Ta-ta for now, Italia…

Well, I think it’s finally time, folks…

Tonight was the study abroad fair here at BC, where the youngins go to talk to students about their experiences abroad in hopes of finding the perfect program for them. After two hours of talking about Parma I am so emotionally drained (words from my friend Jing, who lamented from across the aisle at her Hong Kong booth).

You see, the real problem with studying abroad is when you come back home. People expect you to act normally and be the same person you were before you left, when in reality, that’s just not a possibility. You learn so much studying abroad that you can’t fit it into words or describe it to other people who haven’t been. It can’t even been described to people who have been. Usually the conversations about study abroad end after listing off the places you visited because you get too wrapped up in the memories and wishing you could live every single moment over again.

And that is why I have postponed this final blog post until now. Because I want to cry just thinking about it all actually ending. Even though it technically ended exactly 9 months and 1 day ago. Here come the tears…

Study abroad was the best time of my life (so far, at least). The rush of complete independence and self-reliance is exhilarating. Getting lost in foreign countries is my new favorite pastime. Weekend trips in countries where I don’t speak a word of the language creates moments of genuine panic, pride, freedom, and complete happiness unlike anything else I have experienced. There is nothing that can compare to being 19 or 20 years old and navigating your way through an entire continent so far away from home.

Which is why I told every single student at that study abroad fair tonight to go. Go anywhere. Study anything. Do not graduate college without going because there might not be another chance to live in a foreign country again.

As it is, I love being back on the BC campus. I missed football games, friends, family, and Boston a lot while I was gone. There still isn’t a day that goes by without me thinking about Italy, though. A year later and I can’t manage to change my computer background to anything but the Cinque Terre.

My only solace comes from the fact that I have thousands of pictures and memories to look back on with great fondness, to hold me over until I return to Europe again…

L to R: Caterina (one of my Italian mommies), me, Anna (my Italian grandma)

the whole Parma family together for our final goodbyes

 

Finals? What finals?? [Valle D’Aosta]

I have a confession to make… study abroad was not about the classes or the grades. Shocking! I know! We cared more about the experiences, the travel, the culture, the people, and the food than what grades we would have at the end of the semester (though we still went to class and did all our work!). To make sure we all kept our priorities straight, our Parma mommies arranged for us all to take a weekend getaway together just a few days before finals would begin. Obviously, they didn’t think it was important or necessary for us to study for our finals! So where did they take us? Valle D’Aosta in the Italian Alps!

Valle D’Aosta is the region in red

Valle D’Aosta lies on the Italian borders with both France and Switzerland, giving it an unparalleled views of the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps. One can see Mont Blanc (the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe), Monte Rosa, and the Matterhorn. All provide breathtaking scenery for the smallest region of Italy.

the view of Aosta from the balcony of my hotel room

walking from the hotel to the center of Aosta

The beauty of Aosta comes from more than just the mountains. Aosta became a Roman city in 25 BC and many ruins, including large triumphal arches, city walls, and theater facades, can still be seen throughout the city.

Roman ruins are scattered throughout the city

beautiful views of the mountains from within the city

the Arch of Augustus, built in 25 BC to celebrate a Roman victory in the war to claim this territory from the natives

the nighttime view of Aosta from my balcony

another view from my balcony

After our brief city walk on the first day, we took a trek through the mountains on the second day. Unfortunately, it had not snowed much yet in the mountains so it was not possible for us to ski or snowboard, but we were able to walk the trails where we could see more of the French and Swiss Alps, and a little church where we stopped for refreshments. And, of course, many many picture breaks were taken.

our first view from the mountains

a pretty little church on the mountainside

housemates! from L to R: Kevin, Tommy, Liana, Alison, Justin, Joe, Cailin, me, and Liz

breathtaking… I can’t believe I walked through the Alps!

Later that day we went back down into the valley where we went to Aosta’s Christmas market. While it was much smaller than Vienna’s Christmas markets, it was a much more homey and natural feel. There were wood carvings, benches, and stands of mulled wine lining the winding pathways through a small section of the pathway. There was even a fireplace on the pathway that we relaxed around for a while!

cool decorations and carvings at the Christmas fair

lots of cute little shops for Christmas knick-knacks

a giant, wooden Frosty the Snowman 🙂

drinking our mulled wine and ciders… yummy!

Despite all the fun we had walking through the Alps and soaking up some more Italian Christmas cheer, we did spend a great deal of time in the hotel studying for our finals (which we passed!). I guess some things just don’t change… 😉

a castle in the valley

On our way home to Parma, we stopped at two castles in Valle D’Aosta. While the first one was closed and we could only walk around the outside (I actually slid down a hill when I climbed up to take a picture next to the castle), the second castle was open for us to visit.

