Pisa and Venice

Before leaving for Venice, we decided to go to Pisa to see the leaning tower of Pisa. Since Pisa is not exactly on the way from Florence to Venice, we had to buy an additional round trip ticket to go to Pisa before continuing to Venice. Our visit to the city of Pisa was a brief one, which lasted for merely an hour plus. Hence, we didn’t get the chance to enter the structure, and we did nothing but doing stupid poses outside the building (which took us quite a while).

We spent only one night in Venice, the city known for its canals (wiki time: Venice is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon, and the islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges). Since the weather was cold and moods were not as high as they were during the first few days, we did not cover a lot of places. Among the places we covered in Venice are as followed: Piazza San Marco, St Mark's Basilica, Ponte dei Sospiri and a church which I don’t recall the name. Regrettably we did not go for the gondola experience, since it was too cold at that time. We did use the water taxi a lot though, since we paid for the pass :)

Amazing reflection (on our way to Pisa tower in Pisa)

Pisa tower

Doing the tourist thing....

Piazza San Marco from afar

Ponte dei Sospiri

Piazza San Marco (famous for the countless Venetian pigeons)

Florence

In Florence, after the fateful night having the ravioli, I did not feel very well for quite a while. In fact, that sickness last till the very last day of the trip, exacerbated by a French dinner in Paris (another story). Nevertheless I managed to have some fun immersing myself in Florence. Florence is small but extremely picturesque. We visited the monstrous Duomo (according to Wikipedia, 600 years after its completion, the dome is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world), Piazza della Signoria, Accademia de’ll Arte del Disegno which houses the most renowned statue in the world, Michelangelo’s David (visited the same day as the Ravioli day), the unique Ponte Vecchio famous for having shops built along it, and Piazzale Michelangelo which offers an unparallel view of Florence due to its distance and elevation.

The monstrous Duomo

View from the overlook of duomo

Main entrance of the huge structure

Ponte Vecchio

View from the bridge

View from the bridge 2

Magnificent view from Piazzale Michelangelo

Arriving Florence

We left Rome early in the morning after checking out from the Roma Hostel. Due to reasons that I have already forgotten, we got on the train kind of last minute. To my pleasant surprise, the seats we got were those coach seats arranged in cubicles, not unlike those depicted in the Harry Potter series. The only disadvantage of this seating was that the ventilation was not good in those cubicles, and it was not even a detectable shortcoming until a passenger with the most nauseating body odor came in and join our cube. The unspeakable stench unfortunately reminded me of fish porridge, and that horrifying association stuck in my mind for quite a while for the rest of the day. I almost passed out there, and pitied Ren Jie a lot cause he was seated just right next to that guy. He demonstrated outstanding strength though, unflinching even as I thought I was going to die of suffocation.

When we reached Florence, it took us quite some time to find our hotel, the San Lorenzo Hotel. The owner was a friendly guy, but we were asked to wait for a while as the room was not ready yet. When it was finally ready, we were quite satisfied as after 4 days of sharing room with strangers, we finally got our own room. It was a small attic-like room though, but we couldn't care much.

We ventured out to the town center later, doing just some light walking and sight-seeings. The most famous landmark of the town, the Duomo left me speechless yet another time. It was not awe inspiring in the same way that the St Peter's Basilica did; it was in fact frightening as the monstrous eerie-looking structure practically blocked out the sky and cast ominous shadows over the whole town. I had that feeling probably because of the lighting of that day; it was then turning dark.

That night we decided to try some fine food, after days of shamelessly shoving cheap calories into our systems. We stopped at this cafe-like restaurant, and I treated myself a dish of ravioli with seafood and mushroom and a glass of red wine. For desert, I got myself another pistachio flavored gelato. The ravioli tasted excellent, but little did I know I was about to suffer for days because of that sinful treat. It was what I thought to be the cause of my few-days-lasting diarrhea. I went to bed that night feeling satisfied, oblivious of the trouble lying ahead me.
Tasty, and highly recommended for those who have severe constipation...

Rome (pt 2)

Day 4

As this is our last day in Rome, we tried to cover as many places as we could. Again, we took Linea A to our destination, which was a stop before Ottaviano. From there we walked to the Palazzo di Giustizia, which now houses the court houses. We then proceeded to Castel Sant’ Angelo, another famous spot in Rome featured in Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. Due to time constraint, we did not go into the castle. Instead, we walked across the river to the other side of Rome using the Ponte Sant’ Angelo, a pedestrian bridge decorated with angels.

Our journey for the later of the day covers: Piazza Navona – Pantheon – S. Ignazio di Coyola – Piazza di Spagna – Piazza del Popolo – Santa Maria Maggiore – Isola – Colosseo. Yes, we went to the Colosseum again just to view it at night. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted but looking forward to continuing our journey to Pisa and Florence.

