When in Rome...

The original threesome – Pitch, Gabe, and I (Bobby) – arrived in the beautiful city of Rome on Tuesday. We tried our best not to get stiffed for the cab ride to our new place, but may not have succeeded. Our new place was a pleasant bed and breakfast with two rooms, a bathroom, and a small shared kitchen. After some conversation with our Man (the affectionate name given after having forgot his real name), the three musketeers hit the narrow streets of Trastevere in search of some authentic Italian cuisine. We settled on a small Pizzaria which successfully exceeded our big expectations. We decided to call it an early night, still recovering from Mykonos.

Our second day was marked by the arrival of our fourth member – William Edward Houston Harte. Finally, our quadrapod was complete. We celebrated with a subway to the colliseo station and a trek through the Museo Capitolini. The four of us, fit young men as we are, lasted only a short while as the endless standing, slow walking, and meticulous, academic analysis of each piece of ancient Roman sculpture finally wore us down. It was here that Pitch revealed his unique ability to find and rest on every bench in the Museum. After a quick, direct return to our place (due in large part to Will’s navigational expertise), we rested up and made plans for the night – dinner, a view of the Spanish steps, some evening recreation, and then sleep.

Day three brought us to the Coliseum. Built 2000 years ago, this wonder of the Ancient World was made famous by the 2001 Ridley Scott classic epic: Gladiator. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the marble statue of Russell Crowe, but managed some nice pictures as we reveled in the grandeur.


Tired from walking under the same blistering hot sun that made it no less difficult for the gladiators of late, we got some gelato and headed back. At night we found ourselves admiring the beauty of Rome’s... local culture.

On our final day of Roman site seeing, we set the early alarm (10 am) for a day trip to the Vatican. Plus one to the list of countries visited. The Museum was cool – we saw Michelangelo’s most famous painting, some massive sculptures, intricate mosaics, a bit of our buddy Salvador Dali’s work (more of that in Spain), and the inside of the Sistine Chapel. Then a trip into the humbling St. Peter’s Basilica, where we took an elevator then climbed 320 steps for an amazing view of the city (Will wanted to free climb the dome, assuring us it was a mere 5.12, but he forgot his chalk). And then we walked back down. Will and Gabe, ever the athletics, took the full 531 steps down (instead of waiting 15 seconds for the elevator). They found Pitch and I well rested and patiently waiting on the bottom floor. From the ground floor the inside of St. Peter’s basilica is quite a sight. Beautiful paintings cover the ceilings and walls while massive sculptures of saints loom over every corner. To top off the touring we stepped into the tombs of the Popes, noting specifically Pope John Paul II’s resting ground.

After a stop for a bit of mouth watering crème caramel gelato, we returned tired and sweaty to our beds. Now Will and Pitch, faithful to their upbringing, are on a journey to find the sword of St. Paul himself at the basilica. They’ll probably send a postcard to their school. Cool.


Tomorrow we leave for Madrid. And soon after to Barcelona.

Efcharisto Mykonos!

While Mykonos may not be known for its architectural nor cultural history, we still managed to enjoy the walking, talking and sunbathing pieces of art it had to offer. But I am getting ahead of myself. Getting to the island and our hotel was a bit of an adventure. The plan was to board a ferry and voyage four hours to our destination. We got to the port easily, however we couldn’t find the ship. The map they gave us was utterly misleading. Our boat was supposed to be anchored at dock two, but why put dock two between docks one and three when it could easily be hidden behind some huge shipping warehouses a mile and a half way? This game of hide and seek meant that we ended up lugging our bags and swearing in the 95 degree heat for an unnecessary period of time. Finally though, Bobby, myself and one very pink and particularly angry James Lindsay the XVIII boarded our ship.

Thankfully, the ride was smooth and enjoyable. We sailed into Mykonos at night. It, as well as our hotel was beautiful. The white washed buildings scattered across the rugged landscape was everything we hoped to find for our romantic getaway. Once settled, we quickly established a routine: wake up around noon, walk into town to catch the bus to Paradise Beach, return to the hotel around 10pm, eat dinner, party until whenever. Mykonos is basically Europe’s version of Cancun except more glamorous. The beach was beautiful and people came to be seen. What shocked us the most was how everyone seemed to be nocturnal. Our own club superstars Pitch Lindsay and Robert Murphy managed to adapt flawlessly as they even managed to stay out until the sun came up on Monday morning. To hear a full account of that evening’s events please sign a copy of the non disclosure agreement or contact each sultan of suave separately.

Right now we are on our way to Rome. More to come soon.
P.S. we also met up with Dan for two days. Unfortunately due to a bad case of food poisoning Dan saw more of the toilet than us. We will have our fingers crossed and our noses plugged for his transatlantic flight tomorrow.

Our Big Fat Greek.. Sightseeing Day

One nearly missed flight, one lost bag (now recovered), and one hell of a time zone switch later, we have arrived safely in Athens. Bobby and I were forced to sweet-talk the JFK airline attendant into delaying the flight 10 minutes to let Gabe on, but of course his bag was not as lucky. It was an unpleasant 24 hours while we waited for it to arrive- not made any easier by Gabe's constant grumblings about the unstylishness of the clothes he was forced to borrow. But it is here now, so no harm no foul.

