Italy: Venice

I certainly hope everyone enjoyed our time in Milan! Italy is so full of art and culture. I would like us now to spend some time in Venice. Venice is a beautiful city in the northeast part of Italy. The country is made up of 118 islands. Canals and bridges keep this beautiful city together, and many travel by boat in this city.





The Grand Canal is a large Canal that runs through Venice and is the source of a lot of the transportation that occurs in the city. There are four bridges in Venice that go across this canal. One of those bridges is the Ponte dell'Accademia or the Accademia Bridge. This bridge crosses near the southern part of the canal.  It was built in the mid 1800s during Austrian dominion, and then rebuilt in 1933.

There are so many museums in Venice, so we must visit one of them! Since I'm sure I've already bored you enough with the art and history museums, I've decided to pick one that's a little different. This is the Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo. We will have a great chance to see the history of fashion and how fashion has changed throughout time in Italy. It examines clothing as well as room settings. I will certainly be interesting to see how human daily aesthetic tastes have changed throughout history.

Finally, we couldn't possibly leave a city in Italy without visiting at least on site belonging to the Roman Catholic Church! This is St. Mark's Basilica, which is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Venice. It is a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture and is one of the most well known buildings in the city. It was completed in 1617 but was original part of the Doge's palace. It did not belong to the city as a cathedral until 1807.

Italy: Milan

I hope everyone enjoyed seeing the history and culture Rome has to offer! We now move on to another city in Italy: Milan. Milan is a large, highly populated city in northern Italy. Although many of the people who visit Milan are on business, there are some wonderful cites for us to see as well.

One of the first places I would like to visit in Milan is the Duomo di Milan or the Milan Cathedral. This beautiful cathedral is the largest in Italy, and the fourth largest cathedral in the world. Its construction began in 1386 and was not completed until 1965. Like many of the things we saw in Rome, this Cathedral is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Duomo di Milan is located in the Piazza del Duomo or Cathedral Square. This is the main city squre in Milan. The squre was created in 1859 as construction of the cathedral was finally coming to an end. Along with the Duodmo di Milan, other structures that surround this square include the arcade of the Palazzo Settentrionale, Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, and the Palazzo Meridionale. Also in the square is the statue of Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy.  

The last place I'd like to visit in Milan is the Sforza Caslte. The original construction of the site occured in the 14th century. It was used by a number of people in Milan, and was influenced at different periods by the French and Spanish. In the 19th century, after the unification of Italy, the caslte was used by the military. During World War II, the castle was heavily damaged. When the war was finished, the castle was reconstruced with the purpose of making it a museum. Today, the castle is an art museum with the Civic Collections of Ancient Art.

Italy: Rome

Welcome to Italy! I'm so excited to be visiting this wonderful country. I must say, however, that we are most certainly not the only ones visiting; Italy is the fifth most visited country in the entire world. Italy is a beautiful country rife with art and culture. It is located in southern Europe, and is the fifth most populated country in that continent with over 60,800,000 people residing there. Italy's official language is Italian and it's capital city is Rome, which is the city we will be vising first.




One of the places we must visit while in Rome, Italy is the Colosseum. The Colosseum, which was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, was constructed from 72 AD to 80AD. It was the largest of the Amphitheatres built by the Roman Empire. The Colosseum is located in the center of Rome, and was an important part of the culture of the Roman Empire. It was mainly used for public spectacles and is most famous for the gladiator contests that occurred there. Today, the Colosseum is an extremely popular tourist attraction. We, like many tourists, will pay to see this beautiful masterpiece. Many concerts and other public events also occur in or, more commonly, right outside of the Colosseum. Finally, many Roman Catholic ceremonies occur at the Colosseum.

Another beautiful piece of Roman history is the Pantheon. This structure was originally built by the Ancient Romans at a temple to all of the gods of Ancient Rome. In 126 AD, it was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian. Today, the structure as now also used by the Roman Catholic Church. King Vittorio Emanuele II, King Umberto I, and Queen Marheerita (Umberto I's wife) are buried at the Pantheon. The Roman Catholic Church also uses this site for religious ceremonies such as masses, weddings, and services on important Catholic days.

