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

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!

Bolognese, per favore!

Another Saturday, another adventure… This time a group of us decided to take a day trip to Bologna, a charming Italian city known for its university and, of course, Bolognese sauce! Early Saturday morning we biked to the train station and jumped on the first train bound for Bologna. We were all busy admiring the cleanliness of the train when the controllare came over to collect our tickets. I handed him my ticket and was immediately told to fork over an extra 8 euro for getting on the wrong train. Apparently in all the excitement of the morning we had gotten on the wrong train (we can blame it partly on Joe… he has a bad track record with trains, just reread my Arezzo/Assisi post! 😉 haha just kidding, Joe)–still going in the right direction, but much more expensive. We’re getting better at making mistakes! Luckily the controllare’s payment machine broke so we were able to jump off the train at the next stop and get onto the train we were supposed to be on without paying the extra 8 euro!

Bologna was a beautiful city of arcade-lined streets and rich colors. Although Bologna is a big city by Italian standards, it still had the small town charm where you could see Italians and fewer tourists filling the streets. As we walked away from the train station we walked through a pretty park full of fall colors. I absolutely love autumn here. It’s just like autumn in New England except without the drastic temperature drop. Italian fall actually feels like fall! How crazy is that?!

the stereotypical Italian woman leaning on the windowsill to watch the people below

the turtle fountain in the park

the Saturday morning marketplace

This was the sight I saw most in Bologna…Cailin and the Joes were always stopping to consult the map!

so many arcades and they all looked different in color and style!

Neptune’s Fountain in Piazza Maggiore

part of Piazza Maggiore

As we neared Piazza Maggiore we started to notice large crowds of people and big charter buses with dozens of bikes piled up around them. Needless to say we were very confused… until we reached the piazza. At the “entrance” to the piazza stood a bright yellow arch and two fences running back into the piazza to form a pathway that cut underneath the arch. We had just stumbled upon an annual bike race that begins in Bologna! I don’t watch cycling regularly, but I’ve been told by my friend Charlotte (she’s at BC now but she saw pictures) that we saw some really big cycling teams… I didn’t even know and they were standing less than 10 feet from me!

watching the introduction of the racing teams!

Walking into festivals, races and other events accidentally is one of my favorite parts of traveling. It’s an unexpected chance to see the towns in all their glory, prepared for visitors and still authentic. Although this wasn’t as exciting as St. Andrew’s festival in Amalfi last summer, it was still fun to stop and watch for 15 minutes.

After watching the bikers get introduced and finally begin the race we walked through Bologna, making sure we saw the university and the two leaning towers…

one of the leaning towers (the other was covered by scaffolding–you can see part of it there on the right)… We didn’t climb either tower; according to local legend, if you climb the tower you won’t graduate!

I absolutely loved the colors of the buildings.

Piazza del Porta Ravegnana– the piazza that the two towers stand in

every day Italian life ❤

The University of Bologna is the oldest university in Europe so it was really cool to be there, even though we didn’t see any buildings that looked that old. Obviously they restore/update/rebuild the buildings of the school on a regular basis to give the students a nice school. Everything was beautiful, even the graffiti that covered the walls. Students definitely weren’t afraid to deface their campus with their political views or random thoughts. Yet the graffiti didn’t detract from the scholarly feel of the area… it almost seemed to add to it because the graffiti usually meant something (rather than just tagging the artist’s name). The University of Bologna and surrounding area reminded me so much of Yale and New Haven (the pretty parts, of course). I loved it. I got a taste of home without having to travel across the Atlantic. 🙂

BC kids take over Uni. Bologna!

(this picture could’ve been taken anywhere in New Haven)

Besides its homey feel, my favorite part of Bologna was the colors of the buildings!

When we were done walking through the university buildings (there’s no actual campus for most European universities), we headed to a restaurant called Cesari that Joe C. had found online. It definitely lived up to the reviews that he saw… it was so delicious!!!

the main attraction in Bologna… pasta with Bolognese sauce!!

the group from L to R: Phoebe, Cailin, Joe R., Patrice (my friend from BC who’s studying in Milan… I randomly bumped into her in the train station in Bologna and she tagged along with us for the day!), Joe C…. missing from the picture are Tommy and myself

