Travel

Vicenza Con Gabrielle

 Welcome to Italia. “Transportation strike is to begin at 10am and last until 1pm.” In true Italian style, they strike but are polite enough to tell you ahead of time and limit the inconvenience. Unfortunately, noting the bulletin at 9:55am with a 10:50 train to catch is not how I want to begin my morning. We rush to the vaparetto stop and hope for the best. And indeed, we receive good fortune. We reach our train with time to spare and are whisked away to the small city of Vicenza just 45 minutes east of Venezia. (more…)

By Pat, ago

Masks and Gondeliers

By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography

IMG_1560.JPGVenice has definitely been one of my favorite cities so far. From the water to the masks everything was great. It’s a place with no cars or huge crowds this time of year. It was nice to be able to lounge around on the boats and see the canals, mountains, and the open sea.  (more…)

By Gabrielle, ago

Venezia Con Gabrielle

Photo by Gabrielle "Through The Lens"

Photo by Gabrielle “Through The Lens Photography”

Our first class Fracciargento speeds us through tunnels and along smooth tracks to Venezia. Meanwhile, we endulge ourselves on exquisite pastries of cannoli and chocolate. My heavens, they are good.

Gabrielle is smitten with the canals and boats of Venezia. (more…)

By Pat, ago

Views on Beauty

By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography

Looking through an art gallery in Florence, Italy I realized that

1. The Italians love their nudity

2. The nude women were not skinny

This made me think about how our ideas of beauty have and have not changed in the past 500 years. The woman in the painting below is Venus. Venus is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world and she is obviously not a size zero. But I think that if you asked someone to paint Venus now based on society’s views she would look very different. 

How our idea’s on beauty have changed: (more…)

By Gabrielle, ago

Firenze Con Gabrielle

IMG_1568

Photo by Gabrielle, “Through The Lens Photography”

After breakfast, we rode the Circumvesuviana to Napoli and our high speed Fracciarossa to Firenze. Its new leather smell, speeds of 185 mph, and smooth ride are a testament to what the United States’ rail system SHOULD be. The fields are green, trees are beginning to bloom, and there is snow on the Apennines to the east of us.  (more…)

By Pat, ago

Rome Through My Eyes

By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography

Rome is a huge city full of many different types of people, transportation, and smells. Being from a small town of about 800,  going to a city with 3-4 million residents is a huge change. I had to learn how to become aware of my surroundings at all times, use public transportation, and communicate with people who know little to no English. 

(more…)

By Gabrielle, ago