London Marathon

I volunteered for the Marie Curie cheering station in the London Marathon today. Supposedly, cheering counts for volunteering, who knew? Anyway, it was a ton of fun, a bit like Relay for Life, but without the sleep deprivation.

The only picture I took before my camera died. I was surprised by the scope of the event. Over 30,000 runners participate, and the Tube was packed with their family and spectators alike. They run a roundabout route in the Docklands, ending in the Mall by St. James's Palace.

The costumes of some runners were extravagant. I saw a couple devils, angels, beer bottles, and Buzz Lightyears. One guy had a 15-foot giraffe neck, supported by a backpack. A couple soldiers were running with their military knapsacks. Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin brand and UK hero, was running with huge, blue butterfly wings. One of the runners was trying to take a picture of Branson with his camera phone as he ran. However, most people were wearing the T-shirt of the charity for which they were raising money. According to Wikipedia, the marathon raised 41.5 million pounds in 2006 for different charities and is the world's largest fundraising event.

I liked the people who had their names on their shirts. It made it easier to cheer for them. Many would reply with a nod or "Thank you". Occasionally, a walker would start running when you yelled "Keep it going, Paul. You're almost there". On the whole, it was an incredibly supportive atmosphere. All the spectators were cheering for somebody, and often, people would yell support to anyone who slowed down to a walk or stopped to stretch their legs. If there was anything about the day that convinced me to run a marathon in the future, it was definitely the supportive atmosphere, which I wasn't expecting for some reason.

I was standing at the 14 and 21.5 mile marks (like I said, the course is roundabout), but I was on the side where the 21.5 mile runners passed me. One of the people next to me kept yelling "Only 15 miles to go, I mean, 5, thank god", which actually drew a few laughs. Whenever I run, I'm in my own world, I don't interact with anyone else, but I was surprised by how interactive the runners were. Some had I-pods on, some were talking on their cell phones (for god knows what reason), but most just had themselves and the road.

On the whole, I loved the marathon and its atmosphere. I've never been to a marathon before, but as someone who ran track, it was an exciting event. I definitely hope to run one in the future, but we'll see how that goes. For now, I'll just stick to the cheering

Wimbledon

Wimbledon was fantastic, and I'd recommend it to any sports fan coming to London. I took the guided tour and visited the museum with an NYU group.

Incredibly Wimbledon, now a private tennis club, started out as a croquet club. Even today, it is officially known as The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Our tour guide said it was easier to win the men's or women's singles title than to be accepted as a member of the club. Membership is limited to 500, and you need to show commitment to the advancement of tennis to be voted into the club. However, if you do win the singles title, you automatically become an honorary member. So good luck!

The complex is intended to remind you of an English garden. To that end, there are several benches and tables with many flowers. The Wimbledon colors - green and purple - are speculated to originate from the fact that lavenders were grown in the area of Wimbledon in the early 1900s. However, our tour guide pointed out that those were also the colors of the women's suffragette movement at the time so it may have been a not-so-subtle political statement.

Henman's Hill outside Court 1. During the Championships, an enormous TV is erected by the Wimbledon sign that would nearly span the length of this picture. Therefore, people can sit on the grass, enjoy their ice cream and Pimm's, and watch the tennis. According to our tour guide, champagne and Pimm's (a lemonade drink with fruit inside) are staple alcoholic drinks for the Championships. I never associated tennis with alcohol, but there you go. But then again, the French Suzanne Lenglen used to sip brandy between sets in the early 20th century.

Interestingly, ground admissions passes cost 20 pounds if you wait in the queue. Granted, people start lining up hours beforehand, but from our tour guide's description, Wimbledon truly tries to make its seats affordable. At 3 pm, they resell the tickets for seats where people have left for the day at a reduced rate. Of course, debentures (effectively season passes for five years) for Centre Court will rid you of 27,000 pounds, but there are plenty of other ways to get into Wimbledon.

Centre Court, looking towards the Royal Box. These seats are padded, unlike those in the other show courts, so they're covered when they're not in use. You can also see that the court is covered by a tarp. There are very precise specifications for the height and health of the grass. Apparently it gets cut only one millimeter at a time to prevent damage to the remaining grass.

To the left of the Royal Box, you might be able to see the row of seats for the friends and family of the players. Upon winning the finals, many players jump up there to celebrate with their family. Apparently, in 2008, Nadal jumped up there and ran along the ledge into the Royal Box to hug the members of the Spanish royal family in attendance. Our tour guide joked that no British player would do such a thing. The most Murray can hope for is a handshake. Supposedly the Queen is not a big fan of tennis. The last time she attended a Wimbledon finals was the last time a British woman, Virginia Wade, won the singles title - in 1977.

Court 1. In total, the grounds hold Centre Court and Courts 1 - 19. A few of the 19 are currently being rebuilt so I'm not sure how many will be in use for this year's Championships. Centre Court has always remained in the same location, but the other courts often move. Court 2 was rumored to be cursed since many greats would fall in the first round to no-name players, but it is being rebuilt so many players hope that the curse will be broken.