Tommy’s so happy because he got the Grom gelato that he’d been bugging us for all day 🙂

my extra-dark chocolate and salty caramel gelato… yummmmmyyyy 😀

After our late lunch/dinner we took an earlier train back home to Parma because we had run out of (free) things to do. Most of our time in Bologna was spent just walking around and exploring, but we (or at least I) had so much fun doing it. Plus, it’s always nice to go somewhere with a different group of people and get to know them better!

one of the 12 ancient gates to the city (from the inside)

waving good bye to Bologna from outside the gate

Home sweet home– in Parma :)

First, I’d like to give you a tour of my apartment! I made a video for you, but it costs too much money to upload so I can only hope that these pictures show you enough to give you a general feel for our apartment. I live in a villa with 8 other BC students (4 boys, 4 girls besides me), but Cailin and I have an apartment to ourselves within the villa. Cailin and I have a bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. It’s a really awesome space for only two people. Then we have a common room downstairs that we share with all the other BC kids.

walking into the kitchen

the other half of the kitchen–Notice the window that opens on the floor and the slanted ceilings? We live in the attic. It’s awesome, except when I hit my head (very often because the ceilings get really low in the bathroom).

the bathroom (if you couldn’t tell…)–We have one of the two washing machines in the whole house! Definitely a perk because we can do our laundry whenever we want 🙂

I took this right after we moved in. We unpacked our clothes and everything ASAP because we were all so tired of living out of our suitcases!

Immediately after moving in one of our program directors (aka our mothers while we’re here) Betta took us on a walk of our neighborhood, showing us the essentials like the grocery store, pharmacy, bank ATM, etc. Then we headed to our welcome dinner (#2!) for some delicious authentic Parmesan food. Oh my goodness was it delicious!!

The next day we got a brief tour of our new home… Though the tour was extremely boring and aimed at kindergardeners (we had just taken a 3 week art history course and could’ve taught our tour guide a few things), on day 1 I already knew that I loved it here and my opinion still hasn’t changed.

the clock tower on the governor’s palace

Piazza Garibaldi–the forum of Parma and a spot that I bike through many, many times every day (and yes, I did just say bike…)

the opposite end of the forum

Parma, Parma, Parma! (the Parma flag)

one of the main streets off the forum… so much shopping!!!

a random side street

EVERYONE here bikes… seriously, everyone, from the kids to the elderly.

welcome to the home of opera composer Verdi!! October happens to be Verdi Festival month… how lucky am I?? 

Parma’s Duomo!

Parma’s Baptistery

the Bishop’s Palace– The plates decorating the outside walls were a sign to pilgrims that they would find food, shelter, and hospitality in that building.

a calendar of figures above the door into the Duomo– Each figure represented a task or job during the month like harvesting grapes or curing ham.

inside the Duomo

so ornately decorated

This is what an art/architectural history tour looks like when we don’t have Rocky with us. Kevin is only smiling because he heard my camera clicking as I took the picture… trust me, he looked miserable and tired before!

my first home-cooked meal in my first apartment!

the meal– chicken with mozzarella and tomatoes, with a side of roasted vegetables… yummy!!

family dinner time! We’ve planned to have a pot luck supper every Wednesday night where each room brings a different plate and then we spend hours just sitting there eating and talking. It’s our own little family and one of the best parts of the week! (Cailin is missing because she’s taking the picture… everyone else is here. From left to right: Tommy, Liz, me, Allison, Joe, Liana, Kevin, and Justin)

my brand new bike! 

The people at the bike shop are such awesome people, so much fun to talk to and learn Italian from. I’m the lucky one who’s chain fell off going over a cobblestone within the first 24 hours so I got to go visit a second time. But I didn’t mind because I love that shop! And despite my fear of falling off a bike (because of a pretty bad fall many years ago), I’m absolutely loving riding a bike everywhere!!! At first it hurt to ride and I was walking around with a sore tailbone 24/7, but now that I’ve been riding my bike for almost two weeks I’m doing a much better job and am no longer hurting! woohoo!! 😀

the simplest dinner ever… chicken and onions… and I loved every bite of it!

it may not look that appetizing, but I love my eggs and I missed them (these pictures are nothing more than proof to my parents that I can take care of myself and feed myself a well-balanced meal 😉 )

I loved Florence and the city life, but Parma is home… I felt that as soon as I got here. It’s small enough that I can see people waving to others that they know on the street, but big enough that it takes me 45 minutes to bike all the way from my house to the other side of the city. I have room to explore and meet new people without feeling too overwhelmed or like I’m in a place that’s unauthentic. I have to speak Italian to everyone, but if I have trouble with a word some hand gestures, charades, and maybe an English word or two will get me by. There are so many people here that are excited to help students out with Italian phrases and culture that you’d really have to try hard to not learn anything!

