I am here in Palermo, Sicily with Monique. We got here Wednesday alone but Kaitlin, Hannah & Jessica are coming to meet us Thursday night. I have been to Sicily before but I went to Taormina which is on the other side of Sicily. I loved it there and had a great time. So far Palermo hasn't been what I expected. There aren't any beaches here, only the marina which is filled with boats. Our bed and breakfast is nice though. It's very clean and located close to the marina. Monique and I are the only ones staying there for far. A little weird but nice since we have the whole place to ourselves. The guy who checked us in is an idiot and didn't help us at all, didn't even have a map for us!
We got in around 7pm, changed into cuter clothes then went exploring.
We really wanted to find a restaurant by the water that had some good seafood but nothing stuck out. There was this one place that had outdoor seating and twinkle lights on. Inside we got a bottle of Sicilian white wine and a plate of fried calamari. The calamari was fresh..fishy fresh. That was all we ordered there because we were determined to find a better place.
Well our plan didn't work out..when we started heading to the main square we realized nothing was opened. There wasn't even restaurants around. Until we stumbled upon this strip of kebab places. There had to have been 12-15 different places that all had the same kebab food. A lot of people were at these places so we ate at one of the kebab restaurants that looked most appetizing. A soccer game was going on so every restaurant had a big screen tv playing it. We each got a big beer and inhaled our kebabs.
We had planned that on Thursday we were going to go to the little town of Porticello to visit where Monique's family comes from. After dinner we just headed back to the hostel and went to bed.
Thursday, we were up at 8:55am because the idiot guy was coming to get our money at 9. After that ordeal, we got ready and walked towards the train station to figure out how to get to Porticello. We didn't do as much research as we should have done before we left...
We found the information desk at 10:30..then walked around the piazza 4 or 5 times trying to find where to 1. Buy the tickets 2. Where to stand 3. Time schedule but then we met this really nice lady who was headed in the same direction as us and helped us figure out what we needed to do. We first bought tickets to catch a bus (grant it, Porticello is only 9miles away from Palermo. It's suppose to be a quick trip) well then we were waiting for the bus maybe 35min until the lady said we should just take the train instead. So we returned the bus tickets and bought train tickets. Now we are on the train, it's 11:45 and finally heading to Porticello. We got a late start but I hope it's all worth it!
Porticello reminds me of the little town my dad comes from, Verbicaro. Everyone knows each other, the boys ride around on their vespas, clothes hanging from the balconies and everyone knows Monique and I are not from there. The boys are loving us though. Honking their horns and hollering out, it's some form of flattery. One guy actually got out of his car and asked to take a picture with us! He was pretty hot too.
As we were walking around taking pictures and soaking up the Porticello scenery we stumbled upon this really cute restaurant. The owners were amazingly nice! The owner (who looked like Santa) took away our menu and told us he would prepare us a good lunch. First he brought out two appetizers, 1 with sword fish and another was octopus. Both I was hesitant with but ended up being excellent. Then he brought out two more; 1 were these shrimp & rice fried balls and the other were these meat balls in red sauce but instead of meat it was fish. All were delicious and I probably wouldn't have tried any unless he hadn't brought them out to us. Then for our main dish, we got spaghetti with fish. The fish was this little red fish (he showed us since I didn't know the Italian word). We were both really fished out. The owners were so nice we took pictures with them and they told us to email them the photo!
After our great lunch, we went down towards the water to take pictures. It was so gorgeous out! It wasn't raining and just perfect temperature. Monique and I explored down by the rocks and took a ton of pictures! All of the stores were closed and when I say "all" I really mean the 4 stores that are in Porticello. So we got a bottle of white wine and went to sit on an bench near the water. In Torino stores are usually closed 12:30-3:30 but in Porticello, they were closed until 4:30. The city was a real ghost town until 4:15 when everyone ended up coming outside. Got crowded within 15 minutes!
After Monique got a cute souvenir for her dad, we caught the train back to Palermo. Where we ran into Jessica who had just gotten off the train from the airport. One our way to the hostel, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some snacks and breakfast items. We waited at the hostel until Kaitlin & Hannah showed up. They unpacked and got comfortable then we went to dinner. We didn't venture out too far, just a cute restaurant by our hostel. I was still pretty full from lunch so I got the muscle soup which was really just a bunch of muscles in this delicious red sauce. Monique got the same, Kaitlin got some swordfish then clams with spaghetti which Hannah & Jessica got as well. Over all it was a decent dinner. I'm loving all of this fish, which is weird because I never eat fish at home! I guess if I am going to eat it somewhere, might as well be in Sicily!
The girls were tired from traveling all day so we came back to the hostel and watched a movie. Tomorrow we are going to go downtown Palermo to do some shopping then ask how to get to the real beach and maybe even rent some vespas!!
Friday, in the morning, was horrible! It was raining cats & dogs. When we first left the hostel it wasn't raining and we thought it wasn't going to all day. But we were wrong! There was a huge open air market that we all wanted to go check out. As we were walking there it started to sprinkle. Hannah, Jessica & Kaitlin had to buy umbrellas since they didn't think it was going to rain. Once we got to the market, it really started to pour. I was wearing my Tom's and they now are ruined. Still soaking wet.
To get out of the rain, we stopped at a restaurant to get lunch. Then we asked the waiter where to get a good cannoli. He directed us to this cafe down the street. We were in heaven! There was so many sweets to choose from. I ended up getting a mini cannoli & a cream puff that had cannoli filling inside. Both were really delicious. After we picked out our sweets, we headed back to the apartment to change our clothes and relax a little. The rain was too much to go back out in.
After a few hours, it finally stopped raining so Hannah, Jessica and I went out towards the main downtown square to go shopping. There was a lot of people out shopping. They must of had the same idea since there wasn't a lot of people out earlier. I found this cute ceramic bowl that says Sicilia on it which I want to use for my rings.
We headed back to the hostel to meet up with Kaitlin & Monique. We got changed for dinner and went to another cute restaurant near the hostel. I ended up getting the muscle soup again, Hannah & Jessica got pasta with clams, Monique got pasta with scampi and Kaitlin ordered these balls of swordfish with shrimp. Everyone was satisfied with what they ordered. We asked the waiter where to go for a few drinks, which just happened to be down the street from us. We bar hopped a little and met some girls who are studying in Florence. It ended up being a good night :)
Saturday, well since we had such a good night, we didn't wake up until 12:30. We had planned to go to Mondello, the beach area right next to Palermo. Because of our slow start, we didn't make it to the beach until 3pm. We went to the grocery store and bought stuff for lunch. It was a struggle to find the bus which took us to Mondello, but after asking people on the street every 3min we found our way!
I'm laying on the beach now as I write this. It's a perfect day and a lot of Italians are out here. The water is so clear but freezing. I instantly got cold when the water touched my toes. I don't know if I'm getting tan because there is a strong breeze but still so nice here. I love being here at the beach. We already said we're coming back here tomorrow but going to get here a lot earlier.
We went to dinner at a restaurant near by our hostel. Kaitlin and I shared muscle soup (again, my 3rd time getting it) and I got this delicious spaghetti clam, shrimp and lobster pasta. It was so good that I stuffed myself sick. I am all fished out now!
Sunday, we got up and headed to the beach but we still didn't make it there until 1pm. Instead of heading straight to the beach, we went to get lunch. Since I had so much fish, I got a sausage and mushroom pizza. It was a nice change of pace. After we ate, we finally went to lay out. Except while we were eating lunch, it was sunny and gorgeous out. Then we get to the beach, and the sun disappears! It was freezing. So we sadly only got to lay out for 35min until we were icicles and left. Hopped on the bus and headed back to Palermo.
It was only 5pm so we got a few bottles of champagne and hopped on a random bus to "tour" the city. We got on a bus that this old man was already on. He was trying to talk to us but his Italian was hard to understand and then he just started crying! We got pretty creeped out so we move up to the front of the bus to get away from him. Once we got back to where we got on the bus, we got off and walked back to the hostel.
I took a quick 25min power nap then we went down by the marina to watch the sunset...we pretty much missed the whole thing. We went to dinner where Hannah & I shared these ricotta cheese balls and I got a lamb chop. Monique & Kaitlin got muscle soup again, Monique got ravioli with salmon and Kaitlin got a fish. We didn't do anything at night since we were waking up at 6am to head to the airport.
Being here in Sicily, Wednesday to Monday has been a long trip but a good one. Tried lots of food that I probably wouldn't have and got to see some pretty things. I liked being in one city for a long weekend because I actually got to know the city. Knew where to go and how to get around which was a nice change of pace. Overall, good trip!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
London, England 3/15-3/18
Thursday night, Anthony and I finally made it to London. Our plane took off at 7:55pm, we got to our hostel around 1:15am. The plane ride was fine but getting to our hostel is what took the most time. We had to take a train to the tube and then take the tube to our hostel. Well...the train got delayed 25min because of some drunk idiots who were wandering around the tracks. They're lucky they got caught or we probably would have killed them. But after that stupid fiasco, an hour later we made it to the tube. Which only took us 10min. Then of course we got lost walking around trying to find our hostel which was right under our nose.
Our hostel doesn't seem to be in a good location but online it said it is so I am hoping in the morning we truly are close to everything. It's a cool hostel and I got a private room with Blake, Max & David. I'm excited to be here in London even though it was hard leaving Barcelona. I love the British accent :)
Friday, Anthony and I were suppose to wake up early but when our alarm went off we turned it off and slept 2 hours extra. Oops! Not a big deal because instead of catching the 11am free tour, there was one at 1pm. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours then they took us to a restaurant. It was this cute pub and I got sausage & mash which is one of their specials, Anthony got a hamburger. Then we headed over to Her Majesty's Theatre where we picked up our tickets for Phantom of the Opera!! We rushed back to the hostel to get a little more fancy then headed to the opera. The seats were in the nose bleeds..so high that a guy next to us actually ended up getting a nose bleed!! But I was still able to see the stage and hear everything fine. The opera was amazing and I loved every minute of it. I wanted to go see another play or opera Saturday night but many were already sold out.
London is kind of like New York where at night Piccadilly Circus is happening still at 3am with lights & music, there are plays & operas and the shopping is great!! But I did feel like I was home which was great for the weekend but I don't think I could have studied there for a whole semester. Probably would have gotten bored quickly ha ha
Saturday morning, we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace but since it had started to rain, the guards beloved bear fur hats were getting ruined SO they cancelled the change. Which is a joke because doesn't it rain in London 24/7? Anyways, that was a bust so Anthony and I headed to Westminster Abby to see the inside. We saw yesterday that it is only opened until 1:30pm on Saturdays so we wanted to make it there before it closed. Of course the line was wrapped around the street but it went quickly. Sadly no photos were allowed to be taken in the church which sucks because it was breath taking! A little different then it was portrayed on TV for Kate's wedding but still amazing. It was a little creepy because a lot of people are buried inside of the church. All wrapped around the church there were tombs. None the less, it was awesome to go inside and I felt like I was at the royal wedding! Ha ha
After the church, Anthony and I headed over to Big Ben. We didn't go to the top or get too close to it, just took pictures by it and walked across the bridge. It had stopped raining which made it easier to walk around. We were both getting hungry but wanted to go see the Tower of London so we decided to go get something to eat over there.
The Tower of London was beautiful!! It's a lot smaller than I thought it was buy still pretty. Also, it has this shade of blue on it, not a dark or light blue, kind of like a turquoise! (On our way, I got a Starbucks!) We walked along that and was looking over to the water which was disgusting! The coloring was not a pretty site. After the bridge, we got something quick to eat then headed back to the hostel to meet up with everyone. Our hostel served food so we all got a pizza then headed up the room to change.
We went out to this super cool bar! It was an old horse stable so each room where the horses would have been kept was a mini private dancing area. Then there were two big dance floors. To spice things up, some lovely "dancers" were on stage showing some skin and dancing around. That was a fun night!
Sunday morning, our last night of spring break..I was ready to head home! I had a great week but I missed Torino. Check out was at 10am so we all had to wake up early and pack. Our flight wasn't until 7 so we had time to kill before hand. We went over to the Sherlock Holmes Museum to check that out then went back to Piccadilly Circus to do some souvenir shopping.
All of us headed to the airport around 4pm and flew to Milan. We weren't thinking when we bought our tickets because we flew into Milan at 9, then had to take an hour bus to the train station then it was a two hour train. I got to my apartment around 2:30am.
Over all I had an amazing spring break and made so many new memories!!
Our hostel doesn't seem to be in a good location but online it said it is so I am hoping in the morning we truly are close to everything. It's a cool hostel and I got a private room with Blake, Max & David. I'm excited to be here in London even though it was hard leaving Barcelona. I love the British accent :)
Friday, Anthony and I were suppose to wake up early but when our alarm went off we turned it off and slept 2 hours extra. Oops! Not a big deal because instead of catching the 11am free tour, there was one at 1pm. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours then they took us to a restaurant. It was this cute pub and I got sausage & mash which is one of their specials, Anthony got a hamburger. Then we headed over to Her Majesty's Theatre where we picked up our tickets for Phantom of the Opera!! We rushed back to the hostel to get a little more fancy then headed to the opera. The seats were in the nose bleeds..so high that a guy next to us actually ended up getting a nose bleed!! But I was still able to see the stage and hear everything fine. The opera was amazing and I loved every minute of it. I wanted to go see another play or opera Saturday night but many were already sold out.
London is kind of like New York where at night Piccadilly Circus is happening still at 3am with lights & music, there are plays & operas and the shopping is great!! But I did feel like I was home which was great for the weekend but I don't think I could have studied there for a whole semester. Probably would have gotten bored quickly ha ha
Saturday morning, we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace but since it had started to rain, the guards beloved bear fur hats were getting ruined SO they cancelled the change. Which is a joke because doesn't it rain in London 24/7? Anyways, that was a bust so Anthony and I headed to Westminster Abby to see the inside. We saw yesterday that it is only opened until 1:30pm on Saturdays so we wanted to make it there before it closed. Of course the line was wrapped around the street but it went quickly. Sadly no photos were allowed to be taken in the church which sucks because it was breath taking! A little different then it was portrayed on TV for Kate's wedding but still amazing. It was a little creepy because a lot of people are buried inside of the church. All wrapped around the church there were tombs. None the less, it was awesome to go inside and I felt like I was at the royal wedding! Ha ha
After the church, Anthony and I headed over to Big Ben. We didn't go to the top or get too close to it, just took pictures by it and walked across the bridge. It had stopped raining which made it easier to walk around. We were both getting hungry but wanted to go see the Tower of London so we decided to go get something to eat over there.
The Tower of London was beautiful!! It's a lot smaller than I thought it was buy still pretty. Also, it has this shade of blue on it, not a dark or light blue, kind of like a turquoise! (On our way, I got a Starbucks!) We walked along that and was looking over to the water which was disgusting! The coloring was not a pretty site. After the bridge, we got something quick to eat then headed back to the hostel to meet up with everyone. Our hostel served food so we all got a pizza then headed up the room to change.
We went out to this super cool bar! It was an old horse stable so each room where the horses would have been kept was a mini private dancing area. Then there were two big dance floors. To spice things up, some lovely "dancers" were on stage showing some skin and dancing around. That was a fun night!
Sunday morning, our last night of spring break..I was ready to head home! I had a great week but I missed Torino. Check out was at 10am so we all had to wake up early and pack. Our flight wasn't until 7 so we had time to kill before hand. We went over to the Sherlock Holmes Museum to check that out then went back to Piccadilly Circus to do some souvenir shopping.