The final place we'll visit in Rome is the Vatican Museums which are located in Vatican City. These museums were built and are maintained by the Roman Catholic Church. They contain a large collection of art that has been put together by the church:



The Pinacoteca Vaticana Contains a large number of paintings.



The Collection of Modern Religious Art has numerous sculptures and paintings with religious value.



There are several sculpture museums in the Vatican Museums as well. One of these is the Museo Pio-Clementino. There are 54 galleries in the this museums. After visitors go through the first 53 of them, the final one they get to enter is the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo.

The other sculpture museums include Museo Chiaramonti, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, and Museo Gregoriano Egiziano. These museums contain numerous sculptures, sarcophaguses, stone tablets, vases, bronzes, and papyrus along with many other important historical and art objects.





 Rome is a beautiful city in Italy filled with ruins detailing history, art and religion. It's an incredible place to learn about Ancient Roman history, the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church. While we have only touched on the many beautiful places to visit in the ancient city, we will have to move on so we can see more of this country. I hope you enjoyed the time we did have here!

Peru: Amazon Rainforest

 

Along with being a great place to see some rich cultural and indigenous heritage, Peru is also a great place to explore the Amazon Rainforest. Sixty percent of the country is covered by the Amazon. These forests are protected by different environmental laws, so they are pure and not destroyed by humans.

Most of the Peruvian Amazon, with the exception of the region near the Andes Mountains is called the lowland jungle. This part of the Amazon is extremely warm, with an average temperature of over 80 degrees Fahrenheit and with humidity usually over 75%. The rainforest gets over 100 inches of rain a
year, which is one of the highest rainfall amounts in the world.

 There is great biodiversity in the Peruvian Amazon with numerous species of plants and animals that have been discovered, and even more that have not yet been discovered. There are more types of trees in the Amazon Rainforest than in any other place on earth. The Peruvian Amazon contains over 2,500 types of butterflies, 697 types of fish, 806 species of birds as well as numerous types of bugs and other organisms. And that's just what's been discovered so far. There are many scientists who believe that most of the organisms that reside in the Peruvian Amazon have yet to be discovered. While I could get into more detail and spend more time describing the Peruvian Amazon and all the creatures in it, this is beauty you really have to see:

 Pink Hibiscus

Scarlet Flowers

Butterflies

Jaguar

Pink Nose Dolphin

Squirrel Monkey

Toucan

Poison Dart Frog

Those are just a few of the millions of species that reside in the Amazon Rainforest. It is quite amazing how diverse this beautiful part of Peru is! I hope you have been enjoying our trip so far; we've spent a lot of time exploring just a few countries, and there are so many more to explore. So, let's leave this beautiful part of the world behind us so we can continue on to yet another destination: Italy!

Peru: Machu Picchu

So, I promised you that on our stop to Peru we would visited three cultural sites, so today we will visit our third: Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is an extremely famous Incan site located in in the southern part of Peru. This site was discovered in 1911, and it is believed that it was built as an estate for the Incan emperor Pachacuti. This estate was built in the 1400s, before the Spanish conquest of Peru. The Spanish never found this site during their conquest, and so the site was amazingly well preserved allowing us to learn a lot about the Incans, their lifestyles, and their culture. In 1983, Macchu Picchu became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered by many to be one of the new seven wonders of the world.

We are very lucky to be able to visit this site, as there have been problems with tourism at Macchu Picchu. The increased number of tourists that want to visit this site has put extreme stress on the estate. Starting in July of 2011, restrictions were put on how many people could visit the site. Only 2,500 people are allowed to visited Macchu Picchu each day. Although companies have tried to do tours from the sky over Macchu Piccho as well, a no fly zone has been put in place over the ruins, preventing this from occurring.

