Mia Avventura Italiana

A Tale of Two Walled Cities

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:01:00 +0200

Ever since Easter Weekend, it has been raining nonstop here in Italy. This is good for the country, because apparently it was getting so bad they were going to shut the water off to all the residential buildings during certain hours of the day if the drought continued. While I’m happy I will still be able to shower when I want, it doesn’t really make a nice time for traveling. Well, this was the last excursion hosted by my program, API. SO SCARY. I’ll hold off on my leaving freak out for another day.

This last excursion was a day trip to Lucca, a small town in Tuscany. We started out our normal walking tour of the city, umbrellas in hand. Our tour guide, Gabrielle, was absolutely hilarious. When he introduced himself he said his name and then said “Like Gabriel, the angel that told Mary she was pregnant… We don’t have anyone named Mary here do we?” Clearly, this was going to be a good tour that started on the city walls. Lucca is one of the only cities in Italy that still has its original city walls. They are also about 12 meters wide, making them the widest walls in Italy. They were originally made to protect them from an invasion of Florence back when the Florentines were taking over all of Tuscany. However, they were never needed. Lucca was a rich city that made a lot of silk clothing and traded all over Europe. The Spanish actually threatened Florence to leave Lucca alone so they could still trade with them, so Lucca was left alone. The walls now have a garden on the top of them.

After the walls, we walked through the city and came upon a large church. It was the only church in all of Tuscany that was controlled by the Vatican directly instead of by the local bishop. On the outside wall of the church rather low down there was a metal cross built into the marble wall. It actually wasn’t a cross, but a tool used by the merchants to make universal measuring. There were also marks all along the wall where the merchants would sharpen their swords on the wall. Inside this church, there is a naturally mummified body of a saint, Zita. She was a servant and she stole the extra bread from her master and gave it to the poor and starving. Her body was really creepy, like something out of CSI or something. We continued on and saw other parts of the city. We saw the buildings that were originally Lucca’s “Coliseum” but were changed into businesses. We also saw a silk museum exhibit all about their trade and how it came to Italy.

After our city tour we were loaded back onto our bus and headed to an Olive Oil tasting. We were showed how the olives were crushed and where they were grown. By this point however, we had spent the better part of a day out in the rain so we just wanted to sit down. We were quickly escorted to a dining room area under a large tent where we were given bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, olives, and salami. It was really good, but I was expecting to try different types of olive oil, not just one. After our feast we got back on the bus and then headed home in the rain.

Jori, Micayla, Meggo, Lisa and I decided that the weather shouldn’t stop us from seeing Italy considering we only have a little time left (fighting back tears). We took a day trip of our own to San Gimignano, a medieval city with its walls and towers still intact. We had to take two public busses to get there, but after an hour and a half of travel we arrived at this beautiful city. We came prepared for the weather with our rain boots, rain jackets, and umbrellas but when we arrived something happened. The sun came out. Yes, sun. I have slightly forgot what standing in the sun was like.

We immediately went to get lunch because all of us were starving. Meggo’s friend recommended a little trattoria where they said they had the best food in all of Italy. Of course with a recommendation like that we are going to go, and both the food and wine did not disappoint. I am more of a white wine fan, but with some exceptions. We ended up getting red wine and it was amazing. It wasn’t very sweet, but the berry flavors came through a lot. And for lunch I got Crepes alla Florentine. It was a rolled up crepe stuffed with ricotta and spinach. The crepe was then topped with a meat and cheese sauce. It was absolutely incredible and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It is so far the best meal I’ve had here.

After lunch we continued our amazing food excursion and went to “The Best Gelato in the World”. This gelateria was the world champion gelato makers from 2006 – 2009. I am not even going to lie, we ended up going back and getting a second round right before leaving. The first time I got Champello (Champagne and Pink Grapefruit), Strawberry, and Pineapple. The second time I got yogurt, cinnamon, and caramel. Absolutely amazing.

After we had stuffed our faces we walked to a park that was up near the top of the walls. It was so pretty just to be in nature and be able to see beautiful views of the city. There were harp players, singers, and painters all just sitting in the park doing their own trade. It was very relaxing. We were all starting to drag from our long day in the city, so we decided to stop for a coffee. I walked into a little café and saw the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since I saw a Dunkin Donuts in Berlin. It was a coffee coolata machine. I obviously splurged and got it with chocolate syrup in it. It honestly was better than any Dunkin coolata I’ve ever had. It was thick and creamy, and in no way shape or form watered down. SO GOOD.

Our pit stop to the café was complete so we did some shopping and eventually wanted to kill time until our bus came. We decided that we would walk around the outside of the city walls in order to see all the different views of the country side we could, and it was breathtaking. We timed it perfectly too because our bus arrived about 10 minutes after we finished our walk around the city. Needless to say it was a great couple of days.

The Best Class I've Ever Had

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:52:00 +0200

I have had an amazing semester here in Italy, but I seem to only talk about my travel and experiences in the city of Florence. I feel like since I am studying abroad I should talk to you at some point about how my classes work here in Florence. This past week my Tuesday afternoon class was postponed until later in the night in order for us to go on a “field trip” of sorts. Did I mention that this class was my Wine and Food Pairing Class?

Our “field trip” was a special four course dinner that we were required to attend instead of class. During class we usually listen to our professor lecture for the first half of class about the different regions in Italy and the food and wine that comes from that region, then cook, eat and drink during the second half of the class. It was a weird change to have the food prepared for us. Normally I really like the cooking part so I know I will be able to cook it when I go home and live on my own.

The mandatory dinner was held at Casa Toscana, right next to the Piazza Santa Croce. It was a very nice little restaurant with beautiful décor and stone walls. Slowly student after student piled into one room and sat at these beautiful tables waiting for class to start.

The appetizer, or antipasto as it is called here, was Prosciutto di Pratomagno con Mozzarella Fior di Latte. With this was paired a white wine called Villagiulia. This wine is produced with Greco di Tufo grapes in the Irpinia region in 2010. It is a good wine for food because it is 12.5% alcohol and it is a DOCG classification. This is the highest classification a wine can earn by following the strictest restrictions when it comes to growing the grapes and producing the wine. When it comes to wine tasting, there are three things you observe: sight, nose, and palate. When looking at the wine, it was the color of egg whites, almost bordering on clear water. The surface of the wine indicates how acidic the wine will be. This is known as brilliance. This particular wine had a low brilliance.

Smelling a wine is always difficult because you have to ignore the smell of alcohol and smell the actual aromas. This wine smelled strongly of white grapes. Many of you are saying “well that’s obvious, white wine is made from white grapes.” However, there was a small hint of pear and green apple behind the smell of grapes. There was also an earthy scent to it, almost as if you were standing in the woods.

When you sip a wine, there is more to it than just tasting it. There is the feel of it on the inside of your mouth. The body of a wine describes how heavy the liquid feels on your tongue. This wine had a very light body; it floated across my tongue almost like air. There is also the feeling inside your mouth after you have swallowed, which is related to the acidity in the wine. A highly acidic wine will leave your mouth feeling very dry after drinking it. This wine was highly acidic and left my mouth feeling very dry. It was a semi-sweet wine that had a very crisp flavor with the apple and pear coming through that much more.

After all of that process comes the best part: the eating. The prosciutto was salty and delicious, and that much better when it was eaten at the same time as the creamy mozzarella. It was so good I almost forgot to taste my wine again to see how the wine’s flavors were changed. After the food the wine became very refreshing. It felt as though it was cleaning my mouth from the saltiness of the prosciutto. The pair also toned down the fruity flavors of the wine. Personally, I loved this pair together.

The primi piatti was next which consisted of Penne al Forno Con Polpette, aka Baked Penne with Meatballs. There was a red wine paired with the pasta called Nero d’Avola, the same name as the grapes that produce it. It is produced in Sicily by the Borghi Company in 2010. It is 13% alcohol and it is an IGT classification. Not as high as a DOCG, but still a good wine. The wine was a deep maroon color with a very deep purple mixed in. It had a medium brilliance that was reinforced with the medium acidity that came when tasting it, although in red wines it is known as tanninic. It smelled spicy; not as like chili spicy, but more as like you had just opened a spice rack. You could definitely smell the oak and earthiness of the barrels it was in at one point during the production. It also smelled a lot of red berries, raspberries and blackberries specifically. When tasting, it has a medium body with a high alcohol content. The sweetness of the red berries did come through with a hint of blood orange. After eating the pasta, the wine was left without the bitterness from before, probably happened because of the greasiness of the dish. It left behind, however, the delicious fruity tastes that were harder to find behind the bitterness. While I wasn’t too fond of the actual pasta, the wine and the pasta did go well together.

