Hello all!
Last week the Behlendorf's came to Rome.. I showed them around, and while I was in class they did some exploration of their own. Happy to see them :) Contact Shawn for the details.. she'll be happy to share the story with everyone. (sorry mom! you can probably tell the story better than i can)
Jackie and I left Rome last Thursday night for a weekend in the French Riviera. Our bus left Rome around 7pm, drove to Florence to pick up some more travelers. We arrived in Nice around 5am Friday morning. Long bus ride! We were able to sleep some, watched movies, went by faster than expected.
Friday we visited the medieval town of Eze. It was very small and cute, with beautiful views of cliffs over looking the water, with nice cars everywhere! For the afternoon, we went to the small country of Monaco. Everything was elaborate and dripping in money. After touring the Monte Carlo casino and admiring the cars driving around out front, we saw the harbor, and did a walking tour around the casino. Jackie and I went to the pennie slot machines and started betting. Jackie had better luck than I did, but in the end we both lost all 5 euro that we had put in.. oh well! We then sat our in Cafe Paris next door to the casino and drank a glass of wine while watching the rich and famous drive their expensive cars to and from the casino. Lots of fun! We returned to Nice to our hostel and had dinner at our hostel.
Saturday we visited Antibes. This is a large port town that had cute artisan shops and a big antique market. We then went to Cannes, host of the annual film festival. It wasnt quite the ideal beach day - but we were adament about sitting on the beach in the French Riv! It was windy, sand got everywhere, and it was a little cold for a bathing suit, but so worth it. After, we warmed ourselves up with some authentic French Onion soup. Delish!
Sunday was very rainy. We visited the small town of St. Paul de Vence. Then another 10 hour bus ride back to Rome!
Less than two weeks till I return to the USA!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Updates
All the pictures from Spring Break are up.. enjoy!
Dont forget to read Jackie's Blog as well (jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com) she'll have details that I may have forgotten!
Also, I took down some slideshows from the blog, hoping the page will load more quickly. You can still view all the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mbehlendorf
The family arrives tomorrow, can't wait to show them around Rome!
Dont forget to read Jackie's Blog as well (jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com) she'll have details that I may have forgotten!
Also, I took down some slideshows from the blog, hoping the page will load more quickly. You can still view all the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mbehlendorf
The family arrives tomorrow, can't wait to show them around Rome!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Santorini
Tuesday April 7, 2009
When we woke up, weather was a little cloudy. We got news of the earthquake that had devastated Italy, but unfortunately all news outlets were in Greek, so we could only see the pictures. Later in the day I was able to purchase an international newspaper in English to get updated information. My area of Rome was unaffected, with only feeling a little rumble.
Our hotel offered a boat tour to the volcanic island off-shore. I took a chair-lift down the cliff to the dock with the boat. We sailed over to the island, and climbed around the volcanic cliffs. Our guide was very helpful in explaining the rock forms and different volcanic activity. We then cruised around to another part of the island that had natural hot springs. In the summer, these are like a hot tub, but early in April, not very warm. A few braved the water, I chose to stay dry and on board, watching the others freeze. When we arrived back to the mainland, we all took donkeys up the mountainside. It was pretty scary, but lots of fun! The donkeys felt the need to race and walk right along the edge of the cliff, only adding to the drama. All in all, made it to the top safely!
In the afternoon/evening, we took our ATVs for a ride around the island. The first destination was Oia, known for its sunsets, and its where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed. On the way there, Jackie and I were followed by a local stray dog. It was quite the experience. The dog wouldnt leave us alone, and looked ready to attack! I kept changing speeds and directions trying to get the dog away, but it was persistant with styaing with us. The locals we drove by were laughing at the site of two girls riding an ATV with our feet in the air, screaming, trying to get this dog away.. Luckily the dog was distracted by another group of ATVs, and we drove away as fast as possible. The town of Oia was cute, similar to Mykonos town. We then went to Pygros for dinner. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the sunset and town. I had baked feta and pork souvlaki for dinner.
Wednesday April 8, 2009
Finally a sunny day for the beach! We took the ATVs to the south end of the island, to a beach called Perissa. This beach had black sand from the volcano. We spent the day frying ourselves in the warm Grecian sun, it was a great last day on the islands. We drove around the island a little more in the afternoon.
We spent the afternoon in Fira, the town we were staying in, shopping, and just walking the streets. It was a very cute town, perfect location for us. We were close enough to the beach, but right in the middle of the town life, with close restaurants and things to do. For dinner, we went for a traditional Greek dinner. I had a Greek platter sampling - you'll get to see a picture of it!
We took an overnight ferry back to Piraeus, the port near Athens. The boat left a little after midnight and arrived around 6 am.
When we woke up, weather was a little cloudy. We got news of the earthquake that had devastated Italy, but unfortunately all news outlets were in Greek, so we could only see the pictures. Later in the day I was able to purchase an international newspaper in English to get updated information. My area of Rome was unaffected, with only feeling a little rumble.
Our hotel offered a boat tour to the volcanic island off-shore. I took a chair-lift down the cliff to the dock with the boat. We sailed over to the island, and climbed around the volcanic cliffs. Our guide was very helpful in explaining the rock forms and different volcanic activity. We then cruised around to another part of the island that had natural hot springs. In the summer, these are like a hot tub, but early in April, not very warm. A few braved the water, I chose to stay dry and on board, watching the others freeze. When we arrived back to the mainland, we all took donkeys up the mountainside. It was pretty scary, but lots of fun! The donkeys felt the need to race and walk right along the edge of the cliff, only adding to the drama. All in all, made it to the top safely!
In the afternoon/evening, we took our ATVs for a ride around the island. The first destination was Oia, known for its sunsets, and its where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed. On the way there, Jackie and I were followed by a local stray dog. It was quite the experience. The dog wouldnt leave us alone, and looked ready to attack! I kept changing speeds and directions trying to get the dog away, but it was persistant with styaing with us. The locals we drove by were laughing at the site of two girls riding an ATV with our feet in the air, screaming, trying to get this dog away.. Luckily the dog was distracted by another group of ATVs, and we drove away as fast as possible. The town of Oia was cute, similar to Mykonos town. We then went to Pygros for dinner. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the sunset and town. I had baked feta and pork souvlaki for dinner.
Wednesday April 8, 2009
Finally a sunny day for the beach! We took the ATVs to the south end of the island, to a beach called Perissa. This beach had black sand from the volcano. We spent the day frying ourselves in the warm Grecian sun, it was a great last day on the islands. We drove around the island a little more in the afternoon.
We spent the afternoon in Fira, the town we were staying in, shopping, and just walking the streets. It was a very cute town, perfect location for us. We were close enough to the beach, but right in the middle of the town life, with close restaurants and things to do. For dinner, we went for a traditional Greek dinner. I had a Greek platter sampling - you'll get to see a picture of it!
We took an overnight ferry back to Piraeus, the port near Athens. The boat left a little after midnight and arrived around 6 am.
Mykonos
Friday April 3, 2009
Spring Break week! 13 students, including myself, flew to Greece to enjoy a week of travel, sun, exploration, and relaxation. Our flight to Athens took off about an hour late, but didn’t affect our travel plans. Once we landed in Athens, we hopped on a bus to reach the port of Piraeus, to take a ferry to Mykonos. I had my first gyro (pita wrap with your choice of lamb, chicken, pork and tzatziki (yogurt sauce with cucumber and garlic), and onions. So delicious! Gyros are a cheap good meal as well, running around 2 euro. The ferry ride was about 5 hours long. Our ship reminded me of a cruise ship, comfortable seating, open areas for dining, and other activities. We made one stop at another island. During the 15 min stop, men came on the ship with big baskets and just started yelling. At first, I was a little concerned, not sure what was going on, and couldn’t understand Greek. A man, who could speak English, sitting near us explained the situation. These men were bakers/candy makers and they get on when ships stop and sell their delicacies. I even got to try one! It was covered in powdered sugar, and was sort of like a gummy, with a caramel flavor. Nothing like anything I’ve had before! I spent the rest of the time reading and catching up on some sleep. Once we docked in Mykonos, our hotel owner, Maria, picked us up. Maria was so nice and helpful, and so cheerful. She explained everything we would need to know, pointed out restaurants to try, sights to see, etc. When we arrived at Villa Vasilis (name of the hotel) I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful layout of white buildings set in the countryside of Mykonos. The hotel was located about halfway from town to the beach. I shared a room with 4 other girls, it was sort of like having our own little suite, the room wasn’t connected to anything else. The first night surprised us with how cold it was! We had been expecting (and hoping for) warmer temps, so our packing wasn’t very appropriate!
Saturday April 4, 2009
The weather was sunny but very windy when we woke up. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie, Lizzie, and myself spent the day getting ourselves acquainted with the island. We walked to Mykonos town, taking pictures along the way, and explored the narrow streets. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed. Mykonos, along with the other Cyclades islands, revolve heavily on tourism. The tourist season in this area starts at the end of April and continues through the summer into early fall. We arrived just before the tourists hit, so the shop keepers and restaurants were all prepping for the inflow of people. Walking along the streets, there was a lot of painting, fixing, and other repairs taking place on the outside and inside of all the buildings. While walking along, we saw a peculiar looking pelican. After further research, I found out that this pelican, named Pietro, is the symbol of Mykonos. The original Pietro washed up after a hurricane, and found a new home on the island. After his death, a new pelican was adopted and continues to live there today. After town, we decided to walk to Paradise beach, where the other part of our group was staying. The walk took about an hour from our hotel, but we got to see lots on the way! We sat on the beach for a while. We took a taxi back to our hotel, which are very cheap on the island, about a euro a person. Much less than Rome! For dinner we went to a restaurant on the waterfront that Maria had recommended. I had stuffed grape leaves and chicken souvlaki. I had never had either of these in my life before, and loved them both! Greek cuisine was much more delicious than I had expected.
Sunday April 5, 2009
The weather was very overcast when we woke up, not nice enough for the beach. Maria had recommended that we rent ATVs and explore the island. We drove around, taking in the beautiful landscape, beaches, lots of white houses, and animals. We even found a Starbucks! It was nice to have a little comfort from home. Rome has no chain coffee houses, relying on all local java cafes. These aren’t my favorite, so it was nice to get a caffe Americano. We rode around for about 4 hours, it was lots of fun! For dinner we went to another restaurant recommened by Maria. I had hummus with pita and Kleftiko – a Greek dish with lamb, feta, vegetables, and potatoes all cooked together in tinfoil, and for dessert the local treat of baklava (phyllo dough, nuts, honey) . So delicious!
Monday April 6, 2009
Our last morning in Mykonos was very rainy. We had made it a habit of going to the bakery around the corner every morning, so we had to have one last stop. This Greek bakery rivaled any that I’ve been to in Rome. Their cookies were wonderful, and they made baguettes with feta, tomatoes, and peppers – all for about 1/3 of the price it would cost in Rome. Can’t beat that! Maria drove us to the port and we said good-bye. She had been so accommodating to us, and very helpful. I highly recommend staying where we stayed with Maria if anyone has future plans to Mykonos! We got on the ferry, had a layover in Paros, another island, then on to Santorini. When we arrived in Santorini, the rain from Mykonos had followed us. Our hotel was great, very plain and clean, located in the town of Fira. Two of our friends had been in Mykonos since the beginning of spring break and recommended we rent ATVs for the duration of our stay to get around the island. Jackie and I split the two day rental, only 30 euro/day for both of us. We didn’t want to travel far for dinner, so went to a restuarnat close to our hotel. I had a greek salad and chicken gyro for dinner. After a long day of travel, everyone was really tired, so early to bed!
Spring Break week! 13 students, including myself, flew to Greece to enjoy a week of travel, sun, exploration, and relaxation. Our flight to Athens took off about an hour late, but didn’t affect our travel plans. Once we landed in Athens, we hopped on a bus to reach the port of Piraeus, to take a ferry to Mykonos. I had my first gyro (pita wrap with your choice of lamb, chicken, pork and tzatziki (yogurt sauce with cucumber and garlic), and onions. So delicious! Gyros are a cheap good meal as well, running around 2 euro. The ferry ride was about 5 hours long. Our ship reminded me of a cruise ship, comfortable seating, open areas for dining, and other activities. We made one stop at another island. During the 15 min stop, men came on the ship with big baskets and just started yelling. At first, I was a little concerned, not sure what was going on, and couldn’t understand Greek. A man, who could speak English, sitting near us explained the situation. These men were bakers/candy makers and they get on when ships stop and sell their delicacies. I even got to try one! It was covered in powdered sugar, and was sort of like a gummy, with a caramel flavor. Nothing like anything I’ve had before! I spent the rest of the time reading and catching up on some sleep. Once we docked in Mykonos, our hotel owner, Maria, picked us up. Maria was so nice and helpful, and so cheerful. She explained everything we would need to know, pointed out restaurants to try, sights to see, etc. When we arrived at Villa Vasilis (name of the hotel) I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful layout of white buildings set in the countryside of Mykonos. The hotel was located about halfway from town to the beach. I shared a room with 4 other girls, it was sort of like having our own little suite, the room wasn’t connected to anything else. The first night surprised us with how cold it was! We had been expecting (and hoping for) warmer temps, so our packing wasn’t very appropriate!