To get to Macchu Picchu we must start at the city Cusco. From here, we can walk along the Incan Trail. This road was built by the Incans to lead to Macchu Picchu. We must walk through the Andes Mountain Range on this road to get to Macchu Picchu. This journey will likely take us two to four days to complete.

Now that we have arrived at Machu Picchu, we can enjoy the ruins of this great estate. The architecture of the Incans was quite remarkable for the time. Many of the buildings and walls built in Macchu Picchu were earthquake resistant. Although the Incans knew about the wheel and used it in the building of toys for children, it is believed that it was not used at all for engineering. Archaeologists still do not know how the Incas were able to move the huge stones that were used in the building of this estates, although some speculate that hundreds of men simply pushed them to where they needed to go.

There is a sacred district of Macchu Picchu that involved different temples and structures related to the religious beliefs of the Incas. The Incans were polytheistic, believing in many deities. This is the Temple of the Sun which was dedicated to Inti the sun god and greatest deity in Incan religion. The Incans believed in reincarnation. They believed that those who lived by Incan codes got to spend eternity in the warmth of the sun, while those that did not had to remain in the cold of the earth. The Incans performed human sacrifices and in particular child sacrifices. This was especially true during famine or after the death of an important person.

Along with religious sites, Macchu Picchu also includes buildings both for nobility and poorer people. Many buildings were simple storage buildings and simple houses for the lower class. However, there were also much grander houses where nobility and "wise persons" resided on this estate.

The last thing I want to look at in Macchu Picchu is the Intihuatana stone. This is one of the ritual stones in South America. Ritual stones were placed in such a way that they would point directly at the sun during the winter solstice. It is believed that these stones were built as clock or calendar so people could keep track of time based on astronomy. It is also thought that the Incans believed that this stone held the sun in place while it moved along its path in the sky. 

Peru: Sipán and Caral

Welcome to Peru! I hope you all enjoyed your flight. I must say, I'm excited to be here. I don't know as much about South America and its culture as I do about Europe and Asia, so I'm very excited to start learning a little bit about this part of the world!

Peru is located in western part of South America boarding the Pacific Ocean.  The capital and largest city of this country is Lima. This country was once home to several ancient cultures, making it rife with cultural sites we can visit. In the 16th century this country, along with much of South America, was conquered by the Spanish Empire. The country then gained its independence from Spain in 1821. The history of this country has affected the languages spoken. The official language of Peru is Spanish, influenced by the time it was under Spanish reign. However, many people there speak native languages, such as Quechua, that were spoken before the invasion of the Spanish.

So, as I said, one thing that makes Peru so exciting to visit is that the country has so much culture and history. There were several ancient cultures that lived in Peru, and some of the architecture from these cultures has been preserved. While there are numerous sites that are wonderful to visit, on this trip we are going to visit three: Sipán, Caral, and Machu Picchu.

The first archeological site that we'll visit on our trip is Sipán. Sipán is an archeological site of the Moche people. The Moche were an ancient civilization that resided in what is today northern Peru from around 100 AD to 800 AD. Sipán is mostly known for the tombs that were discovered there in 1987. What was remarkable about the discovery was the fact that the tombs had not been looted or found by others, and were therefore intact when discovered. The most famous tomb found here is that of the Lord of Sipán.

While here, we should also visit the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. Many of the objects discovered in the tomb, as well as the remains of the Lord of Sipán and a few others have been set up in this museum so they can be preserved and viewed by others. By looking at the objects preserved all these years, we can learn a lot about the culture of the Moche people.


Our next cultural site in Peru is Caral. What makes Caral so unique to visit is the fact that it is the most ancient city in the Americas. This ancient city was settled in the Supe Valley by the Caral (or Norte Chico) civilization. It is believed that the Caral people resided in this city from around 2600 BC to 2000 BC and that at one point, more than 3,000 people resided in this area.  