The secondo piatti was Tagliata di Manzo con Rucola e Grana, aka Sliced Beef with Arugula and Parmesan. This was paired with another red wine, Primitivo, named after the type of grapes. It is a highly alcoholic wine at 13.5% made in the Puglia region by Feudo Monaci in 2010. It is also an IGT classified wine. The color was a deep ruby red that can also be described as crimson. It had a similar spicy smell to it as the previous red wine, but this one had a stronger smell of the berries. It was highly tanninic with a semi-dry taste that finished with the fruity berries. Now, after realizing that we were having beef, I was really really excited. I haven’t had any kind of beef in a very long time unless it was with some sort of pasta. But, when I went to eat it, it literally had the texture as if it was sitting in the grill all day. Besides the fact that the beef was like leather, the pair was just okay in my book. It was less bitter overall, but it also got rid of the fruity finish. It just took away from the wine, and didn’t add anything to the pair.

Personally dessert is my favorite part of a meal. Not only because is it a sweet treat to end the meal, but a new addition that I have come to love while being in Italy. For dessert we had Crostata di Ricotta, aka a Ricotta Tart. With this tart we had a dessert wine called Cantine 1880 by Pellegrino. It is produced in Sicily with Zibibbo grapes. It is an IGT classification and it is 16% alcohol. Most dessert wines have higher alcohol content than other wines because of the way they are made. This high alcohol content is due to the increased amount of sugars from the dried grapes, which also makes it very sweet, perfect for desserts. This high alcohol content also means that you are supposed to take very small sips and let them sit at the front of your mouth in order to actually taste the wine, not just feel the burn of the alcohol. At first I thought they were giving us bottled water because in the dark room the liquid almost looked clear. But after close examination it had the slightest yellow tint to it. The smell of it was absolutely heavenly. It smelled sweet all around, but many different kinds of sweet. There was a layer of floral sweetness, closely related to a rose. Then there was the hint of champagne, and there was also the overpowering honey smell. But when all of these combined it only smelt of one thing: Fruit Loops. I kid you not, it smelled like I just opened a fresh box and stuck my nose in it. When I tried it, the champagne and honey tastes were very pertinent. Although it tasted like champagne, there were no bubbles. It had a very light body making it very easy to drink. After trying the cake/tart with the wine, it completely upped all of the flavors. It became intensely sweet, almost too sweet for my liking. It increased the flavor or the honey and you could now taste the floral scent. I personally liked the wine by itself before the cake. I love sweet stuff, but it felt like my teeth were going to rot out of my head.

As dinner concluded students slowly made their way out discussing the different dishes and wines; what they liked, what they didn’t, who’s beef was perfectly cooked and who’s was like rubber. It was a beautiful dinner and my stomach was full and happy with the overall meal. I wish it was something I could have shared with my family back home. With the good and the bad, this clearly was the best class that I have ever attended.

Easter Weekend on the Beach... Sort Of

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:17:00 +0200

For Easter weekend I went to the Amalfi Coast (as I had mentioned in a pervious post, and you are all such religious followers you’re probably thinking how stupid of it is for me to remind you.) I had been excited about it for weeks considering I booked the trip with my two friends, Jori and Jessica, about two weeks into being here. What could be better than sitting on a beach sipping frozen drinks, right? Well if only the weather had the same plans.

Leading up to this weekend all over Italy it has been a very dry season. A lot of their summer crops are dying due to a lack of water, aka strawberries are going to be RIDICULOUSLY expensive. But this weekend, the first real beach weekend I have planned, Mother Nature decides that she now wants to give Italy some water. Forecast for the weekend: Friday night - Sunday night = rain.

Well we obviously can’t control the weather so Thursday night we met at the train station to get on our bus. Well, first we are told to get on Bus #1. So we put our suitcases under the bus. Then we are told no, you are on Bus #2. So naturally we move our stuff. Then we find there isn’t any room on Bus #2 so we are told to go back to Bus #1. Well Bus #1 is the correct bus, but it’s full and Bus #2 has 3 empty seats. By this point we have switched our bags 4 times and I am not a happy camper, and the night just continues to get worse. We arrive at our hotel at 4:00 am, when we were supposed to have gotten there at about 1:30 am and we have to be up and ready to go the next morning at 9:00 am.

We get to bed, and reluctantly get up in the morning to head from Sorrento, where we were staying, to the island of Capri. The island was absolutely beautiful. The pictures will never do it justice. We arrived and there were two options, take a hike with Bruno, the guide from my spring break, to the top of the island or take a cruise around the island. Well as you might remember from my spring break posts, I absolutely love Bruno so I opted for the hike. How bad can it be right?

It was the most grueling, and physically taxing experience of my life. It started as a walk through the city uphill which I thought was tiring but manageable. But then we reach the trail in the woods. I’m still okay with this, it is a hike after all. But then we reach the points where it is barely a trail and it’s just dirt and rocks, there are parts you have to run up because it is so steep, and the parts where you legitimately have to climb up rocks. I twisted my ankle at least twice. This “hike” started at about 11 am and we reached the top at about 1:45 pm. I was sore until Tuesday of the following week. But it was something that I accomplished that if I had known how bad it was going in I probably wouldn’t have even attempted. And like Bruno said, this view cannot be described in words.

After getting to the top we found out that there is a much easier way to get up and down the mountain. We walked down and took a bus to the Blue Grotto. We took a little boat ride inside it, and it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The fact that the water is naturally glowing that crazy blue color amazes me.

The last thing on my list to do on the island of Capri was next: cliff jumping. As I have mentioned before, I’m really scared of heights and my goal for studying abroad was to push myself to overcome it. Right around the corner from the Blue Grotto is an area of rocks that is purposely for jumping into the Mediterranean Sea because it is deep. Looking at the point where you jump off it doesn’t look that high so I was like “Yeah let’s do this!”. Jori and I get in our bathing suits and climb to the top. Looking down on that water it was definitely a lot higher than it looked from the ground. My heart was beating so fast and I tried to back out but Jori being the good friend that she is knew how badly I wanted to do it so she grabbed my hand and said “We’re going on three? Ready? One, two, three!” and before I had any time to think about it I jumped… And let out one of the bloodiest screams I’ve probably ever done. It was really embarrassing. The drop was a lot longer than I expected and the water was a lot colder than I expected.

After the cliff jumping we took a taxi, that was a convertible car, back down to the port. We walked around and went shopping for the last hour of our day on Capri. We took the ferry back to Sorrento and freshened up from our sea submersion. We then went out to dinner at a small restaurant in the city center. It was very nice and it was great seafood. After dinner, there was some kind of commotion blocking off the street. We completely forgot that it was Good Friday and there was a reenactment of carrying Jesus’s body to his resting place. We were whispering trying to figure it out and the Italians were shushing us; they are very intense about their religion.

The next day it was POURING, but Jess and I braved the weather and went to the ruins of Pompeii. It was really cool to see all of the buildings and what survived vs. what was destroyed. There were also bodies preserved of people who died in the lava, including a 17 year old pregnant woman. It was really moving, but it also wasn’t as impressive as it would have been if it wasn’t pouring.

Sunday we decided to sleep in to see how the weather played out. Once again, it was pouring. We decided to stay in Sorrento and explore the city. We were jumping from canopy to canopy to avoid the rain. We ended up doing some shopping and getting the BEST gelato ever. They had about 30 different flavors of gelato. They made gelato the flavor of one of the best candy bars here, Bueno Bars. Its hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and chunchies. It was absolutely amazing.

Monday it was of course really sunny and nice out. We spent the day exploring Sorrento some more and just lounging by the hotel pool. We left that afternoon at about 3pm and arrived back in Florence at around 11 pm.

My program, API, posted this on Facebook. I feel like this is a...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:01:58 +0200

My program, API, posted this on Facebook. I feel like this is a great way to look at the study abroad experience.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:00:20 +0200

I am kind of behind on these entries because all of the different places I went on Spring Break put me behind. But I will be caught up by the end of this week I promise.

The weekend after Spring Break we had an excursion planned with API called “Under the Tuscan Sun.” They took us around different parts of Tuscany in order to show us what small town life in Italy is really like. First stop was Sienna. We did have a walking tour but it was more to just show the ways of life of the people rather than monuments. It was a beautiful city and it reminded me of a mini Florence.

