Interlaken, Switzerland

Whelp. I have the answer. The answer to what I'm sure will be the question I will get the most when I return home. (I'm trying not to think about how soon that really is) And that question would be, "What was your favorite place you visited?" And the answer..."INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND!" It is the most beautiful place I've been and I did the coolest thing I've ever done. More on that later...

The past week in Verona has been lovely. Just lovely. I didn't fully appreciate Verona until spring time. Katie and I went to Piazza Erbe a couple of times and just sat and enjoyed. Usually accompanied by a sandwich, or a gelato, or a maybe a spritz. Our first test was the first assignment that was like what I'm used to. I am in for a rude awakening this fall.

After class on Thursday we headed off to Switzerland. The trains were easy, on time, and comfortable. When we arrived in Interlaken, we were all in awe of how beautiful this town was. That lake is the bluest water I've ever seen. The rolling hills are greener than anything else. And add in the springtime flowers and colors. It was perfection. I didn't sleep well Thursday night because I kept thinking about what I had to do in the morning. I had to sign up to go skydiving. Ok, I didn't have to, but I had wanted to for a very long time. And I looked at it as training for the Amazing Race. I woke up, signed up, kept my ticket for a free beer afterwards (in a safe place, duh), and got ready. We were supposed to leave at 8:30. At breakfast, I was the only one of the six of us going. We had exchanged phone numbers so I could meet up with them afterwards. Then when the guide got there to take my group to the airfield, two more decided they wanted to do it too. So with half of us skydiving, the other half wanted to come watch. Then on the ride there, one more decided she was going to give it whirl. As we were gearing up, one more decides to take the plunge. Katie Hardaway was the only one not doing it. Well, we convinced her. Just kidding. She took the pictures. As poorly as I had slept the night before, I wasn't nervous at all watching everyone else go. I wasn't even nervous until right before we were to jump. But the whole process of getting out of the plane went so fast, I didn't have time to dwell on what I was about to do. And it was incredible. It was by far the coolest thing I've ever done and may ever do. There is no feeling like it. We all loved it! And we have pictures and videos to prove it!

After our amazing morning, we rented bikes to explore the town. We rode down by the lake and just had a cruising afternoon. That evening we went to a chocolate show at Shuh chocolate. And we tasted some (and by some I mean a ridiculous amount of) divine Swiss chocolate. We hung out at our hostel, which has the best bar in all of Interlaken, for the rest of the night.

Saturday morning we let ourselves sleep in a little. It was cold and rainy and we were worried we wouldn't be able to go canyoning. We grabbed lunch, walked around town, and even saw a bhaliwood (we think) music video being filmed. We were so cold from the rain that we were considering ditching canyoning. But we stuck to the plan and I'm glad we did. For all you folk that don't know what canyoning is, go to YouTube, type in "Canyoning Interlaken" and watch the first video. And for you that aren't YouTube savvy, canyoning here is going through a glacier river (wetsuit, lifejacket, and helmet of course), and traversing through it. It includes rappelling, jumping off cliffs, taking a rope swing, and sliding down rocks. We were the first group of the entire season so we go to open the canyon up for canyoning! I thought it was scarier than skydiving. I wasn't mad about the way our guides looked either.

It was the best way to end my semester abroad and I loved everything about Interlaken. I could spend a week there and will hopefully get the chance to one day. Side Note: For anyone studying abroad in Europe, you must go here! Hint hint, K!

The Cinque Terre and Mom's Visit!

