The London Eye

It's been over a year since I've written for this blog. I figured it was about time for me to get back at it, especially because I haven't blogged about any of the locations I visited in the summer of 2012. Before long, I will have traveled back to Europe and needing to blog about even newer destinations. This summer's locations are many of the same places I traveled to in 2011, so Greece will be one of the main features of the blog entries from this summer.

In the meantime, I will start with the London Eye, something I experienced in the summer of 2012.

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel located on the banks of the River Thames in London, England. The entire structure is 443 feet tall, and the wheel has a diameter of 394 feet. It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom. Over 3.5 million people annually visit the London Eye.

Venice, Italy

One of the prettiest places we visited during the summer of 2011 was Venice, Italy. Truly, I enjoyed Venice. We took a tour of the city, and then we had "free time" to venture out into the city in our groups. At one point, I remember sitting at a table eating an Italian sandwich thinking, "I'm in Venice, Italy!" Wow. It's impressive.

Venice is a city in northeast Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It's also known for Murano glass. There are no vehicles in Venice; that's an interesting thing to see in itself!

Venice is also known at the "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". It's also been described in the New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man".

The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. It was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades, as well as a very important center of commerce and are in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Who wouldn't want to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa? The tower is famous enough in itself that a visit to Pisa is worth it, JUST to visit the tower. Really, that's all that is there. Pisa is more of a tourist destination that doesn't quite live up to its hype, however, I'm so glad I was able to see it.

I actually really enjoyed the "shopping" that went along with visiting Pisa. You can buy just about anything from the street vendors that surround it. I ended up buying a purse, keychains, magnets, postcards, and I bought Dad a golf polo while I was there, too.

The tower is something you see and will remember forever. Some were even able to pay money to go up inside the tower, but we didn't have enough time to do that.

The Tower of Pisa is a freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The height of the tower is 183.27 feet from the ground on the low side and 186.02 feet on the high side. The tower has 296 steps or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.

On the day of our visit, the sky was a perfect blue. None of my pictures were altered in any way. Some of my favorite pictures from the summer of 2011 were from Pisa. Absolutely beautiful!

This is a picture of all the vendors surrounding the cathedral, tower, etc. There's even more vendors outside of this area, as you walk to the tower.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Strasbourg, France: One of the amazing buildings we were able to see in Europe was the Strasbourg Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg. This cathedral's construction took place from 1176 to 1439.

It is considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture. At 466 feet, it was the world's tallest building from 1647-1874. Today it is the sixth-tallest church in the world.

Victor Hugo described it as a "gigantic and delicate marvel." The cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine.

The Famous Eiffel Tower

For those of you who know me, you know that I'm not a fan of heights. I don't like to fly. I don't like roller coasters, and I definitely don't like the top of the Eiffel Tower. Well, on this trip, I didn't have much choice going to the top because I had a group of students with me, who were also needing to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately for me, I HAD to go to the top. And, wow, what a view!

These two pictures are from the view from the top. I carefully snapped a few pictures before heading back down to the ground.

Even the trash containers contained the image of the famous Eiffel Tower. (You can't go anywhere in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower images all around.)

Security is tight here. Bags are checked. Police presence is known.

I bought Eiffel Tower keychains (6 keychains for 1 Euro), Mom's tote, and Amy's miniature Eiffel Tower from the Africans who stood around, hoping for the business of the tourists.

On our last day in Paris, we stopped by this spot. It's the best spot in Paris to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Now, when I look at people's travel pictures, I recognize this very spot!

History of the Eiffel Tower
My Eiffel Tower history was little to none before this trip. Since then, I've been told and discovered many interesting facts.

• It was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889, commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution.
• Gustave Eiffel is its designer/creator.
• It took 300 steel workers and 2 years to construct it.
• It has...15,000 iron pieces, 40 tons of paint....and 1,652 steps to the top

The tower was almost torn down in 1909 because many Parisians thought it was an eye-sore. It was saved because of its antenna used both for military and other purposes, and the city let it stand after the permit expired. When the tower played an important role in capturing the infamous spy Mata Hari during World War I, it gained such importance to the French people that there was no more thought of demolishing it. 

Volterra, Italy

Of all the places I went to this summer, Tuscany was by far my favorite. Of course, saying a province is my favorite rather than one city feels a little like cheating. I didn't know Tuscany was a province before my trip; I knew it was in Italy, but that was about it. The places in Tuscany where I toured were Volterra, Florence, and Pisa.