The yellow sign is part of a fence. Apparently there are many urban foxes in London (although I haven't seen any) who find the courts particularly attractive at night. However, they tend to soil (think toilets) the grass, which is otherwise so carefully maintained. Therefore, an electric fence is erected around Court 1 (and some other courts?) to keep the foxes away. Our tour guide actually said that it's more likely to run into a fox in London than in anywhere else in Britain. I'm not sure why that would be the case.

A statue of Fred Perry, the last male British player to win a Wimbledon title - in 1936. Obviously, the British have a ways to go when it comes to Wimbledon, but to that end, the club sponsors an extensive junior training program. Our tour guide told us that a significant portion of the profit from Wimbledon - something to the tune of millions of pounds after considering TV rights, tickets, official sponsorships, etc. - is donated to charities, one of which sponsors youth tennis. In a few counties in Britain, every student is required to try tennis in their gym class to see who is fit to advance and to be coached by the best instructors in the country. Murray was a product of this system so the British hope to revitalize their caliber of tennis this way.

A list of the official sponsors for the upcoming Championships. Our tour guide was proud of the fact that courts don't have large signs advertising HSBC or Evian. Instead, Wimbledon only has official sponsors, or suppliers. Some suppliers are synonymous with Wimbledon such as Rolex or Slazenger. Every clock in the facilities had golden lettering and framing and was made by Rolex. Slazenger has provided the balls for Wimbledon since its inception in 1877.

Lawn tennis actually has an interesting history. It has several possible predecessors including badminton and royal (or real) tennis. According to our tour guide, royal tennis is similar to handball and is still played by 50,000 people worldwide. However, the first lawn tennis Championships were held in 1877 as a local competition between 20 Brits. In 1922, the Championships were moved a few miles away to the current location of Wimbledon. The private club also owns the golf course across the street, which it must keep as a golf course for another 10 years, but it may convert the land to tennis courts after that point.

The bracket from last year. Each player's name and scores are recorded on the yellow metal slabs. I thought this part was awesome since you could still see Serena Williams and Roger Federer up there. The bracket is located close to the entrance to the complex so it's visible to all.

The list of past winners. It's easy to see that the same people have won for several stretches of time. Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova are tied with 20 Wimbledon titles, including singles, female doubles, and mixed doubles. This list is located inside the club.

Me sitting in the press room where the tennis players would sit. Apparently there's an extensive interview process after each match. If players don't sit in for their interviews, they can be heavily fined, to the tune of 10,000 pounds. First, the BBC gets a one-on-one interview followed by an interview by the player's national media. Next, each player comes into this room to be interviewed by anyone from the press. Our tour guide said that for players like Federer, this process can take up to five hours (obviously they get 30 minutes to freshen up after their match, but still, very tiring)

If I remember correctly. there are 800 journalists that cover Wimbledon (this figure doesn't include photographers or TV crews). Each stadium has assigned seating for the journalists, dugouts for the photographers on the sides of the court, and commentary boxes for commentaries in different languages. Interestingly, the journalists are ranked so that only 200 have access to the entire facilities from courts to press room to other private areas. The lower-grade journalists may only have access to the courts and press room.

Rafael Nadal's outfit from 2008. I didn't spend too much time in the museum since my friends and I were getting hungry, but it's informative. It has an interesting section on the evolution of tennis fashion. Obviously Fred Perry and LaCoste clothing originated from tennis. Apparently, women used to wear corsets when they played tennis, which severely restricted their range of motion. Thankfully that trend changed to allow for better play.

Pete Sampras's shoes from one of the years that he won Wimbledon.

I'd highly recommend Wimbledon. The atmosphere of greatness, of ambition, of triumph and defeat is infectious, especially once you learn the history. It's also interesting to see how passionately the British enjoy their tennis. Our tour guide said that it would be odd this year since the Championships would occur at the same time as the World Cup and the preparations for the London 2012 Olympics. She was adamant about the fact that no football would be shown in the complex, and she still expected a fair amount of media coverage of the Championships despite the "distractions".

HOST

Last weekend I went on a two-day trip to Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire. The trip was sponsored by NYU and HOST UK, an organization that pairs tourists, especially international ones, with host families for a weekend. At first glance, the arrangement seems sketchy, but HOST does background checks on the families and ensures your safety. Everything worked out well, and the weekend was quite interesting.

I was paired with an elderly couple who have sons in Australia and Leeds, England. However, they host international students, for both weekend visits with HOST and long-term stays for semesters. While I was there, two Spanish boys and two Norwegian boys were in the house. Since the Icelandic volcano blocked all UK flights last weekend, their Chinese daughter, in their words, who is studying in the UK, was delayed in her arrival. Obviously, their service is very interesting, and I haven't heard of anything like it in the States. Even though the couple rarely leaves the UK, the entire world passes through their walls, and they're very much in tune with current events, in a tangible way that few of us can be.

