Long ago, conflicts were common between the secular rulers and papacy of Medieval Europe.  In fact one dispute, that of King Philip the Fair of France and Pope Boniface VIII, became so bad during the early fourteenth century that Philip later pressured Boniface’s successor, Clement V, to settle permanently in Avignon in southeastern France.  This period of “banishment” is commonly known as the Babylonian Captivity and lasted from 1309 to 1376, with seven popes in total ruling out of the new Papal Palace of Avignon.

However, something unexpected happened during this relocation to France.  Now living in a lavish and ornately decorated palace, many of the popes soon said, “hey, we like nice things!” and proceeded to spend tons of church money frivolously on the many pleasures the 1300s had to offer (which in hindsight were not all that many).  Not only did this period mark a transition in terms of where the church was located, but it also began a period of decline for church prestige.  The seven popes at Avignon concentrated on the bureaucratic and financial matters of the papacy far more than spiritual objectives, creating an atmosphere of luxury and extravagance instead of the humble life the church had previously preached.  Because the popes were far away from their roots in Rome, they seemed to feel more comfortable morphing the church into way more of a corporation than it had been in the past.  These damages would later lead to the Great Schism and other church issues, but that’s another story.

The Papal Palace of Avignon still remains excellently preserved today, and has a superb guided audio tour.  Walking at one’s own pace with a personal “histopad” (don’t ask me, I didn’t name them), one can scan “time portals” and see what each room of the palace looked like when the popes lived in the castle – an amazing experience if you happen to be as much of a history nerd as I am!  Anyways, I’m sure we’re all busy running our church corporations, until next time – cheers!

As you may already know, the American dollar and the EU Euro currency systems function very differently.  During my travels, I have noticed the polarizing qualities of these differences among tourists, with one variation in particular causing much debate.  Within this debate are two distinct groups of opposing viewpoints: those who like the €1 and €2 coins and those who prefer bills for such amounts.  While I myself am in favor of the coins, I have seen many tourists (most of which are American) who have verbally proclaimed their hatred of using coins instead of low value bills such as the American dollar.  Arguments can be made for both sides.  Those who dislike the coins hold that coins can be easily lost, and complain that higher value coins add unnecessary weight to one’s pockets.  However, the full-value Euro coins can be much more convenient than larger bills, especially the €2 coin, as one can simply pay with a single small coin rather than having to dig out two bills.  There is no right answer to this issue, and I must say it is quite funny to see so many people bent out of shape over such a small difference.  Surely the contrast in currency is relatively unimportant, and who knows, maybe it adds to the tourist experience!  Until the next rather uninteresting debate – cheers!

Are you looking for a day filled with foot pain? Do you love crowded narrow walkways? Do you have an endless supply of ibuprofen in your fanny pack? Do you like to stare at ancient ruins? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then congratulations, you have the guts to tackle the center of the old empire in one day alone. Though it may seem ludicrous to try to explore the entirety of Rome in a day, it’s very doable if you’re on a tight time crunch. Without further ado, here are a few travel tips for those who want to make a more abridged visit, as well as some general advice.

1. The Pantheon

Don’t think you have time to go inside the Pantheon? Think again. While the line may seem long, they actually move pretty quickly, and the interior is definitely worth it. Try to visit during off-times, such as normal lunch hours, to avoid longer queues. Also, since the interior isn’t very large, it’s easy to get in and out in under 10 minutes. Check!

2. Hit the Vatican or the Colosseum First

The Colosseum and the Vatican City are both huge destinations, but the number of people visiting them is way bigger. If you want to avoid waiting in line and wading through huge crowds, try to book tickets (yes, you have to pay to see both, but it’s only about €8) during calmer hours of the day, especially the morning. Not every tourist wakes up super early; use that to your advantage.

3. Gelato

You may think that this is a superfluous part of traveling to Italy, but I can assure you that the gelato at a place called Giolitti’s is by far one of the best deserts I’ve had in Italy. They have so many delicious flavors – if you plan it well you can even go twice!

