Santa Margherita Ligure e Portofino

My mom and I arrived in Santa Margherita Ligure around 11:30 on Saturday. It was a GORGEOUS day and the water looked stunning. We checked into our hotel, but our room wasn't ready, so we left our stuff in the car/ behind the desk and went out to go exploring. There were a ton of little stands around the area selling little nicknacks that we looked at. There was this one place where she was selling hats, ties, and more that she personally painted on. They were STUNNING and I asked her if I could take a picture because I liked them so much. We got to talking and I told her they would buy that stuff up in the states and she said how she wanted to go to NY. I gave her my email and name saying I could promote for her if she ever wanted me to since you know, it is my major haha. She seemed happy, and I really hope she branches out. Her stuff was GORGEOUS.

We walked around a bit more looking for a place to have lunch. We ended up going to this local place where the service was terrible. I think this is typical european though since they don't really get a tip. It didn't matter too much though. I had a sparkling white wine which was good and my mom and I ordered 2 pasta dishes to share. I got a dish that was gnocchi with zucchini, shrimp, and saffron. She got linguini with pesto. They both were great. Apparently this area is known for its pesto too, and lord knows I love my pesto haha. We then walked around some more and decided to walk to Portofino (about an hours walk) since we wouldn't be able to check into our hotel for awhile. It was a gorgeous walk! At some points we went up hills and hiked a bit, and other times we just walked along the coast. The light was gorgeous in some places and there were some cute touristy towns along the way. Check Facebook for photos in the next couple of days. Finally we arrived at Portofino. It was a very touristy town, and kind of deadish since it is completely in the off season. We walked around a bit and climbed a giant hill/mountain across the street to get a better view of the whole city. As my mom said, she wanted her own postcard, so here it is:

(Disclaimer: photoshopped slightly so it showed the real colors since the exposure was a little off)

Afterwards, we took a bus back to Santa Margherita Ligure, which took about 10 minutes. Such windy roads! We went back to the hotel and finally checked in. Our room was nice, with a decent view and our own porch from off of our bedroom. We decide to find a place to go to dinner, since we both are getting hungry. We end up going to the supermarket and buying water, pesto (for mom to take back), and a bottle of white wine. After bringing it back, we decide to head out again, make reservations for what looks like an amazing restaurant for tomorrow, and find a place for the night. A lot of places were full and we end up finding this dinky restaurant that had eh food (sorry Dan haha- we know you'd disapprove) and was a bit pricey. We each got a pizza and called it a night.

The next day we woke up and it was raining (which we knew was going to happen). However, to our surprise, it got nice out! I was productive and updated this blog (as you can see haha) networked and applied to a couple internships. All of this in preparation for my stupid midterms this week and then immediately going on spring break (like legit 5-7 hours after my last midterm I have a train to catch haha). We then decided to go exploring some more. However, it was Sunday so a lot of everything was closed. We started with a coffee and a small patry. Then we walked around the town and down the road to Portofino a bit, and then got some (real) gelato. OM NOM NOM. I got mint chocolate chip and cafe. My mom got mint chocolate chip and dark chocolate. After we decide to head back to the hotel, drink our wine a bit and relax before dinner. At this time, something weird happened. We had "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door all day so they maids never changed our towels and stuff. So, since we had taken off the sign while we were in, a maid (dressed in a French maid outfit, but Italian (maybe? Everyone speaks so much French here....) comes in and asks if our room is ok and if we got our new towels (someone brought them earlier). We say yes, everything is good, and then she goes to change them in our bathroom and fix everything up! We were shocked. She did what they were supposed to do when you're not supposed to be in the room. Whatever though, just strange.

For dinner, we went to Oca Bianca. It was great! I asked the guy if I could take pictures for my photography class and he said I was more than welcome. He actually liked the idea so much, he gave me some dishes that weren't our to take a picture of and asked me to send him everything. We started with a free class of champagne, followed by bread with olive oil and smashed chic peas and bruschetta on the side. Then we got 2 primi(s) which were linguini with artichoke and gorgonzola cheese with tomatoes on the side and gnocchi with pesto and pine nuts. Then we got a rack of lamb with vegetables on the side, which we split. It also came with warm potato chips. Then he gave us some free pastries (crisps covered in sugar,this almond cookie thing, and meringue). Then I got an espresso and we ordered a chocolate cake with creme sauce. All very delicious :)

We leave at 6 am tomorrow so I can make it back in time for class to review for my midterms :-\. Anna invited Mom over for dinner tomorrow, which I'm super excited for and hopefully my leather jacket is done :)

More later! Ciao! :)

PS. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Dan for visiting me!!!! Love you guys!

