London: 2011

So, I decided to take one last trip around England before the holidays. Stefan, myself, and one of Stefan's friends, named Gernot (a South Tyrolian), decided to rent a car and drive out to Stonehenge. We rented a 4 door hatchback (all cars in Europe seem to be hatchbacks) that had MANUAL transmission. That meant, of course, that I couldn't drive it.

Stonehenge was just a couple of hours west of London. My favorite part was coming over the hill in the car, seeing the stones for the first time, and being maybe 3/4 of a mile away, thinking "Dang, those stones are HUGE." It was a very cold day, in the 30s with a gusty wind blowing across the treeless meadows. All in all, it was a nice visit. You get to walk surprisingly close to the stones, and all the way around them on a walkway.

After Stonehenge, we drove an hour and fifteen minutes north to Oxford. We had lunch at an old pub and walked around the city a bit. The school buildings were disappointing, but the colleges and city center were very nice.

Some pictures:

I just got back from a 10 day trip to an autonomous region of northern Italy known as Sudtirol, or South Tyrol. Boy was it amazing. It was clearly a trip unlike any other I have ever taken. This was the first time I have traveled overseas with someone native to the country I was visiting. I'll tell you what, that makes all the difference in the world. Every single thing I did was something I would never have done if I were traveling alone or with other Americans. I am so incredibly grateful to have had this experience.

I flew into Verona from London - Gatwick on Easyjet, the discount airline, the evening of November 4th. It was already dark, so I didn't get to see much of the countryside as we drove north into the Italian Alps. After an hour and half, we arrived in Tramin, a small town of about 3,000 people, home to where my flatmate Stefan lives with his family. Over the next 10 days, I visited a winery, played cards in a mountain cabin, saw Otzi the 5,000 year old iceman, visited Innsbruck, Austria, toured a silver mine, played the South Tyrolian equivalent to bowling, ate traditional South Tyrolian meals (mix of Italian and Austrian), went hiking at a UNESCO world heritage site, viewed the stars through a mountaintop telescope, and played in a Watten tournament (a traditional card game played with a German deck of cards). What a week it was. Picture below!

The view out Stefan's window

Stefan and his family

The church in Tramin, Italy

Tramin

Some of the MANY vineyards in Tramin

The cabin we played cards at

The winery Stefan's dad works at

Wine caskets at the winery

The winery lobby

Wine tasting! I brought two bottle back to London!

The wine cellar at the old winery

Storing a few bottles for special occasions

Stefan's aunt and grandmother. His aunt and uncle bottle applejuice for local apple farmers.

Bolzano town square

Church in Bolzano

Outdoor market at Bolzano

Otzi the 5,300 year old iceman

Where we went hiking

Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck

Beautiful building in Innsbruck

Lunch in Innsbruck!

Innsbruck

South Tyrolian bowling. Smaller balls that you cup in your hands (no fingerholes), and the pins are attached to strings that pull them up after knock them down.