All of us headed to the airport around 4pm and flew to Milan. We weren't thinking when we bought our tickets because we flew into Milan at 9, then had to take an hour bus to the train station then it was a two hour train. I got to my apartment around 2:30am.
Over all I had an amazing spring break and made so many new memories!!
Barcelona, Spain 3/13-3/15
Barcelona was one of my favorite places I have been to so far. It had everything I wanted in a city. Shopping, the beach and great food! We arrived Tuesday morning and since we had been up since 5am, we all headed down to the beach! But before we went there, we checked into our hostel & got lunch. We went to a cafe that served the famous tapa dish! Tapas are mini plates of food for cheap. Normally you order 3-4 of them. But not all at once, you order one then when you're done eating that one you order another & so forth. The place we went to was very good. I also got a glass of Sangria which was excellent (posted a picture on Facebook). Then after we ate we went to the beach. Felt so good to be on the beach, my feet really loved being in flip flops and then putting my toes in the sand was good for them. We hung out there for awhile, drank some more Sangria and watched the sunset. The sunset didn't set over the water like I am use to. It set on the opposite side but it was still very pretty. After the beach we headed back to our hostel. Since we had been drinking, practically since we had landed, I went straight to bed. Blake went out but didn't make it far, she came back within an hour. The boys all went out though and had a good time apparently but I guess we didn't miss much.
Wednesday, I got up early and met up with Anthony around 10am. We went shopping where he got a new pair of tennis shoes since his boots where giving him blisters. Then Blake called us & came to meet us. The 3 of us went out to lunch to a restaurant called Tapa Tapa which was another great place (so good Blake & I went there twice Thursday). We all ordered our own little tapas and Blake & I shared a huge pitcher of sangria. But this was a different type, instead of them using red wine, they put champagne. So delicious! After lunch, Blake went to the beach with Joe when Anthony & I went to see a Gaudi building and La Sagrada Familia. Both were really cool to see, I took some awesome pictures. That is really all there is to see in Barcelona. There is the Magic fountain that is cool to see at night but we didn't make it.
Wednesday afternoon after Anthony & I went sightseeing, Blake & I started drinking again. Sadly we started pretty early in the evening so we didn't make it out ha ha ha. Luckily the boys said we didn't miss out again...but they didn't come home until 5am so I think they had a really good time!
Thursday, we had to check out of the hostel by 11:30am. Blake & I packed our big suitcase the night before so we didn't have much to do in the morning. Blake, Joe, Anthony & I wanted to go see Park Guell which is another art work of Gaudi so instead of going to a sit down lunch, we got subway! It felt like home :) then we hopped on the metro and went up the park. Little did we know that the park was no where near the metro and had to practically hike to it. Which is not easy in jeans. 3 hours later we had gone to the park and back to the metro. This is where we split up, once we got back to the main shopping street, Blake and I did more shopping while the boys went to see another Gaudi building.
Anthony and I had to take another plane to London because the other plane only had 1 seat left when we were buying them. So we stuck together and flew easyjet which is so much better than ryanair!! Our plane took off 2 hours before the groups which wasn't bad. Because we were able to be in Barcelona until 5pm on Thursday.
The weather was so amazing in Barcelona. It was nice leaving the hostel and not having to bring a jacket with me. Plus wearing my sunglasses & flip flops had been a rare occasion in Torino so it was a nice change. I looked up the weather for London and I see rain in my future..let's hope this doesn't come true so I have a good time!
Wednesday, I got up early and met up with Anthony around 10am. We went shopping where he got a new pair of tennis shoes since his boots where giving him blisters. Then Blake called us & came to meet us. The 3 of us went out to lunch to a restaurant called Tapa Tapa which was another great place (so good Blake & I went there twice Thursday). We all ordered our own little tapas and Blake & I shared a huge pitcher of sangria. But this was a different type, instead of them using red wine, they put champagne. So delicious! After lunch, Blake went to the beach with Joe when Anthony & I went to see a Gaudi building and La Sagrada Familia. Both were really cool to see, I took some awesome pictures. That is really all there is to see in Barcelona. There is the Magic fountain that is cool to see at night but we didn't make it.
Wednesday afternoon after Anthony & I went sightseeing, Blake & I started drinking again. Sadly we started pretty early in the evening so we didn't make it out ha ha ha. Luckily the boys said we didn't miss out again...but they didn't come home until 5am so I think they had a really good time!
Thursday, we had to check out of the hostel by 11:30am. Blake & I packed our big suitcase the night before so we didn't have much to do in the morning. Blake, Joe, Anthony & I wanted to go see Park Guell which is another art work of Gaudi so instead of going to a sit down lunch, we got subway! It felt like home :) then we hopped on the metro and went up the park. Little did we know that the park was no where near the metro and had to practically hike to it. Which is not easy in jeans. 3 hours later we had gone to the park and back to the metro. This is where we split up, once we got back to the main shopping street, Blake and I did more shopping while the boys went to see another Gaudi building.
Anthony and I had to take another plane to London because the other plane only had 1 seat left when we were buying them. So we stuck together and flew easyjet which is so much better than ryanair!! Our plane took off 2 hours before the groups which wasn't bad. Because we were able to be in Barcelona until 5pm on Thursday.
The weather was so amazing in Barcelona. It was nice leaving the hostel and not having to bring a jacket with me. Plus wearing my sunglasses & flip flops had been a rare occasion in Torino so it was a nice change. I looked up the weather for London and I see rain in my future..let's hope this doesn't come true so I have a good time!
Paris, France 3/9-3/13
We arrived in France on Friday, March 9th. The plane ride was very short from Italy, only 1 hour and 25min. Then we had to take a bus to Paris which was another hour and 15min. After that journey, we had to find the metro which was impossible! Their metro system here is not very visible from the street like it is in Torino. We were walking around for probably 30min until we finally found it! Their metro system is crazy big as well. There are metros 1-15 and then A-D. All of them take you some where else and have so many stops! I never thought we were going to see day light since our hostel was 3 metros away with each having 9 stops. It was a long journey to say the least.
The hostel we stayed at is called St. Christopher's. It has been rated #1 hostel in Paris and I see how that is. Only bad thing is that it's kind of in the "cuts" of Paris. So we had to take the metro to the main attractions such as the Eiffel Tower.
Friday night we went on a walking tour at 6pm which was 10€. It lasted 3 hours and we got to see a lot of cool things, like Van Gogh's apartment he lived in while he was in Paris for two years. After the tour, we went on the company's sponsored pub crawl. That was a lot of fun!! We met so many new people.
Saturday morning, everyone was moving pretty slow. But we pushed through and got out. We wanted to do the free walking tour at 11am but since the metro is so confusing we missed it. Luckily there was another one at 1pm so while we waited, we went and saw Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a breath taking church! The details on the actual building and the stain glass windows on the inside were unbelievable. When we walked through, mass was going on. Paris was actually going to tear down the Notre Dame until a man made the movie, Hunchback of Notre Dame which made Notre Dame super famous.
The free walking tour was more knowledgeable than the one Friday night because we went to the Louve and Eiffel Tower. Do you know why the Mona Lisa is even famous? I do! The janitor that worked at the Louve stole it. Paris police were searching people and trying to find it but they never suspected the janitor who never came back to work. Well the janitor went down to Italy and had the Mona Lisa but since it was a stolen piece of art work, he couldn't do much with it. Until the weight on his shoulders weighed him down so much, he tried to bring it to a museum. They there arrested him and returned the Mona Lisa to Paris. So that's really how the Mona Lisa is so famous. Because everyone had heard about the stolen painting!
Sadly the tour lasted until 5:15pm so we didn't get to see anything else Saturday because Napolean's tomb closed at 5pm and when we went back to the Louve, it was closed! We headed back to the hostel, got changed and went to dinner at this true French restaurant that our tour guide suggested to Joe. Only Blake, Anthony, Joe and I went to dinner. When we got off the metro, there was not one tourist. We knew we were where all the true French people hang out. Only bad thing about this, the menu was in complete French! Culture shock hit us all. Anthony has been learning some French but he doesn't know food. The waiter spoke some English and gave us the one English menu they had. Reading what was on the menu was not the best idea. They serve pig's feet, pork liver, snails, duck and all other types of weird meat. There was ravioli and lasagna but who wants that when you're in France? We all first got the french onion soup. That was delicious! Then boys got duck, I got pork sausage and Blake got the salmon. Well my pork sausage was not what I thought and Blake's salmon was raw!! With the sausage there was French fries, I only ate those. Blake didn't even eat her salmon. The boys duck was really good! Since Blake and I were hungry, we got Creme Brûlée. Joe got it as well and it was excellent. That made up for the weird pork sausage. I'm pretty sure we are not going to a "true" French restaurant tonight.
Sunday, we went to Versailles!! I thought my backyard was big until I saw Versailles. It is a beautiful place but sadly we went during the winter so none of the trees had leaves and there was no flowers. So I wasn't really impressed. Luckily to go to the gardens it's free and to get into the palace it was free for me since I have a student visa. The palace was gorgeous but it was your average king's palace with huge rooms with a ton of paintings. Over all the palace and gardens were really great to see just for their size. The size of both was just stupid big.
By Monday we really hadn't seen a lot. So Joe, Blake, Anthony and I woke up at 7:30am and were out of the hostel by 8:30. Stupidly we didn't check what time things opened at, we went to Saint Chapel first but it didn't open until 9:30am. Since we didn't get breakfast at the hostel, we got it at a near by cafe. Then we headed to Saint Chapel which was beautiful but very small.
Then we headed back to the LouveLouve entrance. Which was sweet because there were no lines and I got in for free again because of my student visa! We walked straight up to the Mona Lisa. There wasn't as big of a mob of people in front if it like I expected which was nice. It is a bigger painting that I expected which was nice. I took a few pictures of it. Then we walked around but the Louve is huge!! You could probably take a whole day walking through it. Anthony split off from us 3 and went to see some painters that he enjoys. We went down to Starbucks..ha
After the Louve we went to Napolean's tomb. His tomb is under this large gold dome. Our tour guide from Saturday said that you have to "bow" down to Napolean since his tomb is under ground. A joke is that when Hitler came to see his tomb, he brought a mirror so he wouldn't have to bow to Napolean but when he was there, his hat fell off, leaving Hitler to bow down to get it so even Hitler had to bow down to him. BUT you don't even have to bow. His tomb is HUGE! You walk up the edge and see it right away. Plus there is a second level that allows you to see it at eye level. So I didn't have to bow down to Napolean!
Blake and I had been itching to go shopping ever since the plane landed. That was the first priority of ours. So after Napolean's tomb, we headed to the main shopping street, Champs Elyees. On this street there is the flagship store for Louis Vuiton, 5 story Abercrombie & Fitch and the famous Paris macaroon store called Ladurèe. Plus another street called George V, had more big shopping stores such as Armani, Bvlgari. And down another street (can't recall the name) had Gucci, Dior, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. I was in heaven! You could tell only the rich French people were down in that area, with their 5in heals, fur vests & designer bags. We of course went into every store! Sadly did not buy anything but it was nice to see all of the new spring collections that were out.
After walking around and seeing all of the shops, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I'm kind of bummed because I did not get to see it in the day light, only a night. But before I was on top of the Arc, this time we went up it. The line took an hour and half so we didn't get to the top until 9:30pm. I got so scared going up in the elevator. I was holding onto Joe & Blake with my eyes closed. It was a freaky elevator and was making odd noises. Then we got to the top and I couldn't look over the edge! I stayed along the inside edge while they were all taking pictures of the view. I don't know why but I was terrified and really didn't enjoy the experience until we went down the terrace. I got some awesome pictures of the tower from the ground though.
Anthony and I had gone back to the hostel while Joe & Blake went to dinner. I was so exhausted and my feet were throbbing. Overall I had a good time in Paris but if I don't come back, I don't care! There are better places ha ha
The hostel we stayed at is called St. Christopher's. It has been rated #1 hostel in Paris and I see how that is. Only bad thing is that it's kind of in the "cuts" of Paris. So we had to take the metro to the main attractions such as the Eiffel Tower.
Friday night we went on a walking tour at 6pm which was 10€. It lasted 3 hours and we got to see a lot of cool things, like Van Gogh's apartment he lived in while he was in Paris for two years. After the tour, we went on the company's sponsored pub crawl. That was a lot of fun!! We met so many new people.
Saturday morning, everyone was moving pretty slow. But we pushed through and got out. We wanted to do the free walking tour at 11am but since the metro is so confusing we missed it. Luckily there was another one at 1pm so while we waited, we went and saw Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a breath taking church! The details on the actual building and the stain glass windows on the inside were unbelievable. When we walked through, mass was going on. Paris was actually going to tear down the Notre Dame until a man made the movie, Hunchback of Notre Dame which made Notre Dame super famous.
The free walking tour was more knowledgeable than the one Friday night because we went to the Louve and Eiffel Tower. Do you know why the Mona Lisa is even famous? I do! The janitor that worked at the Louve stole it. Paris police were searching people and trying to find it but they never suspected the janitor who never came back to work. Well the janitor went down to Italy and had the Mona Lisa but since it was a stolen piece of art work, he couldn't do much with it. Until the weight on his shoulders weighed him down so much, he tried to bring it to a museum. They there arrested him and returned the Mona Lisa to Paris. So that's really how the Mona Lisa is so famous. Because everyone had heard about the stolen painting!
Sadly the tour lasted until 5:15pm so we didn't get to see anything else Saturday because Napolean's tomb closed at 5pm and when we went back to the Louve, it was closed! We headed back to the hostel, got changed and went to dinner at this true French restaurant that our tour guide suggested to Joe. Only Blake, Anthony, Joe and I went to dinner. When we got off the metro, there was not one tourist. We knew we were where all the true French people hang out. Only bad thing about this, the menu was in complete French! Culture shock hit us all. Anthony has been learning some French but he doesn't know food. The waiter spoke some English and gave us the one English menu they had. Reading what was on the menu was not the best idea. They serve pig's feet, pork liver, snails, duck and all other types of weird meat. There was ravioli and lasagna but who wants that when you're in France? We all first got the french onion soup. That was delicious! Then boys got duck, I got pork sausage and Blake got the salmon. Well my pork sausage was not what I thought and Blake's salmon was raw!! With the sausage there was French fries, I only ate those. Blake didn't even eat her salmon. The boys duck was really good! Since Blake and I were hungry, we got Creme Brûlée. Joe got it as well and it was excellent. That made up for the weird pork sausage. I'm pretty sure we are not going to a "true" French restaurant tonight.
Sunday, we went to Versailles!! I thought my backyard was big until I saw Versailles. It is a beautiful place but sadly we went during the winter so none of the trees had leaves and there was no flowers. So I wasn't really impressed. Luckily to go to the gardens it's free and to get into the palace it was free for me since I have a student visa. The palace was gorgeous but it was your average king's palace with huge rooms with a ton of paintings. Over all the palace and gardens were really great to see just for their size. The size of both was just stupid big.
By Monday we really hadn't seen a lot. So Joe, Blake, Anthony and I woke up at 7:30am and were out of the hostel by 8:30. Stupidly we didn't check what time things opened at, we went to Saint Chapel first but it didn't open until 9:30am. Since we didn't get breakfast at the hostel, we got it at a near by cafe. Then we headed to Saint Chapel which was beautiful but very small.
