Calling all world travelers! Would you like to guest post?

It’s been a while since I’ve added to my Wandering Bard series, and I miss talking about traveling. It’s one of my passions, and I’ve learned so much from all of the places I’ve visited.

But I’ve only been to handful of countries outside of the United States, and I’ve already shown you some of my best pictures and told you some of my best stories. There’s certainly more where they came from, don’t worry, but variety is the spice of life, right?

Right.

So, I’m offering you a chance to tell me about your experiences. The rules are pretty simple: It must be somewhere you have not been before. That can mean the United States if you’re from the U.K. or Russia if you’re from Brazil. It can also mean California if you’re from New York. The point of this series was to educate people of other cultures and share what I’ve learned in my travels, even if I didn’t go far from home. I learned about a whole group of women called the Hons when I visited Maryland, even though that’s a fairly short trip for me.

The posts I write are usually between 500 and 1,000 words. You must provide YOUR OWN pictures. Preferably, it’d be nice if you chose one aspect of that country or place to talk about (ie. my first post was about La Pieta when I visited Italy). Not only will the subject matter be more manageable, but it means you can keep coming back.

If you’re interested (and I hope you are!), please e-mail me at Roughtkm15 at hotmail dot com, with the subject line “Wandering Bard Guest Post.” We’ll get all the details ironed out then. You also don’t have to have a post done when you e-mail me, so don’t feel pressured! I’d like to get a feel for the demand and who exactly is interested so I can keep tabs.

If you want to see my previous posts, visit my Wandering Bard category.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys!

P.S. I’d certainly be up for a post swap if that’s the case. Just mention that in your e-mail!

Wandering Bard: Delphic Ruins (Greece)

Ah, it’s been a while since we traveled anywhere, hasn’t it? Well, you’re in luck! This week we’re heading back to Greece and sometime very soon we’re heading somewhere even more interesting and new! In fact, even I haven’t been there! More on that later.

Last time we were in Greece, we hit up the Acropolis. This time we’re at the Delphic ruins – my second favorite place after Athens.

This is the archaeological site at Delphi where the Delphic oracle once lived. The oracle was a priestess at the temple of Apollo and was famous for reciting prophecies handed to her by the god himself. She was the most prestigious and well documented oracle in Greece, and a whole host of authors and famous historians have documented their meetings with her.

The mountains around this area surround it like a fortress.

The most prominent attraction in the navel. The story goes that Zeus took a rock and threw it, saying wherever it landed would be the center of the universe. It, of course, landed right here in Delphi! People would touch it and get a boost of energy and power.

The above rock is actually just a copy, but the real one is in the museum just off-site. You can see it below:

Here’s a temple to Apollo.

This wall was like a newspaper. There’s Greek written all over it and people would go to it to get their news!

Here’s an ampitheatre.

And cuties like this were everywhere!

What question would you ask the oracle if she deemed you worthy enough to see her?

Treasures from Around the World

Wednesdays are usually reserved for art, but today I’m going to stretch that definition just a little bit. I want to show you guys some of the cool things I’ve picked up from my travels over the years.

Now, I’ve been known to keep everything from my receipts for chocolate (because I can’t go to a new country and not try their chocolate) to my tags for luggage. But these souvenirs are more beautiful, and all picked out to represent the country I was in.

First up is a gorgeous plate from Morocco. It’s all hand-hammered metal, inlaid with different colors. It was so hard to pick out just one because they had a million of them! I love the colors in this one though, and it was the perfect size. I gave it to my Mom.

This vase on the left is from France. Normandy, to be specific. They had these things all over the place. They’re handmade and so beautiful! On the right is a mini Eiffel Tower. Both were also gifts for my mom. (Although she was a little put off when she saw the size of the Eiffel Tower that I got myself, haha.)

My mom loves the ocean and the beach, so naturally she’d collect sand. These are from my various trips. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, I can find a bottle with the name of the country on it too.

Here’s my Eiffel Tower. Mom’s is about 2” tall. Mine is about a foot tall. She was a little jealous, haha.

I actually didn’t pick this up on one of my trips, but it did come from another country! My friend from Argentina gave it to me. It’s used to hold mate, a type of tea. (I tried the tea. It was really gross.)

These came from Greece. They’re two of my favorite goddesses – Artemis and Aphrodite. I wanted a whole set of them, but that would’ve been waaaay expensive.

Yes, yes that is a chocolate frog box in the background…

Here’s another gift I’ve received. This is a keychain/cell phone charm from Korea I got as a present from a friend who went there for a Karate tournament.

