paris in the pants. Today we saw: Versailles (easily an all day event if you don't have your own personal tour guide) Versailles was the first highlight of the day. I did not realize that Neptune's fountain
was there, I have seen it in pictures before and always wanted to in person. In Versailles we walked a lot. Apparently, there are many palaces on this one rather large piece of land. we toured the main palace, the gardens, Marie Antoinette's palace, and all kinds of places in between (stables, orange gardens, fountains...ect). Next we walked by Notre Dame. I once helped put together a 3d puzzle of it. being able to actually seeing it in person was almost unreal.
Eiffel Tower. We just missed capturing it with the sunset, but it was very overcast so it probably would not have been very significant anyway. Emily helped convince us to take the elevator system to the top of the tower, I don't recommend this for anyone who is scared of heights.