La Mia Famiglia è andata a Firenze!

That means: My family went to Florence!

Monday:

After Venice, I got back in time to go to my photography class, and I am so glad that I did. We were going shooting in Bubble Gardens, which was GORGEOUS. I never wanted to leave!

^ That is just one part of the view and it TOTALLY does not do it justice. I couldn't get my family in because it's only free for Florence students and $5 regular students, and $10 for everyone else, but I wish they could've seen. Totally going back. After, we walked to Piazza Michaelangelo and I was finally able to see it on a beautiful day! :D

Tuesday:

I went to half of Italian and skipped the rest of my classes to go on a wine tour with my family. We went to Castello di Verrazzano, which makes Chianti Classico. The bus ride and walk to the castle was GORGEOUS. We got a tour of the whole place and then set down to try the wines and have lunch.

Lunch was also amazing.. among other things we had this pasta with tomato sauce and this hot spice we put on top. MMM soo good. My mom bought some of the spice to have for later :P. We sat at a table with these 2 french guys, one from Bordeaux and one from Paris (ironic much!?). The one from Bordeaux spoke english and the one from Paris only spoke french. Turns out, the guy from Bordeaux's brother owns a wine chateaux in Bordeaux, but doesn't give out tours :-\. However, he did write down his info and tell me places to visit :). I also had a conversation totally in French with the other guy :). My italian started getting in the way... but I guess I'll just have to straighten out my head at some point later on haha.

Wednesday:

We went out to a dinner theater that my brother had been wanting to go to for awhile. It was very cute. You had to apply for a membership card to get in. Once you got in you sat at these small little tables and they would announce when new food was ready (buffet style). There were so many courses! Vegetables, fish, a veal ball with capers, clams (which I had :) ), chicken, and beef. Then there was dessert which were these small little triangles of chocolate cake, one of those large cylindrical wafers, and fresh made whipped cream mmmm :). I was SOO full. So full in fact, that I was full the next morning and could not eat a thing until about 11 am haha.

Thursday:

I found a leather coat! I found one I liked (at the same place all my friends got theirs) but it didn't fit right and there were a few things I wanted changed, so they are having it custom made for me :). Hopefully it should be ready Monday, but if not definitely before I leave for Spring break next weekend :). It's black, and slightly wrinkled with 2 side pockets and 2 small pockets on my chest. I'm very excited about it :)

After, I took my family over to my host mom's house for them to see the place. Anna was very excited to have everyone over :). We then took her out to dinner while Jenna and I translated. I got kind of flustered switching from italian and back to english every few sentences, but I think Anna got everything.

Afterwards, Jenna, Dan, and I headed over to meet up with everyone at the Duomo so we could head to Blob and decorate for Marsha's 21st birthday!! We threw confetti at her from the 2nd story when she walked in, and everyone had confetti all over them. It would NOT get out of Jenna's hair haha. We also gave Marsha a pimp hat which was totally fitting :P

Such a great night. After, when we were ready to leave, Jenna and I took my brother to the secret bakery by Santa Croce. It took some effort to find (we didn't remember exactly where it was- although now we do) but we each got a croissant/ una cornetta. I got mine with cream, Dan got one with chocolate, and Jenna got a plain one. We got back around 4 am and I ended up going to be a little after 5, leaving me an hour to sleep before I had to wake up to pack and meet my parents... FAIL

Friday:

Being a zombie was an understatement. I could barely form sentences. We rented a car to drive to Vignola, the town where my dad lived in Italy for a couple months when he was 17, and I slept on the way there. I was able to form English, Italian, and French sentences when I woke up. I say that because apparently a lot of people speak French in northern Italy. Can you say Fratalian like CrAzY?!?!