Forte di Bard, the second castle we visited, was built in the 1830s by Charles Albert of Savoy on a critical pass between Italy and France. Not only did it provide a pretty view of the Valle D’Aosta, it is a spot full of rich history because of its strategic location for rulers to maintain control and prevent attacks. The castle that currently stands on the top of the mountain replaced a series of castles that had stood in the same spot since the 5th century; one of which held a battle in 1800 that prevented Napoleon Bonaparte’s surprise attack on the Po Valley and Turin.

the view from Forte di Bard

Forte di Bard and the mountains

The most amazing part of the castle was the sheer size of it. It seemed like a miracle that a structure that large could balance on top of a mountain peak for centuries.

within the fort’s walls

Christmastime in Parma

From Christmas in Vienna to Parma…

Knowing that Italians take their religion, and therefore Christmas, much more seriously (and publicly) than the U.S., I was excited to see how Parma would decorate for the upcoming holiday. The one downside to the beginning of the Christmas season at “home”? It meant the beginning of the end of my fantastic time abroad. I knew I had to make the most of every moment, and try not to stress out about the upcoming finals per usual…

So to celebrate the season I joined the rest of the city of Parma in Piazza Garibaldi (the main square in town) one night to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Parma’s beautiful Palazzo del Governatore (Governor’s Palace), built in the 17th century, at sunset

the other half of Piazza Garibaldi (across from the Palazzo del Governatore) with the Christmas tree and an “igloo” filled with little craft stands

Pretty Christmas lights adorned all the main streets–every street had a different size, color, and type of decoration!

Before the sun went down and the tree could be lit, people wandered the square and surrounding streets shopping, looking at the pretty Christmas lights, checking out the stands of knick-knacks and candies, and talking with their Parmigiani neighbors. As the sky became darker, more people filled the streets until the huge piazza was packed with people standing on top of each other. Although we did not all plan to go together, by the time the tree was about to be lit, almost all students from BC were crowded around the Christmas tree, taking pictures like tourists and listening to the adorable Italian children around us.

the soon-to-be-lit Christmas tree in the center of town (with the 13th century Palazzo del Governatore behind the tree)

Piazza Garibaldi

one of the main shopping streets in Parma off of Piazza Garibaldi

strings of lights, paper holly, and round ornaments with pictures of angels decorated the tree

After the tree was lit, a piano and chorus sang Christmas carols and we all sung along. Surprisingly, the majority of songs were in English so it was a nice touch of home in our most recent home. I love the sense of community that Parma has given us over the past 3 months.

Phantom of the Opera!

Well, now that you’ve seen one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world (in Vienna), I’d like to give you something to compare it to…

As a part of the program in Parma, our mommies (they’re officially site coordinators, but there’s not much of a difference) arranged for us to go to see an opera in October. One of my favorite musicals is Phantom of the Opera so you can say I was just a little (super) excited to be going to an actual opera in an opera house like I’ve seen portrayed in both the movie and the play. Look out, opera house! Here I come!

Parma’s claim to fame, besides its yummy prosciutto and cheese, is that it was home to famous composer Giuseppe Verdi (or at least it was the major city near his home). Verdi is most known for his operas Aida, La traviata, and Rigoletto. All of October in Parma is dedicated to him, with events all around the main piazza and shows in the opera house.

Parma’s opera house is named Teatro Regio, for the royalty that lived in Parma during the early 19th century when it was constructed. And boy, does it look fit for royalty. Just see for yourself. Words alone cannot describe.

the ceiling inside the theatre

ornately decorated box seats

the view looking out from the stage (minus the floor seats)

I was lucky enough to see one of Verdi’s own inside this gorgeous theatre. Does it get any better than this?

a view of the theatre before the performance from an upper level box

The opera we were going to see was Verdi’s Un ballo in machera, set in 17th century Boston. Ironic! Basically it’s about this love triangle involving the governor, his wife, and the governor’s right-hand man/best friend. Can you say awkward? Anyway, it’s full of jealousy, love triangles, conspiracies, singing, and Italian and I watched sitting in a gorgeous theatre. Needless to say, I loved every second of it and I was actually able to understand about 1/4 of it! (We did talk about the plot in class, though, so I had a headstart.)

the stage during the performance– Notice the subtitles (in Italian) above the stage to help the audience follow along.

a view from a box closer to the stage, with the chandelier lit up for the performance

It’s just hard NOT to be in awe and feel lucky when in a setting like this. Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for this experience. Gorgeous costumes, scenery, and a cultural experience all as class work! Not too bad!

the masquerade scene

(And no, there was no Phantom in this opera, though I haven’t decided whether that’s unfortunate or not…)

it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas [Vienna]

Yes, I realize I’ve been home for a couple months now, but it’s about time I finally finish up my last few posts. I was just trying to extend the experience for us all…

After a couple relaxing weekends in Parma, it was time for me to begin exploring again. On December 2nd (Andrew’s birthday!) I left for Vienna, Austria, eager for the Christmas season of 2011 to begin. Christmas markets, here I come!

Joe R., Cailin and I left for Vienna in the morning and arrived just in time to find a delicious and authentic Viennese dinner. We wandered into this cute little restaurant near our hostel that was run by a man from Chicago and his wife. Not only did we get delicious food (and Joe got that Austrian beer he wanted) but we were entertained by his strange sense of humor and talk of American culture.

my first Viennese dinner... meat and potatoes!

After our delicious dinner, we decided to take a walk through the streets of Vienna at night. The next morning we would be taking a walking tour of the city, but what’s better than seeing the beauty of a city at night?? Plus, I needed to see some Christmas lights!!

Hofburg Palace and the Spanish riding school

Beautiful Christmas lights in all different shapes, sizes, and colors filled the city streets. I took a picture of every single type of Christmas light I saw because I was just so excited for Christmas spirit! I can't even describe how beautiful everything looked.

St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Vienna Christmas tree

You would not believe how giddy I was to see so many Christmas decorations. Christmas is my favorite time of year and to start the season in such a beautiful European city famous around the world for its Christmas markets and celebration was such a blessing.