Ti mancherò, Firenze…

How does one spend her last day in one of the most beautiful cities in the world after three magical weeks?? By eating, of course… we’re in Italy, the land of food! And there’s no better place to eat food than in a piazza that overlooks the whole city of Florence. Great food, new friends, and a beautiful view–sounds like a good arrivederci to me!

After our art history exam in the morning we went to the grocery store to buy the essentials for a picnic lunch…crackers, tomato and onion spread for the crackers, grapes, raspberries (my favorite!), prosciutto, salami, 2 different types of cheeses, wine, and water. Then we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo (a fitting final outing because it was my first Florentine outing) and sat on the steps overlooking the Duomo and city as we ate our delicious meal.

the BEST raspberries I’ve ever eaten

After finishing our lunch we walked around the piazza taking silly pictures, talking about our favorite and least favorite parts of Florence, and what we’re looking forward to in Parma. We had nowhere to be, no more art history final to worry about and we were prepared to get silly and have fun…

my friend Bridget

Esther, Jackie and I (R to L)

Jackie taking a long last look at Firenze

We were all so excited to see this statue because we could tell you exactly what each of the figures represented, where the originals can be found, and all about the symbolism behind them. Thank you, Rocky and your awesome art history class!!

Bridget, me, Jackie, Cynthia, Esther, and Cynthia’s visiting friend Audrey– I look like a giant compared to all these girls!

Bridget and Esther 🙂

On our way back down into the city we passed a giant pile of confetti left over from a wedding photo shoot so naturally we decided to stop and have our own…

the confetti pile!

We walked through the gardens to get back to our hotel, taking our time walking so we could enjoy every last second of our time in Firenze.

I will miss you, Florence…

❤

Living life the Italian way

yummy risotto with mushrooms from the cafe around the corner from our hotel

I know it’s been such a long time since the last time I’ve posted, but I’ve been so busy squeezing every last ounce of fun out of my last week in Florence (oh yeah, and I was studying for my art history final too). We did so much in the last week… mostly we were were trying to act Italian by eating delicious food, people watching, picnicking, relaxing in piazzas, and meeting new people!

the sandwich "shop" I Due Fratellini (or more like a stand because it's literally just 2 guys behind a counter in the wall)-- really cheap sandwiches that are wildly popular among locals because of the fresh ingredients and delicious bread. It's been around since 1875!

eating on the curb outside I Due Fratellini just like the locals do 🙂

lunch from my favorite cafe in Piazza San Marco-- I spent my last Sunday afternoon leisurely eating my lunch by myself at an outdoor table and people watching. I felt so Italian.

a close-up of the dessert because it was just so delicious

pigeons are EVERYWHERE

Cailin and I just grabbed a bench in a park between our classes and sat there for 2 hours just talking, eating gelato, and watching the children get picked up from school.

making new international friends! This is Yves from Switzerland, whom we met while we were relaxing in the piazza in front of Palazzo Pitti before going in to see a museum.

lounging in a piazza before class... I have such a hard life 😉

experiencing my first Italian train strike while on the way home from Cinque Terre-- Now I feel like I'm truly Italian!!

More will come soon about the other things we’ve done in the last week… plus my first few days in Parma! Let me just tell you now, Parma is amazing and I love it here already. (Though my tailbone is sore from riding my bike on the bumpy cobblestone streets… any tips on how to best avoid this problem??)

A presto, mia famiglia e amici!! ❤

Falling in love… with hiking!

Immediately after our class excursion to Pisa, Cailin and I jumped on a train to La Spezia, a town just south of the Cinque Terre and where we would be spending the next two nights (well, we actually walked for 45 minutes through the hottest part of the day carrying our 30 pound overnight bags, but I shouldn’t be complaining… I was in Pisa on my way to one of the most beautiful places on earth!)

After a long day of sightseeing and traveling we finally arrived at our hotel a little tired and wanting to rest up for the next day’s hike. We went out for a delicious dinner in La Spezia and then walked around a little bit because it was still too early to just go to sleep for the night. We got the best chocolate gelato and then had a scary encounter with a guy who wouldn’t leave me alone and followed me for a good 5 minutes… luckily, my quick thinking got me out of that one. (No need to worry everyone– I’m good in tough situations and I’ve got my size on my side because Italian men are short and thin!) After that adventure I was ready for a good night’s sleep in preparation for the long day ahead!

yummy!

