August 6, 2009
Hello Spider Diaries readers. I am now safely home from my summer abroad. In case you didn’t know, I have spent five weeks were spent studying in Spain and then I backpacked nine Western European countries for another six weeks. So, I did so much that it’s hard to compress everything into one blog, but I’ll give you the highlights and then a semi-quick picture recap of my travels. So, here it goes.
- Riding on the “most terrifying cable car ride in the world” in Chamonix, France
- Hiking near Mont Blanc and visiting some of the highest points in Europe
- Visiting Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery in Normandy, France
- Seeing the “Mona Lisa”, Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi’s Code at the Louvre
- Watching the sunset over Paris from the Basilica de Sacre Coeur
- Seeing the Anne Frank House with her original diary and bookcase gateway
- Wandering the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
- Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp outside of Munich, Germany
- Doing a Beer Crawl in Munich and visiting some of the world’s largest beer gardens
- Visiting the pool where Mark Spitz won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics
- Wandering some of the best Christmas villages in the world in Rothenburg
- Seeing a home whose foundations date back to 980 AD
- Going canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland
- Hiking the Swiss Alps for an entire day
- Going on a “Sound of Music” tour in Salzburg, Austria
- Visiting the “Eagles Nest” which was Hitler’s home and the last prize in World War II
- Seeing the Stephansdom Cathedral in Vienna, Austria
- Watching gondolas pass underneath the Rialto Bridge at sunset in Venice, Italy
- Visiting the island of Murano, which is famous for its glass works
- Wandering around St. Mark’s Square with the pigeons at sunset in Venice
- Seeing Michelangelo’s “David” and also the cathedral “Il Duomo” in Florence, Italy
- Visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Hiking the trails of Cinque Terre on the western coast of Italy for a whole day
- Cliff jumping off the cliffs of Manarola in the Medditeranean Sea by Cinque Terre
- Seeing the amazing sights of the Tuscan countryside and tasting its fantastic food
- Going on a pub crawl in Rome
- Seeing the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Square
- Visiting the marvels of the ancient Coliseum, Pantheon, and Roman ruins
- Seeing the chains that bound St. Peter during his imprisonment 2,000 years ago
- Taking a ferry across the Adriatic Sea and watching the sunrise over Corfu
- Eating cookies and candy all day while watching movies at my Athens hotel
- Lying on a beach all day on the Grecian island of Santorini
- Wandering the beautiful city of Oia with its blue domes and pure white buildings
- Visiting the volcano with the largest eruption in recorded history
- Watching the world-famous sunset over the sea from the city of Oia
- Eating five gyros over the course of two days while in Greece
- Cruising the islands around Santorini in a traditional sailing vessel
- COMING HOME TO SEE ALL OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Since they say that pictures are worth a thousand words, here is a photo-documentary of my trip. Enjoy 
Hiking near Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France
The ascent to the “most terrifying cable car ride in the world”
Visiting Utah Beach in Normandy
The American Cemetery in Normandy
The Catacombs in Paris
The Louvre at night
The canals and bikes of Amsterdam
The Anne Frank house and the entrance to her annex
The famous beer gardens of Munich, Germany
The pool from the 1972 Olympic Games where Mark Spitz
won his seven gold medals in Munich
The old-fashioned city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland
Hiking the Swiss Alps… a very exhausting task
A view of the Swiss Alps
The gazebo from the song “16 Going on 17″ from “The Sound of Music”
The hills are alive with the sound of music… in Salzburg, Austria
The Eagles Nest, Hitler’s home and the last prize in WWII
A friendly passenger from my train to Vienna
The Stephensdom Cathedral from Vienna, Austria
The famous gondolas of Venice, Italy
St. Marks Square in Venice, Italy
The town surrounding El Duomo in Florence, Italy
Michelangelo’s “David”
It is definitely a leaning tower
The village of Vernazza on Cinque Terre on the western coast of Italy
Overlooking the Tuscan countryside in San Gimignano, Italy
Visiting the Vatican
The chains which bound St. Peter during his imprisonment
The historic Coliseum in Rome
The Roman ruins dating back to 700 BC
The Trevi Fountain in Rome
The distinctive look of Santorini, Greece
Standing in front of the volcano with the
largest eruption in recorded history
Cruising the seas around Santorini, Greece
Ending the trip with the world-famous sunset from the city
of Oia on the northern tip of Santorini, Greece
YouTube Video of the Week:
Is this next for me? At least I kept the same look for most of my travels.
