Photo 1: From D/FW International Airport, with Amilcar. (Day 1)
I took this picture hoping to get the airplane we would be riding on for 9 hours to London Heathrow Airport. I also hoped to capture a childlike sense of wonder! I think I got both things. I don't know why I like this picture so much, but it really stood out to me. Amilcar, I think, tried to make it in every single picture I took. Although, he didn't quite do that much, I think he was in a fair amount, as you'll see if you check out my facebook albums.
Photo 2: From D/FW International Airport (Day 1)
I took this on my way to the D/FW Airport's "people mover". Ashleigh and I rode it around the entire airport while we were bored waiting for our London flight to take off. It was quite fun, and although a lot of the pictures I took on this trip didn't come out because of faulty camera electronics, this is one that stands out. There's almost an amount of symbolism in it. The sign on the pole says elevator, and gives two arrows, an up and a down. I guess thats symbolic to something you can choose, to either go up or down. But with an escalator, you can't really choose. You have to go where it's taking you and hope thats where you want to go.
Photo 3: Taken at Trafalgar Square in London. Featuring Amilcar and myself.
This photo was one of the first ones when I looked at it I was like "WHOA COOL!!" Of course, anyone who looks at this should say the same. I think this one speaks for itself. But the actual situation was that I wanted to climb on the statue and Amilcar was helping me. It wasn't THAT epic I suppose.
Photo 4: Taken at Premiere Inn, Wembley, London.
I know you can't see much looking at this. Just a vending machine, right? WRONG! Well, not really, but it's a very culturally differentiated vending machine! You see some of the more recognizable things like Twix, or M&Ms. But look closely...kit kat never looked like that! Must be a new logo or something. And what's this "walkers" stuff. That looks a lot like lays chips! I really just love cultural differences. I could talk to my New Zealand friend Amy for HOURS about cultural differences. In fact, I think we have done that. Haha. Yeah. Ok. Moving on.
Photo 5: Scaredy the Squirrely in London!
Oh this squirrel had to be my best friend on the trip. We totally kicked butt together! He would somehow always find a way to express the emotions that I was too afraid to tell! I think we also connected because I too was once I scared creature. (WIZARD OF OZ REFERENCE!) I made him sing songs of joy, and love. I talked to his owner(s), and learned that they are quite awesome people, and I shall be hanging out with them soon enough. Other than that, I really like this picture because you can see all the little details on the squirrel. I love detail!
Photo 6: Line of people at the Crowned Jewels in London
I wonder what it would be like to have something so huge and amazing, that people would gather in the hundreds to see it...to say they were within spitting distance of it. That's right folks, I'm talking about the worlds largest diamond. Measuring in at 530.2 karats, it belongs to the Queen of England, and will probably stay that way for a while, unless some crazy tourist gets creative. I picked this photo just because of the sheer multitude of people that gathered behind our group in less than 20 minutes. It's amazing when you think about how far people come JUST FOR THAT. Ponder that.
Photo 7: Small hotel room in Paris, featuring Amilcar, again. (Day 4)
The French might be super polite, but they really need to work on their living spaces. This is rediculous! Three beds in one room, wall to wall with only about 3 feet of walking space which is halfway taken up by a large wooden desk/cabinet thing! But it sure was fun pranking the dude in the other group with our ninja pillow fighting skills. But that will be discussed later.
Photo 8/9: The Louvre in Paris. (Day 4)
These two shots have to be some of my absolute favorites. I love the power of the sun mixed with a good Nikon. Just stare at these for a while.
Photo 10: Tour d'eiffel en Paris (Day 5)
The eiffel tower! Probably one of my favorite stops on the trip! Everything about it was cool! from waiting in line, to meeting people on the elevator and getting sold countless things by street vendors! It was a great experience and I'm glad I can say I did it!
Photo 11: Pere Lachaise cemeterie en Paris (Day 6)
Jim Morrison! You will be missed. In honor of him, I'm leaving this space fairly empty. Say your own thoughts. Leave some liquor or beer on the grave if you want. Peace.
Photo 12: French snacks! (Day 6)
Yay!! Very yummy items I enjoyed while in Paris. The Orangina is like a softly carbonated orange juice. It's lovely. The chips are actually potato chips au Nature. Which is, natural. No flavors or anything. Just the crisps. It's actually realllllly good. If you ever have the chance to try them, do it. You won't regret it.