Saturday April 4, 2009
The weather was sunny but very windy when we woke up. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie, Lizzie, and myself spent the day getting ourselves acquainted with the island. We walked to Mykonos town, taking pictures along the way, and explored the narrow streets. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed. Mykonos, along with the other Cyclades islands, revolve heavily on tourism. The tourist season in this area starts at the end of April and continues through the summer into early fall. We arrived just before the tourists hit, so the shop keepers and restaurants were all prepping for the inflow of people. Walking along the streets, there was a lot of painting, fixing, and other repairs taking place on the outside and inside of all the buildings. While walking along, we saw a peculiar looking pelican. After further research, I found out that this pelican, named Pietro, is the symbol of Mykonos. The original Pietro washed up after a hurricane, and found a new home on the island. After his death, a new pelican was adopted and continues to live there today. After town, we decided to walk to Paradise beach, where the other part of our group was staying. The walk took about an hour from our hotel, but we got to see lots on the way! We sat on the beach for a while. We took a taxi back to our hotel, which are very cheap on the island, about a euro a person. Much less than Rome! For dinner we went to a restaurant on the waterfront that Maria had recommended. I had stuffed grape leaves and chicken souvlaki. I had never had either of these in my life before, and loved them both! Greek cuisine was much more delicious than I had expected.
Sunday April 5, 2009
The weather was very overcast when we woke up, not nice enough for the beach. Maria had recommended that we rent ATVs and explore the island. We drove around, taking in the beautiful landscape, beaches, lots of white houses, and animals. We even found a Starbucks! It was nice to have a little comfort from home. Rome has no chain coffee houses, relying on all local java cafes. These aren’t my favorite, so it was nice to get a caffe Americano. We rode around for about 4 hours, it was lots of fun! For dinner we went to another restaurant recommened by Maria. I had hummus with pita and Kleftiko – a Greek dish with lamb, feta, vegetables, and potatoes all cooked together in tinfoil, and for dessert the local treat of baklava (phyllo dough, nuts, honey) . So delicious!
Monday April 6, 2009
Our last morning in Mykonos was very rainy. We had made it a habit of going to the bakery around the corner every morning, so we had to have one last stop. This Greek bakery rivaled any that I’ve been to in Rome. Their cookies were wonderful, and they made baguettes with feta, tomatoes, and peppers – all for about 1/3 of the price it would cost in Rome. Can’t beat that! Maria drove us to the port and we said good-bye. She had been so accommodating to us, and very helpful. I highly recommend staying where we stayed with Maria if anyone has future plans to Mykonos! We got on the ferry, had a layover in Paros, another island, then on to Santorini. When we arrived in Santorini, the rain from Mykonos had followed us. Our hotel was great, very plain and clean, located in the town of Fira. Two of our friends had been in Mykonos since the beginning of spring break and recommended we rent ATVs for the duration of our stay to get around the island. Jackie and I split the two day rental, only 30 euro/day for both of us. We didn’t want to travel far for dinner, so went to a restuarnat close to our hotel. I had a greek salad and chicken gyro for dinner. After a long day of travel, everyone was really tired, so early to bed!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Off for Spring Break
I'm off on Spring Break! I will be leaving tomorrow morning to fly to Athens, then head to Mykonos, Santorini, back to Athens, returning to Rome for Easter. Have a good week!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Weekend trip to Ireland
Thursday March 26, 2009
After class on Thursday, my friends Lizzie, Jess, and I went straight to the airport to catch our flight headed to Dublin. We landed in Dublin around 8pm local time. We found our hostel, called Barnacles, easily, and settled in. We were staying in a 10-bed hostel room. We shared the room with girls from England who were in Dublin to celebrate one of their 18th birthdays. Our hostel was in a great location, central to many of the tourist spots. The city itself isn’t very big, at least in comparison to Rome, so we were able to navigate on foot. Thursday night we went to a few local pubs, near our hostel. Everyone we met was so friendly, and their accents were great, wish I had one!
Friday March 27, 2009
On Friday, we caught an 8 am bus to Galway. The bus took about 4 hours and had stops in various towns along the way. I slept for the first two hours or so, and then the rest of the time I enjoyed the gorgeous rolling hills with many sheep, cows, and stone walls. It rained on and off, one minute it would be sunny, the next down pouring, it was sort of unpredictable. One of the locals we spoke to told us they call it the schizophrenic weather system. When we arrived in Galway, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel. We were staying at the sister hostel of Barnacles, where we stayed in Dublin. This time we only had 1 other roommate, a girl from LA who was studying in the Netherlands and in Ireland for the weekend. We spent the day walking around, poking in and out of shops, taking pictures, exploring the town. We went into a cathedral, I think it was the Galway Cathedral, but not sure! It was interesting to see the differences between the churches in Ireland, and compare them to Italy. Italy has much more intricate and elaborate décor, while Ireland is mostly stone, with modest decoration. The town of Galway itself wasn’t very big. For lunch, we had delicious soup and sandwich. I also really liked the coffee, it was like American coffee – something you can’t find in Rome! While in one of the shops, I bought some Walsh memorabilia. I am half a Walsh, from my mother’s side. While paying, the cashier informed me that Walsh is a good strong Western Ireland name. In Clifton, a town west of Galway, she informed me that there is a fantastic bakery, run by a family named Walsh. I know I had some relatives from Clifton come to the US – guess there are still some in the town running a great bakery! It was too far to try and make it, but someday I’ll go back! Also included in my purchases was a real Irish wool sweater – it’ll be perfect for the cold Vermont winter. For dinner we went to a local fish and chips place that we had a recommendation for.
Saturday March 28, 2009
Saturday we were up early again to catch a bus back to Dublin. The bus ride back was very sunny, and pretty, we lucked out with our weather. Saturday was a perfect day to walk around Dublin, no rain, and a nice breeze to keep us cool. We ended up in the same hostel room as Thursday night. This time we shared it with a young German couple, an older Irish couple, and twin brother and sister from Toronto. All were in Dublin for various reasons, it was interesting to hear everyone’s story, and swap travel stories.
In Dublin, we took a self-guided tour of the city. With our maps in hand, we found the big spots to see. We knew we wanted to go to the Guiness factory that closed at 5 so we had to get everything in before then! We first walked to the Trinity College Campus. The campus was gorgeous, very well maintained and manicured. The campus is host to the Book of Kells, a handwritten and hand illustrated bible completed by monks in the 9th century. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside, but it was beautifully done – it must have taken ages to complete. Also on the Trinity College campus is the Trinity College library which holds the oldest and most famous Irish manuscripts. It smelled very musty!
Next, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was impressive from the outside, but too expensive to go in, so we enjoyed it from the outside! We continued our walking tour by Christ Church Cathedral, and on to Dublin Castle. We didn’t do enough preliminary research, so I don’t know much history; just know they are famous in town! I’ll have to do some post-travel research and learn about what I saw.
Last stop of the day was the Guinness factory. The tour itself was self-guided and set up in an uprising circle. We got the history, saw how Guinness was made, saw how the advertising has progressed, and pretty much everything else you would want to know about Guinness. At the top of the building we reached Gravity Bar which is a glass enclosure with views of Dublin and a free pint of Guinness. I took the pint glass as a souvenir!
For dinner in Dublin, we got Chinese food. We knew we didn’t want Italian food, we can get enough of that in Rome, and ironically, we nearly every other restaurant was Italian cuisine. Couldn’t get away!
Sunday March 29, 2009
Our flight out of Dublin was at 7 am, so we were up early again to get to the airport. Travel went smoothly, and made it back to my apartment in Rome around 1pm. I had a great weekend in Ireland. Out of all the places I’ve been so far, Ireland is definitely a country I want to visit again. The people were very friendly, and there are so many places to see and things to do! 3 days was not enough.
This week is pretty busy again, with exams and other school work. On Friday, our spring break begins. There is a group of 12 of us going to Greece for the break. We are spending time in Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens. Can’t wait!
After class on Thursday, my friends Lizzie, Jess, and I went straight to the airport to catch our flight headed to Dublin. We landed in Dublin around 8pm local time. We found our hostel, called Barnacles, easily, and settled in. We were staying in a 10-bed hostel room. We shared the room with girls from England who were in Dublin to celebrate one of their 18th birthdays. Our hostel was in a great location, central to many of the tourist spots. The city itself isn’t very big, at least in comparison to Rome, so we were able to navigate on foot. Thursday night we went to a few local pubs, near our hostel. Everyone we met was so friendly, and their accents were great, wish I had one!
Friday March 27, 2009
On Friday, we caught an 8 am bus to Galway. The bus took about 4 hours and had stops in various towns along the way. I slept for the first two hours or so, and then the rest of the time I enjoyed the gorgeous rolling hills with many sheep, cows, and stone walls. It rained on and off, one minute it would be sunny, the next down pouring, it was sort of unpredictable. One of the locals we spoke to told us they call it the schizophrenic weather system. When we arrived in Galway, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel. We were staying at the sister hostel of Barnacles, where we stayed in Dublin. This time we only had 1 other roommate, a girl from LA who was studying in the Netherlands and in Ireland for the weekend. We spent the day walking around, poking in and out of shops, taking pictures, exploring the town. We went into a cathedral, I think it was the Galway Cathedral, but not sure! It was interesting to see the differences between the churches in Ireland, and compare them to Italy. Italy has much more intricate and elaborate décor, while Ireland is mostly stone, with modest decoration. The town of Galway itself wasn’t very big. For lunch, we had delicious soup and sandwich. I also really liked the coffee, it was like American coffee – something you can’t find in Rome! While in one of the shops, I bought some Walsh memorabilia. I am half a Walsh, from my mother’s side. While paying, the cashier informed me that Walsh is a good strong Western Ireland name. In Clifton, a town west of Galway, she informed me that there is a fantastic bakery, run by a family named Walsh. I know I had some relatives from Clifton come to the US – guess there are still some in the town running a great bakery! It was too far to try and make it, but someday I’ll go back! Also included in my purchases was a real Irish wool sweater – it’ll be perfect for the cold Vermont winter. For dinner we went to a local fish and chips place that we had a recommendation for.
Saturday March 28, 2009
Saturday we were up early again to catch a bus back to Dublin. The bus ride back was very sunny, and pretty, we lucked out with our weather. Saturday was a perfect day to walk around Dublin, no rain, and a nice breeze to keep us cool. We ended up in the same hostel room as Thursday night. This time we shared it with a young German couple, an older Irish couple, and twin brother and sister from Toronto. All were in Dublin for various reasons, it was interesting to hear everyone’s story, and swap travel stories.
In Dublin, we took a self-guided tour of the city. With our maps in hand, we found the big spots to see. We knew we wanted to go to the Guiness factory that closed at 5 so we had to get everything in before then! We first walked to the Trinity College Campus. The campus was gorgeous, very well maintained and manicured. The campus is host to the Book of Kells, a handwritten and hand illustrated bible completed by monks in the 9th century. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside, but it was beautifully done – it must have taken ages to complete. Also on the Trinity College campus is the Trinity College library which holds the oldest and most famous Irish manuscripts. It smelled very musty!
Next, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was impressive from the outside, but too expensive to go in, so we enjoyed it from the outside! We continued our walking tour by Christ Church Cathedral, and on to Dublin Castle. We didn’t do enough preliminary research, so I don’t know much history; just know they are famous in town! I’ll have to do some post-travel research and learn about what I saw.
Last stop of the day was the Guinness factory. The tour itself was self-guided and set up in an uprising circle. We got the history, saw how Guinness was made, saw how the advertising has progressed, and pretty much everything else you would want to know about Guinness. At the top of the building we reached Gravity Bar which is a glass enclosure with views of Dublin and a free pint of Guinness. I took the pint glass as a souvenir!
For dinner in Dublin, we got Chinese food. We knew we didn’t want Italian food, we can get enough of that in Rome, and ironically, we nearly every other restaurant was Italian cuisine. Couldn’t get away!
Sunday March 29, 2009
Our flight out of Dublin was at 7 am, so we were up early again to get to the airport. Travel went smoothly, and made it back to my apartment in Rome around 1pm. I had a great weekend in Ireland. Out of all the places I’ve been so far, Ireland is definitely a country I want to visit again. The people were very friendly, and there are so many places to see and things to do! 3 days was not enough.