We went into this restaurant (which apparently is somewhat famous now) where my dad used to eat dinner every night. He brought this plaque that they gave him before left and showed it to the guy who owns the place now (different guy). He seemed to appreciate that my dad came back about 40 years later with his family. We had lunch there and it ended up being the BEST meal I have had in Italy so far. SO many courses and it was all amazing! We even got a bottle of wine which was a red sparkling wine, which I loved. They gave us this free starter which was a spoon of riccotta and a spoon of fig jam with this piece of toast. AMAZING. Then

I got this ravioli filled with chestnuts and pumpkin and had broccoli on it. The rest of my family got this crepe sort of thing filled with cheese and mushrooms that was amazing. Then my brother and dad got a main course. My dad got veal which was great and my brother got cow's tongue covered in balsamic vinegar. Everyone said it tasted great but I refused to taste something that could taste me back. Then the guy brought me out chunks of parmesan cheese and drizzled balsamic vinegar over it which was DELICIOUS. For dessert, he brought out a tray of little small chocolate and cookie things, vanilla ice cream in a crispy wafer with caramelized caramel coming out of it and put balsamic vinegar on that, mandarin sorbet with strawberries and mandarin slices in it, and this cake looking thing with dark chocolate sauce which may have been ice cream (we still don't know). It was FANTASTIC.

After, we drove to Milan, dropped my brother off at the train station, and headed to a hotel by the airport. My dad had a flight the next morning and then my mom and I would drive to the west coast of Italy (Santa Margherita Ligure) to spend out annual trip together :).

I am currently there now with her, about to go out to what will be an amazing dinner (having a tasting of everything for a set price). I will write about our trip here in a separate post.

A Dopo!

Venezia e Carnevale!

Favorite Quote from this Trip: "Everyone at some point in their life needs to exit through a secret door in a piece of furniture."

(more on that later)

So this past weekend Feb. 18-20 I was in Venice with my family.

The first night (Friday), my brother flew into Italy and met me at the train station in Florence. We then took the train down into Venice together where we would spend our first night together with our parents. We arrived at our hotel which was on the water. It was GORGEOUS.

Inside the hotel was amazing as well! Our room was two beds put together with a canopy over it and a "magic mirror" through which you could watch tv. Sorry, no pictures of the room. Kind of funny though, the rooms weren't labeled by numbers, but by themes and ours was named Carnevale- how fitting :P. It's around 5 pm so we decide to roam around the area a bit before finding a place for dinner (earliest time for dinner in Italy is 7 or 730). We end up heading into the residential part of Venice for dinner on the recommendation of the manager of the hotel. Got terribly lost even with the use of my brother's Maps application on his iPhone, but saw some pretty awesome views and a rising gigantic rising full moon :).

After asking some local kids, we finally found the restaurant and it was very cute. We decided to get the Venetian price fixed menu which had 3 courses on it: Antipasti, Prima, Secondi and a side. We both got mixed Venetian fish for the Antipasti, and I tried octopus! Not too bad :P. Then we had an AMAZING pasta with spicy cherry tomatoes and i think shrimp. My secondi was Argentinean steak with cherry tomatoes with a side of grilled mixed vegetables. Oh, and we got free champagne at the beginning and split a bottle of white wine. Being full was an understatement.

After dinner we wandered around a bit and came across a few bars. We ended up going into this really hip cool looking bar and getting drinks. My brother for a Bellini which was champagne mixed with peach, and I got a Rossini which is strawberries mixed with champagne. I think his was better, but they both were very good. After that we were beyond tired and found our way back to the hotel.

Next day, our parents were not arriving until around 2 pm, so we woke up early and decided to go exploring. We went to the Rialto market which was a tourist market and a food/fish market. Dan got a blood orange from there and was quite pleased with himself. We then headed over to Piazza San Marco which is basically the center area of Venice (kind of like the Duomo for Firenze). It was such a nice day, so we walked around a bit and shared a tiny canoli. Then we decided it was lunch time. We went to this small little sandwich shop that was tucked in a small alleyway. It ended up being french I think and the sandwiches were small but apparently that's typical Venetian. I got one with salmon (like lox I think) and another one with zucchini and brie cheese. Then we both split one with gorgonzola cheese. They were amazing.

Then we decided to go back to San Marco and walk around some more. We went to tis famous coffee/tea place where these 2 famous poets used to sit and have lunch/tea/coffee. VERY expensive, but very cute.