After our city tour we were taken by bus to the thermal baths close by. These thermal baths contain water that is heated naturally from the center of the Earth. It was such a cool place. It reminded me of a country club in the US. The water started in one pool and slowly trickled down to other pools below. The pool where it started was inside a little hut, which I didn’t really understand at first. We got in the lowest pool that was only a little warm, but it was better than being in the windy air. On the bottom of the pool there was a ton of this white clay stuff. It was all the natural minerals that the water contained that settled on the bottom. These are really good for your skin so many people were taking it off the bottom and rubbing it on their skin, especially their faces. I did the same, and my face has been, or will it ever be again, that soft. After a little while we made our way up through the pools to the starting pool inside the hut and that was when I realized why they have it inside. The smell of sulfur from the water smelled SO BAD. The water was the warmest there of course but it smelled really bad so we didn’t stay long.

After the spa, we left and headed to our hotel in a very small town. We were given dinner at the hotel, which was really yummy and then we had the night to explore the city. The city was ultimately dead after 9 pm, except for a DJ that was set up on the side of a street with a karaoke machine set up. It was really funny because multiple children were up dancing to the music as well as some people from our program. We then continued up the hill and found the main square completely deserted. A group of my friends decided to play Ninja in the middle of the piazza for something to do. Ninja for those who don’t know is a game many student involvement programs will play as ice breakers in college.

The next day we were taking to the small town of Cortona. This city tour was similar to the Sienna one, except the city was much smaller. We were there on Palm Sunday, so there was a procession of people walking to the church. But instead of having palm leaves, they had olive branches, because that is easier to come by in Italy than palm leaves. After the tour we were free to spend the afternoon on our own. My group went and got pizza at a local restaurant. I personally got one with cheese, arugula, and shrimp. It was delicious and probably one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten.

After our free time we were brought to the Castello di Verrazzano on our way back to Florence. It is a Castle as well as a vineyard in the Chianti region of Italy, which is known for its amazing wine. At the vineyard, we were shown how they make the different wines. After the tour, we were given a mini appetizer as well as a wine tasting of three wines and a dessert wine. Since I am taking Pairing Food and Wine as a class this semester, I knew exactly what I was doing at the wine tasting.

After everyone was done drinking their wine, everyone was herded back to the bus in order to get us back to Florence. It was a really nice change to the weekend to be able to have a lot of free time to enjoy yourself, rather than being so scheduled and on the go the whole weekend. It was a nice change from the Spring Break pace I had been on the week before.

Explosion

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:23:00 +0200

After Spring Break, I expected life to go back to semi-normal; back to classes, cooking, no longer living out of a suitcase or on a bus. While all of that did resume back to normal, there were two things that did change. Both were explosions, but instead of destruction, these brought tourists and mosquitoes.

I live in Florence, so clearly there are going to be tourists here at almost all times of the year. I knew it was going to get busier as the weather got warmer and as time drew closer to the summer, but I never expected to have this much of a change within a week. It has gotten so bad, that I have to leave for classes 10 minutes earlier than I normally would, and 15 minutes earlier if my walk to class passes the Duomo. In this explosion of tourists I have come to realize why the Italians act certain ways. I always thought it was really rude when Italians would just run straight into you when you’re walking down the street instead of taking the half step to the side. Well now I understand that they are like this because tourists are rude. They stand in the middle of the only walkway and leave the non-walkway areas completely open while taking pictures of the city. They stop in the middle of the sidewalk to check a map instead of stepping to the side then checking it. They don’t move when you ask politely. If I had to deal with that day in and day out of my life, I’d get pissed off and run people over too. Oh wait, I do have to deal with it, and yes I have taken the same approach the Italians do.

The Thursday after I got back from break, Micayla and I took a trip up to the Piazza Michael Angelo. We figured since it was across the river and a decent walk outside the city center there would be less tourists there. It is a beautiful place where you can see the entire city. It is so beautiful it should be swarming with tourists, but its not. I mean, there is definitely tourists, but no where near as many as in the main city. Most of the people there are other study abroad students reading or sharing a bottle of wine, or just enjoying the view.

The other explosion I personally hate more than the first; mosquitoes. Now, I’m allergic to normal mosquitoes. The bites will blow up to the size of a quarter and last about two days. Well they have super mosquitoes here. These blew up to the size of half dollars and they lasted almost a week. They also scabbed over and left scars even if I didn’t itch them. At night I wore sweatpants, and a hoodie with the hood up and the blanket up around my face. Somehow I ended up with a bite on the bridge of my nose. These things are the spawn of the devil, I swear.

Spring Break: Barcelona

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:02:00 +0200

We arrived after a long night in Barcelona at about 10 am. Our rooms of course were not ready so we dropped off our bags and then started our walking tour. First we went down Las Ramblas, the main drag of the city. On Las Ramblas was our first stop, the Boqueria Market. It was like the Mercado Centrale in Florence, only bigger. They had fresh fruit juices in all kinds of combinations. I personally got Strawberry Mango and it was so refreshing. The next stop was the Christopher Columbus monument which was right next to the harbor. This was the first look at the ocean I had in a long time, not including Venice because those are more classified as rivers. The sun was shining and the weather was warm. It felt like it was late May more than it was late March. We then headed to the Casa Baltó, a famous building designed by Antoni Gaudi. We then headed up behind the Casa Baltó and saw the 1992 Olympic Stadium. It was not as large as I pictured it to be. We then continued with our Gaudi tour to see the Güell Park that was designed by Gaudi. And to finish up the tour we ended with the temple designed by Guadi, La Sagrada Familia.

The tour was technically over, but Dave wanted to add a little input into the best places to go to in Barcelona. He took some of us to the best gyro place that I have ever been, including in Greece. It was amazing how much food you got for so cheap. The cucumber sauce was to die for and the fresh feta cheese just put the icing on the cake. After that he took us to get something a little bit more Spanish; Sangria. The best Sangria in Barcelona, according to Dave who lived here for three weeks, was not at a little restaurant or a Spanish bar; it was at an Irish Pub. Ryan’s had the best Sangria I have ever had in my life. They put some sprite in it as well to make it sparkling. It was a great way to end a VERY long day.

Saturday was our last full day in Barcelona, and since I squished all of my site seeing into one day I was able to spend it relaxing. I chose for this relaxation to occur at Barcelonetta, the third best beach in 2005. I laid out on the sand with a book in my hand, listening to my iPod. It was a great way to unwind after eight days of straight touring. It was the perfect way for me to end my spring break. That night, the group went to a Flamenco show in order to experience what Spain has to offer. After the show a group of us went out for a traditional Spanish dinner: paella. It was a great bonding experience and we all had a great time.

Then then next morning we started out on our journey home. 15 hours later, we finally arrived back in Florence. Overall it was a great break but it has been good to be back in Florence and not be traveling or on the go 24/7.

Spring Break: Paris

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:58:00 +0200

We arrived in Paris at about 6 pm on Tuesday. We quickly wanted to settle into our rooms and then get some dinner with the guides. When we got to the hotel it was not at all like any of the other hostels we were staying at. It was actually a hotel so you’d think it would be nicer? Well, don’t let the names of things fool you. This “hotel” was not as nice as any of the hostels I’ve stayed in. Andrea, Elisandra, and I were staying in a room together which was only made for two people. It had a queen size bed that was shoved up against the wall, and a cot next to the bed. The bathroom consisted of a sink and a shower that had tiles missing. The toilet was out in the main hallway. We also had a communal shower/toilet combo right outside our door. There was one working outlet in the entire room and it was meant for the mini fridge. Moral of this part of the story: don’t think that hotels are always going to be better than hostels.

After we freshened up, Bruno took all of us to a grocery store around the corner to buy dinner. He bought baguettes, deli meats, cheese, and all the trimmings for everyone on the trip for dinner. I personally bought cheese and crackers and Andrea and I split a bottle of champagne. We then walked from the grocery store to the bus which was the next downer of the night. We had about 50 American teenagers trying to all buy tickets for a bus with a driver who only speaks French. He instantaneously got mad and started screaming at us in French. We eventually realized it was because you could buy tickets from a machine around the corner. Eventually Andrea and I were buying everyone’s tickets with Bruno’s card because he didn’t know how to work the machine. We finally made it to our dinner destination: The Eiffel Tower. Yes, I had dinner at the Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely amazing. It looked so beautiful lit up, and every hour it would sparkle, or as my good friend Ryan would say, it would shimmer.