We have learned in our short time here that communication in Greek for us is impossible. We cannot even begin to pronounce the words, and so if English is not an option, we are reduced to hand signals, and even that is proving difficult- an open palm turned outward means "go to hell", we quickly discovered. Any given street appears to be a very complicated frat row- all store names are combinations of Kappas, Sigmas, Alphas, Omegas, etc- and we are used to just pronouncing the Greek letters, not forming them into words. As one might imagine, ordering at restaurants without English translations is also quite a gamble- we literally do not know what we ordered until it arrives. No monkey heads yet, thankfully.

For all the difficulties here, though, Athens is a nice city. The Acropolis is absolutely incredible- and will be even more so once the restoration project is completed. (A huge crane sticking out of the middle of the Parthenon looks slightly out of place.) A well-framed picture does the trick, though.

And what's a breathtaking Acropolis without a breathtaking mullet?


















That's all for now- off to a well-earned dinner. Next stop, Mykonos.

The First of Many...

5 days to departure. I suppose this is an appropriate time to introduce the companions that might serve as helpful context for the stories to come.

MR. ROBERT C. MURPHY



















was born and raised in Berkeley, California. A half-Asian by appearance, (half Irish, too), but an American through and through, Bobby went to high school in Berkeley, and, after much duress, decided to undertake the epic journey across the Bay to attend Stanford.

A freshman dorm-mate in Donner of Will Harte, Bobby was selected in the spring of '07 to join the illustrious Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Though his grades may have suffered because of it, the benefits of Bobby's fraternity life have far outweighed the drawbacks.

Bobby was a member of the Winter '08 END room along with Will and Pitch, to be introduced later, which certainly proved its worth as the epicenter of Kappa Sig social events for that quarter. Let us also not forget possibly Bobby's most important contribution to the house- a light-up dance stage, now considered a campus classic.

Bobby is also the group clubbing veteran- although in these foreign lands he will be upgrading to the big league clubs from his usual 18-and-up stomping grounds. It's about time.
Bobby's hobbies include math, computer programming, and general nerdiness. OK, not the latter, but the fact remains, he is damn smart.

MR. WILLIAM E. H. HARTE























hails from Portland, Maine. And Texas. But primarily Maine. Will, known to some as Mr. Boston for his always-impeccable New England wardrobe, went to elementary school in Portland, after which he made the transition to his neighboring state of New Hampshire to board at St. Paul's School. Unbeknownst to Will at the time, Pitch would also end up completing his studies at St. Paul's, and the two eventually found themselves pledging the same fraternity after matriculating to Stanford.

Will has a passion for all things rugged, as evidenced by his major choice of "Earth Systems." His summer job also speaks to this interest- this summer he is getting more in touch with nature as a camp hiking instructor, and is even missing the first leg of the trip in Athens and Mykonos to complete his duties. One unhappy client, however, has already submitted an evaluation calling attention to Will's "uppity attitude." Let us hope Will knows that in Spain, such uppityness will ensure swift consequences.

A definite drawback of the Catalan region for Will is its relatively flat landscape. Though the hikes in the nearby hills of Montserrat may be a pleasant challenge for some, these will prove a mere cakewalk for Will, a Kilimanjaro veteran. He may be forced into exploring opportunities in the European Alps to quench his infinite thirst for mountain adventure.

MR. GABRIEL (middle initial unknown) LUPIN






















is a native San Diegan, and an expert in kook terminology. His Puerto Rican origins, though, help to explain the sole reason why Gabe was extended an invitation to this journey in the first place: the man speaks fluent Spanish. (Although Gabe will claim the trip was his idea).

Gabe stayed in San Diego for high school before joining the Stanford community. His freshman dorm was somewhat of a kookfest, and has certainly baked its share of kookies, but to its credit Soto has produced no less than 3 valuable members of the Kappa Sigma 2010 class.

Gabe's signature suave, Latino-west-coast-fusion persona is the epitome of style. No doubt he will be a force with whom to be reckoned in the discotecas and a quick study in the inevitable forthcoming flamenco lessons.

Gabe is also an avid lacrosse player, which may come as a surprise given his West Coast upbringing. Though he currently dons the Stanford uniform (and looks damn good in it), rumors abound that he is being recruited to inject much-needed youth and energy into the abysmal Spanish national lacrosse team (more info at http://www.spainlacrosse.com/ ). Check back soon for more updates on this.

MR. JAMES P. LINDSAY (Pitch)
















is your most humble author for this, the first of many future blog entries, although he will continue to refer to himself in the third person for the purposes of continuity.

Pitch calls Long Island, New York, home; specifically the North Shore of the Island. Another graduate of the aforementioned St. Paul's School, Pitch took a year off before Stanford to spend several months of Argentina. Though his Spanish has deteriorated since then, he is optimistic that he has retained enough to ask the most basic of questions, such as "where is the bathroom?" or more importantly, "another cold one please, barkeep."

Pitch is also a die-hard sports fan, and has already invested in several (home and away) jerseys of one of the crown jewels of Spain's La Liga soccer division, FC Barcelona, or Barca. Pitch looks forward to attending as many games as possible, and especially to participating in the post-game massacres of the opposition's fans, a long-standing Barca tradition.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Depart tuesday night from JFK
Arrive Wednesday afternoon in Athens.

Updates from Greece soon to come.