This week is pretty busy again, with exams and other school work. On Friday, our spring break begins. There is a group of 12 of us going to Greece for the break. We are spending time in Mykonos, Santorini, and Athens. Can’t wait!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weekend to Naples, Pompeii, Capri
Kyle (aunt) and Kirsten (cousin) arrived in Rome last Wednesday morning. I spent the morning with them touring the highlights of Rome. Thursday we spent the day exploring the Roman forum, where the ancient city center ruins are, took a tour of the Colosseum. As long as I’ve been here, this was my first time in either of these historical sites. Kyle, Kir and I tried a couple new restaurants, all were delicious! Can’t say that I’ve found a place I don’t like..
My program had a trip planned for the weekend to Naples, Pompeii and Capri. We left early Friday morning by bus, and drove down to Pompeii. Our group spent the afternoon touring the ruins of Pompeii. It was pretty cold and overcast, but we were able to see the highlights of the dig. We saw the ancient streets, where shops and houses used to be, along with their amphitheater and other key town buildings. We saw the room full of the bodies, pots, and other instruments they have discovered. It was pretty sad to see it all, the city was buried by the volcanic eruption. We then got on the bus again, and drove to Vico Equense, the town our hotel was in. This small town just happened to be the town Jackie and I were dropped off in by the German tour bus just a few short weeks ago.. go figure!
Saturday morning we were up early and bussed into Naples to visit the National Archaeological Museum. This museum holds many artifacts excavated from Pompeii ruins. We saw paintings, mosaics, and other house décor used in the ancient times. After touring the museum for a few hours, Jackie, Lizzie, and I went out for some real Neapolitan pizza. We didn’t have much free time in the city, so we weren’t able to do too much walking around. Our group boarded the buses again to go to Mt. Vesuvius. The bus drove us up as far as it could, then the group hiked to the top. It was very cold! The views were beautiful and we saw into the volcanic crater, there was even steam coming out! It was really cool knowing we were on top of an active volcano. We returned to the buses, and went back to our hotel.
Sunday, we were up even earlier to catch the ferry to Capri. We had free time all day. Jackie, Lizzie, and I spent the day wandering through the narrow streets, looking through shops, enjoying the beautiful island. The island was pretty ritzy, nearly ever designer had a shop there. In the afternoon, we took an hour boat cruise around the island. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough, and the tide too high for us to go into the blue grotto. The tour was awesome, got to see the whole island. The day went by too fast, wish we had more time! We took the ferry back to Naples, then bussed back to Rome.
This week is pretty busy for me, I have 2 exams. On Thursday after class, I’m off to Ireland with a few friends. We are spending two nights in Dublin, and one in Galway. Should be fun!
I’ve put up pictures from this weekend – check them out!!
My program had a trip planned for the weekend to Naples, Pompeii and Capri. We left early Friday morning by bus, and drove down to Pompeii. Our group spent the afternoon touring the ruins of Pompeii. It was pretty cold and overcast, but we were able to see the highlights of the dig. We saw the ancient streets, where shops and houses used to be, along with their amphitheater and other key town buildings. We saw the room full of the bodies, pots, and other instruments they have discovered. It was pretty sad to see it all, the city was buried by the volcanic eruption. We then got on the bus again, and drove to Vico Equense, the town our hotel was in. This small town just happened to be the town Jackie and I were dropped off in by the German tour bus just a few short weeks ago.. go figure!
Saturday morning we were up early and bussed into Naples to visit the National Archaeological Museum. This museum holds many artifacts excavated from Pompeii ruins. We saw paintings, mosaics, and other house décor used in the ancient times. After touring the museum for a few hours, Jackie, Lizzie, and I went out for some real Neapolitan pizza. We didn’t have much free time in the city, so we weren’t able to do too much walking around. Our group boarded the buses again to go to Mt. Vesuvius. The bus drove us up as far as it could, then the group hiked to the top. It was very cold! The views were beautiful and we saw into the volcanic crater, there was even steam coming out! It was really cool knowing we were on top of an active volcano. We returned to the buses, and went back to our hotel.
Sunday, we were up even earlier to catch the ferry to Capri. We had free time all day. Jackie, Lizzie, and I spent the day wandering through the narrow streets, looking through shops, enjoying the beautiful island. The island was pretty ritzy, nearly ever designer had a shop there. In the afternoon, we took an hour boat cruise around the island. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough, and the tide too high for us to go into the blue grotto. The tour was awesome, got to see the whole island. The day went by too fast, wish we had more time! We took the ferry back to Naples, then bussed back to Rome.
This week is pretty busy for me, I have 2 exams. On Thursday after class, I’m off to Ireland with a few friends. We are spending two nights in Dublin, and one in Galway. Should be fun!
I’ve put up pictures from this weekend – check them out!!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
UVM comes to Rome
This week was spring break week for UVM, and 7 girls came over for the week. They packed in as much as possible! In between classes I was able to walk around with them and do some sightseeing. I had a great time with them, I hope they had fun too!
Kyle and Kir come Wednesday morning. Can't wait to show them around Rome!
I'm putting up a few more picture albums today. They include photos of my Italian apartment, my class trip to the Vatican, and a day visit to the coastal town of Sperlonga.. Enjoy!
Kyle and Kir come Wednesday morning. Can't wait to show them around Rome!
I'm putting up a few more picture albums today. They include photos of my Italian apartment, my class trip to the Vatican, and a day visit to the coastal town of Sperlonga.. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Cooking Class, Almalfi Coast
Monday March 2, 2009
Our program offers activities for students pretty frequently and on Monday, I attended the cooking class. For the class, we go to a family’s house in Rome and the wife teaches us new recipes, then eat our makings. There were 5 other students there with me. The family was extremely nice and friendly. The husband is a photography professor at the University and a free-lance photographer on the side. They have an 11 year old daughter. When we go there, it was hands-on right away. The menu consisted of a pasta dish with gorgonzola cheese sauce, beer battered chicken with a delicious gravy, and a fruit and chocolate roll for dessert. I was in charge of flouring all the chicken pieces, and there were a lot. It was pretty much 2 whole chickens just chopped up, bones and all. We all had different tasks, bringing our meal together. We dined and talked with the parents, the daughter studies English at school, so she practiced her language skills with her, and we practiced our Italian with her. It was interesting talking to local Romans who had grown up in the area and to hear about things changing in the city and their outlook, and the food was delicious!
Friday March 6, 2009
Since we don’t have classes on Friday, Jackie and I decided to have an adventure day. Jackie has family from Almalfi, so we made it our goal to make it to the town. We did some preliminary research, but decided we could sort of wing it, and it would be fun for a quest through the Italian countryside. We started the day at 6:30 am and headed to the train station. From the Rome Termini train station we took a train to Naples, buying round-trip tickets. We made a rookie travel mistake though. On the roundtrip ticket we bought it to take a 10:00 train home, forgetting that Italy uses the 24 hr time system, so it was a 10am ticket, NOT a 10pm like we thought. Therefore we bought a ticket back to Rome the very same time we would arrive to Naples. Jackie realized our mistake on the train, and we were able to get a different ticket for the ride home. Upon arrival in Naples, we got on another train to go to Sorrento. This train was more of like an above-ground subway, not as comfortable as the last train. Once we arrived in Sorrento, we asked around for the way to Almalfi. We were instructed to hop on a blue bus and we would be taken there. So we got on the blue bus, driving toward Almalfi. Driving on the roads in this part of Italy is scary, but so gorgeous. The water was a color blue I’ve never seen, almost turquoise in color. The road curves around the cliffs of the landscape, and the driver was not very cautious, whipping around the corners. All of a sudden, the bus stops, the driver tells us the road is closed and we must walk 1km for another bus. Jackie and I start walking, in the rain, to find this other bus. After about 20 min of walking, we come across some locals. We ask where the bus is, and the man guarantees the next bus to Almalfi will come in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, it’s still raining, and these men begin to barricade the road off, not letting any cars through. After about 40 minutes of waiting, and no bus, we realized we needed a new plan. With the road barricade, there was a string of cars and one tour bus lined up. Jackie gets brave, and asked the tour bus driver if we could hitch a ride with them. The tour leader was very friendly and said they were headed toward Sorrento and would be happy to have us aboard. So Jackie and I boarded this tour bus to get a ride home. Almalfi was sort of out of the question at this point, it was about 12 miles away, and we had no real way of getting there. The Italian public transportation system is not always reliable, and this tour bus was a sure thing. So on board, we find ourselves amongst a tour of German senior citizens, none of whom speak very much English, and they had very German music playing the entire bus ride. Since the road was blocked, the bus had to go up and over the cliffs. The ride was gorgeous. Jackie and I got a free tour of the Almalfi coast with this tour, we were out of the rain, and we knew we could make it back to a train station. The tour leader was very friendly and was able to drop us off right in front of a train station that would take us back to Naples. At this point, we were starving, and found the closest restaurant and got a large pizza to split. After eating, we went back to Naples, then took a train back to Rome. While we never quite made it to Almalfi, we certainly had quite the adventure.
Saturday March 7, 2009
UVM spring break began today, and 7 of my friends flew over for the week. Lizzie and I picked them up at the airport, then got them all settled in Rome. Can’t wait to show them all around!
Our program offers activities for students pretty frequently and on Monday, I attended the cooking class. For the class, we go to a family’s house in Rome and the wife teaches us new recipes, then eat our makings. There were 5 other students there with me. The family was extremely nice and friendly. The husband is a photography professor at the University and a free-lance photographer on the side. They have an 11 year old daughter. When we go there, it was hands-on right away. The menu consisted of a pasta dish with gorgonzola cheese sauce, beer battered chicken with a delicious gravy, and a fruit and chocolate roll for dessert. I was in charge of flouring all the chicken pieces, and there were a lot. It was pretty much 2 whole chickens just chopped up, bones and all. We all had different tasks, bringing our meal together. We dined and talked with the parents, the daughter studies English at school, so she practiced her language skills with her, and we practiced our Italian with her. It was interesting talking to local Romans who had grown up in the area and to hear about things changing in the city and their outlook, and the food was delicious!
Friday March 6, 2009
Since we don’t have classes on Friday, Jackie and I decided to have an adventure day. Jackie has family from Almalfi, so we made it our goal to make it to the town. We did some preliminary research, but decided we could sort of wing it, and it would be fun for a quest through the Italian countryside. We started the day at 6:30 am and headed to the train station. From the Rome Termini train station we took a train to Naples, buying round-trip tickets. We made a rookie travel mistake though. On the roundtrip ticket we bought it to take a 10:00 train home, forgetting that Italy uses the 24 hr time system, so it was a 10am ticket, NOT a 10pm like we thought. Therefore we bought a ticket back to Rome the very same time we would arrive to Naples. Jackie realized our mistake on the train, and we were able to get a different ticket for the ride home. Upon arrival in Naples, we got on another train to go to Sorrento. This train was more of like an above-ground subway, not as comfortable as the last train. Once we arrived in Sorrento, we asked around for the way to Almalfi. We were instructed to hop on a blue bus and we would be taken there. So we got on the blue bus, driving toward Almalfi. Driving on the roads in this part of Italy is scary, but so gorgeous. The water was a color blue I’ve never seen, almost turquoise in color. The road curves around the cliffs of the landscape, and the driver was not very cautious, whipping around the corners. All of a sudden, the bus stops, the driver tells us the road is closed and we must walk 1km for another bus. Jackie and I start walking, in the rain, to find this other bus. After about 20 min of walking, we come across some locals. We ask where the bus is, and the man guarantees the next bus to Almalfi will come in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, it’s still raining, and these men begin to barricade the road off, not letting any cars through. After about 40 minutes of waiting, and no bus, we realized we needed a new plan. With the road barricade, there was a string of cars and one tour bus lined up. Jackie gets brave, and asked the tour bus driver if we could hitch a ride with them. The tour leader was very friendly and said they were headed toward Sorrento and would be happy to have us aboard. So Jackie and I boarded this tour bus to get a ride home. Almalfi was sort of out of the question at this point, it was about 12 miles away, and we had no real way of getting there. The Italian public transportation system is not always reliable, and this tour bus was a sure thing. So on board, we find ourselves amongst a tour of German senior citizens, none of whom speak very much English, and they had very German music playing the entire bus ride. Since the road was blocked, the bus had to go up and over the cliffs. The ride was gorgeous. Jackie and I got a free tour of the Almalfi coast with this tour, we were out of the rain, and we knew we could make it back to a train station. The tour leader was very friendly and was able to drop us off right in front of a train station that would take us back to Naples. At this point, we were starving, and found the closest restaurant and got a large pizza to split. After eating, we went back to Naples, then took a train back to Rome. While we never quite made it to Almalfi, we certainly had quite the adventure.
Saturday March 7, 2009
UVM spring break began today, and 7 of my friends flew over for the week. Lizzie and I picked them up at the airport, then got them all settled in Rome. Can’t wait to show them all around!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
End of February in Roma
Well I had a busy week here in Rome. First off – my cell phone was returned to me! I had left it in a taxi, and the driver called one of my friends from the phone, and we got reconnected. I was very lucky! Classes are going well, I have the first round of quizzes coming this week, and I had a presentation to do in my marketing class on Thursday. My presentation went well; it was on Kodak and their sort of downfall since the late 90s. The longer I live here, the more I love Rome. The people are pretty laid back, the city is beautiful, and the food is delicious. I have nothing to complain about!
