My Personal Diary - Essay Example

April 2, Its hard to believe that the academic year is almost over. It seems like only a few days ago when the semester started and now, I am staring a long, hot summer season in the face yet again. Id like to do something different this year. No sense in being cooped up at home with my parents when there is a whole world out there for me to explore and discover. Somehow I cant shake the thought of wanting to go an visit Europe this summer season. I spoke to my parents about it and they are more than willing to help finance my backpacking trip through the great European countries. The only question I guess is, “Where do I start?”. Some countries I have in my tentative list include France, Spain, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Now for the next question, “What do I want to see and where do I want to go?” I think its time to seriously discuss these travel plans with my folks. I know that there are one and a million places in Europe that I can visit but I know that I will have to whittle my list down to the most interesting to me because my folks are not going to want to give me an unlimited expense account for this trip. So I better make every country stop over count. April 3, 2013 My parents and I spent the evening perusing European travel brochures and it looks like the starting point for my trip will be the City of Love -- Paris, France. Why not? My parents went there for their honeymoon anyway. I would love to visit the Eiffel Tower and eat in the restaurant within the tower. My parents told me that you get the best view of the city from the top of the tower or at any of the restaurants located within the tower. So why not? Ill start my trip there. I can follow the same trip map that my parents took for their honeymoon. Itll be the start of a great adventure. The next leg of my Parisian adventure will take me on an architectural tour of the Notre Dame de Paris. There is just something that seems to be drawing me towards the French Gothic architecture of this building. It is the most visited monument in France and serves as the home of the famous “Emmanuel Bell” that weighs more than 28,000 pounds. I am definitely going to make an effort to visit the west portals of the cathedral that house scenes from the Last Judgment and the life of the Virgin Mary and St. Anne, which are all etched on 13th century stained and rose glass windows. April 4, 2013 My aunt Cecil has suggested that I include a trip to Greece in my itinerary. More specifically, a trip to the Acropolis. She says that I will not regret the trip since I am interested in ancient history. The Acropolis is located 156 meters above the valley of Illisos, covering about 3 hectares of land. That is going to be a lot of walking. I better pack an extra pair of rubber shoes just in case. Since Acropolis is located on the edge of Athens, I am sure that there will be any scenic routes and interesting stop overs along the way. I am definitely planning on visiting the museum and making the trip by walking up to the Acropolis for that ancient tourist feel. From Greece, Im planning to hop on a plane and head down to Rome, Italy where I am going to wallow in yet another set of ancient ruins, that of the Colosseum. Being the largest amphitheater built in Rome, it is one of the most world renown architectural gems from the A.D. era where infamous gladiator battles were fought and boasted of being able to accommodate 56000 people with over 73 exit and entry points into the area. Aside from the Colosseum, I am definitely going to need to sample a few scoops of Gelato to I can cool off in the European summer heat. Since I will already be in Rome, it would be silly of me to not visit the most popular religious landmark in the world, The Vatican City. As the seat of Catholic church power, it is a small city state that has mostly religious residents and is headed by the Pope. Okay, so I wont be able to walk around the Vatican the way I would anywhere else. I only want to experience seeing the Pope at the Basilica of St. Peter and visiting the museums there anyway. I am not particularly religious so I am not expecting a life altering event to happen to me while I am there. April 5, 2013 Planning my trip seems to just be getting better and better. I was watching Discovery Travel and Living channel last night while I was trying to court some sleep. Then the show I was watching started showing this goth looking church. Its called the Sagrada Familia and is located in Barcelona Spain. Turns out the country started building this church in 1882 and it still isnt finished! How long does it actually take to build a cathedral? It makes the other cathedrals in the world seem so rushed in construction when you think about it. I think this is going to be a creep-fest type of trip for me because what is finished of the cathedral looks like something out of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Lets try to overlook the fact that the man who designed the cathedral, Antonio Guadi, died in 1926 and is buried in a crypt right there in the cathedral. Maybe I will join a day tour or something at the place. I would not want to get lost in it while I participate in the tour that will take me up to the tower where I can get a killer view of the city of Barcelona. Lets hope I survive the trip. I am not sure if I am claustrophobic. But I definitely want to make this trek with other people with me. After all, the cathedral isnt due to be finished until 2026. April 6, 2013 I am planning on experiencing the sights and sounds of London during the final leg of my trip. Since The United States was born out of the womb of the United Kingdom, I suppose it is only fitting that I visit our “Mother” country and get to enjoy the similarities and differences between the two countries. First up, a trip over to Edinburgh Castle which I am told is one of the most popular, if not the most popular castle attraction in England. I am just wondering about how much the entrance fee might be. Of course no trip to England will be complete without a visit to Buckingham Palace to witness the changing of the guards. It is the official residence of the British monarchs so I might even get lucky and get a chance to see one of the members of senior royal family. Can you say, Duchess Kate and Prince William? I cant help but wonder though if the royal family will be in residence during my visit. I would so love to visit the palace during one of the 2 months in the year that the place is opened up to tourists. Ill keep my fingers crossed. Read More