One interesting point that came up in conversation was the relationship between the UK and the US. The husband insisted that tons of Asians passed through his walls, but few Americans came. He couldn't understand this fact in light of the special relationship (In many British people's minds, a special relationship exists between the UK and US. However, I'd never heard of it before I came to the UK). He was right to point out that most Americans never leave the confines of London to enter real England.

The Italian Garden near the southern shores of Scarborough. The several gardens located on the hills were pleasant. On Saturday, my host family pretty much gave me a map and told me to explore. I started on the southern shores and made my way northward.

One of the arcades opposite the beach. I'm not sure what it is about beaches that attracts trashiness (both trashy people and the trashy sides of normal people), but it affects the British as much as Americans. The rest of the town didn't resemble a beach town with cheap restaurants or small summertime houses, but the beach certainly had resemblances of Seaside, NJ. Instead of burgers and fries, there were fish and chips. Instead of dartboards and knock-over-the-moving-target, there were Dave and Buster's-like games in the multiple arcades. Granted, there weren't as many came-straight-from-the-gym-to-show-off-my-muscles kind-of guys, but I'd have to wait until July to get a fair comparison. As you can tell, I was surprised by this atmosphere. However, I guess people are people and cheap, trashy enjoyment is cheap, trashy enjoyment, the world over.

The remains of Scarborough Castle. Originally settled in 370 as a Roman signal station, this piece of land has changed hands many times. It juts into the North Sea and offers a clear view both inland and out to sea. For this reason, it has been prized among kings and rebellious legions. The castle was built in the 12th century, but the three-story keep pictured above was added by Henry II later in the century. If you go to Scarborough, you need to visit the castle, both for its history and its views.

St. Mary's Church from the castle. From that vantage point, it seemed to be the largest church in Scarborough.

Anne Bronte's grave near St. Mary's Church. I actually didn't know who she was at the time, but there was a sign pointing to it so I took a picture. In case you're in my position, she was a British writer of two novels and a volume of poems. Her sister Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, and her other sister Emily wrote Wuthering Heights (Thank you, Wikipedia). I'm not sure where their graves are, but I'm assuming they're elsewhere since the sign only pointed out Anne's grave.

On Sunday, the husband took me for a drive into the country. For a town with 50,000 residents, it's amazing how close it is to farmland. Traveling into the North Yorkshire moors, he explained that many people hiked for days in this national park, especially come summer.

Rocks in Robin Hood's Bay. On the drive, the husband gave me about an hour to explore the bay while he walked one of his dogs in the hills. The bay was fantastic, even though it's a decent drive from Scarborough. There were some great pictures of the beach, the rocks, the surrounding hills, etc. There were a good number of people walking around, admiring the natural beauty. There was a ton of dried seaweed on the beach, it reminded me of tumbleweed from cartoons.

I found a makeshift staircase cut into one of the surrounding hills. I didn't have too much time to explore, but I climbed the hill. To my left is the fence for one of the farms, and to my right is the beach. Although my camera couldn't really capture the different depths of the beach vs. the hill, it was really quiet and gorgeous up there.

I doubt anyone is going to visit Scarborough, but this post is my attempt to convince you to travel outside London, Edinburgh, Dublin, etc. when you come to the UK. Obviously, there wasn't much to see in the town after two days, but the people I met offered their actual perspectives on Americans, London, government, etc. It's definitely worth a weekend, and I'd highly recommend HOST for the trip.

Basel

Let me start off with the journey to Basel. I was flying out of Istanbul to Basel at 3:25 am Friday morning at the end of spring break, while my friends were flying back to London. However, I thought the flight was scheduled for 3:25 pm. I quickly discovered my mistake when I came to the airport at 11:30 am to drop my friends off for their flight. Of course, few people fly from Istanbul to Basel so EasyJet only has one flight on that route each day. I paid 52 euros to get on the next flight and proceeded to wait in the airport for the next 16 hours. Yeah, when you start recognizing the people in the waiting lounges, you know you've been at the airport too long.

Despite the annoying arrival, Basel was a great end to spring break. I only stayed two days until Sunday night so I chose to stay in Basel (where EasyJet flew into) instead of taking a train to Zurich or Geneva. However, a friend who went to Zurich highly recommended it so check it out as well. In comparison to my other spring break cities, Basel was much more quiet, peaceful, and relaxing. It reminded me of a stereotypical well-to-do Connecticut suburb - many well-dressed white people, pleasant springtime weather, and impressive but quiet (in the sense that they weren't hoards of tourists surrounding it) architecture. Granted, I've never been to Connecticut, but there you go.

My hostel was fantastic, probably the best I've had all semester. For 33 francs (which is roughly 30 dollars), I got a clean bed, a huge locker, a clean bathroom, and free Internet. Breakfast cost 9 francs, but I still loved it. It's the YMCA hostel close to the train station, and I also met a few great people.