What is also very interesting about Caral are the pyramids there. There is the Main Pyramids of Caral which is 60ft tall. There are also 19 smaller pyramids that have been found in the area of the Supe Valley and it is believed that these were built by the Caral civilization as well. It is interesting to note that the existance of this civilzation and the building of these pyramids occured around the same time in Egypt.

Many other things have been discovered that give us insight into how this ancient civilization went about day to day life. Temples and houses have been found as well as musical instruments, jewelery and day to day household objects. It appears that the Caral people had a complex, developed civilization. Although all of these artifacts have been found, there have been no weapons, mutilated bodies, or other signs of war or violence discovered. It appears that the Caral people were a peaceful people.

India: Udaipur

Okay, so I hope our trip to India has been wonderful so far! While I'm sad that we have to leave after today, I have saved a wonderful place for us to explore for our last day. Today, I would like to spend some time in Udaipur. Udaipur, which is also known as the "City of Lakes" is a beautiful city consisting of natural beauty and gorgeous man made structures. Udaipur used to be the capital of the kingdom of Mewar. Mewar was an important kingdom in India which had several different dynasties, the last one of which did not end until 1971. People love visiting Udaipur while visiting India. In 2009, it was rated the top city by Travel and Leisure in their "World's Best" awards. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time exploring this city!

 

First, let's visit the City Palace which is a large palace complex. Construction for this complex began in 1559 and was worked on and added on to for the next 300 years. The complex consists of several palaces that are absolutely gorgeous. In fact, two of the old palaces have been converted into hotels. There are beautiful natural views from this complex as well, as it was built on top of a hill.





Another building we must see while in Udaipur is the Bagore Ki Haveli. A haveli is a term used mainly in India and Pakistan that describes a mansion with architectural and historical significance. The Bagore Ki Haveli was built in the late 18th century by Chand Badwa, prime minister of Mewer. This beautiful place has over 100 rooms, courtyards, and terraces. It is decorated beautifully with paintings, artwork, and personal items of the royal families. Exploring this beautiful palace will give us great insight into the way royal life was lived during this time period in India.

Before we leave this beautiful city, we should take a boat rid on Lake Pichola. Lake Pichola is another beautiful part of Udaipur. The lake is actually a man made, freshwater lake constructed in 1362. This lake, like the other man made lakes in Udaipur, was created as a water source for drinking water and irrigation. Today, boat rides are offered on Lake Pichola. There are a few islands on the lake, and one of those is Jag Mandir. Our boat will stop at this island and allow us to explore another palace that is an important part of Udairpur, the Jag Mandir Palace. 

 Construction of the Jag Mandir Palace began in 1551. It was used for years by royal families as a vacation home. I don't know about you, but I certainly wish I could vacation in a palace as beautiful as this! Although great for vacationing, the palace was not always used for fun and recreation. On two different occasions, the palace served as a place of refuge for asylum seekers.




Once again, I am very sad to be leaving a beautiful country behind us without getting to see all of the beauty and culture it has to offer. I think we will find this true of all the countries we visit; there is never enough time to see everything we want to see. But, we must move on, so let hop on our plane and go explore our next destination: Peru!

India: Hinduism

So, as I stated before, India is an extremely diverse country; one of the ways the country is diverse is in the multiple religions that are practiced there. In fact, four major world religions were started in India: Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Along with these four religions, Islam and Christianity are also practiced in India. 

India's majority religion, which is practiced by over 80% of the people residing in this country, is Hinduism. Hinduism itself is an extremely diverse religion. Hindus believe people should have freedom of belief and worship. Different Hindus have different beliefs of gods spanning from monotheism to polytheism and even atheism. Hindus understand that there are many different religious beliefs. There are many different gods and goddesses of the Hindu religion that are worshiped by different people in different places. The oldest scripture of Hindu, the Rig Veda, has what is called the "Poetry of Creation." This is a hymn  that symbolizes Hindu beliefs about creation, and I think that while we are in the Hindu majority country, we should take sometime to read this hymn:

There was neither non-existence nor existence then.
There was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond.
What stirred?
Where?
In whose protection?
Was there water, bottlemlessly deep?