These are also from Morocco. We went into a giant store full of awesome mosaics and neat pieces like this. I know they’re miniatures of some traditional dishes in Moroccan culture, but I can’t remember exactly what they were for.

This one is from France. I love the original painting, and it seemed only fitting to get this neat clock! Only…it’s really, really loud. So it stays in our basement.

Lastly, this is a beautiful fan I brought home for my mom. It’s from Seville, Spain. These are the big thing over there and I have a weird affinity for fans anyway, so I had to get one! They’re hand painted and made of wood and cloth.

What kinds of things have you picked up from your travels? What is the one thing you would have to pick up if you got a chance to go to your dream country?

Wandering Bard: Italy (Pompeii)

Pompeii was one of the most incredible and surreal places I’ve been to. Not to mention one of the strangest.

Just in case you’re unaware (or have forgotten your high school history class – and there’s no shame in that), Pompeii is a city located in Italy. More specifically, it’s a city located at the base of Mount Vesuvius. That name should sound familiar.

Mount Vesuvius is the volcano that blew its top in 79 A.D. and literally buried both the town of Pompeii, and its cousin Herculaneum. The stones, ash, and lava flows killed roughly 16,000 people and hid these towns for hundreds of years.

Here’s the unassuming entrance:

But, little do you know the secrets hidden within this quaint little town.

First, there’s the sacrificial alters (for animals only):

The dog, it seems, is a brave fellow.

Then there are the bodies. The picture below is a just a cast, but you can see (in horrifying and realistic clarity) how so many of these people died. This particular person was huddled in the corner, unable to escape the hot has that descended upon the town.

Then there’s this lovely shot that I took:

It doesn’t seem like much, but I guarantee it was also deadly. The caption I put on Facebook for this photograph seems to sum it up pretty nicely:

“The Pompeiins were very smart and ingenious people…except for two things: They lived at the foot of a volcano…and they used lead pipes.”

But the biggest (and dirtiest) secret of all is put right out in the open. If you know what you’re looking for, you should have no problem discovering it. (Why do I have a feeling Natalie/Natalie’s husband is going to love this part?)

If you’re new in town and don’t know where to go, there are clues all over the place to point you in the right direction:

(And, yes, that’s exactly what it looks like.)

Then there’s the sign:

This is a sign warning of a Lupanare. That’s the Italian term. You might be more familiar with the word “brothel.” It was referred to as a Lupanare (the base of that word being “lupus,” which is Latin for “wolf”) because the women used to howl to get the attention of their customers.

Then there’s this beauty:

Imagine doing the deed on that thing.

Not sure what you want? Don’t worry. They had a menu:

The vendors outside the walls of Pompeii sold all sorts of trinkets that probably are not appropriate to bring home to the kids. Nonetheless, they were pretty funny.

And although it completely shocked me when I realized some of the places that were within the walls of Pompeii, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. History happened here. A tragic history, yes, but one that you can feel in your bones when you’re there. It was an amazing experience.

Enter a totally embarrassing five year old picture of me standing in front of Mount Vesuvius (in one of the nerdiest shirts I owned at the time, no less).

Ever been to Pompeii? Ever seen a place as explicit as this one? What’s the nerdiest shirt you own? (I’ve stepped up my nerd-game recently. Now my nerdiest one is definitely the Doctor Who shirt I ordered just the other day…)

Wandering Bard: Spain (Córdoba)

Back in May, I did a post on La Alhambra, a group of palaces built by the Moorish people in Granada, Spain back in the mid to late 1300s. My awesome blogging buddy Julie Glover left me a very excited comment – I had mentioned Córdoba, she said. Apparently, her aunt was from there and Julie would love to visit some time.

Your wish is my command!

Here’s something to gaze at while I give you a little history lesson. Córdoba is a city in southern Spain and was – at one point in time – one of the largest cities in the world in terms of its population. Having been under Islamic rule for quite a while, it was only in the mid 1200s that it came under Spanish/Christian rule.

Shortly after, new churches were built within the city. However, some mosques were actually converted into churches, such as the one that goes to this bell tower.

This is called the Great Mosque of Córdoba, and it actually has a more interesting history than that. It was first a pagan temple. Then it was turned into a Christian church. Then it was converted into a mosque, and later a new mosque was built on the same site. Following that, it became a Roman Catholic church.

Whew!

Talk about an eclectic building.

