arrived in paris, and met a french speaking friend on the plane
first meal - baguette with camembert
notredame
sameer in front of the opera house
i think you can see our reflection
the beginning of crazy photos in front of stuff
at the base of the arc
to the tour eiffel!
from the top
louvre
inside the louvre
it's overrated
david and goliath
300!
croque monsieur and an espresso
played mellow music at the base of the stairway
montmartre
getting chocolate crepes
when in paris, try to figure out how to solve the game on kuo-bao's camera
with yushing and christoph, two of kuo-bao's friends from taiwan
those gold people are freaky
creme brulee
a litre of mussels.... each!
in dieppe
the shores of dieppe
market in morocco
the medinas in which you cannot breath nor find your way out
taxi queue
chicken in an almond sauce
tajine
couscous
market bbq
some japanese tv crew was making a segment about pig heads
tasty desserts in morocco
marrakesh at night
the beginning of our 3 day/2 night tour into central morocco
high atlas mountains
ourzazat, city nearby the studio where they filmed gladiator
dades valley, note the strange rock formations on the mountainside
i was really amazed at how well organized this convenience store
after each meal, we konked out as soon as we got back in the van
lots of driving
lush vegetation in the midst of barren lands
local berber rug producers
i got a rug
todra gorges
you can see bolts for climbing
nam, the 9 yr old mexican boy on our tour... he was very free spirited
camel-riding in the sahara
our camel tour guide
we're in the sahara!
at sunset on the peak of the dunes
some late night drunken entertainment... hassan, the one on the right, was a riot
sunrise
the iron ring in the dune
andrew in the distance
more lush vegetation wherever the river flows through
7 of us were crammed into one slightly bigger than that for 7 hours
fes medinas
there are tons of cats roaming around the medinas... we didn't know if they were stray or owned
nouveau district in fes... a lot nicer than the old city
umm
welcome to spain
1/3 of the trip done... felt like a really long time, but the rest of the trip went much faster
the streets in seville were such a contrast to the labyrinth in morocco
segway train
andrew filming a documentary of the berber sameer
interesting...
some detailed work on a landmark which i forgot
also interesting...
paella... later we found out that it was premade
during siesta hours, the bodegas (tapas bars) are packed
leaving the shops closed and the streets empty
the beauty of seville
and a light rail system that is phenomenal
free flamenco show at a bar that didn't end up being that great... we saw a MUCH better one for 12 euros the next night at a more intimate setting
some free spanish music
tapas at the bodega
the place was packed. we just pointed at stuff and the guy just gave us food and wrote down a price... he kinda seemed out-of-it the whole time
mechanics of the bell tower
view from the cathedral in seville
picture into a mirror in the cathedral
kuo-bao in the alcazar gardens
toro
the matador at work
it gets very gruesome, and they killed 6 bulls that night. after the first few, it gets boring
a chinese restaurant in every city... we started to mock how it might be pronounced and for some reason, we sounded constipated
la alhambra in granada
very intricate muslim architecture
granada view
the fortress in alhambra
welcome to barcelona... columbus monument
la rambla
the headless man, and mr.potato head in la rambla
farmer's market
one of gaudi's crazy designs. what was gaudi on when he did this?
or better yet, what was the city on when they said yes to his design?
not uno but dos pollo... sameer's a happy boy
sagrada familia, gaudi's masterpiece that's a 100 years in construction and still being built
the door to sagrada
pillars that were inspired by trees
spiral staircase inspired by sea shells
onward to gaudi's park... reminded me of HK's midlevel escalators
that's a steep slope
sagrada from a distance
more gaudi
hansel and gretal... or more gaudi
we've been waiting for this the whole trip
more live creatures on the la rambla... the workmanship of costume design is remarkable
train that stops on an angle at the top, so it's slants to start
barcelona, the port city
an international vball tournament coming 2 days after we leave... boo
fountain show... overrated
i love seafood
welcome to italy
venice by night
the food heaven is just beginning
the next pisa pictures began having to do with the leaning tower, and then it degenerated into nothing to do with the leaning tower
and that's not all... my friends took much more pictures!
we had gelato in spain, but true gelato comes from italy... and the quest begins for the best gelato in the world
strange pigeon
cycling in lucca
it was very pleasant and felt as if we slowed our pace once again from the busyness in barcelona
6 scoops in lucca!
david replica... why pay to see the real thing
florence
that my friend, is a smart car
there was a teen muchmusic-like concert and this was parked in the area
then we saw this a few moments later
detailing on the architecture keeps astounding me
we were invited to a end-of-term campus fellowship potluck and had homemade tuscan food, played some foosball, and listened to the IFES staff worker speak about Jesus on campus
a bit late on booking our train, so we took a pricier eurostar train to naples... it was nice to experience once
pompei... the city that was covered in ash when mt.vesuvius erupted in 73AD
humps in the road for people to walk over when flooding occurs
ovens
bathhouse
it's amazing how this civilization existed over 2000 years ago
bodies that were fossilized from the ash
dog fossilized
there's quite a bit of anguish and most bodies are shielding their faces or their young ones from the inevitable death... what a sad way to go.
the best pizza place in naples, home to pizza, and thus the best in the world?
wood-fired
and nothing goes better with pizza than a bottle of coke
only two kinds are made... the margherita
or the marinera
ohh... wood-fired!
the dough is laid out in 30 secs... toppings in 10 secs... baked in 50 secs! total time from order to on your plate in about a minute and half...
mt.vesuvius
herculanium, another city that was buried under ash
giant pinecones
ercolano station
kuo-bao dumped water on andrew's crotch... he's plotting revenge
the vatican
on the way to the sistine chapel
ridiculous works
swiss guards
basilica di sant pietre
a quote from the colliseum
the inside wasn't as nice as the outside
the forum
the lone tree on palatino
and now the next few pictures show the fight scene...
mr. potato head reigns champion
colliseum... we all wanted to watch gladiator right after
pantheon
the ceiling has a hole in it, so when it rains, it comes right through the centre
and drains through holes in the floor
our final dinner... go all out
goodbye europe