Then we headed back to the LouveLouve entrance. Which was sweet because there were no lines and I got in for free again because of my student visa! We walked straight up to the Mona Lisa. There wasn't as big of a mob of people in front if it like I expected which was nice. It is a bigger painting that I expected which was nice. I took a few pictures of it. Then we walked around but the Louve is huge!! You could probably take a whole day walking through it. Anthony split off from us 3 and went to see some painters that he enjoys. We went down to Starbucks..ha
After the Louve we went to Napolean's tomb. His tomb is under this large gold dome. Our tour guide from Saturday said that you have to "bow" down to Napolean since his tomb is under ground. A joke is that when Hitler came to see his tomb, he brought a mirror so he wouldn't have to bow to Napolean but when he was there, his hat fell off, leaving Hitler to bow down to get it so even Hitler had to bow down to him. BUT you don't even have to bow. His tomb is HUGE! You walk up the edge and see it right away. Plus there is a second level that allows you to see it at eye level. So I didn't have to bow down to Napolean!
Blake and I had been itching to go shopping ever since the plane landed. That was the first priority of ours. So after Napolean's tomb, we headed to the main shopping street, Champs Elyees. On this street there is the flagship store for Louis Vuiton, 5 story Abercrombie & Fitch and the famous Paris macaroon store called Ladurèe. Plus another street called George V, had more big shopping stores such as Armani, Bvlgari. And down another street (can't recall the name) had Gucci, Dior, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. I was in heaven! You could tell only the rich French people were down in that area, with their 5in heals, fur vests & designer bags. We of course went into every store! Sadly did not buy anything but it was nice to see all of the new spring collections that were out.
After walking around and seeing all of the shops, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I'm kind of bummed because I did not get to see it in the day light, only a night. But before I was on top of the Arc, this time we went up it. The line took an hour and half so we didn't get to the top until 9:30pm. I got so scared going up in the elevator. I was holding onto Joe & Blake with my eyes closed. It was a freaky elevator and was making odd noises. Then we got to the top and I couldn't look over the edge! I stayed along the inside edge while they were all taking pictures of the view. I don't know why but I was terrified and really didn't enjoy the experience until we went down the terrace. I got some awesome pictures of the tower from the ground though.
Anthony and I had gone back to the hostel while Joe & Blake went to dinner. I was so exhausted and my feet were throbbing. Overall I had a good time in Paris but if I don't come back, I don't care! There are better places ha ha
Monday, March 5, 2012
Locarno, Switzerland 3/2-3/4
This weekend I went to Locarno, Switzerland! We took the first train to Milan then changed in Bellinzona and last switch towards Locarno.
We found our hostel very easily. It was maybe a 5min walk from the train station. The hostel is apart of this 3-star hotel. So we got wifi and all of the amenities that comes with a 3-star hotel but for hostel price! Such as a pool & spa which we want to go to tomorrow night before we head out.
Friday, we went to dinner and got cheese fondue! It was delicious but not very filling so Hannah and I went to get gelato. Which of course was not good haha it was practically ice cream. I am getting so spoiled from all of the delicious gelato in Italy!!
Then we headed to this bar right next to our hotel. There was a lot of people there but most of them were men (not complaining). The drinks were pretty expensive too. One shot was 5 francs, a long drink was 10 and a Smirnoff ice was 7. Between Hannah and I, we spent 29 francs! We were only out for 2 hours. I don't know how we managed to spend so much. But it was a fun night so that's all that matters!
Saturday, we woke up at 8:30 and went to get breakfast that the hotel was serving. Best breakfast I've had here from a hostel! Endless croissants, cheese & meats, cereal and orange juice. We all were in heaven! Then we headed back to the room and got ready to head out.
Locarno is known for hikes and being a beautiful city. We decided to go on a hike! Yes a hike..I went hiking for fun! It was beautiful out and the weather was perfect. I was in my short sleeve Chico state shirt with black yoga pants.
We first took the tram 1/4 up the mountain. Then we hopped onto a trolley which took us 1/2 way up the mountain and then we took a gondola up the mountain. There was another set of gondolas we could take but that was when all the hiking trails started. So instead we hiked.
The signs said it was a 30min hike but with 5 girls, took us almost two hours. We stopped and took a lot of pictures plus none of us have really worked out since being here so it was a tough hike. But the views were breath taking! I wish my eyes took pictures every time I blinked because I don't think my camera does enough justice.
Switzerland is a beautiful place and I really see myself coming back here.
Once we got to the top of the mountain (and mind you, we hiked the Swiss Alps. Like we walked up an Alp..I'm pretty proud of myself!) but anyways, once we got to the top, we stopped to get food. We were all hungry and once again the view from the top was amazing.
The whole time we were walking, we saw all of these people para-gliding. Plus Karen had seen in a brochure that we could para-glide. So when we got to the top, we were asking people how we could do it but you have to make a reservation. All of the people we saw, were doing it for fun! They had their own parachutes and necessities to para-glide. It was so cool because there was a lot of people doing it! So that was a bust.
After lunch, we took the 3 means of transportation down the mountain. All of us were pretty tired and ready for the spa so that's right where we headed!
Along the water, there is this gym/pool place where you can go to swim and work out. It was 17 francs to use everything, even the water slide! There were two pools inside and one outside. The one outside was heated, like a huge hot tub! We stayed out there most of the time. But we did ride down the water slides as well, there was four of those. In the heated pool there were jets and these bars where you could go lay down on and the jets would hit you. So relaxing, especially after our hike! We were at the spa for about two hours. It was exactly what we needed!
We headed back the hostel, all took showers and went to dinner. We didn't go out. Locarno is a very quiet city and we didn't want to go to the same bar and end up spending a lot of money again. But dinner was nice!
Sunday, we woke up and got breakfast then packed up our suitcases. Check out wasn't until 12 but we were ready to go by 11.
It was a nice and relaxing weekend! The hike was just what I needed. I wish I got to see more of Switzerland, maybe a more known city. But I had a nice time so I see myself coming back here.
We found our hostel very easily. It was maybe a 5min walk from the train station. The hostel is apart of this 3-star hotel. So we got wifi and all of the amenities that comes with a 3-star hotel but for hostel price! Such as a pool & spa which we want to go to tomorrow night before we head out.
Friday, we went to dinner and got cheese fondue! It was delicious but not very filling so Hannah and I went to get gelato. Which of course was not good haha it was practically ice cream. I am getting so spoiled from all of the delicious gelato in Italy!!
Then we headed to this bar right next to our hotel. There was a lot of people there but most of them were men (not complaining). The drinks were pretty expensive too. One shot was 5 francs, a long drink was 10 and a Smirnoff ice was 7. Between Hannah and I, we spent 29 francs! We were only out for 2 hours. I don't know how we managed to spend so much. But it was a fun night so that's all that matters!
Saturday, we woke up at 8:30 and went to get breakfast that the hotel was serving. Best breakfast I've had here from a hostel! Endless croissants, cheese & meats, cereal and orange juice. We all were in heaven! Then we headed back to the room and got ready to head out.
Locarno is known for hikes and being a beautiful city. We decided to go on a hike! Yes a hike..I went hiking for fun! It was beautiful out and the weather was perfect. I was in my short sleeve Chico state shirt with black yoga pants.
We first took the tram 1/4 up the mountain. Then we hopped onto a trolley which took us 1/2 way up the mountain and then we took a gondola up the mountain. There was another set of gondolas we could take but that was when all the hiking trails started. So instead we hiked.
The signs said it was a 30min hike but with 5 girls, took us almost two hours. We stopped and took a lot of pictures plus none of us have really worked out since being here so it was a tough hike. But the views were breath taking! I wish my eyes took pictures every time I blinked because I don't think my camera does enough justice.
Switzerland is a beautiful place and I really see myself coming back here.
Once we got to the top of the mountain (and mind you, we hiked the Swiss Alps. Like we walked up an Alp..I'm pretty proud of myself!) but anyways, once we got to the top, we stopped to get food. We were all hungry and once again the view from the top was amazing.
The whole time we were walking, we saw all of these people para-gliding. Plus Karen had seen in a brochure that we could para-glide. So when we got to the top, we were asking people how we could do it but you have to make a reservation. All of the people we saw, were doing it for fun! They had their own parachutes and necessities to para-glide. It was so cool because there was a lot of people doing it! So that was a bust.
After lunch, we took the 3 means of transportation down the mountain. All of us were pretty tired and ready for the spa so that's right where we headed!
Along the water, there is this gym/pool place where you can go to swim and work out. It was 17 francs to use everything, even the water slide! There were two pools inside and one outside. The one outside was heated, like a huge hot tub! We stayed out there most of the time. But we did ride down the water slides as well, there was four of those. In the heated pool there were jets and these bars where you could go lay down on and the jets would hit you. So relaxing, especially after our hike! We were at the spa for about two hours. It was exactly what we needed!
We headed back the hostel, all took showers and went to dinner. We didn't go out. Locarno is a very quiet city and we didn't want to go to the same bar and end up spending a lot of money again. But dinner was nice!
Sunday, we woke up and got breakfast then packed up our suitcases. Check out wasn't until 12 but we were ready to go by 11.
It was a nice and relaxing weekend! The hike was just what I needed. I wish I got to see more of Switzerland, maybe a more known city. But I had a nice time so I see myself coming back here.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Rome 2/23-2/26
As I am writing the beginning of this blog, I am sitting in a park near the colosseum drinking a bottle champagne with the girls!
I love Rome; it's beautiful today. I've been walking around in jeans and a sheer top. I brought my light pea coat with me but I've been holding it.
Days like today makes me so happy to be studying abroad in Italy. I'm in love and am so fortunate to be here.
Jessica, Hannah and I got here last night (thursday) around 7pm. We had to take the train here, took 4.5 hours. Our flight was out of Milan and was at 3pm. We didn't get out of class until 11am and then would have taken the train to Milan, which takes almost two hours. Then with our smart brains, picked the airport that is an hour away from the train station. So we wouldn't have gotten to the airport in time for our flight. But we made it to Rome which is all that matters!!
Our hostel is pretty nice as well. We have a private room with 4 twin beds, desk & closet. The heater is on constantly and we have a window with a nice view. The bathroom is shared with the other 4 private rooms. It's actually not that bad!
Hannah's friend, Elaine, is studying abroad in Barcelona right now and came to Rome with us. She came with her friend Laura. They are both super nice and easy going. We are having a great time together (luckily)!
Thursday night, we went out to dinner where we got 25% off our meal. The dinner was pretty good and was right down the street. Then we came back to the hostel and waited for the 2 girls to arrived. Then we all passed out.
Friday morning, we were up at 8am. Got ready and went to get breakfast that came with our hostel. Breakfast was at this cafe around the corner. It was pretty good! We were able to get real coffee (like cappuccinos) and a brioche (croissant). Then we headed out to explore Rome!
Before it even hit 12, we had already seen: the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon and the Colosseum. We've been really productive which makes me happy. Then we got lunch and are now sitting in the park!
We left the park 2 hours ago and are now back in the room. The sun + champagne really made me sleepy. Everyone is going to try to nap now.
Wow it's been two hours! That was such an excellent nap. Clearly I needed it. I'm refreshed now and am getting ready to go out!! It's 7pm and we met this guy, John Carlo today who was promoting a pub crawl for tonight. He said to meet at the coliseum metro stop at 9pm and that he will take us to the party.
I'm home now, it's 2:30am and tonight was soo much fun!! The pub crawl ended up being a lot of fun. We met John Carlo and he with some other people all took the bus to the first dance place. There we paid our €20 and got unlimited drinks. Plus pizza!! We were there for probably two hours. Then we headed to the next discoteca which was 20minutes away. Such a joke! We had to take the metro then walk forever. I lost my buzz quickly.
Finally made it to the 2nd bar which was promoting Bacardi. There was 6 ladies walking around in dresses (clearly not wearing bras) handing Barcardi things out to people. It was fun but I got kind of left out, being there is 5 of us, I was the 5th wheel. It wasn't too bad since everyone was dancing but still.
Once that got boring we all kind of hit a wall and decided to just head back. We hopped in a taxi and are now home! We also got a t-shirt for the pub crawl.
Tomorrow we plan on going to the Vatican and seeing the Spanish steps.
Saturday, we didn't get up until 9:30am and that is because I had set my alarm knowing that breakfast ended at 10am. 4/5 of us got up to get food then when we got back, I showered and got ready. By 11:30am we were out of the room.
We headed straight to the Spanish steps then we walked down the street with Gucci, Dior, Fendi and more of my favorite stores. (Dad, I only spent €3500, don't worry hahaha) Then we walked to Vatican City. It's such a beautiful area. I could stand in the middle and stare all day. Also the weather was breathe taking. I was in jeans and a top all day, not cold at all. Love love love this perfect weather!!
No one wanted to go into the Vatican but Hannah and I went to see the sisteen chapel. After that we got lunch then headed to Gioletti (famous gelato place) which was delicious! The biggest gelato I've had since being here. We went shopping to a few places but I didn't get anything special.
Now we are back at the hostel getting ready for dinner and going out. We are meeting up with 3 boys from our USAC program who also came to Rome this weekend. Then we are going out to a discoteca but probably aren't going to stay out late since we are waking up at 5:45am to catch our plane!
I'm not excited to leave Rome but I'm happy to be heading back to Torino. I love going back "home". Plus I know I'm coming back to Rome before I come back to the states. This is just too beautiful of a city!
Saturday night, we came back to the room and got ready to go out. We headed out around 8:20pm and called the boys who said they were going to meet us for dinner near the traction. We got to the train station, called them and they were in a group of 6, we had 5 so they didn't want to go find a restaurant to accommodate the 11 of us...so we just headed to this nice restaurant called Florian's. It was really good, I was very happy with it (I picked it for once). We got 3 liters of white wine and were feeling no pain. But it was 11:30 and no one wanted to go out knowing we had to wake up at 5:45. The girls wanted something for dessert so we walked around trying to find a place but nothing was open or it was too expensive.
Instead we headed back to the room, got our phones and got some wifi. Then all headed back up and were asleep within 10min of laying down. It was nice to just have gone out to dinner then come home.
Waking up wasn't bad at all either. I was already packed except for my pjs and a few toiletries. We, of course, were late to the airport. We had to go to the front desk and cut the line so we didn't miss our flight. I hate traveling like that.
But we caught our flight and are now in Milan because when we bought our tickets, there were no flights to Torino. Now on a bus to the Milan train station to catch a train to Torino. Probably won't be home until 1:30pm and it's 9:30am now...longer day than I expected!
I'll post pictures when I get home!! Miss you guys so much xoxo
I love Rome; it's beautiful today. I've been walking around in jeans and a sheer top. I brought my light pea coat with me but I've been holding it.
Days like today makes me so happy to be studying abroad in Italy. I'm in love and am so fortunate to be here.
Jessica, Hannah and I got here last night (thursday) around 7pm. We had to take the train here, took 4.5 hours. Our flight was out of Milan and was at 3pm. We didn't get out of class until 11am and then would have taken the train to Milan, which takes almost two hours. Then with our smart brains, picked the airport that is an hour away from the train station. So we wouldn't have gotten to the airport in time for our flight. But we made it to Rome which is all that matters!!
Our hostel is pretty nice as well. We have a private room with 4 twin beds, desk & closet. The heater is on constantly and we have a window with a nice view. The bathroom is shared with the other 4 private rooms. It's actually not that bad!
Hannah's friend, Elaine, is studying abroad in Barcelona right now and came to Rome with us. She came with her friend Laura. They are both super nice and easy going. We are having a great time together (luckily)!
Thursday night, we went out to dinner where we got 25% off our meal. The dinner was pretty good and was right down the street. Then we came back to the hostel and waited for the 2 girls to arrived. Then we all passed out.