Maybe you’ve never heard of this building before – at least you think you haven’t. Chances are, if you’re into architecture or art history, you’ve seen this shot at some point in your life:

This building has what is called an arcaded hypostyle hall. That sounds complicated, but it’s not. “Arcaded” simply means arches (as you can see in the picture), and “hypostyle” just means that the roof is supported by columns (hypó meaning ‘under’ and stŷlos meaning ‘column’). The famous red and white striped arches are made of limestone and brick, except for the section you see above. They were a little short on cash, apparently, so they just painted the red parts in here to make it match.

The columns are made of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. In the picture below, you can see that one of the artists signed his name on this one!

Our guide then took us to the Street of Flowers, which provides a classic view of the bell tower.

And that was a little slice of Córdoba for you! Hope you had a great time!

There you go, Julie! Hope you enjoyed it. Can’t wait till you get to go there for real! Did everyone else enjoy the trip? I know I did. I don’t want to go to work now.

Aquariums, Museums, Hons, Oh My!

Before I get into the meat of this post, I just want to direct your attention to Julie Glover’s blog post where she interviewed me! It was my very first interview and it was oh-so-fun answering all of those questions. Now, this isn’t your typical interview – in fact, it has pretty much nothing to do with me as a writer. Julie actually interviewed me for her Amazing Words Wednesday post because on my work blog I post a “Word of the Week” on Wednesdays (we both seem to be a fan of alliteration!). She asked me all sorts of fun questions about antiques and collectibles, so please do me a favor and check it out! And if you could pop over to my other blog and poke around, I would really appreciate it.

Okay, where was I?

Oh, yes – Baltimore, Maryland! In my last post, I talked about how I got to go see Team Starkid in concert (I promise you guys this is the last time I’ll mention them for, like, a whole week!). Well, I’m the type of person who truly enjoys planning and organizing things – and I like being as efficient as possible when I do it. One of my closest friends moved to Maryland once she graduated from college. I was so terrified that we’d never see each other, but we’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping in touch.

She was kind enough to let us crash on her couch, and we planned out a whole weekend of Baltimore sightseeing and catching up. It was a lot of fun! Check out some of the really neat things we saw and did:

(P.S. I know these pictures are BIG, but I wanted to give you closeups of everything I encountered. Let me know if they’re TOO big, and I’ll scale them back next time.)

We started the night off right once we got back from the concert: we had ice cream cake at midnight to celebrate Deidre’s 24th birthday!

The next day we went to Inner Harbor and found the National Aquarium! It was pretty expensive, but it was on Lilly’s bucketlist, so we couldn’t pass it up.

We saw this GIANT sea turtle and all three of us fell in love. It was so beautiful!

Peek-a-boo!

We all had an obsession with turtles that day.

Then we went to see a dolphin show!

This was my favorite part! We saw all sorts of jelly fish. These were just sort of bouncing around everywhere.

Look at all those jellyfish!

This one was my favorite!

My first Hard Rock Cafe experience! (And believe it or not, I resisted the B&N store!)

Then we went to the Baltimore Museum of Arts! This is a sculpture of Medusa’s head – the hand is Perseus’!

One of my favorite painters, Seurat.

Here’s a Picasso!

I get excited whenever I see a Jackson Pollock because I can usually recognize his work.

This is a Georgia O’Keeffe

This Greek-style pizza was criminally expensive, but it was SO GOOD.

Then we went to the Honfest. It’s a Baltimore thing, apparently. This was a group of singing Lucille Balls. They were amazing!

A lot of people were dressed up as Hons – meaning they wore awesome ’50s-style dresses and had their hair up in beehive ‘dos!

Wow! That was a lot of pictures. I probably took over 300 that weekend, so you can just imagine how hard it was to narrow it down to the ones I have here. Hope you enjoyed them!

Here are some questions for you: Have you ever been to Baltimore? What’s your favorite zoo or aquarium? Have you ever heard of the Honfest before? (And are you like me and when you say “Honfest,” you think of the Huns from Mulan walking around eating cotton candy and funnel cakes?) Do you have a local festival that you attend regularly?

Wandering Bard: Ireland (Giant’s Causeway)

As I’m writing this, it’s raining outside and I can hear the water on the road as the cars drive by. It drums up memories of my soggy (but oh-so-enjoyable) trip to Ireland. What better place to write about for this Wednesday’s Wandering Bard post, right?

Grab a jacket and an umbrella – you’ll need it!

Today we’re heading here:

That’s pretty much the color of the sky here too. And you know it was wet and cold – just check out my professor all bundled up on the left!

