Last weekend trip: Paris!

The week leading up to Paris was busy as usual. I was finishing up projects and papers (still need to write that art history paper due Thursday! Eek), but I managed. I had my cooking class on Tuesday with Catherine and Liat! We made a improvised edition of an eggplant sauce with pasta dish…we couldn’t find eggplant so we used zucchini instead. It came out well :] and we had fun either way.

Friday we were off to Paris!

I had already been to Paris once, and was a little iffy because I don’t particularly remember liking Paris…but I was only 9 and the most exciting part of that trip was a day spent at EuroDisney with my Daddy. Lol. Maybe this time around I could learn to appreciate the Louvre and all paris has to offer…

Liat had already left on Thursday and she stayed with family while there, so we met up when we arrived…but anyways. It was Catherine, savannah and I on the plane ride. The flight was surprisingly easy…I have a theory that I fly better when Catherine is around…she has a calming effect on me I suppose. Couldn’t tell you. But that’s that. We arrived in Paris around…12:30ish I would say maybe a little sooner. We were already running late, having to meet Liat at 1:30 at a metro stop, and we ended up not even making it until 2:30 with all of our luggage in hand. Poor Liat had to wait in that freezing metro with her cousin and Katie (one of savannah’s friends for an hour!) Love you Liat. We immediately went to the hostel, grabbed some lunch, and we were all ready to see Paris!

The first thing we did was see Notre Dame, snapped some pictures. Walked throughout the inside of it. Enjoyed the freezing cold, and we began walking down the river to the Louvre. It was only 5 pm and it was already almost DARK outside. Which drives me crazy…but anyways. We went into the Louvre and we all knew we wanted to immediately see the Mona Lisa, which we did. And then we were extremely overwhelmed with the 35,000 pieces of art the Louvre holds. So we wandered around, got a little tired of seeing so much Greek and Roman sculptures (are you aware of how many museums hold greek and roman artwork? What about all the other ancient cultures and civilizations? Huh? Hmm. Catherine and I both agreed we wanted to see more than just that and I was itching to go to the musee d’orsay because it holds a lot of impressionism artwork, but unfortunately we just didn’t have enough time to make it…so no monet for me :[ )

After the Louvre we walked up to champs d’elysees. Here I found a ferris wheel, which I reallyyyyy wanted to ride, but unfortunately I cannot justify a 10 euro ferris wheel ride. But it would’ve been beautiful in paris, I’m sure of it. Champs d’Elysees was so beautiful! It had Christmas lights decorated on all the trees and the Christmas market was set up on the side walk where you could find mittens, globes, Christmas decorations, mulled wine, hot chocolate, crepes, german food(random), chocolate covered fruits, cookies, etc etc. I could go on and on about what I saw at this market. I of course had to get some hot chocolate and then a chocolate covered apple with sprinkles. I have fallen in LOVE with chocolate covered apples. I plan on making them when I return back home because I could just never let those go…they are much too yummy.

After walking down champs d’elysees awhile, savannah and I were freezing, begging the girls to go to dinner. so we found a restaurant on the street, and I had croque madame :] and of course chocolate mousse. And now that I’m writing all of this down I am completely aware of how much chocolate I consumed that day. But I love chocolate, and I gave up pasta due to….pants not fitting properly anymore. So I feel like I can splurge on chocolate occasionally…okay maybe excessively. It’s my one weakness. I went from having many weaknesses, which included a lot of carbs. But I can never give up on my chocolate…or gelato. Anyways. I’m rambling about food. As usual

We finished our night at the Arch de Triomphe. Which was…an arch, and cool and stuff. You know? Lol. I think at this point in my trip I am culturally overwhelmed.

Saturday was our only full day in Paris, so we were up and out in the streets of Paris by 10 AM, because we needed to sleep a little!!!

We first went to another NewEurope free walking tour (I did one in Prague, and it was fantastic!) So I figured we should try our luck with the one in Paris, and it was again. Wonderful! Our tour guide was hilarious but quite possibly she was sexually deprived because she had wayyy too many sexual jokes for a city like paris! Lol.

Before the tour even started, we got to experience some snow, which continued throughout the entire 3.5 hour tour,…and I quickly learned after 30 minutes of snow…it’s just cold. Freeeeeeezing cold. I have no tolerance for the cold…whatsoever. But I trucked through it because I had never been in a snow drizzle like that, let alone thrown a snowball. So I was going to enjoy it!

We saw pretty much every major monument: Champs d’Elysees, arch de Triomphe, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, a few famous gardens, some other museums from the outside, and other important statues…which I feel like I don’t have to name because I already said I’m cultured-out and I’m in class, therefore I cannot get my map out and tell you the names of these things…I am a horrible person I know. I get to see Paris and I can’t even tell you some of the sights I saw. Really, I’m sorry. :]

After the walking tour and some snow, we went inside a museum for a bit to warm up, which tricked us into thinking they had a monet painting, but it was on an exhibition. So sad. Anyways.