Friday morning, we were up at 8am. Got ready and went to get breakfast that came with our hostel. Breakfast was at this cafe around the corner. It was pretty good! We were able to get real coffee (like cappuccinos) and a brioche (croissant). Then we headed out to explore Rome!
Before it even hit 12, we had already seen: the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon and the Colosseum. We've been really productive which makes me happy. Then we got lunch and are now sitting in the park!
We left the park 2 hours ago and are now back in the room. The sun + champagne really made me sleepy. Everyone is going to try to nap now.
Wow it's been two hours! That was such an excellent nap. Clearly I needed it. I'm refreshed now and am getting ready to go out!! It's 7pm and we met this guy, John Carlo today who was promoting a pub crawl for tonight. He said to meet at the coliseum metro stop at 9pm and that he will take us to the party.
I'm home now, it's 2:30am and tonight was soo much fun!! The pub crawl ended up being a lot of fun. We met John Carlo and he with some other people all took the bus to the first dance place. There we paid our €20 and got unlimited drinks. Plus pizza!! We were there for probably two hours. Then we headed to the next discoteca which was 20minutes away. Such a joke! We had to take the metro then walk forever. I lost my buzz quickly.
Finally made it to the 2nd bar which was promoting Bacardi. There was 6 ladies walking around in dresses (clearly not wearing bras) handing Barcardi things out to people. It was fun but I got kind of left out, being there is 5 of us, I was the 5th wheel. It wasn't too bad since everyone was dancing but still.
Once that got boring we all kind of hit a wall and decided to just head back. We hopped in a taxi and are now home! We also got a t-shirt for the pub crawl.
Tomorrow we plan on going to the Vatican and seeing the Spanish steps.
Saturday, we didn't get up until 9:30am and that is because I had set my alarm knowing that breakfast ended at 10am. 4/5 of us got up to get food then when we got back, I showered and got ready. By 11:30am we were out of the room.
We headed straight to the Spanish steps then we walked down the street with Gucci, Dior, Fendi and more of my favorite stores. (Dad, I only spent €3500, don't worry hahaha) Then we walked to Vatican City. It's such a beautiful area. I could stand in the middle and stare all day. Also the weather was breathe taking. I was in jeans and a top all day, not cold at all. Love love love this perfect weather!!
No one wanted to go into the Vatican but Hannah and I went to see the sisteen chapel. After that we got lunch then headed to Gioletti (famous gelato place) which was delicious! The biggest gelato I've had since being here. We went shopping to a few places but I didn't get anything special.
Now we are back at the hostel getting ready for dinner and going out. We are meeting up with 3 boys from our USAC program who also came to Rome this weekend. Then we are going out to a discoteca but probably aren't going to stay out late since we are waking up at 5:45am to catch our plane!
I'm not excited to leave Rome but I'm happy to be heading back to Torino. I love going back "home". Plus I know I'm coming back to Rome before I come back to the states. This is just too beautiful of a city!
Saturday night, we came back to the room and got ready to go out. We headed out around 8:20pm and called the boys who said they were going to meet us for dinner near the traction. We got to the train station, called them and they were in a group of 6, we had 5 so they didn't want to go find a restaurant to accommodate the 11 of us...so we just headed to this nice restaurant called Florian's. It was really good, I was very happy with it (I picked it for once). We got 3 liters of white wine and were feeling no pain. But it was 11:30 and no one wanted to go out knowing we had to wake up at 5:45. The girls wanted something for dessert so we walked around trying to find a place but nothing was open or it was too expensive.
Instead we headed back to the room, got our phones and got some wifi. Then all headed back up and were asleep within 10min of laying down. It was nice to just have gone out to dinner then come home.
Waking up wasn't bad at all either. I was already packed except for my pjs and a few toiletries. We, of course, were late to the airport. We had to go to the front desk and cut the line so we didn't miss our flight. I hate traveling like that.
But we caught our flight and are now in Milan because when we bought our tickets, there were no flights to Torino. Now on a bus to the Milan train station to catch a train to Torino. Probably won't be home until 1:30pm and it's 9:30am now...longer day than I expected!
I'll post pictures when I get home!! Miss you guys so much xoxo
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Ivrea Festival 2/21
Today I went with USAC to Ivrea for the famous orange battle. It was a free trip for all of the USAC students. The bus picked us up at school and dropped us off there. Ivrea is luckily only an hour away so we were there quickly.
The battle didn't start until 2pm and we got there around 12 so we had time to kill. Daniele walked us to the main piazza and on our way there we walked through all of the different territories of the teams. I took tons of pictures which I uploaded onto Facebook. In the piazzas there were stacks of crates filled with oranges. Sooo many oranges, probably 18 crates high. Unbelievable, I don't know where all of these oranges came from. Apparently, years ago they use to use apples. Good thing they changed to oranges or everyone would have black eyes and bruises.
We walked down to the street where they had trucks with food (kind of like taco trucks but they had panini and desserts, man I love Italy). I got this delicious pork sandwich and Hannah & I got some french fries to share. Constantly stuffing our face with food, nothing new there!
Around 1:30pm was when the horses and carts started to make their ways up to the various piazzas. The cart holds 10 people it looked like and had 2-4 horses pulling them. There are 9 teams that all have their own colors with special uniforms and sections through out the town. Their names: Chessmen, Arduini, Ace of Spades, Death, Tuchini, Devils, Mercenaries, Panthers and Credendari. I am not sure how they pick a winner or if there even is a winner.
Before we knew it the battle had begon! We some how ended up right in the action in one of the piazzas. Oranges were being thrown from every which direction. I had worn this sweater, which I thought was red but people were telling me it was brown/burgundy/maroon...but it didn't even matter if you were wearing a true red dress; you had to have a red hat one!! So many people were yelling at us in Italian saying we needed to leave since we didn't have a red hat on and that we were going to get hit. Hannah and Liz were throwing oranges at everyone. Then they would get upset when the boys would throw them at them haha
We left that one piazza and moved on to another one which was a bad idea..the guys there had NO mercy on us girls. They would rip open the oranges and just squeeze them into our hair. Actually, I shouldn't say "our" because when they would come to me, I would grab both of their hands and tell them I'd kick them in nuts if they did that. But Monique, Kaitlin, Hannah and Liz were getting orange juice EVERYWHERE. Down their shirts, in the hair, on their jeans..Hannah actually slipped down the stairs so her butt got covered in orange.
The battle came to pause but we first thought it was over. They had been throwing oranges for over an hour and half so we figured they were tired and it ended. Oh no, they came back 20 minutes later. At this point, we were standing in the middle of the piazza where they come walking around. The oranges on the floor are indescribable. It was really disgusting and hard to walk around in plus the horses were pooping everywhere so it was mixed with that. Pretty picture, huh? I got a few pictures of it all.
Once the battle started again, we ditched the piazza and went down the river which was in the direction of the bus. There we saw some more of the parade and was throwing confetti around. The bus left at 5:30pm and we were home at 7pm.
Overall the day was amazing and I am so glad I went. Today was a memory that I will never forget. Crazy how these littles towns can have such huge festivals that are famous! I am one lucky girl to be in Italy :]
Miss you guys so much!!
The battle didn't start until 2pm and we got there around 12 so we had time to kill. Daniele walked us to the main piazza and on our way there we walked through all of the different territories of the teams. I took tons of pictures which I uploaded onto Facebook. In the piazzas there were stacks of crates filled with oranges. Sooo many oranges, probably 18 crates high. Unbelievable, I don't know where all of these oranges came from. Apparently, years ago they use to use apples. Good thing they changed to oranges or everyone would have black eyes and bruises.
We walked down to the street where they had trucks with food (kind of like taco trucks but they had panini and desserts, man I love Italy). I got this delicious pork sandwich and Hannah & I got some french fries to share. Constantly stuffing our face with food, nothing new there!
Around 1:30pm was when the horses and carts started to make their ways up to the various piazzas. The cart holds 10 people it looked like and had 2-4 horses pulling them. There are 9 teams that all have their own colors with special uniforms and sections through out the town. Their names: Chessmen, Arduini, Ace of Spades, Death, Tuchini, Devils, Mercenaries, Panthers and Credendari. I am not sure how they pick a winner or if there even is a winner.
Before we knew it the battle had begon! We some how ended up right in the action in one of the piazzas. Oranges were being thrown from every which direction. I had worn this sweater, which I thought was red but people were telling me it was brown/burgundy/maroon...but it didn't even matter if you were wearing a true red dress; you had to have a red hat one!! So many people were yelling at us in Italian saying we needed to leave since we didn't have a red hat on and that we were going to get hit. Hannah and Liz were throwing oranges at everyone. Then they would get upset when the boys would throw them at them haha
We left that one piazza and moved on to another one which was a bad idea..the guys there had NO mercy on us girls. They would rip open the oranges and just squeeze them into our hair. Actually, I shouldn't say "our" because when they would come to me, I would grab both of their hands and tell them I'd kick them in nuts if they did that. But Monique, Kaitlin, Hannah and Liz were getting orange juice EVERYWHERE. Down their shirts, in the hair, on their jeans..Hannah actually slipped down the stairs so her butt got covered in orange.
The battle came to pause but we first thought it was over. They had been throwing oranges for over an hour and half so we figured they were tired and it ended. Oh no, they came back 20 minutes later. At this point, we were standing in the middle of the piazza where they come walking around. The oranges on the floor are indescribable. It was really disgusting and hard to walk around in plus the horses were pooping everywhere so it was mixed with that. Pretty picture, huh? I got a few pictures of it all.
Once the battle started again, we ditched the piazza and went down the river which was in the direction of the bus. There we saw some more of the parade and was throwing confetti around. The bus left at 5:30pm and we were home at 7pm.
Overall the day was amazing and I am so glad I went. Today was a memory that I will never forget. Crazy how these littles towns can have such huge festivals that are famous! I am one lucky girl to be in Italy :]
Miss you guys so much!!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Venice & Verona 2/11-2/13
First day/night in Venice was a lot of fun! We took a double decker bus from school to Venice in the morning. We left around 8:50am and got here in Venice to our hotel at 3:15pm. There was a 45min lunch break in between.
The ride wasn't bad at all, except I was sitting on the top deck and it got really hot, then someone took off their shoes so it started to smell bad!! Let's say I was glad to finally get off of the bus.
The weather wasn't that great, it was SUPER windy. My hair in all of the pictures I took is a disaster from the wind. Plus it was over cast which made everyone sooo cold! I hate the cold, puts a damper on everything.
After we checked into the hotel, we ran over to Piazza S. Marco (famous square of Venice) to meet with your guides. We literally ran haha Daniele was so upset because we were already late to meet then. Plus our hotel is at one end of Venice and the piazza is on the other. When we finally got there, we split into 3 groups. Hannah and I went off to meet Kristen Alton (my grand big from the sorority) as we came back, we ran into a group but realized none of our friends were in that group. So we ran to a different group where we found everyone.
After the tour, we went to dinner. We walked down random allies and found this little piazza where we found a place to eat. Everyone got pizza but I got lasagna which was the best dish out of their pizzas. It was soo good and I don't say that about other people's lasagna.
After dinner, everyone got 3€ bottle of wines and was drinking from them in a white plastic bag (super classy but I didn't get one). We were heading back to Piazza San Marco. On our way, we heard music coming from a random street. We of course followed it and luckily we did because we had soooo much fun!!! It was a huge dance party in this mini piazza. No one was really dancing when we got there so us being American, jumped in the middle and started the whole dance scene. The music they played was pretty old..Fergalicious, Single Ladies, My Humps, music along those lines. But it was still a lot of fun. We were all dancing so much that we started sweating but once we stopped we got cold quickly since we were in an open piazza. Once everyone got cold, our drunk buzz died down so we headed home.
The first night in the hotel was awful!! The room itself was nice and had 4 twin beds for us 4 girls but it was freezing. Pretty sure it was the same temperature as it was outside. I lied in bed for two hours until I fell asleep. But when I moved in my sleep, I would get cold again so I'd wake up. I think I got two hours of sleep.
Sunday, we had the whole day free to do what we pleased. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel then went to Piazza San Marco. There was the ceremony of the flying angle across the piazza. That was a site to see it, it was the kick off for carnival. I took pictures plus a video which I'll post on Facebook!
After the angel we went to lunch, once again we found this cute place down some allies which was really good. Got a glass of wine and a pizza. I love being able to order wine at any meal. Once lunch was over, Jessica and Sara were tired so they went back to the hotel to sleep. But Hannah and I wanted to go to the Murano Island where they have all the shops with the hand blown glasses. I've been before but wanted to go back. Sadly it wasn't as cool as I remembered when I came with my family. But it was nice to go back and see everything.
Before we knew it, it was 5:30pm and we took the boat metro back to our hotel. Went a little souvenir shopping. Only got postcards and magnets. We all got back to the hotel, freshened up and then went to get some wine. Got some boxed white wine with sprite, dad are you proud? Hahaha went back to the hotel and hung out with the girls before dinner.
We wanted to go to dinner and have a long 3 course meal. But that didn't happen. People say things and never follow through with them sadly. We just went to little restaurant and got pasta. I got the gnocchi which were good but the cream sauce was a little much. Hannah got this spinach and ricotta lasagna, it was soo good!!
After dinner we were so cold we just went back to the hotel. Finished up our wine and were asleep by 12.
Monday morning we got breakfast again at the hotel, needed to check out by 9:30 and went walking around until 11am where we needed to be back at the hotel so we could get on the bus to Verona!
Verona, the city of love!! Sadly we only got to be there for 2 hours but I saw the two main things to see; the Arena and Juliet's balcony. Oddly I felt like I had already been to Juliet's balcony. I don't know if it's because I've seen it in movies or because I've seen a lot of my friends pictures or what because I've never been. Seeing those two attractions took 20min.
After we touched Juliet's breast, we headed to lunch. Stopped a cute cafe where I got lasagna (for some reason in on some lasagna kick). Stayed there for the remaining time. Just got 2 keychains, one that says "Verona" and another says "I love (heart) Italy".
Now we are back on the bus headed to Torino. Everyone is silent. With full stomachs, people passed out. I did too for a hour. We've been driving for almost two hours and I hope we are back in a hour.
The days here in Italy have been going by SO fast. It's hard to believe I've already been here for a month, Monica's birthday is tomorrow and yet I feel like I haven't done much! I need to step up my game because these next 3 months are going to fly by and I have a lot of places that I want to see!
I got a few post cards in Venice so I'll be sending out those this week. Then I'm going on a mission to find some Torino ones so I can send them to all my friends!
Miss you guys so much!!!
The ride wasn't bad at all, except I was sitting on the top deck and it got really hot, then someone took off their shoes so it started to smell bad!! Let's say I was glad to finally get off of the bus.
The weather wasn't that great, it was SUPER windy. My hair in all of the pictures I took is a disaster from the wind. Plus it was over cast which made everyone sooo cold! I hate the cold, puts a damper on everything.
After we checked into the hotel, we ran over to Piazza S. Marco (famous square of Venice) to meet with your guides. We literally ran haha Daniele was so upset because we were already late to meet then. Plus our hotel is at one end of Venice and the piazza is on the other. When we finally got there, we split into 3 groups. Hannah and I went off to meet Kristen Alton (my grand big from the sorority) as we came back, we ran into a group but realized none of our friends were in that group. So we ran to a different group where we found everyone.
After the tour, we went to dinner. We walked down random allies and found this little piazza where we found a place to eat. Everyone got pizza but I got lasagna which was the best dish out of their pizzas. It was soo good and I don't say that about other people's lasagna.