The Town Hall, or Rathaus. This building is in the middle of a lively square with a farmer's market on Saturdays, Marketplatz. It's the only building of the type, and it's spectacular. Every inch of the exterior is elaborately decorated, not just the front or one tower. I'm not sure if you can go inside since all the signs were in German.

On that note, I was surprised by the lack of English in Basel. Since they're in the corner of Switzerland by both France and Germany, German is the predominant language. Some people spoke a little English, some spoke none, and only the occasional few were fluent. It seemed like more people in Istanbul spoke English than in Basel, which was odd but not too much of a hindrance.

Basel Munster, or the main cathedral in the city. It was free to enter, and the interior was impressive (but nothing special in light of the other churches I saw over spring break). Near the church was a cemetery with the grave of Erasmus, but I could not find it for the life of me. I actually went there twice (since it's close to the center of town) to find him, but no luck.

Spalentor, one of the original city gates for Basel. It's quite a sight with sculptures of odd creatures. Many of the fountains and buildings in Basel seemed to have interesting gargoyles with creatures far weirder than I've seen elsewhere. There were dragons, rabid mice, odd-looking fish, etc. Definitely a trend that I support.

Helvetia, the female personification of Switzerland, or the Helvetic Confederation. This sculpture is located on the Mittlere Bruck bridge near Marketplatz, looking downriver on the Rhine. I really liked the sculpture although I couldn't get a good view of the face due to the morning sun. However, in the afternoon, the banks of the Rhine, especially near this bridge, become packed. It seemed like a great place to hang out like sitting by the Hudson in downtown Manhattan.

One of many public drinking fountains in Basel. I think it's the first city in which I saw such fountains so at first, I was nervous about drinking from it. In fact, this fountain was down a quiet street so I quickly drank from it, not wanting to be seen by the locals in case it was taboo. However, plenty of people (though mainly children) drank from the fountains. I certainly think it's a good idea, especially living in London, where water fountains are nearly impossible to come by, even within buildings.

Basel's Hammering Man sculpture. It forms a part of a series of sculptures in different cities throughout the world, including Seattle, Frankfurt, and Seoul. The cool part is that the arm with the hammer actually moves. The sculpture's located in a random street, and it doesn't even have a base. It just seems to be plopped down near the middle of Basel.

The coolest piece of graffiti I've ever seen. It stretched even wider than my camera could capture in the narrow street. Actually, it may be public art because I can't see how the police wouldn't catch someone who made this art illegally. Nonetheless, it was fantastic.

The Bank of International Settlements. Here comes the Stern side of me, the Basel Accords I and II were written here to establish capital requirements for banks. This Bank has no enforcement mechanisms, but it's a means for central banks to come together and discuss regulatory frameworks in their countries. Central banks then work with national legislatures implement the Accords into law, state by state. I'm not sure what the architecture is supposed to represent. If anyone from the Fed is reading this post, feel free to correct me.

A tiny sculpture from the Historical Museum. There are four buildings in which this museum is located, but I went to the Barfusserkiche one. Barfusserkiche is the center of Basel so this building is the main one, located in an old church. You weren't allowed to take pictures, but I snuck this one in. For the other exhibits, I'd definitely recommend this museum. It has cool tapestries, religious sculptures, and altarpieces. It also gives you an English guidebook, which is key, since all the readings on the exhibits are in German.

A room in the museum was devoted to death and the prominence of it in religion to remind everyone that death is inevitable. One side of the room was filled with tiny sculptures like this one, with death involved with someone from nearly walk of life and profession. They stressed death as the great equalizer, and it reminded me of Dia de los Muertos in Mexican culture.

Basel has many museums. I wanted to check out the Pharmacy Museum, but it was closed on Sunday. Pharmaceutical companies is the reason why Basel became rich, and one of the people I met at the hostel was an American Ph.D student who had followed a chemistry professor from Columbia in New York to Switzerland. In addition to the pharmaceutical companies, I noticed many bank buildings for Ernst & Young, PwC, Credit Suisse, etc.

I also went to the Kunstmuseum, which had great art (again no pictures allowed). Much of the art was from less well-known Swiss and European artists, but there were a few pieces from Picasso and other well-known artists that I forget. However, this museum is worth the visit.

I included this picture because this phenomenon fascinates me. Every city invokes other cities when it comes to fashion, food, or films. For example, New York fashion stores invoke Milan and Paris, leading me to think that those cities wouldn't invoke other cities. However, places like Venice, Paris, and Basel may alternatively invoke New York, in a never-ending cycle. It seems to just be a statement about human nature, where we think the grass is greener on the other side. Nonetheless, this phenomenon is of personal interest, just because I've noted it in each city I've visited.

The food was quite expensive in Basel, which I suppose comes with the high standard of living in Switzerland. Most regular meals, nothing fancy, even for lunch, ranged from 15 to 25 francs. I definitely didn't want to spend 20 dollars on each meal so I ate at a Chinese restaurant (Mr. Wong), a Turkish restaurant (Aladdin), and twice from the supermarket for my two days worth of meals. I don't think I missed out since I'm not sure what Swedish food really is, but just a warning. Even for the chocolate, my hostel owner told me to buy it at a supermarket since it's vastly overpriced in the chocolate shops. In her words, the Swiss eat it there so might as well have the real experience.

