Traveling Rats

	*The Bus Trip Through Europe* Here I am on Christmas Day with my host's father and their cat, Dracula. Dracula is 20 years old! He'd be nearly 100 if he were human.
	I'm going to make sure my host doesn't leave me behind so I've already got myself packed away in the suitcase. After a quiet holiday, it's time for travel!
	I didn't really care too much for this museum. Picasso may have been a genius, but it's all a bit too much Post-Impressionism for me. I'm more of a Renaissance rat myself, so I look forward to seeing wonderful sights in Italy.
	The Eiffel Tower is probably the most famous symbol of Paris. Completed in 1889, it was originally designed to stand for only 20 years. Fortunately, it was not destroyed and so it remains for all species of travelers to enjoy. It's spectacular!
	I'm not actually quite sure what sort of gun emplacement this is, but I'm sure it was left over from WWII. My host holds me up in front of it; I found it somewhat scary but my host found it fascinating.
	The driver kept his own stuffed friend in the bus and he and I were great traveling companions. He was a shark with the rather unoriginal name of Shark and he belongs to Han the Dutch driver.
	The famous Leaning Tower is actually the bell tower for Pisa's cathedral. It was begun in 1173 but not finished until 1360.
	St. Peter's is such an outstanding work of architecture. I loved staring at it. It may be the largest church ever built, covering an area of 23,000 square meters. Construction beganin 1506 and was completed in 1626. It is built over the site where tradition says the apostle Peter was buried. In Roman times this site was the Circus of Nero.
	This is the interior of the famous Sistine Chapel. Mass was first celebrated here on August 9, 1483, so this structure has been here quite a while! The ceilings painted by Michelangelo (here are some of them) were painted between 1508-1512. Between 1535-1541, Michelangelo painted his Last Judgment over the altar.
	The Flavian Amphitheater was begun by the Emperor Vespasian and work was carried on by his son Titus, and completed by Domitian. It could hold 50,000 spectators in three tiers and its walls were over 160 feet high. The building gained the name the Colloseum (or Coliseum) after the colossal statue of Nero which used to stand nearby.
	My host and I stop on a bridge to have our picture taken with one of Venice's famous canals. There are two schools of thought on when the city was founded. Some archaeologists believe it was founded in the first century A.D., while the most traditional view has it that the city was begun in 421 by survivors of other Italian cities fleeting the forces of Attila the Hun.
	The day may be a bit gloomy, but it's still a great view of Venice.
	Of course we had to take a gondola ride. The gondolier was somewhat cute, but he thought he could sing Elvis songs like a pro and he couldn't. So we asked him to stop.
	The pigeons flock to the plaza of St. Mark's Square.
	This is the Cathedral of San Marco on the east side of St. Mark's Square. The four bronze horses above my head were acquired during the Fourth Crusade. The Fourth Crusade was financed by the Venetians, and resulted mainly in the sacking and looting of 1000 years worth of treasures from Constantinople in 1204.
	San Marino is third smallest state in Europe (after the Vatican and Monaco) at 61 square kilometers. It also claims to be the world's oldest republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named Marinus in AD 301. It was definitely beautiful. My host appreciated the fact they sold armor and swords there!
	This is the Imperial Palace - Hofburg in Vienna. It was the home of the Hapsburgs until 1918. Today, the President of Austria has his offices here.
	My host and I took a cable car up Mount Pilatus so we could look out at the view. I thought the cable car ride up was very exciting, but my host thought it rather scary.
	Wow! What a view! We are on top of the clouds. The cable car has delivered us to the highest hotel in Europe where we are going to have a great time in the sky!
	Well, this is an ugly mug! This is supposedly a guest who couldn't pay so he was forced to yodel to make money for his cable car ticket down the mountain. I think he looks a bit pale; maybe he needs a break from yodeling.
	What do you do in Munich? Drink beer! The beer comes in liter-sized glasses, which was too much for either me or my host to handle.
	So tipsy I fell right in!
	A piece of the Berlin Wall that has been left for history.
	The Brandenburg Gate stands now as a symbol of German reunification. For many years, it was the dividing point between the East and West sections of the country. Es gibt ein Deutschland!
	The German Reichstag building was chosen to hold the Parliament after reunification in1990. For lots of interesting history of this building, click.
	Back to the Netherlands, which I last visited in October. It was good to see Amsterdam again. This time I got to go to a cheese factory where they make Gouda. My host snuck me in; if anyone had known there was a rat in the cheese factory, I would have been in big trouble!
	Ah, marvelous Gouda! Well, now it's time to fly back to the States and prepare for the next leg of my world travels. Ta ta!