My favorite above all was Volterra. Take a look at my pictures. How could this NOT be a favorite? Now Volterra is known for its bad vampires, thanks to the Twilight series. That made it entertaining to hear the connections to the book, but there was so much more! It didn't feel like a typical tourist site. The town felt small, and it felt like you were in Italy surrounded by Italians. Other places just felt like you were touring with other tourists. See the distinction?

Do you want to save Edward (New Moon)? Well, this is the location where Bella saved him. Too bad she got to him before we did!

The above pictures are from a site discovered about 60 years ago. It appears to have been a theater. As you can see from the pictures, they were unable to keep digging because the city walls are up against it. It was amazing to see the layers of history in Volterra.

After finishing a city tour, it was time for lunch. We got quite a surprise when the owner of the restaurant took us below and chained the entrance. He left us with the Volturean vampires. Unfortunately for me, I was the chosen one, as I had to lie on the table. One bit me, but once the theatrics were over, we got to take pictures with them. We eventually enjoyed lunch! I'm glad I wasn't lunch, too!

Our hotel

The view from my hotel room

Our tour guide pointed to the entrance of Volterra. This arch was saved by the people of Volterra when it was planned by the Army to blow it up during World War 2.

The Roman Colosseum

Of all the historical landmarkers we visited on our trip, the Colosseum was the first, and the most impressive. (It was also the one I was most excited for!)

While we first arrived in Rome, we got on our coach bus and began to tour immediately. We didn't start with the Colosseum, but we did see it early in the morning. When seeing it for the first time, you can't help but be in awe.

This is the first view I got of the Colosseum. (I was sitting in the front seat of the bus, so you can see part of the rear-view mirror to the right of this picture.)

Here are some facts about the Colosseum:

• The construction of the Colosseum began in AD 72. It was completed in AD 80.
• It was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, and was the largest building of the era.

• The Colosseum could accommodate some 55,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances.
• Above ground, there are four levels. The upper level was for lower class and women. The lowest level was reserved for prominent citizens.
• Below the ground were rooms with mechanical devices and cages containing wild animals. The cages could be hoisted, enabling the animals to appear in the middle of the arena.

• The Colosseum was covered with an enormous awning known as the velarium. This protected the spectators from the sun. It as attached to large poles on the top Colosseum and anchored to the ground by large ropes.
• Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Those games were a symbol of prestige and power and tehy were a way for an emperor to increase his popularity.

• Games were held for a whole day or even several days in a row. They usually started with comical acts and displays of exotic animals and ended with fights to the death between animals and gladiators or between gladiators. These fights were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Sometimes free Romans and even Emperors took part in the action.

• Animals were brought in from every corner of the Roman empire to be put on display or fought and killed in the arena, including bears, zebras, hippos, lions, rhinoceros, hyenas, tigers, ostriches, and many other wild and exotic species.

(The above picture is of the original marble used in the construction of the Colosseum. Prior to the looting, damage from neglect, destruction, earthquakes, etc., when the Colosseum was in its prime, it was covered in the marble you see above.)
• The southern side of the Colosseum was felled by an earthquake in 847. Parts of the building - including the marble facade - were used for the construction of later monuments, including the St. Peter's Basilica.
• Another earthquake in 1826 nearly finished the job started from previous earthquakes, so engineers erected several buttresses to keep the walls from collapsing.
• By the 18th century, the Colosseum had become overgrown with so many different types of plants that botanists from all over Europe came to write about it. An excavation undertaken in 1870 unearthed a number of underground passages, but a side effect was that it uprooted most of the plant life in the building. Many inscriptions were found, including a large number which established who had reserved seating in the theater, confirming that proximity to the floor of the arena was based on social status.
• Before and during the Second World War, Mussolini held rallies in the Colosseum. After WWII, excavations were continued in the Colosseum. Archaeologists found human skeletons and the skull of a bear which had been pierced by the sword of a gladiator.
• In 2003, a stage was built in the Colosseum which covers part of the underground sections of the building.

One of the interesting facts our tour guide told us about was the "thumbs up and thumbs down" signs. Gladiators at the Colosseum who acknowledged defeat could request the fight to be stopped. The gladiator would signal his request by raising his finger, or his hand and arm. The crowd's response was taken into consideration in deciding whether to let the loser live or order the victor to kill him. With thumb up, it meant that the gladiator would live, a "thumbs turned to the side" NOT down, meant he would die.