On Friday, my Art and Culture class had a day-long field trip to the Vatican. We started in the Vatican museum, which houses works by Bernini, Caravaggio, and Rafael. It was much more meaningful to have learned about these pieces before seeing them, it definitely left more of an impact on me. We then saw the infamous Sistine Chapel. My first reaction was the size, I picture it much bigger! While it was still a large chapel, it was not as immense as I had pictured. We studied the ceiling, which of course was painted by Michelangelo, and learned the progression of the works. I was able to sneak a couple of pics! For the finale, we entered St. Peters Basilica. The sheer size left me in awe. It was huge, the largest Catholic church in the world. Around the sides there are a couple of deceased Popes whose bodies have been preserved and put on display. This was really eerie and creepy to see. There are many sculptures and statues. There are no paintings though, everything is made out of a mosaic or sculpture. Everything was gorgeous inside.
Saturday, 5 of my friends and I took a train to Ostia Antica. This was a small town with ancient ruins about a half hour from Rome. It was a sunny, warm day, so it was perfect for walking around. We saw the ruins, and then headed to the beach! While it was not quite bathing suit weather, it was comforting to sit by the water. We went to a local diner for lunch, then headed back to Roma.
Sunday morning, Jackie and I went to mass at St. Peters. Mass was at 10:30. We arrived around 9:45, went through quick security, and were seated in pews by 10am. We were lucky to get there early, there weren’t very many seats left in the pews. When mass started, the procession walked in, lead by incense or some sort of smoke. It immediately filled the church with a heavy scent, kind of like walking into a yankee candle store and being completely overwhelmed. The Pope was surrounded by nearly 30 priests, and several altar boys. The mass began in Latin, continued in Italian, and I heard some French for one of the readings. During the 1st reading, the elderly gentleman sitting next to me fainted. It was quite the ordeal. One of his family members ran to get a medic, then a man in front of us said he was a doctor, and wanted to help. The medic came followed by a dozen men in suits. They tried to pick the man up, who was in and out of consciousness, but in the mean while, he fell on me. Finally, they got him situation lying on a pew. Meanwhile, mass continued, but most were distracted. About 6 pews of people needed to be cleared out, pews moved, and a stretcher brought in, and the man was carried off. It was very scary, and I felt awful for the family, but the Vatican had a good team of people to help him. Mass continued as normal. Communion took a little while, and you could tell there were some tourists who had never been to a Catholic mass before and didn’t know what to do. I was surprised to see that in the communion line, people were taking pictures as they walked up. This made the mass seem a little bit more of a performance than an actual service. When the mass ended, Jackie and I were able to shift over a pew and were very close to the Pope! Got to see him up close and personal. After mass, we enjoyed some pizza from a local stand, then shopped for a little while. It was rainy out, and we figured it was a good day for the movies. Slumdog Millionaire was playing in English with Italian subtitles, so we went to see it. GREAT movie! If you haven’t seen it, definitely go, it deserved all those awards in my opinion!
On Friday, my Art and Culture class had a day-long field trip to the Vatican. We started in the Vatican museum, which houses works by Bernini, Caravaggio, and Rafael. It was much more meaningful to have learned about these pieces before seeing them, it definitely left more of an impact on me. We then saw the infamous Sistine Chapel. My first reaction was the size, I picture it much bigger! While it was still a large chapel, it was not as immense as I had pictured. We studied the ceiling, which of course was painted by Michelangelo, and learned the progression of the works. I was able to sneak a couple of pics! For the finale, we entered St. Peters Basilica. The sheer size left me in awe. It was huge, the largest Catholic church in the world. Around the sides there are a couple of deceased Popes whose bodies have been preserved and put on display. This was really eerie and creepy to see. There are many sculptures and statues. There are no paintings though, everything is made out of a mosaic or sculpture. Everything was gorgeous inside.
Saturday, 5 of my friends and I took a train to Ostia Antica. This was a small town with ancient ruins about a half hour from Rome. It was a sunny, warm day, so it was perfect for walking around. We saw the ruins, and then headed to the beach! While it was not quite bathing suit weather, it was comforting to sit by the water. We went to a local diner for lunch, then headed back to Roma.
Sunday morning, Jackie and I went to mass at St. Peters. Mass was at 10:30. We arrived around 9:45, went through quick security, and were seated in pews by 10am. We were lucky to get there early, there weren’t very many seats left in the pews. When mass started, the procession walked in, lead by incense or some sort of smoke. It immediately filled the church with a heavy scent, kind of like walking into a yankee candle store and being completely overwhelmed. The Pope was surrounded by nearly 30 priests, and several altar boys. The mass began in Latin, continued in Italian, and I heard some French for one of the readings. During the 1st reading, the elderly gentleman sitting next to me fainted. It was quite the ordeal. One of his family members ran to get a medic, then a man in front of us said he was a doctor, and wanted to help. The medic came followed by a dozen men in suits. They tried to pick the man up, who was in and out of consciousness, but in the mean while, he fell on me. Finally, they got him situation lying on a pew. Meanwhile, mass continued, but most were distracted. About 6 pews of people needed to be cleared out, pews moved, and a stretcher brought in, and the man was carried off. It was very scary, and I felt awful for the family, but the Vatican had a good team of people to help him. Mass continued as normal. Communion took a little while, and you could tell there were some tourists who had never been to a Catholic mass before and didn’t know what to do. I was surprised to see that in the communion line, people were taking pictures as they walked up. This made the mass seem a little bit more of a performance than an actual service. When the mass ended, Jackie and I were able to shift over a pew and were very close to the Pope! Got to see him up close and personal. After mass, we enjoyed some pizza from a local stand, then shopped for a little while. It was rainy out, and we figured it was a good day for the movies. Slumdog Millionaire was playing in English with Italian subtitles, so we went to see it. GREAT movie! If you haven’t seen it, definitely go, it deserved all those awards in my opinion!
Monday, February 23, 2009
21st Birthday Weekend!
I'm now officially 21! Saturday night kids from my program and I went to the Roma vs. Siena soccer game. The game was lots of fun, the fans sure do get into it. Sunday, I spent the day walking around Rome, eating gelato, and enjoying the day. Unfortunately I lost my phone on Saturday night, sorry to those of you who tried to call me! Sunday night me and 5 friends went to dinner in the Trestevere area of Rome. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday. Ill put up pictures soon!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Barcelona Weekend
Thursday February 12, 2009 – Off to Barcelona!
After class on Thursday, I made my way via city bus to Termini train station to catch a bus to Ciampino, an airport just outside of Rome. Off to Barcelona for the weekend! I was sort of nervous about timing issues, but there was a reliable shuttle to and from the airport every 20 min or so. My friend, Lizzie, and I were visiting our friend Erica from UVM who was in a study abroad program in Barcelona. We flew Ryan Air, a low budget airline throughout Europe. A round trip ticket to Barcelona, on short notice, cost 100 euro. Travel-wise everything was very smooth. We landed in Barcelona around 10 pm. We took a metro to Erica’s apartment, located just a block from Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. This church was started by Gaudi in 1909. He worked on it until he was killed on site by a bus. Construction continues today, and is projected to finish in 2030. The church was intricate and colorful, with everything deriving from something in nature. I will post some pictures to show this new-age cathedral. Erica was kind enough to house us for the weekend, much appreciated!
Friday February 13, 2009 – Tour of the City
Friday, we did a self-guided tour of Barcelona. We toured the major street of Las Ramblas. This touristy street had many flower shops, postcard stands, souvenir shops, and lots and lots of street performers. There were scary ones, funny ones, entertaining ones, and just plain weird ones. At the end of Las Ramblas is a marina area on the water. It was very pretty with palm trees lining the streets, it felt very tropical. We also walked through the Bario Gotic region of Barcelona. For dinner, we went to a Tapas restaurant. These were little appetizers sort of, and you just sample a whole bunch of them for dinner. At this particular restaurant, your placemat was your menu, the waiter will come around and you just point to the ones you want, he brings them, then go on to round 2 to try some more. It was fun.
Saturday February 14, 2009 – Valentine’s Day in Barcelona
Happy Valentine’s Day! We got a late start on the overcast day in Barcelona. We ventured up to Mont Juic, where the 1992 Olympics were held. This spot had a beautiful view of the city, along with the major ports for imports/exports from the water. Everything in Barcelona is on a much later time table than I was used to. A group of 7 girls went out to dinner for paella, a traditional rice dish. We didn’t go to dinner until 11:30 pm! This was pretty much the norm, there was even a wait at that hour. For all of us to eat, the restaurant served the paella in the largest frying pan I have ever seen. In the picture with the empty pan, there is a standard size dinner plate in the background, and you can get a feel for just how large this dish was. We had no problem finishing it either, it was delicious! It came with every type of seafood imaginable. I also got to sample the famous drink of Barcelona, Sangria. We weren’t finished with dinner until nearly 1 am! In Barcelona the common language is Catalan, not Spanish, though nearly all are multi-lingual. After listening to natives speak, I noticed they also give themselves a sort of lisp in their language. I thought this was an interesting observation.
Sunday February 15, 2009 – Parc Guell, Last Night in Barcelona
For our last full day in Barcelona, we toured Parc Guell. This was Gaudi’s home, and holds many of his sculptures. For any of you America’s Next Top Model fans, the finale for the Caridee/Melrose season was also held here, you’ll recognize the runway in the pics! The park itself was cool, it was almost like a candy-land, with colorful buildings and different sculptures. The world’s longest, curviest bench is in the park, with a beautiful mosaic background. We also went and saw the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona. For dinner, we tried a new tapas restaurant. This one was set up more like a bar. Along the bar were all sorts of tapas, each with a toothpick in it. You go along, sample the ones you want, and collect your toothpicks, and when you’re done sampling, you count your toothpicks and that’s how you pay. Each cost about a euro. It was nice to be able to sample different things; there were lots of different seafood options.
Monday February 16, 2009 – Goodbye Barcelona, Back to Roma
I am fortunate enough to not have class until 2pm on Mondays, so we were able to come back early Monday morning, and have one last full day in Barcelona. Lizzie and I took the very first metro, at 5am, to our bus station to head to Gerona for our flight. Everything went just as smoothly on the return travel. We were back in Rome around 11am. My Art and Culture class went to the Pantheon for class. This monument was built between the years of 118-125 AD. This building is an architectural masterpiece. It has not been restored or mended, everything is original, and is still in good shape today. The name Pantheon in Greek translates to ‘ Dedicated to all Gods’. The building is a perfect shape, the same width as height, to the exact centimeter. The ruler at the time was Hadrian, who ordered the structure to be built. The architect, who hasn’t been officially identified but many think his name was Appolodonus, placed 6 of Hadrian’s most favorite Gods as sculptures in the building. There is a circular hole in the top of the building, which creates a spotlight with the sun. Through the genius design, on the birthdays of the certain Gods, because of the time of year and the positioning of the sun, the light will shine on that God. This was a 1st century creation! I was amazed. For all the visitors coming, I have many more fun facts to share, and plan on taking you on my own personally guided tour of all the things I have learned in this class. Wednesday’s class we’re going to the Colosseum and ancient ruins.
Jackie’s parents are here for the week, along with her younger brother. Tonight they invited me to join them for dinner. We went to a great very authentic Italian restaurant, where the wait staff was pleased to serve us all sorts of wonderful appetizers, a cheese platters, mozzarella, arancina, along with some different red wines. For an entrée I had cod wrapped in eggplant. All was very, very good! We of course topped it off with gelato. Be sure to read Jackie’s blog, it was our first weekend apart from each other! www.jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com
After class on Thursday, I made my way via city bus to Termini train station to catch a bus to Ciampino, an airport just outside of Rome. Off to Barcelona for the weekend! I was sort of nervous about timing issues, but there was a reliable shuttle to and from the airport every 20 min or so. My friend, Lizzie, and I were visiting our friend Erica from UVM who was in a study abroad program in Barcelona. We flew Ryan Air, a low budget airline throughout Europe. A round trip ticket to Barcelona, on short notice, cost 100 euro. Travel-wise everything was very smooth. We landed in Barcelona around 10 pm. We took a metro to Erica’s apartment, located just a block from Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. This church was started by Gaudi in 1909. He worked on it until he was killed on site by a bus. Construction continues today, and is projected to finish in 2030. The church was intricate and colorful, with everything deriving from something in nature. I will post some pictures to show this new-age cathedral. Erica was kind enough to house us for the weekend, much appreciated!