We then headed to the Buddah Bar which was recommended by a friend’s sister’s friend…but unfortunately we could not afford it, but we did find a fantasticcccc chocolate shop right by it, which of course I spent too much money on truffles :] and we also found every major designer store…which I loved, and was itching to buy something. I resisted. Be proud father, be very proud.

We went to lunch at a cute little café/restaurant type place where our waiter spoke no English at all…so Catherine and I struggled through what we remembered of our French :] fantastic.

After lunch, it was already getting dark ouside so we made our way to the Eiffel tower to see it at night! And we even got to see it sparkle on the hour :] so pretty.

We took a crepe break, and our next stop was the Moulin rouge :]

We didn’t se a show or anything, since they are rather pricey…about 80 euro to see half naked women do the can-can. I’ll pass :] but we did of course go inside of the sex shops…so sorry parents. I should probably keep this g-rated. Not sure who is reading it still. But yes we went inside, and afterwards, Katie (Savannah’s friend that we met up throughout our trip) told us we should not have because the majority of them are owned by the Russian mafia…lol. Oops?

After the Moulin rouge, we went to go see the sacre ceour at night (a famous church), did a quick run by it. Decided it would be better to see during the day, and we went to the Galleries Lafayette to do some shopping…unfortunately got kicked out because it closed at nine, so we decided it was dinner time. Where Katie and her friend Trisha met up with us for dinner.

I had a fantastic chicken with mashed potatoes :] best chiciken of my LIFE. And then we went to a Scottish bar. The SCC championship game was on,  which meant Auburn was playing…Catheirne attends Auburn…she was thrilled. And was the only one cheering on her team in the whole damn place :] and they played kings of leon multiple times in this bar. I seriously felt like I was in America and it felt sooooooo good.

The next morning (our last few hours in paris!!) we went to take pictures of ourselves in front of the Eiffel tower during the day :]

Then we went to the sacre ceour to go inside the church and see all it had to offer. I love going to churches on Sunday because we get to see mass :] and it makes the experience much much better, although I feel bad for intruding on people’s holy time…but I love hearing the music!

We then went to notre dame again…to get some souvenirs and eat a last lunch/crepe :]

We all agreed at the end of our trip that Paris was a fantastic way to end our weekend getaways with each other since it was our last one :/ , but it was a good ending! So no sad face necessary.

Now I only had a week left of class, and then 4 finals to take next week. It’s so sad to think I have less than 2 weeks left in Rome! I need to enjoy them as much as possible, but I have soooo much school work to do. I’ll make time for fun :]

Ciao,

Kate

Thanksgiving in Morocco

After coming home from Prague on Sunday, I knew that I had only a few days to relax before I was off to Marrakech, Morocco for Thanksgiving bright and early on Wednesday morning. I had homework to do, clothes to pack, and sleep to catch up on but I managed :] I also was overly stressed by the thought of having to fly so shortly after I just came home. I like a few days of relaxation before I have to start thinking about making it through another flight. But it’s always worth it for me. Anyways! Let’s get to Morocco.

We arrived in Morocco around 10 AM their time (11 AM back in Rome), and we had Simo and Hanane there to greet us (they were our travel leaders, along with a very bubbly boy named Abdul). They immediately took us to our Riad, which is a traditional Moroccan home turned hotel, and we all fell in love with it! It had so much color and personality to it, and the owner was a very sweet old woman that spoke broken English to us all weekend and gave us kisses everytime she saw us. It helped that she had a huge supply of clementines waiting for us everytime we came home. After having tea with everybody and talking about orientation at the Riad, we were already off to lunch at a traditional Moroccan restaurant. If you know me, you know that I have a horrible stomach…I’m constantly worried about what I put in my belly. So eating Moroccan food was an experience for me. And I’ll pride myself on the fact that I did not get sick once! So I was a happy camper. The food was amazing, we had couscous all weekend as well as tagine, which is basically meats and veggies with lots of spices. It was so yummy, I asked them for a recipe and now I’ll be making tagine all the time. After our first lunch, we went to a spice store that had lots of natural oils, spices like saffron, and wonderful smells. We probably spent a few hours in there, and I managed to buy: mint tea, lemon tea, argan oil to rub all over my body, body wash, 8 different spices including saffron, and a natural perfume. After the spices we went back to the Riad to drop all of our things off and we were on our way to the Hammam Spa, which was probably the most liberating thing I’ve done in my life…and I would be willing to go back. We get to the spa, and I immediately see a large group of naked women/girls of all ages in these incredibly hot and steamy rooms with buckets of water, scrubbing themselves down. I then knew what I was in for, lol. A woman came up to us, and told all of us (Tori, Tessa, Tia, Carolyn, and me) to get naked and bring our oils into the spa….so we did. All of us were very much naked, waiting to see what would happen next. We had to put all the body oils on ourselves, and then we waiting in line to be scrubbed down by a very nice old woman, who was overly friendly with my body parts, but got a lot of work done, and I came out with very soft, beautiful skin. All, in all I’d say it was an enjoyable/awkward experience, but I’m glad we did that. After the spa we were off to dinner to eat more Moroccan food, and we had an early night and slept because we were all exhausted.