The next day we met for the walking tour at around 10 am, which was a welcomed change for once in comparison to the 8:30 and 9:00 am meetings we usually have. But this was the start of a very very long day. We walked to Notre Dame, and then to the Louvre. At the Louvre, we went and sunbathed in the park across the street. After a relaxing break, we continued on our trek to the Eiffel Tower in order to climb it. Now I don’t remember if I had mentioned this before in another post, but I’m really really afraid of heights. But I knew that if I didn’t go all the way to the top now I probably would never have the chance again and I would regret it. So we decided to burn some calories and walk to the 2^nd level of the tower; all 700 steps. Then we took a rather scary elevator to the top. The view was absolutely amazing. I never realized how huge Paris was until we were up there. After leaving the tower, we walked to the Arch de Triumph and then headed back to the hotel.

Thursday, we took a trip outside of the city to Versailles. The group that I was with got lunch, then walked to the palace. It was so pretty, and extravagant. And with extravagant things comes extravagant price tags so we decided not to go inside. Instead we just wondered the city, went shopping, then headed back to Paris for a bit more shopping then to get ready for the overnight bus ride to our last stop: Barcelona.

Spring Break: Brussels

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:38:00 +0200

We left Amsterdam in the morning and were headed to our next destination, Brussels. Unlike all of our other destinations we were only there for about 3 hours, so this entry is gonna be a little one. Everyone on our program had the exact same idea: eat as much as possible before time runs out. The time we were allotted doesn’t give you enough time to find any kind of monument or see anything all that important, but it is perfect for wandering the streets looking for food. Brussels is known for its beer, fries, mussels, waffles, and of course chocolate.

When we arrived I spent most of my time with Emily. We wandered the streets with no goal in particular except for food. I personally had waffles at the top of my list, which I got. It was the most amazing waffle I have ever eaten in my life. It went: waffle, chocolate, strawberries and kiwi, whipped cream, more strawberries and kiwi, more chocolate.

After the waffle, my next victim was the chocolate. While there was chocolate on my waffle, I wanted legit truffles. I did accomplish buying them and my goal was to make them last at least for 2 weeks… they were gone by the last day of spring break.

We didn’t have much time left after the chocolate so we had to make some executive decisions. Emily had the fries, and I tried some and they were okay. Neither of us liked mussels, and it was too early to be drinking beer. We ended up going to a Haagen Dazs for some ice cream. Thinking that it was European it had to be amazing here right? Well, trying to compare it to Italian gelato it was the biggest let down of my spring break. Its official: I’m never eating ice cream ever again. I actually just googled Haagen Dazs to see where it actually was from so I could reference it, and guess what? Haagen Dazs was founded in the good old Bronx of New York. Haagen Dazs is actually two made up words that are meant to look Scandinavian. Well played Haagen Dazs, you had me going.

After that, I realized that the only things that I had eaten that day was a waffle smothered in chocolate, and ice cream. In order to sit on a bus for another three hours, I needed something a bit more substantial in my stomach. We came across a cafe on the way back to the bus that had bagels. I nearly flipped out when I saw the sign, but then realized that they just use them for sandwiches instead of with cream cheese or whatever you might like. I still got one obviously to itch the bagel money that has been sitting on my back since I got here. But I got it with pesto, chicken, mozzarella, tomato, and lettuce on it. It was really good. After our bagel discovery we made it back to the bus and continued on to Paris.

SO MUCH FOOD.

Spring Break: Amsterdam

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0200

Next stop on the crazy week of Spring Break was Amsterdam. The bus got into the city at about 6:30 pm. We all were very tired from a very long bus ride. At our hostel, we were lucky enough to get fed both breakfast and dinner for free. Side note about our hostel: at breakfast they had PEANUT BUTTER. Literally the best part of this trip was I took about 25 packets of peanut butter. After settling in we had dinner in the cafeteria, then Andrea and I were lead by one of our guides, Bruno to the center of the city.

Now, before I continue, there is a need for a description of Bruno. Bruno is a 70 year old man, who is known as “The Godfather of Florence” because he literally knows everyone. I’ve also heard people call him Father Bruno. He has a special named after him at La Spada, a popular restaurant in Florence. Basically, he is an Italian version of my dad 15 years down the line.

So we hopped on the train with Bruno and some other people from our program and headed into the center of the city. Andrea and I didn’t really know where we wanted to go, but the others had their heart set on going to the Red Light District, so we tagged along. Once we got there, the other group booked it for the first coffee shop they could find, so it was just me, Andrea, and Bruno walking the streets of the Red Light District.

I honestly thought it was going to be a lot sketchier than it was. I mean obviously there were girls in their underwear behind glass doors trying to get you to come over, but if you didn’t look at the windows it was actually like any other street in the city. I expected it to look like a creepy alley way in New York City, but it literally looked like a main drag. There were also a lot more canals and bridges than I expected. It was actually quite pretty. But besides all of the beauty, we were in the Red Light District. Bruno of course having no fear kept asking as we walked by the windows “How about this one girls? She’s nice.” as the girls in the window would tap at him and he’s laugh and keep walking. It was probably the funniest and most awkward situation of my life. He also took us to this really pretty church that was on the edge of the district, but if you turn around there is a wall of girls right across the street from the church. It was really ironic and sacrilegious. Only in Amsterdam right? Even more awkward: I found out the next day that he isn’t just called “Father Bruno”, he literally is a priest. So I walked around the Red Light District of Amsterdam with a priest; Bucket List - Check.

The next day we had a walking tour of the city. We went to the “I AMSTERDAM” sculpture (famous for pictures), the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Experience, and Anne Frank’s house. The Van Gogh Museum was really amazing. It was so incredible to see all of these famous paintings up close and personal. Bruno is an artist himself so he knows a lot about Van Gogh and was giving us all the side stories about his life and how he died. It was always said that Van Gogh shot himself and he died two days later. But now there is evidence to suggest that he was interested in a young boy and the young boy was actually the one who shot him. It obviously isn’t proven yet, but its something to think about.

Then we went to my favorite part of Amsterdam: The Heineken Experience. It was almost identical to the Guinness Brewery in Ireland, but so much better. I am a bigger Heineken fan than Guinness but that has nothing to do with it. Guinness was a lot of wondering and reading. Heineken was very interactive. Obviously the historical part of it was all reading, but then we arrived at a live person who explains the four ingredients and how they are combined to make the beer. They also have a 4-D experience where they show you a detailed step by step process of how they make it. The next stop on the tour was a tasting station. The pour you a glass and tell you all about the different parts of the beer that make it what it is. The foam cap on the beer is there to keep air from getting to the beer while you drink. When air gets to it, it automatically starts the evaporation of the alcohol making it taste different, so it keeps it fresher longer. A bartender also is supposed to “cut” the top of the foam with a wet metal knife in order to preserve the top of the foam cap for longer. Something you may not want to know: If when your glass is empty there is no foam clinging to the edges of the glass, the glass wasn’t completely clean when they poured the beer in. They also showed you all the different marketing strategies they used and are now using. They now make a can they are selling to clubs so when it is under the black light there are cool designs that show up. After the tour, there is a free boat ride that takes you to their flagship store 15 minutes away where we got a free gift. I also got my dad a present here, which I’m really excited to give him, but I can’t tell what it is yet because he reads this or he should be at least ;)

After that we walked to the Anne Frank house and saw the outside. I personally didn’t go inside, but a lot of people said it was really interesting. I was exhausted from the day and spent the night in while mostly everyone else hit up the coffee bars for our last night. The next day we were headed to our next stop: Brussels.

Spring Break: Berlin

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:41:00 +0200

I know I have been M.I.A. lately, but I have had limited access to internet or I have been very busy trying to get back into the swing of things after Spring break! 10 days of traveling through five of Europe’s most popular cities: Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Barcelona.

First Stop: Berlin. We arrived in Berlin around 10 am on Friday morning. When arriving at the hostel, they did not have our room ready so we changed in a public bathroom and moved straight on to the walking tour. We saw the Bunker where Hitler hid during the end of the war, the hotel that Michael Jackson held his baby out the window, the Holocaust Memorial, and the remnants of the Berlin wall. It was all very powerful to see that much history in a short amount of time. As American as I am about to sound right now, I don’t care; I was really excited to find that they had Dunkin Donuts in Berlin. During the tour we snuck off an got some iced coffee and it literally made my day.

^ Hitler’s Bunker now has a children’s playground on it. Awkward. ^

^ Cobblestone run throughout Berlin to show where the original Berlin Wall was. ^

After the walking tour we were given the rest of the day off. I headed back to the hostel with two girls, Andrea and Elisandra. We got into our rooms, freshened up, then went on a search of a real German lunch. We walked around for about an hour trying to find German food. You would not believe how many Italian restaurants there are in Germany, or for any country I have been to for that matter. We finally stumbled across this little pub that barely even looked open. But the owner was sitting outside and showed us in. It was just him and his wife there working and they spoke very little English. Thankfully, they did have English menus. I ended up getting pork with paprika sauce and french fries, clearly accompanied with a beer. The last time I was in Germany (last January, in Munich) I did not like beer what so ever. I promised myself now that I do that I was going to come back to Germany to enjoy their expert craftsmanship. The meal was absolutely DELICIOUS and I was really excited to not be eating pasta or chicken.