Friday February 13, 2009 – Tour of the City
Friday, we did a self-guided tour of Barcelona. We toured the major street of Las Ramblas. This touristy street had many flower shops, postcard stands, souvenir shops, and lots and lots of street performers. There were scary ones, funny ones, entertaining ones, and just plain weird ones. At the end of Las Ramblas is a marina area on the water. It was very pretty with palm trees lining the streets, it felt very tropical. We also walked through the Bario Gotic region of Barcelona. For dinner, we went to a Tapas restaurant. These were little appetizers sort of, and you just sample a whole bunch of them for dinner. At this particular restaurant, your placemat was your menu, the waiter will come around and you just point to the ones you want, he brings them, then go on to round 2 to try some more. It was fun.
Saturday February 14, 2009 – Valentine’s Day in Barcelona
Happy Valentine’s Day! We got a late start on the overcast day in Barcelona. We ventured up to Mont Juic, where the 1992 Olympics were held. This spot had a beautiful view of the city, along with the major ports for imports/exports from the water. Everything in Barcelona is on a much later time table than I was used to. A group of 7 girls went out to dinner for paella, a traditional rice dish. We didn’t go to dinner until 11:30 pm! This was pretty much the norm, there was even a wait at that hour. For all of us to eat, the restaurant served the paella in the largest frying pan I have ever seen. In the picture with the empty pan, there is a standard size dinner plate in the background, and you can get a feel for just how large this dish was. We had no problem finishing it either, it was delicious! It came with every type of seafood imaginable. I also got to sample the famous drink of Barcelona, Sangria. We weren’t finished with dinner until nearly 1 am! In Barcelona the common language is Catalan, not Spanish, though nearly all are multi-lingual. After listening to natives speak, I noticed they also give themselves a sort of lisp in their language. I thought this was an interesting observation.
Sunday February 15, 2009 – Parc Guell, Last Night in Barcelona
For our last full day in Barcelona, we toured Parc Guell. This was Gaudi’s home, and holds many of his sculptures. For any of you America’s Next Top Model fans, the finale for the Caridee/Melrose season was also held here, you’ll recognize the runway in the pics! The park itself was cool, it was almost like a candy-land, with colorful buildings and different sculptures. The world’s longest, curviest bench is in the park, with a beautiful mosaic background. We also went and saw the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona. For dinner, we tried a new tapas restaurant. This one was set up more like a bar. Along the bar were all sorts of tapas, each with a toothpick in it. You go along, sample the ones you want, and collect your toothpicks, and when you’re done sampling, you count your toothpicks and that’s how you pay. Each cost about a euro. It was nice to be able to sample different things; there were lots of different seafood options.
Monday February 16, 2009 – Goodbye Barcelona, Back to Roma
I am fortunate enough to not have class until 2pm on Mondays, so we were able to come back early Monday morning, and have one last full day in Barcelona. Lizzie and I took the very first metro, at 5am, to our bus station to head to Gerona for our flight. Everything went just as smoothly on the return travel. We were back in Rome around 11am. My Art and Culture class went to the Pantheon for class. This monument was built between the years of 118-125 AD. This building is an architectural masterpiece. It has not been restored or mended, everything is original, and is still in good shape today. The name Pantheon in Greek translates to ‘ Dedicated to all Gods’. The building is a perfect shape, the same width as height, to the exact centimeter. The ruler at the time was Hadrian, who ordered the structure to be built. The architect, who hasn’t been officially identified but many think his name was Appolodonus, placed 6 of Hadrian’s most favorite Gods as sculptures in the building. There is a circular hole in the top of the building, which creates a spotlight with the sun. Through the genius design, on the birthdays of the certain Gods, because of the time of year and the positioning of the sun, the light will shine on that God. This was a 1st century creation! I was amazed. For all the visitors coming, I have many more fun facts to share, and plan on taking you on my own personally guided tour of all the things I have learned in this class. Wednesday’s class we’re going to the Colosseum and ancient ruins.
Jackie’s parents are here for the week, along with her younger brother. Tonight they invited me to join them for dinner. We went to a great very authentic Italian restaurant, where the wait staff was pleased to serve us all sorts of wonderful appetizers, a cheese platters, mozzarella, arancina, along with some different red wines. For an entrée I had cod wrapped in eggplant. All was very, very good! We of course topped it off with gelato. Be sure to read Jackie’s blog, it was our first weekend apart from each other! www.jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Its been a great first week in Rome. We started classes on Monday. I am just a short walk, less than 10 minutes from the school, the closest I know of anybody! Mondays and Wednesdays I dont have class until 2 pm. I decided to take it upon myself to do some solo exploring these mornings. This morning I went for a jog to the Vatican and back. At 2 pm I have my Italian class, my language skills are improving every day. After that I have Art and Culture in Rome. After my first day, Im already in love with this class. The professor described this class as a very indepth walking tour of Rome. We have a classroom lecture once a week, then the 2nd class of the week we tour Rome and actually go see what we learned about and take a tour of the church/monument/building/museum. The professor informed us she loves guests, so for all of you taht are coming to visit, you all can come on the walking tours with the class! Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an Italian Society class, which is the political, social, and cultural development of Italy from the facist days up until present time. I also have a marketing class, I couldnt fully stay away from the business classes!
Tomorrow evening Lizzie and I are flying to Barcelona to stay with our friend Erica from UVM. Ill be sure to take lots of pictures!
Tomorrow evening Lizzie and I are flying to Barcelona to stay with our friend Erica from UVM. Ill be sure to take lots of pictures!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
First few days in Roma!
Ciao!
Its been a few days, but Im finally all moved into my apartment in Rome. Its very cute! We have a little courtyard in the middle, then 72 very steep and narrow steps up to our apartment. Im sharing the apartment with 3 other girls. Jackie and I share the lofted double bedroom with a sprial staircase leading up to it. We have a large living room and kitchen to share.
The past few days I have just been getting acquainted with Rome, seen most of the big sights: the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.
Classes start tomorrow, I guess its back to the real world!
Its been a few days, but Im finally all moved into my apartment in Rome. Its very cute! We have a little courtyard in the middle, then 72 very steep and narrow steps up to our apartment. Im sharing the apartment with 3 other girls. Jackie and I share the lofted double bedroom with a sprial staircase leading up to it. We have a large living room and kitchen to share.
The past few days I have just been getting acquainted with Rome, seen most of the big sights: the Vatican, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.
Classes start tomorrow, I guess its back to the real world!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Weekend in Venice and Trip to Siena
Thursday January 29th
Nice weather, perfect day for walking around the city. We get out of class around 1pm every day. The program has provided us with meal vouchers that are accepted at a number of locations around the city. Each voucher is worth 7 Euro and if not the entire amount is used in one meal, a refund is given. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of sampling the pizza and gelato from different places around the city. I can’t say I’ve found a spot I haven’t liked! Thursday night we met up with a few of Jess’s friends from home. After talking with some locals, we were informed about a secret bakery in Florence. As the story goes, there are 4 main bakeries that provide the rest of the city with baked goods. Every small shop supposedly is supplied by one of these four bakeries, as every shop is not able to bake such quantities on their own. One of these secret bakeries opens at midnight every night and will sell pastries and baked goods to those who know about it. It is located in a side alley, with no marks, and you have to knock on the door. We were a group of about 9 girls and we were all very intrigued with this story. We decided to go on an adventure and see if we could find this secret bakery. After following the directions we were given, we stood outside this frosted glass door with a sign that read something like, “Quiet, don’t disturb the neighbors”. From the outside you could smell the delicious treats being baked. We knocked on the door and entered. There was a small counter space then a large floor just full of ovens and baked goods. It looked like it was a one man show. One baker was doing all the prep and baking work, while selling to the small crowd that knew of this covert business. We all got a treat, very happy with this secret find.
Friday January 30
Friday morning we left for Venice at 8am. Our group took four large coach buses. I slept most of the ride, and I was told I missed some scenic views of Tuscany. The ride took about 4 hours. We arrived to the ferry location and took a small boat to Venice. The weather was sunny and beautiful. It was amazing to me to see how this city was literally built on water. Instead of roads there were canals, buildings go right into the water, and there are no cars, only boats. I thought it was pretty funny to see a FedEx boat delivering packages door to door. Our program leader, Rosanna, had informed us that our hotel would not be as up-scale as the hotel we were staying in while in Florence, and had warned us it would be ‘sort of like camping’. This made us a little nervous, but it would only be for two nights. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie and I were rooming together. The hotel was actually not as bad as we expected, just old. Jackie and I had bunk beds while Jess and Suzanne shared the bed. We were lucky enough to have our own bathroom. A few of our other friends were stuck with no bathroom and were forced to use the communal one in the hallway, even to shower!
We visited San Rocco School and the church located near it. This was used as a meeting place for artists and now houses their works. After the visit, we walked around the city shopping and just enjoying the nice weather. The streets were filled with small glass shops with beautiful jewelry, ornaments, glass figures, masks, etc. We got pretty lost walking around; the city wasn’t very easy to navigate. We didn’t have any planned events so it didn’t really matter, and we wandered the city for the afternoon and evening. We stopped for dinner at a delicious restaurant. I had caprice salad and then a gnocchi and shrimp with spicy red sauce dish for dinner. We had heard about a local karaoke bar, and decided to check it out. The bar was small, but fun. There were lots of locals there who were singing Italian pop songs. It was entertaining to watch and listen.
Saturday January 31
We slept in Saturday morning, after a long day on Friday. Saturday was much colder and cloudier than Friday had been. We made our way to San Marco’s square to see the cathedral and views. Not too long ago this square was under water, but luckily for us it was open for tourists. The outside was very impressive. We unfortunately didn’t go in, but marveled the beauty from the outside. Like I had heard, there were a countless number of pigeons in the square. There were even a few people who would let them land on them. I thought it was kind of gross. After a few minutes of searching, we found the brand new Hard Rock Café being built. The restaurant wasn’t open but fortunately the shop was. I got a pin to add to your collection Dad!
The only thing I wanted to accomplish all day was to go on a gondola ride. We found a little canal with a very Italian gondola driver. The five of us (me, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie) piled into the gondola and went for a half hour cruise. It was quite cold but very peaceful and pretty. Our boat guy had a thick accent and was difficult to understand, but he pointed out key monuments and buildings for us. I knew I couldn’t go to Venice and not go on a gondola, it was fun!
We spent the rest of the evening in and out of the small shops. We walked nearly all day, hitting all parts of the city. Venice was a great place for gifts. I bought myself some new earrings and a pendant necklace made from the famous Murano glass.
Sunday February 1, 2009
Sunday we had breakfast in the hotel lobby. As I was enjoying my cup of tea and cereal, I glanced outside the window and saw my worst fear. SNOW. I thought I left Vermont, but the snow followed me all the way to Italy. There are many kids in my program from California and the South who had never seen snow fall. These kids were all so excited, taking pictures, standing outside, catching snowflakes on their tongues. All the kids from the northeast were moaning and groaning. None of us were missing this sort of weather.
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection located in Venice. There were several Picasso pieces, along with Jackson Pollack, the only two names I recognized. After touring the collection, the girls and I went and got a sit-down lunch. We had done a lot of exploring the day before so none of us felt like doing anymore wandering in the snow. Our ferry was departing around 2pm, so we didn’t have much time to kill.
The ferry back to the mainland was very choppy. The 30 minute cruise couldn’t go by fast enough. We took the bus back, driving through the snow storm. Unfortunately the snow actually stuck, and was accumulating along the highway on the way home. Once we got back to Florence though, the snow had changed to a light rain. I can only hope that’s the last of snow I will see while over here!
We arrived back to the hotel around 7pm Sunday night, exhausted. It was Superbowl Sunday, and many local pubs were hosting events for the American students. I was way too tired to go out, and went to bed early.
I started the countdown to my birthday today, exactly 3 weeks until I’m 21!!
Monday February 2nd
After class today (Monday), we travelled by bus to Siena, another town in Tuscany. It was another rainy day. We started at a large basilica just outside the center of town. We were lead toward the center of town. Siena is not very big, the walk only took about 8 minutes. We toured the Duomo and building across from it. The building across from it was used as a hospital from the medieval times all the way up until 1995 when it was turned into a museum. After touring city hall, we were all soaking wet, and decided to sit in a café and warm up. We headed back to the bus for the hour long ride home. Only two more days left in Florence. I move to Rome on Thursday morning!
Nice weather, perfect day for walking around the city. We get out of class around 1pm every day. The program has provided us with meal vouchers that are accepted at a number of locations around the city. Each voucher is worth 7 Euro and if not the entire amount is used in one meal, a refund is given. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of sampling the pizza and gelato from different places around the city. I can’t say I’ve found a spot I haven’t liked! Thursday night we met up with a few of Jess’s friends from home. After talking with some locals, we were informed about a secret bakery in Florence. As the story goes, there are 4 main bakeries that provide the rest of the city with baked goods. Every small shop supposedly is supplied by one of these four bakeries, as every shop is not able to bake such quantities on their own. One of these secret bakeries opens at midnight every night and will sell pastries and baked goods to those who know about it. It is located in a side alley, with no marks, and you have to knock on the door. We were a group of about 9 girls and we were all very intrigued with this story. We decided to go on an adventure and see if we could find this secret bakery. After following the directions we were given, we stood outside this frosted glass door with a sign that read something like, “Quiet, don’t disturb the neighbors”. From the outside you could smell the delicious treats being baked. We knocked on the door and entered. There was a small counter space then a large floor just full of ovens and baked goods. It looked like it was a one man show. One baker was doing all the prep and baking work, while selling to the small crowd that knew of this covert business. We all got a treat, very happy with this secret find.
