Dubrovnik, Hrvatska (Croatia)

Dubrovnik, also known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic", is an absolutely picturesque town. The whole city, as big of a tourist destination as it is, is rather small; on the other hand, there is very little room for Dubrovnik to grow. Bordered by one of the most beautiful portions of the Mediterranean on one side, and protected by mountains on the other, Dubrovnik has not (and need not) needed a face-lift since its days of dominating trade between Eastern & Western cultures. The old city- Grad- shows this; the only new construction inside the city walls was only because of the Balkan wars in the early 1990s. Even so, the rebuilt sections replicate the buildings which were destroyed, so the city could retain its historic nature. I got to spend a few days in Grad, which were scathingly hot (we're talking mid 90's with insane humidity), but putting up with the heat was well worth it. The city is gorgeous, the people are wonderful, and as a whole, Dubrovnik & Croatia merit a return visit at the very least. Unfortunately, I didn't make it very far inland, but rumor has it that some of the world's most beautiful lakes and waterfalls are only a few hours away. Oh well, I'll just have to visit them on my next journey to the Mediterranean!

Roma & Italy Pics 1

First off, Rome is one of the most incredible cities I have ever been to. A ton of the Roman architecture from 2000 years ago is still structurally stable today (read: stone & brick infrastructure systems are still standing and could easily be operational today), the "tourist traps" are overwhelming both in terms of the amount of people but also the amount of sheer beauty, and the important parts of the city are all within walking distance (maybe a 40 minute walk from the Colosseum to the Vatican City, which are on opposite sides). Having said that, a lot of Rome does feel "touristy", which is not the best experience for a Semester at Sea program; yes, Rome does bring locales to the table unparalleled by any other city in Europe (and rivaled by few in the world), but I honestly spoke & heard more English than I would have preferred. I would have even been happy speaking Spanish & mixing in a few Italian words with the locals, but EVERY menu & cafe had English subtitles.

As a small teaser (since I haven't uploaded my pictures from Rome yet), I'll share a couple pictures from Naples & Capri to give a glimpse into how beautiful Italy actually is. There are only a few places where I would gladly spend a month exploring (finances for hotel & food not included); touring around Italy is one of those on the list.

Barcelona Pictures!

Edit: Lack of Pictures

My apologies to everyone who was expecting more pictures. There are relatively few places where I can access wireless internet, and even fewer places where they have the bandwidth to upload pictures (no matter the size). I'll try my best in Rome over the next few days to find either a hotel lobby or something along those lines. Sorry! :(

Italy (Naples)

Rumor going around the ship (on our 1-day voyage from Barcelona to Naples) was that Naples is an incredibly dirty city. Not only was that rumor true, but it was very much an understatement- there was garbage lining nearly every street, and apparently the Italian Mafia has a hand in keeping the streets relatively dirty (which makes sense, because the Mafia tends to be strongest where there is the most chaos.

Were there any benefits to stopping in Naples? Why, of course! Not only were Mt. Vesuvius & Pompeii within an hour, but the ferry going to the gorgeous island of Capri can make the trip in less than an hour. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to Vesuvius (I did a winery tour & a 2-day trip in Capri), but regardless, I'm 100% positive that everybody who made the trip to Capri will say it was worth it. Not to rip on Naples too much, but there were only so many things to do in a port city- we visited the world's oldest aquarium, ate the original pizza (considering pizza was started in Naples), ate gelato, and walked through a castle all in an afternoon. Capri was the exact opposite of Naples, however; it was clean, scenic beyond belief, and most of all, a nice respite from the crowded life on-board the MV Explorer. We visited both the town of Capri and the 'suburb' Anacapri (a smaller version of Capri, higher up on the mountain that dominates the island), people-watched, and met more tourists & vacationers than actual locals (apparently, renting a yacht in the Marina Grande at 3,000 Euros per night is booked out months in advance).

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update in a few days with pictures of Rome- if not, I'll include those pictures when we arrive in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Welcome to Europe!

Quick update...

I'm sitting in a cafe in Barcelona, Spain, and my favorite European country is exactly how I remember: people walking down narrow streets lined with 100+ year old buildings, older generations sitting outside talking & people watching, and the intoxicating mix of tortilla espanola, smoke (unfortunately), and paella filling the air. We have a little less than four days here, which makes it vital to enjoy each and every moment where I still speak the language. Of course, Italian (next on our agenda) is similar enough where I could hopefully survive, but it's not the hectic mix of Catalan & Spanish that is found only in Barcelona.

A little about the ship: it's roughly 600 feet in length, about 1000 passengers (crew & guests), and Semester at Sea has mastered the science of occupying students during the Trans-Atlantic Voyage. Seriously- I feel like I've known my friends on the boat for at least a month, and it's been maybe a week and a half.

Anyways, I thought I would provide a few pictures of both people on the boat and the one sight we've seen so far (the Rock of Gibraltar, as we entered the Mediterranean Sea). I'll try to post some pictures of Barcelona on our last day here, but if not, see you in Naples!

Pre-Departure!

3 hours. 180 minutes, 10800 seconds. However you slice it, with each passing moment I can feel the Bahama breeze even stronger than before. There's a fine line between over-packing, being prepared, and not packing enough; I'm not even done packing half of my stuff (granted, I just started about an hour ago), but my nerves are starting to get the better of me & let me know that I might not be totally prepared for the 2 month voyage. Scary stuff. And that's just the beginning of my racing emotions, with T-minus 12 hours before I'm in Nassau. Am I excited? You bet your ass! I'm traveling around the Mediterranean with college students from all over- there's no excuse NOT to be excited! Also, one of my fraternity brothers from the University of Denver (class of '10) is not only going to be on the ship, but he's the official photographer! (if you want to follow his blog, you can find it at emeyerphoto.com/blog). So yes, I'm 100% stoked for the trip. Am I nervous? Absolutely! I only know one person who's going to be on the ship as of now, and honestly- my study habits are traditionally sub-par. Having said that, I'm going to assume that other people will be in the same boat as me (lame pun alert!), and hopefully we'll figure out how to get work done in class while still having an awesome summer!

If you've made it this far through my rambling, congratulations! I'll reward you for your reading with the main purpose of this blog, and that is... PICTURES! In case it wasn't inherently obvious, I ramble too much to consistently keep up a blog about the 66 day voyage- there would be no rhyme or reason, and while I plan on keeping a (daily?) journal, my bet is that it would not translate well to a blog. Instead, considering I pretend to be a photographer, I am hoping to a) improve my portfolio of photographs, b) improve my skill as a photographer by working with Evan Meyer, and c) tell the story of my voyage as best as I can through the art that is photography. We all know the adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words". In my case, I am hoping to write a Stephen King-worthy novel through my lens, the world around me, and the people/places/things that fill our Earth with exciting material.

Thanks for putting up with the ramblings, and if it was TL;DR, I'll quote T-Pain for you: I'M ON A BOAT!