The next day was a free day. We wandered around the city, not really knowing where we were going. Eventually we ended up coming across this interesting contraption on the street. It is called a Beer Bike. It is a bar with about eight seats around it with a seat at the very front with a steering wheel. At each seat there are pedals. This bar is on wheels and the driver takes you on a tour of the city of Berlin while being able to enjoy a nice cold beer. I was particularly curious about the cost of a ride, so I asked. The driver said 120 euros for the hour. Clearly out of my price range, I began to walk away to catch up to the girls. But as I did the guys riding it offered for us to ride with them for the last 20 minutes of their ride. We all said sure and hopped on. We talked to this group of guys to find out that this was part of a Bachelor party weekend in Berlin. They were from Scotland and the wedding was going to be happening next month. This explained a lot because one of them was in lederhosen, which we found out was the groom-to-be. We talked until the Bike arrived back at the station (which saved us about a half hour of walking) and parted ways.

That night, our group was going to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner. I had been once before the the one in Munich so I was immediately excited. It is a beer hall so it has a great atmosphere with all of the music and singing. When we got there, I got the Wienerschnitzel (aka Breaded Veal Cutlet) with potatoes and of course a beer. We had a great time singing and eating and Proost-ing (cheers-ing) with the rest of our group. As we sat there we saw someone wave at us from across the hall. It was our good old Scottish friends. After dinner was over we went and talked to the Scottish boys for a while, then headed back to the hostel. We had to be up early for the next stage of our journey - Amsterdam!

Jolly Old London Town.

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:06:00 +0100

I spent this weekend in London with my best friend from high school, Ryan. It was really nice to see a familiar face. It was also a really long weekend leading into a really long week.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 3 am in order to catch a bus from Florence to the Pisa Airport. Then I took a flight from Pisa to London Stansted, which is an hour outside the city, so I had to take another bus. Finally in the city, I met up with Ryan where we went sight seeing all day. First stop was to see Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Then we walked around a bit and ended up at the British Museum. There I saw the medals for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics that will be taking place in London as well as the Rosetta Stone.

After the sun set, we went back to the same area of the river where Big Ben is, and took the London Eye. The London Eye is basically a huge Ferris Wheel. You could literally see the entire city of London. It was absolutely gorgeous up there at night with the whole city lit up.

The next day we went and did some more sight seeing. We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Portabello Road, then walked down the Thames River to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It was a beautiful day so it was nice to be outside walking around. We didn’t end up going into the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and whatnot because it was really expensive. Personally, I don’t feel like I should spend a lot of money on seeing jewels that I will never be able to wear. Instead we had a traditional British lunch; fish and chips. We then walked to the center of the Tower Bridge to get a good view down the river. Then we went to Buckingham Palace. I was thoroughly disappointed when there wasn’t guards with the red uniforms and the fuzzy hats. That night was a quiet night in and having tacos at Ryan’s apartment.

Yet another early morning getting up at 4 am to catch the bus back to the airport. I flew the same way back with the same bus rides and ended back at my apartment at around 12:30 pm yesterday. No time to relax or sleep though because this week is Midterms week and I had my first one last night and I had two today. I have one more tomorrow evening and then another one Thursday afternoon, then I leave Thursday night for Spring Break!

A Very Interesting Italian Class

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:46:00 +0100

Of all of my classes here, Italian definitely is my favorite. Not necessarily the topic, because I am horrendous at learning languages, but for everything else that can make or break a class. My class only has 8 people, including me. I’ve never been in a class that small, but I really like it because I know everyone’s name and we all get along really well. I do feel bad though its all girls except Greg, but he’s a good sport when we go on “girl stuff” tangents. I also love my teacher. She is so funny; she will explain things half in Italian, half in English so we will understand easier and learn different words. Most of the time we get off on tangents about different things, basically making the class a huge discussion and today, that is exactly what happened.

Today we were going over our homework from the night before involving clothing vocabulary. While this was going on, we were also having side conversations about how the weather was so nice. Someone decided to ask if the reason why the Florentines stared at us when we were running was because of our clothes. Our teacher said “Yes, when we see someone wearing shorts in the city we are shocked because it is an inappropriate thing to wear. We think are you going to the beach?” She continued to tell us that Italians do not wear shorts or flip flops in the city or in class because it is viewed as disrespectful. Dresses and skirts are okay, but shorts are not at all.

She also said that the Florentines stare at us while we run is because it is not normal for people to run in the city. In the minds of the Florentines it is inappropriate, as mentioned before, and it is dangerous. In the city there are cars, motorcycles, and bikes to worry about, uneven cobblestone that you can twist your ankle on, and many pedestrians that just get in the way. Florentines run in the parks, but there is one problem with this: the parks are relatively far away. For them it is normal to take a bus or a bike to the park in order to go for a run. Logically to me it would make more sense to just run to and from the park and just save time, but there lies a huge cultural difference between Americans and Italians: we value our time completely different.

My friend Sophie took this conversation a step further and asked if the reason people stare also stemmed from their dislike of Americans. Our teacher began with that most people in Florence don’t dislike Americans, but the stereotype of Americans here in Florence stemmed from study abroad students; young Americans looking to “live it up” in Italy while they are technically underage in the US. They go too far and don’t realize what they are doing and ruin the reputations of all Americans.

Someone decided to take another step farther saying “Do men act this forwardly to Italians too? Or is it just because we are American and have that reputation? Just because we have that reputation doesn’t mean that they should act that way. They should respect our culture.” Personally I couldn’t believe that they said this because we are the visitors in their country. We should be the ones respecting their culture. Americans always get mad at foreigners who don’t respect our culture when they are visiting, why should it be any different? Our teacher also said that most of the men that are forward towards the American women aren’t even Italian. ”Most Italian men don’t care where a girl is from; Italy, France, Germany, America, it doesn’t matter to them. The men that are forward are from Albania, Romania, and other places who just want to have fun then have a whole new set to pick from each semester. Just because they know how to speak Italian doesn’t mean that they are Italian.”

This little anecdote is a warning for all of you future study abroad students. You’re in a new country with new laws, but also new cultural values. Just because you have the ability to go out to the bars doesn’t mean you need to go too far. I know 4 separate girls who were stolen from because they were too drunk to notice. In total they lost 2 cameras, a licence, a Coach clutch, and over 200 euro. While its fun to go out, there is no reason to be that bad. You are only putting yourself at risk and making a bad name for every other American that comes to study in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. Okay I’m done preaching, I promise.

Venice... Again.

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:54:00 +0100

This weekend I made a repeat trip back to Venice with my program, API. Up bright and early for a 6 AM departure, I was able to sleep the whole way there. When we arrived we took a private boat from the main land to the actual island of Venice. Once there, we broke off into groups and was given a tour of the many islands. We went to St. Mark’s Square and the church there, but that was a review for me. After that we made our way to the Rialto Bridge, the first bridge to cross the Grand Canal. We then saw the only hospital left in Venice, which is settled close to the biggest cemetery in Venice. Personally, that gives me ~~a lot~~ of confidence in the doctors there. We then saw where Marco Polo lived back when he was a famous merchant. He owned one whole island in Venice. To compare the wealth he would have had today, to own a square meter of land in Venice is about 15,000 euro.

We were dropped off at the fresh market for our free afternoon. I spent the afternoon with Macayla and her friends because Jori had come a day early to meet up with a friend of hers. We wandered the streets for a bit, then found a restaurant that had a line set up in the square outside where you got a plate of fried seafood and a glass of wine for 8 euros. We got it, and took the food to go sit on the dock overlooking the canal. It was sunny and beautiful out, so it was a perfect lunch… except for part of the seafood medley included whole anchovies, but I just ate around them.

After lunch, a group of us partook in a huge draw for tourists to Venice: took a gondola ride. It was so fun. Our gondola driver was Andrea (Andrew in English) and he was very funny. He answered all of our questions about his job and the city as we passed different sites. It was such a good time because it was sunny and warm out. The light was reflecting off the water onto the under part of the bridges and it was beautiful!