After dinner, everyone got 3€ bottle of wines and was drinking from them in a white plastic bag (super classy but I didn't get one). We were heading back to Piazza San Marco. On our way, we heard music coming from a random street. We of course followed it and luckily we did because we had soooo much fun!!! It was a huge dance party in this mini piazza. No one was really dancing when we got there so us being American, jumped in the middle and started the whole dance scene. The music they played was pretty old..Fergalicious, Single Ladies, My Humps, music along those lines. But it was still a lot of fun. We were all dancing so much that we started sweating but once we stopped we got cold quickly since we were in an open piazza. Once everyone got cold, our drunk buzz died down so we headed home.
The first night in the hotel was awful!! The room itself was nice and had 4 twin beds for us 4 girls but it was freezing. Pretty sure it was the same temperature as it was outside. I lied in bed for two hours until I fell asleep. But when I moved in my sleep, I would get cold again so I'd wake up. I think I got two hours of sleep.
Sunday, we had the whole day free to do what we pleased. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel then went to Piazza San Marco. There was the ceremony of the flying angle across the piazza. That was a site to see it, it was the kick off for carnival. I took pictures plus a video which I'll post on Facebook!
After the angel we went to lunch, once again we found this cute place down some allies which was really good. Got a glass of wine and a pizza. I love being able to order wine at any meal. Once lunch was over, Jessica and Sara were tired so they went back to the hotel to sleep. But Hannah and I wanted to go to the Murano Island where they have all the shops with the hand blown glasses. I've been before but wanted to go back. Sadly it wasn't as cool as I remembered when I came with my family. But it was nice to go back and see everything.
Before we knew it, it was 5:30pm and we took the boat metro back to our hotel. Went a little souvenir shopping. Only got postcards and magnets. We all got back to the hotel, freshened up and then went to get some wine. Got some boxed white wine with sprite, dad are you proud? Hahaha went back to the hotel and hung out with the girls before dinner.
We wanted to go to dinner and have a long 3 course meal. But that didn't happen. People say things and never follow through with them sadly. We just went to little restaurant and got pasta. I got the gnocchi which were good but the cream sauce was a little much. Hannah got this spinach and ricotta lasagna, it was soo good!!
After dinner we were so cold we just went back to the hotel. Finished up our wine and were asleep by 12.
Monday morning we got breakfast again at the hotel, needed to check out by 9:30 and went walking around until 11am where we needed to be back at the hotel so we could get on the bus to Verona!
Verona, the city of love!! Sadly we only got to be there for 2 hours but I saw the two main things to see; the Arena and Juliet's balcony. Oddly I felt like I had already been to Juliet's balcony. I don't know if it's because I've seen it in movies or because I've seen a lot of my friends pictures or what because I've never been. Seeing those two attractions took 20min.
After we touched Juliet's breast, we headed to lunch. Stopped a cute cafe where I got lasagna (for some reason in on some lasagna kick). Stayed there for the remaining time. Just got 2 keychains, one that says "Verona" and another says "I love (heart) Italy".
Now we are back on the bus headed to Torino. Everyone is silent. With full stomachs, people passed out. I did too for a hour. We've been driving for almost two hours and I hope we are back in a hour.
The days here in Italy have been going by SO fast. It's hard to believe I've already been here for a month, Monica's birthday is tomorrow and yet I feel like I haven't done much! I need to step up my game because these next 3 months are going to fly by and I have a lot of places that I want to see!
I got a few post cards in Venice so I'll be sending out those this week. Then I'm going on a mission to find some Torino ones so I can send them to all my friends!
Miss you guys so much!!!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Brussels, Belgium 2/3-2/6
My first trip outside of Italy was a success!!
I went to Brussels, Belgium with some of the USAC kids this weekend. Over all it was a good trip but I don't see myself going back anytime soon.
Friday morning we left at 4:30am and arrived at our hotel in Brussels at 1:30pm. To say the least, it was a long day! Hannah, Jessica, Lauren and I were roommates at the hotel. It wasn't really a hotel. There was one full bed which Hannah and Jessica shared then there was 2 twin beds that I got and Lauren. The blankets on the beds were giraff and zebra print. Pretty sweet if you ask me but a little gross (who knows when they were washed last). Also the bathroom door was an accordion, which broke. The "cleaning ladies" put it back on when they came to make our beds but the minute we tried closing the door, it would pop right off. I guess that is what you get for 70 euro for 3 nights.
Anyways about Friday, we left the hotel around 2:45pm and ventured off to find the main square. On our way there, we got lost down the muslim area of Brussels. One of the girls was starving and couldn't want to eat so we stopped at this one restaurant. In Brussels they don't speak English...I still don't know what they speak. Super culture shock reading a menu and not being able to pick anything out. The guy gave us this "deal" where we got soup, some random type of meat and dessert for 9 euro each. Seriously have no idea what type of meat I ate. Luckily I didn't get sick but I also didn't finish the plate.
It ended up being perfect timing because once we finished lunch, it started to snow! Yay, I love the snow!! (No, I actually hate it). Of course none of us had umbrellas so we were freezing. The snow made it really hard to site see because when I would lift my head to look up, my face would instantly freeze up. On our way to the square, we met up with Krista, Chelsea, Manya and Marcella who had the room right next to us. They were in a bar which had a big fire. Since it was snowing, we just hopped from store to store trying to stay dry and warm. We ended up stopping at this one cute bar which had a fire and got some cheese and salami. Plus a beer! We were there for probably two hours until we decided to go to the Delirium Cafe. (This cafe is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having every type of beer, vodka, tequila and rum). It was super cool!
When we got to the Delirium Cafe, there was a convention for computer nerds. The drinks were 3 euro each if you were apart of the convention, so of course we said we were! Hannah and I went to get 5 drinks for 15 euro but the guy gave us 6 drinks! We were pretty stoked. Mandi and Cameron told me to try the La Rulles beer and take the glass home. Sadly I didn't get a cool La Rulles glass and it wasn't my favorite type of beer. I did get a Delirium glass though, it has red elephants all over it. After 3 drinks, we were all tired and headed back to the hotel.
Saturday morning we jumped on the train towards Brugge which is a city about an hour and 15min away from Brussels. There was a huge beer festival there for the weekend. Tons of people were on the train who were going there. Hannah sat next to guy who was going with his friends, when we got off the train, they took us to the festival which was super nice of them! Once inside, there was two options for getting drinks. You could pay 10 euro, get a glass with 4 beer chips or pay 20 euro and get 2 glasses with 10 chips. Hannah and I did the 20 euro so we each got a glass plus 5 chips. This place was huge!! Plus there was about 60 stands that all had 4-5 beers that you could taste. I am not use to Belgium beer, it's very good but thick! After 3 beers I felt so full. Jessica and Hannah ended up buying my last 2 chips from me. We met a lot of people who spoke english as well which was a nice change! Lauren and I met these two really nice guys who live in Brugge, they already found me on Facebook.
We shopped around, got lunch and tried a bunch of chocolate in Brugge until we got on the train around 8:30pm to head back to Brussels. It was so so so cold when we got home. I couldn't feel my toes or fingers and my head my frozen. The girls were saying they all wanted to go out but the last thing I wanted to do was venture off into the cold. Luckily once we got back to the hotel, everyone started to get tired and no one went out. Which was nice because we slept in and went site seeing on Sunday.
Sunday we woke up and got ready to really see Brussels since it wasn't snowing and the sun was actually out! Felt good to get some Vitamin D on my face. We walked down the main square and got a famous Belgium waffle. It was a heart attack on the plate but it was worth every bite! I took pictures of everything (I'll post them on Facebook). After our waffle, we went to see Manneken Pis which is a little boy peeing statue. It was super little...not what I expected but it was still nice to see. Then we took the metro to see the Atomium. The Atomium is "A seminal totem in the Brussels skyline; neither tower, nor pyramid, a little bit cubic, a little bit cubic, a little bit spherical, half-way between sculpture and architecture, a relic of the past with a determinedly futuristic look, museum and exhibition centre; the Atomium is, at once, an object, a place, a space, a Utopia and the only symbol of its kind in the world, which eludes any kind of classification" according to the little pamphlet I took. The Atomium was as a super cool place. The pictures are unreal!
After the Atomium we headed back to the square for dinner and then went back to the Delirium cafe where we instead of hanging out with all of the beers, we went to the Absinthe room. I took a shot of 70 proof Absinthe. It was green and we got a sugar cube with it. You dip the sugar in the Absinthe, then place it on this little spoon with holes and lit it on fire. The fire melts the sugar into the Absinthe then you put the rest of the sugar in the shot and crush it up. 1, 2, 3 and you take the shot! It wasn't bad at all, my heart was just racing before hand! Just knowing it was 70 proof made me more anxious! After that shot, we headed over to the tequila room (yum, I love tequila) and made friends with the bartender who gave us 9 shots for 20 euro. Krista, Manya, Jessica and I had two shots and Hannah had one. Again, not bad at all. But after those two shots I was feeling good and warm which was a nice change.
We left the bar at 10:30pm knowing we had to wake up at 2:30am to get a taxi to take us to the bus which took us to the airport. I got two hours of sleep which was rough. Our plane boarded at 6:15 and landed in Torino at 7:50pm. It was about 20 minutes early which was great because I had class this morning at 9am. We all ran to a taxi when we got off. Still in shock that I made it to school on time. But i am now exhausted and can't wait to sleep tonight.
This trip gets 7.4/10 rating!
I went to Brussels, Belgium with some of the USAC kids this weekend. Over all it was a good trip but I don't see myself going back anytime soon.
Friday morning we left at 4:30am and arrived at our hotel in Brussels at 1:30pm. To say the least, it was a long day! Hannah, Jessica, Lauren and I were roommates at the hotel. It wasn't really a hotel. There was one full bed which Hannah and Jessica shared then there was 2 twin beds that I got and Lauren. The blankets on the beds were giraff and zebra print. Pretty sweet if you ask me but a little gross (who knows when they were washed last). Also the bathroom door was an accordion, which broke. The "cleaning ladies" put it back on when they came to make our beds but the minute we tried closing the door, it would pop right off. I guess that is what you get for 70 euro for 3 nights.
Anyways about Friday, we left the hotel around 2:45pm and ventured off to find the main square. On our way there, we got lost down the muslim area of Brussels. One of the girls was starving and couldn't want to eat so we stopped at this one restaurant. In Brussels they don't speak English...I still don't know what they speak. Super culture shock reading a menu and not being able to pick anything out. The guy gave us this "deal" where we got soup, some random type of meat and dessert for 9 euro each. Seriously have no idea what type of meat I ate. Luckily I didn't get sick but I also didn't finish the plate.
It ended up being perfect timing because once we finished lunch, it started to snow! Yay, I love the snow!! (No, I actually hate it). Of course none of us had umbrellas so we were freezing. The snow made it really hard to site see because when I would lift my head to look up, my face would instantly freeze up. On our way to the square, we met up with Krista, Chelsea, Manya and Marcella who had the room right next to us. They were in a bar which had a big fire. Since it was snowing, we just hopped from store to store trying to stay dry and warm. We ended up stopping at this one cute bar which had a fire and got some cheese and salami. Plus a beer! We were there for probably two hours until we decided to go to the Delirium Cafe. (This cafe is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having every type of beer, vodka, tequila and rum). It was super cool!
When we got to the Delirium Cafe, there was a convention for computer nerds. The drinks were 3 euro each if you were apart of the convention, so of course we said we were! Hannah and I went to get 5 drinks for 15 euro but the guy gave us 6 drinks! We were pretty stoked. Mandi and Cameron told me to try the La Rulles beer and take the glass home. Sadly I didn't get a cool La Rulles glass and it wasn't my favorite type of beer. I did get a Delirium glass though, it has red elephants all over it. After 3 drinks, we were all tired and headed back to the hotel.
Saturday morning we jumped on the train towards Brugge which is a city about an hour and 15min away from Brussels. There was a huge beer festival there for the weekend. Tons of people were on the train who were going there. Hannah sat next to guy who was going with his friends, when we got off the train, they took us to the festival which was super nice of them! Once inside, there was two options for getting drinks. You could pay 10 euro, get a glass with 4 beer chips or pay 20 euro and get 2 glasses with 10 chips. Hannah and I did the 20 euro so we each got a glass plus 5 chips. This place was huge!! Plus there was about 60 stands that all had 4-5 beers that you could taste. I am not use to Belgium beer, it's very good but thick! After 3 beers I felt so full. Jessica and Hannah ended up buying my last 2 chips from me. We met a lot of people who spoke english as well which was a nice change! Lauren and I met these two really nice guys who live in Brugge, they already found me on Facebook.
We shopped around, got lunch and tried a bunch of chocolate in Brugge until we got on the train around 8:30pm to head back to Brussels. It was so so so cold when we got home. I couldn't feel my toes or fingers and my head my frozen. The girls were saying they all wanted to go out but the last thing I wanted to do was venture off into the cold. Luckily once we got back to the hotel, everyone started to get tired and no one went out. Which was nice because we slept in and went site seeing on Sunday.
Sunday we woke up and got ready to really see Brussels since it wasn't snowing and the sun was actually out! Felt good to get some Vitamin D on my face. We walked down the main square and got a famous Belgium waffle. It was a heart attack on the plate but it was worth every bite! I took pictures of everything (I'll post them on Facebook). After our waffle, we went to see Manneken Pis which is a little boy peeing statue. It was super little...not what I expected but it was still nice to see. Then we took the metro to see the Atomium. The Atomium is "A seminal totem in the Brussels skyline; neither tower, nor pyramid, a little bit cubic, a little bit cubic, a little bit spherical, half-way between sculpture and architecture, a relic of the past with a determinedly futuristic look, museum and exhibition centre; the Atomium is, at once, an object, a place, a space, a Utopia and the only symbol of its kind in the world, which eludes any kind of classification" according to the little pamphlet I took. The Atomium was as a super cool place. The pictures are unreal!
After the Atomium we headed back to the square for dinner and then went back to the Delirium cafe where we instead of hanging out with all of the beers, we went to the Absinthe room. I took a shot of 70 proof Absinthe. It was green and we got a sugar cube with it. You dip the sugar in the Absinthe, then place it on this little spoon with holes and lit it on fire. The fire melts the sugar into the Absinthe then you put the rest of the sugar in the shot and crush it up. 1, 2, 3 and you take the shot! It wasn't bad at all, my heart was just racing before hand! Just knowing it was 70 proof made me more anxious! After that shot, we headed over to the tequila room (yum, I love tequila) and made friends with the bartender who gave us 9 shots for 20 euro. Krista, Manya, Jessica and I had two shots and Hannah had one. Again, not bad at all. But after those two shots I was feeling good and warm which was a nice change.
We left the bar at 10:30pm knowing we had to wake up at 2:30am to get a taxi to take us to the bus which took us to the airport. I got two hours of sleep which was rough. Our plane boarded at 6:15 and landed in Torino at 7:50pm. It was about 20 minutes early which was great because I had class this morning at 9am. We all ran to a taxi when we got off. Still in shock that I made it to school on time. But i am now exhausted and can't wait to sleep tonight.
This trip gets 7.4/10 rating!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Aosta Sat 1/28
I had a greeeeat time in Aosta!! I am so so so happy that I came here today. It was beautiful. It was snowing the whole time. Luckily I went prepared and was warm the whole time. (you'll see in photos)
Except my burberry boots are killing me!! They are tearing up my heals and my poor toes are numb. I'm really disappointed. I just hope this is happening because it's my first time wearing them or else I'll be pissed! They were great today in the snow. I was able to walk around with no problem plus my feet didn't get wet which was nice.