The following day (Thursday!) was thanksgiving! We had breakfast in the morning, and we were off to have a tour of the city. Our first stop was a small museum that gave us an idea of the Moroccan history and culture. It was short and sweet. But we were ready to see Morocco! Not be in a museum…We then made our way to the main square in the Old City, and we were greeted by snake charmers and cute little monkeys that found their way onto our shoulders and managed to eat some of my hair :] It was very cute, and I now need a monkey. After we walked into the New City and went to the world famous Marjolle Gardens (I can’t spell, as usual) and I’m too lazy to check the proper spelling. The gardens were full of color and they were beautiful. After the gardens, we got to take a horse carriage back to the old city, and got to see all the wonderful sites of the city. After the carriage ride, we made our way to a Moroccan family’s house, and they made us tea and lunch! Of course it was couscous with lamb and veggies (so gooood) and then we had henna done by one of the family members. The family was so sweet making us lunch and doing so much for us, and even teaching us how to properly make the tea that we bought the day before. We then went shopping for just a few hours in the souks, which are nothing like the souks I am familiar with. I’ve been to souks in both Nigeria and the Middle East, but these were different. I figured they would be similar because Morocco is such a strong mixed culture of Africa and the Middle East, but I was pleasantly surprised to find otherwise! After shopping, we went to a hookah bar, had some Moroccan beer (of course I didn’t because beer is one thing my stomach will never learn to like). But I enjoyed lotsss of hookah, and then we made it back home to sleep  :]

Friday was another busy busy busy busy day! We had breakfast at the Riad, then took a bus out to the Berber countryside where we were greeted by camels :] Lots of camels. Carolyn and I shared a camel, which really wasn’t too bad. Granted we were both slipping off the whole time, but everyone always complains about how uncomfortable a camel ride is…my butt came out just fine afterwards. After camel rides, we went to a local berber family’s house and we had tea on their rooftop which overlooked the beautiful Moroccan mountains/countryside. They played music for us, and we just all laughed/danced/giggled for a little while. After tea, we went to a work site where women make the argan oils. We had another sampling of all the oils, and then some of us bought some to support the women, and we were off to have lunch at a berber restaurant. Once again we had good music and great food! We then went out in the rain (I was not pleased about this just because I hate the rain, and every place I’ve gone to it’s RAINED!!! Ugh), but we trucked through it and hiked up the mountain to see a beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing appropriate hiking boots, I had on leather boots, which are very unsafe to wear when climbing up slippery rocks. So I moved at a veryyyyyyy slow pace lol. But I made it with no broken bones and only a few slips. After the hike we went to a carpet store, spent a good long while in there (I didn’t get any carpets because they were too expensive and I couldn’t find one that really stuck out to me…it was sad) But I had a blast nonetheless. I lovedddd looking at all the carpets, I could spend days in a carpet store just picking through all of them. After the carpet store we took a bus ride home, had some free time…where of course we went shopping. And then we went to another hookah bar, and had some drinks. It was an all over good day :]

Saturday was our last full day :[ ! We woke up early, took a 3 hour drive to a surrounding city called the “wind city”, and were once again greeted by the rain. Yesssss (sarcasm). We had lunch at a little stand that had possibly the freshest fish I have ever eaten in my life, and it was really good! I don’t normally eat fish, but this fish changed my eating habits forever. I will now be a fish eater…you can quote me on that later Christine when I say I don’t want any…hehe. We had a short tour of the small city, and got to enjoy the beautiful beach :] We then made the longgg drive back, had more free time for more shopping (over the days I purchased: a Moroccan shirt, tea pot with cups, 2 necklaces, a bracelet, and a ring) all very beautiful of course. The rest of the group went out to a casino and had more drinks, but I can’t afford to be gambling away my parent’s money that they so graciously give to me for these experiences lol. So I stayed in with the other group, and talked with Simo, Abdul, and Hanane for a while..then I slept  :] I had a blast staying in though because they taught me how to make tagine, and I just got to chat with them for a little while.

Leaving was very sad and hard :[ because everybody felt like family! But we were off at 7 AM to make it back to Rome. I was so sad to leave, and I really want to go back one day. They have a program for 2 weeks where you volunteer and teach English with the same tour leaders, I might possibly see if I could do that one summer. We will see :] But that was my wonderful Moroccan thanksgiving experience :] and It has easily been my favorite trip so far just because of the cultural experience I had.