Now that I was home in Verona, it was Kate's turn to try her luck with European airports and get to Verona. Well, she made it! Almost perfectly. A slight delay from Paris into Verona and she was here! I showed her all around Verona, we got Spritzes in Erbe, and ate a great meal outside next to the Old Roman Gateway into the city. We had planned to visit the Cinque Terre and leave early Friday morning, but because we had missed class earlier in the week, we needed to have a makeup class Friday. So, Mom and I headed out after class let out to the Cinque Terre! We had an extremely easy trip and when we arrived in Monterosso, it felt like no one was in town. We think it was because of the rain, though. We checked into our fabulous hotel and found a great family-run restaurant for dinner. We had the best bruschetta we've both ever tasted. The tomatoes were unlike any others we've ever had.
Saturday was hiking day. We ate breakfast out on the patio of our hotel overlooking the ocean (yes, we realized here how spoiled we were) and then headed to the trail. It turned slightly overcast so it was nice and cool for the toughest part of the hike. We saw a bunch of older people and wondered how they were possibly doing the hike. Oh. And we also saw a cat on a leash...

The first town we came to was Vernazza. The path wound us down through town and was beautiful. It was starting to drizzle so we took a break and had lunch. The Cinque is known for their fresh pesto, so we tried that out. It was also delicious. We almost headed home because of the rain, but it eased up and we ventured on. It didn't rain the rest of the day!
Another tough hike to town #3, Corniglia. Now the sun was shinning bright! Corniglia was our orange soda town as we sat and took in the scenery. Manarola was an easy trek and that was our Gelato town (see the pattern yet?). We wandered around a lot before finding the next trail. It was the easiest and most crowded. It was on this trail that we saw the same cat that was on a leash, now being carried (like a baby) in a cat carrier...
We had to walk quickly through the last town, Riomaggiore, to make the last boat of the day. We decided to boat it back instead of train it for the scenery. After we got back to Monterosso, it was time for a well deserved beer.
We went back to our wonderful hotel to get ready for dinner and check train schedules for the next day. Friday night we had found local cuisine and Saturday night we found our fine dinning! Mom had a steak, I had sea bass ravioli, and we may or may not have split french fries. We also tried the Cinque Terre wine and dessert. I had chocolate mouse that rivals my favorite dessert ever, warm chocolate cake. Sunday morning we took our time eating breakfast, once again on the patio, did some last souvenir shopping, and headed to the train station.

I have really enjoyed the time I've been able to share with my Mom. We are good explorers together and when we checked out of our hotel we said, "We'll be back!" I am so happy she decided to come over and see my home away from home, Verona, and that we were able to go someplace neither one of us had ever been. I will the miss the fine dining...

Barcelona, Spain

I've been putting this blog post off for too long now. It's time to just sit down and write it all down. Barcelona is a really cool, vibrant city, with something always happening. Kari and I decided that we will move to Barcelona when we get bored in the states. We did the whole spanish thing. We stayed out all night and watched the sun rise. It was on Saturday when we woke up and realized our flight the next day had been cancelled. If you don't know why, then you obviously live under a rock and didn't hear about the massive volcano that erupted and closed just about every airport in Europe. We hadn't realized how bad the volcano was. Northern Italy airports were closed. So, we were stuck in Spain. At first, I didn't mind that. But as our options of getting home to Verona were dwindling, I did not enjoy figuring out how to get home. Cameron and Brooke booked a flight to Rome and then on to Verona and when I went to do it, the Verona airport had been closed so I wasn't able to book it. Trains in France happened to go on strike so getting to Italy that way was no longer an option. Then trains in Spain went on strike. We looked into taking a boat. The boat to Genoa, Italy broke down. Really? Was all this actually happening. We went ahead and booked a boat to Rome and decided we could get home to Verona from there somehow. The only problem, we didn't know what this 'ferry' was going to be like and oh yeah, it took 18 hours on a boat. Learning that Italian airports were to open Monday morning, I booked a flight to Milan. As I was at the ticket counter checking in, they closed Milan. I knew of another flight directly into Verona, so I ran, literally ran to the other side of the airport to see if I could get on. I couldn't-the bag I had to check wouldn't have made it in time. So I ran back to the other side of the airport (yes, running again) to see if I could get something-anything. I did not want to be on a boat for 18 hours. I bought a ticket to Rome and then into Verona. Not too bad. Waiting at my gate, I watched the other flight that I had tried to get on get cancelled. So I knew then that the Verona airport had closed and I would be training it up to Verona from Rome. Easy. Or so I thought. After Alitalia 'Misplaced' my bag, I headed to the train station. Only to learn that all the trains to Verona were sold out. I was forced to take regional trains all the way and get into Verona at 12 AM. I could handle that. My first train I was not guaranteed a seat and I stood (with a nun) in between cars for two hours. I made it though. All of my trains were late and I ran through almost every train station to make my connecting train. I was on my way to Prato (from Florence) to connect to Bologna to get to Verona. My train to Prato was so delayed that I didn't get into the station in time to catch my train to Bologna that would allow me to get home to Verona that night. Thankfully, there was a train to Bologna later that night because after being told by a random I should just hop on a bus and watching a cross dresser stroll through the Prato train station, I knew Bologna was way bigger and safer. After learning I wasn't going to make it home that night, I had a mild breakdown. But thanks to my credit card ('preciate it Seany), I checked into a nice hotel in Bologna. The only thing missing was my plush robe and slippers. But TV in the bathroom, check. I slept in and cruised home to Verona Tuesday morning. I was thankful I wasn't on a boat for 18 hours and then on a train for 12. I managed to be the 3rd person back out of the people that were stuck in various places. I had never been happier to be in Verona!
I did not enjoy the makeup work we all were required to do, but all in all, I survived. And I'm even more confident that Seany and I would kick butt on the Amazing Race. Just need to make the application video...I kind of figured this out before, but this whole situation made my realize I have the best parents around. For reals. (how about that for a shout out)