They gave us each a cup of water to cleanse the pallet and a thing full of hot water. Then the things on top of our cups were the filters into which we poured the hot water and let it all drain into our cups. Dan thought it was great, I thought it was decent- not worth the price (15 euro for the two of them if I remember correctly) but I guess the history and the atmosphere made it worthwhile. After that, we went back out to the square and I ended up trying on some masks and deciding that I really wanted one. I tried on this one:

I LOVED it, but it was too expensive (25 euros). I ended up getting one with a similar shape and feathers but with a butterfly instead of a rose and white and blue colors. Immediately after we met up with our parents (who were exhausted since they just flew in that day) and decided to head into the museum on the top of the Basilica di Saint Marco. After, we wandered around for a bit and at 6 o'clock went back to the square to see the beginning of Carnevale! Everyone gathered around this fountain, some guy spoke and people sung, and then wine went shooting out of the fountain.

It was awesome :). After, we went to go have dinner. We went out to this place that apparently is known for having a line out the door for dinner. We got there before the line (thank g-d) and I had crab meat in its shell for an appetizer and fried calamari and shrimp for my main. They were okay, nothing too special. Mom and dad shared a mixed fish dish that had a fish that looked like a grasshopper and a small octopus. No idea how they were able to eat all that (grosssss).

Next day, we had a tour of the Doge's Palace. This was a lot of fun. We had a secret tour of it where we got to go onto the 3rd and 4th floors of the palace, which are usually closed off to the general public. We saw the government offices, prison cells, torture chamber, and where Casanova was imprisoned. He has the funniest story, but it's way too long for me to type out. Hilarious though. Apparently the last name of his guard translated into english means kiss the girl, which is ironically HILARIOUS. And then, to refer back to the beginning of the post; in order to exit from this private area we left down a staircase and through a door which from the outside looks like empty cabinet. Wish I could have been able to take a picture, but it was awesome :D. After, we went into the church part of the Basilica di Saint Marco and the bell tower outside. Great view from the top :) Then we wandered around a bit; Dan went to go see some museums and Mom, Dad, and I went looking for Murano glass. My mom ended up getting this gorgeous glass necklace and my dad got this blue and green bowl and a glass egg with dark blue designs in the middle.

For dinner, the place we wanted to go to was full, so we ended up going to this local place instead. We got free champagne at the beginning again (yummy!) and these 2 pasta dishes which we all split. It was a pasta dish with shrimp and some dark sauce and another one with biscotti crumbles, cheese and amaretto? I personally liked the first one better. After that we went home and went to bed since we were catching an early train back to Florence (I had class I needed to get to).

Venezia è stata buona e molto bella! Me piace molto :)

At Last: Roma!

So.. as promised, this is my post about Rome. Only 3 weeks later, but you know, it's better late than never. Pretty sure I remember the majority of the details, if I forgot them they were probably mundane anyways.

Days spent in Rome: February 4-5

We arrived early in Rome on Friday after taking an hour and a half train ride from the Florence train station. This was my first time being on a train in Italy and it was pretty nice. I did not pay attention to the view as we went by because all I wanted to do was sleep as it was about 8 in the morning. As soon as we arrive we are shepherded onto a bus and told we are headed to the Vatican. We were going to have 2 very packed days. Thankfully, they give us about half an hour when we reached the Vatican to find a bar or shop to get coffee/something to eat. We passed this AMAZING looking bread shop and I got a mini pizza about the size of my fist which was DELICIOUS. Erica got this famous Roman bread which was sweet with sugar on top and had raisons and oranges in it; it was good.

We then enter the Vatican. First thing we see are 3 famous pieces of artwork by Raphael. Then we see Leonardo da Vinci's unfinished drawing and some other art. We are told that we are not seeing the modern art section because we do not have enough time. (check out my facebook album "Quando in Roma..." for pictures of all the art I saw. I thought it was interesting because there were jewish stars in the designs on the floor and a jewish star being drawn in one of the wall paintings by Raphael. Very beautiful work. We also saw a bunch of classical statues related to Greek mythology and the courtyard with a huge giant golden ball. We are then told it is time to go through a special passageway to head into the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was mind blowing. It legitimately took my breath away. We were not allowed to take pictures (LOL Lee) but..