Before I tell the story about our long day on Saturday I think it’s important you know where exactly I’m talking about…

Cinque Terre in relation to Florence and the rest of Italy

map of the 5 towns and trails connecting them

On Saturday morning Cailin and I woke up early to take the train to our starting place… Riomaggiore (the southernmost of the towns). The path between Riomaggiore and Manarola is called Via dell’Amore and it’s the easiest of the paths by far. Last year (or a couple years ago) there was a landslide that took out the trail and they replaced the path with an ugly walkway that’s essentially just a sidewalk with beautiful views (though not the best we saw all day). I was unimpressed and a little worried that the entire hike would be like that.

the beginning of our daylong journey

view of Manarola, the 2nd town, from the walkway

Fifteen minutes later we reached Manarola…

Manarola was the cutest little Italian town. Maybe it was just because we were there at 9 am before the tourists arrived, but it seemed so much more steeped in Italian culture than the others which were overridden with people that obviously did not live there. People in Manarola spoke only Italian and wandered the streets getting their morning grocery shopping done while stopping to chat with the passersby.

After much confusion, we were told that we had to get on a bus from Manarola to a small town in the mountains called Volastra because the trail between Manarola and Corniglia is still impassible. The trail between Volastra and Corniglia was by far my favorite (and the most challenging) of the day. Most photos below were taken on this trail (because my camera died after this), but the most challenging parts couldn’t be captured on camera because I was too busy trying to make it across the path without falling off the cliff to my left!! If you want to follow our route on the map, we started in the south at Riomaggiore, walked north to Manarola, then bused to where trail 6 breaks into 6 and 6d. We followed the 6d and 7a trails down to Corniglia. From there we followed the blue trails through the rest of the towns.

looking backwards and down the mountain at Manarola

view from the beginning of the trail

way out there in the distance on the last piece of land that juts out is our final destination of our hike, Monterosso

Most paths were fairly similar to this one (some were much more difficult, some were wider). Paths were about 1 foot wide and had a cliff directly to the left without anything to hold onto. Notice the steep decline to the left of this one… this was one of the easiest parts of this trail. Also, you can see the crops of a family farm surrounding this trail. We were walking through people’s backyards, past them picking their crops, through their conversations with their neighbors… it was awesome to get a glimpse into the lives of these Italian people.

the view if I look directly down and to my left

Words cannot describe the feeling you get when you can look down to your left and see nothing but a huge drop into the water. So much fun!! and it was all so beautiful!

I was trying so hard to get a good shot of the drop directly to my left, but these pictures just don’t do it justice.

oh my goodness, there were so many stairs!! all uneven, broken and missing, of course (There weren’t many stairs on this path–more on the others–but my camera had died by then so I couldn’t take a picture.)

Corniglia!

beginning the decent to Corniglia

The hike from Volastra to Corniglia took us between an hour and a half to two hours to complete and I loved every second. After a ten minute picture and water break in Corniglia we started off on the trail again, this time for the town of Vernazza.

the beautiful blue water down below

Vernazza in the background… Monterosso in the distance

Vernazza!!

The hike to Vernazza took about an hour to an hour and a half, but wasn’t nearly as intense as the hike to Corniglia. In Vernazza we stopped for lunch where I had a delicious pasta with pesto (pesto is what the region is known for!) and Cailin got fish (with the head still attached… gross!!). After lunch we took our final leg of the hike, which was by far the hardest of the day… but only because of the filling lunch, the heat, and the tourists that had filled up the trails as it got later in the day.

all sweaty and gross from the hike haha… but Cailin and I still managed to make friends with the older Australian couple at the table next to us!

looking back on Vernazza from the trail to Monterosso

Monterosso! the end is in sight…

we survived! and rewarded ourselves with a trip to the beach 🙂

After 5 to 6 hours of hiking, we had finally made it to Monterosso! We were happy, sweaty, and running on only adrenaline, but there was still more to do! We relaxed for a while in the water, enjoying its cool temperature. Then we bought cheesy t-shirts and went to a cafe overlooking the water for dinner.