There was neither death nor immortality then.
There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day.
That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse.
Other than that there was nothing beyond.

Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning,
with no distinguishing sign, all this was water.
The life force that was covered with emptiness,
that One arose through the power of heat.

Desire came upon that One in the beginning,
that was the first seed of mind.
Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom
found the bond of existence and non-existence.

Their cord was extended across.
Was there below?
Was there above?
There were seed-placers, there were powers.
There was impulse beneath, there was giving forth above.

Who really knows?
Who will here proclaim it?
Whence was it produced?
Whence is this creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
Who then knows whence it has arisen?

Whence this creation has arisen
- perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not -
the One who looks down on it,
in the highest heaven, only He knows
or perhaps He does not know.

Since we've learned a little about Hinduism and it's importance to the culture of India, I think we should visit a Hindu temple while we are here. This temple  is known as the Kapaleeshwarar temple, and is an extremely important temple located in southern India. Now, while were are visiting this temple, it is important to know a few basic things about visiting Hindu temples. It is important to dress appropriately. Keep in mind that this is a holy place for many of the people India, so please make sure to wear long pants or a long skirt and a long sleeve shirt. Before entering the temple, it is important that we all remove our shoes and leave them outside the temple. In some temples, leather is not allowed also, so we should probably leave that behind just in case. While there, make sure not to take any pictures without permission, as different temples have different guidelines on what pictures people are allowed to take. Finally, it is important to keep in mind that we are guests, and therefore many not be allowed in certain parts of the temple. We must enjoy what we are allowed to explore and be respectful of this religion and culture.

India: Taj Mahal

So, I must say, one of the nice things about traveling around the world from the comfort of my couch is that I don't have to worry about logistics. If we were traveling around the world for real, we would have to carefully plan out where we were going to go when, and make sure we travel in order to make efficient use of our time and money. We would not, for example, travel from Iceland to India without stopping at other nations along the way. After all, we wouldn't want to backtrack. But, since we are doing this from the comforts of our homes, that's exactly what we are going to do. Our next stop is going to be India!

India is a country in South Asia. The capital of India is New Delhi. At the 2011 census, the population of India was 1,210,193,422, and it continues to grow at a fast rate. Right now, India is the second most populated country in the world, behind China. It is believed, however, that India will pass China by the year 2025. India and its culture were long ago affected by many of the trade routs that went through it. It is an extremely diverse country with a lot to see and learn about. There are numerous different religions practiced in this country and a number of languages spoken. The two official and most widely spoken languages are Hindi and English. However, there are many regional languages that are also recognized, and it is believed that there are several hundred different languages spoken in different parts of the country.

I am extremely excited for this trip! India has so much rich culture and so many wonderful things to see. It is, however, a little overwhelming too. We could spend months in India just traveling, and we still probably wouldn't be able to see everything.

We should start our journey with one of the most well known attractions in India, the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a large mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It was completed in 1653 after 21 years of construction by thousands of people. The Taj Mahal was built by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal after her death. After his death, Shah Jahan was also buried there next to his wife.

The Taj Mahal attracts several million tourists a year, so we should expected it to be rather crowded when we visit. It is especially busy in October and November as it gets cooler in India, so the "busy season" is probably starting. The grounds are open from 6am to 7pm Monday-Thursday, so it's a good thing were visiting today! It is also open on Fridays from 12-2 so that Muslims can visit the mosque to pray. Please keep in mind that there are strict rules on what can be brought into the the Taj Mahal. The only things allowed are water in a clear bottle, small video cameras, regular cameras and cell phones. Women are also allowed to carry small purses. Please make sure to pack light for this trip, so we don't have any problems getting in!