(Disclaimer: not my doing- I swear haha)

Just absolutely fantastic. The Last Judgement took up an entire wall on the front side and was GORGEOUS. I wish I could've been able to take a picture of that, but oh well. Still amazing. Kind of funny that Michaelangelo did not know how to paint a fresco before painting the chapel. Also how the Church waited until after he died to hire the "Underpants Painter" (I think that's what he got called) to cover up some of the people's nudeness so the fresco would not be so offensive.

We then walked into Saint Peter's Basilica which I think it my favorite church so far. I literally had to catch my breath when we walked in. It was huge, and gorgeous, and there was a gorgeous I guess altar(?) towards the back made from gold. Tons of gorgeous sculptures. Tons of pictures in my album on that too. After, we were let go for lunch and decided to climb to the top of St. Peters. The stairs up to the top started to curve around the top of the dome and became increasingly narrow. At one point we went up a continually spiral staircase. I'm not one to get claustrophobic, but it was so narrow and with the curved walls it started getting to me. TOALLY worth it though. I would compare the view to that of the Eiffel Tower, but for Rome obviously and not Paris. And it was a good day so were able to see everything and enjoy the hot sun on our faces. After, we got lunch really quickly and I tried some of Lee's white pizza which apparently Rome is known for- very good :)

For the rest of the day we were on our own. We went to this museum right across the street from our hotel an saw a lot of sculptures and art. We saw some of the first paintings and wall decorations. There was this room painted in black with some colorful designs. This was cool because they chose to paint it black in order to keep the room warmer (the black would absorb the heat). I also saw one of the first Roman Emperor's wife's bedroom art from around the 1st or 4th century I believe. It was a fresco of nature and it went all around the room- gorgeous.

After, we took a taxi over to the Pantheon. The piazza right in front of it was full of restaurants and shops and was gorgeous. We went to 1 of the 2 best coffee places in Rome and I got a café macchiato. I didn't end up having to pay because he didn't have change for me and it cost like .6 euros :). We then wandered around looking for the gelato place where Obama imports gelato from for his daughters. It was good, but I've had better. It was kind of expensive also. We then walked around looking for the Trevi fountain and a place to eat dinner. We found this really nice fountain in a piazza where there was music playing outside and a bunch of people just hanging out. I really loved the atmosphere there. I don't have any pictures because my camera died by this point, but I really loved it there. We ended up not going to the Trevi Fountain, but instead wandered into the Jewish Ghetto and had dinner. Jenna and Lee split a caprese salad and fried artichoke (another thing Rome is famous for). The fried artichoke was DELICIOUS! I had eggplant which was good as well. We then took a taxi home since we were exhausted and my feet were killing. We had bought a bottle of rose champagne earlier in the day, so we decided instead of going out, we were going to all soak out feet in the bidet in our bathroom and drink the champagne. I failed at opening the champagne bottle and it ended up exploding all over the place and us. Amusing though :P

Day 2:

This was the day to visit Ancient Rome. I was SOO excited! First up: The Roman Colosseum:

Kind of funny, there were people dressed up as ancient Romans walking around in front of the colosseum. Apparently, if they catch you taking a picture of them or you pose with them, you are obligated to pay them. If you don't, things will get ugly. I thought about taking a picture of them from where I was in the picture above, but decided against it and THEN was told you're supposed to pay if you do. Oh well haha. The Colosseum was amazing! I couldn't believe I was inside the ancient Roman Colosseum where the gladiators used to fight and everything. It totally made me want to see Gladiator again :D

We then went to see what I believe is Constantine's Arch right outside the Colosseum. I learned that you can tell when they were made by how many arches it has. If it has 3, it is from the later period and if it had only 1, it is from the earlier period of the Roman empire. We then went to the Roman forum which was huge! All of ancient Rome is just chilling in the middle of the city. It seemed like they just built the rest of the city around the ancient part. We were then told the story of how Caesar came to power and then was betrayed by the Senate while sitting next to the place where Marc Anthony laid his dead body and read his last will and testament. I thought THAT was pretty cool. Lastly, we were taken to the Pantheon where our tour guide explained the architecture and who was buried in there. Included are Raphael, the first King of Italy, and his son whom I believe was the 3rd King of Italy.