Photo 13: Stuart in the middle of a Florentine street. (Day 7)
I swear, every time I saw this man I instantly thought about traveling around the world. He was born in England, taught to speak french and English, and now lives in italy. He eats culture for breakfast! He's a great tour guide and a good talk to person if you have any questions about politics and things of that nature. He has a way of putting words out there in a way that everyone can understand and agree too. I think the best part about the tours he gave was how he was very "real". It's hard to describe, but most of you understand what I mean.
Photo 14: Crowded Italian Street...crowded by 50 american tourists that is.(Day 7)
It's amazing how small a space Stu managed to get us to take up. He could have fit all 50 of us in a single elevator, and in Europe that's saying a lot. Here we are crowded outside of Leonardo's Leather Shop awaiting our time to go in and be taught about the aesthetics of real Florentine leather. One thing I specifically remember about this time when we were standing in the street, a man came up on a vespa. He was short, and quite stalky. I could immediately tell he was a local just by the coarse curly hair and the gold chain around his neck. He approached me and I instantly reached for my wallet (which was a little bag necklace thing I wore inside my shirt) to make sure I wasn't going to be pick pocketed. He asked me the name of "the bald man". I told him it was Stu, and he instantly smiled and waved his arms around at Stu trying to distract him. He finally got his attention and they went on for a few minutes in the local vernacular, and then he sped off on the scooter as we walked into the shop. Fun times.
Photo 15: Taken at a Florentine Cafe featuring Pizza Margherita (Day 8)
This, my friends, was it! The mother load! The bees knees! The cat's pajamas! Real, authentic, Italian Pizza! I was so happy when it was brought to me. For one because I wasn't about to pay 6 Euros for just one slice of pizza (about 9 dollars), and two I was so happy it was an entire pizza because it almost wasn't enough to fill me up. I couldn't get enough of this delectable creation. Some people say when they have really good food it makes an "orgasm in your mouth." Well, this was like 10. Think of your favorite food and multiply it by like the biggest number you can think of plus another 20. That's how amazing this was. I hate writing about it because I am only missing it more and more with each key stroke. After I ate this, we went and had authentic Italian Gelato. I love italy. They could almost steal Hawaii's catch phrase. "Don't eat til you're full, eat til you're tired."
Photo 16: The bus ride to Assissi/Rome featuring a few different generations. (Day 8)
When i took this, it was really out of impromptu camera button pressing. I went to put the camera back into my bag and it snapped this picture. I now look at it and like it alot! There is so much activity going on. I love it! Ok, enough. This was taken on the way to Assissi, which was a stop on our way to Rome. This was also either shortly before or shortly after I had my first Italian Cappuccino. Oh my goodness it was amazing! The coffee was so good, I had two at every stop I could get one. How I wish starbucks could match it. How I wish.
Photo 17: Ancient History at its finest! (Day 9)
I think the only reason I like this picture isn't because of the photographic qualities of it, because, well, there are none. But because of the history presented here. I mean, I was standing no less than 200 feet away from something that was built by 100s of people over 2000 years ago. Things like that really amaze me. Like, really. The whole time I was walking around Rome I kept thinking "Russell Crowe walked here 2000 years ago". Just kidding about Russell Crowe, but I was constantly thinking about history, and Mr. Austin. Best history teacher ever.
Photo 18: In the roman hotel featuring Brooklynn (DAY 9)
I know I know, "Matt, this picture has nothing to do with Europe at all." Well, step back for a moment and look, because it has everything to do with Europe! This here is Brooklynn Munsterman. Or as I like to call her M-un-st-errr-man. She is apparently now my best friend, who lives in Missouri. Ha. Her and I had a few good adventures on the trip. Of course, they were nothing big, but I say anyone who takes a picture with someone after only knowing them for a day or two is worth blogging about. It's either that, or this is the only good second picture from Day 9 I could find. Oh well. On to Day 10!
Photo 19: Saint Peter's Basillica in Vatican City (Day 10)
While I love this photo, it's only the second favorite as far as photographic elements are concerned. The first favorite is up on the page a bit more (Photos 8/9). I will never forget walking into Saint Peter's and this was the first thing I saw. Huge beams of light shooting down from heaven. It was really cool. A must see thing. Put this on your bucket list. Even though I could probably recreate similar lighting with some things I learned from my years of theatre and lighting, nothing will compare to this. Ever.
So as you can see, it was a good trip. Photographically and overall. I hope to have another experience like this one. Hopefully I can study abroad in Rome or in New Zealand. Who knows what's in store. All I know is it was awesome!
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