Friday January 30
Friday morning we left for Venice at 8am. Our group took four large coach buses. I slept most of the ride, and I was told I missed some scenic views of Tuscany. The ride took about 4 hours. We arrived to the ferry location and took a small boat to Venice. The weather was sunny and beautiful. It was amazing to me to see how this city was literally built on water. Instead of roads there were canals, buildings go right into the water, and there are no cars, only boats. I thought it was pretty funny to see a FedEx boat delivering packages door to door. Our program leader, Rosanna, had informed us that our hotel would not be as up-scale as the hotel we were staying in while in Florence, and had warned us it would be ‘sort of like camping’. This made us a little nervous, but it would only be for two nights. Jess, Suzanne, Jackie and I were rooming together. The hotel was actually not as bad as we expected, just old. Jackie and I had bunk beds while Jess and Suzanne shared the bed. We were lucky enough to have our own bathroom. A few of our other friends were stuck with no bathroom and were forced to use the communal one in the hallway, even to shower!
We visited San Rocco School and the church located near it. This was used as a meeting place for artists and now houses their works. After the visit, we walked around the city shopping and just enjoying the nice weather. The streets were filled with small glass shops with beautiful jewelry, ornaments, glass figures, masks, etc. We got pretty lost walking around; the city wasn’t very easy to navigate. We didn’t have any planned events so it didn’t really matter, and we wandered the city for the afternoon and evening. We stopped for dinner at a delicious restaurant. I had caprice salad and then a gnocchi and shrimp with spicy red sauce dish for dinner. We had heard about a local karaoke bar, and decided to check it out. The bar was small, but fun. There were lots of locals there who were singing Italian pop songs. It was entertaining to watch and listen.
Saturday January 31
We slept in Saturday morning, after a long day on Friday. Saturday was much colder and cloudier than Friday had been. We made our way to San Marco’s square to see the cathedral and views. Not too long ago this square was under water, but luckily for us it was open for tourists. The outside was very impressive. We unfortunately didn’t go in, but marveled the beauty from the outside. Like I had heard, there were a countless number of pigeons in the square. There were even a few people who would let them land on them. I thought it was kind of gross. After a few minutes of searching, we found the brand new Hard Rock Café being built. The restaurant wasn’t open but fortunately the shop was. I got a pin to add to your collection Dad!
The only thing I wanted to accomplish all day was to go on a gondola ride. We found a little canal with a very Italian gondola driver. The five of us (me, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie) piled into the gondola and went for a half hour cruise. It was quite cold but very peaceful and pretty. Our boat guy had a thick accent and was difficult to understand, but he pointed out key monuments and buildings for us. I knew I couldn’t go to Venice and not go on a gondola, it was fun!
We spent the rest of the evening in and out of the small shops. We walked nearly all day, hitting all parts of the city. Venice was a great place for gifts. I bought myself some new earrings and a pendant necklace made from the famous Murano glass.
Sunday February 1, 2009
Sunday we had breakfast in the hotel lobby. As I was enjoying my cup of tea and cereal, I glanced outside the window and saw my worst fear. SNOW. I thought I left Vermont, but the snow followed me all the way to Italy. There are many kids in my program from California and the South who had never seen snow fall. These kids were all so excited, taking pictures, standing outside, catching snowflakes on their tongues. All the kids from the northeast were moaning and groaning. None of us were missing this sort of weather.
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection located in Venice. There were several Picasso pieces, along with Jackson Pollack, the only two names I recognized. After touring the collection, the girls and I went and got a sit-down lunch. We had done a lot of exploring the day before so none of us felt like doing anymore wandering in the snow. Our ferry was departing around 2pm, so we didn’t have much time to kill.
The ferry back to the mainland was very choppy. The 30 minute cruise couldn’t go by fast enough. We took the bus back, driving through the snow storm. Unfortunately the snow actually stuck, and was accumulating along the highway on the way home. Once we got back to Florence though, the snow had changed to a light rain. I can only hope that’s the last of snow I will see while over here!
We arrived back to the hotel around 7pm Sunday night, exhausted. It was Superbowl Sunday, and many local pubs were hosting events for the American students. I was way too tired to go out, and went to bed early.
I started the countdown to my birthday today, exactly 3 weeks until I’m 21!!
Monday February 2nd
After class today (Monday), we travelled by bus to Siena, another town in Tuscany. It was another rainy day. We started at a large basilica just outside the center of town. We were lead toward the center of town. Siena is not very big, the walk only took about 8 minutes. We toured the Duomo and building across from it. The building across from it was used as a hospital from the medieval times all the way up until 1995 when it was turned into a museum. After touring city hall, we were all soaking wet, and decided to sit in a café and warm up. We headed back to the bus for the hour long ride home. Only two more days left in Florence. I move to Rome on Thursday morning!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ufizzi, Laundry, and more pics!
Since last post, nothing too exciting has happened.. just going along with the day to day activities of living in Florence. I had my mid-term exam Wednesday morning, wasn't too difficult.
Yesterday after class we went to the Ufizzi Gallery. The gallery holds many, many works of art. Not being an art historian myself, I was unfamiliar with a lot of the pieces, but I did get to see the Birth of Venus, one of the few I recognized. We toured the gallery for about 2 hours, then headed home.
Yesterday was another gorgeous day, a little colder than we have been used to. Sunny though!
I had my first laundry experience abroad yesterday. I was running low on essentials, so I was forced to find a laundromat. It's pretty expensive 7 Euro for a wash and dry. Had to be done! We made a group trip out of it, a few of us went together.
Today was a sunny, beautiful day. Jackie and I spent a while working on logistics of our spring break trip. As of now we are flying from Rome to Athens and spending the week in the Greek Islands. Dont be too jealous!!
After finishing up typing this, I'll try to post the most recent pics.. More to come after the weekend in Venice!
Ciao for now,
Megan
Yesterday after class we went to the Ufizzi Gallery. The gallery holds many, many works of art. Not being an art historian myself, I was unfamiliar with a lot of the pieces, but I did get to see the Birth of Venus, one of the few I recognized. We toured the gallery for about 2 hours, then headed home.
Yesterday was another gorgeous day, a little colder than we have been used to. Sunny though!
I had my first laundry experience abroad yesterday. I was running low on essentials, so I was forced to find a laundromat. It's pretty expensive 7 Euro for a wash and dry. Had to be done! We made a group trip out of it, a few of us went together.
Today was a sunny, beautiful day. Jackie and I spent a while working on logistics of our spring break trip. As of now we are flying from Rome to Athens and spending the week in the Greek Islands. Dont be too jealous!!
After finishing up typing this, I'll try to post the most recent pics.. More to come after the weekend in Venice!
Ciao for now,
Megan
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Vecchio, Pisa, Sunny Afternoon in Florence
Ciao!
The last few days have been action packed with activities. Today we finally had a sunny day in Florence! Its been pretty overcast since we got here, so it was a relief to finally see blue skies and sunshine, I got a whole new perspective on the true beauty of Florence.
Sunday, Jan 25th, our group travelled to Vicchio in the Tuscan countryside for a local soccer match. The bus ride was along a windy, steep road with beautiful views of the countryside. Upon arrival, I would say the stadium was about the size of the Essex High School football stadium, for all you Vermonters, and it was packed. Fans got pretty riled up with noisemakers and cheers for the local game. It was pretty cold, we were told it had snowed the night before. The mountains in the distance were capped with snow, not a site that I miss much! The game was a little slow paced, and ended in a 0-0 tie. After the match, we had free time to walk around the town. The town consisted of a small square with a few shops and not much else! Since it was late afternoon on a Sunday nothing was open except a small cafe. We were all very cold, so we decided to sit and get a warm drink. I ordered a ciocolata calda (hot chocolate). It ended up being more like warm pudding, but delicious. It was very viscous and had to be eaten with a spoon. The local Vicchio soccer team was cooking us dinner, so we wandered back to the field after warming up in the cafe. We sat in a heated tent right near the stadium. A few members of the team also came to eat with us. It appeared their booster club, or equivalent, cooked dinner for us. No easy task with 166 students! Everything was of course delicious. I think they were trying to make us feel at home with the music, they kept playing the YMCA... We took the bus home, and I was exhausted and turned in early.
Monday morning was back to class. After class, about half of our group took a bus to Pisa to see the sights there. The bus ride took about an hour and 45 minutes. The town itself isn't very big, we toured the Baptistry, Duomo, connecting burial grounds, and of course got plenty of pictures of the Leaning Tower. The Leaning Tower was built as a bell tower for the church. Today if all of its 12 bells rang at once, it would fall over immediately. We learned that the original creator of the Tower was fired then exiled because of the mishap. All of his successors also had no luck and the tower leans 5 m. All of the buildings have a small lean to them, but the Tower is the most prominent because it carries so much weight on such a small surface area. The other buildings cover more ground so the lean is less noticeable.
Today, Tuesday, we had class in the morning. It was spent mostly to review for our 'midterm' tomorrow. Hard to believe we've been in Florence for a week and a half already, time is flying by! After class, Jackie, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess and I climbed to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo and got the most beautiful views of Florence. I highly recommend doing this for any future travelers to Florence, it was breath-taking. I took many pictures, I'll post them as soon as I can!
Tomorrow after class, I will visit the Uffizi Gallery. Friday morning we leave for Venice, where we will be all weekend. Monday afternoon, I will be visiting Siena. Next Thursday we move to Rome! Only a few precious days left in Firenze.
That's it for now! I'm having a blast, I may never come home!!
The last few days have been action packed with activities. Today we finally had a sunny day in Florence! Its been pretty overcast since we got here, so it was a relief to finally see blue skies and sunshine, I got a whole new perspective on the true beauty of Florence.
Sunday, Jan 25th, our group travelled to Vicchio in the Tuscan countryside for a local soccer match. The bus ride was along a windy, steep road with beautiful views of the countryside. Upon arrival, I would say the stadium was about the size of the Essex High School football stadium, for all you Vermonters, and it was packed. Fans got pretty riled up with noisemakers and cheers for the local game. It was pretty cold, we were told it had snowed the night before. The mountains in the distance were capped with snow, not a site that I miss much! The game was a little slow paced, and ended in a 0-0 tie. After the match, we had free time to walk around the town. The town consisted of a small square with a few shops and not much else! Since it was late afternoon on a Sunday nothing was open except a small cafe. We were all very cold, so we decided to sit and get a warm drink. I ordered a ciocolata calda (hot chocolate). It ended up being more like warm pudding, but delicious. It was very viscous and had to be eaten with a spoon. The local Vicchio soccer team was cooking us dinner, so we wandered back to the field after warming up in the cafe. We sat in a heated tent right near the stadium. A few members of the team also came to eat with us. It appeared their booster club, or equivalent, cooked dinner for us. No easy task with 166 students! Everything was of course delicious. I think they were trying to make us feel at home with the music, they kept playing the YMCA... We took the bus home, and I was exhausted and turned in early.
Monday morning was back to class. After class, about half of our group took a bus to Pisa to see the sights there. The bus ride took about an hour and 45 minutes. The town itself isn't very big, we toured the Baptistry, Duomo, connecting burial grounds, and of course got plenty of pictures of the Leaning Tower. The Leaning Tower was built as a bell tower for the church. Today if all of its 12 bells rang at once, it would fall over immediately. We learned that the original creator of the Tower was fired then exiled because of the mishap. All of his successors also had no luck and the tower leans 5 m. All of the buildings have a small lean to them, but the Tower is the most prominent because it carries so much weight on such a small surface area. The other buildings cover more ground so the lean is less noticeable.
Today, Tuesday, we had class in the morning. It was spent mostly to review for our 'midterm' tomorrow. Hard to believe we've been in Florence for a week and a half already, time is flying by! After class, Jackie, Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess and I climbed to the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo and got the most beautiful views of Florence. I highly recommend doing this for any future travelers to Florence, it was breath-taking. I took many pictures, I'll post them as soon as I can!
Tomorrow after class, I will visit the Uffizi Gallery. Friday morning we leave for Venice, where we will be all weekend. Monday afternoon, I will be visiting Siena. Next Thursday we move to Rome! Only a few precious days left in Firenze.
That's it for now! I'm having a blast, I may never come home!!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Chianti Valley Wine Tasting
Buongiorno!