We then went to go find a place to eat lunch and ended up at this place where politicians usually eat calle Piccola Roma. It was good, my portion was small and they charged for everything, but it was very good. We then shared some gelato from the same place as the day before (it was right next door) and went to go exploring. We finally saw the Trevi Fountain which was GORGEOUS. I fell in love with it immediately and threw a .5 euro coin in there while making a wish :). After, on our way to the Spanish Steps, we encountered something interesting. There were these people selling 'brand name' bags and paintings along a street (as always). However, as soon as we pass them we hear one of them shout "Polizia!" and they all gather their stuff as fast as they can and start running past us. HOWEVER, there was a policeman at the other end of the street. We all thought that was the end of it, but they lined up in a row behind a car and then ran for it!! The policeman didn't even try to catch them, but it was so funny!

We then finally reach the Spanish Steps which are awesome. There were SO many people on them and a bunch of them had flags. We had no idea what this was for, but we kind of wanted a flag ourselves. This woman comes up to us and conveniently asks us if we would like to have flags. We of course say yes and ask what it is for. Apparently, it was part of Social Media Week (an advertising/marketing/communications conference on social media) and they were going to be having a flash mob and asked if we would like to participate. Of COURSE we would! So at 4 o'clock we were all to freeze in place for 2 minutes, and then hug each other once we unfreeze. It was for the promotion of world peace. Really cool :)

We then walked around the area for a bit (reminded me a little o

f New York City or Boston, very city like) and window shopped. By this point I'm exhausted and my feet are killing me. So much so that I am limping a bit as we walk. We finally decide we are tired and head back to the hotel to go catch our train back.

It was an amazing trip, but awfully tiring. I wish I would have had more days to see everything, but I am still thrilled that I got to see everything I wanted to see.

:phew!: Glad to get that post out of the way haha

I'll be sure not to wait so long next time for other trips :P

Protests and Art

This past weekend I stayed in Florence because I could not find a cheap way to get to Prague and figured I would just save some money before I have my constant traveling every weekend. Jenna was heading off to Rome Friday morning for her best friend's birthday, so I would be alone this weekend. However, Thursday night we all went out (refer to Shot's Café post).

Friday, I woke up REAALLLYYYY late and then went to the chocolate festival to get chocolates per mi famiglia :) (CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM THIS WEEKEND AHHH!! :D) After, Victoria, Erica, and I went shopping and looking for shoes for Victoria. Ended up staying in because I was really tired. All in all, not a bad day.

Saturday, oh boy. Woke up late again (typical me). Then went to meet up with Casey, Marsha, and Victoria for lunch. 9 Euro at a chinese place for a 3 course meal plus free green tea! I had vegetable dumplings, hot and sour soup (first time- loved it!), and kung pao chicken. Very good, but took like 2-3 hours to get everything because they were very slow. After, we went to this art fair where they had the most GORGEOUS stuff! This one lady even fixed my bracelet!! I was SO happy since I had been devastated that it had broke.

.... just had to restart my computer because Safari froze and refused to close.... not sure if this is a sign I shouldn't be blogging, but either way I'm glad it kept all I wrote! ::phew:: Thank G-d for autosave!

Anyways... back to what I was saying..

Here are pictures from the art fair:

Right next to the fair, in the same piazza, was a protest.

I think it was against what is going on in Egypt right now. They were really loud and annoying just because it was so random and tiny and we couldn't understand what they were saying, but it's for a good cause. Just sucks I only figured it out after. After the fair, we all went into this hidden church that the tourists don't really know about that was in the same Piazza. It was gorgeous! It was very dimly lit, and I think it is a church for the dead, but it was covered in gold and art. One guy who worked there and spoke some english came up to us and basically wished us a good life. He gave us these Santa Maria praying cards and said he would love to see us there again. Very kind of him.

Then went to the supermarket to get dinner (only 3.6 euros for a pasta dish! who would've thought!?). It was delicious, and I think I'm just going to do that from now on if I ever need to buy myself dinner. Or maybe even when I'm visiting somewhere. Definitely a cheaper option.

That night, we were going to Blob which was having a Carnivale theme. OMG outrageous! Marsha did all of our makeup. I didn't have a mask, so I told her to compensate through my makeup. That produced this:

me piace molto! It was a lot of fun. I met a guy who was Italian, but spoke perfect english..... with a British accent. very amusing. Ended up coming home around 5 or 6 in the morning. Did NOT realize it got that late.