This week I’m very busy with papers and projects so don’t expect to hear from me soon! And then I’m off on my last and final trip of my time here to Paris for 3 days. Then I will remain in Rome until the 18^th! Then I’m off to Saudi to see my Daddy. I have such a busy December ahead of me, but I’m very ready for it :]

On another note: Rome stores and streets are starting to put up Christmas lights and it’s making me sooooo antsy for Christmas to come! I love Christmas season, and everything about it. I am praying that it snows in Paris. That would be such an unbelievable experience, and I want to see it! I have yet to see beautiful white blankets of snow, and I want it. I can’t get everything, but I’ll be hopeful :]

Until then, I’ll enjoy all the Christmas lights in Rome, and thing about how I get to come home and Christmas will be so soon. <3

p.s. I have so much to be thankful for. I love my family and friends.

Ciao,

Kate

From Milan and on!

I know, I know...I haven't updated my blog since the beginning of the month! And I'm soo sorry for that, but who reads this anyways? Besides Claudia, of course.

I don't exactly remember perfectly what I've done since Milan, but I'll try my best.

The following weekend I stayed in Rome and explored for a few days! The first day Claudia, Catherine, and I went to the Roman Forums, Imperial Forums, and the Wedding Cake. Claudia gave us lots of historical facts and silly little tidbits of information. Catherine and I then went to the Vatican Museums to see the Sistine Chapel. I had already been once before, but I knew I needed to go again because after learning some artistic knowledge from my Renaissance class, I thought maybe I could appreciate it a little better. :] After the Sistine Chapel (it was our first stop, just so we knew we didn't miss it) we accidently went down the wrong pathway and ended up completely skipping half of the exhibits because we went out an exit and ended up at St. Peter's. Oops? Guess I'll have to go back again for a third time.
The following day Claudia, Savannah, and I went on a "walk" that one of the travel books told us to do because we wanted to see some new sights. Welllll, the map was a little sketchy, and we ended up lost, so we gave up after a while. But! We saw the pyramid, the Caracalla Baths, some random churches, a protestant cemetery, cat sanctuary, anddd I'm fairly positive that's it. So, all in all, we had a pretty productive day nonetheless.

The next week was a veryyy busy week for me. I had registration to worry about, a cooking class, and then traveling to pack for! Luckily registration went very smoothly, and I have my recipes for the cooking class. Can't wait to use them again :]
Friday, I went to Assisi with Catherine on a paid JCU trip. We had a tour guide show us around the Basilica of San Francesco, Basilica of Santa Chiara, and the main center square. After the tour we got a free yummy lunch with the group, and we were off to shop and explore the city :] I managed to get 3 of my friends gifts in Assisi, which was a major relief for me. On a side note: it was FREEZING in Assisi, not prepared for that. It was an adorable small town though, and I definitely wouldn't mind going back because they had beautifulllllllllllllll ceramics there. Unfortunately they didn't take my discover card, or else momma would've gotten some ceramics for christmas! hahaha.
After a day in Assisi, it was time to get ready for Brussels, Belgium in the morning! Claudia, Catherine and I were up and ready to go around.....8? I think. I don't remember. We were in Brussels by noon, and were exploring the city by around 4. Thanks to a very long bus ride from the airport to the city, then finding out hostel. Where we got extremely side tracked due to a packed metro, and I unfortunately got separated from them....it was horrible. I watched the doors close with them on the platform side, and me on the inside...so I went to Saint Catherine, the final stop for us to get to our hostel, but they didn't think I knew to go there...so I waited for about an hour. hahah. We finally found each other...
Brussels was such a quirky city! We stayed in the city center, and explored the square the first night just because we were sooo exhausted from the traveling. But there was enough to see in that area that it didn't even matter. We also saw Mannequin Pis! A famous LITTLE statue of a boy peeing. Cute. The following morning we went to a comic book museum, saw some famous churches, and other sights, which I can't name off the top of my head because they are either French or Flemish, and I don't particularly speak either of those languages very well.. More so flemish than french lol.
But I fell in love with Brussels very quickly. Just the Architecture, the people, and of course the WAFFLES. and fries...we had waffles everyday, as well as fries. I didn't complain. Especially since it was raining (of course) and freezing the whole time we were there. I could justify a nice warm waffle from belgium. mmmm <3


Now that I covered that weekend, time to move on to the next...I had a relaxing school week in Rome. I got familiar with the studio for pictures in photography class, and I picked my topic for the final project. Cemeteries! Which I really don't like at all, and would rather stay away from them. But my professor enjoyed my pictures taken from the cemetery here in Rome, so I decided to continue on with that.