The next morning we woke up early for a tour of Vienna in which we learned about the history, politics, and society of the city. I knew very little about Vienna or Austria before taking this tour, so taking the tour was definitely worth it. Not only was I seeing the major sights of the city, but I was learning about them!

one of Mozart's many apartments in Vienna but this is the one he spent the most time in (the open window on the top floor) AND one of the few remaining spots where the original city walls of Vienna stand (the brick wall curving around Mozart's building)

inside Hofburg Palace, former seat of the Hapsburg dynasty and other kings of the Holy Roman Empire/current seat of the Austrian president

Augustinian Church connected to Hofburg Palace, where members of the Hapsburg dynasty were married and buried their hearts (yes, only their hearts) when they died

the beautiful organ within Augustinian Church (Hofburg Palace)

inside of St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna's main church built in 1147

As much as I loved everything in Vienna, no sight compared to the Vienna State Opera House (built in 1869). There are three sections to the opera house: two winged entrances and the center portion with the theatre. During World War II, the theatre was bombed, leaving only the entrance wings in their original condition.

the ceiling inside one of the entrance halls of the Vienna State Opera House

a meeting room in the emperor's suite within the Opera House

the staircase leading from the entrance halls to the upper wings... I loved this staircase. I don't know why, but it reminded me of the Titanic.

a room for cocktail hour at the Opera House

The theatre was rebuilt in the 1950s in the modern style, making it more sleek and streamlined (in the ’50s style) as compared with the ornate and intricate details of the original building.

backstage! and looking over towards the audience on the right

the ceiling in the theater--Notice the distinct contrast in styles between this and the earlier pictures.

Today, Vienna State Opera House puts on between 50 and 60 different plays and operas every year, totaling around 200 performances during its 10-month season. It’s common to find a different play every night of the week during the busy season.

Not only that, but two plays will be on stage a day. During the morning one play will be on stage rehearsing with props, costumes, and backdrops. Then those goods will be shipped to the storage facility half an hour away in the afternoon; the scenery and costumes for that evening’s performance will be brought to the theatre on the return trip. While this may seem like a lot of unnecessary work, the house is packed almost every night, filling both seats and standing-room only spots which are sold only hours before the performance begins.

stage view

This trip was full of so many great experiences… After our tour of the opera house, Joe and I spent time in the prettiest Christmas market (while Cailin was visiting a family friend). We had fun looking at all the booths and drinking the many types of mulled wine that we had been hearing about for days. Apple was the best. It tasted like a hard apple cider with many more spices thrown in. Yummy!!

Christmas market in front of town hall

more of the Christmas market

The next morning we took the trip to Schonbrun Palace a little bit outside of the city, where the Hapsburg family used to summer. The palace was gorgeous, but decorated in the Rococo style, which is too frilly for my tastes. I just loved being in a place where so many historical events have taken place, including a meeting of JFK and Nikita Krushchev in 1961. Besides, this is my future backyard so it was nice to see it before I officially move onto the property… 😉

Schonbrun Palace

the backyard of Schonbrun (aka my future backyard?)

For lunch we stopped at a quaint little restaurant recommended to us by one of Joe’s friends who grew up in Vienna. It was so authentic that you just couldn’t help but love it. I had chicken schnitzel (which I had never heard of before this trip) and it was delicious! It’s basically just a chicken cutlet/giant chicken finger. Who knew??

chicken schnitzel and delicious potatoes

I can’t describe how much I loved the Christmas-y feel of Vienna. Although I’m sure I would’ve loved it no matter when I visited, if you get a chance to, visit in December when the Christmas markets are open and the city is decorated. It’s breathtaking!

[insert corny “Czech it out!”-inspired title here]

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Prague, a girl fell in love with Eastern Europe….

This adventure in Prague (November 3-6; sorry I’m still a little behind in these posts) was my first time visiting Eastern Europe and I didn’t know what differences to expect, though I thought it would be less “Americanized” than Western Europe. In fact, after visiting I believe the opposite is true. Around every corner you can find a KFC, Starbucks, or other American fast food chain. Those are things you couldn’t find in Italy unless you were willing to travel for a bit. But even still, the buildings are beautiful and make you feel like you’re in a foreign land. That may seem like a weird thing for me to say considering every country I’ve been in for the past 3 months has been foreign, but Western Europe is starting to feel comfortable and like home to me. Prague and Eastern Europe still has this magical quality to it that reminds me how far away from home I actually am.

one of my first views of Prague… can you tell why I fell in love with it? It’s like a real life fairy-tale!

Of course, we hadn’t seen American fast food or even fried food, in a very long time so the first place we went in Prague was KFC. I’m ashamed to admit that, but now that it’s out there… it was delicious!! I love the natural foods, fruits, and veggies of Italy, but sometimes you just really need some good fried chicken, french fries, and a soda. Yummy! Since it was already late when we arrived, we just went to see the main square at night before going to a bar to try some Prague beer that we had heard was good and then went back to the hostel to sleep. [The room was huge! We haven’t stayed in a bad or gross hostel yet, thank goodness! *knock on wood*]

The next morning we started in Wenceslas Square, one of the main sights of New Town. Wenceslas Square is huge; it’s easy to see why there would be demonstrations held here versus other squares in the city.

a memorial cross to the two men who burned themselves alive in Wenceslas Square in 1969 in political protests

view of Wenceslas Square from the National Museum

Though Wenceslas Square was interesting and full of political history, we didn’t know enough about Czech history to make this really interesting so we moved on quickly. Our next stop was the open market full of food, fruits, nuts, and knick-knacks where I made a friend (of course!) with the guy who was serving food. I was going to take a picture of the food when he stopped me, picked up his big stirring spoon and posed for the picture. So cute. 🙂 And the food was delicious!

my new friend posed for the picture before he served me a delicious meal of potatoes and klobasa

mmmmm delicious potatoes and klobasa. I want some right now!