Castel Sant’ Angelo

Ponte Sant’ Angelo

Castel Sant’ Angelo from Ponte Sant’ Angelo

Pantheon

Spanish steps (the obelisk was under restoration work...)

Inside Santa Maria Maggiore

Colosseum at night

Vatican City

Day 3

We started the day off quite early,taking Linea A to the Ottaviano station from Termini. Our focus for the day’s trip is the Vatican City, basically a city state in Rome. The line to Museo Vaticano, which houses the famous Sistine Chapel was insanely long, so we figured we should do the St. Peter’s Basilica first. We entered from the left arm (as the columns that surrounded the elliptical center of piazza were deemed “the maternal arms of Mother Church”), and was immediately dumbstruck by the magnitude of the architectural site. The sky was crystal blue, and the whole Piazza San Pietro and the Basilica looked magnificent coated in the warm rays of the sun. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be in this center of the catholic universe.

The interior of the St Peter’s Basilica was simply breathtaking, and one could only imagine the amount of effort and resources that had been poured into building this wonder. From this point onwards, not many churches could solicit more “wows” from us, since we had already seen one of the greatest.

We proceeded to visit the Museo Vaticano, only to discover the line was not any shorter than what we had seen earlier. In fact, it was a whole lot longer than what we expected. We spent a good hour waiting in the line, doing nothing much but chatting and trying to fight the cold. When we finally entered the museum, we were dazzled by the seemingly never-ending halls saturated with artworks and treasures of inestimable value. As impressive as they were, they could only pale in comparison to the legendary ceiling by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel (at least that’s what we are made to believe, I don’t really see how much better that ceiling is compared to the others, since I’m no art major). It was strictly prohibited to take photos in the chapel, but well, those excited tourists did not quite have the mood to adhere to the rule; flashes can be seen frequently despite angry warnings from the officers there.

Once we emerged from the historic maze, we soon found ourselves back in St Peter’s Basilica, albeit in a different level. We decided to do the unthinkable – to climb the stairs up to the dome, with my stupid laptop bag which started to seem more and more like the Ring in Lord of the Rings. All our efforts were eventually paid off though, as we got the chance to view the entire Rome from the top of the dome.

We started heading back to our hostel, but not before visiting a couple more places: Fontana di Trevi (yes, again to see the night view)– Quirinale – San Cario Quattro Fontane. Needless to say, it was a tiring day, and I got my first gelato in Rome (pistachio flavor) to reward my heroic display for not passing out in the middle of the trip :P

Group photo in front of the basilica

San Pietro Piazza behind

Hallelujah!!!

Close up view (not of me, of the altar or whatever that is)

One of those insane ceilings

View of the square from the top of the dome

Rome (pt 1)

Day 1

We reached Rome Ciampiano Airport at about 5pm. After retrieving our checked in baggage, we boarded a bus which took us to Agnagnina, the nearest Metro subway station. From there we went to Termini, which is the transportation hub of Rome. The subway system in Rome is worse than New York’s; not only is it dirty, it actually stinks. Once we reached Termini, we followed the instructions given by the hostel’s website and boarded bus 310 to our hostel. Unfortunately for us, we alighted from the bus too early and ended up having to walk to our hostel in the dark. Luckily we managed to somehow find the hostel. To our relief, to receptionist speaks English, and we were promptly checked in even though we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our dues. We were assigned to a 6 bedroom room with a French couple already occupying two of the beds.

Once we had everything settled down, we headed out again to Termini for dinner. The food there was quite cheap, we had kebab for less than 3 euros. Since the night was still young, we went to Piazza de Repubblica, which is within walking distance from Termini. There is an impressive looking fountain right at the center of the piazza, and the Santa Maria degli Angeli is just right opposite the fountain. Since everything was already closed, we just took a couple of photos before going back to our hostel.

Day 2

We had breakfast provided by the hostel, which was really nothing much but bread and cereal. From Termini, we took Linea B to the Colosseo stop, which was right in front of the Colosseum. I was left without words when I first saw the colossal Colosseo; I actually could not believe that I was there, standing in front of the magnificent building that I’ve seen so many times in postcards or pictures. The line towards the entrance was long, but I couldn’t complain as I needed the time to let the fact set in: I’m in Rome!!!

After Colosseum, we went to the nearby Palatino and Forum Romanum, which was basically a vast site of what used to be the central area of ancient Rome. One could only imagine how majestic the ancient city would look like standing there surrounded by those gigantic slabs of marbles, huge columns and arcs, and ruins of once imposing structures.