After that we made our way back through the confusing streets of Venice back to our boat which we took to the hotel. We stayed right outside the city of Venice in Mestre. I met Jori at the hotel where we both were exhausted so we took a nap. After our nap we went out to dinner with Micayla and her roommate from home, Hillary. We found this really cute local place. The owner had his office in the center of the dining room. He was so sweet and so cute. Jori and Micayla decided to be adventurous with their meal selection. Jori got squid and cornmeal. But this squid was served in its own ink. It definitely was interesting looking. Micayla got this pasta that was made with bits of salmon in it. Hers was really good, but was a little too fishy tasting for me to eat an entire plate of it.

Today we went to Morano and Burano, two island in Venice. Morano is famous for its blown glass (Morano beads from Pandora). We were given a glass blowing demonstration which was really cool. He made a vase and a horse figurine. After that we were able to shop around their hand made glass figurines and jewelry.

We then took a boat to Burano, which is famous for its lace. We didn’t have any kind of tour there, but we were able to walk around the city on our own. It was very small, but it was beautiful. All of the houses were painted crazy and beautiful colors that would be considered tacky in the states.

After another long day, we headed back on the boat to meet up with our bus. We then took a 4 hour ride back to Florence. Even though I had already been to Venice once before it was definitely a great weekend. I saw so many of the same things but in a completely different light, mainly to do with the fact that I could actually feel my hands this time around.

When In Rome.

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:52:00 +0100

Even though I have been to Rome once before, it was nice to actually go somewhere besides the train station. It was a four hour ride from Florence to Rome, which is about 3x as long as the train ride. We arrived in Rome around 11:30 am and headed straight out on our walking tour of the city. We were taken to the Piazza di Spanga also known as the Spanish Steps first. The tour also included a stop at the Trevi Fountain. It was absolutely PACKED. But I personally didn’t care because it was just as beautiful as I had imagined it. Our tour guide, Fabritzio, informed us about the different statues in the actual fountain; how the two statues with the horses are representing the two oceans, etc. We were given a 20 minute break here, and I couldn’t have been more excited. Jori and I made our way through the crowds of people and made our way down to the very front of the fountain. I had my penny all ready, made my wish, and threw it in. I know right now that my wish isn’t going to come true, but what is the point of wishing for something you know probably will happen? After we took pictures by the fountain we got AMAZING gelato right next to the fountain. I got raspberry and pineapple and it was TO DIE FOR.

Our tour continued onward with the Pantheon. Fabritzio told us that there used to be four steps up to the entrance, but due to the flooding and sediment build up over the years and now there is only a half-step up. Inside was buried the different kings of the past, as well as Queen Margarita which the pizza is named after. One of the final stops was the Piazza Naova. Here there is a fountain that has four statues that represent the four continents of the time: Asia, Europe, Africa, and America. The best thing about this was Fabritzio knew who his audience was and mentioned that this Piazza was featured in the movie Angels and Demons.

After the tour we made our way back to the hotel to finally check in. Jori and I were exhausted so we decided to relax for a bit in the room. Eventually, we met up with Micayla and had a little snack. We all split a pizza and had some sangria and talked about life. It was nice to slow down after a long day.

We walked around the city for a few hours and then eventually made it back to our hotel. We got ready and then headed out to find somewhere to eat dinner. We ended up finding our way across the Tiber River to the more “local” side of the city. There was this little place that was decently priced so we went in.

Upon entering the restaurant we were seated at a table in the basement, and were the only people down there for the entire meal. However, we had the cutest old Italian man as our waiter. He didn’t speak much English, which was okay… until we tried to order dessert. Jori wanted this fruit tart that was in the window upstairs. Our waiter listed off all of the desserts really fast, so Jori just said “Frutta?” meaning fruit. But in Italy, you can just get fruit on a plate for dessert. When he realized that she didn’t know what else to say, he took her by the hand and led her upstairs to where all of the desserts were and had her point at it… the only language that crosses borders: body language.

After dinner we decided to walk back to the Trevi Fountain to see it lit up at night. It was amazing to see how many people were there at 11:30pm. It was so beautiful lit up at night. We were just hanging out until we saw a man get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend. It was so adorable.

The next day we went to the Castel Sant’Angelo. The Castel was originally constructed as a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian while he was still alive. Later on, Pope Nicholas III converted it into a castle and connected it to St. Peter’s Basilica through a fortified corridor. Fabritzio made sure to mention the differences between this and how Angels and Demons portrayed the connection.

After the Castel Sant’Angelo we went to a new country, The Vatican City. There we went into St. Peter’s Basilica. Fabritzio showed us all the different statues and what each one was for. Pope John Paul II’s coffin/tomb was on display because he is now in the first step towards becoming a saint. There was also another Pope on display… but it was just his body. He was in a glass case for the whole world to see. They had covered him in wax right after he died so his face would be preserved and no sign of decay would be shown. After getting a tour of the first floor we were taken down into the Catacombs of the Basilica. There are over 185 Popes buried in St. Peter’s and we only saw a few. It wasn’t as dark and dreary as I pictured a catacomb to be. I was slightly dissapointed.

We were set free from our tour where Jori and I set off for the Vatican Museum. In the museum there are many statues and relics from the past in the Vatican. It is also connected to the Sistine Chapel. The chapel was more amazing than I could have ever imagined. You think its amazing just reading about it in a text book, but seeing the beautiful artwork in person gives you chills.

After a very long day Jori and I took a nap in order to recoup for the night that was ahead of us. Post-nap we went to dinner at a place just down the street from our hotel that had 45 different salads to choose from for dinner. While I saw many different options, I knew deep down what I wanted. I haven’t had good feta cheese since I left Greece last winter break, so when I saw the Greek Salad it was game over. I saved all of the cheese for last and I was in heaven. After dinner we made our way to the Ice Club. Now, the name of this bar is very literal. The entire bar is made from ice; the seats, the walls, the bar itself, the cups, you name it. You pay 15 euro to get in and they give you a warmth cape and a free drink card for when you go inside. It was so cool… pun intended. I had so much fun just taking pictures and hanging out there because many of the people who were at the bar were in my program (API) and therefore in my classes. We stayed at the Ice Bar for about an hour, which is the double usual time that people last before they get too cold, and then headed home. While it was fun, being cold takes a lot of energy out of you.

^Stereotypical me, chewing on ice.^

Sunday morning rolls around and its time to check out. We get on the bus and got a tour of the rest of the city that was too far to walk through. After the tour we end up at the Colosseum. It was so interesting to see how it was built with all the different elevators, trap doors, and optional roof. The tour was kind of brief, but it was still very interesting. I loved Fabritzio as a tour guide; he was very funny.

Finally our weekend in Roma came to an end with another 4 hour bus ride home. It was a really fun weekend. I really liked Rome, but personally, nothing in Italy that I have seen can compare to my Firenze.

Secret Bakery.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:44:00 +0100

Last night was Marti Gras and the last night of Carnival here in Italy. It is kind of like their Halloween because everyone dresses up in costumes. It was crazy because even when I was walking home from class at 5:30pm there were little kids dressed up, and my street was shut down for a parade that I had missed. There was confetti all over the ground. Even my teacher told us to get dressed up and go dancing because the next day starts lent and you wouldn’t be able to have as much fun then.

Jori and I decided that we were going to go out. We didn’t get dressed up, but we still had a great time. But the most important part of this story is that I found a secret bakery.

All over the city of Florence there are different bakeries obviously. And just like everything else in this city besides bars/clubs, they shut down around 9pm. But, there are some bakeries who start baking around 2am for the next day. Some of these bakeries will sell you the food they are baking at a cheap price in the wee hours of the morning. This isn’t advertised anywhere so you literally have to follow your nose around the city.

So last night I was with my friend Micayla who knew where one was. We were so excited we just couldn’t wait. It was on a side street and there was a sign on the door just saying “QUIET PLEASE”. There was a line of about 10 people, but it moved fast. When you get to the door they take your order and your money, shut the door, then reappear with your food and change. I got a slice of pizza and a crepe with Nutella and it only cost me 2 euros. I dropped a pin on the maps app on my phone so I now have the address and will be able to go back. For all of you out there who will be studying here in the future, the address will be available for a price ;)

I am really excited that I actually found one, and I am looking forward to explore the city for more. I am probably going to bombard all of my friends who have studied here for more locations.

Top of the Mornin, Dublin.

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:57:00 +0100

This weekend is going to be a hard one to top. I spent 3 nights and 3 days in the amazing land of my ancestors: Ireland. I went with Bus2Alps, a company that has preplanned trips for study abroad students. It was honestly amazing… maybe no P.S. I Love You amazing, but very close.