After lunch we went to Old Town Square! Kevin’s friend from home Eric is now studying in Prague so he became our tour guide for most of the rest of the day. It was awesome to have our own personal tour! Plus, we didn’t have to worry about figuring out where to go. Eric took care of that for us! First stop: the clock tower! The Astronomical Clock in Prague is gorgeous, but I think you don’t really appreciate it until you know it’s history. This clock was installed in 1410 (601 years ago!), making it the 3rd oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one that is still working today! I know I overuse this word, but… it’s AMAZING!!

probably the biggest attraction of Prague: the Astronomical Clock! Though the show it puts on is a little disappointing, it’s still fascinating to think that this clock has been standing here (and working) for such a long time!

[I thought the clock was really interesting to learn about. If you’d like to read more, check out this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock ]

Old Town Square: While we were in Prague, there was a festival going on, hence all the booths set up around the square.

Eric took us up into the clock tower where we got a beautiful 360* view of Prague.

a view of Prague from the top of the clock tower

again, from the clock tower, part of Old Town Square and the castle-like church!

We were lucky enough to be on the top of the clock tower at the top of the hour. On every hour mark the clock puts on a little “show,” basically these puppets pop out of the windows on the top of the clock. (I couldn’t see very well, but Kevin said it wasn’t anything special.) While you can’t see the show from the tower, you can see the crowd gathering below and then have a front row seat to the trumpeter’s performance. The trumpeter plays a song from all four sides of the tower, in the four cardinal directions. Very cool experience. Unfortunately, I can’t post the video on here, but you can see the video when I get home if you’d like! (along with the videos of me dancing in Brussels)

the crowd gathering below to watch the hourly clock “show”

the trumpeter with his awesome outfit! I bought you all matching outfits for Christmas… now just to learn how to play the trumpet… 😉

Thankfully, Eric was very determined to show us all that Prague had to offer, both in sights and food. He recommended these Prague doughnut-like pastries (I forget their actual name) with chocolate inside. Sugar pastry + chocolate = one happy Alyssa. I was sold. [But none of you doubted that I would get one, you know me too well.] Kevin and I split a regular one and a chocolate one so we could get the full experience. Chocolate was better, but both were so good!

delicious Prague doughnuts with chocolate 🙂

Next stop: Lennon Wall. To get to the Lennon Wall, we crossed the beautiful and famous Charles Bridge. Though I don’t know if there’s any historical significance to Charles Bridge [who am I kidding? it’s Europe, of course there’s historical significance, I just don’t know it], I thought Charles Bridge was interesting because of its religious statues. Both statues I noticed were depictions of moments within the Crucifixion of Jesus, yet both had inscriptions written in Hebrew. Yes, we were near the Jewish quarter and I realize that Jesus was Jewish, but I had just never seen a Christian monument/statue in Hebrew before.

the beautiful Charles Bridge, though unfortunately the people block it’s beautyCharles Bridge, the river, and the statue to rival the Eiffel Tower

Charles Bridge, the river, and the tower to rival the Eiffel Tower

From Charles Bridge it’s possible to see Petřín Lookout Tower. The steel tower resembles the Eiffel Tower of Paris and was built on the top of the hill so that it’s actually higher in altitude than the Eiffel Tower, though standing alone it would be shorter. As you can imagine, this makes the Parisians a little upset. I find it funny.

the Parma gang in Prague (L to R): Cailin, me, Kevin, Olivia, Christina, and Eric (not the tour guide Eric)

The Lennon Wall.  I was a little confused when I first heard the name (Lennon or Lenin??), but yes, Lennon as in John Lennon of the Beatles. Why the wall is there I have no idea, but Lennon is seen as a communicator of peace and love through his/the Beatles’ songs. The whole wall is a beautiful collection of graffiti: lyrics, sayings, names, ideas, hearts, peace signs, and lovers’ names among many other things.

part of the Lennon wall that I really liked: “Ideas are inspiring but inflexible. Fight for people. People change the world.”

Beatles lyrics on the Lennon wall… how appropriate 😉

Unfortunately by time we reached the Jewish quarter of the city we had only half an hour before Sabbath began, not enough time to go through all the things I wanted to see. We were able to see the outside of the Old New Synagogue, but couldn’t go inside that or the Cemetery (or anything else). I had been so looking forward to this, but that’s what happens when you’re only able to travel on the weekends. Oh well, just another reason to come back to Prague.

Old New Synagogue (the Czech and their crazy names)

When rejected by the Jewish quarter, we decided to go back to the hostel and take a nap before dinner. There’s no such thing as being too old to take naps.

view of Wenceslas Square and the National Museum at night

beef goulash for dinner… yummy 🙂

Another day, more sights to see. Day 2’s destination was Prague Castle. Because there’s so much to see there, we saved a whole day for the Castle itself. The Castle was so overwhelming we didn’t know where to begin, just like I don’t know where to start now! Prague Castle is the largest castle in the world (according to Guinness Book of World Records) and was founded sometime in the late 9th century (around 880 AD). The Castle is composed of a variety of different types of buildings ranging in styles. With the ticket we purchased we were able to visit four of the biggest sights within the Castle: St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St. George, and Golden Lane. I’m a proud nerd so prepare yourself for some historical information:

St. Vitus Cathedral is the most important church in all of the Czech Republic and it’s history is so fascinating, but I promise not to bore you with  the details The current church is actually the third church situated on this spot. The first, which had been built in approximately 925 AD, was too small to accommodate the growing Catholic population so construction of the current church began in 1060 AD. This second church housed the bishop of Prague and the tomb of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Prague. When Prague became the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and an archbishop in the middle of the 14th century, the entire Castle’s life was renewed and St. Vitus was expanded to its current Gothic form. All this just to say that the church was ornate and intricately designed, with beautiful stained glass. Stained glass is one of my favorite parts of churches and it was all over this cathedral so I loved being inside it!

