I told you a bit about the first part of our travels, the beginning of our time in Geneva. The next day we ended up at a short church service of a rather new city church in Geneva, held in the oldest Reformed church building in Geneva. It was a cool contrast between the old and the new. After that we headed out to the UN and got a tour around there.
Oldest Reformed church in Geneva.
The UN.
The Palace of Nations at the UN and all of its flags.
I couldn't pick out the Canadian one.
"Broken Chair."
After Geneva we headed out to Venice on the train. There we found that we were staying in a very simple, nice and very spacious apartment somewhere decently close to San Marco square. During our time there we enjoyed a delicious pizza dinner at the Planet restaurant, got lost wandering through the maze known as the streets of Venice, attended a high Anglican service, felt cold & damp, played Settlers of Catan, enjoyed a beautiful concert in a small building off of San Marco square of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and I got sick. All in all, it was a good time. It was interesting to be in a city so different from any that I have ever been in before. Buses are boats and there are no fears of being run over by a car. It was also interesting to see some sights that I've only ever seen in movies; watching some movies will never be the same. :)
What else did you expect? haha.
No, we did not take a gondola ride.
They're ridiculously expensive and it was cold.
Street near where we stayed.
That's about what you see when you're walking around.
This is the morning on our way to the train.
We were leaving, so the weather cheered up. Thanks, sun.
Okay, so from Venice we went to Florence. We spent a few hours there, marveled at the Duomo and then figured out what bus to take that would get us to Bargino, the little town where our bed & breakfast was. We found it. We got to Bargino. We stood lost, trying to figure out how to get there, an old man who didn't speak any English tried to help us, and then our host came with his car and brought us to their place. We were very thankful. We may have played a Settler's game that night; I don't remember anymore.
The following day we had a tour guide, a friend of our host, drive us around the Tuscany countryside, showing us castles and vineyards and olive groves and towns, etc. Lots to see, lots to wonder at, lots to enjoy. The weather was beginning to warm up and it was interesting to hear about the area and its history from someone who lives there. I've never seen anything like the countryside there. Mom, Dad & I commented to each other a number of times that we had nothing to compare it to. I've seen a number of different landscapes while being over here, but I can generally compare it to something that I've seen back home: red sand in France is like PEI, the Alps are kind of like the Rockies, corn fields and cows out in their pastures remind me of back home in Ontario, specifically of my relatives and their farms. But this was something else. It must have been a combination of the large, rolling hills, the vineyards and the olive groves. I have pictures, but they hardly capture the countryside or our enjoyment of it all. They'll have to do, though. Oh, and we played Settlers. ;)
The vineyards and olive groves.
This is us in front of a castle (just in case you didn't get that by looking at it).
It was still somewhat foggy/hazy while we were touring around and that just added to the beauty of the whole area.
On the Wednesday we took a short trip out to Siena. For starters, the country bus system in this part of Italy is a disaster, but I won't go into all that now. We got where we needed to, so it's all good. It was a beautiful day and we found ourselves wandering through the largest outside market that we've ever seen. We ate lunch at a restaurant on the outskirts of the famous slanted town square and we did so without our coats on because it was so incredibly beautiful out. We enjoyed some gelato for dessert. yum. We played Settlers at night (catching a pattern?).
Dad's photo creativity. This is me, the Siena square and the city hall tower.
Dad & I waiting for Mom with the square & town hall behind us.
The person closest to the camera is me sitting in the square eating my gelato. yum.
Thursday was probably my favourite day of the trip. The weather was once again absolutely beautiful (note: beautiful = approximately 15 degrees and sunny) and we happened on what has become my favourite town: San Gimignano. We planned on going there, but we didn't know we would love it as much as we did! Let me sing some of its praises. It was small. It was not super touristy. It was super old with very cool and differing architecture everywhere. It had old towers. There was a little market. It sat in the middle of beautiful countryside. I could maybe go on, but I won't. Suffice it to say that it was beautiful, different, intriguing and just a fabulous little day trip.
These are a couple of the towers in the city.
There used to be something like 72 towers present and now there are 14. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/550
Dad and I climbed the one tower that you're allowed to climb.
These are the same towers as the previous picture, just now you see them from above. :)
A view of part of the city from a hole in the wall of the tower that Dad & I climbed.
I liked the different colours & heights of the buildings.
A view of the city from much further away, taken on the bus.
Friday we took a "day off" to relax, enjoy the sun at the B&B because it was another beautiful day, or in my case, to lay in bed for the morning telling my body to get better soon. We had a lovely home-made pizza dinner from the B&B lady who made it in her outside wood-burning pizza oven. Yum. We played more Settlers. Didn't see that one coming, did you? haha.
The B&B owners had a 9-month old puppy.
He was very playful but slowed down for you if you were ready to pet him. :)
On Saturday morning we started the trek back to Paris, stopping in Milan for a couple hours along the way. In Milan we saw the Duomo, an impressive structure. We then sat on the train for another number of hours until we finally arrived in Paris. On Sunday I took them to the church that I attend here in Paris so they could see where I am each Sunday and so I could introduce them to friends there and vice versa. We saw the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon.
Yes, we were there.
Monday I had to go find out if I passed my courses (which I did) and to pick up my hat & gown for the graduation ceremony that was happening on Saturday. We walked through a little of the Montparnasse cemetery which is smaller than Père Lachaise, but interesting in the same way. Then we headed to the Bois de Vincennes to check out the castle there, wandered a little into the park area, sat and enjoyed the sun for a bit, and wandered back into Paris to find some supper. Then we played one more game of Settlers. After that it was about bed time, so we said goodbye and I went back to the residence. Mom & Dad left very early on Tuesday morning to go to the airport and have now been home for just a little over a week.
Château de Vincennes
The rest of the time I've spent getting ready for classes, registering for courses, spending time with people and doing not a lot of anything. On Saturday we had our graduation ceremony. Yes, we graduated from a one-semester program. We even get to keep the gowns and the hats. Hooray. ;) We both did well and we're on to this next semester. I have the prof that Erica had last semester. She is a difficult prof who likes to challenge people but she is also brilliant and I have found her quite humorous so far. So we'll see what this semester brings us. It's odd to think about, but my friends back home at Redeemer have Reading Break next week as I finally begin my courses in full force next week. Such is life.
Erica & I after graduating.
3 and a half months.
Blessings,
~Lynette
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