Next morning (Sunday), woke up late again. Was just hanging around the house when I got a call from Victoria. Forgot all about this happening, but there was a protest going on against Silvio Berlusconi. Quicky ran out of the house and ran down the Duomo. There were so many people! By now the protest had moved all the way down to Piazza della Republicca and it took me forever to get to the carousel in the middle of the PIazza to find Victoria. There were so many funny signs. People were shouting, drums and whistles. It was invigorating. Apparently this was one of the over a hundred or so protests going on that day.

Translated: Silvio! I'm a minor! Call me! (hahahahahaha)

And finally, yesterday: Monday. Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!!

Thank you mom and dad for the chocolate and grandma for the card :)

Jenna and I went to get free coffee at Astor courtesy of Bus2Alps and then walked around and shopped before getting some lunch. Jenna bought a dress and I almost bought a leather jacket for 57 Euro, but I decided to wait. We then went to this new panini place which was amazing! The guy there was so friendly and also does wine tasting since he has an old cellar full of wine. So, for 15 euro per person, we can taste wine and have lots of little snacks. Can you say HELL YEAH!? :D Very excited for that :)

That's about all for now. Oh, except I discovered I can record sound on my word document when I take notes, so now I can record his lectures. Very helpful :)

Ciao for now!! I'll write about Rome later :P

Blogging Fail

So... every time I try to write a blog post, I end up taking a nap. Right now I'm in class (because I can't seem to pay attention in this class) and thereby cannot take a nap, so maybe I'll come out with a blog post by the end of this.

I know I still have to write about Rome and definitely this past weekend.. and I promise I will. If anything just so I will be able to remember it after I'm done being abroad. I just saw Jenna write her blog post yesterday and it was over 2 pages long, so I'm a bit intimidated haha

I promise, it'll come.

Trip Update:

Booked Amsterdam--> All hostels for spring break are booked (interesting story on that as well...)

Versailles Biking Tour booked!

Next Up:

Booking Tour of Le Louvre

Booking wine tour in Bordeaux

Booking trip for after this semester

:)

A Dopo!

Shot's Café

Last night a bunch of us went to this bar called Shot's Café. The song Shots (shots, shots, shots....everybody!!) was stuck in my head until we went there haha. It had great atmosphere and we ended up being the only ones left there after this guy got carried out of the bathroom by his friends (he apparently had fallen asleep in there?). Either way, we looked through their shots menu and at the interesting titles. Their shots were € 2.50 a piece, but they had a deal to buy 10 at once for € 19.50 so we did that. First up: Boobs. Jenna had been raving about this shot for a couple weeks because she said it tasted like peach rings. They brought the shots over with an orange slice on each of them, which were all on fire (with some sugar on top too). The shot was peach vodka I think and some other stuff. We took them and it DID taste like a peach ring. So, since there were 6 of us and only 4 shots left, Liz and Greg didn't have another, but Liz had a shot called Sex in a Tree (fun names, no?). She said that one was really good. Next up, we had a shot called Girl Scout Cookie. This was probably my favorite. It was cream of mint, kahlua, and I believe amaretto. OMG, It legit taste like one! Then, Jenna had told me about a blow job shot there, so I really wanted to try it. All the girls (4 of us) wanted one and the two guys didn't so it was kind of funny. The shot was I believe kahlua, baileys, something else, and whipped cream on top. That one was heavy, but good. This was part of the 10 deal, so the other 5 were called Sexy Ladies, which was some strong fruity shot with a flaming lemon on top. I didn't have one. Then, Anna and Tony each had a Blue Lagoon shot (which I loveeeee) and they liked.

We then venture to what are known as Secret Bakeries because Andrea knows where one is. The thing about secret bakeries is that they are not advertised, and they only open after around 1 am. You knock on the door, a few minutes later someone comes out, you give them your order, and a few minutes later they return with hot fresh delicious pastries. Apparently, these bakeries stay open all night baking to sell the pastries to bars in the morning. This particular one offered a cream or chocolate filled croissant, pizza, or doughnuts (they didn't have doughnuts this time around). I had a chocolate filled croissant and it was very good. Only a euro too! We then all went home. Very good night :)

Oh, one negative though: As we were walking to Shots Café, my bracelet that I bought here (and loved) broke. :( I'm either going to buy a new one or see if it can get fixed because I really liked it :-\

FTW

My post about Rome will come.. no worries. I'm just a TAD lazy at the moment and preoccupied with NOT getting sick (everyone is, and I am not for once! :D chugging Vits C & D FTW!) and booking spring break :)

Speaking of which, Jenna and I have booked Paris and Bruges. All that is left to book is Amsterdam and the trip to Versailles (bike tour with a picnic in the garden! ahhhh :) )

very excited. should be a lot of fun.. need to figure out all the train details though.. going to talk to someone to see if it is worth getting one of those inter-country rail passes or whatever they are called.