St. Vitus Cathedral within the Prague Castle

I loved all the stained glass windows within this Cathedral! They were so colorful; every window had a different color scheme.

The second church we went into was the Basilica of St. George, right across the piazza from St. Vitus. St. George’s is the oldest surviving building of Prague Castle, built in 920 AD, though it has been restructured and redesigned many times after falling into ruin from fires and abandonment. As you can see, though the churches are right across a square from one another, they are completely different styles on the inside.

within the Castle walls: Basilica of St. George is building with the red facade

another church within the Castle (the inside of the Basilica of St. George in the above picture)

After the churches we went into the Old Royal Palace, which was nice but empty so it wasn’t as interesting as the other parts of the Castle. In the Old Royal Palace we did see the royal jewels though, which looked like a kindergartner’s arts and crafts. I say that meaning no disrespect to the Czech people, of course, I just can’t describe the very colorful, large jewels in a more accurate way without a picture.

Finally, the most fun part of the Castle… Golden Lane!! Golden Lane is a tiny street filled with all these tiny houses (see the picture of me standing next to one below). Some houses were set up historically and on display for visitors to see the way the people lived there, surprisingly not long long ago. The writer Franz Kafka (you may know The Trial or “Metamorphosis”) lived here with his sister during WWI.

I loved Golden Lane within the Castle. The houses were all so cute and tiny! (No one better say that I’m just abnormally tall….)

In one of the houses, you were able to walk upstairs through an armory and then could actually shoot a cross bow yourself!! This was my favorite part of Golden Lane and probably the whole castle! Alright, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I love watching medieval/action movies and this was so me! I’m not going to tell you that I missed every single shot because that’s not important. [What excuse would you like to hear? I need my glasses to see distance, especially in the dark. There was a language barrier when he was explaining how to aim it… I’ve got ’em all planned out.] What’s important is that I had so much fun!!!

Me shooting a crossbow. Look out world!!

While everyone else went on a beer tour and pub crawl after the castle, I decided not to go (it would’ve been a waste of money because I don’t like beer that much) and chose to take a personal night tour of the city instead. Cailin chose to come with me. For dinner we had some of the ham pictured below. Fire roasted, smokey, flavorful and moist. Mmmm… my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I thought this food stand was so cool. You walk up and say you’d like a plate of ham so they get out their knife and just start cutting slabs off of the spinning meat. Then you just get the meat and a slice of bread on a plate to eat! At first I looked at the plate and thought that I was taken for a fool and made to pay the equivalent of about $10 for a small plate of ham, but that ham was worth every penny.

Prague ham… DELICIOUS!!! Dad and Mr. Glynn, I was thinking about you while I was eating it. You two would’ve loved it!!

doesn’t it look soooo good??

And just when you thought my dinner couldn’t get any better…. I ate the ham in a small grassy area right in/next to Old Town Square. It was gorgeous at night and everyone was just sitting there, relaxing, chatting, and enjoying their surroundings. I made friends with two different groups of people: two Czech boys who were laughing at me for taking a picture of my ham and two Italian boys who kept me company when the crazies would come up and try to talk to me. I guess Europeans think I have a friendly face! I don’t mind, I like making new friends. 🙂

from inside the pretty park where I ate dinner (That’s the building with the clock tower right behind the tree.)

Don’t worry, family, I’m being safe when meeting new people. Though the Italians invited us to a club, I turned them down. I wanted to see some more of the city at night! [See? No need to be worried.] We were already in Old Town Square so naturally that’s where we started. I love this castle-like church. I never got a chance to go inside, but it’s so beautiful from the outside, especially at night. It almost reminds me of the turrets on Cinderella’s castle. The whole time we were in Prague we kept saying, “This is a real life fairy-tale!!” and it’s so true! It looks like Disney World come to life.

I just can’t get enough of this beautiful church when it’s all lit up at night!

Old Town Square and the festival at night

From Old Town Square we walked back towards our hostel because I wanted to see the river and National Theater, which was a 2 minute walk down the street from the hostel.

beautiful Prague

Prague Castle/St. Vitus Cathedral, as seen from below

Charles Bridge

After crossing a bridge to get pictures of St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles Bridge, we went halfway back to an island in the middle of the river where there was a small, deserted park. We just sat on a bench with this view directly in front of us….

the National Theater

Life is good. I’m so lucky that I had the opportunity to sit on this park bench in such a secluded area of the beautiful city of Prague. We sat there for about an hour before we got too cold and decided to call it quits for the night. It was a wonderful hour in a beautiful place with a great view. The perfect ending to an amazing trip.

