So, I didn't really succeed in making a blog about all of my adventures. I only talked about a few things compared to the thousands of things I experience.
I have been back for just under 4 weeks. I want to go back. It is hard to describe to people the experience. Most things just sound artificial. How many different ways can one say amazing? unbelievable? unforgettable?
And, then there is when they just ask to tell stories? Where do I start?
Or, what was your favorite part? Of the million different aspects how am I possibly supposed to pick just one?
And, when I do talk about it, how do I avoid bragging and exploiting all the travel and experiences. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that unfortunately will not make it to many people's ranks of once in a lifetime.
I miss Roma, and the people I met there so much. And I know that one day I will go back, I have to. But, I can't even imagine how different it will seem.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Easter Weekend in Dublin!
So for Easter I decided to leave the Catholic capital and head to Dublin. Another place that I have always wanted to go!
I went with one other girl and we ended up having three full days there. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Saturday and Monday were spent seeing the sights of Dublin while Sunday was spent on a day bus tour to the Wicklow Mountains.
Since I am so far behind on postings I am just going to give a brief over view of some of the things we did. We took a tour of Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, we saw St. Patrick's Church, Christ's Cathedral, took a tour of Dublin Castle, took a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, went to the Guiness Storehouse (and the best part was definitely the top bar which is really high and completely glass windows all the way around so you can see out over all of Dublin), we walked thought part of Phoenix Park, and just walked around and possibly something I forgot to mention. So that pretty much sums up Saturday and Monday.
Sunday on the bus tour we basically just went and stopped at different places to get out look around and take pictures. We also stopped for food which I will mention a bit more about in a minute, and took a half an hour walk down a nature path near some small lakes that was gorgeous. And we got a small tour of a monastery. It was a very good tour and absolutely gorgeous.
I tried to eat some more Irish type foods and such since they are SO different from Italian cuisine. I have some Beef Stew, Cottage Pie (which makes that weekend probably the most red meat that I have eaten in forever seeing how at home I don't eat red meat and put that on hold for study abroad even though from day to day I still don't really eat much meat) and Fish and Chips (more English but its so close). The food is definitely a lot heavier and heartier than Italian pasta and such (which I should probably talk more about at some point).
My last thing to mention about Dublin is that there is a lot more American feel. Of course it helps that they speak English (extremely strong accent or not) but there is just a more American feel overall, they have Starbucks and such. They have their own fast food restaurants on top of McDonald's and Burger King. And I think that we partisipated in things that were more a kin to being home i the US as opposed to studying abroad in Europe. I actually had some Starbucks, we watched the MSU basketball game (unfortunately we lost...) but watching it makes me really miss MSU and school spirit. I love Rome, but I am not a fan of AUR. And we went to see a movie, Shutter Island (which was extremely creepy but good), since we liked the prospect that all the movies were in English and we didn't have to figure out where they were playing English movies.
That pretty sums up my weekend in Dublin and I definitely want to spend more time in Ireland at some point!
I went with one other girl and we ended up having three full days there. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Saturday and Monday were spent seeing the sights of Dublin while Sunday was spent on a day bus tour to the Wicklow Mountains.
Since I am so far behind on postings I am just going to give a brief over view of some of the things we did. We took a tour of Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, we saw St. Patrick's Church, Christ's Cathedral, took a tour of Dublin Castle, took a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, went to the Guiness Storehouse (and the best part was definitely the top bar which is really high and completely glass windows all the way around so you can see out over all of Dublin), we walked thought part of Phoenix Park, and just walked around and possibly something I forgot to mention. So that pretty much sums up Saturday and Monday.
Sunday on the bus tour we basically just went and stopped at different places to get out look around and take pictures. We also stopped for food which I will mention a bit more about in a minute, and took a half an hour walk down a nature path near some small lakes that was gorgeous. And we got a small tour of a monastery. It was a very good tour and absolutely gorgeous.
I tried to eat some more Irish type foods and such since they are SO different from Italian cuisine. I have some Beef Stew, Cottage Pie (which makes that weekend probably the most red meat that I have eaten in forever seeing how at home I don't eat red meat and put that on hold for study abroad even though from day to day I still don't really eat much meat) and Fish and Chips (more English but its so close). The food is definitely a lot heavier and heartier than Italian pasta and such (which I should probably talk more about at some point).