Iceland: Historic and Cultural Sites

Okay, well, I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the natural wonders Iceland has to offer! A lot of different tourist activities occur in the outdoors in Iceland, and one could spend months just exploring the outside world. However, I would also like to take a look at some of the art and culture this country has to offer.

There is so much culture in Iceland, and I wish we had time to explore it all. At least for this trip to Iceland, however, we will just focus on a few. Maybe we can come back some day and see a few more!

We cannot leave the country without visiting the National Museum of Iceland. This museum, which was established in 1863, is located in Reykjavik. It has beautiful exhibits that allow viewers to look into Iceland's history and culture. The main part of this museum is entitled Making of a Nation. We can really enjoy learning about Iceland's history starting from when it was settled in the 9th century. The museum contains 2,000 artifacts depicting Iceland's history from all different time periods. There are also numerous pictures and forms of multimedia that we can look at to truly learn about and understand Iceland.

Good news! I got us tickets to see the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. This Orchestra has been around since its first concert in 1950. The orchestra is known all throughout Iceland and is funded primarily by the state. We are lucky enough to see one of the 60 or so concerts the orchestra performs every year. They perform numerous of types of music ranging from classical to contemporary. This is a definite must see, and I'm glad we get to enjoy this unique cultural experience on our trip!

While I wish we could spend more time in Iceland, there are far too many countries to see. Before we leave, I would like some time to to explore Skalholt. Skalholt is an important religious and historic building in Iceland. The state religion of Iceland is Christianity, and has been since 1000 AD.

Skalholt was the home of the first bishop in Iceland when the country was Catholic, and it was the home to many bishops after him. Many people in Iceland stayed at Skalholt in the winter as well. This place is also where the Iceland officially changed its official religion from Catholicism to Lutheranism and where the New Testament was translated to Icelandic.

In 1963, a new church was built at Skalholt; a deputy bishop has resided there since 1992. This site is very important to and respected by the people of Iceland, and I think it is wonderful that we get to visit it and learn about the religious culture of the country.

I hope you have enjoyed visiting Iceland as much as I have! Seeing the beauty this nation has to offer and learning about the deep history and culture it holds have been such great experiences. I'm sorry we have to leave so soon, but there are so many more nations to explore. I hope you continue to join me on our trip!

ICELAND: Outdoor Scenery

So, to start our trip around the world, I would like to visit a country that has always intrigued me: Iceland. Iceland is an island country located in northern Europe. It was settled by the Nordics in the 9th century, and the official language, Icelandic, is still very similar to that spoken by the Vikings. Iceland has a population of about 320,000 people, and most of those who live in the country live near the coast. The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik; almost half of the population lives in this city and the towns surrounding it. 

Iceland has gorgeous scenery, and I would like to spend some of our time in this beautiful country exploring the unique outdoor adventures this nation has to offer. One thing that makes Iceland's environment unique is how much of the country is covered in glaciers. In fact, more than ten percent of the country is glaciated. We cannot leave Iceland without taking a glacier tour. These tours allow  tourists to explore the glaciers and see the beautiful scenery of Iceland.

Iceland is also well known for its volcanoes. This is especially true after the eruption of one of its volcanoes in 2010, which interrupted air travel in much of Europe due to the ash that was released. There are 30 active volcanoes in Iceland, and 13 of them have erupted in the past 2,000 years. Iceland is also well known for its hot springs; hot springs are bodies of water that are generally 6.5 degrees Celsius or more above air temperature. While we're visiting this beautiful country, we must take some time to bathe in the hot springs. Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland's most well known hot springs, and many tourists enjoy swimming there while visiting the country. The volcanoes and hot springs, while a great part of Iceland's scenery and tourism, are also an important of the energy supply. Iceland harnesses the energy from volcanic energy, natural hot water supplies, and rivers, and it uses this clean and renewable energy to supply the island with about 80% of all its energy needs.

Iceland's scenery is gorgeous and very different from other countries we will be visiting. I hope you enjoyed our time relishing in the natural beauty this country has to offer!