Barcelona, the city of Gaudi and sweeping boulevards, teeming with the passion of Catalunya! They say "Mas que un club" to describe their futbol team, I would say Mas que un ciudad about their city! Having a great tour guide, Mary took me around the major sights of the city and I was amazed at its uniqueness, even being a big city as it is. The architecture is what really jumps out at you, with Gaudi's popular art nouveau style around every corner. Our days were spent touring his masterpieces and also included trips to the port and La Boqaria, the best open air market I have been to, such an invigorating local gastronomic scene! As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room, just down the road from Barcelona airport! It is bittersweet as I come home tomorrow, but I must admit, this trip has exceeded my every expectation. I would not change much at all about my itenerary, and while I have so many things to see still (and see again!) I am very happy with where I stand so far! I have learned more about myself and the world around me in these seven weeks than I had in years, and this was all while visiting some of the most amazing places in the world! I hope that everyone who is still reading up until now has enjoyed the blog, as I have, and I actually promise some pictures once I get home to real Internet! I may throw in a couple more updates, but as of now, I'm not expecting to do much more with this for at least a little bit, I may tinker with it though! I am so blessed to have had this opportunity, and as I sign off this last time, I wanted to thank my parents and grandparents for there help with this trip! Always in Him, Freddie

Well, surprise surprise, I'm in Oia, on the island of Santorini! This was truly a last minute decision, and even I am amazed to have made it here! After making it through bogus flight reservations and lost baggage, I finally made it to Athens with Mary, spent an afternoon and evening at the Acropolis and surrounding sights, then flew into Santorini! The hectic travel stress quickly abated, and we found ourselves in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Unmistakably Greek, Santorini is an island of fava beans, vineyards, and cliff side towns so white that sunglasses are a must! The mix of white houses with the blue domes' of the churches make for quite a sight, especiallyOptional background of sea and distant islands. We have thoroughly enjoyed the visit here, and I think that of my trip, the Greeks seem the most charming and kind, not in a touristy "nice for your money" way, but genuinely excited to share the culture! Also, the food is tops, with fresh ingredients that are left to speak for themselves, accompanied by olive oil and fresh bread! From here we go back to Athens for one night, then back to Spain, where I will spend my last few days before flying home on the 7th! It's crazy to almost be at the end of an adventure I had been dreaming of and planning for many years, but when Mary asked me things I would change to try to improve, the list was short, and when she asked three places I think are necessary for all to see, I struggled to narrow down my list... That's the sign of a successful trip in my book! Signing off from paradise, hopefully to actually put some pictures up tomorrow!

What a difference a week makes. Well, I am currently in Granada, Spain, and just saw what is widely considered to be the 8th wonder of the world, La Alhambra! It was absolutely amazing, something so completely unique compared to the other things I have seen on this trip. Built by the Moors who controlled Granada until its fall back in 1492, it is distinctly Arabic, housing the palaces of the Sultan. To sum it up, it's gardens are a more beautiful version of Versailles, with tropical influence, it's palaces are more regal than the Roman palaces, and it's view is of Granada on one side and the Sierra Nevadas on the other. Oh, and it is said to have the most beautiful sunset in the world, to which I can attest! Yesterday I spent wandering Granada, seeing the Cathedral and the older neighborhoods which go up on the hillside, and are actually built into the hill, then enjoyed a sunset stroll around La Alhambra, taking in the gorgeous colors it produced. I am actually about to head off to Sevilla in a bit, and will hopefully get to see a bull fight tomorrow night! The past week has been a whirlwind, which is why I did not post for a while. After Nice, I headed to Marseille for a day, and then took a surprise flight to Ibiza, not a surprise for me per se but for one Mary DiGeronimo. Needless to say, your boyfriend showing up on a random spanish island and then hiding in the shadows of your hotel are unexpected, so when I jumped out to surprise her, I'm not sure whether the shaking was more from excitement or fear, ha! We had a lot of fun down there, and the group that was with Mary from her Barcelona LSA was great. After leaving Ibiza I flew to southern Spain, into Malaga, know best for two of its own creations, Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas! I took a great tour of the city, which had some nice sights and a beautiful beach, and was able to see the apartment where Picasso was born, which has since been converted into a museum with many of his works, really neat to see. Also having originally been Moorish until its fall in 1487, Malaga was an interesting melding of many cultures, Roman ruins built on top of Phoenecian and Carthiginian roads, next to a church that once was a mosque, it could get confusing! The city was great, and it was also a very nice introduction to my two new Spanish loves, Tapas and hot chocolate con churros! Well, I must be going to the train station soon, promise some more updates, it's crazy to think but I only have about 2 weeks left on my trip, it's already been a little more than 5 weeks! The schedule from here on out is Sevilla for two nights, then Madrid for three nights, with a day in Toledo, then a few days in San Sebastian, and finally, finishing it up in Barcelona, before my flight back to the US. Hope everyone is doing well, hoping to post some pictures tonight maybe!