Thursday, I left directly from my last class of the day to go to the train station at 3:15. I had to hop a train from Florence to Rome because there were absolutely no flights to Ireland from Florence. After that hour and a half train, I took another 30 minute train from Rome’s city center to the airport. After checking in and making it through security, I made my way to my gate. To put into perspective how big the Rome airport is, I had to take a train to my terminal. After making it to my terminal with an hour and a half to spare, I got some dinner and took my time. With about a half hour left before my flight I made my way over to the gate that was stamped on my ticket. I arrive there, and the screen reads: Alitalia Flight to Budapest. I was clearly not flying to Budapest, so I instantaneously went into panic mode thinking I missed my flight, or it was canceled. I asked someone at the ticket counter and they said a lot of the flights gates had to be changed, and to check the board. Thank god, my flight was still in this terminal so I didn’t have to take a train back to the main area of the airport. My flight was almost booked solid and everyone had carryons so they had to take some and put them below. This made us sit for an extra 15 minutes. Then we missed our turn in line to take off so we had to wait another 15 minutes to take off. The flight itself was very easy with no turbulence.

When I arrived in Dublin, it was so nice to hear everyone speaking English. It was also a nice change of pace because everyone was really nice and willing to help, unlike in Florence where people seem like you are inconveniencing them by making them do their job. I had to hop on a bus to get to my hostel. After getting off the bus it was about a 5 minute walk to where I was staying, which was right around the corner from the Jameson Distillery. I stayed at the Generator Hostel and it was really nice. I arrived there at about 11:45 pm on Thursday night, and found that there was a rave happening at the bar in the basement of our hostel. It was very intriguing because the theme was cross dressing. I checked in about 10 minutes after two other girls from my program had gotten there. I ended up rooming with them, Erin and Julia, and two other girls, Sarah and Courtney. Erin and Julia invited me to go to the pub with them, two boys from our program, Ryan and Steven, and our trip leader Lauren. We went to a bar called Fitzsimons and listened to a guitarist play for a while and just got to know each other.

Friday morning we were given a walking tour of Dublin. It took about 3 1/2 hours, and we learned a lot about the history of the city and Ireland as a whole. Our tour guide Robbie was hilarious and his accent was awesome. We visited Christ Church Cathedral, Trinity College, the church where they filmed the TV Show “Tudors”, Temple Bar (which is an area in Dublin, as well as an actual bar), and the Dubh Linn Garden to name a few places. After the tour we went to lunch in a pub in Temple Bar (which for the life of me I can’t remember the name of). I got braised beef stew made with Guinness. It was so good, and it was HUGE.

After lunch, we went to the Guinness Storehouse. It was a free walking tour that we could explore on our own. It showed you all about how they make the beer and the different ingredients that they use.

Some interesting facts about Guinness I never knew before:

The reason you have to let a Guinness “settle” before you drink it is because all of the nitrogen that is in the tap is surfacing and that it what the foam at the top is.
The lease for the land the Storehouse was built on is for 9,000 years.
The signature that shows up on all of the cans is the signature from that deed.
The harp on the cans of Guinness are representative of Brian Boru’s harp, who was a king in Ireland.

That night we went on a pub crawl throughout the Temple Bar area. It was really fun, because there was only 14 people on our trip through Bus2Alps. Everyone either came alone or with one other person which was awesome because everyone wanted to hang out and get to know each other. I was kind of worried whether or not I would be spending the entire weekend alone, but this was a really nice surprise.

The next day we took a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. It was so beautiful! It was raining the entire way there, but when we got there the rain stopped and the sun somewhat came out. We really lucked out on weather… except for a 30 second freak hail storm that hit. However, the wind was CRAZY. It literally blew my headband off my head… which I never saw again.

After the Cliffs of Moher, we drove on the windiest, bumpiest roads I have ever seen to Galway. Lauren told us that at least one person throws up every time from the Cliffs to Galway. The bus drive was absolutely crazy, and put my dad’s driving to shame. Literally whipping around tight corners in a bus going at least 60. We made it there alive and without vomit, thank god. We walked around the city and saw the river. Galway is where the Claddagh originated from, so I bought myself a real claddagh ring at one of the oldest stores in the city. It is also famous for its fish and chips, so I couldn’t just pass that up!

That night we all spent the night together listening to live music at different pubs. That is one thing that I really liked. It is a very relaxed night life filled with live performers who usually sing songs that everyone knows so they can sing along. One thing that if you ever go to a pub in Ireland: know all of the words to Galway Girl. The play it at least once every 2 hours.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hostel and walked around the city souvenir shopping. At 12:30 I hitched a but to the Dublin airport and started my day long traveling day home. Once again, my flight was really easy. When I landed in Rome, I went to buy my train tickets home, and there were two different trains I could have taken. One was 10 minutes faster and it was also 5 euro cheaper, so naturally I went with the faster and cheaper one. Well, the one thing I didn’t notice is that it was a different route than the one I had taken to the airport. I had to take a train into the inner city of Rome, then take a train to the main train station in Rome, then another train to Florence. It wasn’t a problem, except the first train didn’t announce the stops you were at and only some of the stops had signs at the stops of which one it was. It was a lot harder too because it was a local train that I was on so many of the people didn’t speak any English on the train. Finally, I pointed to my ticket, then out the door when we got to a main stop and just got a “Si” from someone getting on the train. From there, another really nice man who spoke only Italian helped me find the right train to the Rome’s center. I made it back to Florence on time and in one piece. I know by now my mom must be in near tears thinking that I almost got stabbed or something, but it honestly wasn’t that bad. It was definitely an experience, but it showed me that I can handle myself when I get lost aka screw up, and to check how many stops your trip is when buying train tickets.

All in all, this weekend was absolutely amazing. It was really nice to meet a lot of new people and get to know them that well in only one weekend. It was definitely nice to have my first weekend travel experience under my belt, so now when I go on trips, I won’t be as nervous about thing. Next weekend is Rome with my program. Stay tuned!

The Carnival of Venice

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:49:00 +0100

Yesterday I finally took my first trip out of Florence to Venice. From February 11th - February 21st, the city is transformed and becomes the home of The Carnival. Similar to our Mardi Gras, people walk around with masks on celebrating together in the streets.

My Mask

The bus ride there took about an hour longer than had been expected because part of our journey was blizzarding. I finally saw “real snow” in Italy… not the tiny amounts that Florence gets with absolutely no accumulation. But, even though there wasn’t any snow in Venice it was FREEZING and windy.

We finally arrived around 1:00pm to this parking lot on the outskirts of the main island. After about a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the train station, the meeting point for our trip. After a little speech from one of the guides, we were free to venture off and do our own thing. I spent my day with Micayla and Laura wandering the streets of Venice. Our main goal was to make it to San Marco’s Square where the heart of the festivities were taking place. It was quite eerie when we first started walking because the streets were completely empty, almost as if the city was deserted. Thank god for my iPhone, otherwise we would have gotten completely lost. The “streets” of Venice are incredibly narrow and don’t really have names. It seems like they are all alley ways that somehow connect and will eventually make it to where ever you wanted to go. I also wished that I had counted how many bridges we crossed from the train station to San Marco’s Square, because it had to have been in the high teens. We were almost there when my iPhone went from having 50% battery life to dead. We thankfully were close enough to follow the rest of the crowds heading to the square.

When we arrived at the square, we understood why the streets were deserted. Everyone was already here. It was crazy how many people were there. So many different costumes and masks. Not only were people dressing in traditional outfits, there were others who treated it as Halloween. I saw a man dressed like Van Goh, parrot, Kinder Eggs (chocolate egg brand in Europe), The Wicked Witch of the West, and many other costumes.

Micayla and I are lucky enough to be going back to Venice with our program, API, so we spent the day just wandering the streets experiencing everything we could to do with Carnival. There were street performers, bands, DJ’s, and parades of groups of costumes. We did go inside the San Marco Church for a bit, where there was a section on the left side completely left open for prayer. When the cold had finally gotten to us, we gave up and had a sit down dinner in a local restaurant to warm up. When we did finally warm up, I tried turning my iPhone back on because I knew that my battery did not die that fast, and I was right. Looks like iPhones aren’t fans of the cold either. I got Spaghetti Carbonara for dinner, which is an egg and cream sauce with bacon. The most interesting dish was the pizza that Laura ordered. She ordered a pizza with egg and asparagus on it. What she got was a pizza with an over easy egg in the center and white asparagus all around the edges. Despite the differences between what she had expected and what she got, she said it was a very good pizza.