This is the Giant’s Causeway. Now, before you scroll down and sneak a peek at the pictures I have of this place, I want to give you some background information. Here’s the legend behind the creation of the Causeway…

There was an Irish warrior called Fionn who had heard about another Giant that resided in Scotland. In order to prove himself (as men so often feel the need to do), he began to build a bridge across the water. (There are several different versions of what happens next, but I’ll give you the one I like best.) When he saw the size of the other Giant (who was much, much bigger than he was), Fionn ran away. Hearing of the challenger, the other Giant made his way across the bridge and into Ireland. Fionn’s wife – being the creative an intelligent person she was – decided to disguise her husband as a baby. Upon seeing the size of the baby, the other Giant figured that the father must be enormous and decided not to risk a fight with him. He turned around and fled back to Scotland – destroying the bridge as he went.

There’s also a scientific explanation – about 60 billion years ago there was a lot of volcanic activity in this region. The lava was made of molten basalt, which found its way through beds made of chalk to form a lava plateau as it hit the ocean. When it cooled rapidly, the lava turned to stone. Due to the nature of the rock, it formed pillar-like structures. Most of the pillars are hexagonal in shape, but some have more or less sides.

Sound cool? It was!

This section was probably 30 feet tall.

It just seems to go on forever!

I wear a size 11, so you know that’s a big rock! Gosh, I miss those shoes…

The BFF. I’m on top of the hill you’ll see in the next picture…

At one point we were both up there and had to crouch down and hold onto each other. That wind was strong!

And then our bus broke down…

It wasn’t too bad of a wait. I busied myself with eating some Irish chocolate.

After our discussion on found art, a few of you told me you like natural-made art. This place is like nature’s Sistine Chapel. It most certainly is art in my eyes. What do you think?

Wandering Bard: Italy (The Colosseum)

In the beginning of the new story I just started, you meet the main character just as she’s going out into an arena – a modern rendition of the colosseum. So, it seems only fitting that today’s trip would take us to Italy, and that we would focus on the historical place that has such a long and tragic tale.

(P.S. Click on the pictures to see them REALLY BIG.)

First, let’s delve into a little backstory. It’s an amphitheatre smack-dab in the middle of Rome and is actually the largest one ever built in the Roman Empire. Work began in 72AD and didn’t finish for about another eight years. It can hold 50,000 people – which (to me at least) seems like A LOT considering the population of the world back then compared to now. But this is a modern estimation. Ancient estimations put the numbers at almost 90,000 people.

Not currently full of 50,000 people, but it seems like it could definitely hold that many, doesn’t it?

Most people know that it was used for gladiatorial fights – which is true – but it was also used for mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and theatre productions (think Oedipus).

What might be even more interesting is that during the Middle Ages, these things stopped and it was turned into a place for workshops, as well as housing for a religious order. It also doubled as a fortress and a Christian shrine.

This is one of the crosses to remember the fallen. Also, you can see the pock marks in the background where the bronze beams used to be.

The typical shape of the colosseum (as seen below) is a result of earthquakes and people who have taken both stone and bronze (part of the structure) out in order to use it elsewhere. The arena floor was simply made out of wood and was covered in sand. The two-story passageways underneath were where both gladiators and animals were kept before the contests.

Here’s a shot of the arena floor, minus the…uh…arena floor. This is the part that would’ve been covered in wooden floorboards and sand.

Here’s the same shot, but from the opposite end.

Here’s a a close-up of the passageways found underneath the arena floor.

Interesting (if somewhat disgusting) facts:

• 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games
• The arena was eventually converted into a cemetery
• It has been used over the years as a symbol in the international campaign against capital punishment
  

  These are the vomitoria, and how people got in and out of the structure so quickly. Each arch is its own entranceway.

• Tickets given during events were in the form of shards of pottery with numbers on them
• People reached their seat via the vomitoria – a series of passageways that allowed the building to be filled up and cleared out within a matter of minutes
• Vomitoria comes from the Latin word for “rapid discharge” – and yes, that’s where we get our word “vomit” from
• Animals used in the arena weren’t just limited to lions and leopards, but included rhinos, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, bears, and even ostriches
• Although it’s debated by historians, there are accounts that the colosseum could be flooded to provide an arena for the mock sea battles

I really enjoyed being at the colosseum because it has such a well-known history that you can’t help but be in awe by the fact that you’re standing in the same place literally billions of people have passed through over the course of the years.

And that’s actually one of my favorite things about Italy: you walk down the road and see modern buildings and modern technology and modern people, then BAM. You have this 2,000 year old structure right there in front of you. Italy is a great example of the modern and the ancient colliding every day and yet still surviving.

20th century lamp post and 2,000-year-old arena of death? No biggie.