Prague seen from a different vantage point, sitting on a bench in a park across from the National Theater.

dancing through Brussels [Halloween part 2]

If there’s one word to describe our time in Brussels it’s CHOCOLATY. I was in heaven. Can I live there?? (Though it’s probably better I don’t.) Brussels was definitely one of my favorite weekend trips. We ate a ton of chocolate, made friends, went sightseeing, danced with our new friends in the main piazza in front of gorgeous buildings… life just doesn’t get better!!

The morning started with a walk from the hostel to the Grand Place. Brussels is such a beautiful city and the Grand Place (and the piazza it’s located in) definitely is the pinnacle of the city’s beauty. After walking around the piazza trying to figure out what each building was (where is our art history professor Rocky when we need him?!) we headed to the chocolate museum. There were free samples left and right, a chocolate molding demonstration, and a rooms of where the chocolate comes from/the crazy things that can be made of chocolate. I loved every second!

the top of the Grand Place as seen from a side street

the museum

busts made out of cocoa... so cool!

painted chocolate mold (molded out of a Mickey Mouse mask!)

After spending a good amount of time in the museum we decided to take a break from all the chocolate eating and find the famous peeing boy statue. I had never heard of this statue before I went to Brussels, but you can’t walk more than 3 steps without finding a knock-off of this statue in some way, whether in a souvineer shop or in restaurants/shops as beer/chocolate fountains. Weird, but I guess they like it. We finally found the real statue and we didn’t even realize it because it was so underwhelming. I only knew it was the real one by the large crowd gathered around the fence looking at it. Once again, what is so special about this statue???

the peeing boy statue (they put clothes on him based on the season/holiday)

From the disappointing statue we walked to the beautiful Cathedral, a much prettier sight. And there were some really cool wooden animals outside!

the Cathedral! (unfortunately pictures weren't allowed inside, but it was beautiful)

What else was there to do in Brussels after the Cathedral? That’s a silly question… we ate more chocolate, of course! We walked from store to store checking out all the different types and kinds of chocolate, sampling different flavors from different countries. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve tried chocolate made from cocoa beans from all the major producing countries in the world. And in all different forms too! We had chocolate fondu, truffles, chips, mixed molds, bars, among many others! We were all getting really into our chocolate tasting, but no one was like Cailin who walked away from one chocolate store with chocolate on her face and her sleeves…

We went chocolate crazy!!!

mmmmmm yummy 😀

mixed chocolate shells... we saw how these were made in the museum!

It was Halloween weekend; we had to find chocolate pumpkins!

delicious truffles in a million different flavors! or so it seemed

Even the best things have to end some time and our chocolate tasting ended as the sun went down. (Don’t worry, we had done other things besides eat chocolate all day. We’re not that bad!) We took a night walk around the city to see how beautiful the buildings were lit up:

Grand Place again

small yet beautiful Belgian church

see? I told you! peeing statue with beer!

While in Belgium, I think it’s fairly obvious that you need to try some waffles. Waffles with Chantilly cream are the best! I wish I could bring them home with me! My dad makes a mean Belgian waffle with strawberries at home, but Dad, these are so light and fluffy and the cream is fresh… I’m sorry! We’ll have to find a recipe for these to make them at home.

There’s no better way to top off a day of eating chocolate and waffles than getting some exercise in, especially when that exercise is dancing! While Cynthia and Cailin went back to the hostel, Jackie stayed in the Grand Place piazza. We just sat in the middle of the square like the locals, taking in our beautiful surroundings and enjoying life, until these drunk guys that we had run into earlier came up to harass us again. After telling them to go away and ignoring them for a little while, one of their friends came up and started talking to them. He seemed much more reasonable (and definitely sober) so we asked him if he could get his friends away from us. He apologized profusely and shooed them away. After 5 minutes of the “new guy” hanging out close to us but far enough away to not be creepy, we decided to make friends and called him over.

Ethan (the new guy) was a 17-year-old Portuguese boy in Brussels studying to be a Protestant minister. He had successfully sent his drunk friends away and now was with a crowd of other students studying to become ministers. He introduced us to his sister Caroline, who unfortunately didn’t speak English very well so it was hard to communicate with her. Ethan, on the other hand, was fluent in Italian and spoke English very well so he became the translator for his sister and, later, the rest of the group. When his friends started blasting music from their Vespa, we stood up to watch them dance and sing along. Turns out that these future ministers had choreographed dances to techno Gospel music! Not only did we get a nice performance and learn a few new songs, we got a dancing lesson! They taught us their dance moves; Jackie and I joined in with their choreographed number as a large crowd gathered around us. I had SO much fun!!

Ethan teaching me the dance moves.

The whole gang doing the Portuguese (or European?) crazy for Jesus sign. 🙂

Making new foreign friends, being silly and dancing in a piazza, communicating in two languages to try to help someone understand you… these are my favorite parts about being abroad!

All the pretty lights [Amsterdam]

(Halloween weekend: 28-31 October)

Ahhhh, Amsterdam… city of drugs, legal prostitution, LGBT support, and a general open attitude about anything and everything. Before you get too far into this, let me just warn you:  there are no stories of me doing drugs or becoming a prostitute for the night I was in Amsterdam so my family can read on without fear and friends can close this tab now if that’s where you were hoping this tale would go…

After an extremely long day of travel (literally our travel log was: bus, train to Milan, bus, plane to Brussels, bus, train to Amsterdam, trolley to the hostel), we arrived in one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to. Though Amsterdam is known for its nights for other reasons, the buildings and streets lit up looked gorgeous.

Amsterdam train station... our first sight after a long, long day of traveling

the main street on the way to our hostel

I didn't realize that Amsterdam had so many beautiful canals!