On the whole, Basel was peaceful and relaxing. On the first day, I took four self-guided walking tours through the city's hilly streets, and on the second day, I went to a couple museums. I'd recommend the city, but I could easily see some of my friends becoming bored with the city rather quickly. Still looking back, I'm very satisfied with my decision in the Istanbul airport to come to Basel rather than to take a flight home to London.

Greece and the EU

From the beginning, I thought that the EU would bail out Greece. To that end, I even joked with friends that we should buy Greek debt since the EU would be sure to have it paid. Finance ministers recently announced that the EU would provide Greece with 30 billion euros at a below-market rate of 5%. I didn't think the EU would let the IMF get involved, but the IMF has offered an additional 15 billion euros. Angela Merkel probably wasn't too happy with the EU bailout and paved the way for the IMF to enter the stage.

However, I just read an interesting post on a NY Times blog at http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/the-next-global-problem-portugal. A quote from the blog post "While these nations delay, the European Union with its bailout programs — assisted by Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank — provides financing. The governments issue bonds; European commercial banks buy them and then deposit these at the European Central Bank as collateral for freshly printed money. The bank has become the silent facilitator of profligate spending in the euro zone."

The post argues that there's no reason for EU member states such as Greece, Portugal, or Ireland to be fiscally responsible. They know that the EU, either through the ECB or below-market rate fiscal transfers, will bail them out. The ECB had a means to tighten this loophole by restricting collateral requirements, but it recently made it easier to post sovereign debt as collateral. By using it as collateral, more money is fed into the system, on little to no real basis.

A speaker in our World Studies class said that this crisis will either split apart the EU, through the creation of exit mechanisms for non-performing member states, or will force it closer together, through the creation of more liquid fiscal transfers. At least in the immediate term, it's going down the latter route. Of course, at some point, well-performing member states like Germany will get upset and refuse to stop funding such fiscal transfers. This conclusion, supported by the blog post, says that with the increasing debt, eventually one of the member states will be forced to default, exit the EU, or both. My view is that the EU's bailout of Greece is necessary but that it must either create strict enforcement of the Growth and Stability Pact or be willing to accept fiscal integration to the extent of the US system. I think the former is more likely, but obviously, it's much, much easier said than done. Anyway, I'm not an authority on these matters by any stretch of the imagination, but I just wanted to get my thoughts down. But read the NY Times blog post.

Istanbul

I highly recommend this city. It's significantly different - in history, culture, and other aspects - from other European cities so it's well worth a visit. As you know, Istanbul, or formerly Constantinople, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire so in that sense, it's comparable to Rome. However, it has little of the grandeur or the I-know-I'm-the-shit attitude of the Italian cities I visited (granted, I didn't see Rome). It has more of the feel of India, of Mexico, of a rough-and-tumble Third World city still adjusting and re-making itself. Certainly the history isn't lacking, but there's a distinct feeling that you're leaving Europe and approaching the Middle East. Sorry I know this description is bordering on racism, but I think it's the only way to capture the city's atmosphere in words.

To its credit, Istanbul's food was great from the Turkish rice to baklava to the kebab (for which my meat-eating friends can vouch). Make sure you try apple tea and Turkish delight as well. I was joking with my friends, they could put Turkish in front of anything and I would pay twice the price just for the novelty. Granted, the Turkish rice is legitimately different than rice, but just an observation.

The Hagia Sophia, the first stop on a tourist visit of Istanbul. This building, now a museum, is the quintessential example of this city's unique history. Consecrated in 360 as the cathedral for Constantinople, the capital city for the Eastern Roman Empire, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. In 1935, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum, for which you have to pay 20 euros to enter today.

A note about Istanbul. Even though it's outside the EU, it's not as cheap as you might think. Many prices, especially in the tourist areas, are listed in both Turkish liras (TL) and euros, automatically making them more expensive. Turkey has wanted to enter the EU for decades, but owing to its history and culture, as exemplified in the Hagia Sophia, many Europeans have been weary of this prospect. However, this weariness doesn't stop the Turks from charging much higher prices in euros, at least in Istanbul.

The interior of the Hagia Sophia. The dome structure is a captivating sight. The Catholic mosaics, which were covered up by the Muslims and damaged when they were covered, are noteworthy. The painting of Archangel Gabriel, on the ceiling at the front of the church, is above the mihrab, which is a niche in a mosque wall pointing towards Mecca. Another interesting juxtaposition to see how Gabriel could be incorporated into both religions. Check out the Wish Column, where you rub your thumb in this hole and hopefully feel water as you make your wish. As you can tell, there's plenty to see in the Hagia Sophia, although there aren't as many plaques or readings as you'd expect in a mosque. In fact, I was hoping for more readings to understand the various juxtapositions of religious artifacts.