It's a rainy Saturday afternoon here in Florence, perfect time to update the blog!
After class yesterday, the majority of the kids in our program took a 45 minute busride to Castello Il Palagio, a castle that dates back to the 1200s. It was nestled between many other vineyards and had a picturesque setting. I took some pictures, but it was a gray, cloudy day, but you'll get the overall idea! There, they handpick their grapes for wine and olives for olive oil. Many wines will have the 'Chianti' label, but if you want authentic, wine from hand picked grapes, you must look for 'Chianti Classico'. This is the label for their brand!
After a brief tour of the wine cellars, we were seated in the dining area. Each place setting had 5 different wine glasses. We were given lessons by the local somalier, named Sebastieno. He was quite the looker! We swirled, smelled, then finaly tasted the wine. We were instructed to taste for different things, such as blackberry, a hint of wood, or a taste of white wine. We tried 5 different types of red wine, sampled their cheese and bruscetta doused in their olive oil. It was all delicious. I could have stayed all night.
We sadly had to board the bus home. When we returned to our hotel, it was nearly dinner time. Our hotel has been providing us with breakfast and dinner. The breakfast is the same everyday with scrambled eggs, undercooked bacon, yogurt, cereal, fruit, and pastries. Dinner has been quite the variety. Every night is a 3 course meal, dessert is usually fruit, but we've been surprised with different cakes on a few occasions. Last night though, was the first bad meal of Italy. The first course was good, a creamy tomato soup, that tasted like it had bread pieces in it. Then we all thought we were getting meatballs, but when the plates were served it was nothing more than chicken nuggets. We were disappointed to say the least. I guess one bad night is nothing to compalin about! Tonight we arent getting dinner served at the hotel, and we are on our own. My friends Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie and I are going to find a restaurant in teh city to have dinner.
I finally skyped with people from home today! So good to see familiar faces and catch up with stories from Vermont. I appreciate all the comments, so good to hear from everyone!
Sunday we are going to watch the Viccio-Cavriglia soccer match.. I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm working on putting up pictures from Florence. Stay tuned!
It's a rainy Saturday afternoon here in Florence, perfect time to update the blog!
After class yesterday, the majority of the kids in our program took a 45 minute busride to Castello Il Palagio, a castle that dates back to the 1200s. It was nestled between many other vineyards and had a picturesque setting. I took some pictures, but it was a gray, cloudy day, but you'll get the overall idea! There, they handpick their grapes for wine and olives for olive oil. Many wines will have the 'Chianti' label, but if you want authentic, wine from hand picked grapes, you must look for 'Chianti Classico'. This is the label for their brand!
After a brief tour of the wine cellars, we were seated in the dining area. Each place setting had 5 different wine glasses. We were given lessons by the local somalier, named Sebastieno. He was quite the looker! We swirled, smelled, then finaly tasted the wine. We were instructed to taste for different things, such as blackberry, a hint of wood, or a taste of white wine. We tried 5 different types of red wine, sampled their cheese and bruscetta doused in their olive oil. It was all delicious. I could have stayed all night.
We sadly had to board the bus home. When we returned to our hotel, it was nearly dinner time. Our hotel has been providing us with breakfast and dinner. The breakfast is the same everyday with scrambled eggs, undercooked bacon, yogurt, cereal, fruit, and pastries. Dinner has been quite the variety. Every night is a 3 course meal, dessert is usually fruit, but we've been surprised with different cakes on a few occasions. Last night though, was the first bad meal of Italy. The first course was good, a creamy tomato soup, that tasted like it had bread pieces in it. Then we all thought we were getting meatballs, but when the plates were served it was nothing more than chicken nuggets. We were disappointed to say the least. I guess one bad night is nothing to compalin about! Tonight we arent getting dinner served at the hotel, and we are on our own. My friends Lizzie, Suzanne, Jess, Jackie and I are going to find a restaurant in teh city to have dinner.
I finally skyped with people from home today! So good to see familiar faces and catch up with stories from Vermont. I appreciate all the comments, so good to hear from everyone!
Sunday we are going to watch the Viccio-Cavriglia soccer match.. I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm working on putting up pictures from Florence. Stay tuned!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Florence: Week 1
London pictures are up!! On the right hand side of the blog there should be a slideshow of pictures showing. If you click on a picture, it should open up to a slideshow and you can view them on a larger scale. The internet is relatively slow, it takes a while to upload photos, I'll be working on Florence ones this weekend.
Another note, my friend Jackie is also writing a blog for our trip abroad. You may want to check it out, she probably has things that I have forgotten, we've been doing pretty much everything together! http://jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com/
We started school on Monday. We are attending Eurocentres in Florence, a school for international students to study the Italian language. We have class daily from 9:30 am to 1pm with a 15 minute break. The early session is for grammar and the 2nd session is to work on our conversation skills. I am in a class solely with kids from my study abroad program, but there other classes that have international students from Switzerland, Japan, Portugal, etc. in them. In those classes the only common language is Italian, so it makes for good practice! I've been picking the language up relatively easily, it has helped immensely that I have a background in French. Many of the words are similar and sentence structures are the same. I did make a big mistake today though. We were asked to present a paragraph in front of the class to describe ourselves. For part of my description, I said "Sono bruto" which I thought meant brunette, but it actually means ugly! The teacher laughed and corrected me.
AIFS (my study abroad program) has activities planned for the students nearly every afternoon while we are in Florence.
Monday afternoon we had a meeting on our housing in Rome. I am staying very close to the school, near Campo di Fiori. I was placed with my friend Jackie, which is too good to be true! We will have 2 other roommates as well. Monday evening a local restaurant held a welcome cocktail social for our group. I'm still meeting new people everyday, there are so many of us!
Tuesday after class, I participated in a walking art tour of Florence. Our guide is a local art historian from Holland who was very knowledgable. We first walked to Piazza Pitti, which was the first Medici palace. There the Medici family began constructing their 'corridor' above the city. There is a hallway of sorts that was built over the city of Florence strictly for use by the Medici family. This corridor passes through their church, where they sat above the rest of the congregation, above the Ponte Vecchio, and finishes at their newer palace. With this corridor they didn't have to walk on the streets, they were able to have private links to the main parts of the city. We followed along the corridor throughout this art tour, stopping by churches, the Ponte Vecchio, and then continued on to the Duomo. It was cold, and getting late, and I was tired, but I learned a lot of Florentine history!
Tuesday was also Barack Obama's inauguration. Italians seem to love Obama, and there were several people with signs in public squares praising the new president. I didnt realize the international influence that this day would have! Nearly every channel on our television was playing the inauguration, translating it into Italian.
Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to see Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery. This gallery was relatively small, contained maybe 3 rooms of paintings, then a hallway filled with unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo, leading to the David. We were accompanied by the same art historian from Tuesday. I learned that despite most people's thought, David's hands ARE in proportion to the rest of his body. Experts have measured the sculpture, and David is in exact proportion to what a 25 year old man should be. Fun fact to know!
Today, Thursday, I have the afternoon free. I'm finally responding to all my emails, and updating this blog! I have a busy weekend already planned. Tomorrow we are spending the afternoon at a wine tasting event. Aileen and Craig - I'll be sure to try all the different red wines for you!! Sunday our group is going to a local semi-pro soccer game. Can't wait!
Another note, my friend Jackie is also writing a blog for our trip abroad. You may want to check it out, she probably has things that I have forgotten, we've been doing pretty much everything together! http://jackieinitaly.shutterfly.com/
We started school on Monday. We are attending Eurocentres in Florence, a school for international students to study the Italian language. We have class daily from 9:30 am to 1pm with a 15 minute break. The early session is for grammar and the 2nd session is to work on our conversation skills. I am in a class solely with kids from my study abroad program, but there other classes that have international students from Switzerland, Japan, Portugal, etc. in them. In those classes the only common language is Italian, so it makes for good practice! I've been picking the language up relatively easily, it has helped immensely that I have a background in French. Many of the words are similar and sentence structures are the same. I did make a big mistake today though. We were asked to present a paragraph in front of the class to describe ourselves. For part of my description, I said "Sono bruto" which I thought meant brunette, but it actually means ugly! The teacher laughed and corrected me.
AIFS (my study abroad program) has activities planned for the students nearly every afternoon while we are in Florence.
Monday afternoon we had a meeting on our housing in Rome. I am staying very close to the school, near Campo di Fiori. I was placed with my friend Jackie, which is too good to be true! We will have 2 other roommates as well. Monday evening a local restaurant held a welcome cocktail social for our group. I'm still meeting new people everyday, there are so many of us!
Tuesday after class, I participated in a walking art tour of Florence. Our guide is a local art historian from Holland who was very knowledgable. We first walked to Piazza Pitti, which was the first Medici palace. There the Medici family began constructing their 'corridor' above the city. There is a hallway of sorts that was built over the city of Florence strictly for use by the Medici family. This corridor passes through their church, where they sat above the rest of the congregation, above the Ponte Vecchio, and finishes at their newer palace. With this corridor they didn't have to walk on the streets, they were able to have private links to the main parts of the city. We followed along the corridor throughout this art tour, stopping by churches, the Ponte Vecchio, and then continued on to the Duomo. It was cold, and getting late, and I was tired, but I learned a lot of Florentine history!
Tuesday was also Barack Obama's inauguration. Italians seem to love Obama, and there were several people with signs in public squares praising the new president. I didnt realize the international influence that this day would have! Nearly every channel on our television was playing the inauguration, translating it into Italian.
Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to see Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery. This gallery was relatively small, contained maybe 3 rooms of paintings, then a hallway filled with unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo, leading to the David. We were accompanied by the same art historian from Tuesday. I learned that despite most people's thought, David's hands ARE in proportion to the rest of his body. Experts have measured the sculpture, and David is in exact proportion to what a 25 year old man should be. Fun fact to know!
Today, Thursday, I have the afternoon free. I'm finally responding to all my emails, and updating this blog! I have a busy weekend already planned. Tomorrow we are spending the afternoon at a wine tasting event. Aileen and Craig - I'll be sure to try all the different red wines for you!! Sunday our group is going to a local semi-pro soccer game. Can't wait!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Goodbye London, Hello Florence!
So much has happened since the last post!
Les Mis was awesome, very well done. We had sub-par seats, but you get what you pay for I guess. It was still good enough. We left London around 5 am on Friday, and drove about an hour to Gatwick airport. We travelled in a huge group, 97 of us. This made things difficult in the airport to make sure everyone was through security, and such. We had a while until our flight, so Jackie (friend I made on the trip), and Lizzie (roomate from UVM) walked around the airport, got some food and waited. Our flight was delayed due to transmission problems, or something liek taht.
The flight took a little over 2 hours, and I slept for most of it. I sat next to two girls, one from California, one from Minnesota, who were both amazed I was from Vermont.. neither had ever been to the east coast! While sleeping, I missed a great view of teh Alps I hear! Next time I guess....
We arrived in Pisa and hopped on a bus to our hotel. The drive took abuot an hour and we drove through gorgeous small towns with beautiful scenery. Once we approached Florence, the traffic picked up. Italians are crazy drivers!
At the hotel, I moved into my new room, and its huge! My roomate and I must have the honeymoon suite or something, we really lucked out. Jackie is once again next door to me, its worked out well! My new roomate, Jen, is from Mass, and attends UMass Lowell. The first afternoon, Lizzie, Jackie, and I spent the afternoon walking around Florence. We explored for a while, we just wanted to orient ourselves to the new city. That night, we were served a 3-course meal, everything was so good! That ngiht, everyone aws pretty tired, so we went and got gelatto and went back to the hotel.
Saturday was full of administrative stuff for the program. We had ice breaking activities to get to know the other kids in teh program at some palace in Florence. I dont have my itinerary sheet near me, and I dont'remember the name! We had about 2 hours of ice breaking activities. This was followed by a 3 course lunch consisting of a pesto lasagna, then roasted chicken with cheese, tomato, potatoes and cooked spinach, then some sort of dessert cake. It was all fabulous. After lunch, an italian cop spoke to us for about an hour tellign us things to be aware of, watch out for, etc.
I spent the late afternoon/early evening resting, I still haven't hada full nights sleep here yet! I've been catnapping since we landed in London and running off of adrenaline, so much to see and do! The hotel served us another 3-course meal (if I come back fat, I blame the Italian cooking). After dinner, a few of us decided to check out the nightlife in Florence, and went to a discotech last night, had lots of fun!
Today, Sunday, I finally got to sleep in. Jackie and I went to a little cafe around teh corner for lunch. There, we met a couple that lived in Florence, the woman was from Texas, the man from Italy, who were so friendly and helpful. They gave us lots of ideas and things to do in Florence. Can't wait to do them all!!
We had a practical walking tour of the city this afternoon, learned where teh school was, post office, pharmacy, etc. After, walked through San Lorenzo market. You can pretty much buy anything out of leather.