We proceeded to the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, a monstrous monument dedicated to the first king who of a unified Italy. From there we went to the first grand church of many more to come – the Ara Coeli. Again I was awestruck as it was the first time that I observed such opulence in a catholic church; the interior was basically splattered with ornaments, paintings, and sculptures that could leave any casual observer dizzy and humbled. Since this was the first church of all in our trip, we were quite appreciative of the architecture and all, but eventually that feeling turned into a dreaded sense of déjà-vu. Ask Shermern about it, who in the end wouldn’t even want to enter anything vaguely resembling a catholic church.

As night falls, we made our way to probably the most famous fountain in the world: Fontana di Trevi. The fountain was so packed with tourists, presumably not to admire the art behind the fountain but to perform the famous coin-throwing ritual. I did my part to contribute to the estimated 3000 euros thrown into the fountain daily.

Places that we have visited the same day includes:

Palatino – Circo Massimo – Arco di Giano – Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II – Ara Coeli – Foro Traiano – Fontana di Trevi – Fontana del Tritone

Somebody said this looked fake :(

Overlooking the Colosseum from the Palatine Hill

The Roman Forum

What a waste....they're renovating the facade!!!

Fontana di Trevi

(More to come, stay tuned...)

Winter 2008

Suddenly it's already 2008, and as much as I do not like to believe it, I'm turning 23 is just a mere three months. Since my blogging has already halted for quite a while, let me start from where I left.

There was a winter storm in mid December which brought about a tremendous amount of snow accumulation. Since I was not in my mood to study for my finals (it was the finals study week), I took some photos of the surrounding of my apartment before the scene turned unsightly due to man-made disruptions (snowplower, snow-angle makers etc). This is one of the better photos:



Compare and contrast that to another photo which I've taken less than two months ago:

Interesting huh? Makes us appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature...

Volleyball Championship

If it’s not because of the game, Chrysler Arena would still only be a name for me. I had only recently found out that the sports building next to the last stop of the Southbound Commuter houses a multipurpose court, which is the home for both our basketball and volleyball team (though I might have subconsciously knew this all the while).

I watched the game which Michigan played Miami. Just like other sports, we had our band playing at the side of the court, with the cheerleading group cheering in front of them. Surprisingly, Miami had its own band stationed at the opposite too, and they even had an eagle like mascot. Although I had absolutely no idea how good we were, we played pretty well that day, beating Miami in 3 straight sets. I supposed that we should be not bad at all, judging from the performance. In my very very humble opinion, this match was much more enjoyable than the football match (first of all, we won, and plus, we could sit :D)


Volleyball Championship


Cheerleading team


Our girls in action...

The Michigan Experience

Big House!!!

My Michigan experience would not be complete without having cheered alongside with a 100000-strong crowd in the Big House. Hence, although I’m not a very avid fan of football (still think that soccer beats it), I attended the Michigan-Oregon game, the 2nd game of our season.

The crowd was huge, and the people swarm into the stadium in all directions, particularly from the South State Street. The frats of course could not possibly give up this chance to be rowdy; shouts and cheers came incessantly from the frat houses along the street. Most of the students wore yellow, one of the official colors of our school.

That day we got in quite late, hence the stadium was already quite full. It was simply amazing to see one tenth of a million people all packed in the bowl. That’s about 90% of the population of Ann Arbor, if I’m not mistaken. Though we cheered and cheered, Michigan lost that day, and it was an ugly loss. We got trashed 39-7, and that was after what deemed to be the biggest upset in the history of college football, in which we lost to Appalachian State home a week earlier. As a side-note, Michigan did pretty well after that (not good enough though), and managed to get into the Capital Bowl for the post-season.


Walking to the stadium


Michigan Band playing


Final score. Embarassing...

Killing my limited time

Well I'm supposed to study now...MFE is just like one+ week away. But here I am typing this post...which I don't even know what to write. Just feel like killing some time I guess. Maybe I should give myself some encouraging words here...GANBATTE!!!

Let me post some of my apartment and surroundings picture here:

My room


Northwood view


Murfin 1670


Autumn in my heart....(*vomits)

Fall

It's already halfway through the semester. Too immersed in my everyday life, I failed to notice that the leaves were changing colors. Suddenly, the town has turned to a yellow arbor; and the relentless winter is already lurking around the corner, its tentacles menaces with increasing aggression.

Fall is delightful when there is a blue sky above, when trees fight to flaunt the loudest shade of orange, when the whole forest seemed to be engulf in a furious inferno, and when the earth is carpeted with crispy leaves that appeared to be the reflection of the flaming canopy above.