The Blue Mosque, which is still functional as a mosque today. Tourists have a separate entrance where you must take off your shoes and carry them with you in a bag. In comparison to the Hagia Sophia, the mosque is very minimalist. It has similarly impressive domes and wall patterning, but little of the grand furniture, artwork, interior doors, etc. that characterize cathedrals. I think it's the first mosque I've entered, but it clearly reminded me of my temple, and I felt quite at home.

Women are supposed to cover all parts of their body when they enter the mosque. I've heard that, according to Muslim tradition, hair is considered the most attractive part of the body, which is why women are supposed to wear the hijab. Many female tourists adhered to these rules, but several blatantly flaunted them, which I found highly disrespectful. Places of worship should be treated differently than other tourist attractions. Whether it be mosque or cathedral, some people waltz in, flashing their camera at every piece of artwork, marching through with little regard to sound, not giving the slightest regard for those in prayer. Whether or not you're personally offended by the secondary position of women, it is part of the respect owed to the mosque. If you're ideologically offended enough to flaunt the rules, then protest by not visiting.

A piece of artwork in the Archeological Museum. This complex holds three museums that you can enter for 10 euros, which I recommend. The nearby palace costs 15 euros and is also a sight to see, according to my friends, but I spent all my time in the museums.

The tile museum has interesting pieces and doesn't take too long to complete. The art museum, where this picture was taken, was bland in my opinion. It did have art from over 2000 years ago, which is interesting, but 2000 years ago vs. 3000 years ago doesn't mean much in my head. I stopped caring how old the art was and got a bit bored, which says more about my shallowness than the quality of the museum, but still.

The history museum was overwhelming, but I liked it. There were so many exhibits on four floors that I couldn't possibly get through all of them. However, you learn a ridiculous amount about Turkish history and the various influences that the culture has absorbed. You won't be able to find similar information anywhere else, unless you open a textbook on Turkish history. I recommend spending the majority of your time in the complex in this museum.

One place I doubt you want to go. No, thankfully, we didn't stay here, but I saw this sign on the street.

Gate 1 to the Grand Bazaar, which encompasses 4,000 shops and 66 little streets within its covered structure. A major tourist trap, but you have to check it out. The best part is the negotiating. In Istanbul, you can haggle absolutely anything, from merchandise to food to probably hotel rooms (I don't think we tried this one in earnest). The first couple shops you go to, you have to tell yourself that you're going to leave without buying anything, just to get a feel for the haggling. That's your major asset - the ability to leave at any point in the haggling. Once you start walking away, most shop owners will tail you for a few steps, agree to a much lower price, or offer you multiple objects. Especially in the Grand Bazaar, there's probably 20 shops with the same object so a good haggle is if you get it at 40% - 50% of the original price. Obviously, the shop owners calculate this haggling into their pricing so it's your loss if you don't do it. A few owners were legitimately angry at us as they sold us the item at a reduced price. At first, you feel bad, but then you realize you must have gotten a good deal and they would've never sold it to you if they didn't make at least some sort of profit so it's a satisfying feeling.

A shop in the Spice Bazaar. I absolutely loved this sign. Either it shows how valuable Obama is as a commercial figure, even halfway across the world, or it shows how many American tourists come to the Spice Bazaar. If you want to buy saffron or other spices for your mom, this bazaar is the place to go.

The man in this shop propositioned the one girl who was in our group, something which happened multiple times when we went shopping. However, the upside of the propositions is that girls can swing a better deal for whatever they buy, as long as they don't get intimidated by the owners' negotiating tactics.

An amulet meant to protect you against the evil eye. You see it all over from earrings to postcards to graffiti since the Turkish are supposed to be very superstitious. Once the amulet breaks, it means that it has protected you against one instance of the evil eye and that you much instantly buy a new one for similar protection. Interestingly, this amulet is known as Nazar, according to Wikipedia. I'm not sure how the word is pronounced, but it's the same word for vision in Gujarati.

Apparently a gang sign we kept seeing as we walked home from Taksim. Not sure what it means or which gang it belongs to, but I thought it was interesting.

Taksim is the student, nightlife area of Istanbul. There's a main street that runs from Taksim square, which surprisingly had Christmas lights and Santa Clauses running above the streets in April. Like I've hinted, the religious dynamic is interesting. Although a secular state, Turkey allows the Muslim call to prayer to blare from the mosque's minarets five times a day. After all, 99% of its population is Muslim. For me, it's mind-boggling how you balance a secular state, a 99% Muslim population, and Christmas lights in one of the main streets in Istanbul.

The Bosphorus River, separating Europe from Asia. There is a bridge where you can walk from one continent to the other. We didn't actually walk across the bridge, but we crossed it in a van on our way to/from the airport. We took a six-hour boat ride on the Bosphorus, available from near Sirkeci, for 20 euros. It was a relaxing way to spend our last day, but you can skip it if you're pressed for time.

