Notes, totes and Billy Goats

Notes, Totes and Billy Goats

The length of this post is gross, if you read it all I would be happily impressed.

Hello everyone,
I would like to start off this blog by wrapping up the events that took place while in Rome. Mainly I want to talk about our trip to Assisi a couple of weeks ago. Assisi was amazing. Built in to a hill overlooking a picturesque agricultural valley. We went in to the first Franciscan church and even went in to the crypt and saw the tomb of St. Francis. The Church was ornate and had natural light pouring in but my experience up there didn't hold a candle to what I experienced underneath the Church. Going in to the crypt was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. I went in to several in Rome, but here there was a reverence that was absent in Rome. Prior to this trip I didn't really see or relate to the importance of relics but I feel like this is changing perhaps slightly but changing nonetheless. Being in the crypt, I had the opportunity to sit in front of St. Francis's tomb and watched as people from all over the globe filed in. Just like every other religious site that we've visited, there was a wide range of reverence. Some came and went snapping a few pictures that might put in a collage of their trip or look back on in 10 years. And there were those who had been anticipating their visit and were struck as well as those (me) who had no expectations and were still heavily impacted by their visit. When I think back to my trip this will be one of the most valuable moments. We spent the rest of the day in Assisi, having lunch on a terrace overlooking miles of ideal farmland. At the end of the day, I ventured to the top of the hill where the castle is located. The sun, being low in the sky, was pouring lights through the cracks in the clouds. You could see these glowing beams all the way to the ground illuminating random areas all around the valley. A sight I will never forget.

In Rome we went to an awesome restaurant outside of "Touristville" which was so refreshing. 4:20 Bar sold local IPA's, most of which are brewed in-house. The area around the bar reminded me of East Austin, run down slightly industrial but full of cool almost secret places. 4:20 was one of those places. Also they had really good french fries. haha.

After leaving Rome we headed to Florence where we spent 8 days. While thinking about what to say about Florence, I'm reminded of something that many kids are told, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." So I'll say some nice things in order to give myself leeway for my negative remarks. Positively, coming from, when we drove in to the valley where Florence resides my first thoughts were "I could easily live here". Contrasting to Rome, trees surrounding the small urban center of Florence with the huge dome of the Florence Cathedral. We stayed in hotel 500ft from the Cathedral. We saw "David" by Michelangelo, which unlike some works of art, lives up to all of the hype. Narrow alleys and streets wind through the city. One of the first nights in Florence, several of the girls had caught wind of a huge 20's themed party happening at a bar across town. Josh and I were unsure of whether or not to attend as the 15 euro cover charge. Last minute we decided to join the women (and Drew) who were already there. After the long walk across town we finally arrived and the party was in full swing. A jazz band was rocking the house and tons of people dressed in 20's attire were dancing their hearts out. I was so glad I went. While there were bright moments during the week, Florence was the hardest place to live in on this trip so far. After the first day and my initial awe of the city was beginning to wear off, I began to realize the amount of wealth that surrounded me. Our hotel for the week was very central which meant that we were surrounded by stores like Gucci and Prada and lots of other brands I have never even heard of. It was so far removed from what I am used to and I struggled justifying the amount of money spent on things that seemed to matter so little to those who bought them. It's hard enough to see people spend 1,000's of euro on clothes or bags but to see these people walk out of the store less excited than I am when I walk out of Old Navy with a new pair of pants that mom had picked out scared me. This is probably coming across more pious than I intend. If I had grown up in a family or culture that had access to this amount of money, I would have less qualms about spending it. In fact I saw lots of shoes and watches that would've been hard to pass up if I had 10,000 or 15,000 spare euro. But I'm not from that culture and being surrounded by that culture left me sad and even angry. It was hard to practice kindness and understanding towards these people and I don't feel like I did a good job.