My last thing to mention about Dublin is that there is a lot more American feel. Of course it helps that they speak English (extremely strong accent or not) but there is just a more American feel overall, they have Starbucks and such. They have their own fast food restaurants on top of McDonald's and Burger King. And I think that we partisipated in things that were more a kin to being home i the US as opposed to studying abroad in Europe. I actually had some Starbucks, we watched the MSU basketball game (unfortunately we lost...) but watching it makes me really miss MSU and school spirit. I love Rome, but I am not a fan of AUR. And we went to see a movie, Shutter Island (which was extremely creepy but good), since we liked the prospect that all the movies were in English and we didn't have to figure out where they were playing English movies.
That pretty sums up my weekend in Dublin and I definitely want to spend more time in Ireland at some point!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
So over a month ago...
I know this is way after the fact and as such I don't remember all the details and will just briefly mention my week and weekend with Sarah and Hanna.
Two posts ago was when they first arrived. As mentioned it was Sarah's birthday the day they arrived. We went to dinner for her birthday in a cute restaurant in Trestevere and had amazing tiramisu. We then walked around the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain and things to see them lit up. And of course got gelato.
The next few days included seeing all the major sights of Rome. Some of which they did on their own since I had class and some of the things I did with them included St. Peter's Basilica which is so huge and so gorgeous. (A little too ornate at times, but shhh I didn't say that.) We also climbed the dome and saw out over Rome (if you haven't noticed I love getting good views out over cities). We also did the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (we tried to get a tour and it was a major fail...)
They then went off to Florence and I met them Friday. Since I had seen all the sights I had wanted to see there I sent them to do all of those before I got there. Then we focused on the leather markets. I had absolutely no intention of buying a leather jacket. But guess what I ended up with? A leather jacket. That I have actually worn a lot. I never imagined myself wearing a leather jacket, but when in Rome, right?
Saturday, we took a train to Cinque Terre and spent a large portion of the day hiking the trail by the water. unfortunately the train between the third and fifth town was closed so we only got to hike half of it. It was breath taking-ly gorgeous and the weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny as could be and not too hot for hiking.
The next day, since some annoying woman told us that the trails were closed on Sunday (so false!) we took the train to the fifth town which is the only one that has a beach and walked around a bit and ate gelato on the beach. It was perfect! And since Cinque Terre is in teh Ligurian region of Italy which is the one were pesto is from and pine nuts they had pine nut flavored gelato that was delicious.
That pretty much wrapped up my time with Sarah and Hanna. We took a train back to Rome and they were off to the airport extremely early on Monday morning. I had such a great time with them and am so happy that they could come!!
Two posts ago was when they first arrived. As mentioned it was Sarah's birthday the day they arrived. We went to dinner for her birthday in a cute restaurant in Trestevere and had amazing tiramisu. We then walked around the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain and things to see them lit up. And of course got gelato.
The next few days included seeing all the major sights of Rome. Some of which they did on their own since I had class and some of the things I did with them included St. Peter's Basilica which is so huge and so gorgeous. (A little too ornate at times, but shhh I didn't say that.) We also climbed the dome and saw out over Rome (if you haven't noticed I love getting good views out over cities). We also did the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (we tried to get a tour and it was a major fail...)
They then went off to Florence and I met them Friday. Since I had seen all the sights I had wanted to see there I sent them to do all of those before I got there. Then we focused on the leather markets. I had absolutely no intention of buying a leather jacket. But guess what I ended up with? A leather jacket. That I have actually worn a lot. I never imagined myself wearing a leather jacket, but when in Rome, right?
Saturday, we took a train to Cinque Terre and spent a large portion of the day hiking the trail by the water. unfortunately the train between the third and fifth town was closed so we only got to hike half of it. It was breath taking-ly gorgeous and the weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny as could be and not too hot for hiking.
The next day, since some annoying woman told us that the trails were closed on Sunday (so false!) we took the train to the fifth town which is the only one that has a beach and walked around a bit and ate gelato on the beach. It was perfect! And since Cinque Terre is in teh Ligurian region of Italy which is the one were pesto is from and pine nuts they had pine nut flavored gelato that was delicious.
That pretty much wrapped up my time with Sarah and Hanna. We took a train back to Rome and they were off to the airport extremely early on Monday morning. I had such a great time with them and am so happy that they could come!!
A lot can happen in 10 days...
So, I am really behind on this blogging thing. I went on spring break and traveled through Europe for 10 days and obviously that means that there is a lot to talk about which just seemed so overwhelming to do I put it off, and put it off, and put it off. Which meant that I also spent a weekend in Dublin, Ireland that I haven't talked about yet and then another weekend with a revisit to Tivoli and a day trip to Tuscany to talk about as well. And then a weekend in the Amalfi Coast and not to mention a weekend of travels to Florence and Cinque Terre with Sarah and Hanna that happened BEFORE spring break.
As you can tell a lot has been happening and will be until the end of this journey. But first of all I want to tell some stories of spring break and that will take a while so bear with me.
I left the morning of Friday, March 19th. My plane was at 6:50 am to Zurich, Switzerland. Instead of waking up at essentially 2 am to go through torturous public transportation methods because of the hour to get to the airport on time I chose to take a set rate taxi. They said they would pick me up at 4:30. They were right on time... and made it to the airport at 4:40. This ride is supposed to take 35-45 minutes depending on traffic, there was no traffic, oh and the taxi driver was going 200km/h which is approximately 125 mph; let's just say that was a slightly scary cab ride.
I got to Zurich and had an interesting time finding my hostel; which even though it was sorta far from everything I was only there one night so it wasn't a big deal. The hostel was HUGE and extremely nice. The first day in Zurich I took a bus tour or the city and we also went in a cable car ride in the surrounding area and then a ferry across the water. It was gorgeous. You can see the alps like behind that water which is an amazingly beautiful combination.
The next day I walked around and saw some of the churches, climbed to the top of one to look out over everything, and most importantly of all I purchased a lot of Swiss chocolate. (Which I will be returning to the US with so if you catch me in time I might share a bit before its all gone!) Over all, Zurich was a really cool city and its not the most commonly visited but I would highly recommend it!
Then I was off to Interlaken. Not much to mention. The alps are of course gorgeous. Due to time and weather constraints I didn't get to ski in the Alps. The weather would have made it miserable and not worth how expensive it would have been to rent all the gear including a coat and snow pants etc.
But that does not mean my visit to the alps was adventure-less. I ended up going canyon jumping. I will post a video on facebook soon; but in short. They took us up into the alps and we hiked out to a canyon where there is a small metal platform. There are some intense rope set ups from which a big rope hangs that they attach to your harness and you then jump. It is about a 200 ft drop or so and then you swing back and forth a few times. It was AMAZING. One of the best things I have ever done! You should go try it like NOW and bring me with you.
After that adventure, off to Brussels I went. On the whole I was not a huge fan of Brussels. It was kind of cool but I just wasn't feeling it. Definitely not one of my faves but I am glad I saw it. I didn't do that much exciting. Just walked around seeing the sites and ate a lot of french fries and waffles.
Then my most anticipated and last stop of spring break: PARIS!
I have some family that lives and Paris and they were extremely kind and let me stay with them. Also, one of my roommates from Rome was in Paris at the same time so I saw some stuff with her and her friends a bit. The first day I did a walking tour and we saw Notre Dame, the Sorbonne, the Paris Pantheon, Les Invalides, the Rodin Museum, and got caught in a massive down pour.
The next day was the iconic Paris day: the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and Le Tour Eiffel. We stood in line, freezing, for over two hours. But it was really cool to see over Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower, we had planned to see it in the day... but the two hour wait kind of changed that. But we saw it sparkling from the second floor so that was really cool. (For those of you who don't know at night the Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour for five minutes making it seem even more spectacular.)
My last day in Paris I went to brunch with one of my cousins and walked around different parts of Paris seeing different things by myself. I got to see the Moulin Rouge which was exciting in the sense that that is my all time favorite movie.
There are a lot of things that I didn't get to see in Paris (including Versailles) but I guess that just means I have to go back!
That pretty much sums up my Spring Break. It was incredibly exhausting and I was sick for the entire Paris portion that was sort of a bummer but it was a great experience and I am so happy I got to see and do all those incredible things. It still blows my mind all this traveling I am doing!
Ciao Ciao!
As you can tell a lot has been happening and will be until the end of this journey. But first of all I want to tell some stories of spring break and that will take a while so bear with me.
I left the morning of Friday, March 19th. My plane was at 6:50 am to Zurich, Switzerland. Instead of waking up at essentially 2 am to go through torturous public transportation methods because of the hour to get to the airport on time I chose to take a set rate taxi. They said they would pick me up at 4:30. They were right on time... and made it to the airport at 4:40. This ride is supposed to take 35-45 minutes depending on traffic, there was no traffic, oh and the taxi driver was going 200km/h which is approximately 125 mph; let's just say that was a slightly scary cab ride.
I got to Zurich and had an interesting time finding my hostel; which even though it was sorta far from everything I was only there one night so it wasn't a big deal. The hostel was HUGE and extremely nice. The first day in Zurich I took a bus tour or the city and we also went in a cable car ride in the surrounding area and then a ferry across the water. It was gorgeous. You can see the alps like behind that water which is an amazingly beautiful combination.
The next day I walked around and saw some of the churches, climbed to the top of one to look out over everything, and most importantly of all I purchased a lot of Swiss chocolate. (Which I will be returning to the US with so if you catch me in time I might share a bit before its all gone!) Over all, Zurich was a really cool city and its not the most commonly visited but I would highly recommend it!
Then I was off to Interlaken. Not much to mention. The alps are of course gorgeous. Due to time and weather constraints I didn't get to ski in the Alps. The weather would have made it miserable and not worth how expensive it would have been to rent all the gear including a coat and snow pants etc.
But that does not mean my visit to the alps was adventure-less. I ended up going canyon jumping. I will post a video on facebook soon; but in short. They took us up into the alps and we hiked out to a canyon where there is a small metal platform. There are some intense rope set ups from which a big rope hangs that they attach to your harness and you then jump. It is about a 200 ft drop or so and then you swing back and forth a few times. It was AMAZING. One of the best things I have ever done! You should go try it like NOW and bring me with you.
After that adventure, off to Brussels I went. On the whole I was not a huge fan of Brussels. It was kind of cool but I just wasn't feeling it. Definitely not one of my faves but I am glad I saw it. I didn't do that much exciting. Just walked around seeing the sites and ate a lot of french fries and waffles.
Then my most anticipated and last stop of spring break: PARIS!
I have some family that lives and Paris and they were extremely kind and let me stay with them. Also, one of my roommates from Rome was in Paris at the same time so I saw some stuff with her and her friends a bit. The first day I did a walking tour and we saw Notre Dame, the Sorbonne, the Paris Pantheon, Les Invalides, the Rodin Museum, and got caught in a massive down pour.
The next day was the iconic Paris day: the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and Le Tour Eiffel. We stood in line, freezing, for over two hours. But it was really cool to see over Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower, we had planned to see it in the day... but the two hour wait kind of changed that. But we saw it sparkling from the second floor so that was really cool. (For those of you who don't know at night the Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour for five minutes making it seem even more spectacular.)
My last day in Paris I went to brunch with one of my cousins and walked around different parts of Paris seeing different things by myself. I got to see the Moulin Rouge which was exciting in the sense that that is my all time favorite movie.
There are a lot of things that I didn't get to see in Paris (including Versailles) but I guess that just means I have to go back!
That pretty much sums up my Spring Break. It was incredibly exhausting and I was sick for the entire Paris portion that was sort of a bummer but it was a great experience and I am so happy I got to see and do all those incredible things. It still blows my mind all this traveling I am doing!
Ciao Ciao!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
From Jet Lag and Exhaustion to Everyday Ordinary Life
Sarah and Hanna arrived today. (And they brought the sun with them! Can't wait to get pictures of things in the sun and not the rain and the clouds!) Seeing them experience their first few hours of being jet lagged and having no idea what was going on has reminded me that my arrival in Rome was not that long ago, yet it seems like it has been forever especially since things seem so normal and comfortable now.
Their jet lag and exhaustion is so typical and makes me so thankful to be adjusted to the new time zone and on a normal sleeping schedule because it took me a while just to get used to that. My roommate, Maria, and I would lie awake at night 'til 2 in the morning or so because we just weren't tired then and we had napped which always messes you up. It took a good 2 weeks to finally be able to go to sleep and get up at a normal time.
I dragged them from the airport to the train station at the airport and then on a train to the Trestevere train station then on the tram to a couple blocks from my apartment. They were amazed at how easy the public transportation seemed to me, but I had gotten a full nights sleep and had been there before, its amazing how simple things are once you just do it.
I brought them up to my apartment where they made comments about the size, we really did get lucky having nice big apartments, and comments about the strange bathrooms that seem completely normal. They also made comments about the cars and I know they look different than what you find in the US, different body shapes, smaller, more smart cars etc. And the traffic being crazy and not following any rules. All of this I remember easily how it seemed weird and new, yet now it seems normal and going back to the US will seem a bit strange at first now.
I took them to get their first pizza, that was also my first pizza in Rome. Its a place near by that actually isn't that great. I hadn't had it since my first day here and it was close and I didn't remember the quality. I will show them much better that is for sure (Simone's by school for one, not the absolute best in Rome, but really good. It's the one by school that a lot of people get for lunch.) They were so confused with the ordering and the language barrier. I by no means have gotten past the language barrier because I don't speak Italian, I know a few words but I am used to not really understanding everything and having to struggle to get my point across at times so its not really a big deal anymore.
It has been a lot of fun realizing how much I know about this place through telling them about things they need to know like how coffee works here and other things and just remembering that same dazed, jet lagged, exhausted, and confused state I was in when I first arrived here. The only sad thing is that they will have to leave before they completely get over it and I have had the privilege to be here for a while to really feel at home here.
They then went to nap for a few hours to be awake for some birthday festivities, dinner at a real Italian restaurant (nothing too touristy), dessert and/or some real gelato, walking around to see their first views of Rome and things like the Trevi Fountain and Colosseum lit up.
While they were(still are) napping I went to the grocery store and fruit and vegetable stand. I am so used to buying my own groceries now and I love having fresh fruit and vegetable stands all over the place. The fruit and vegetables so much better here, its all organic and not genetically modified. Sarah asked me why anyone would want to go back to the US after coming here and if it will be hard for me to go back. I told her that it would be nice to go back and really couldn't think of a reason why... but I could think of a lot of reason why not. I think now the only thing I can really think of that I really miss from home are my friends and family. Everything else I can get used to, and even start to enjoy and prefer. (Oh and I am not a huge fan of the actual school aspect here, I prefer classes at State; however, ultimately I prefer no classes at all.)
But, I am loving my experiences here, time is flying, and before I know it I will be back in the US. I hope to update soon on some things I am looking forward to and some more details of things I have seen in Rome that I haven't mentioned yet.
Ciao!
Their jet lag and exhaustion is so typical and makes me so thankful to be adjusted to the new time zone and on a normal sleeping schedule because it took me a while just to get used to that. My roommate, Maria, and I would lie awake at night 'til 2 in the morning or so because we just weren't tired then and we had napped which always messes you up. It took a good 2 weeks to finally be able to go to sleep and get up at a normal time.
I dragged them from the airport to the train station at the airport and then on a train to the Trestevere train station then on the tram to a couple blocks from my apartment. They were amazed at how easy the public transportation seemed to me, but I had gotten a full nights sleep and had been there before, its amazing how simple things are once you just do it.
I brought them up to my apartment where they made comments about the size, we really did get lucky having nice big apartments, and comments about the strange bathrooms that seem completely normal. They also made comments about the cars and I know they look different than what you find in the US, different body shapes, smaller, more smart cars etc. And the traffic being crazy and not following any rules. All of this I remember easily how it seemed weird and new, yet now it seems normal and going back to the US will seem a bit strange at first now.
I took them to get their first pizza, that was also my first pizza in Rome. Its a place near by that actually isn't that great. I hadn't had it since my first day here and it was close and I didn't remember the quality. I will show them much better that is for sure (Simone's by school for one, not the absolute best in Rome, but really good. It's the one by school that a lot of people get for lunch.) They were so confused with the ordering and the language barrier. I by no means have gotten past the language barrier because I don't speak Italian, I know a few words but I am used to not really understanding everything and having to struggle to get my point across at times so its not really a big deal anymore.
It has been a lot of fun realizing how much I know about this place through telling them about things they need to know like how coffee works here and other things and just remembering that same dazed, jet lagged, exhausted, and confused state I was in when I first arrived here. The only sad thing is that they will have to leave before they completely get over it and I have had the privilege to be here for a while to really feel at home here.
They then went to nap for a few hours to be awake for some birthday festivities, dinner at a real Italian restaurant (nothing too touristy), dessert and/or some real gelato, walking around to see their first views of Rome and things like the Trevi Fountain and Colosseum lit up.
While they were(still are) napping I went to the grocery store and fruit and vegetable stand. I am so used to buying my own groceries now and I love having fresh fruit and vegetable stands all over the place. The fruit and vegetables so much better here, its all organic and not genetically modified. Sarah asked me why anyone would want to go back to the US after coming here and if it will be hard for me to go back. I told her that it would be nice to go back and really couldn't think of a reason why... but I could think of a lot of reason why not. I think now the only thing I can really think of that I really miss from home are my friends and family. Everything else I can get used to, and even start to enjoy and prefer. (Oh and I am not a huge fan of the actual school aspect here, I prefer classes at State; however, ultimately I prefer no classes at all.)
But, I am loving my experiences here, time is flying, and before I know it I will be back in the US. I hope to update soon on some things I am looking forward to and some more details of things I have seen in Rome that I haven't mentioned yet.
Ciao!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
It's the Leaning Tower of Pisa!! ...Wait that's it??
I spent last weekend in Florence and then we took a quick trip to Pisa on Sunday before heading back to Rome. I went with 6 other girls, 3 of my roommates and 3 others. We got up early, way too early, on Friday to get to the train station and get to Florence on a fast train by 10 am. We then went to our hostel and found out that we were basically staying in what could have been an apartment. There were two separate bedrooms, one with 5 beds, one with 2. And then there was a living room, a kitchen that wasn't really in working condition, and a bathroom. So we had a lot of space as compared to a lot of hostels. The hostel was great and the people were very friendly and we met the owner of the property that spoke to us in Italian for a bit (I however did not catch that much of this, but I did get the gist of quite a few things.)
On Friday we then got a reservation for the Uffizi for Saturday and then headed to Galleria Academia to see David. David was incredible, the rest of the museum however was not that spectacular. There was a room with a ton of other statues that was pretty cool and some of the unfinished Michelangelo sculptures were interesting to see because of seeing the work mid process. Other than that nothing noteworthy. After that we saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is the only bridge over the Arno in Florence that survived the Nazis. We also saw that Duomo which is gigantic. And then one of the coolest things we did was climbed to the top of the dome and looked out over Florence; it was an amazing view... that only took 463 steps to get to. Its sightseeing with a work out, that is for sure. After that we just wandered around a bit and then went in a few churches until the awkward time when all the touristy sightseeing places are closed and its not quite time to eat.
For dinner that night we went to a restaurant that was recommended to one of the people we were with for the amazing pear pasta, which is apparently a Florence thing. So of course, I had to try the pear pasta. It was a stuffed pasta (with pear of course) in a mild cheese/cream sauce. It was way better than I ever though combining pear and pasta would be. Definitely a must find if you ever go to Florence.
Saturday, we went to the Uffizi where we were overloaded with art among which was the Birth of Venus. After that we went to Pitti Palace and walked around that Boboli Gardens. After that we went to the leather markets and it was so overwhelming and I had no idea what I would want I just helped my roommate for almost 2 hours find a leather jacket that she finally decided to purchase. It was a lot of fun and I think if I ever go back I will invest in something leather. It was just so overwhelming to know what's real and what's fake and what a good deal is and what isn't a good deal.
Then that night for dinner we had our first experience with apertivo. It is a common Italian thing that we just haven't done in Rome yet. However, we plan to do that soon, maybe tomorrow? It is sort of like American happy hour, but you pay somewhere around 8 euros and that gets you a drink and then they have a buffet. Some are more of an appetizer thing that Italians do before dinner but some have large quantities of food and you basically eat dinner there. It was very interesting food since you can't tell for sure what things are but it was of course good food.
Sunday, we took the train to Pisa, took a bus from the train station and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And let me just say, that is all there is in Pisa. You go you see it, you take pictures, you spend a lot of time setting up the pictures of others "holding up the tower" and then you are done. It was worth it to see for a short time but I am glad that is all the time we planned there.
All in all it was a very successful weekend. I hope to update soon on some of the day to day Rome things and school and such as well as the up coming adventures. Sarah and Hanna come Saturday for the week and I am SO excited!
Ciao!
On Friday we then got a reservation for the Uffizi for Saturday and then headed to Galleria Academia to see David. David was incredible, the rest of the museum however was not that spectacular. There was a room with a ton of other statues that was pretty cool and some of the unfinished Michelangelo sculptures were interesting to see because of seeing the work mid process. Other than that nothing noteworthy. After that we saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is the only bridge over the Arno in Florence that survived the Nazis. We also saw that Duomo which is gigantic. And then one of the coolest things we did was climbed to the top of the dome and looked out over Florence; it was an amazing view... that only took 463 steps to get to. Its sightseeing with a work out, that is for sure. After that we just wandered around a bit and then went in a few churches until the awkward time when all the touristy sightseeing places are closed and its not quite time to eat.
For dinner that night we went to a restaurant that was recommended to one of the people we were with for the amazing pear pasta, which is apparently a Florence thing. So of course, I had to try the pear pasta. It was a stuffed pasta (with pear of course) in a mild cheese/cream sauce. It was way better than I ever though combining pear and pasta would be. Definitely a must find if you ever go to Florence.
Saturday, we went to the Uffizi where we were overloaded with art among which was the Birth of Venus. After that we went to Pitti Palace and walked around that Boboli Gardens. After that we went to the leather markets and it was so overwhelming and I had no idea what I would want I just helped my roommate for almost 2 hours find a leather jacket that she finally decided to purchase. It was a lot of fun and I think if I ever go back I will invest in something leather. It was just so overwhelming to know what's real and what's fake and what a good deal is and what isn't a good deal.
Then that night for dinner we had our first experience with apertivo. It is a common Italian thing that we just haven't done in Rome yet. However, we plan to do that soon, maybe tomorrow? It is sort of like American happy hour, but you pay somewhere around 8 euros and that gets you a drink and then they have a buffet. Some are more of an appetizer thing that Italians do before dinner but some have large quantities of food and you basically eat dinner there. It was very interesting food since you can't tell for sure what things are but it was of course good food.
Sunday, we took the train to Pisa, took a bus from the train station and saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And let me just say, that is all there is in Pisa. You go you see it, you take pictures, you spend a lot of time setting up the pictures of others "holding up the tower" and then you are done. It was worth it to see for a short time but I am glad that is all the time we planned there.
All in all it was a very successful weekend. I hope to update soon on some of the day to day Rome things and school and such as well as the up coming adventures. Sarah and Hanna come Saturday for the week and I am SO excited!
Ciao!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Streets Are Flooding... In Venice
This past weekend me and 5 other people went to Venice. To sum it up I could say that is was amazing, but that of course is not adequate. We left Thursday night on a night train and got to Venice at about 5:30am. We found the hostel/hotel place we were staying dropped out stuff and went to explore until things opened and it got light out.
We wandered to Piazza San Marco and chilled a bit and it started raining... story of the weekend. We were starving and found a little bar that was open and had some cappuccino and other various things and waited there for a while. We then went back and went to Doge's Palace. Some of us decided to pay a little more to get a guided tour of the Secret Rooms that can only be accessed with this tour and it was definitely worth it. We learned all about the Venetian society in general and got to see the Secret Rooms which the style alone was completely different then the extravagance of the rest of the palace. The Secret Rooms were where the employees such as lawyers, secretaries, and Grand Chancellor who was the head of all the secrets. The whole thing gets very confusing from there. But there were secrets and the rooms where the people who worked with these secrets are were also a secret. The Venetians were not supposed to know of their existence and they were not decorated elaborately because they didn't have to be because the citizens could not freely wonder there. There is a lot more that I learned but if I continue trying to relay it it will continue to be very confusing so that is all I will say about that, but if you want to know more, just ask.
After that we ran in for a quick look at San Marco's Basilica and it was the most gorgeous church I have seen yet (except I have not been to St. Peter's yet). Everything is decorated with real gold leafing and it is gigantic. You are not allowed to take pictures but I took a couple along with everyone else there (that rule wasn't very well enforced) the second time we went in.
When we left Doge's Palace to go to San Marco's (right next to it) we discovered something a tad bit unique to Venice. It had been raining quite hard and the streets were flooded. Like a good 6 inches and even more in some spots. It appears as though San Marco's is set lower than the street around it because that is where it was deeper. Also, the streets flooding is a normal occurrence because they have elevated side walks set up and ready to go for when this happens. We had seen them earlier and had no clue what they were for and assumed it was something they had not taken down yet from carnivale that had ended the previous weekend.
By then it was only about 12:30 by the time we were done with San Marco's and we hadn't slept much and had been walking around since 5 so we decided to head back to our hotel and dry off and nap.We got up quite a few hours later and got dinner at an authentic Italian place and I had some of the best tiramisu ever.
The next day we went to Murano and watched a quick glass blowing demonstration. Watching the guy make a glass horse in literally a couple minutes was amazing. Then we walked around a million glass shops where I went a tad crazy buying things. But it was worth it because the stuff is so pretty and I have some people's gifts done :)
After that we went back did a quick run through of San Marco's again for the people who didn't see it the day before and then rushed on a Vapretto (water bus basically) to get to San Giorgio Maggiore before it closed; we made it. We even had time to go up the campanile and have some amazing views over looking Venice while it was extremely windy and cold.
After that we went back and had dinner and walked around as well as walked around more the next morning before we caught the train back to Rome at 1 for the 6.5 hour train ride.
Venice was so incedible, if you ever have a chance, go, before its gone.
Ciao!
We wandered to Piazza San Marco and chilled a bit and it started raining... story of the weekend. We were starving and found a little bar that was open and had some cappuccino and other various things and waited there for a while. We then went back and went to Doge's Palace. Some of us decided to pay a little more to get a guided tour of the Secret Rooms that can only be accessed with this tour and it was definitely worth it. We learned all about the Venetian society in general and got to see the Secret Rooms which the style alone was completely different then the extravagance of the rest of the palace. The Secret Rooms were where the employees such as lawyers, secretaries, and Grand Chancellor who was the head of all the secrets. The whole thing gets very confusing from there. But there were secrets and the rooms where the people who worked with these secrets are were also a secret. The Venetians were not supposed to know of their existence and they were not decorated elaborately because they didn't have to be because the citizens could not freely wonder there. There is a lot more that I learned but if I continue trying to relay it it will continue to be very confusing so that is all I will say about that, but if you want to know more, just ask.
After that we ran in for a quick look at San Marco's Basilica and it was the most gorgeous church I have seen yet (except I have not been to St. Peter's yet). Everything is decorated with real gold leafing and it is gigantic. You are not allowed to take pictures but I took a couple along with everyone else there (that rule wasn't very well enforced) the second time we went in.
When we left Doge's Palace to go to San Marco's (right next to it) we discovered something a tad bit unique to Venice. It had been raining quite hard and the streets were flooded. Like a good 6 inches and even more in some spots. It appears as though San Marco's is set lower than the street around it because that is where it was deeper. Also, the streets flooding is a normal occurrence because they have elevated side walks set up and ready to go for when this happens. We had seen them earlier and had no clue what they were for and assumed it was something they had not taken down yet from carnivale that had ended the previous weekend.
By then it was only about 12:30 by the time we were done with San Marco's and we hadn't slept much and had been walking around since 5 so we decided to head back to our hotel and dry off and nap.We got up quite a few hours later and got dinner at an authentic Italian place and I had some of the best tiramisu ever.
The next day we went to Murano and watched a quick glass blowing demonstration. Watching the guy make a glass horse in literally a couple minutes was amazing. Then we walked around a million glass shops where I went a tad crazy buying things. But it was worth it because the stuff is so pretty and I have some people's gifts done :)
After that we went back did a quick run through of San Marco's again for the people who didn't see it the day before and then rushed on a Vapretto (water bus basically) to get to San Giorgio Maggiore before it closed; we made it. We even had time to go up the campanile and have some amazing views over looking Venice while it was extremely windy and cold.
After that we went back and had dinner and walked around as well as walked around more the next morning before we caught the train back to Rome at 1 for the 6.5 hour train ride.
Venice was so incedible, if you ever have a chance, go, before its gone.
Ciao!
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