I left for Prague on Thursday with Liat :] and luckily Prague is fresh in my mind since it's only Monday morning...so I think I'll have a lot to say about it.
We took a bus to another bus, and then we arrived at the airport. Witnessed a very unhappy family get denied onto another flight. At that point I really wished I was bilingual and could understand what that poor girl was crying about...security got involved. and that's that.
We arrived in prague around...6:30ish? Jonathan picked us up from the airport, and took us through the wholeee route on getting from the airport to our hostel, which of course included: a bus, the metro, then a tram. mmm wonderful :] He then took us out to dinner at a restaurant he enjoyed, and I triedddddd some Czech beer, really I did. I just didn't enjoy it that much....I need to get a taste for beer I guess. So I had some wine instead at another little pub he took us too, which has a block of wood in it that serves for some very silly, and dangerous game? Basically, once you get drunk you can ask for some hammer and nails, and hammer the nails into the block of wood for fun. odd. No one did it that night, so we didn't get to witness it lol.
The following morning Liat and I were up and ready to CONQUER Prague. Which we did. We took the tram to a cute church (nameste miru? i can't spell) but our hostel, then walked from there. Our first stop was the national museum and the wenceslas square. The museum architecture was pretty gotchic, which I loved! All of Prague felt very gothic, and dark...it was beautiful. I need to go back and experience it some more.
Breakfast was at the Bohemia Bagel in prague :] I neeeeded that bagel, it was wonderful. We then jumped onto the free tour with New Europe and saw all the major sights: Old Town Square, Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, Old New Synagogue, Jewish Cemetery, Spanish Synagogue, New Town (Wenceslas Square again), the Metronome, some hotel were communist officials used to stay (brothel included), an opera house where Mozart played!, the Black Madonna house, Powder tower, Municipal Court, anddd possibly something else. I'm not sure lol.
After the tour, Liat and I continued on our sights and went back to the Prague Castle, and Carles bridge! We stopped and got some hot chocolate with cake as a little snack :] then to the John Lennon wall...basically a wall of graffiti with John Lennon on it. haha. Then we went up to the castle, which really isn't even a castle. It's just a cathedral with a wall around it...which constitutes for a castle...so I hear. By that point, we were ready to just relax because it was dark outside, so we unsuccesfully went souvenir shopping. We just kinda walked around an area we really liked by the Black Madonna House, and window shopped. We then met up with Jonathan for dinner, and he took us to his favorite restaurant :]! (On a side note: Jonathan was extremely accommodating all weekend, if he comes to Rome I owe him, or even whenever he returns to Texas...) Liat managed to get her flavored beer at some other pub afterwards, which she continued to rave about allllllllllll weekend haha ( Love you, lee lee).
We went home fairly early because the next day was going to be another long one.
We woke up and were out of the hostel by 8 o'clock to get to our bus to Terezin that left at 9:30. Terezin was a concentration camp, so it proved to be a trying morning for the both of us. I was aware of the Holocaust and what happened then, but I wasn't really ready for what I was going to see at Terezin. It was an experienced I felt I needed to have though... Terezin has an interesting story behind it though. They referred to the camp as a "work camp", and used the sight for a propaganda video that Hitler used to show how "well" the prisoners were treated on these camps. Yet, thousands of people were actualy executed or died on the site. hmmm. I won't get into detail about Terezin just because it was a really personal experience for Liat and I, and I'd rather just leave it off of this blog.
After Terezin, we went back needed some bohemia bagel in hopes of lifting our spirits a little bit. We then went to the TV Tower (another famous sight in Prague). I loveddd the TV tower...it has babies crawling all over it! Not real ones of course, just silly little fake ones. It's very odd, but Prague. We also saw a church by the TV Tower that Jonathan was raving about the night before because it has pretty cool architecture to it. It seemed like it should've been built in the 70's but was actually built in the...30's? I think.
After those few sights, we went to the mall for a bit just to warm up, and wander for about an hour...hot chocolate included.
thennnn we were back outside to souvenir shop. I got those little russian dolls (I don't remember the correct name for them) but you put the smaller one in the bigger one, etc...I had been eyeing them all weekend. and yes I know...they are Russian! But goodness, the Czechs have such a messy culture. It's not just one... I figured I could get away with it.
andd finally Jonathan made us dinner at his apartment. Tex Mex...such a thoughtful boy. salsa and guac included.
Liat and I were not ready to leave prague yesterday, but we had to...and the flight home was very bumpy...which I feel I should tell you about...I was a nervous wreck the entire flight back...making liat hold my hand, and I was physically shaking because there was so much turbulence...I'm such a silly girl. but flying makes me nervous, beyond nervous....I was miserable and ready to get home.