Whew, it's been a while! well, I'm now in Nice, France, and my last post was from my first day in Florence. Since then I have seen all of Florence, San Giugliano, Pisa, Cinque Terre and most of Nice, all connected by some beautiful train rides in between!

For starters, my mom and I toured through Florence, and for me the highlights were definitely Michelangelo's David, Brunelleshi's Il Duomo, the beautiful streets of Florence, and the food, which was fantastic. Florence was the birthplace of gelato and some pretty important people, but more importantly, gelato. My mom and I tried it all, and were even lucky enough to eat at the world's best gelateria. It and the other Florentine gastro offerings were great, and we navigated the restaurant scene like locals, thanks to Rick Steves!

Day trips to San Giugliano and Pisa were great, giving us a taste of Tuscany and a chance to see the leaning tower of Pisa. The lkeaning tower, well it really leans, I mean, stare at it too long and get dizzy kind of leaning. I expected a slight tilt, no no no, we are talking 12 foot difference at the base.

But, I think our favorite part of my mom's visit had to be the Cinque Terre, more specifically Monterrosso. Thanks to my dad we had a sweet hotel room with a million dollar view, looking out over the town and the Mediterranean. Our first night we ate at a restaurant on the water, and were excited to get some seafood. We had a sampler of all kinds of grilled seafood, and got some fresh pesto pasta, which was first made along those shores. The next day we went on a hike to Vernazza which ran right along the coast, with some elevation gains. it was beautiful, with the surrounding land either left natural or used as vineyards and lemon orchards. We actually made a slight detour to get some fresh squeezed lemonade, fresh as in she was picking them from her tree (at least I hope they were her trees). The hike was beautiful, and pictures hopefully will get posted soon. Vernazza was a typical Italian coastal town, situated on its own small harbor. after catching the train back we explored Monterrosso and had yet another great dinner. The next day though, was the crowning glory in terms of weather, 70 and sunny, my mom and I took a short hike up to an old church and cemetary with great views, and then laid out on benches by the beach. Our final meal was possibly the best thing I have ever tasted, a pesto sauce with tomatoes and broccoli, and a heart helping of frsh mussels! It was amazing, and I hope to try making it once up at school.

My mom and I split up in Genoa, and I headed on to Nice, making it to my hostel right before check in closed. The hostel is great though, giving a tour of the old town this morning for free, after which I wandered around, getting some great views of the Cote du Azul.

Well that has been my life in a nutshell, definitely won't go that long without a post again, sorry this one got so lengthy! I hope everyone is doing well, on to Marseilles tomorrow for a few days!

In Firenze... With my mom! She made it safely over here and we are about to go see Michealangelo's David! Had a nice morning run today, got to see a lot of the city and then went and checked out the Medici family chapel and tombs. Having studied the family back at NA, it was really cooktop see all of there artifacts and art that they commissioned. Might have been power hungry and tyrannical, but they sure did appreciate art, which is great for us! Looking forward to some more time in this cultural and political hub of the Renaissance before heading into Tuscany and the Cinque Terre!