The boat ride took us to a hill with picturesque views of the Bosphorus and Asia. Atop the hill/cliff, I especially liked this picture due to the Turkish flag. There's a ruined castle behind me, but you couldn't get into it. However, one of my friends found a stray cat in the fields here. Apparently there's lots of small cats and big dogs walking around Istanbul. At another point in our trip, we saw a stray cat whose tail was freshly chopped off, as in you could see the bright red of the blood on the stub, but we quickly left it to avoid any trouble. Quite gruesome, but otherwise the cats are fine.

I definitely had an enjoyable time in Istanbul and would love to explore other parts of Turkey. Most people don't take too kindly to the fact that you only speak English, but I suppose it's just another part of the social/cultural fabric that I could barely explain to you if asked.

Pisa

Don't let them lie to you, there isn't anything more to Pisa than the Tower and the Duomo, at least from a tourist perspective. I spent a day here since my flight was from the Pisa airport. In that time, I walked from one end of the town to the other and back.

Piazza dei Miracoli, aka Piazza del Duomo. There's a great stretch of grass to the left of this picture where couples were sitting and people were sunbathing. I'm going to make an overgeneralization, but PDA seems to be much more commonplace in Europe. There were a few couples lying on top of each other. Even in London, many couples make out or cuddle while riding the escalators. I usually don't have a problem with it, but it is much more in your face than I remember in the States.

Yes, it actually does lean. However, I was shocked by how small the tower is. If you count the external rings, there are only seven floors. Each is slightly larger than a normal floor, but the whole tower is smaller than you're led to believe. It costs 15 euros to climb to the top so I skipped the climb. I probably get a better view out of my 20th story dorm in New York.

This picture doesn't quite capture it, but there were so many people doing the same pose of holding the tower up. Most people would stand on the little fence posts, but some were original. My friend has a picture of him kicking the tower. The street vendors were selling T-shirts of the tower falling on Bart Simpson. But there have got to be thousands, if not millions, of pictures around the world of people holding the tower up.

The interior of the Duomo. I was really impressed with the extravagance of this church. The exterior and dome of the Florence Duomo certainly win, but I think the interior of the Pisa Duomo was one of my favorite in Italy. I tried to capture each aspect of it in this picture from the ceiling to the colors of the columns to the paintings in the domes. The walls also have some great artwork (of course, not as great as the Medici church but still pretty high up there).

The pulpit inside the Duomo. On the bottom of the solid columns are stone lions holding the columns on their backs. The panels at the top told the story of either Mary or Christ, I can't remember. If you do go to Pisa, make sure you pop into the church for at least 15 minutes. It's probably as astounding as the tower.

Like the Florence square, Piazza dei Miracoli also has a Battistero and Museo dell'Opera in addition to the Campasanto and another museum. This Museo dell'Opera is not nearly as informative as the Florence one.

Outside of this square, Corso Italia and Keith Haring's mural were worth the visit. Corso Italia is a busy shopping street that runs down the southern part of town below the River Arno (the same river that runs through Florence). On this street, there were two women kneeling with a bag in their hand to raise money for leukemia. It was quite a humbling sight, especially since I've never seen it before. Corso Italia will take you to Keith Haring's mural on the side of a church near the train station. If you don't know who he is, Google Image his name and you'll instantly recognize his signature block figures.

Since I was only in the city for one night, I stayed at a camping village just outside the city's northern walls. It wasn't as bad as I expected. Granted, I didn't risk taking a shower there, but we were given trailers with a common room and two bedrooms, each with two beds. I met a boy from North Carolina who is taking a gap year to do organic farming throughout Italy. One of the best parts of traveling on your own (which I did in Pisa and Basel) is the people you meet in hostels or camping villages. I doubt I'll stay in touch with any of them, but it's always nice to meet new people who have completely different outlooks on life. For example, I doubt any of my friends, either in high school or college, considered taking a gap year to do organic farming.

On the whole, Pisa was decent. It paled in comparison to the other Italian cities, but if you have a day before you're flying out from the airport, it makes for a reasonably well-spent day. If you have less than a day, say a few hours, even that may be sufficient. No offense to anyone who's from Pisa lol

Florence

Probably my favorite city during spring break. I spent four nights living with friends from New York. As expected, I ate loads of pasta and gelato, saw several churches/museums, and walked much of the city several times over. Florence is relatively small in size so it's easy to cover most of it on foot. It's very tourist-y, but I didn't mind since there were still plenty of sites to see. However, my friends said that as a result, they never use any of the Italian they learn since most everyone, including shop owners and waiters, understand English.

The NYU Florence campus over James's shoulder. I was absolutely stunned when I saw all the grass and trees. You have to understand, coming from NYU, our conception of a campus never includes unencumbered plains of grass where you can just sit and enjoy the beauty. Apparently, it's a donated villa so there are multiple buildings on the sides. It has more of a collegiate feel than NYU, with the campus and with the fact that everyone recognizes each other. As you can tell, I was really impressed and started questioning why I hadn't chosen to study abroad in Florence. The only downside is that the campus is nearly a 45-minute walk from my friends' dorm. It's on the opposite side of the city, but like I said, it's a small city and you can cross much of it in only 45 minutes.