But about Aosta, it was great. We took a tram (enclosed ski lift) all the way up the mountain for 5 euro. It took about 30 minutes and it was such a climate change. Going from just the snow drizzling and not sticking to the ground to up at the top of the mountain where there was skiing and so much snow!
I took lots of pictures!! I'll post them on Facebook after I write this.
When we came down the mountain, we went around and looked at all of the ancient ruins. There was probably 24 of them and we saw 6. The whole town was pretty. Pretty small but it was cute. I am glad I ended up going, I would have been super bummed.
We stopped to get food up at the top of the mountain and then when we came down we saw some of the ruins and it was snowing so much we wanted to stop and defrost/warm up so we got coffee. Then we went back out and walked around. The girls got some really cute boots. They got real leather, made in Italy boots for 17 euro. Like seriously??
Overall I had a great time with everyone and can't wait to soak my feet.
Miss you guys so much!!
Except my burberry boots are killing me!! They are tearing up my heals and my poor toes are numb. I'm really disappointed. I just hope this is happening because it's my first time wearing them or else I'll be pissed! They were great today in the snow. I was able to walk around with no problem plus my feet didn't get wet which was nice.
But about Aosta, it was great. We took a tram (enclosed ski lift) all the way up the mountain for 5 euro. It took about 30 minutes and it was such a climate change. Going from just the snow drizzling and not sticking to the ground to up at the top of the mountain where there was skiing and so much snow!
I took lots of pictures!! I'll post them on Facebook after I write this.
When we came down the mountain, we went around and looked at all of the ancient ruins. There was probably 24 of them and we saw 6. The whole town was pretty. Pretty small but it was cute. I am glad I ended up going, I would have been super bummed.
We stopped to get food up at the top of the mountain and then when we came down we saw some of the ruins and it was snowing so much we wanted to stop and defrost/warm up so we got coffee. Then we went back out and walked around. The girls got some really cute boots. They got real leather, made in Italy boots for 17 euro. Like seriously??
Overall I had a great time with everyone and can't wait to soak my feet.
Miss you guys so much!!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday 1/23
I'm really excited right now because I just bought my ticket to Brussels for Feb 3-Feb 6 and my ticket to Rome for Feb 24-Feb 26. Things are finally going in the right direction. Now that I have these two trips planned, hopefully all of my other trips will fall into place. Somewhere I HAVE to go before I come home, Dublin, Ireland. I want to go there for Spring Break.
School this morning was school, nothing special at all. Tomorrow I start my International Marketing class and Wednesday I start International Finance. Then I have my Intercultural Communication class on Friday. My schedule is so easy I really love it. Just a bummer that other people don't have it like this so there will be days that I don't have class but everyone else does.
As for tonight, I'll be home. So if anyone wants to Skype for a little bit, I'll be on!
Miss you guys so much!!
School this morning was school, nothing special at all. Tomorrow I start my International Marketing class and Wednesday I start International Finance. Then I have my Intercultural Communication class on Friday. My schedule is so easy I really love it. Just a bummer that other people don't have it like this so there will be days that I don't have class but everyone else does.
As for tonight, I'll be home. So if anyone wants to Skype for a little bit, I'll be on!
Miss you guys so much!!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday 1/22 trip to Asti
Asti ended up being a great great trip but in the beginning it was a little shaky. We got here at 9:30am and nothing was open. It was dead and we all were worried that we came to a city to do nothing.
We went to the cafe in the train station and got some food. Victor asked the bar tender of a place we could go to to drink some wine from Asti.
He gave us the name and number of a restaurant . I called it and asked when it opened, made reservations and made it clear that we wanted to drink wine.
By this time it was only 10:30am and it was cold! A lot colder than its been this past week in Torino (besides the two snow days) and not like Genova. It's a smaller town and since it was Sunday, no one was around. We were all bummed but we were trying to stay positive since we had lunch reservations at 12. There was 8 of us in our little group but there was maybe 16 of us all together. Our group was the perfect group! We had such a great time together and all got along really well.
As we were walking around, trying to kill time. We came across a church that was having mass. We went to sit it, well it was in portuguese. Joe & I were asking each other "do you know what they're saying?" we assumed it was going to be in Italian!! Haha we felt like idiots but it was cool to see it and listen.
Once it was 12, we headed to the restaurant. It was excellent! I finally got some good food in me. We sat down and they served us champagne right away plus some salami, bread and breadsticks.
We order 4L of red wine, it was the restaurants house wine which was from Asti. It was delicious. I feel like I'm becoming such a pro at wine. (Dad you'd be proud!) For lunch I got ravioli with hen. They were excellent. Easily another top delicious plate I've had here. The ravioli were small and melted in my mouth. Victor also got the ravioli but as a second plate, he got horse meat!! He said it was delicious. I really want to try it next time we go out that offers it. Apparently it's really good in Venice.
After we ate, we order a bottle of their famous Asti champagne. It was so sweet and decadent. Everyone was feeling really good. We were having such a great time together. Another moment where I was truly happy to be in Italy.
We were probably in the restaurant for 2 hours. It was amazing! Another cool thing about the restaurant, all their waiters had down syndrome. We believe that Asti has a hospital or special clinic for people with special needs because we saw a lot of people like that.
After lunch, we walked around the piazza but since everything was closed, there was a huge garage sale going on. People have some crazy shit in their house! Haha but after we looked around for an hour or so, we all hit a brick wall and got super tired. Just decided to come home, take a nap and relax. Over all it luckily ended up being a good day but not as good at Genova.
We went to the cafe in the train station and got some food. Victor asked the bar tender of a place we could go to to drink some wine from Asti.
He gave us the name and number of a restaurant . I called it and asked when it opened, made reservations and made it clear that we wanted to drink wine.
By this time it was only 10:30am and it was cold! A lot colder than its been this past week in Torino (besides the two snow days) and not like Genova. It's a smaller town and since it was Sunday, no one was around. We were all bummed but we were trying to stay positive since we had lunch reservations at 12. There was 8 of us in our little group but there was maybe 16 of us all together. Our group was the perfect group! We had such a great time together and all got along really well.
As we were walking around, trying to kill time. We came across a church that was having mass. We went to sit it, well it was in portuguese. Joe & I were asking each other "do you know what they're saying?" we assumed it was going to be in Italian!! Haha we felt like idiots but it was cool to see it and listen.
Once it was 12, we headed to the restaurant. It was excellent! I finally got some good food in me. We sat down and they served us champagne right away plus some salami, bread and breadsticks.
We order 4L of red wine, it was the restaurants house wine which was from Asti. It was delicious. I feel like I'm becoming such a pro at wine. (Dad you'd be proud!) For lunch I got ravioli with hen. They were excellent. Easily another top delicious plate I've had here. The ravioli were small and melted in my mouth. Victor also got the ravioli but as a second plate, he got horse meat!! He said it was delicious. I really want to try it next time we go out that offers it. Apparently it's really good in Venice.
After we ate, we order a bottle of their famous Asti champagne. It was so sweet and decadent. Everyone was feeling really good. We were having such a great time together. Another moment where I was truly happy to be in Italy.
We were probably in the restaurant for 2 hours. It was amazing! Another cool thing about the restaurant, all their waiters had down syndrome. We believe that Asti has a hospital or special clinic for people with special needs because we saw a lot of people like that.
After lunch, we walked around the piazza but since everything was closed, there was a huge garage sale going on. People have some crazy shit in their house! Haha but after we looked around for an hour or so, we all hit a brick wall and got super tired. Just decided to come home, take a nap and relax. Over all it luckily ended up being a good day but not as good at Genova.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday 1/20 and 1/21 day trip to Genova
Friday:
As I write this, I am sitting in my Italian kitchen making some mini tortellini I bought today at the store.
Today after class I went on a tour to the Lingotto mall. It use to be Fiat's headquarters. There was a group of 20 students which was perfect. We had such a fun time with everyone.
I already posted pictures online which I hope you guys all saw! There was a race track on the roof where they would test out the new Fiats. It didn't seem like the safest place to drive a car but it was pretty cool being there.
After we walked around the whole track, we went inside where the maker of Fiat, his wife, had donated a few paintings from their home. These paintings were breathe taking. Can't even describe to you how amazing it was to see them in person. There were two Pablo Picasso painting. Breathe taking!
After that tour, I headed over to Victor's which was where Hannah and Lauren were. I was only there for 15min before I left and got on the bus to head home. (yup got on the bus by myself) I was home for a little, that's when I posted the pictures.
I needed a few things at the market like lunch and dinner. But also laundry detergent (which I ended up buying fabric softener), tape and napkins.
After that little trip, came home, made myself a sandwich and skyped with my mom & friends. It's so great having wifi and being able to Skype. It's always a great!
Once Lauren had figured out what was going on for the night. I packed up my bag and headed to Lauren's for the night. I took the metro all by myself! I was really proud of me for doing that and not getting lost. As the days continue, it's getting better and better.
I got to Lauren's, we put our make up on, Chelsea got there and we partied with Lauren's Italian roommate Veronica. Veronica had a bunch of her friends over which was so much fun. They were loud, drinking and loved talking English.
We played flip cup! No one was drinking beer so we were confused on what we were going to use. They mixed champagne and orange juice together. It was a really good mix but after 4 rounds of flip cup, it gets old.
After we won 3/4 games, we headed downtown to the bar Texas Rangers. It's another "American" bar downtown. We haven't found our good group of people that we continually go out with yet. I like the American bars but only so many times. I really want to go out to the clubs and places where only Italians hang out.
Mom, last night I met this guy called Cesar and he said I had a Tuscan accent when I spoke Italian! I told him that's where you are from and he loved it.
We stayed out until 3:05. Which was a terrible idea because we got us this morning at 6:45am to catch the train for Genova at 8:20am. I'm sitting on the train now. I was able to sleep a little but not enough.
It's a beautiful ride through the country side. Once you leave the big cities, you see more stand alone homes and farms. I love this part of Italy. It's so peaceful and pretty.
I'm on the train now back to Torino from Genova. I loved Genova!! It was a great city. It was more like the cities I've seen before in Italy. Which I really liked and felt more comfortable walking around. First day of traveling was a success!!
Tomorrow we are going to Asti which is pretty close by but is a smaller city. I hope it's really Italian!!
As I write this, I am sitting in my Italian kitchen making some mini tortellini I bought today at the store.
Today after class I went on a tour to the Lingotto mall. It use to be Fiat's headquarters. There was a group of 20 students which was perfect. We had such a fun time with everyone.
I already posted pictures online which I hope you guys all saw! There was a race track on the roof where they would test out the new Fiats. It didn't seem like the safest place to drive a car but it was pretty cool being there.
After we walked around the whole track, we went inside where the maker of Fiat, his wife, had donated a few paintings from their home. These paintings were breathe taking. Can't even describe to you how amazing it was to see them in person. There were two Pablo Picasso painting. Breathe taking!
After that tour, I headed over to Victor's which was where Hannah and Lauren were. I was only there for 15min before I left and got on the bus to head home. (yup got on the bus by myself) I was home for a little, that's when I posted the pictures.
I needed a few things at the market like lunch and dinner. But also laundry detergent (which I ended up buying fabric softener), tape and napkins.
After that little trip, came home, made myself a sandwich and skyped with my mom & friends. It's so great having wifi and being able to Skype. It's always a great!
Once Lauren had figured out what was going on for the night. I packed up my bag and headed to Lauren's for the night. I took the metro all by myself! I was really proud of me for doing that and not getting lost. As the days continue, it's getting better and better.
I got to Lauren's, we put our make up on, Chelsea got there and we partied with Lauren's Italian roommate Veronica. Veronica had a bunch of her friends over which was so much fun. They were loud, drinking and loved talking English.
We played flip cup! No one was drinking beer so we were confused on what we were going to use. They mixed champagne and orange juice together. It was a really good mix but after 4 rounds of flip cup, it gets old.
After we won 3/4 games, we headed downtown to the bar Texas Rangers. It's another "American" bar downtown. We haven't found our good group of people that we continually go out with yet. I like the American bars but only so many times. I really want to go out to the clubs and places where only Italians hang out.
Mom, last night I met this guy called Cesar and he said I had a Tuscan accent when I spoke Italian! I told him that's where you are from and he loved it.
We stayed out until 3:05. Which was a terrible idea because we got us this morning at 6:45am to catch the train for Genova at 8:20am. I'm sitting on the train now. I was able to sleep a little but not enough.
It's a beautiful ride through the country side. Once you leave the big cities, you see more stand alone homes and farms. I love this part of Italy. It's so peaceful and pretty.
I'm on the train now back to Torino from Genova. I loved Genova!! It was a great city. It was more like the cities I've seen before in Italy. Which I really liked and felt more comfortable walking around. First day of traveling was a success!!
Tomorrow we are going to Asti which is pretty close by but is a smaller city. I hope it's really Italian!!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday 1/19
Today was nothing special..I went to class again 9-11am. Did my homework with Jessica during our break which was nice because I didn't have to worry about it tonight.
Once Lauren & Hannah were done with their italian at 12:15, USAC took a few pictures of us in front of the school. So cheesy! Haha then we caught the metro to Lauren's apartment in downtown. Dropped off our books and headed for the shops.
We were out shopping for maybe 3.5 hours and I only bought one blue scarf. That isn't me..just nothing was really sticking out to me. There is a ton of sales going on right now. I'm looking for a nice color peacoat but haven't found it yet.
We did so much walking!! Wish I brought some cushions for my shoes. My ankles, shins, knees, thighs, butt and back are all hurting. I'm not use to this much walking.
I was gone from 8:30-6pm today and when I got home, felt great to put my feet up. But was only for 20 minutes because my roommates invited me to go to dinner with them which I wasn't going to pass up since I was probably going to eat cereal.
We went to a Mexican restaurant off a street called Umberto Biancamino. You wouldn't even know it was a Mexican place. Just had a red cover and some Christmas lights. We got there a little earlier than Italians do but by the time we were leaving it was packed! Such a good hole in the wall. I am extremely stuffed.
I was going to go out with Hannah and Jessica but I am so tired and sore from today, I felt it was best to stay in and sleep.
Tomorrow I've got class again 9-11 then a mall tour at 12. Then I need to go grocery shopping. I will be available to Skype probably 4-6pm.
I think I'm going to sleepover at Lauren's Friday night because Saturday we are going on a day trip to Genova. We are suppose to be at the train station by 8:15am. So I don't know how much I'll sleep since I'll be on a couch. I'll probably sleep there again on Saturday because Sunday we have another day trip to Asti. I'm so excited for these day trips. Can't wait to figure out the train schedule and just leave to other cities when I want!!
I'll tell you guys how it goes. Miss you guys so much. Xoxo
Once Lauren & Hannah were done with their italian at 12:15, USAC took a few pictures of us in front of the school. So cheesy! Haha then we caught the metro to Lauren's apartment in downtown. Dropped off our books and headed for the shops.
We were out shopping for maybe 3.5 hours and I only bought one blue scarf. That isn't me..just nothing was really sticking out to me. There is a ton of sales going on right now. I'm looking for a nice color peacoat but haven't found it yet.
We did so much walking!! Wish I brought some cushions for my shoes. My ankles, shins, knees, thighs, butt and back are all hurting. I'm not use to this much walking.
I was gone from 8:30-6pm today and when I got home, felt great to put my feet up. But was only for 20 minutes because my roommates invited me to go to dinner with them which I wasn't going to pass up since I was probably going to eat cereal.
We went to a Mexican restaurant off a street called Umberto Biancamino. You wouldn't even know it was a Mexican place. Just had a red cover and some Christmas lights. We got there a little earlier than Italians do but by the time we were leaving it was packed! Such a good hole in the wall. I am extremely stuffed.