Last night in Roma! Heading out tomorrow morning to Florence, where I will meet up with my Mom the next day, excited to spend some time with her! Got to see the most well know sights of Rome the past two days, covering the Ancient district (Roman Forum, Palantine Hill, and the Colosseum) and today saw the Vatican, including the museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica! The Vatican was remarkable, and the Basilica especially so. I was impressed by the grand art, but mostly by the awe inspiring architecture built as a house for worship. While amazed, I did wonder if the work was all for God's glory or more for glory in itself, and could see that it could be easy to get caught up in the beauty of the place and forget about its true purpose. I was also amazed at the Sistine Chapel, and spent over 30 minutes just craning my neck in every direction, trying to take it all in, which is impossible. In terms of the Ancient Rome tour, I was so impressed by the history of Rome, and it was cool to see things that I had studied in Latin books back in Middle School. On top of all of that, I had some great food, and arguable the best gelato I've had yet! Looking to actually post some pictures tonight, both on Twitter and Facebook. A mash up of all over!

Very short update, Happy Easter everybody, remember the real reason for the day, and the Grace that God had to give his only son to redeem our sins. For my Easter, I woke up before the sunrise and walked to the Vatican with a few guys to see the Pope deliver mass and his Easter message. After quite a while in Line we made it into the square and were able to see the Pope's delivery, which was a very special experience that is a once in a lifetime kind of a thing. At the end the Popespoke a blessing in countless languages, which was very inspiring, especially seeing the reactions of the people whose language he was addressing. The rest of my day has been spent touring around the city and seeing a few more sight, and I am actually about to call it a very early night, so I can get some rest and then have a good day tomorrow, hopefully seeing the Colosseum! Hope everyone is having a great Easter, I miss you all! In Him, Freddie

Wow, what an introduction to Rome. I decided on somewhat of a whim to come down to Rome for Easter, and was worried it may just be too insane, but I have had a great time. On arrival I went to the Vatican and walked around, but will return to see St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel, and the museum. I then headed to the old Rome district and arrived at the Colosseum, which didn't disappoint! After a quick gelato run, I hung around in line and actually was able to see the Pope give his Good Friday message and hear the Easter story presented in Italian, all the while standing right in front of a beautifully lit Colosseum, it was definitely my most memorable experience to date! I can't describe the feeling but it was powerful, and I will definitely remember it for years to come! This morning I got up and walked from the Colosseum, which I am touring on Monday, along with the Roman Forum, to the Pantheon, another beautifully historic building that was well worth the visit. On my way I had a sandwich in a small shop that I could tell was off the beaten path, and the sandwich was amazing, hot focaccia with ham and fresh mozzarella, delicious. After that I have allowed myself to wander, the weather is cloudy, which is why I have pushed back the Colosseum tour. Tomorrow I plan on trying to go to the Pope's delivery of the Urbi et Orbi in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, which I have heard is an amazing Easter service. Other than that, I'm not sure, hopefully I will be able to find somewhere to get some Easter lamb! Hope everyone is well, praying for everyone involved in the F-18 crash in Virginia Beach, what a miracle no fatalities, thank God. Happy Easter Saturday and I will be putting up some pictures later this evening I expect.

Venezia, the sinking city! I arrived yesterday afternoon to Venice, and was pleased as the weather went from a rainy gray to sunny for a bit, then coled off nicely in the evening. My hostel is a stone's throw from St. Mark's basilica, so I'm right in the heart of Venice. What I had read to do was get lost in the city, and get lost I did. I wandered throughout Venice, and was struck by how big and confusing it an be, but realized that to enjoy it, you must wander about, and that's what I did. I found a fantastic gelato spot, and then saw some of the historical sights, which I am touring today, before going to dinner at a small restaurant situated on a sleepy, quiet part of the canal. I enjoyed caprese salad and pesto pasta watching the gondolas roll by, and all of my hectic travel anxiety of the day quickly faded. After dinner I continued exploring the islands, until I finally called it a night and returned to the hostel. I have so great hostel mates, which has been nice, and I am about to head out for a small breakfast then some sightseeing, ciao!