The Duomo, the most obvious sight in Florence. As someone told me, you never need a map in Florence, just figure out where the Duomo and the river are and you'll know where you're going. Officially called Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, it is the central church (Duomo) of Florence. So each city has its own Duomo, which took me a while to understand.

Brunelleschi's dome is the largest masonry dome in the world, to this day. You can climb into the dome, but for some reason, it was closed during my visit. If you go to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, which is across the square from the Duomo, they have Brunelleschi's working models and his workers' tools. I highly recommend this museum. There is so much art, sculpture, and architecture both outside and inside the Duomo that you need a museum to explain it all to you. Otherwise, it's just a cool big church, but the museum really opened my eyes to the ongoing work to the Duomo over the centuries by Michelangelo, Arnolfo di Cambio, Brunelleschi, Lorenzo Ghiberti, etc.

The inside of Brunelleschi's dome. I'm not sure who painted it, but the interior also has many cool paintings and stained glass windows. However, relative to the exterior, the interior is much subdued. As the museum explained it, the donors to the Duomo wanted to display their wealth to the rest of the world, but they didn't need reminders inside their own church. You can also go down into the Duomo's crypt where Brunelleschi is buried. However, it was also closed for some reason. Bad week to come see the Duomo.

Another view of the Duomo, now from the Piazza del Michelangelo. This piazza was one of my favorite spots in the city. It's a trek to reach there, but the views of the River Arno, Florence, and the nearby mountains are fantastic.

In this picture, you can also see the Clock Tower (Campanile), which is the tall building near the Duomo, and the Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni), which is the rounded building next to the Campanile. Both these buildings are in the Piazza del Duomo. Like Piazza San Marco, you can spend your entire day in this square.

The Campanile is supposed to offer amazing views of Brunelleschi's dome and the rest of the city, but the line was too long. If you do want to go up, go early in the morning. Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise adorn the Battistero. Like many other pieces, the ones you see today are copies while the real ones are located in the Museo dell'Opera in order to preserve them. In addition, the sculptures above eye level on both the Campanile and Battistero are noteworthy.

A random person in the Piazza del Michelangelo (We'll take a break from the history for a moment lol). It was quite windy up there so he was actually zooming along in the parking lot. I've never seen this before. Anyone know what it's called?

The Basilica di San Lorenzo. As you can see, there's no facade, but I really liked the interior (Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures). It has a sharp gray and white pattern between the columns and walls, which I surprisingly liked. This church was the Medici family's parish church so there are incredible paintings and artwork on the walls. Many of the Medici are also buried in this church.

This church is right next to the Leather Market. You could say that all of Italy is a Leather Market, but on the adjacent streets, there are a crazy amount of jackets, bags, shoes, etc. just hanging from flimsy stalls. However, as I was walking by, Lady Gaga was blaring from one of the shops. Wherever you go, you can't escape American pop music.

The Basilica di Santa Croce. I like this picture because it clearly shows the difference between the marble facade and the wooden church. I didn't realize that the two are separate entities. As you can tell from the Basilica di San Lorenzo, a church can exist without a facade. In the case of the Duomo, the facade can be rebuilt, as it was after di Cambio gave it a shot.

Galileo's tomb in the Basilica di Santa Croce. For me, that was the church's main attraction. Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Ghiberti, and several other figures I didn't recognize are buried in this church. I was slightly disappointed by Brunelleschi's cloister, but definitely check out the Pazzi Chapel and the overwhelming artwork towards the front of the church.

A David outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The real David by Michelangelo is in the Academmia Gallery. I went to the Gallery at noon and the line stretched two blocks so I didn't bother waiting. My guide book recommended reserving tickets for both the Gallery and the Uffizi since they're supposed to be jam-packed with tourists. I didn't get a chance to see either museum, but my friends recommended them.

Ponte Vecchio from the next bridge. The Ponte Vecchio has many jewelry and clothing stores on the sides of the bridge. Everyone in Florence asked if I'd seen the bridge, but after you see it once, it loses its novelty.

However, one thing that doesn't lose its novelty is the gelato. I don't even know how many cups I had, but they were all delicious. For one sitting, I had cafe gelato, which is much stronger than the coffee ice cream of the States but is quite good. My advice is to try a different flavor every time you go. Also, a friend said never to go to a place that sells gelato and other things; go to the stores that specialize only in gelato since it has to be good. However, it won't be a problem finding them since there's a store nearly every other block.

Also, the nightlife in Florence was really good. It was the only city over spring break where I really went out, but it was a lot of fun. One of the Florence residents lost his wallet one night, but otherwise everything went well. The drinks can be expensive (London or New York prices), but the nightlife is certainly active even throughout the week. It's funny to see the Duomo deserted at night, especially when it's so crowded during the day.