I was going to go out with Hannah and Jessica but I am so tired and sore from today, I felt it was best to stay in and sleep.
Tomorrow I've got class again 9-11 then a mall tour at 12. Then I need to go grocery shopping. I will be available to Skype probably 4-6pm.
I think I'm going to sleepover at Lauren's Friday night because Saturday we are going on a day trip to Genova. We are suppose to be at the train station by 8:15am. So I don't know how much I'll sleep since I'll be on a couch. I'll probably sleep there again on Saturday because Sunday we have another day trip to Asti. I'm so excited for these day trips. Can't wait to figure out the train schedule and just leave to other cities when I want!!
I'll tell you guys how it goes. Miss you guys so much. Xoxo
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday 1/17 afternoon and night
So before I even get started with how my night ended up, I'll talk about how it was great to Skype my family & friends this afternoon! I hope everyone enjoyed the few pictures I posted on Facebook.
We finally got our wifi to work but that was such a tease because now it isn't working again. The girls think that they maybe turn it off when the store closes but for many of us, it's the perfect time to Skype & talk with friends. Hopefully we can get something figured out so we are able to have it all day long.
So my night, at school a few people had mentioned they wanted to go to an alpertivo, which is where you buy a drink then you get endless food. Of course all of us wanted to do that. Well Jessica and Hannah came to get Allyson and I at are apartment and we went to Lauren's downtown (which is apparently where Steph & Mia lived) it's very cute but modern. When you're inside, feels like I'm in a dorm room from New York or SF. But anyways, We didn't leave for an hour because Lauren was getting ready and the boys were.
Once everyone was set to go, we headed out to the Shore. Lauren lives with an Italian girl who gave us this recommendation. Well they thought it was a lot closer than it was. We ended up walking for 25 min. Luckily Jessica is tall and spotted the place on the other side of some shrubs. We headed over (grant it there is 16 of us) everyone always pushes me to the front to talk in Italian. So I asked if they could accommodate all of us because it looked like a small place. Little did we know, there was a big upstairs. It was so cool! (felt like the NY bars)
It was 9 euro for a drink and food. The food wasn't the great which sucked because I was hungry and was looking forward to a good meal. It was all cold and looked the same. I tried some meatballs and wannabe French fries. I just put some other things on my plate. I ate what I liked. When we left, we all agreed on not going back there.
Here comes the fun part, so my roommate Allyson left to go home about 40min before us. The metro we got off on to get to Lauren's was 25 min away from us and at this point the metro was going to close at 11:40pm. So we wanted to find the quickest way. We asked a group of Italians sitting outside and they said to take the bus. We walked to bus and realized that our special # bus wasn't listed. Plus no cars were around, no people so we figured nothing was open anymore. We headed up the main street hoping to run into a metro entrance or another bus stop with our #. Instead we found a map that luckily showed us where we were. For the people from Chico, the map said we were at the Safeway on Nord and our home was at TJ Maxx. Yeah...a pretty far walk!! Of course we started to freak out.
As we were looking at the map, a bus drove by. We ran to it waving our arms in the air (like Americans) and we got it to stop!!! Jessica asked it if it stopped Porta Nuovo which was where a metro station was. Luckily it did and a little old lady was also getting off that stop and told us she would show us. She pointed us in the right direction but as we were walking, this creepy guy was calling to us "Bella Bella Bella" and started to follow us. At this point, we're running!
We finally got to the damn metro station at 11:26 (closes at 11:40) we bought our tickets and RAN down to the train. We made it on time and got home safely. But seriously I am never going out on a school night like this again. I was scared, nervous, frightened all at once. Not something my body needs right now when it's sick.
I'm so glad to be home and laying in bed writing this blog. You have no idea!!
We finally got our wifi to work but that was such a tease because now it isn't working again. The girls think that they maybe turn it off when the store closes but for many of us, it's the perfect time to Skype & talk with friends. Hopefully we can get something figured out so we are able to have it all day long.
So my night, at school a few people had mentioned they wanted to go to an alpertivo, which is where you buy a drink then you get endless food. Of course all of us wanted to do that. Well Jessica and Hannah came to get Allyson and I at are apartment and we went to Lauren's downtown (which is apparently where Steph & Mia lived) it's very cute but modern. When you're inside, feels like I'm in a dorm room from New York or SF. But anyways, We didn't leave for an hour because Lauren was getting ready and the boys were.
Once everyone was set to go, we headed out to the Shore. Lauren lives with an Italian girl who gave us this recommendation. Well they thought it was a lot closer than it was. We ended up walking for 25 min. Luckily Jessica is tall and spotted the place on the other side of some shrubs. We headed over (grant it there is 16 of us) everyone always pushes me to the front to talk in Italian. So I asked if they could accommodate all of us because it looked like a small place. Little did we know, there was a big upstairs. It was so cool! (felt like the NY bars)
It was 9 euro for a drink and food. The food wasn't the great which sucked because I was hungry and was looking forward to a good meal. It was all cold and looked the same. I tried some meatballs and wannabe French fries. I just put some other things on my plate. I ate what I liked. When we left, we all agreed on not going back there.
Here comes the fun part, so my roommate Allyson left to go home about 40min before us. The metro we got off on to get to Lauren's was 25 min away from us and at this point the metro was going to close at 11:40pm. So we wanted to find the quickest way. We asked a group of Italians sitting outside and they said to take the bus. We walked to bus and realized that our special # bus wasn't listed. Plus no cars were around, no people so we figured nothing was open anymore. We headed up the main street hoping to run into a metro entrance or another bus stop with our #. Instead we found a map that luckily showed us where we were. For the people from Chico, the map said we were at the Safeway on Nord and our home was at TJ Maxx. Yeah...a pretty far walk!! Of course we started to freak out.
As we were looking at the map, a bus drove by. We ran to it waving our arms in the air (like Americans) and we got it to stop!!! Jessica asked it if it stopped Porta Nuovo which was where a metro station was. Luckily it did and a little old lady was also getting off that stop and told us she would show us. She pointed us in the right direction but as we were walking, this creepy guy was calling to us "Bella Bella Bella" and started to follow us. At this point, we're running!
We finally got to the damn metro station at 11:26 (closes at 11:40) we bought our tickets and RAN down to the train. We made it on time and got home safely. But seriously I am never going out on a school night like this again. I was scared, nervous, frightened all at once. Not something my body needs right now when it's sick.
I'm so glad to be home and laying in bed writing this blog. You have no idea!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
2nd day of school Part 2
So I know I had a rough morning but my day has gotten better. I just really need to stop relying on other people and just rely on myself!
My class was good, it was a nice review for Italian except I was hopping for some more vocabulary rather than what we did. But I have it every day for the next 6 weeks so I'm sure vocab will pop up somewhere. We are using the same book I used in Brunnella's class. I wish I had known because I have it all filled out back in Chico!
Some girls and I went out to lunch today to Eataly. It's the place I was saying in previous blogs that's just like whole foods. It's amazing!! I would love to go grocery shopping there except it's a little far. I wouldn't be able to carry bags of groceries on the bus. But they have mini places to eat all over which is what we did. I got a margarita pizza.
On my way back home, I stopped at the super market to get a few things. Like water, peach ice tea, umbrella and face wash. Then I went and paid my rent (the lady isn't the nicest) and now there is a man here trying to figure out our wifi. I hope he is able to come up with something so we don't have to buy the USB drive.
YESS WE HAVE WIFI!
My class was good, it was a nice review for Italian except I was hopping for some more vocabulary rather than what we did. But I have it every day for the next 6 weeks so I'm sure vocab will pop up somewhere. We are using the same book I used in Brunnella's class. I wish I had known because I have it all filled out back in Chico!
Some girls and I went out to lunch today to Eataly. It's the place I was saying in previous blogs that's just like whole foods. It's amazing!! I would love to go grocery shopping there except it's a little far. I wouldn't be able to carry bags of groceries on the bus. But they have mini places to eat all over which is what we did. I got a margarita pizza.
On my way back home, I stopped at the super market to get a few things. Like water, peach ice tea, umbrella and face wash. Then I went and paid my rent (the lady isn't the nicest) and now there is a man here trying to figure out our wifi. I hope he is able to come up with something so we don't have to buy the USB drive.
YESS WE HAVE WIFI!
2nd day of school
I got left alone at the bus stop. So then I had to get on the next bus which took 10minutes. Then I didn't know which stop to get off at. I got off at the one I thought. Then I got totally lost. I called my advisor crying because I had no idea where I was. I finally made it to class 20 minutes late. So 2nd day of school - was terrible!
Monday, January 16, 2012
1st day of school
Once my roommates were ready to go, we headed to the bus stop to meet up with Hannah & Jessica. As we were crossing the street the bus came so we had to run to it to catch it. Talk about being American!
This morning we had a 3 hour orientation about school, our apartments and just going over a few things. We just had a lunch break and am now waiting to meet our teachers.
I might drop my History of Modern Art class because it's on Thursdays 5:30-8. And a lot of people were mentioning they would want to leave Thursday night when we go travel. There is a 20th century art class that is on Mondays 5:30-8 so I might just switch into that. I'm going to both so I'll see which one seems better.
Many students are only taking the Italian speaking classes. So none are actually getting "credits" towards their major.
School is very small but it's nice! There is a cafe where anyone can get breakfast or lunch. I love all of the wood features in each room. Seems so European! It was pretty easy to get here with the bus too. The bus transportation around here is getting easier for me to learn.
The classes aren't every day and shouldn't be a big deal. The teachers all seem ok..they're teachers. All of the teachers have strong accents and their English isn't that great. It will be a little hard in the beginning getting use to what they're saying.
Hopefully school doesn't take away from my travels and getting to know the Italian culture!
This morning we had a 3 hour orientation about school, our apartments and just going over a few things. We just had a lunch break and am now waiting to meet our teachers.
I might drop my History of Modern Art class because it's on Thursdays 5:30-8. And a lot of people were mentioning they would want to leave Thursday night when we go travel. There is a 20th century art class that is on Mondays 5:30-8 so I might just switch into that. I'm going to both so I'll see which one seems better.
Many students are only taking the Italian speaking classes. So none are actually getting "credits" towards their major.
School is very small but it's nice! There is a cafe where anyone can get breakfast or lunch. I love all of the wood features in each room. Seems so European! It was pretty easy to get here with the bus too. The bus transportation around here is getting easier for me to learn.
The classes aren't every day and shouldn't be a big deal. The teachers all seem ok..they're teachers. All of the teachers have strong accents and their English isn't that great. It will be a little hard in the beginning getting use to what they're saying.
Hopefully school doesn't take away from my travels and getting to know the Italian culture!
Sunday 1/15
Sunday:
Today I went to the mall with Hannah & Jessica. It's HUGE!! I was in love with how big it is and how many stores there are. I could have brought an empty suitcase and would have been fine with buying clothes here (figure of speak haha) but it use to be where Fiat would manufacture its cars. Eric said there is a race track on the roof!
It doesn't look like a mall from the outside at all, more like army barracks. I don't know for sure but it looks like there is 7 floors to shop on. We only made it to the 2nd floor because we tried to go into every store. I was able to buy myself a purple blanket (would you expect any other color) so now my bed feels more like home. Now I just need a new pillow and Dwayne to complete my bed!
We weren't able to go into the store that is like Whole Foods because it was getting close to 5:30pm and we wanted to head home so we could Skype our family and friends. We planned that the weekends we don't travel, we'll probably go to the mall on Sundays.
We all went to the local cafe and got Internet and were there for probably two and a half hours. Once we got home, we planned on going out to dinner. This time Allyson came with us. In our USAC book they suggested a ton of places to go and one of them were Pasta e Basta, and she had seen it yesterday. It was great being all together. It's more fun with more people. We all got huge plates of pasta. I took pictures so I'll post those as well. When we were walking to dinner we passed by a gelato place and wanted to go after but we went another way home so we think we passed it but then we walked back trying to find it and couldn't. So we think it closed because it's 10:30pm now and on Sundays things don't stay open late, just like back at home.
Tomorrow we have our first day of school! Well for the kids in elementary Italian (so not me, since I'm fluent and what not). They apparently are going to go over with us the schedules and meet our teachers. Plus we are filling out paperwork for the police department. I'm not sure if I'm going to bring my laptop to school yet or not. Might just bring my iTouch so I can get wifi.
I'll write how it goes tomorrow night! Wish me luck at my first day of school. Feel like a 1st grader again!
Miss you guys so much!! Xoxo
Monday morning:
As I'm sitting in my room, waiting for my roommates to finish getting ready, I look outside and it's snowing! First day of school and it's snowing!! Culture shock here I come. I'm bundled up into 5 layers and my 2 roommates are in tights and a dress or skirt. This is going to take some getting use to.
Today I went to the mall with Hannah & Jessica. It's HUGE!! I was in love with how big it is and how many stores there are. I could have brought an empty suitcase and would have been fine with buying clothes here (figure of speak haha) but it use to be where Fiat would manufacture its cars. Eric said there is a race track on the roof!
It doesn't look like a mall from the outside at all, more like army barracks. I don't know for sure but it looks like there is 7 floors to shop on. We only made it to the 2nd floor because we tried to go into every store. I was able to buy myself a purple blanket (would you expect any other color) so now my bed feels more like home. Now I just need a new pillow and Dwayne to complete my bed!
We weren't able to go into the store that is like Whole Foods because it was getting close to 5:30pm and we wanted to head home so we could Skype our family and friends. We planned that the weekends we don't travel, we'll probably go to the mall on Sundays.
We all went to the local cafe and got Internet and were there for probably two and a half hours. Once we got home, we planned on going out to dinner. This time Allyson came with us. In our USAC book they suggested a ton of places to go and one of them were Pasta e Basta, and she had seen it yesterday. It was great being all together. It's more fun with more people. We all got huge plates of pasta. I took pictures so I'll post those as well. When we were walking to dinner we passed by a gelato place and wanted to go after but we went another way home so we think we passed it but then we walked back trying to find it and couldn't. So we think it closed because it's 10:30pm now and on Sundays things don't stay open late, just like back at home.
Tomorrow we have our first day of school! Well for the kids in elementary Italian (so not me, since I'm fluent and what not). They apparently are going to go over with us the schedules and meet our teachers. Plus we are filling out paperwork for the police department. I'm not sure if I'm going to bring my laptop to school yet or not. Might just bring my iTouch so I can get wifi.
I'll write how it goes tomorrow night! Wish me luck at my first day of school. Feel like a 1st grader again!
Miss you guys so much!! Xoxo
Monday morning:
As I'm sitting in my room, waiting for my roommates to finish getting ready, I look outside and it's snowing! First day of school and it's snowing!! Culture shock here I come. I'm bundled up into 5 layers and my 2 roommates are in tights and a dress or skirt. This is going to take some getting use to.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday night
Saturday night was more fun than Friday night!! Jessica and Hannah finally got ahold of some people's numbers so we were able to meet up with them.
First we went to Cory's apartment and met his 3 roommates. We drank some wine and hung out. Then Cody (who was here last semester) showed us how to take the bus. It seemed easy enough but you just have to get to know landmarks because the stop names are confusing.
We went to the bar Murphy's and watched the 49ers game!! David was wearing his Gore jersey and everyone was cheering. Some of the Italians were confused on what we were watching haha many of them here don't watch futbol americana. Woo hoo, the 49ers won!!
After we were there for an hour or so the Italian boys came. It was close to 2am and we were getting hungry so they took us to their friends restaurant. We got free caprese salad and drinks!