As our night drew to a close, I couldn’t help but try something that is usually only around for the Carnival: hot wine. They take red wine, add spices to it, and then heat it, essentially reducing the alcohol in the wine to almost nothing. I tried it and it tasted grape cider. I personally liked it better than the apple cider that we have back in the states.

It was a very long day in Venice, but it was absolutely amazing. We were too nervous to try and find our way back to the train station, so we decided to take a water taxi back. It was interesting to see how many people use those on a normal basis. The bus ride home was the same deal as the way there; an extra hour due to snow, putting us back in Florence around 1:00am.

I can’t wait to go back and ride in a gondola (way too cold this time around) and all the other things the city has to offer.

So. Much. Food.

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:39:00 +0100

I’ve come to decide that my life here is revolved around one thing, and one thing only: food. I’m either shopping for it, thinking about what to make, or preparing/cooking it. For a long time leading up to this trip I was really worried that I was going to starve here or live off of pasta and jarred sauce. Well, while pasta is a large staple in my diet, it is no where near the biggest or best part. That title is held by onions and garlic.

Originally the biggest thing I was able to cook was scrambled eggs. While that’s good, I’m not a big enough fan of eggs to eat them for every meal per day. As the days went on I observed my roommate, who is currently writing a blog about all of the food she encounters in Italy, and was able to pick up the basics of cooking different things. But now that we are at the end of my third week here, I have expanded my cooking skills greatly, as you will see below. From previous entries, you all know that I have already made chili, which was amazing by the way… but a tad too much chili powder. The one thing I was worried about was making chicken. Obviously, I know that its not that hard but I was really nervous about either over/under cooking it. And we also have no baking sheets so the only thing we can make in our oven is toasted bread and baked potatoes.

First Attempt: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-breasts-with-balsamic-vinegar-and-garlic/detail.aspx

I’m kinda mad because I never got to take a picture of this one. Next time I do I’ll take a pic and edit this post. But I substituted the mushrooms for onions and garlic.

Second Attempt: Chicken Marsala

Coated the chicken in oregano, salt, and pepper and cooked it in the skillet. Threw in some green and red peppers, onions, and garlic. Added in some white wine and red wine vinegar and let it cook down. SO GOOD.

Third Attempt: Chicken, pasta, and veggies with pesto sauce. Yeah, I got lazy on this one. I basically did the same thing as the Marsala but stopped before the wine and added prepackaged pesto (wishing I had some homemade pesto from the Carley’s). I don’t care how lazy it was, it was freaking delicious. Once again, had onions and garlic… sensing the pattern yet?

I understand that this was more a rant about look at me and the awesome food I made, but those who know me well will think I paid someone to make these. And personally, I think I deserve a little pat on the back.

Its not just about the food that I’ve made, but the food I’ve ate and plan on eating. While I haven’t eaten out since we first got here, those first meals were amazing. I want to go out to dinner again soon so it will be real pasta… not bagged ones that cost me 0.59 euro. But as I mentioned before… the best thing that I have eaten here so far was the gelato….

Yeah, it deserved another photo :)

Best Day Here So Far.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:11:00 +0100

This past Sunday has quite possibly been the best day here that I have had thus far. It started off as a lazy Sunday morning. Jori and I had been up trying to plans trips for our semester the night before, but the her friend from home, Jessica, who was coming with us hadn’t responded to when she was available. She came rushing into my room and told me that the Amalfi Coast for Easter weekend was a go. For those of you who don’t know, the Amalfi Coast is on the coast of southwestern Italy as seen in the map below. We have the Monday after Easter off so I will be spending four fabulous days in April on the beach… Lets hope it has warmed up by then.

Besides booking the Amalfi Coast, I also booked three other trips; Venice, Ireland, and Croatia. This coming Saturday I will be taking a day trip to Venice for the Carnival. The Carnival of Venice is held 40 days before Easter and ends on Fat Tuesday. People wear all kind of traditional masks and hold different festival activities; Mardi Gras on steroids, if you will. I will be going with some girls that I met through my program, and one who actually goes to Bryant with me.

It has been my goal for a while to visit every country in my heritage. Last Christmas I took care of Germany (but I plan on going back) and I had France, The Netherlands, and Ireland left. Well, I will be able to cross Ireland off of my list in two weekends. I will be traveling to Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher, and Galaway all in one weekend. My boyfriend will be really ~~jealous~~ excited for me because I will be getting to take a tour of the Guiness Factory. This trip I’m flying solo.

My final booked trip happens to begin on my fathers birthday, May 3. Happy Birthday Dad I’m going to Split, Croatia! The Dalmatian Coast is known for its beautiful beaches, waterfalls, and views. I am going the final weekend I am here, trying to get the most warm weather I can before heading back to the spring weather in the states. I don’t tan very easily, so I am glad I will be able to get a jump start for the summer. Once again, I’m going on this one solo. When it comes to people I am friends with here, they either aren’t looking to go to the same places I want to go, or can only afford to go to one or two places. My logic is, I’m not going to let anyone stop me from seeing the world, even if it means I have to do it on my own.

Besides saying hello to the world, and goodbye to my bank account Jori and I decided to make it a photography day. We walked to the Piazza de Repubblica, a plaza that is just past the Duomo, to a store called La Rinascente. This is equivalent to the US’s Bloomingdale’s. If you go to the top of the five story shop, there is a cafe. Above the cafe is a rooftop seating area in which you overlook the entire city. Literally, a picture is worth 1,000 words.

In the last picture, you follow that street for about 10 minutes and you will reach my apartment. Being on that roof and just seeing the beauty of it all was one of the best feelings I have had since I have been here. It just reminded me a little more to keep my eyes open and appreciate what I have around me.

Before heading home, Jori and I stopped for some gelato. Now, I have had gelato already. But there are two different kinds of gelato: industrial, and homemade. I knew the place that was close to my house was industrial, but it was too cold and too late to try and find an authentic place. But, in my Food and Wine pairing class, my teacher gave us a list of where to go to get the best _____. One of the things on her list was gelato, and one of the places was just around the corner from the Piazza de Repubblica. We went to the gelateria called Grom. It was a small corner shop that didn’t really look like much, but we went in. Mom, if I could ship some home to you I would because it was the best thing I have ever tasted in my life: EXTRA Dark Chocolate gelato. I balanced it out with a little “Egg Cream” gelato (really good vanilla). My life will never be the same.

So the whole metaphorical “Keep my eyes open” thing I mentioned before actually materialized into a literal translation. The cobblestone here is very hard to walk on, and I am a very klutzy person and trip over my own feet. Most of the time when I am walking somewhere I have my eyes glued to the pavement to make sure I don’t trip (even though most times I still do) or to keep my face in my scarf to protect it from the wind. I found out that day that we have an instrument store on my street that sells mainly guitars and cellos. The only reason I knew about it was because someone was testing out a cello. Ever since I have been trying to force myself to look up when I walk so I don’t miss these little things.

After all was said and done, we came back to the apartment and got ready for our evening. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and my New York Football Giants were playing the New England Patriots. I am from Massachusetts and I am a die hard Giants fan; I bleed blue. Clearly, I’ve gotten my fair share of being made fun of for it growing up. But four years ago, the best thing in the world happened; we beat the Pats in the Super Bowl. Now, there is a very large distinction I would like to make right now: I have no ill feelings towards the Patriots, some of their fans however, its a different story. And again, another distinction: Rude, stuck up, childish Pats fans are whom I take issue with; I know many Pats fans who are respectable and don’t throw a temper tantrum the second they lose. So now, four years later history is repeating itself. The only place that you can get American television here is a bar or a restaurant. Jori, taking pity on me that none of the pats fans here would watch the game with me, and I went to the ClubHouse right down the street from our apartment to watch the game. I was determined for a really long time not to get any kind of American food as long as I can last it, but its the Super Bowl… clearly I needed some Buffalo Wings. During the game, there were mostly Pats fans there and everyone was screaming and yelling and having a great time. But then I thought about all of the crap that I got four years ago for winning… and how it was going to be 50 times worse if we lost. I could picture it now “OH looks like you guys really did cheat last time” blah blah blah. So as the game came to the third quarter, I literally stopped talking. I just stared at the screen, taking deep breaths. Most of you are probably now thinking that I am psychotic, but I don’t care. When the game came to a close, with the Giants winning 21-17, the few Giants fans that were there ran into the streets screaming “LETS GO GIANTS!” when I finally reached the street, I realized how quiet it was. First of all, it was 4 am here when the game ended, so it wasn’t a total surprise. But then it also made me realize once again, that I’m not in Kansas anymore, and no Italians care about American football, unless you own a bar or restaurant.

All in all Sunday, February 5 has been my best day here in Florence.