Tagged With: museum
2015 Giro stage 17
After yesterday’s summit finish at Aprica, Andrea and I sat in traffic for a good while (though it was child’s play by Tour de France traffic standards). In order to reach Lugano, Switzerland, we pretty much drove the stage 17 race route and our jaws were on the floor the entire way, admiring the stunning … Continue reading
Ypres, Belgium
With the Tour de France starting in Ypres (or Ieper, if you prefer the Flemish), this seemed like a good opportunity to write about some of the ways World War I is remembered here. Back in April, I visited In Flanders Fields, a museum dedicated to documenting the experiences of the soldiers and civilians. … Continue reading
Madaba, Mount Nebo, & the Dead Sea, Jordan
Back in June, I spent a week traveling through Jordan and I didn’t have time to post about my trip until just now. Just outside of the capital is Madaba, a small city with a long history. At the end of the 19th century, a 6th century mosaic map of the Middle East was uncovered … Continue reading
Cairo, Egypt
Hello, reader! My trip to Egypt was already a few months ago but I never finished posting about it because I got more than a little sidetracked following 5 different cycling races across 8 different countries, so bear with me as I finish up Egypt! (And don't worry, there are more upcoming races on my … Continue reading
Alexandria, Egypt
The drive from Cairo to Alexandria is long but easy, especially if you've got a private driver which is ridiculously affordable. After driving through the desert, our first stop was to see the catacombs at Kom el-Shoqafa. They were pretty serious about not letting cameras in, which is too bad because I loved exploring the … Continue reading
The Koppenberg & Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen
Another famous Belgian cobblestone climb is the Koppenberg. The name comes from kinderkoppen, or children's heads, as cobblestones are known in Flemish. That's a nice piece of imagery. The iconic hill has been used in Ronde van Vlaanderen over 20 times since the mid 1970s, though it was excluded for 15 years after the … Continue reading
Luxor, Egypt
The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut The temple is composed of 3 stories of colonnades. The walls were covered in hieroglyphics and paintings depicting the birth of a female pharaoh and an expedition to the Red Sea. The ceiling was painted with stars. The Colossi of Memnon Two massive statues of Amenhotep III once marked … Continue reading
Abu Simbel, Egypt
Before my Tour de France pilgrimage, I was posting about my trip with Viraj to Egypt so without further ado, I’m picking up where I left off! When I told people I was heading to Egypt, the 2 responses I most commonly heard were (1) “Are you crazy?!” and (2) “Abu Simbel was my favorite!” … Continue reading
Bologna, Italy & San Marino
I spent 3 nights in Bologna, but my day trips meant that I was hardly in Bologna at all! I snapped some pictures the afternoon I arrived but I didn't have a chance to investigate too much of the city unfortunately. It had a very different atmosphere than Rome or Florence. Here are a few … Continue reading
Vatican City
With a population of just 800, Vatican City is the smallest independent country in the world in terms of both population and area, so I’m guessing they won’t be fielding a bobsled team at the Sochi Olympics next year. But that’s ok because the Vatican is truly an incredible place to visit, even without an … Continue reading