Short update, wifi costs money at my hostel! Made my way from the beautiful Swiss Alps, and I headed towards the Lake Como region of Italy, just north of Milan. It is beautiful, so typical Italian, with the colors and pizzarias, everything! Had some great pizza today, and I am about to go out for some Gelato! Took a ferry ride over to Bellagio, it is nothing like the resort in Vegas, quaint with beautiful gardens that are blooming and smell of spring, making merealize Easter really is just around the corner! The gardens here are beautiful, which is a nice change from the sheer, harsh beauty of the Alps, to the softer, gentler beauty of the Italian lakeside gardens. Well, that's all for today, pics to follow later, hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all!

Posted some new pics to twitter, some shots from high up in the Alps! I don't think I can put the beauty into words or successfully capture it in a picture, so I won't even try, except say that it is something you must see for yourself! Funny story though, on my descent in the cable car, I started talking to a Swiss couple in the car, and they said they had lived in the states, in New Hampshire. I told them I went to Dartmouth, and they were actually from Hanover, and there son went to Hanover High! What a small world, actually the second group I have seen from tiny Hanover, the other I ran into in the Louvre. Other than that, I plan on leaving here late in the morning tomorrow and then heading to Torino, Italy for a couple of days before I make my way towards Venice. I'll keep yall updated, should be fun!

Up high in the Alps tonight! Left Geneva early this morning, nice city but I was good and ready to get on up into the mountains! I took the cable car up to the small town of Gimmelwald, and I me small! I checked into my cute hostel, a rustic inn that has breathtaking views looking out into the valley and at the mountains across the way. I plan on taking the able car up to the peak of Schilthorn tomorrow, I'm thinking I am going to take the early bird cable car and get breakfast at the peak, which is where they filmed on of the James Bond movies. The inn keeper said that I would probably hear avalanches tonight, but not to worry, they take place across the valley! I will be posting pics tomorrow once I summit Schilthorn, and I plan on taking a few different hikes during the day tomorrow! Until then, hope everyone is doing well!

What a difference a short train ride makes. Last nights hostel looked out into the city of Lyon, while tonight's has beautiful views of Lake Annecy with the French alps rising in the background, snow capped peaks visible. It is beautiful, and the towns is finally just that, a town, without the hustle and bustle of Lyon and Paris. Last night in Lyon was great again though, with my friend Nick again taking me and his two friends, Elodie and Melissa, out to dinner at an old Lyon restaurant Brasserie George's. It was great, and I was serenaded by the whole place for my "birthday", which is actually in August. Nick said he really just wanted me to see the traditional birthday singing and clapping! We then walked along the Rhone river and called it a night. I left early this morning and got to Annecy around 3, and with help from my dad, was finally able to find my much elevated hostel. I have since just been taking in the views, waiting to check in and then go back down towards the town for the evening, where I may meet up with one of Nick's friends living in Annecy. My priorities now are to see this beautiful town and do some real laundry, not the sink kind, I'm running low on clean shirts. Other than that I hope to snap so photos of this beautiful place and post them soon, and most likely will be headed to Geneva sometime tomorrow. I'll keep y'all updated, and I hope everyone is doing well!

Hello again, writing from Lyon today. What an amazing city, withso much hidden history! My time here has been brief, but last night I got the full cultural experience thanks to a helpful guy in the cellphone store. I was trying to buy a prepaid cellphone for over here, and was really struggling to communicate with the salesperson, not speaking much French at all. Then, someone came in and offered to help since he spoke English. We started talking, and he said he had studied at UVa for a year abroad! Small world huh? Well we figured out the phone, then he asked if I had plans or would like to go have drinks with him and his friend. I agreed and we went to a small restaurant, where we had some nice French wine. Following that, we met some more of his friends, who were all awesome, and many had actually visited UVa, and some of the girls remembered house names, ha. Well, we all then went to dinner, at a small unknown real French restaurant, with true, old French food! We had a great time, and the food was fabulous! We were all laughing, and thankfully they all spoke pretty good English. After leaving, we walked the streets, getting the history of Lyon, where Napoleon came into town, the medieval ages, and other interesting things. We then went to a club where I introduced a few of the girls to swing dancing(the songs were all American swing songs, it was perfect). The group then walked back with me, and made sure I made it to the hostel, we were a bit concerned about an 11 curfew but it tuned out the curfew was 1, so we were fine. I hope to met up with them tonight again, for more sightseeing. Today I did a little laundry, and walked around a bit more, now eating a little cafe! I'm still posting pics to my twitter, so check that out! Hope y'all are doing well!