After checking into our hostel, we decided to make the most out of our 24 hours in Amsterdam and go out to see the infamous Red Light District (RLD) at nighttime. I don’t particularly enjoy staring at naked women in doorways, but I’m not going to lie, I had been looking forward to visiting the RLD. I grew up in an extremely sheltered environment and was ready to experience (or watch others experience) something completely different than what I know.

I really had no idea what to expect in the RLD, but it was actually pretty classy (considering what it was). The girls in lingerie stand in rooms with full length glass doors facing the streets/walkways and a red light shining on their door. The girls range in sizes, shapes, and ethnicities. They watch the people walk by and when they see a guy they like they entice him to come over to their doors. They settle on a price while he’s still outside then he can go in if they agree. Curtains are pulled over the doors when the room is occupied. Girls have the power to turn down any offers; they’re pretty much entrepreneurs because they rent out the rooms themselves and have power over clientele. There are very few pimps in the area. Police seem to do a great job of protecting the girls and making sure that they’re safe. Not that I think prostitution should be legal, but if a country wants to make it legal they should definitely follow Amsterdam’s model.

I loved the irony... red lights are on the right, a church is on the left.

sex shops, bars selling weed, and red lights everywhere!!

More interesting than seeing the girls posing in doorways were the conversations and questions that arose after walking through the RLD. Jackie and I were the two most eager to see the RLD, not for the girls but for the social and cultural experience. What kind of social impacts does legal prostitution have? Does it better women’s place in Dutch society or does it make men think that they’re allowed to control them more? How much are children exposed to? I almost wish I could’ve had more time in Amsterdam to figure out at least some of the answers to our questions. It would be an interesting study not only from a women’s social perspective, but from an economic one.

We spent a while in the RLD discussing our thoughts on legal prostitution, then we headed back to the hostel, exhausted from our seemingly endless day of travel. The next morning Jackie and I slept in a bit (the other two left at 7 am… too insane for our liking) and headed over to the Van Gogh museum after breakfast. Five full floors of paintings by Van Gogh and his friends/inspirations. It was beautiful and amazing to see the contrast between Van Gogh’s early years and his later works.

I AMsterdam 🙂

beautiful autumn in Amsterdam

The rest of the day was spent eating delicious food, seeing the outside of Anne Frank’s house (unfortunately, the line was too long for me to wait and still make the train), and walking around the city. I loved Amsterdam even though I wasn’t there for long. I’d definitely recommend going there at some point. There’s so much more to do there than I thought!!

On the way to the train station we came upon a small piazza filled with tents and people; we were so confused at first. As we continued to squeeze through the crowd I noticed the signs… we were walking through Occupy Amsterdam! The others hadn’t heard of the We are the 99% much, but I had explained it a little on the train to Amsterdam so we all knew at least a little about it. At this point the protest was very peaceful and everyone was standing around listening to a singer/guitarist on the stage play a really beautiful song. We stood there for a while taking it all in. Though we may or may not have agreed with the sentiment they were expressing, it was pretty cool to say that I got to experience an Occupy […] protest abroad!

We are the 99% rally

After a mere 24 hours in Amsterdam we jumped on a train back to Brussels where we’d spend the rest of the weekend… (to be continued)

la bella Venezia!

Venice was one of the few places that I had been planning to visit since I knew I’d be studying abroad… I actually almost chose the Venice study abroad program through BC, but eventually chose Parma because of its more cultural classroom experience. I definitely made the right decision. Though Venice was beautiful and I look forward to going back again someday, it was extremely touristy and I’m happy I don’t have to deal with tourists on a daily basis. That said, the Venetian people were extremely accommodating and friendly, showing us around the city at night and giving us free seafood to taste! (what can I say, we’re cute!)

We left Parma early Friday morning (3 am wake up!) right after our late night at the opera–we were tired to say the least, but so excited for our amazing long weekend in Venice!

view of Venice right when you step out of the train station

beautiful canals are EVERYWHERE

my favorite breakfast… brioche and cappuccino!

street markets of fresh fruits, veggies, and fishies

Most of our weekend was spent walking around Venice getting lost (intentionally) so we could explore the beautiful side streets. Venice, the only pedestrian-only city in the entire world, was filled with so many people and boats acting as cars that my friends didn’t even notice the lack of cars until I pointed it out to them! Obviously the lack of technology didn’t detract from its liveliness!

Rialto bridge

Of course, we had to see the major “attractions” of Venice while we were there: Rialto bridge, the Grand Canal, the Cathedral, St. Mark’s piazza, etc.

the Grand Canal 🙂

the golden inside of Venice’s Cathedral

eating calamari for the first time… I did this just for you, Gram! I hope you’re proud!

After lunch on our first day we took a tour of 3 of the islands of Venice:  Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Murano, our first stop on the tour, is most famously known for its glass and is primarily inhabited by glass factories. We stopped only quickly in the factory (it was disappointingly short) and then got to look around at their collection/store. It’s absolutely amazing how they’re able to make such delicate creatures and elegant designs with mere melted glass.

heating up the glass

Next up was Burano, the island of lace and my personal favorite. It was so picturesque and colorful, both residential and commercial. It was Italy as I think most people in the world picture it.

just some of the beautiful lace

The Venetian woman I made friends with and watched for a while. She told me about her personal history with lace, how she started making the lace about 50 years ago at the school right across the piazza from where we were and how often she works. According to our conversation (all in Italian, may I add), it will take 7 women to complete the one piece of art in her hands. Each woman specializes in one stitch and does all those stitches before passing it along to the next woman. Our conversation was intriguing and I loved being able to talk to a local. Meeting new people is the best part of all these trips that I take!

an island rich with color

Last (but most certainly not least) was Torcello, the original settlement of Venice. This was the most residential area of Venice we had seen; there was nothing on the island except houses, overgrown land, and the oldest church we’ve seen in Italy so far.