I made it though. Yup.


and I came home to such a busy apartment!! Savannah's boyfriend is visiting and he stopped by to say hello and was going to get dinner with Savannah, and Catherine's friend Emily (she calls her Burg) also came around dinner time to pick Liat and I up. We grabbed dinner at one of our favorite restaurants...Called Nico...or PizzaSteak, or something along that line.
and not to forget (although I haven't met them yet) Claudia's whole family is in town, Uncles included. It must be Thanksgiving :]

Milano for Halloweenie

As usual, too much as happened since my last post that I could very well possibly not remember a lot of it. Hmmm.
I had a rather relaxing week (I finally managed to send out my letters! so if you got one fairly recently, you are a lucky person)
Thursday night, I went out with a few friends in Trastevere. We got drinks and french fries, yummy. Catherine was a brat (on a side note, I saw this with the greatest amount of love) that night, and refused gelato because she only wanted a beer to "tap off her night" as I recall :P ... She didn't get her beer, and she managed to use the streets as her public bathroom again. What's new? Lol. Catherine will hate me for posting this, but goodness she makes a night so interesting!
Friday morning a few of us went and enjoyed an "American" meal at the Hard Rock Cafe. Which I'm happy we went to because it's been much too long since we've been somewhere that had the atmosphere like a typical American restaurant. It made me a little homesick though because whenever I travel with my family we always go to the Hard Rock, and I wanted my parents to be there with me! But, unfortunately, they weren't. We then spent the rest of our day just shopping and walking around the streets of Rome. It was a calm day, and a much needed one.
Saturday, we went up to Janiculum Hill in Roma! I was fascinated by this place. It's the second tallest hill in Roma, and has a church built where St. Peter was said to be cruicified. The Hill itself is said to be a battle field from a revolutionary Roman and French war of some kind, I couldn't exactly tell you...does it seem like I'm getting this information off of Wikipedia? Hmm, I am. Anyways.
Everyday at noon, a cannon is fired from the hill in the direction of the Tiber river (I knew this off the top of my head). We went to witness this, which was absolutely amazing, and terrifying. My ears were rining, and my pictures came out blurry from my jumping once I heard the sound of the cannon fire. Hah.
We wandered to the Jewish Ghetto and had a fabulous lunch (fried rice balls!! yummy, and pasta amatricana) The rest of my day was rather lazy, but I'm not complaining. But wait!
I almost forgot, we had a very crazy cooking/baking party in my kitchen. Where we made cookies and cinnamon rolls from scratch :] They came out fairly well, but I think the best part of it was actually making the stuff. haha. It was a blast.