Been a while since my last update, and now I am officially on my own. Two days ago, after Versailles, Mary and I went to he Louvre, and we're able to see some of the most beautiful works of art known to man! I particularly liked the Italian renaissance paintings, and the Venus di Milo. After that, we got dinner a cool downtown restaurant across from the Louvre, and then called it a relatively early night. Yesterday morning was hectic, trying to get our stuff packed, get Mary on the train to the airport, and I was moving to another hostel that was a lot cheaper. Once Mary left, I took a metro train to my new hostel, and got off in the middle of chaos. Apparently surrounding the stop was a gigantic marketplace, and I had everything on my back, so it was quite a chore to make it through. After about thirty minutes of walking in circles, I found the hostel, checked in, and wanted to get into somewhere with some open air. I left and headed to the Eiffel Tower, and decided to go up. The line for the lift was nearly two hours, so I walked, which was a great choice. No line and enjoyable views the whole way up! I got to the second level and then from there you can only take the lift, so I hopped on and rode up to the top, which was beautiful! It allowed me to see how expansive Paris really is, with city stretching on for miles, and countless numbers of historic, awe inspiring sights housed below! This has by and far been my favorite part of the whole trip, and each level offered something different. After the tower ride, I was unsure of what to do, so I decided to just read my book and relax in the gardens surrounding the tower, which was amazing. Spring has sprung over here, with the flowers blooming and grass green, it's beautiful! I actually picnicked in the gardens for dinner, with a baguette, some turkey, an apple, and nutella, which goes great with baguette. Following my picnic, I headed for the Champs d' Élysées, which was stunning after dark. I walked towards the Arc d' Triumph, mostly just people watching and window shopping on my way. The city of lights definitely shines brighter after dark! Finally made it back to the hostel, which has been interesting. Trying to communicate with my roommates to figure the appropriate hostel behavior was interesting, since none spoke much English. After a good night of sleep, here I am, and I am off to Sacre Couer, the church on the hill above Paris. Other than that, my plans are open for the day. I hope everyone is doing well, realize that post was extensive, but check out the pictures I've also posted, which I am doing through my twitter until I figure out how to post from my iPad on this site. Twitter link: https://mobile.twitter.com/#!/ Freddie

Whew, what a couple of days! Finally found some Wifi, at a McDonalds outside of Versailles, who would have guessed! Yesterday, Mary and I toured Notre Dame, Musee d' Orsay, and had a great Parisian dinner on Rue Cler. We ended the night strolling under the Eiffel tour and then struggling to find our hostel in the nighttime. Today we woke up early, grabbed a warm baguette, and got on the train to Versailles. It was unreal, and I kept having to remind myself that it wasn't some Disney inspired park, but a real palace, constructed by a King, and a rather interesting one in Louis XIV. The gardens were absolutely wonderful, and many of the flowers were just blooming. We have been blessed by great weather, and there was not a cloud in the sky. We are both pretty wiped out, but are planning on going to the Louvre and Champs-Élysées tonight before Mary leaves. I'm hoping to find some more free hotspots over here, there seem to be a shortage. I will update again soon, along with pics once I download them!

Whew, after a Delayed flight out of Norfolk, had to run to the gate to make our connection to Barcelona! Hope our bags ran as fast as we did! Not sure what wifi will be like when I land in Paris, but I'll try to get another post as soon as I can, hopefully with some pics!

Day One: Have to start somewhere, the blog is very boring right now, but thanks for checking it out! Leaving in a couple of hours for New York, then on to Barcelona, then another flight to Paris. All packed up and ready to roll. I will start making the blog more exciting once I get some real pictures and such, so check back then.

In Him,

Freddie