4. Don’t Take Candy (or Water) From Strangers

Rome is filled with street vendors who will try to bait you into buying their goods. Yes, the sun may be shining directly down on you, but don’t buy the water; you can never be sure what you’re purchasing is clean or safe, let alone actually H2O. Rome is has several free public water fountains in central areas, which provide clean running water to fill your bottle – just look up the nearest one to you.

5. Modest Dressing Hacks

Most religious sites require coverage of the shoulders and knees upon entrance. In the winter this may not be an issue, but in hot summer months it can be quite uncomfortable to wear pants in the blazing sun. I’ve noticed that most places are more lax about men’s clothes and therefore shorts are fine, but here’s a tip for the ladies: bring or buy a cheap thin scarf. Pack this scarf with you and pull it out when you get to the site, using it to cover the shoulders or knees temporarily. This way, you can wear tank tops or shorter bottoms and still be able to see the beautiful interiors of the well-preserved sites.

*Important Note Concerning Pickpockets*

Many travelers to Europe are told that pickpockets are everywhere, and spend their whole trip paranoid about losing their valuables. While it is important to recognize this risk, it is also important to not let it dominate one’s ability to enjoy one’s trip. The crucial thing to remember is that you just need to be aware of yourself and your surroundings, and understand that unless you are carrying everything in your pockets or leave your bag unzipped, the chances of your goods disappearing is very slim. And even if disaster strikes and something does go missing, it’s not the end of the world. Just be safe and aware, and you should be fine. Yes, you can survive without one of those ridiculous around-waist money pouches.

Well, that’s enough “Rome”-ing around for one day. Catch you all later for some more mediocre travel tips – cheers!

Everyone knows about the famous leaning tower in Italy… or do they? Here’s a few things you might not have known about the strange landmark.

1. While most people only ever see pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on its own, it is actually the bell tower of a church (Piazza del Duomo) which stands just feet away. This is what the rest of the church looks like:
2. Work on building the tower began in 1173 but was not completed until 1372 because of interruptions caused by wars at the time (it was during the first interruptions that the tower sunk into the soft soil and began to lean).
3. No one noticed that the tower was leaning until after the construction of its first stories, when its tilt became far more visible.
4. The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of about 3.99 degrees, meaning that the top of the tower is about 3.9 meters (about 12 feet 10 inches) off center.
5. The tower was built in classic Romanesque style and stands 55.86 meters (183.3 feet) tall.
6. After discovering the tower’s tilt mid-construction, builders tried to overcompensate and built some of the upper stories shorter on one side than the other. However this made the problem even worse, as the tower now began to lean in the other direction.
7. There are seven bells in the tower, one for each note of the musical scale.
8. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was used as a military base by the Germans during WWII because the tower provided optimal surveillance of the flat Italian lands surrounding Pisa.

And there you have it, some semi-interesting facts about a badly engineered bell tower in Italy. Until next time, if you ever feel bad about your lack of successes, just remember that millions of people travel from around the world each year to see an architectural failure. Oh, and don’t forget to take the cliché picture. Cheers!

In the far south of France, there lies a hidden gem of a city, complete with a castle and ancient fortified walls. This city, named Carcassonne, has been used for its strategic location for hundreds of years, and has a fascinating history. While I don’t have time to explicate every tale of the city, I will tell how the city received it’s interesting name.

*Deep history documentary narrator voice*

During the eighth century, a lady called Dame Carcas ruled a fortified city in the south of France. However, Charlemagne’s army came across the conveniently located city during the Muslim-Christian wars taking place that century. Charlemagne saw the city and proclaimed something along the lines of “I want it” and proceeded to order a siege. But seeing as his armies weren’t able to penetrate through the walls (remember these were the days of catapults and ladders) the soldiers decided to sit down and rest. Oh, and starve the city by surrounding it. During this, Dame Carcas was stuck in the city surrounded by complaining people and screaming children, and was left with the difficult task of doling out food rations. To solve this issue, she chose the best solution: feed it all to a single pig, obviously. You may be thinking, “why the hell…? and “wow, she was an idiot,” and I must admit that those things crossed my mind at first as well. But surprisingly, her pig-fattening decision worked! Not only did she feed the pig, but she eventually had the pig catapulted over the wall to the soldiers. Thinking that the city still had a large food supply after five years of sitting, the soldiers said “fuck this we’re done” and left. It is said that Dame Carcas was so happy with her success that she ordered every bell in the city to be rung. With the root “sonne” meaning “to sound,” the city was henceforth known as Carcassonne: “Carcas sounds.”