Sunday morning was Halloweeenie, and Catherine, Savannah, and I left bright and early for Milan.
The flight was easy (and thank goodness for that because we all know how i feel about flying!), now when we arrive in the airport, we catch the bus to the central station, and from there we were within walking distance to the hotel. Nowwwww, I had a moment and was extremely frustrated because I couldn't find the street where the hotel was, because it was 1) raining, 2) i was hungry, 3) i'm a lady, and occasionally we have our days of....hormonal imbalances. But we managed to find it with some help, and I immediately got some breakfast, and I was ready to start the day.
With the rain, we took the metro EVERYWHERE but it was very convenient so it wasn't too bad :]
Catherine made the "executive decision" (so she calls it :P) to head over to the church where the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is said to be. Unfortunately, we couldn't view it because you had to have a reservation, and it was a 2 week wait! Awful! We were a little discouraged, but we were off to our next stop: Castello Sforzesco, which is a castle that is now a rather large museum. It includes art from pretty much every major era, and sculptures, and furniture...etc. Catherine, Savannah, and I were most amused by the furniture room, because it displayed furniture from as late as the 2000's...hmm, what made it so special? We honestly had no idea, and it didn't fit the "Renaissance" them the rest of the museum had at all. hahah. The plain wooden chair was the most amusing to me.
After the Castello, which is also connected to Parc Sempione (which we very briefly walked into, but with the rain, it was less than enjoyable), we decided it was time for lunch. We went to the nearest pizzeria, and loveddd it :] Although it was a little pricey! Oh well.
After lunch we were off to the next museum: Piancoteca di Brera, which is one of the most famous museums that Milan has to offer. Couldn't tell you all that I saw, but I promise it was a lot and my feet hurt terribly after the walk throughout the museum. By the time we had finished that it was only 5:20 pm! We were all shocked, and had no idea what to do next. So I said we should go check out Salvador Dali!! Because I reallyyy wanted to go, but I wasn't sure if we'd have time. So we raced over to the Dali exhibit in the Palazzo Reale, but of course when we get there the line is almost 3 hours long! Which made no sense to me because the museum said it closed at 7:30, but oh well! So we decided not to wait, and we walked probably a few hundred feet in a different direction and found ourselves facing the side of the Duomo! Which was a pleasant surprise and a beautiful sight to see. So we hung around the Duomo for a bit, snapped some pictures, and then went into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is the oldest and most famous shopping center in Milan. It was breathtaking, and we even enjoyed a woman playing the piano in the center of the shopping mall.
We grabbed some dinner at a lovely restaurant right by the duomo, which included for me a spaghetti, and tiramisu that I shared with Catherine. We sat and talked for a few hours, and had a very lovely waiter that kept finding amusement out of frightening us or just acting silly. He made me want to return just so I could see what other antics he had up his sleeve.
After a long day, that consisted of rain, rain, rain, rain (I am not lying when I say the rain NEVER stopped...it was a continuous rain...a cold rain...very sad), we immediately went to our hostel, and fell asleep :]
The first stop of Monday was the Duomo! We got there at perfect timing and had no wait to ride the elevator up the roof. It was an unbelievable view, and I cannot even describe how beautiful the Duomo architecture is...it's magical and dark. I love it. We spent quite some time up there, then made our way into the Cathedral where we caught some of the All Saint's Day mass! It was incredibly moving, and almost brought me to tears. I loved the sound of church music throughout the heavy walls. It filled me with such an odd emotion, but it was wonderful.
After our Duomo experience, we grabbed lunch at a lovely restaurant (as usual), did a little bit of shopping in the area and then made our way to the Palazzo Reale to finally see the Salvador Dali exhibit! So the night before we asked a nice man that worked there what time we should arrive tomorrow to avoid long lines. Now, it opened at 2:30 PM on monday, so he said 2 PM... hmmm, he was terribly wrong. I should've known and had a feeling, but we had so much other stuff to do that I figured whatever. So we get there at 2 PM, and the line is already a few hours long, and we made our way into the museum by 4 PM, after standing 2 hours in the rain...lovely. On a side note: a very nice Italian woman asked if she could possibly squeeze into line with us because she had a train to catch and she was all alone, so we figured...okay let's just let this one woman in, and it'll be fine. Which it turned out to be! She was such a sweet personable lady, and even bought our 8 euro tickets for the exhibit!!! So she ended up spending too much money on us, but at least she offered considered we let her cut about 3 hours worth of waiting. She was really wanting to see Dali! So having to wait, but then getting a free ticket into the exhibit made for a good day all in all.
After Dali, we raced back to the hotel, picked up our stuff, and made our way to the airport. Where after waiting and waiting for our plane to get a gate number we realize it has been delayed THREE hours...until 11:20 PM.. lol. We were not happy campers. Especially since I only brought so much of my motion sickness medicine with me, and I had already taken it for the original flight time, and then I had to take it again! Lol, it's pathetic I know, but I cannot survive without my dramamine. So we ate dinner, and I read a horrible magazine that cost me 4 euro (not the 2.10 euro that they advertised on the magazine, because apparently it's "UK price" not "Italian price").....Catherine and I giggled the whole time as we read the magazine called "Company"...and it was just a waste of my money, besides getting some laughs out of it. So we finally made it home at around 2 AM, and we were all exhausted and ready for bed.
Now to get back to reality, and study for my exam that I have tomorrow. eek.

Ciao,
Kate

A Much Needed Update!

