The Solo Journey Begins..

SIENA - July 2, 2010
The day the program was over, so we made our way to Siena for the historical race. A few people that stayed behind in our group joined me to see the race. The race is run at the Piazza del Campo with the horses representing each of the contradas (districts) of the town. The contradas are each represented by flags, and it is tradition for people to where scarves of the flags around their necks. I got one known as the "Commander of the Waves". The jockeys ride bareback and the horses are not experienced in racing. When we arrived we ran into a guy from Pepperdine that knew my friend from the Florence program. His parents took us out for lunch. That was when I found out his mom went to Foothill high school and knew my uncle, John Astor. They had seats on the outer track, while we stood in the middle of the square. We stood at the "mattress corner", which is the treacherous sharp turn where many riders tend to fall off. Before the race, each contrada presented their horses, jockey,and flag throwing skills. Then when the horses began to line up, the crowd was silent... Finally, they were off and the crowd erupted! In the first lap, the Waves were in the lead. It was the same for the second lap, which included a rider-less horse (which can still finish the race and win). In the final lap, the waves lost their position and once the winner crossed, the fans joined the rider and horse in celebration. The locals whose district lost stomped their way home with many of them crying. It was an unbelievable experience, and something that I would recommend everyone to do if in europe during the race.
Moments after the finish:


and the YouTube link: (my video wouldn't load)
Palio di Siena

GIMMELWALD - July 4-6, 2010
Originally, my plan was to spend one night at the Pepperdine house in Lausanne Switzerland. I went there with Armando, a Florence friend, and they didn't allow me to spend the night. But the house was amazing. Seven stories and a view of Lake Geneva, and France on the other side. I left Lausanne, heading straight for Gimmelwald.
My brother, Craig, highly suggested that I visit Gimmelwald, and now I know why I love my brother... Gimmelwald is a sleepy mountain village of about 120 people with more cow troughs than mailboxes. It has a majestic view of the Swiss Alps. I had to take a gondola to get there. Here is the view from my hostel:


In the morning I took a hike that lasted the entire day. I cannot explain how unbelievable the hike was. The views were nothing like I had ever seen. The hike ran through the town and straight into Kilchbalm. Kilchbalm is a glacial cirque with glaciers, snow, waterfalls, and streams. It was almost too much too take in at once. I spent many hours exploring each stream and waterfall, finding moments to be still in between. Being the only one around the whole time, I had never felt God's presence so much.
The middle of the hike: (I made it all the way to that snow/ice you see to the right of my head)



Now my plan is Munich for the Germany vs. Spain game, then Milan to stay with a family that I met on the train to switzerland.