After that we wanted to head back to the bar to see if the other guys were still there. Some people were still there but many were heading home since it was almost 3am. We stayed in the bar a little longer. Cory was going to meet up with his roommates who had gone to the club/discoteca by the river. But when our Italian boys heard that they said they didn't want us to go there and they weren't going to take us. It's apparently sketchy and not the best place to go if it's just us 3 girls.
As we were standing outside, Cory's roommate came back from that club. He told us he almost got his passport taken away from him. He could feel the guy taking it out of his back pocket and grabbed his arm. But once he did that, 3 other guys surrounded him. They were about to beat him up but some how he was able to talk himself out of the situation but they still took 100 euros from him.
For me, I don't want to go to this place at all. Cody did say its a fun experience and that we should go at least once. We'll see about that....
Other than that, my 2 roommates left early this morning to go snowboarding. I tried contacting Hannah but she didn't answer. She is probably still asleep..it's almost 2pm!!
We are heading to the mall by school. It's the only place that's really opened on Sundays. I heard its got lots of restaurant and this one place that's BETTER than whole foods. So I'm bringing my camera and I'll be the judge of that. Ha I'll write again tonight about how this goes!
First we went to Cory's apartment and met his 3 roommates. We drank some wine and hung out. Then Cody (who was here last semester) showed us how to take the bus. It seemed easy enough but you just have to get to know landmarks because the stop names are confusing.
We went to the bar Murphy's and watched the 49ers game!! David was wearing his Gore jersey and everyone was cheering. Some of the Italians were confused on what we were watching haha many of them here don't watch futbol americana. Woo hoo, the 49ers won!!
After we were there for an hour or so the Italian boys came. It was close to 2am and we were getting hungry so they took us to their friends restaurant. We got free caprese salad and drinks!
After that we wanted to head back to the bar to see if the other guys were still there. Some people were still there but many were heading home since it was almost 3am. We stayed in the bar a little longer. Cory was going to meet up with his roommates who had gone to the club/discoteca by the river. But when our Italian boys heard that they said they didn't want us to go there and they weren't going to take us. It's apparently sketchy and not the best place to go if it's just us 3 girls.
As we were standing outside, Cory's roommate came back from that club. He told us he almost got his passport taken away from him. He could feel the guy taking it out of his back pocket and grabbed his arm. But once he did that, 3 other guys surrounded him. They were about to beat him up but some how he was able to talk himself out of the situation but they still took 100 euros from him.
For me, I don't want to go to this place at all. Cody did say its a fun experience and that we should go at least once. We'll see about that....
Other than that, my 2 roommates left early this morning to go snowboarding. I tried contacting Hannah but she didn't answer. She is probably still asleep..it's almost 2pm!!
We are heading to the mall by school. It's the only place that's really opened on Sundays. I heard its got lots of restaurant and this one place that's BETTER than whole foods. So I'm bringing my camera and I'll be the judge of that. Ha I'll write again tonight about how this goes!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
First night out
Friday Jessica, Hannah and I went exploring around downtown. It was a lot of fun but lots of walking. My knees and calves were hurting. Hopefully I get use to all this walking soon. I only have so much Advil haha but anyways we discovered a lot places. We were going down all the streets and cutting corners that I don't even remember how to get to certain places. Our main goal was to get a phone so we could contact each other and the other USAC students. It's a little flip phone and has T9 texting. So weird to go back to a phone like it, reminds me of 6th grade. But it works so it doesn't matter.
I was a little worried about showering and getting ready to go out to the bars because I didn't know how everything worked but I figured it out. Plus my roommates were helping me out so that was nice. Things are getting better in the roommate department. Jessica and Hannah said I looked really Italian last night haha but I still feel like I need some pepper spray with me.
The 3 of us went out last night. First we drank some white wine at their apartment then headed out for dinner around 9:30pm. Everyone eats so late around here. That's going to take some getting use to. But we asked this cute old couple a good place to eat and they pointed us in the right direction. The place was excellent! I got a parmesan risotto and of course we order more wine.
After we were done with dinner it was close to 11:20 and more people were coming out. It seems like people don't go out to drink until 12. It's all about the night life here. You see old people walking around during the day and then young people at night. It's a trip! But I love it here. I'm getting use to more things so it's easy. But anyways about our night, after dinner we headed to all sorts of different bars. Again I had no idea where we were walking. I felt like we were going in circles but we found pubs! After a couple of random ones we finally found a place where other USAC students were. It was so much fun!! We met Italian boys and they were buying us drinks. Which are expensive. I brought 20 euro with me and came home with 0. Haha I didn't get home until 3:30am and slept in until 11:45. But once I finally got up and went out it was already 1pm. I feel like I lost my whole day!
Jessica had met this cute boy who is going to take us on a tour of Torino around 4:30pm. I'm excited and I hope he shows us how to use the metro & bus. It seems so confusing! Then tonight we are making gnocchi together and probably going out again. But I'm only bringing 10 euro with me this time.
I can't wait to start traveling and seeing other countries. On Monday we are going to school for our first meeting. I guess they are going to talk about school and our schedules. This one kid, Victor, was in Spain last semester and really knows how to travel. He said he wants to go on an eastern Mediterranean cruise for spring break!! I def want to be apart of that trip.
Also this is my address:
USAC Italy office - Torino
Scholar di Amministrazione Aziendale (SAA)
Bianca Massimillo
Via Ventimiglia 115
10126 Torino, Italy
I'm going to try to find some post cards to send to you guys soon!! Miss and love you all :) xox
I was a little worried about showering and getting ready to go out to the bars because I didn't know how everything worked but I figured it out. Plus my roommates were helping me out so that was nice. Things are getting better in the roommate department. Jessica and Hannah said I looked really Italian last night haha but I still feel like I need some pepper spray with me.
The 3 of us went out last night. First we drank some white wine at their apartment then headed out for dinner around 9:30pm. Everyone eats so late around here. That's going to take some getting use to. But we asked this cute old couple a good place to eat and they pointed us in the right direction. The place was excellent! I got a parmesan risotto and of course we order more wine.
After we were done with dinner it was close to 11:20 and more people were coming out. It seems like people don't go out to drink until 12. It's all about the night life here. You see old people walking around during the day and then young people at night. It's a trip! But I love it here. I'm getting use to more things so it's easy. But anyways about our night, after dinner we headed to all sorts of different bars. Again I had no idea where we were walking. I felt like we were going in circles but we found pubs! After a couple of random ones we finally found a place where other USAC students were. It was so much fun!! We met Italian boys and they were buying us drinks. Which are expensive. I brought 20 euro with me and came home with 0. Haha I didn't get home until 3:30am and slept in until 11:45. But once I finally got up and went out it was already 1pm. I feel like I lost my whole day!
Jessica had met this cute boy who is going to take us on a tour of Torino around 4:30pm. I'm excited and I hope he shows us how to use the metro & bus. It seems so confusing! Then tonight we are making gnocchi together and probably going out again. But I'm only bringing 10 euro with me this time.
I can't wait to start traveling and seeing other countries. On Monday we are going to school for our first meeting. I guess they are going to talk about school and our schedules. This one kid, Victor, was in Spain last semester and really knows how to travel. He said he wants to go on an eastern Mediterranean cruise for spring break!! I def want to be apart of that trip.
Also this is my address:
USAC Italy office - Torino
Scholar di Amministrazione Aziendale (SAA)
Bianca Massimillo
Via Ventimiglia 115
10126 Torino, Italy
I'm going to try to find some post cards to send to you guys soon!! Miss and love you all :) xox
Friday, January 13, 2012
First Apartment Entry
I was able to meet 3/4 of my roommates last night. Two of them have been here since the fall semester. They really know their stuff which I hope helps me out on the long run with getting to know the right and wrong ways. From talking to them last night they said our apartment is the best one. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, washer AND dryer and the kitchen is stocked with everything. Plus they said that the beds came with sheets, pillows & blankets. I hope this is all true because this sounds awesome.
The other girl I met is from Las Vegas and is quiet. But she seems really nice. The last girl is arriving today and she was also here last fall but went home for the Christmas break!
The apartments aren't what I thought they were going to be like. They are scattered around the midtown area. We aren't in one big complex which should be interesting when going to other peoples homes.
I'll tell you more once I actually get there and see for myself!!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Plane Ride and FINALLY made it to Torino!
Airplane blog
I checked in my bags with no hassle. I got through security fine. Now I'm on the plane waiting to take off. I am the first row after first class. The small tv screen is right above me. I'm going to end up getting a neck spasm. Luckily I am sitting next to two men, who seem nice but aren't the talkative kind. I don't even have a good table to put my laptop on. This is going to be a long 11 hour flight. Sadly I am no where near any of the other students flying on the plane. I'm going to have to try to walk around and talk to them. But luckily I'll be one of the first ones off the plane when we land in Germany. We take off at 2:40pm. I miss you so much Mom, Dad & Monica already!!
Well it's been 3 hours into my flight and it's going great! I probably have the BEST seat in the house. A small mini screen was inside the pocket of my seat. I can watch the tv right I front of me plus pick whatever movie I want to watch. First pick: Footloose (Mom you've got to see it, you'd love it!) Dinner was gross but what do you except for airplane food? I ate the bread & brownie haha Also the man next to me ended up being very nice. He gave me his business card. So I can watch his movies online for free. He is a strange one...he is on this plane headed to India. Yup I said India. And oh yeah he is going there to LIVE for the rest of his life. Just packed his stuff up in a suitcase & he said he is going to live out on the streets until he finds what he wants to do. He told me to just stay in Italy for the next 10 years and for me to get off the merry go round that I'm on. Don't worry Mom & Dad, I will come back home!! Time for my next movie, Monte Carlo.
The plane isn't full and luckily Lauren found me and had 2 open seats next to her. I am now sitting next to her. The stewardess is so nice. She brought us each brownies and a "black and white" bar. My butt is killing me though. I've been sitting for the past 6 hours. We still have 5 hours to go. I JUST WANT TO BE IN ITALY ALREADY!! I'm going to try and sleep for a couple of hours. They said they are serving breakfast in 3 hours! Crazy because it will be 11:00pm Cali time for me.
They just served breakfast and it was terrible. There was a little bowl of fruit but had kiwi & pineapple which I don't like. So once again I just ate the bread roll with butter and jam. Right now we are 1:11 hours away from our destination. I'm watching another movie, Dolphin Tale, but I don't know if I'll be able to finish it. I just want to land already. I feel like I've been on this plane for days!
Woo hoo, we landed on time in Frankfurt. My butt is numb and my head is killing me but I'm here..finally! Now I've got a little wait until my flight to Torino. Luckily that plane ride is only 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Flight to Torino:
The lay over wasn't bad in Frankfurt. It was actually pretty nice because everyone was meeting there from other flights. I'm on the plane now to Torino. I got myself a small glass of red wine. I know it's only 1:30pm but what the heck? I'm in Italy (or at least I will be in an hour)! I've met so many new people except I don't remember all of their names. Hopefully we have some type of name game or else I'll never learn them all. I'm sick of flying and just want to be in Italy already!
Hotel Roma:
We all finally made it to Torino. There was about 50 of us on the bus to the hotel. And there is 70 students total with the USAC group which means 20 were already here before us or coming later. Lauren & I are sharing a hotel room for the night. This is a really cute hotel (Mom, we should stay here when you come in May). At 6:30pm we are going out for our pizza dinner then we are free to do what we want. Everyone is so tired from traveling that we want to sleep but we also want to explore! I am not sure yet what I am going to do. I showered my body and re-did my make up. Now Lauren is showering. I don't feel like I'm officially in Torino yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I found out my living situation! I am living in midtown with 4 girls. Yup, 4 girls which means there is 5 of us total. I'm not sure how this is all going to work out. Hannah & Jessica are in an apartment so I might ask to move in with them. But we'll see tomorrow how it goes. Can't believe it's already 5:45pm here in Torino. The day has flown by but I am glad I am done traveling!
I checked in my bags with no hassle. I got through security fine. Now I'm on the plane waiting to take off. I am the first row after first class. The small tv screen is right above me. I'm going to end up getting a neck spasm. Luckily I am sitting next to two men, who seem nice but aren't the talkative kind. I don't even have a good table to put my laptop on. This is going to be a long 11 hour flight. Sadly I am no where near any of the other students flying on the plane. I'm going to have to try to walk around and talk to them. But luckily I'll be one of the first ones off the plane when we land in Germany. We take off at 2:40pm. I miss you so much Mom, Dad & Monica already!!
Well it's been 3 hours into my flight and it's going great! I probably have the BEST seat in the house. A small mini screen was inside the pocket of my seat. I can watch the tv right I front of me plus pick whatever movie I want to watch. First pick: Footloose (Mom you've got to see it, you'd love it!) Dinner was gross but what do you except for airplane food? I ate the bread & brownie haha Also the man next to me ended up being very nice. He gave me his business card. So I can watch his movies online for free. He is a strange one...he is on this plane headed to India. Yup I said India. And oh yeah he is going there to LIVE for the rest of his life. Just packed his stuff up in a suitcase & he said he is going to live out on the streets until he finds what he wants to do. He told me to just stay in Italy for the next 10 years and for me to get off the merry go round that I'm on. Don't worry Mom & Dad, I will come back home!! Time for my next movie, Monte Carlo.
The plane isn't full and luckily Lauren found me and had 2 open seats next to her. I am now sitting next to her. The stewardess is so nice. She brought us each brownies and a "black and white" bar. My butt is killing me though. I've been sitting for the past 6 hours. We still have 5 hours to go. I JUST WANT TO BE IN ITALY ALREADY!! I'm going to try and sleep for a couple of hours. They said they are serving breakfast in 3 hours! Crazy because it will be 11:00pm Cali time for me.
They just served breakfast and it was terrible. There was a little bowl of fruit but had kiwi & pineapple which I don't like. So once again I just ate the bread roll with butter and jam. Right now we are 1:11 hours away from our destination. I'm watching another movie, Dolphin Tale, but I don't know if I'll be able to finish it. I just want to land already. I feel like I've been on this plane for days!
Woo hoo, we landed on time in Frankfurt. My butt is numb and my head is killing me but I'm here..finally! Now I've got a little wait until my flight to Torino. Luckily that plane ride is only 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Flight to Torino:
The lay over wasn't bad in Frankfurt. It was actually pretty nice because everyone was meeting there from other flights. I'm on the plane now to Torino. I got myself a small glass of red wine. I know it's only 1:30pm but what the heck? I'm in Italy (or at least I will be in an hour)! I've met so many new people except I don't remember all of their names. Hopefully we have some type of name game or else I'll never learn them all. I'm sick of flying and just want to be in Italy already!
Hotel Roma:
We all finally made it to Torino. There was about 50 of us on the bus to the hotel. And there is 70 students total with the USAC group which means 20 were already here before us or coming later. Lauren & I are sharing a hotel room for the night. This is a really cute hotel (Mom, we should stay here when you come in May). At 6:30pm we are going out for our pizza dinner then we are free to do what we want. Everyone is so tired from traveling that we want to sleep but we also want to explore! I am not sure yet what I am going to do. I showered my body and re-did my make up. Now Lauren is showering. I don't feel like I'm officially in Torino yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I found out my living situation! I am living in midtown with 4 girls. Yup, 4 girls which means there is 5 of us total. I'm not sure how this is all going to work out. Hannah & Jessica are in an apartment so I might ask to move in with them. But we'll see tomorrow how it goes. Can't believe it's already 5:45pm here in Torino. The day has flown by but I am glad I am done traveling!
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