That is the prime of fall, a period which is transient however. As fragile as every good thing in the world is, the picture falls apart with the first wave of cold air. As more and more leaves fall, the scene becomes increasingly obscene; dried up brownish foliages dot the baring branches, accompanied by the hopeless twigs that dangle stubbornly on them. The sky becomes moody most of the time, with clouds of despair coating the land, neither ominously nor promisingly. It is as if that time is confused, and does not quite know where to go.

The tension will ultimately be resolved by the first flake of snow. But before that, the apparent dullness continues to mask the underlying restlessness and yearning for a change.

Fantaghiro - The Cave Of The Golden Rose

It seems like ages since I watched this show back in Malaysia. Although I don't quite remember the storyline now, it was definitely my favorite show at that time. The ending song is still one of the most beautiful song that I have ever listened to..

Fall 2007

This semester isn't as easy as I had imagined. I figured with all the core classes taken, this would be a semester for some fun classes and just enjoy life...well, while it is true that I'm taking mostly freshmen classes, the challenges that this semester poses are not significantly less than those of last semester.

Right now I'm taking 16 credit hours and working 16 hours every week. The classes that I'm taking are as followed:

Dance 101 - Intro to Modern Dance
AsianLan 125 - Elementary Japanese
Musicology 121 - Intro to the Art of Music
Econ 424 - International Finance
Math 423 - Financial Math

The working hours are less, so as the number of jobs too. Instead of working 4 jobs (tutor, proctor, grader, librarian), I'm down to only proctoring this semester. Aside from working and classes, now that I'm staying in Northwood apartments, I've to spend quite a portion of time dealing with food (buying them, preparing them, washing up etc). Cooking is not as easy and as cool as it seems, it could be quite an onerous task. That's not always the case though, as occasionally it was fun and rewarding.

On top of that, I'm taking MFE, the third SOA paper this November. Progress isn't good so far, but will try my best (let's see lol) to get myself ready for the exam. As usual, this semester will be the battle of me versus my procrastinating self. Hope the positive side will prevail...

New England trip

So this is the first proper post in a very long time...let's start with where I left. I mentioned that I went to New England for a one week-plus vacation. In terms of sceneries and novelty, the New England experience paled in comparison to most of my other trips (well this is not surprising since this is already my fourth year in US..I need to venture out this country now!!!). Company was excellent though, and such made the holiday enjoyable.

We visited a total of 4 states, namely Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. We landed in Boston, a typical USA city with supposedly rich history and culture. It didn't appear so, possibly attributable to the length of time we stayed there. We managed to set foot in Harvard though, the Michigan of the east (lol). Aside from that, among the highlights in Boston were the Duck tour (in an amphibious vehicle) and dinners in Penang.

After Boston, we went to the Acadia National Park. As the introduction video put it so well, the park does not serve to impress people with its views; there's no place for superlatives in the area. It offers space for contemplation and solitude though, and such reward is attainable only if honest effort is paid. (reads there's nothing really special here) Somehow the Acadia National Park reminds me of the Jeju Island in Korea, as it too boasts different sorts of coastline features and views.

In New Hampshire, we stopped by the White Mountain National Forest area, and we did some sightseeing in Rhode Island. Due to time restriction, we could only choose one between the Nantucket Island and the Martha vineyard in Massachusetts. We opted Martha vineyard, and in my opinion the island was very Mackinaw-islandish. Well, we got some sun and fun there. For the first time in my life too, I've seen real whales and sharks during the whale-watching trip.

Perhaps the most awaited moment of the trip (at least for me) was the lobster dinner. To get a local Maine experience, we went to Lobster Pot own by David's parents. We had the very satisfying New England Clam Chowder there, and almost everyone of us got ourselves a huge lobster on a bed of mussels and clams. It all tasted good, but as the consumption increased almost infinitely, my utility approached zero. Thanks to David here for being such a good host during our time in Maine.

Well that's all I can pull off at this kind of hour. Attached are some pictures:


Quincy Market in Boston


One of the lighthouses


Beach in Acadia National Park


Highest point in Acadia National Park (Cadillac Mountain)


Group photo in Lobster Pot (David's parents' restuarant)


Check out the lobster...


White Mountain National Forest


Whale Watching trip


Humpback whale

Mozart Effect

Quoted directly from Wikipedia:

"The Mozart Effect refers to disputed scientific studies that test a theory suggesting that classical music increases brain activity more positively than other kinds of music, and that listening to certain kinds of complex music may induce a short-lived (fifteen minute) improvement in the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as "spatio-temporal reasoning". Two pieces of Mozart's music; Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major (K. 448) and Piano Concerto no. 23 (K. 488), were found to have this effect, giving it its name. Later research also suggested that K. 448 can reduce the number of seizures in people with epilepsy."

Here's the Sonata for Two Pianos in D major 1st Movement: