Sorry for all the delay in writing, but I've been extremely busy with writing papers and studying for finals. It's crazy! All of last week I just sat down and cranked out 3 papers, each 10-12 pages and then studied this past weekend for a test I had yesterday. Finally today, since I have finished those papers I can relax a bit and do nothing.
Anyways, last Monday I did a cooking class with 7 other girls from my program. It was great! Unfortunately, it was about 4-5 hours long. I was exhausted afterwards, but the food we ate and made was delicious! I am definitely making those dishes when I get home. I already told my Aunt Kate that I would make an Italian dinner for everyone over the summer, so now I can hold true to that :) Just be prepared for many courses and for me to turn Italian on everyone saying "What? You can't be full already! We still have our second course and dessert!" We still have one more cooking class to go to which I am really excited for. We made a traditional Tuscan soup that was absolutely amazing! I know that I can make that easily at home, so I will be making it a lot. It's basically a tomato based soup that has bread and some other stuff in it. You just have to try it. Then we made homemade pasta with a sausage and mushroom sauce. I am not the biggest fan of mushrooms, but luckily they were chopped up (by me) and I didn't even really taste them. They weren't too noticeable which was also good for me. Then for our second course we had a roasted pork loin with potatoes. I could have eaten about 4 plates of that. So good! I will try to replicate it at home, but I highly doubt it will come out nearly as good as hers. And of course for dessert, we had a rice cake that had raisins and pine nuts in it. My mouth is watering right now thinking of that entire meal. Definitely one of the best meals I have had in my life.
The rest of the week was just me doing homework. I wanted to get done most of my papers before the weekend because I was going away for Friday and Saturday. Luckily I did get a lot done and my persistence paid off because now I am able to blog and watch TV shows and not worry about anything for a couple of days. Last Friday I went to Perugia, Umbria as part of the IES sponsored trip. We arrived in Perugia and met our guide at the hotel. He was originally from Brussels, Belgium and has been living in Italy for the past 13 years. It was really nice to have a guide who spoke really good English and told us stuff that he found interesting and thought we would find interesting also. On Friday afternoon, we went to Bevagna, a really really small town close to Perugia. We got to see how candles, paper, and silk was made and we also saw a painters shop. It was really cool! Saturday morning, we traveled to Assisi for the rest of the trip. We went to St. Francis' church and learned all about him since Assisi is his birthplace. It was a cool trip and I'm glad I went. It's nice to see the smaller towns of Italy because that is where all the history and culture is. You get to experience different aspects of Italian culture by going to the small towns and can really get immersed in that. The only thing I wanted to do was spend more time in Perugia. I felt like I didn't really get to do a lot since our free time was taken up by lunch. I would have loved to walk around and see a bit more of the town. Oh well.
Sunday morning I decided to go to church with Jordan, Beckah, and Jillian. It was really nice to go and from the start I felt welcome. Someone translated the sermons for us and the lyrics for the songs were projected up on the wall. I thought that was really great. I could actually sing along and participate instead of being lost and not know what's going on. After church, there was a big lunch for everyone there. It was great and nice to be able to relax for a bit before I went home to finish up my papers. There were some things that they preached that I completely disagreed with and some that I liked. When we were eating lunch, we started talking to a couple from London, whose daughter had studied abroad in Siena a few years ago and they are looking to buy a house nearby. They were very nice and both their daughters are getting married within the next year. I had to force myself to bite my tongue a couple of times because I got frustrated with some of the things she was saying. I realized that at some point in my life, maybe after I'm done with grad school, I would like to join a church. I like the community feeling of it and I felt like I had been going to this church for a long time. Just the fact that the people were so welcoming even though they didn't know me at all. After I'm done with school and I start working somewhere/settle down a bit, I want to search for a church that I like. One that I feel comfortable in and with their sermons. In a way, going to church gave me a break from everything and I was able to get away from all the stress for a few hours. I definitely needed that.
Anyways, enough of the talk about religion. Yesterday, I did my volunteering, which I love more and more each time I go. I am definitely going to miss those kids and will miss them looking up at me and speaking Italian that I can sometimes understand. I am going to have to find some sort of volunteer thing with little kids that I can do at home. I only have one more day of volunteering left since next Tuesday is a national holiday. So sad :(
Today I went to a soccer game. So much fun! I am so excited that I was able to go. The weather was perfect and it was such a great atmosphere. I can't wait to bring my parents to a game when they come. They will have to get some sort of AC Siena paraphernalia to bring to the game. Siena played Bologna and they tied 1-1. I love watching soccer, so it was really great to not feel so strange when I get angry or just go crazy during a game. I can only imagine what it will be like watching a game with my dad... Prepare yourself, Mom. :-) I loved all the cheers they do and how into the game a lot of the fans are. They truly love the game and show their support for their team. I wish I could watch soccer games as easily back home as I can here. That's what TV is for haha.
So that's what I've been up to for the past week. This weekend I will be going down south to Salerno (Amalfi Coast) for a long weekend. I can't wait to sit by the pool and completely relax before finals.
I will post pictures from all these things either later today, or tomorrow :)
Also a belated birthday shout out to my big sister, Jordan. Happy Birthday sis! Love ya! Hope it was amazing and that you had lots of fun with Mom and Dad. You deserve it <3
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Calcio!
So this week has been a bit uneventful. On Tuesday, as usual, I went with Jordan to volunteering. Once we got down to the school we realized that the gates were both closed, so there was no way of getting into the school. I think it was closed for Easter or something. We just decided to walk back up instead of taking the bus. It was a nice time to catch up with Jordan and get a bit of exercise in. The rest of the week I mainly worked on one of my three papers that I have to write. Luckily, I finished one of them on Friday night. On Friday, I was determined to write most of my paper. I got some coffee and a pastry and then went on a short walk. The rest of the day, I was stuck in front of my computer writing away. I hated it. I just wanted to be sitting outside writing the paper. Now, I know for sure that I definitely couldn't have a job where I sit in a cubicle or office all day. I need to walk around or just have something different to look at. I was going to go to a classical concert on Friday night, but I decided to finish up my paper instead. Part of me wishes I had gone because they played a Beethoven symphony, a Brahms symphony and another one that I didn't know. It would have been so cool to listen to pieces by two musicians that I learned about and played on the piano. But, I am really glad that I was able to finish my paper and not have to worry about it now. Saturday I just did some more homework, mainly my Italian, and didn't do much else. Saturday night I went out with some people from the program because it was Alana's 21st birthday today. I woke up this morning to find out that the soccer game we were all going to go to had been cancelled. There was an AC Siena (the professional soccer team in Siena) home game today and we were all super excited to go. Unfortunately it got postponed because a player from Livorno had died yesterday during a game. He was 25 years old and died due to a heart attack. The article I read was really sad because it said that he was orphaned at a young age and had recently lost his brother, so he didn't have any immediate family left. So, all the professional soccer games were cancelled for today in respect of what had happened. It seemed a bit weird to me to cancel all the games, including the ones from different leagues, but I guess, as my dad put it, "it's solidarity." It just shows that everyone in the soccer world is thinking about this player and keeping him in their thoughts. They are showing support for someone that they may not have known. After thinking about it that way, I understand more of why they did it and it's a really nice gesture. So, instead of going to watch soccer, we decided that we could just play some pick up. About 7 of us went and it was tons of fun! We bought a soccer ball nearby and had found a field that I wouldn't have ever found on my own. It was a nice field and it was just great to kick a soccer ball. I don't realize how much I take for granted that I can just grab a soccer ball, go outside, and juggle it or kick it around. This entire time that I've been here, I have missed soccer so much. All I've wanted to do is play or at least kick a ball once. We got to the field and I immediately shot the ball into the net. It felt amazing! I couldn't stop smiling the entire time we were playing. I never thought I would get so excited over soccer. But, now I've realized how much I truly love the game and I know that it will always be a big part of my life. I can't wait to get back to playing soccer in the fall! We eventually got kicked off the field because it was for private use. We had gotten a decent hour of play in, so we were all very happy. After we all went home to shower and chill out. Then, I went out to dinner for Alana's birthday and it was really nice. It was relaxing and I didn't have to think about cooking something for myself. I got home and skyped my parents. We caught up on everything that was happening at home and here. I can't believe they will be here in 3 short weeks! I can't wait to show them around and show them what I do regularly and all the amazing views there are to see. I think they are really going to love it here :)
Happy 20th birthday E-man! I would have eaten some poptarts for you if they sold them here in Italy. Always a part of me :-) <3
Happy 20th birthday E-man! I would have eaten some poptarts for you if they sold them here in Italy. Always a part of me :-) <3
Monday, April 9, 2012
Weekend di pasqua
This weekend was really nice and relaxing. After spring break, all I didn't really want to travel anywhere for the entire weekend. On Friday I went to Montepulciano for the day with Alana, Jillian, and Mary. I really like day trips because I don't have to worry about hostels and packing bags. We got there and had to either wait an hour for a bus to take us from the train station to the center of the town or call a taxi. So, we called a taxi and our driver was really nice but a crazy driver. He drove so fast around all these turns and we all thought that the car might break at some point. But, we got to Montepulciano and it's a really cute town. It has some amazing views anywhere you looked. There were tons of cute little stores on the main street and tons of places to do wine tastings. We just walked around for a bit looking at everything. We found a place to eat, which was really good. All the pasta was home made and just tasted fresh. After lunch, we decided to find someplace to do a wine tasting. We walked to the edge of the town and found a place tucked behind a church. It had some great views, so we went in and gave it a try. Wine tasting is free and the guy who was telling us about each of the wines was extremely nice and knew pretty good English. We got to try 5 wines: 2 white and 3 red. All were very good, but my favorite was the very first white one we tried. I can now see why my Grandma likes white wine so much! I ended up getting some olive oil from this place because it was amazing! I could eat their olive oil all day! We went and did a couple more wine tastings on our way back, but none were as good as the first one.
For the rest of the weekend, I pretty much relaxed. It was wonderful! On Saturday, I did a little bit of research for my 3 papers that I have to write in the next couple of weeks. I found out that the motto for my contrada (the wave) is: "Il colore del cielo, la forza del mare" or "the color of the sky, the power of the sea". I really like it and it makes up for the ugly dolphin that is our symbol. Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few people from my program. We went to a place on my street that everyone raves about. It's La Osteria dell' San Giuseppe. Best. Meal. Ever. We got seated and the waiter took our coats and hung them up for us. I felt like I was eating at a really fancy place, but it still felt very comfortable and homey. They brought us bread and something the size of a shot glass with potato soup in it. So good! I ordered home made pasta with sausage, broccoli, and mozzarella. Again, delicious! Of course, we decided that since our dinner was so good, we had to order dessert. I got a chocolate mousse cake with a white chocolate sauce. As you know, I am a sucker for chocolate, especially chocolate mousse, so once I saw it on the menu my decision was made. And what a good decision it was. I felt like I was in heaven eating it. I savored every single bite of it and didn't want it to end. I finally realized where I would want my last supper to be. It wouldn't matter what I got from this place because I know it would all be wonderful. I can't wait to bring my parents here and enjoy a great dinner with them :)
On Sunday, I got my Italian homework done, which was a little difficult because we just started combined pronouns. It seemed pretty straight forward in class, but I got to the homework and a few of them I had no clue what to put down. Oh well. I guess I will just have to ask Alice to explain it a bit more in class tomorrow. It was Easter, so I decided that I would go to mass in the morning. It was cool to go to an Italian mass. Even though I didn't really understand much of what was going on or much of what was being said, I didn't feel weird in church. Back home, a couple of times that I've gone, I've felt a bit odd being there. Like I shouldn't be there. I don't know what it was, but I felt a bit more at ease and was okay with not knowing what I should be doing. For me at that moment, I think it was more about the experience than trying to figure out all the motions and things I should be saying. Needless to say, I think I might go back to church a couple more times before I leave Italy. After mass, I decided to go for a run. I was up and it was pretty nice out, so why not? I knew it was going to rain at some point during the day, so I decided to take advantage of the day while it wasn't raining. It was nice because I haven't run in a couple of weeks and it felt great. I mean, not really while I was running, but after it did. I realized that I needed to start running more again because I don't like that feeling of getting tired early on in the run. Since it has been crazy with all the tourists here this weekend, I just went to the fortress to run. There would be less people and it wouldn't be weird to run there. Once I got back to my apartment, it started to rain a bit. I was glad I went for a run when I did. I mainly stayed inside watching some shows and eventually watched the Hunger Games. I really liked it, but I also felt like I got a few things mixed up between the books. I kept thinking they left some important stuff out from the first book that was actually in the second one. But it was still good and I'm glad I was able to see it. Today I woke up and saw that it was really nice out, so I went outside for most of the day. I went to get a cappuccino and a pastry and then went on a little walk. I finally found the Fonte Branda, which was referenced in a book I read (Juliet). It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I'm glad I found it. From here there are a few escalators - yes, escalators - that take you up near the Duomo. It's crazy and weird to know that Siena has escalators! I made my way back to my street and found a really cute, short walking path that gives you some incredible views and would be a great place to read, have lunch, or just chill out. I walked some more and found a place for my parents to park their rental car when they come to Siena. I also finally found the fountain for my contrada. I'm amazed that I never saw it until now seeing as how I've passed it multiple times. Katie has told me that it is very obvious if I just go down to the end of our street and it is. I felt very stupid when I saw it. After that I just went to the piazza del campo and read for the rest of the afternoon. It was gorgeous out today, with a clear blue sky and the sun shining. Even though there were tons of people sitting in the campo, it was wonderful. I read my book and people watched. All in all, it was a great weekend and I'm glad I was able to spend Easter in my own city. :)
For the rest of the weekend, I pretty much relaxed. It was wonderful! On Saturday, I did a little bit of research for my 3 papers that I have to write in the next couple of weeks. I found out that the motto for my contrada (the wave) is: "Il colore del cielo, la forza del mare" or "the color of the sky, the power of the sea". I really like it and it makes up for the ugly dolphin that is our symbol. Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few people from my program. We went to a place on my street that everyone raves about. It's La Osteria dell' San Giuseppe. Best. Meal. Ever. We got seated and the waiter took our coats and hung them up for us. I felt like I was eating at a really fancy place, but it still felt very comfortable and homey. They brought us bread and something the size of a shot glass with potato soup in it. So good! I ordered home made pasta with sausage, broccoli, and mozzarella. Again, delicious! Of course, we decided that since our dinner was so good, we had to order dessert. I got a chocolate mousse cake with a white chocolate sauce. As you know, I am a sucker for chocolate, especially chocolate mousse, so once I saw it on the menu my decision was made. And what a good decision it was. I felt like I was in heaven eating it. I savored every single bite of it and didn't want it to end. I finally realized where I would want my last supper to be. It wouldn't matter what I got from this place because I know it would all be wonderful. I can't wait to bring my parents here and enjoy a great dinner with them :)
On Sunday, I got my Italian homework done, which was a little difficult because we just started combined pronouns. It seemed pretty straight forward in class, but I got to the homework and a few of them I had no clue what to put down. Oh well. I guess I will just have to ask Alice to explain it a bit more in class tomorrow. It was Easter, so I decided that I would go to mass in the morning. It was cool to go to an Italian mass. Even though I didn't really understand much of what was going on or much of what was being said, I didn't feel weird in church. Back home, a couple of times that I've gone, I've felt a bit odd being there. Like I shouldn't be there. I don't know what it was, but I felt a bit more at ease and was okay with not knowing what I should be doing. For me at that moment, I think it was more about the experience than trying to figure out all the motions and things I should be saying. Needless to say, I think I might go back to church a couple more times before I leave Italy. After mass, I decided to go for a run. I was up and it was pretty nice out, so why not? I knew it was going to rain at some point during the day, so I decided to take advantage of the day while it wasn't raining. It was nice because I haven't run in a couple of weeks and it felt great. I mean, not really while I was running, but after it did. I realized that I needed to start running more again because I don't like that feeling of getting tired early on in the run. Since it has been crazy with all the tourists here this weekend, I just went to the fortress to run. There would be less people and it wouldn't be weird to run there. Once I got back to my apartment, it started to rain a bit. I was glad I went for a run when I did. I mainly stayed inside watching some shows and eventually watched the Hunger Games. I really liked it, but I also felt like I got a few things mixed up between the books. I kept thinking they left some important stuff out from the first book that was actually in the second one. But it was still good and I'm glad I was able to see it. Today I woke up and saw that it was really nice out, so I went outside for most of the day. I went to get a cappuccino and a pastry and then went on a little walk. I finally found the Fonte Branda, which was referenced in a book I read (Juliet). It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I'm glad I found it. From here there are a few escalators - yes, escalators - that take you up near the Duomo. It's crazy and weird to know that Siena has escalators! I made my way back to my street and found a really cute, short walking path that gives you some incredible views and would be a great place to read, have lunch, or just chill out. I walked some more and found a place for my parents to park their rental car when they come to Siena. I also finally found the fountain for my contrada. I'm amazed that I never saw it until now seeing as how I've passed it multiple times. Katie has told me that it is very obvious if I just go down to the end of our street and it is. I felt very stupid when I saw it. After that I just went to the piazza del campo and read for the rest of the afternoon. It was gorgeous out today, with a clear blue sky and the sun shining. Even though there were tons of people sitting in the campo, it was wonderful. I read my book and people watched. All in all, it was a great weekend and I'm glad I was able to spend Easter in my own city. :)
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Pictures from Prague
 |
| The towers on this church are called the Adam and Eve towers because one of them is bigger than the other. The one on the right is obviously Adam since it is bigger. |
 |
| The Astrological clock |
 |
| National Museum of Prague |
 |
| Just a random street. |
 |
| Franz Kafka memorial |
 |
| I just liked this and figured I would share with you all |
 |
| Intercontinental Hotel: the ugliest building in Prague |
 |
| In the very back of this picture is the metronome. |
 |
| The Prague palace |
 |
| Entrance to Charles Bridge |
 |
| Prague palace |
 |
| Trdlo |
 |
| The Jewish cemetery |
 |
| Part of the John Lennon wall |
 |
| The musicians in the baroque concert |
Prague!
Prague was amazing! I loved it! I've never seen a place so beautiful. The architecture was absolutely amazing and I couldn't help looking around in awe all the time. Even a simple building looked great. The only down side of Prague was the weather. I would have loved it even more had we had at least one day of nice weather. The entire time we were there it was cold, rainy, and windy. But, I guess I can't complain because the rest of spring break we had great weather. It was only time before we had a bit of bad weather. We arrived at the Prague airport Wednesday night and we encountered our first problem: the currency. We immediately had to go to an ATM because none of us had any crowns. The smallest amount you can take out of an ATM is 500 crown. We freaked out a bit when we took out 1,000 crown before we realized that it wasn't actually that much. The other thing about ATM's is that the smallest bill they give you is a 200 crown bill, which means that of course when you take out 1,000 crowns it gives you a 1,000 crown bill. Somehow all of us managed to break it or at least get smaller bills so we could take the bus to metro station. It was a bit frustrating and annoying, but we made it to our hostel. The next day, we did a walking tour (the same one we did in Amsterdam) and our guide was Irish. I probably would have learned more and enjoyed it more had it not been so rainy and windy. But, I tried really hard despite the weather to learn a lot and enjoy it. We saw the astrological clock, which is very hyped up. Every hour, there is a rooster that is supposed to make a sound every hour. But is makes the quietest and shortest noise and anyone who gathers to hear it thinks that they missed it or that it isn't going to happen. The clock moves clockwise during sunrise and then the opposite direction after sundown. The guy who built this clock expected to be rewarded for making this clock, but instead they blinded him. They did this so he couldn't make another clock like this one for anyone else. Prague wanted to be the only place to have a clock like this. Eventually this guy got a bit of revenge when he clipped some of the wires that made the clock function. It took them 100 years to figure it out and fix it. That is why now the rooster doesn't make that much of a sound. We got to see a few concert halls and saw the National Museum of Prague from a distance. It was closed for renovation and is expected to reopen in 5-7 years. Although, my soccer coach Andy told me not to go there because it was overrated. Then we went to get lunch at a bagel place. After lunch we went to see the Jewish district. The cool thing about this district is that it is the only one where all the buildings and synagogues weren't destroyed. That is because Hitler was going to use them as a museum for the "lost race". He didn't end up doing that so some of them are turned into museums, but others are still used today as synagogues and everyday use of the people living in the Jewish district. From a distance we got to see the metronome which symbolizes that time moves forward. I really liked that and I thought it was really cool that Prague has something like that. It's a good reminder every day and I've never seen anything like that before. We ended in front of a concert hall that supposedly has the best acoustics in Prague. I really like the tour and I like learning things about cities I'm visiting that I never would have learned by myself.
After the tour we decided to head over to Charles Bridge and walk across it. It was really cool and there were a lot of vendors selling what they make. There was jewelry and paintings mainly, but a lot of the stuff was really cool. Had I had more space to bring stuff back I definitely would have bought something from one of the vendors. We decided to go up to the palace while we were near it. We stopped at Starbucks on our way up because a couple of us wanted coffee and we just wanted to stop for a bit. We made our way up to the palace and got some great views. The palace is huge and I wish I could have stopped to look at it for a bit longer. It started to get really windy and we had to head back to our hostel. We got back to our hostel and a couple of the girls decided to take naps, but I didn't want to since I knew I probably wouldn't sleep much that night if I did. So I hung out in the lounge for a bit and then went out to the market type thing in the Old Town Square nearby. I went back and waited for anyone who was ready to get dinner. We went back out to the square and I got a sausage and potatoes. Both were delicious! I also got one of the few typical Czech foods, something called a trdlo or trdlenik. I don't think they really like vowels there haha but it was really good! It's a dessert and has some cinnamon sugar type stuff on the outside. Then we went back to the hostel to get ready for the pub crawl we signed up for. It started off pretty boring, but got pretty fun later on. I met this Australian guy who only knew Vermont because of the movie Super Troopers. Oh, the things that represent VT to foreigners haha. Apparently Super Troopers is huge in Australia and they love it there. The last place we went on this pub crawl was a 5 story club, the biggest in central Europe. Each floor had a different theme and played different music. One floor was oldies music, another radio hits, one was a chill out floor, one was hip hop, and I'm not sure what the last one was. It was crazy, but fun.
On Friday, we slept in and had a low key day. All of us except Amy went to check out one of the Jewish synagogues where there was a museum. It had pictures that kids drew about their experiences and what they saw. A lady started this project during the Holocaust because she thought that it was a good way for the kids to deal with all of their emotions in a good/productive way. It was really interesting to see what the kids saw or what their point of view was. We also got to see the Jewish cemetery which was extremely powerful. In some places it is 12 graves deep and people are buried vertically instead of horizontally because they didn't have the space. Seeing all the headstones so close together was insane. Then remembering that up to 12 people could be buried underneath that one headstone was even crazier. No pictures will ever truly capture that sight. You just have to go there and see it for yourself. After that, we walked over the Charles Bridge again to find the John Lennon wall. We eventually found it and it was pretty cool. We leisurely made out way back and went to a place called "The Pub." You can sit down at a booth and fill your own beer glass at the table. You can fill it up as much or as little as you want. It's really nice because then you don't have to have a full glass. After we went back to the hostel to chill out for a bit before we went to a concert. Katya and I decided to go to the market while the others were napping. We both got coffee mugs that we really liked and also got some crepes. I got a banana and chocolate one, while Katya got a cherry one. They were so good! Later that night, in the square there was a baroque concert going on in a church that we had bought tickets for earlier. The musicians played Vivaldi's 4 Seasons and one of Mozart's symphonies. It was really cool and I really liked it. It made me want to get back into playing piano and teaching myself some pieces. I'm sure my grandfather will be pleased to hear that :) We went to get some dinner after and we got some traditional Czech food. Katya and I split a goulash dish, which wasn't at all what I was expecting, but nonetheless delicious! Katie and Kayla split the traditional Czech dish of beef tenderloin in a cream sauce. The sauce was amazing and we were all surprised at how good it was. We went back to our hostel afterwards and packed up our stuff since we were leaving early the next morning. All in all, it was an amazing trip and I'm really glad I went to those three places. I am such a lucky girl and am very grateful for having this opportunity. Thank you Mom and Dad!
After the tour we decided to head over to Charles Bridge and walk across it. It was really cool and there were a lot of vendors selling what they make. There was jewelry and paintings mainly, but a lot of the stuff was really cool. Had I had more space to bring stuff back I definitely would have bought something from one of the vendors. We decided to go up to the palace while we were near it. We stopped at Starbucks on our way up because a couple of us wanted coffee and we just wanted to stop for a bit. We made our way up to the palace and got some great views. The palace is huge and I wish I could have stopped to look at it for a bit longer. It started to get really windy and we had to head back to our hostel. We got back to our hostel and a couple of the girls decided to take naps, but I didn't want to since I knew I probably wouldn't sleep much that night if I did. So I hung out in the lounge for a bit and then went out to the market type thing in the Old Town Square nearby. I went back and waited for anyone who was ready to get dinner. We went back out to the square and I got a sausage and potatoes. Both were delicious! I also got one of the few typical Czech foods, something called a trdlo or trdlenik. I don't think they really like vowels there haha but it was really good! It's a dessert and has some cinnamon sugar type stuff on the outside. Then we went back to the hostel to get ready for the pub crawl we signed up for. It started off pretty boring, but got pretty fun later on. I met this Australian guy who only knew Vermont because of the movie Super Troopers. Oh, the things that represent VT to foreigners haha. Apparently Super Troopers is huge in Australia and they love it there. The last place we went on this pub crawl was a 5 story club, the biggest in central Europe. Each floor had a different theme and played different music. One floor was oldies music, another radio hits, one was a chill out floor, one was hip hop, and I'm not sure what the last one was. It was crazy, but fun.
On Friday, we slept in and had a low key day. All of us except Amy went to check out one of the Jewish synagogues where there was a museum. It had pictures that kids drew about their experiences and what they saw. A lady started this project during the Holocaust because she thought that it was a good way for the kids to deal with all of their emotions in a good/productive way. It was really interesting to see what the kids saw or what their point of view was. We also got to see the Jewish cemetery which was extremely powerful. In some places it is 12 graves deep and people are buried vertically instead of horizontally because they didn't have the space. Seeing all the headstones so close together was insane. Then remembering that up to 12 people could be buried underneath that one headstone was even crazier. No pictures will ever truly capture that sight. You just have to go there and see it for yourself. After that, we walked over the Charles Bridge again to find the John Lennon wall. We eventually found it and it was pretty cool. We leisurely made out way back and went to a place called "The Pub." You can sit down at a booth and fill your own beer glass at the table. You can fill it up as much or as little as you want. It's really nice because then you don't have to have a full glass. After we went back to the hostel to chill out for a bit before we went to a concert. Katya and I decided to go to the market while the others were napping. We both got coffee mugs that we really liked and also got some crepes. I got a banana and chocolate one, while Katya got a cherry one. They were so good! Later that night, in the square there was a baroque concert going on in a church that we had bought tickets for earlier. The musicians played Vivaldi's 4 Seasons and one of Mozart's symphonies. It was really cool and I really liked it. It made me want to get back into playing piano and teaching myself some pieces. I'm sure my grandfather will be pleased to hear that :) We went to get some dinner after and we got some traditional Czech food. Katya and I split a goulash dish, which wasn't at all what I was expecting, but nonetheless delicious! Katie and Kayla split the traditional Czech dish of beef tenderloin in a cream sauce. The sauce was amazing and we were all surprised at how good it was. We went back to our hostel afterwards and packed up our stuff since we were leaving early the next morning. All in all, it was an amazing trip and I'm really glad I went to those three places. I am such a lucky girl and am very grateful for having this opportunity. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Pictures from Amsterdam
 |
| Our boat hostel |
 |
| This is the door into a community for single women over 30. There is a long waiting list to live in this community and it can take a decade to be accepted! |
 |
| The Wooden House. This is the only house made of wood left in Amsterdam because the rest were destroyed by fires. |
 |
| These hooks were and still are used to get boxes and other stuff into the houses because the stairways are so narrow and steep. Before these hooks used to just be on the window, but then they realized that the buildings were slanting forward because of that. So, they changed the hooks to this. |
 |
| Yes, I went on a tour of the Heineken Brewery |
 |
| The city at night. |
 |
| The Anne Frank House |
 |
| A crane that pulls bikes out of the water. Apparently there are a lot of bikes in this river because if you don't lock your bike to something sturdy, drunk people will throw your bike into the canal. |
 |
| Me with my bike at the flower market :-) |
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Amsterdam!
Sorry this has taken a bit longer than expected, but I've been really tired lately... Anyways, I loved Amsterdam! It was probably my favorite place from spring break. We did a lot here and yet there was still so much we could have done. So many interesting museums that I wanted to check out, but not enough time. We flew into Amsterdam Monday morning after staying in the Barcelona airport overnight. Luckily we were able to catch the 9:30 bus to Amsterdam, which gave us a bit of time before our walking tour. Otherwise, we would have been carrying our bags with us on the tour. We made it to our hostel pretty easily since we just had to look for a big science museum called Nemo that was in the shape of half a boat. It was really easy to spot, so we didn't really have any trouble finding the hostel. Our hostel was a boat which was kind of neat. I can now say that I stayed on a boat haha. The rooms were tiny, but the beds were super comfortable, which was really nice. We settled in a bit and then made our way over to the central station where our walking tour was supposed to leave from. We got there at 1:02 and were told that the walking tour had already left. Two minutes late! Luckily we found out where they were headed and made our way there. Eventually we caught up with them and met our tour guide, Julian. He was from Australia and was very energetic and nice. He was a great tour guide. I learned a lot about the city and felt like I got to see a ton.
In Amsterdam, names of everything are pretty straight forward. Even the name of the city speaks for itself. It started off as a dam on the Amstel river. There you go. Another example is that we saw a really old church on the tour. It is called "The Old Church." Once you learn a bit of Dutch, you can look at street signs and the names of buildings and know what they were used for or what you are near. We walked throughout Amsterdam, seeing the Jewish district, the red light district, a small community for single women over 30, and many other things. It was really cool to see all the different aspects and parts of Amsterdam that make it Amsterdam. Julian told us that a while ago, Amsterdamers didn't have last names because they just knew each other by their professions. You would know your friend Jan as Jan the Baker. When the Germans took over Amsterdam, they had citizens fill out paperwork that asked for their first and last name. Since no one had last names they just made them up. Sensible people just put their profession as their last name. Others decided to have a little fun and put down a silly name. For example, someone would put down "little poop" as their last name. To this day there are still kids running around with some of those last names. Can you imagine going to school and having the teacher call out your name: Jan "little poop"? I thought that was pretty funny. At the end of the tour, Julian showed us what is called the "Homo Monument." It is a monument for all the people in the world who have been discriminated against because of their sexuality. I really liked that because it is the only one in the world and it really goes to show how tolerant Amsterdam is. I think that was one of the things I really liked about this city. You can be who you really are and you are accepted for that. As long as you're not hurting anyone else, you're fine. I like that they have something for everyone and I immediately felt comfortable in this city. The one thing you have to watch out for are bikers. They are crazy! They will ring their bell to warn you to get out of the way or else they will hit you. It took a little getting used to to look out for bikes instead of cars. At least the cars stop for you while you're crossing the street.
After the tour, we went to the Heineken Brewery where we got a tour of that. As we were going in, a girl in our group, Marissa, got hit by a biker. She was getting out of the way and didn't make it in time. The guy gave her the dirtiest look ever and stared her down a bit. Only after about a minute or two of this did he finally ask if she was okay. It was insane! I couldn't believe that someone would get that upset over being slowed down on their bike. We made it inside and went through the brewery. It was really cool to see how they make the beer and what makes it different from other beers. We went to dinner after and then walked back through the red light district so we could see it at night. It was really interesting to see the women tapping on the windows trying to get guys to come over. It was odd and a bit shocking at first, but then I got used to it and realized that Amsterdam is known for its tolerance. This is part of it. There are no pimps, which means that these women are their own bosses. They are called sex workers, not prostitutes and they have to be 21 in order to do this.
On Tuesday, we went to the Anne Frank house in the morning. I'm really glad I did that. After reading the Anne Frank diary, it was neat to stand in the actual rooms that she talks about. It made it that much more real. One part really got to me at the end. There was a video of a couple of Anne's classmates talking. One of them said that it was really sad to go to the school reunion because there was hardly anyone there. They had all been killed during the holocaust. I just stood there shaking my head. It really hit home for me there. I started thinking to if I went to one of my school reunions and saw barely anyone there and knew that it was because of something so horrendous. It really is unbelievable to think that something this bad happened.
After that we made our way to the Van Gogh museum. On our way we came across the IAMSTERDAM and took pictures in front of it. Then we found a waffle stand and got some. They were delicious! I want another one right now! After we ate those, we went to the Van Gogh museum. It was pretty cool to see a lot of his paintings and learn a lot about him. They also showed some of the other painters that inspired him. This museum had 3 or 4 floors to it, so by the end I was pretty tired and ready to go back to the hostel and chill out for a bit. We decided to get some lunch before though and got a recommendation to go to a place nearby called Saloon. It was really good and cheap, so I'm glad we went. It took us an hour to get back to the hostel, which was a bit insane. Once we got back to the hostel, we chilled out for a while. Four of the girls we met up with in Amsterdam left to go to Prague a day earlier than us, so we decided to go to an improv comedy show called BOOM Chicago. It was alright. A couple of the comedians were really funny, but there were a couple that I didn't find funny at all. I'm glad I went though to say that I experienced it. Unfortunately, Katie ended up getting pretty sick that night. We think she got food poisoning from the salad she ate. The next day she was still feeling really weak, so she decided to stay at the hostel and do her own thing. Meanwhile, we went to rent bikes and ride them around the city. We were going to experience Amsterdam the way Amsterdamers do. Riding bikes in Amsterdam isn't as easy as it looks. Stopping is hard, especially if someone walks right in front of you. I now understood why Amsterdamers are so crazy on their bikes. It was a lot faster to get around on a bike and it was nice to have a break from walking. We went to the Waterloo Market, which is a second hand market. It was really cool and I ended up getting a ring from it. If I had more room in my backpack to bring stuff back with me, I might have gotten a couple more things. Then we went to the flower market, which was really close. Nanny would have gone crazy in this market. Every type of flower you could ever imagine was sold here. We tried to find the food market, but didn't have much time so instead went to find a pancake place. We had all been craving pancakes for a while and decided it was necessary to get them. Of course out of a million different kinds to try I go for the really sweet one. Pecan-caramel ice cream with whipped cream and mocha/caramel sauces. I look back on it now and wonder why I didn't get a savory one or at least one that was a little less sweet. Oh well. It was still good. Then we went to a photo museum, which was neat. I liked the floor that had New York Times Magazine photos. Some of them were really cool and some were really powerful. There was one in particular that caught my eye and I thought it captured the war really well. We brought the bikes back and walked to our hostel to get our stuff. We then made our way to central station to catch the train to the airport. It was time to say goodbye for now to Amsterdam. Someday I will definitely be making my way back there. :-)
In Amsterdam, names of everything are pretty straight forward. Even the name of the city speaks for itself. It started off as a dam on the Amstel river. There you go. Another example is that we saw a really old church on the tour. It is called "The Old Church." Once you learn a bit of Dutch, you can look at street signs and the names of buildings and know what they were used for or what you are near. We walked throughout Amsterdam, seeing the Jewish district, the red light district, a small community for single women over 30, and many other things. It was really cool to see all the different aspects and parts of Amsterdam that make it Amsterdam. Julian told us that a while ago, Amsterdamers didn't have last names because they just knew each other by their professions. You would know your friend Jan as Jan the Baker. When the Germans took over Amsterdam, they had citizens fill out paperwork that asked for their first and last name. Since no one had last names they just made them up. Sensible people just put their profession as their last name. Others decided to have a little fun and put down a silly name. For example, someone would put down "little poop" as their last name. To this day there are still kids running around with some of those last names. Can you imagine going to school and having the teacher call out your name: Jan "little poop"? I thought that was pretty funny. At the end of the tour, Julian showed us what is called the "Homo Monument." It is a monument for all the people in the world who have been discriminated against because of their sexuality. I really liked that because it is the only one in the world and it really goes to show how tolerant Amsterdam is. I think that was one of the things I really liked about this city. You can be who you really are and you are accepted for that. As long as you're not hurting anyone else, you're fine. I like that they have something for everyone and I immediately felt comfortable in this city. The one thing you have to watch out for are bikers. They are crazy! They will ring their bell to warn you to get out of the way or else they will hit you. It took a little getting used to to look out for bikes instead of cars. At least the cars stop for you while you're crossing the street.
After the tour, we went to the Heineken Brewery where we got a tour of that. As we were going in, a girl in our group, Marissa, got hit by a biker. She was getting out of the way and didn't make it in time. The guy gave her the dirtiest look ever and stared her down a bit. Only after about a minute or two of this did he finally ask if she was okay. It was insane! I couldn't believe that someone would get that upset over being slowed down on their bike. We made it inside and went through the brewery. It was really cool to see how they make the beer and what makes it different from other beers. We went to dinner after and then walked back through the red light district so we could see it at night. It was really interesting to see the women tapping on the windows trying to get guys to come over. It was odd and a bit shocking at first, but then I got used to it and realized that Amsterdam is known for its tolerance. This is part of it. There are no pimps, which means that these women are their own bosses. They are called sex workers, not prostitutes and they have to be 21 in order to do this.
On Tuesday, we went to the Anne Frank house in the morning. I'm really glad I did that. After reading the Anne Frank diary, it was neat to stand in the actual rooms that she talks about. It made it that much more real. One part really got to me at the end. There was a video of a couple of Anne's classmates talking. One of them said that it was really sad to go to the school reunion because there was hardly anyone there. They had all been killed during the holocaust. I just stood there shaking my head. It really hit home for me there. I started thinking to if I went to one of my school reunions and saw barely anyone there and knew that it was because of something so horrendous. It really is unbelievable to think that something this bad happened.
After that we made our way to the Van Gogh museum. On our way we came across the IAMSTERDAM and took pictures in front of it. Then we found a waffle stand and got some. They were delicious! I want another one right now! After we ate those, we went to the Van Gogh museum. It was pretty cool to see a lot of his paintings and learn a lot about him. They also showed some of the other painters that inspired him. This museum had 3 or 4 floors to it, so by the end I was pretty tired and ready to go back to the hostel and chill out for a bit. We decided to get some lunch before though and got a recommendation to go to a place nearby called Saloon. It was really good and cheap, so I'm glad we went. It took us an hour to get back to the hostel, which was a bit insane. Once we got back to the hostel, we chilled out for a while. Four of the girls we met up with in Amsterdam left to go to Prague a day earlier than us, so we decided to go to an improv comedy show called BOOM Chicago. It was alright. A couple of the comedians were really funny, but there were a couple that I didn't find funny at all. I'm glad I went though to say that I experienced it. Unfortunately, Katie ended up getting pretty sick that night. We think she got food poisoning from the salad she ate. The next day she was still feeling really weak, so she decided to stay at the hostel and do her own thing. Meanwhile, we went to rent bikes and ride them around the city. We were going to experience Amsterdam the way Amsterdamers do. Riding bikes in Amsterdam isn't as easy as it looks. Stopping is hard, especially if someone walks right in front of you. I now understood why Amsterdamers are so crazy on their bikes. It was a lot faster to get around on a bike and it was nice to have a break from walking. We went to the Waterloo Market, which is a second hand market. It was really cool and I ended up getting a ring from it. If I had more room in my backpack to bring stuff back with me, I might have gotten a couple more things. Then we went to the flower market, which was really close. Nanny would have gone crazy in this market. Every type of flower you could ever imagine was sold here. We tried to find the food market, but didn't have much time so instead went to find a pancake place. We had all been craving pancakes for a while and decided it was necessary to get them. Of course out of a million different kinds to try I go for the really sweet one. Pecan-caramel ice cream with whipped cream and mocha/caramel sauces. I look back on it now and wonder why I didn't get a savory one or at least one that was a little less sweet. Oh well. It was still good. Then we went to a photo museum, which was neat. I liked the floor that had New York Times Magazine photos. Some of them were really cool and some were really powerful. There was one in particular that caught my eye and I thought it captured the war really well. We brought the bikes back and walked to our hostel to get our stuff. We then made our way to central station to catch the train to the airport. It was time to say goodbye for now to Amsterdam. Someday I will definitely be making my way back there. :-)
Monday, April 2, 2012
Barcelona Pics
 |
| Just some palm trees |
 |
| Chilling at the beach |
 |
| Wonderful view of the city |
 |
| Cable cars! |
 |
| Bull fighting arena |
 |
| La Sagrada Familia |
 |
| Longest benchline in the world at Park Guell |
 |
| Park Guell |
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Barcelona!
I'm just going to write about spring break in 3 posts - one about each place I went. The first place we went to was Barcelona. We spent a day in Rome before because our flight was out of Rome in the afternoon. We were sitting in the common area in our hostel when some random guy came up to our table and prefaced his question with this "So, I know this may sound a bit weird and rude, but" - then why are you asking the question? Anyways, he asked us how old we were because apparently we all looked like we were 18 at most. It was really weird and we were all confused as to why he thought he should do that. Oh well. We made it to the airport fine and managed to get seats on our flight. We flew with Ryanair, which means that we don't have assigned seats like you would on other airlines. So, basically you just hope that you get a good seat or one with the people you're traveling with. Needless to say, we pushed our way to the front and made sure we had seats near each other. Finding our hostel proved to be a bit more difficult. We found the bus we needed to take to get close to our hostel, but we had some difficulties finding the road we needed to get onto. Luckily, a girl who was studying abroad in Barcelona overheard us and helped us find the direction we needed to go in. From there it was pretty much a straight shot to our hostel. We checked in and found Beckah, Jillian, and Mary in the hostel (we were meeting up with them). Our hostel was very nice. We had a small balcony off our room which was totally unexpected. Downstairs they had a lounge area where there was a pool table and a couple of computers that people could use. Not to mention, the hostel was in the middle of a plaza and pretty close to wherever we wanted to go. After we checked in, we went to dinner and got a typical Spanish dinner of paella and sangria. So good! It was my first time having both and I was satisfied :) Then we went back to the hostel to chill for a bit before going out since in Barcelona people don't go out until 12:30ish which is really late. The next day we went to the beach for a couple of hours and relaxed. That was really nice, even though I got a bit sunburned. That's how nice and sunny it was. We found a wrap place for lunch and it the lady who worked there was really nice. The food was really good too and it was nice to have a salad and a wrap that isn't the typical prosciutto and cheese sandwich in Italy. We made our way back to the hostel for a couple of minutes so people could change and then we walked around for a while trying to find a gondola type thing. We finally managed to find it and we rode it to the top of a hill. I was pleasantly surprised once we got up to the top to find a fortress there and some amazing views. On one side there were views of the entire city of Barcelona and the other side had views of the ocean. It was amazing! We made our way down after chilling out up there for a while. We got ready for dinner and went to get a tapas dinner. I've never seen food disappear so fast and I've never eaten so fast in my life. The food was amazing and before we knew it, we had eaten all the food we got. My favorite tapa was called "patatas bravas". It was cooked potatoes sliced up and a cream type sauce was put on top. I can't even begin to describe the sauce - it's one where you have to try it for yourself. Since we ate so fast, we had plenty of time to hang out at the hostel before going out. We hung out in the bar of the hostel and talked to some British guys. They told us that everyone in England believes that Prince Harry is an illegitimate child because he has red hair and who else in the royal family has red hair. It was comical because we had a conversation with them about that for a good 20 minutes.
The next day we decided to go to the "sagrada familia" which is a huge church. It isn't like any other church I've ever seen and it's definitely one I will remember for a while. It was massive and so unique. Unfortunately the line was way too long to see the inside of the church. We walked to Park Guell after and that was really cool! I felt like I was in candyland or Willy Wonka. I absolutely loved it! That was my favorite part of Barcelona by far. In this park was the longest bench wall in the world. What made it even cooler was that it was a mosaic bench that just wrapped around an area where people were hanging out snapping photos. I would have loved to stay there longer, but all of us were really hot and dying to be in the shade (crazy that we were seeking out shade!). We also had to get back so that we could head to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 7am the next morning, but the last bus to the airport left at 7:15pm. So, we stayed overnight in the airport, which was interesting. None of us got much sleep and the chairs we slept on weren't that comfortable. But we survived the night in the airport and the 2 hours of sleep on the plane definitely helped all of us out. :-)
The next day we decided to go to the "sagrada familia" which is a huge church. It isn't like any other church I've ever seen and it's definitely one I will remember for a while. It was massive and so unique. Unfortunately the line was way too long to see the inside of the church. We walked to Park Guell after and that was really cool! I felt like I was in candyland or Willy Wonka. I absolutely loved it! That was my favorite part of Barcelona by far. In this park was the longest bench wall in the world. What made it even cooler was that it was a mosaic bench that just wrapped around an area where people were hanging out snapping photos. I would have loved to stay there longer, but all of us were really hot and dying to be in the shade (crazy that we were seeking out shade!). We also had to get back so that we could head to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 7am the next morning, but the last bus to the airport left at 7:15pm. So, we stayed overnight in the airport, which was interesting. None of us got much sleep and the chairs we slept on weren't that comfortable. But we survived the night in the airport and the 2 hours of sleep on the plane definitely helped all of us out. :-)
Home sweet home
Well I made it through spring break 2012! I got back safe and sound in Siena last night and I've never been happier to be in Siena. Spring break was amazing and wonderful, but I was ready to be back home. It's nice to not have to live out of just a backpack and to have a washer. I loved all of the places I went and am really glad I was able to go. Each place had different feels to them and brought us different adventures. All gave us transportation stories, which is to be expected. Europe transportation is interesting to say the least and can be a bit confusing at times. But, we managed to make it through and figure out how to get where we needed to be. I can't wait to go back to some of the places I went and hopefully see them again in a couple of years. I will most likely blog in more detail about each place either tonight or tomorrow seeing as how I need to get some homework done. So stay tuned :)
Also, just wanted to congratulate my best friend Lauren on getting engaged! So happy for you and Dan! Can't wait to look at places this summer with you :-)
Also, just wanted to congratulate my best friend Lauren on getting engaged! So happy for you and Dan! Can't wait to look at places this summer with you :-)
Pictures!
 |
| Lucca!!! |
 |
| Soft serve yogurt with nutella, white chocolate and strawberries. YUM! |
 |
| San Gimignano. |
 |
| View heading into San Gimignano |
 |
| Panicale!! |
 |
| 2 out of the 4 dogs. |
 |
| Nan, this is perfect for you :-) |
 |
| Absolutely love it! |
 |
| Seriously?! |
 |
| Moki leading the way |
 |
| Paco |
 |
| Stouty (I think that was her name... haha) |
 |
| Lemon Meringue Pie. DELICIOUS!!! |
 |
| Sunset in Panicale <3 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)