For never even having heard of this city before, I know the story can be hard to comprehend, and it leaves much to be desired (am I the only one who wants to know what became of the pig?). But you have to agree, it’s a pretty damn good story with a great overarching lesson: when in doubt, throw a pig over a wall. Anyways, we should all get back to running our castle cities. Until next time – cheers!

Hola and welcome to part two of my quick look at Madrid, the capital city of España! Let’s jump right into it, shall we? First on the list is the beautiful Royal Palace of Madrid. Do you like huge empty rooms and kings with big noses? If so, then this is the place for you. Basically, the Bourbon dynasty came to Spain right before the French Revolution, and wanted to make sure the Spaniards knew that they meant business and were not to be messed with. So what did they do? Build a giant castle, obviously. With white marble everywhere and huge stone columns, the castle is a real stunner. Oh, and the face of Charles III, the first king to live in the palace, is everywhere. Like, everywhere. Overall, the opulent rococo style is amazing, and each room has something new to add. The armory is cool, too, but also a bit terrifying considering the amount of child armor suits on display. But if palaces aren’t your cup of tea, the museums of Madrid are quite nice as well. While I would love to share pictures of some of my favorite works, after getting yelled at by several employees I discovered that photos are prohibited in just about every museum or show in Madrid. I did manage to get one picture of an Anguissola portrait of Philip II while walking into the Prado Museum, but was overall quite disappointed that I was not allowed to take my own images of many famous works. Picasso’s Guernica and Goya’s The Third of May, 1808 are among many I would have liked to have captured, but as the saying goes, “memories capture what a photograph cannot.” Alright, well I think I’ll end it there for today, folks. Catch you next time – cheers!

Just like any other American tourist abroad, I buy an inordinate amount of pastries, ignore crosswalk warnings, and take an absurd amount of pictures of literally everything. However, after strolling through the Royal Palace of Madrid this morning and receiving strange looks from locals, I became aware of a strange photography habit I have developed: capturing the world’s finest architecture through windows. “Why?” You ask. To be quite frank, I have no clue. But to be fair, some of them have turned out pretty majestic. Take the Louvre Museum, for example. You could take a picture of the outside like a standard tourist, but snap one through a window inside… and BAM! Instant dramatic tone – no filters needed! Anyways, when I was standing awkwardly in front of some windows at the Madrid Palace, I caught myself using this technique once again…..

Artsy, right? Well, maybe without all the people in the background. And what’s better, you can cross Home Goods off your shopping list – it’s pre-framed and feature wall ready! Now you can add it next to your overpriced hallway art. How convenient.

Am I alone in my window picture habit? Possibly. Will I ever stop taking them? Probably not. Is this entry getting long? Definitely. Look out for more in the future – by this point it’s a given. Cheers!

Hola! I wish I could write the rest of this in Español, but alas my Latin education only goes as far in Spain as deciphering airport signs. Nonetheless, I was thoroughly impressed by the diverse range of sights and activities available in the city. Beautiful architecture and urban apartment buildings make up most of the city, but there are also huge parks and Botanical Gardens offering serene respite from the loud streets (and some pretty artsy photo opportunities). If you still want cool photos but in a more engaging environment, you and your friends can float, splash, and rock your way through the pond at the Royal Botanic Gardens in rented boats. The rowboats allow you to get up close and personal to the amazing marble, and, you know, let you impress some random Spaniards with your hopefully better-than-average rowing skills.

And just for you skeptics out there, here are two pictures of the same marble structure, taken from both outside and inside the boat.

Stay tuned for part two!

Hello all!  Welcome to Global ForMatt, and thank you for joining me as I document my travels.  My mother always used to say “the world is your oyster,” and so I decided to get out there and see it for myself!  Here you will find brief tidbits of history, culture, transit, and first impressions as I explore the nations of the world.  Enjoy!