All things come to an end and on this trip the end usually comes quickly. We moved on from Florence and flew to Madrid. I had some big expectations for Madrid considering how little I knew about it. I LOVE MADRID. I'm a big tree guy and Madrid has a lot of trees. It maintains the European metropolitan city feel, but has incorporated tons of parks, trees and it just feels more familiar. The streets are littered with small exercise areas that are frequented by elderly Spaniards and other parks for kids that are always full. The Spanish lifestyle is so awesome. Wake up late, siestas and they eat dinner so late! Around 8p.m. the Spanish people begin "Paseo", which is where people just along the street and gather and talk about their day. And the best part is that it actually happens! It's not one of those things that you read in a culture book but you never see. They actually do this every night, unless Real Madrid is playing. Speaking of which we went to a Real Madrid game on 10/30 and they played Sevilla. It was such an amazing experience. We were at the very very top but were close to the midpoint of the field and had a great view. It was cold but the stadium has these heaters which made it so I could comfortably wear a T-shirt... or jersey. I bought myself a jersey. Last weekend several of us went to a huge nightclub in Madrid. Staying consistent with the Spanish theme of lateness, the club opened up at 1a.m. and it isn't uncommon to leave around 6 or 7a.m. We didn't stay that long. There are 7 floors each one with a different theme and environment. It was one of the most amazing places. It centers around a huge dance floor on the first floor. I got a haircut upon our arrival to Madrid. It was something that I was looking forward to since before the beginning of the trip. It was really fun. I tried so hard to communicate what I wanted and ended just laughing at how pathetic my attempt was. It worked out though and the lady did a great cut and was the nicest, most understanding person ever.

Wow this blog spans a wide period of time but I'll do my best to recall it all. The weekend of 11/1 we took a trip to southern Spain. We got to see Flamenco dancers in Cordoba and we ended up in La Linea which is just on the Spanish border next to Gibraltar. Both La Linea and Gibraltar were nothing much in terms of the towns. In fact they were eerily vacant. The rock of Gibraltar itself was incredible. It is so massive and imposing. I never would have guessed the scale of it. We went to the top and hung out with the monkeys. We explored a lot of the tunnels that had been dug through the mountain. One of which was a natural cavern that was used as a hospital during WWII. Now it's a concert venue. I would return just to go to a concert here. After a few days in Gibraltar we made our way back to Madrid. On the first stop of the 7 hour trip I walked out of a truck stop and was floored by what was in front of me. The sun was setting behind me and the hills acquired this soft glow to them. On this semester I have arguably some of the greatest works of art in history. From Michelangelo to Picasso, I've seen it. But this scene laid out in front of me was something that El Greco couldn't even capture in his painting. It took Michelangelo years to complete the Sistine Chapel but this landscape was made in seconds. Off in the distance mountains peaked over the horizon with a stark purple hue. I stood there dumbfounded for 10 minutes although it actually only felt like seconds. The sun set and just as quickly as it was created, the whole thing disappeared into darkness. As I turned to board the bus I noticed much our group standing right behind me, all of us in a stunned silence. That, that was a memory I hope to never forget.

The last two weeks of Madrid went past in a blur. A creeping sadness has come over me as I realize the finitude of the trip. This semester has been so different from anything I've ever experienced and I've gotten so close to this group that it'll be hard to remove myself and reintegrate into reality.

After Madrid, our group split up and we went on our individual pilgrimages. I had decided to go to Prague, since I had such a good time in Budapest. CJ also went to Prague and we spent much of our time together. The day we flew in CJ and I trekked up to a hill overlooking the city where a statue of Stalin used to watch over the city. I've done this in every city as it gives a vantage point to locate things and usually gives you a great view. Looking over Prague I felt as though I had made a mistake in going. It was a typical Eastern European day, bleak and cold. The city was honestly ugly, grey and dead. After spending half an hour up there we decided to trek back down. The city we walked back in to was seemingly not the same one we were just looking at. As you look over the city from a distance you can see the lasting communist influence but as you get inside the city the beauty of each building, park and square is revealed. You don't see the grey blob, you set the colorful apartments, the intricate graffiti and many other things that make Prague unique. Things like my pilgrimage site The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn or the astronomical clock just across the square. This was kind of a theme for my pilgrimage, as I came in to it with huge overarching life questions and I realized that my realization of Prague applied to my questions. I had to take the small realizations and formulate them into a perspective that I can use for answering or at least beginning to answer the bigger life questions. Coming out of my pilgrimage I still had lots of questions left unanswered but I was now equipped with the tools to begin to answer them. And really the struggle to coming to a good conclusion is as valuable as the answer itself. My pilgrimage came to a true conclusion as we reunited in London and attended a service at Westminster abbey. It was an emotional end as so many things hit me at once. It was a brief but beautiful service.

If you've read this far I applaud you. I apologize for the long gap between posts. As always I love you all and I will see you soon.


Happy Guy,
Chris Costenbader