Have you been to Italy? Seen the colosseum? Have you ever been in a place where “our” world was so clearly juxtaposed next to the ancient world?

Wandering Bard: Spain (La Alhambra)

Okay, we’ve traveled back to every country I’ve been to except for one – Spain! I have a lot of regrets about Spain. I minored in Spanish, but I was too nervous to use it while we were there. My greatest achievement was asking if something had ham on it (jamón), and not mixing it up with the word for soap (jabón). Although, I think the amount of food I ate there makes up for a lot of my mistakes. I had true Spanish paella, and that’s about as good as it gets, people.

So, today we are in Granada, Spain at La Alhambra (pronounced: Ahl-ahm-brah). This is a group of three palaces and some royal gardens that were built between 1338 and 1390 by the Moorish (Islamic) people.

The really neat thing about this place is that there are absolutely, positively NO water pumps. All the water seen in Alhambra is gravity fed and comes from the nearby mountains. Water was a sign of prosperity, power, and wealth, so there were a lot of fountains in these gardens. Imagine what this would’ve looked like to someone living in the 14^th century, when even those who were lucky enough to live above the poverty line would’ve looked on at these gardens in awe.

This is one of my favorite shots from La Alhambra!

The place was beautiful and ornately built, but as usual I like to let my pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

This shows an overview of the city of Granada from one of the higher points in the palace.

This is one of the cute little orchards tucked away near one of the buildings.

La Alhambra resident puppy!! (I promise he’s just sleeping!)

The summer palace.

The intricately carved wall and a window for the harem to “see and not be seen.”

One of the MANY beautiful courtyards.

A trellis that I’m sure would’ve looked fabulous in the summer (we were there in March).

Cool story: We learned in Cordoba (later on) that when the oranges have a big leaf they are good to eat, but when they have a big leaf and a little leaf they aren’t – they’re bitter! The locals always know a tourist when they see one because of this. (These look a little too shriveled to eat…)

Have you ever been to Spain? Have you been to La Alhambra? What’s one regret you have in regards to traveling to a foreign country?

Wandering Bard: France (The Eiffel Tower)

What is it that is so poetic about the Eiffel Tower? It’s so symbolic of France, and France itself is symbolic of love and sophistication. Fine wine and food. Adventure and creativity.

But the reality is that the Iron Lady, as she’s often referred to, didn’t always have a glamorous life. She was built in 1889 and her purpose was to be the entrance into the World’s Fair. A temporary entrance. She’s over 1,000 feet tall and held the title of the world’s tallest man-made structure for 41 years.

You may have heard that the initial reaction to the tower was quite negative. There was a Committee of Three Hundred (one person for each meter of the tower’s height) that objected to its construction. They were mostly artists who thought the Eiffel Tower was a ridiculous idea. They found the tower to be useless and monstrous. They said that it would take away from the charm and historic beauty of such attractions like Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe.

Yet, look at her now! She’s become the very essence of Paris, of France in general. You can’t not think of the Eiffel Tower if you think of France. Can you even imagine what it would be like if the Iron Lady didn’t exist?

I certainly can’t. When I visited Paris, this was right at the top of my must-see list. I thought it would be spectacular and beautiful and mesmerizing and wonderful. I was wrong.

It was way more than that.

I can’t even describe the feelings that I had when I looked at it. The Tower just looms over you and you have trouble thinking that it’s real. How can something so tall exist like that? How can something you see on TV and in movies actually be there, right in front of you? And to be able to go up to it, touch it, go inside it…that’s a dream come true.

We got to get up-close and personal with the Eiffel Tower at night, which was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I know it sounds a little dramatic and corny, but trust me, it’s everything I’m describing and more. And it turns out that I didn’t know very much about the tower to begin with. Like the fact that it sparkles on the hour, every hour. How amazing is that?

Or that you can actually go inside it? Even go to the very top? The world has never looked so within your grasp than when you’re standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Doesn’t it feel like the world is just yours for the taking?

This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to France. You wouldn’t think that a giant hunk of metal would be so amazing, but it is. The feeling is indescribable when I think that I was really there, really that close to the Eiffel Tower.

Here’s some cool pictures that I just have to post:

I believe that at about the time I took this picture, I was lost. (No, the irony does not escape me.) You’d think that on a circular platform with only two ways out, I wouldn’t have misplaced my friends. Wrong. (Also, I’ve never been in a windier place in my life!)

For this picture, I had to lean waaay back against the rail in order to get the top of the tower. We were as far up as you could go, so the top really isn’t as distant as it looks here.