It has been MUCH too long since I've last posted, but busy days, weekends, and midterms week kept me from my weekly posts.
Midterms went well! I'm happy it's over. School is such a distraction from all my fun experiences here :P
After a week of midterms which included: art history, health psychology, and evil philosophers (no photo midterm, and macroeconomics is next week, eek) Catherine and I took a JCU planned day trip to the Thermal Baths also known as Terme di Papi. The thermal bath was a large swimming pool (not exactly what i was expecting!) that had spouts on the left end that released extremelyyy hot sulfur water, probably 120 degrees. Of course Catherine, Maria, and I took advantage of the warm water, and hung out as closely to those spouts as our bodies would let us. Here in Rome, the showers and watering system is less than reliable, and you are always going to get either a too hot or too cold shower lol. Then, Catherine and I went and got mud facials! I had never gotten a facial before, so I felt a little silly for spoiling myself. I always pictured a facial to be more for an older woman that has done her deeds to deserve such pampering, perhaps like a mother? hmm momma, want a facial? hehe. But we figured, why not? We are in Italy, and they are all into the "natural" stuff, so we might as well try it. Mmmmm, well...I certaintly enjoyed my facial :] Who could complain about getting their face massaged? It was lovely.
Saturday, Catherine and I went to the CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL! in Perugia :] Mmm, I had been looking forward to the chocolate festival alll semester. I knew I had to go, and experience it and splurge some cash on chocolate. We left around 6:30 AM, rode the metro, and then got to the Termini (train station) in time to make our 7:45 AM train out to Perugia.
Now, we took a regional train, which is a BIG difference from the trains I've been accustomed to. You don't have a reserved seat, but it is usually a 15 dollar ticket. So I'm not complaining. BUT, these regional trains are a mad house to get through. You are pushing and shoving and you can hardly breathe because people are wanting one of the few seats left. So for three and a half hours Catherine and I sat/stood in the same corridor as the bathroom. I'd never been on such a packed train! People were standing like sardines in the aisles for almost four straight hours! It was awful. But we made it! Getting to the city center of perugia was odd, you had to take a bunch of "city escalators" which basically took you to the top of a hill, and then there we were :] Chocolate was everyywhere. I won't get into detail but they had EVERYTHING. Chocolate bars, hot chocolate, truffles, chocolate kebabs, chocolate crepes, Nutella everywhere, Chocolate covered fruits, chocolate shaped like various animals, chocolate ravioli, and just...I could go on. It was wonderful. They had major brands like Nestle (european Nestle though), Milka, Lindt, Toberlone, and just so much yummy goodness! I got chocolate pasta, and then a different chocolate bar (I tried a variety, such as milk chocolate with dried strawberries, and white chocolate with cinnamon) from various stands that looked appealing to me :] I came home a happy camper!
The train on the way home was the same way, except this time I was prepared. I had my adrenaline pumping, and when that train stopped for us to get on it I pushed and shoved my way through and ran like a mad woman (while listening to some Lil Wayne ahhh hahahah. i'm so funny) to grab two seats. Catherine and I split up (it was a divide and conquer kind of idea, so whoever got two seats first would call the other and then we'd find them :]) Catherine luckily saw me in my course of action, and quickly followed. It was magical to have seats on a train for three and a half hours...definitely worth running and looking silly like every body else in the crowd.
On Sunday, Catherine and I then went to the mall :] ... which was about an hour and a half commute hahaha. You take the metro to Termini, then get on the number 38 bus, ride it from the first stop to the last, and then boom you are at the mall. It was a relaxing day, and successful one, and of course the bus ride home was about the same experience as trying to get a seat on the train. I somehow managed to push and shove (I'm learning the way of the Italians here...mind you), and I found a seat on the bus....the bus was packed...people sitting on each other, and random strangers body parts smushed up against you... it's lovely.
All, in all. It was wonderful :]


Oh! I never spoke about Florence (which was the weekend before this past one)
We left for Florence Friday morning, and as soon as we get there we had about a two hour tour of the heart of Florence. Which of course included the outside of the Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Galleria degli Uffizi, and Ponte Vecchio.
All the girls were of course ready to conquer the leather markets, which is what we spent the majority of our Friday afternoon doing. I found myself a pair of leather gloves to go with my purple jacket :], and two hats (very old fashioned, cute wool hats!). I also had a waffle with gelato on it at some point during the day, which was wonderful :] I need to remember to do that on my waffles at home...with ice cream i guess. hmm.
We spent friday night out at a wonderful little restaurant recommended by API, and then we went out just for drinks at a pub of some kind. It was a nice relaxing night.
Saturday morning, a group of us went to climb up the Duomo to see the city view, which of course was magical like every other one I've seen haha. But the climb up was nauseating! It was a small little corridor of winding stairs. I felt very uneasy and claustrophobic of course.
Afterwards, we went to the Galleria dell'Academia, which is where the statue of David by Michelangelo currently is! We had a free pass there, so we pretty much went to the see the statue, roamed around a little bit and then we were all ready to go back out into Florence. The statue itself was breathtaking! The proportions are very interesting to me, because the hands and feet are so big compared to the rest of the body, but they create these statues with the intentions of people looking up at them, which makes sense.
Then we wandered the city, where I found myself a pair of beautiful leather boots! (gotta get ready for winter!) And we were off back to Rome.

Ciao,
Kate

Florence

I would love to tell you all about my weekend in Florence, but unfortunately I have my first midterm on Monday.

You can expect to hear about Florence in a few days...or a week

Ciao

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

I really need to blog about this.....
The API directors told me of a few good places near campus to get cheeses, international foods, and various other foods. I invited Carolyn along because I knew she would appreciate good food shopping, and probably would encourage me to buy anything that looked like it needed to be in my belly..mmmmm I was right.
We first made our way to what is said to be one of the best local cheese shops in Rome. You could smelll the cheese as soon as you walked in. So I splurged and got pecorino romano, mozzarella di buffalo, and milano salami. I need to go back and take pictures...it also helped that the family that owns it was really sweet, and tried to talk with their hands and in italian since my italian is less than... sufficient. haha.
Our next stop was a lovely chocolate shop, where I picked up an assortment of chocolates with hazelnut, and rice krispies...nom nom nom.
Then we made our way to what was potentially a very DANGEROUS store, because it was an international food stores, full of mexican food, ranch dressing, queso, pancake mix, cake mixes...everything I miss dearly. I guiltily bought a taco kit, queso, tortilla chips, pancake mix, and syrup.
Oh! we also had hummus for lunch, which I had been craving for days. I need to find the perfect recipe for homemade hummus <3


Om nom nom. I cannot wait to make pancakesssssss.


Ciao,
Kate