after our dip in the sea

I didn’t bring a bathing suit to Italy with me… so yes, I rocked the sports bra, tiger towel, and sneakers look like no one else 😉

our touristy t-shirts are extra cheesy because we match

Besides the hiking itself, my favorite part was the passing conversations we had with strangers. We’d say hello (in multiple languages–I spoke 3 languages within 15 minutes!), talk about the distance to the next town, and even cheer each other on as we passed each other. One woman saw my BC shirt and told me that she graduated from the nursing school at BC many years ago. A few couples stopped to ask us about what we were studying. Other students would yell out asking if we knew so-and-so who goes to BC. One Notre Dame fan even started shouting “Go Irish!!” as he ran up the stairs past us. It was such a sense of camaraderie among all these people whom I had never met nor would I ever meet again. It was exciting just to share this moment and experience with them. [These moments were only present among the morning crowd though–the early risers and go-getters were much friendlier than the very “touristy” people who hiked in the afternoon (they obviously just went to say that they had hiked part of it and didn’t actually care about the hike itself).]

I’d tell you more about this adventure but I honestly can’t find the words to describe it. All I can say is that this is one of the best things, if not THE best thing, that I’ve ever done. If you ever get the chance, come to the Cinque Terre and hike the whole trail. It’s difficult, but the views and experience with nature are definitely worth it.

Odds and ends of my everyday Florentine life

the welcome dinner on my third night in Italia… great food, wine and company

Though I love my time in my art history class with my professor Rocky, I also enjoy the time I spend sightseeing on my own, eating good food, dancing at the discotech, and having fun with my new friends. Most of these pictures are self-explanatory but the captions will fill you in if not…

my new best friend… the Playmobile pirate 😀

the sign on the tip jar at the discotech… I love it haha

the most delicious pizza I’ve had in Florence so far!

a beautiful Tuscan sunset as seen from the hotel window

I dare you to guess what this thing is… I doubt you can… This is a coffee machine believe it or not. I went into a pastry shop asking for a cappuccino and she points me to this. I stared at it for a good 5 minutes looking for a money slot or a cup to put the coffee in as the woman behind the counter just laughed and pointed. After what seemed like an eternity, she took pity on me and came out to help. It produces the only take away cup of coffee I’ve ever seen in Italia! Though you still stand at the counter to drink the most delicious cappuccino I’ve ever tasted…

Cailin and our very delicious sandwiches… hot tomato and mozzerella panino anyone?

the prosciutto, cheese and wine shop in the central market… Mom, you’d love this place. It had more types of cheese than you could ever imagine!

people wandering around the marketplace

a beautiful fruit stand in the market

Mommy, look at all the cheese!! It’s never-ending!

All throughout the market there were stands that looked just like this with huge bags of dried and sliced mushrooms of many different kinds. Then there were sun-dried tomatoes, spices, and homemade pastas filling up the rest of the little stand.

the outdoor portion of the market… While inside market veggies and other food was sold, outside vendors sold leather goods, touristy souvenirs, scarves, and other clothing. I actually controlled myself and didn’t buy anything! Be proud, Dad 🙂

Everywhere you go in this city you can see the dome of a church. This one happens to be the Duomo, as seen from the piazza in front of another church, Santa Croce.

Santa Croce, a Franciscan church, and its piazza which is a beautiful place to sit and hang out when it isn’t too hot

This one is for you, Andrew! Little kids here chase the pigeons just like you used to chase the birds in Cape Cod. It’s still so cute to watch!

We spent yesterday’s class at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo which was a really beautiful, air conditioned (yay!) museum filled with all the statues and decorations that used to fill the Duomo along with architectural plans for its design. Once again, I love my art history class and I learn so much more in those 2 hours than I could have in any BC classroom. If you ever come to Florence visit this museum!!

Mary Magdalene by Donatello– I’ve seen pictures of this a thousand times but never appreciated its beauty until it was standing right in front of me. Pictures just do not do this sculpture justice.

Michelangelo’s 2nd Pieta (unfinished)– Not to repeat myself too much, but art really means so much more when you know the story behind it. Apparently when creating this sculpture, Michelangelo noticed that the piece of marble was bad about halfway through so he got angry and started to destroy his own work. His assistant stopped him and glued some pieces back together but Michelangelo never touched the sculpture again. After his death, his assistant carved Mary Magdalene on the left, which is why she is so much smaller than the others. Interesting, isn’t it?