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta from 639 AD (left)… the mosaics inside were gorgeous! It was so hard to believe that they’re still surviving after all these years. Santa Fosca (right) is an 11th/12th century church that we couldn’t go into.

The Last Judgment mosaic within Santa Maria Assunta

the Venetian sunset as seen from Torcello

Venice at dusk

The next day (after a much needed, looooong night’s sleep) we had decided that we were going to put our maps at the bottom of our purses and just walk through the streets that looked most interesting to us. We found ourselves delicious cappuccino and ended up in a residential area of the city with no tourists.

just a regular Venetian house and “car”

After miraculously ending up in the center of the city again (I think we had to break out a map), we did a lot of shopping (only window shopping, I promise) and had a delicious pizza for lunch. Then we went to a park where we just hung out, learned Korean games from my friend Esther, and even made some new Venetian friends, Tony and Kristian.

Piazza di San Marco

fun in the park

the Venice girls! 🙂 My roommate Cailin was also in Venice this weekend so she met up with us for a little while when we were in the park!

Jackie, Tony and I spent the rest of the night getting great pictures of the city at night and checking out some of the mellow Venetian nightlife.

the Grand Canal, even more beautiful at night

gorgeous Venetian masks

While I may not get to see places like the true tourist because of my money and time constraints, I have so much fun traveling to all these new places. My friends and I have learned how to make the most of our time in places… talking to locals, learning about their lives and crafts, taking the time to eat local cuisine and seeing the city in a more relaxed manner more like the locals would. Maybe I miss a few museums or sights because I don’t have the money to enter, but in all of these trips so far it’s been the people and experiences that have made the places so exciting. That’s the reason I love to travel… I could Google search any monument or artwork and find a picture, but the purpose of these trips is to experience culture and the pulse of the city.

relaxing in Parma… finally :)

I spend most of my time in Parma doing what anyone would do in his/her hometown… I go to wake up, go to class, do homework, cook dinner, clean the apartment, go shopping, bike around town, and go to town events… except I’m in Italy and this is my first apartment so everything seems so much more exciting! These are photos from my daily life in Parma… 🙂

Bridget and Cynthia walking through Parma

Parma’s “river”

I love autumn ❤

villa family dinner numero 3 (or maybe 4?) was molto delicioso!

the organic festival we went to on Saturday around town

After our class trip to the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory we went to a beautiful castle. We didn’t go inside, but we wandered around the outside through the gardens, taking pictures, being silly, and taking naps (?!)…

the castle

the garden

the girls 🙂

such a beautiful day

Joe resting on the bench

Regular classes resumed after our excursion through the countryside, but I love that we can go and actually experience culture and history in person as we travel through Italy. THIS is exactly what study abroad should be. Classroom learning is important, but just as important are the experiences that shape a person’s way of thinking and challenge her assumptions. I’ve learned so much about myself through BC and its emphasis on experiential learning… my PULSE class that taught me philosophy and theology through a community service placement in the South End of Boston, TechTrek that showed me the business world/organizational culture/technology through our field study in Silicon Valley, and now classes in Italy that teach me about the things I’m experiencing everyday from the language to the culture and the sights. As I sat in front of the Venice train station this weekend (more about that later), a man from Detroit struck up a conversation with me because he saw me studying in English. We talked about my studies and travels as I gave him travel advice and as we were parting he commented that I didn’t realize how lucky I was.

But that’s where he’s wrong… I do know how lucky I am.

When people say that to me it actually gets me really upset. This man talked to me for ten minutes and he doesn’t know me personally so I’m not attacking him, but he’s not the only person who’s said this to me; even people close to me have said it and that hurts even worse. I’m not going to deny that I have a fairly easy life; I think fully recognizing that leads to an appreciation for everything and everyone I have in my life. I have two parents and an amazing brother who love me, a family who’d do anything for me, and friends who are always there for me. I rarely have to worry about anything of great substance. My parents ensure that my focus is on my schoolwork and becoming the person that I want to be. I know that I’m extremely lucky to have the experiences that I do and even the time and motivation to reflect upon them, especially at such a young age. While experiences like mine are certainly a privilege, the SJ Cadet in me recognizes that there is a responsibility that comes with this privilege (see, what I learned in high school is actually applicable to real life!); experiences like this are not something that should be wasted because not everyone is lucky enough to have them.

My parents do more for me than I should ever expect and though I may not thank them enough out loud, I hope they know that I appreciate everything they do for me. So Mom and Dad, thank you not only for financial and material support, but thank you for your dedication, caring concern, opportunities for growth and learning, conversations that challenge my beliefs, loyalty, love, and experiences that give me a different perspective on my own life (among many other things). I don’t mean for this to sound conceited, but I finally like the person that I’m becoming after years of uncertainty and that’s all because of what you’ve given me. I appreciate that and all the little moments in my life (both with you and on my own that have been shaped by your influence) more than you can ever know. I love you and miss you!

p.s. Mom, don’t cry 😉 I can hear you sniffling all the way from Parma!