I only have 2 minuets left at the cafe! More to come later! Pics are coming soon I promise!!!
Les Mis was awesome, very well done. We had sub-par seats, but you get what you pay for I guess. It was still good enough. We left London around 5 am on Friday, and drove about an hour to Gatwick airport. We travelled in a huge group, 97 of us. This made things difficult in the airport to make sure everyone was through security, and such. We had a while until our flight, so Jackie (friend I made on the trip), and Lizzie (roomate from UVM) walked around the airport, got some food and waited. Our flight was delayed due to transmission problems, or something liek taht.
The flight took a little over 2 hours, and I slept for most of it. I sat next to two girls, one from California, one from Minnesota, who were both amazed I was from Vermont.. neither had ever been to the east coast! While sleeping, I missed a great view of teh Alps I hear! Next time I guess....
We arrived in Pisa and hopped on a bus to our hotel. The drive took abuot an hour and we drove through gorgeous small towns with beautiful scenery. Once we approached Florence, the traffic picked up. Italians are crazy drivers!
At the hotel, I moved into my new room, and its huge! My roomate and I must have the honeymoon suite or something, we really lucked out. Jackie is once again next door to me, its worked out well! My new roomate, Jen, is from Mass, and attends UMass Lowell. The first afternoon, Lizzie, Jackie, and I spent the afternoon walking around Florence. We explored for a while, we just wanted to orient ourselves to the new city. That night, we were served a 3-course meal, everything was so good! That ngiht, everyone aws pretty tired, so we went and got gelatto and went back to the hotel.
Saturday was full of administrative stuff for the program. We had ice breaking activities to get to know the other kids in teh program at some palace in Florence. I dont have my itinerary sheet near me, and I dont'remember the name! We had about 2 hours of ice breaking activities. This was followed by a 3 course lunch consisting of a pesto lasagna, then roasted chicken with cheese, tomato, potatoes and cooked spinach, then some sort of dessert cake. It was all fabulous. After lunch, an italian cop spoke to us for about an hour tellign us things to be aware of, watch out for, etc.
I spent the late afternoon/early evening resting, I still haven't hada full nights sleep here yet! I've been catnapping since we landed in London and running off of adrenaline, so much to see and do! The hotel served us another 3-course meal (if I come back fat, I blame the Italian cooking). After dinner, a few of us decided to check out the nightlife in Florence, and went to a discotech last night, had lots of fun!
Today, Sunday, I finally got to sleep in. Jackie and I went to a little cafe around teh corner for lunch. There, we met a couple that lived in Florence, the woman was from Texas, the man from Italy, who were so friendly and helpful. They gave us lots of ideas and things to do in Florence. Can't wait to do them all!!
We had a practical walking tour of the city this afternoon, learned where teh school was, post office, pharmacy, etc. After, walked through San Lorenzo market. You can pretty much buy anything out of leather.
I only have 2 minuets left at the cafe! More to come later! Pics are coming soon I promise!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
London, Day 2
Hello again!
After last night's blog, we had a cocktail social with our group. We filled up the entire restaurant area of the hotel, with overflow! A group of us decided to take the subway to the SoHo section of London for dinner. There, we found a small Indian cuisine restaurant where we ate. We've eaten out nearly every meal while here, its hard getting used to not leaving a tip, there is a 'service charge' on all bills. After dinner we walked around the area, stopped by a couple pubs. There was a soccer game last night, so the pubs were filled with fans watching the game.
This morning our entire AIFS group took a 3-hour bus tour of London. I was really hoping that it would be on a double-decker bus, but unfortunately, just a regular old tour bus. After the self-guided walking tour yesterday, we had hit many of the same spots we saw again today, but learned more about what we were seeing. In addition to yesterday's site, we drove across London Tower bridge, saw the City of London, which is the financial district and the original city the Romans built. We also saw Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square of London. After the bus tour, we had the afternoon free. The weather was colder today, with a stronger wind, nothing like Vermont though!
With our afternoon, we walked through Piccadilly Circus, and sort of stumbled upon Leicester Square, which is houses all ticket sale outlets for London plays. We had lunch on a side street, had my first ever fish and chips! With influence from the show biz all around us, 3 of us decided to purchase tickets for a show tonight. We will be seeing Les Miserables at Queen's Theater. After lunch, we walked to the Center of London, where the National Gallery is. This art museum is free and open to the public. After a brief tour, mostly to warm up, we headed out to do some shopping.
Pics to come soon! I'm hoping this weekend I will be able to use my own computer and access the Internet. So far, I'm relying on computers provided by the Internet cafe.
A couple observations about London:
1. 'Way Out' signs replace 'Exit' signs.
2. Stop lights also turn yellow inbetween going from red to green
3. Crosswalks all indicate which way pedestrians should look before crossing (i.e. look left), on coming traffic won't yield for people!
4. In the city, you won't find SUVs or old cars (guess I can't bring my Volv here), all cars look new, shiny, and expensive
5. Everyone always looks so good! Its dress to impress atmosphere
6. The city is very clean, very little trash on the streets
Thats it for now! We are leaving tomorrow to fly to Pisa, then on to Florence. I am instructed to be checked out, ready to go by 4:15 am, yes am, to catch the flight. Bright and early!
After last night's blog, we had a cocktail social with our group. We filled up the entire restaurant area of the hotel, with overflow! A group of us decided to take the subway to the SoHo section of London for dinner. There, we found a small Indian cuisine restaurant where we ate. We've eaten out nearly every meal while here, its hard getting used to not leaving a tip, there is a 'service charge' on all bills. After dinner we walked around the area, stopped by a couple pubs. There was a soccer game last night, so the pubs were filled with fans watching the game.
This morning our entire AIFS group took a 3-hour bus tour of London. I was really hoping that it would be on a double-decker bus, but unfortunately, just a regular old tour bus. After the self-guided walking tour yesterday, we had hit many of the same spots we saw again today, but learned more about what we were seeing. In addition to yesterday's site, we drove across London Tower bridge, saw the City of London, which is the financial district and the original city the Romans built. We also saw Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square of London. After the bus tour, we had the afternoon free. The weather was colder today, with a stronger wind, nothing like Vermont though!
With our afternoon, we walked through Piccadilly Circus, and sort of stumbled upon Leicester Square, which is houses all ticket sale outlets for London plays. We had lunch on a side street, had my first ever fish and chips! With influence from the show biz all around us, 3 of us decided to purchase tickets for a show tonight. We will be seeing Les Miserables at Queen's Theater. After lunch, we walked to the Center of London, where the National Gallery is. This art museum is free and open to the public. After a brief tour, mostly to warm up, we headed out to do some shopping.
Pics to come soon! I'm hoping this weekend I will be able to use my own computer and access the Internet. So far, I'm relying on computers provided by the Internet cafe.
A couple observations about London:
1. 'Way Out' signs replace 'Exit' signs.
2. Stop lights also turn yellow inbetween going from red to green
3. Crosswalks all indicate which way pedestrians should look before crossing (i.e. look left), on coming traffic won't yield for people!
4. In the city, you won't find SUVs or old cars (guess I can't bring my Volv here), all cars look new, shiny, and expensive
5. Everyone always looks so good! Its dress to impress atmosphere
6. The city is very clean, very little trash on the streets
Thats it for now! We are leaving tomorrow to fly to Pisa, then on to Florence. I am instructed to be checked out, ready to go by 4:15 am, yes am, to catch the flight. Bright and early!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
London, Day 1
Cheers from London!
I left Boston around 6pm on Tuesday, January 12th. The plane ride went relatively smoothly, except for about 20 minutes where we experienced some of the worst turbulence I've ever felt. I had to hold on to my tray table, things were flying everywhere! The captain said we had tail wind of 200 mph. This helped speed us along, and we landed about 30 min ahead of schedule, just before 5am London time. I had been able to sleep on and off, I was too excited to sleep! We were served drinks almost every half hour, a snack of pretzels, dinner, and then breakfast. We definitely didn't go hungry.
Upon arrival, I had no idea where to go or what to do! I found two boys who were also going through the Rome program, Ryan and Brian. The three of us together found customs/passport check. There were many students waiting to go through a passport check. The line was about a half hour long. The customs officer just asked a few questions, and we were set to go. An AIFS (my program) representative was waiting for us in arrivals. On the bus, I met Jackie, another girl in the program, and we sat together on the bus. London was still dark, and very foggy. We took a bus from Heathrow to our hotel, near Hyde Park in London. There wasn't much to see on the way, the fog was too heavy! We arrived to the hotel around 7:30 am. After checking in, I rested for a little while, then met up with my new friends again to walk around London.
A group of 5 of us decided to explore London and see what we could discover. We first went to get lunch at a pub just down the street from our hotel at Lancaster Gate. I had a club sandwich, which includes chicken, hard boiled egg (this surprised me), ham, lettuce, and 'chips' (french fries). After lunch, we walked through Hyde Park ending at the Prince Albert memorial. The park was quiet, and there were many joggers and dogs. From there we walked down Kensington Road, which was uneventful. From there we saw the famous Harrods. We walked through, and I was very impressed with the upscale, swanky merchandise. We were asked several times if we needed any assistance.
After Harrods, we set the goal of finding Buckingham palace. We found our way, and I was very impressed with the presence of the building. The guards outside had their tall furry hats and guns, with police by the gate. From Buckingham palace, we could see the Eye of London, a large Ferris wheel, in the distance. The group decided it would be fun to ride it to get a great view of London. We were so focused on our walk over there, we didn't even realize we were standing in front of Big Ben! After some photo ops, we headed over to the Eye of London, only to discover this week is their yearly maintenance and it will be closed until Friday. It was still cool to see, we were all kind of bummed we didn't get to ride it, but maybe next time!
At this point, we had been walking for nearly 3 hours and were pretty tired, and still jet lagged. We deiced to brave the London tube to try to make it back to our hotel. Everything went very smoothly, and we made it back. I'm now writing to you from an Internet cafe about 3 blocks from my hotel.
Our AIFS group is hosting a cocktail social tonight, so we can meet everyone else going to Rome! There is about 170 of us in total. Tomorrow morning we will have a 3 hour sightseeing bus tour of London, then free time in the afternoon.
Cheers for now!
I left Boston around 6pm on Tuesday, January 12th. The plane ride went relatively smoothly, except for about 20 minutes where we experienced some of the worst turbulence I've ever felt. I had to hold on to my tray table, things were flying everywhere! The captain said we had tail wind of 200 mph. This helped speed us along, and we landed about 30 min ahead of schedule, just before 5am London time. I had been able to sleep on and off, I was too excited to sleep! We were served drinks almost every half hour, a snack of pretzels, dinner, and then breakfast. We definitely didn't go hungry.
Upon arrival, I had no idea where to go or what to do! I found two boys who were also going through the Rome program, Ryan and Brian. The three of us together found customs/passport check. There were many students waiting to go through a passport check. The line was about a half hour long. The customs officer just asked a few questions, and we were set to go. An AIFS (my program) representative was waiting for us in arrivals. On the bus, I met Jackie, another girl in the program, and we sat together on the bus. London was still dark, and very foggy. We took a bus from Heathrow to our hotel, near Hyde Park in London. There wasn't much to see on the way, the fog was too heavy! We arrived to the hotel around 7:30 am. After checking in, I rested for a little while, then met up with my new friends again to walk around London.
A group of 5 of us decided to explore London and see what we could discover. We first went to get lunch at a pub just down the street from our hotel at Lancaster Gate. I had a club sandwich, which includes chicken, hard boiled egg (this surprised me), ham, lettuce, and 'chips' (french fries). After lunch, we walked through Hyde Park ending at the Prince Albert memorial. The park was quiet, and there were many joggers and dogs. From there we walked down Kensington Road, which was uneventful. From there we saw the famous Harrods. We walked through, and I was very impressed with the upscale, swanky merchandise. We were asked several times if we needed any assistance.
After Harrods, we set the goal of finding Buckingham palace. We found our way, and I was very impressed with the presence of the building. The guards outside had their tall furry hats and guns, with police by the gate. From Buckingham palace, we could see the Eye of London, a large Ferris wheel, in the distance. The group decided it would be fun to ride it to get a great view of London. We were so focused on our walk over there, we didn't even realize we were standing in front of Big Ben! After some photo ops, we headed over to the Eye of London, only to discover this week is their yearly maintenance and it will be closed until Friday. It was still cool to see, we were all kind of bummed we didn't get to ride it, but maybe next time!
At this point, we had been walking for nearly 3 hours and were pretty tired, and still jet lagged. We deiced to brave the London tube to try to make it back to our hotel. Everything went very smoothly, and we made it back. I'm now writing to you from an Internet cafe about 3 blocks from my hotel.
Our AIFS group is hosting a cocktail social tonight, so we can meet everyone else going to Rome! There is about 170 of us in total. Tomorrow morning we will have a 3 hour sightseeing bus tour of London, then free time in the afternoon.
Cheers for now!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)