Also, currently sitting in my photo class waiting to see if the teacher will come because there is a sick note on the door, BUT it has the wrong date on it (the 7th, monday) which is when we had class last. So the date is definitely wrong, but we are not sure if she meant to write today (9th). pretty sure I don't have class though since I have friends in her earlier class and she let them go early because she wasn't feeling well. I'll prob go home and take a nap if we don't have class :)

Also, FTW, my anthro petition to count my mythology class as an anthro class towards my minor passed through the anthro department! YAYYYY :D

Also (just noticed this is my now 3rd also, oh well :P), HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY VICTORIA (again)!! We went out for her birthday last night and it was a lot of fun. Sat by the Duomo waiting for everyone to come, then drank champagne as we walked to the first bar (Blob), where Victoria got a free drink. Then we went to this next bar near the San Lorenzo market which we got a free bottle of champagne. I bought a blue lagoon which was delicious and very blue! (me piace!) There was also this deal to have 5 'shots' for 5 euro, which a lot of people got. It was kahlua mixed with maybe coke? idk.. didn't taste too good but it got the job done. Oh, and we had a free shot because we had a flyer. THEN we went to a discotecca and danced a bit, which was a lot of fun :)

Ended up getting home around 3 am after practically carrying poor Victoria to Rebecca and Ora's apartment. She ended up blacking out, but that was kind of the goal we had for her since it was her 21st ;)

All in all, really good night :)

Jenna and I are heading to the Duomo later and I think I'm going to buy this hat that I have been eyeing at the market. I actually noticed here how my head gets cold and this hat really keeps it warm and is cute. So I'm excited :)

Ok, so she's not showing up. I'm going to head home and go to sleep :)

Ciao!

PS. Mom, I know you are probably wondering.. FTW= for the win. ;)

Spring Break!

I'll post about Rome later... don't want to spend too much time blogging right now because Jenna and I are going to head over to the chocolate festival in Santa Croce! So excited!

As for spring break:

so far we have booked hostels/ B&B's for:

Nice

Bordeaux

Plane:

back from Amsterdam

Will be booking later:

Bruges

Paris?

Amsterdam will probably be last..

We watched In Bruges last night as suggested by Dan Kaplan... not really the best movie in the world (yes, it IS a guy movie, I don't care what you say) but the city did look beautiful and since Jenna and I had out fill of cities this past weekend, we are going to there instead of Brussels (besides the fact that there is a big Katy Perry concert there for the date we want to go so all the hostels are either full or super expensive- fantastic)

very excited though as Bruges has been referred to as being like a fairytale :)

just have to figure out all the train stuff... not sure whether to get the country pass or not... (Mom I need to talk to you about that ASAP please!)

Also need to book:

- wine tour in Bordeaux

- bike tour in Versailles

:)

off to the festival.. Ciao!

Spring Break Plans !

So, we have a solid idea. Booked a flight home, so IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!

Spring Break Dates: March 3 - 13

Thursday, March 3: Take a train to Nice, France.

Saturday, March 5: Take a train to Bordeaux, France.

Sunday night/ Monday Morning March 6/7: Take an overnight train to Paris, France

Wednesday, March 9: Take a bus to Versailles, France. Return to Paris after

Wednesday evening, March 9: Take a train to Belgium

Friday, March 11: Take a train to Amsterdam

Sunday, March 13: Take a train from Amsterdam to Eindhoven. Fly from Eindhoven to Pisa, Italy. Take a train from PIsa back to Florence.

So far booked: Just the flight back from Eindhoven.. hahahaha

working on hostel and trains as we speak :)

also working on Prague for the weekend of Feb. 11-12 :) hopefully that works out!