Valencia, Spain

Sorry this has taken forver...I've just been enjoying Springtime Verona waaay too much!

Have you ever seen those people in the airport carrying their belongings through security because their bag was overweight and they didn't want to pay the charge. That was everyone in our group. We had to stuff our carry-ons to the brim. My checked bag was the only one of the girls that didn't go over. Take that one Claire-I made weight. Our flight was delayed two hours but it went by quickly. We got into Valencia and found some lunch before catching a quick nap. That night we found a nice, authentic Valencian meal. I orderd the rice with lobster only to discover a full lobster came out of the kitchen...That night, it may have been the combo of excessive smoke and loud music, but I was a debbie and went to bed early. The next morning we ventured out to grab lunch before heading to the beach. The beach was beautiful! The sand was the softest and finest I've ever felt and the water was sooo clear. At night, we met up with some UGA people (they have a study abroad program there) and we got tapas and drinks with them. It was so nice to hang out with people from home! They only had a week left and they were telling us that they were excited to go home, but will miss Valencia very much. We had a 7 am bus to Barcelona and it was tough to wake up. We were on the Mercedes Bez of buses though (with wifi!) and we snuggled in and went back to sleep. We just arrived in Barcelona and our hostel is in the middle of town! We're headed out now to explore the town!

Rome

*Sorry for the lack of pictures. Somewhere between moving out of 704 and moving back in, I lost the converter I use to charge my computer with.*

Once we arrived in Rome, Martin told us we were staying at a very nice hotel, and it was, but no Hotel Embassy. We got checked in and had about two hours to relax. While we rested, Martin got us Rome passes that allowed us free admission, discounts, and transportation all over Rome. We never once used public transportaion in Florence and I never once not used it in Rome. A good indication at how different the cities are in terms of size. Martin took us to our first church. We couldn't tour it though because of mass. I guess Martin is not aware of 5 o'clock mass...We went to the steps that Jesus walked up. Tradition is you do them on your knees. There are other steps to get to the top, but I wanted to stick to tradition and went up on my knees. By end, my knees were pretty tired and a little shaky. We then headed over to Mary's church. It is one of my favorite churches so far. The story goes like this. There was a man in Rome who claimed that Mary had come to him and asked him to build her a church. In this dream, he asked her where he should build the church and Mary told him she would let him know. He met with a ruler of Rome who claimed he had the same dream. On August 8th, it snowed in Rome. And only on this one little hill. And that is where they built the church. And every year on August 8th, it snows in Rome on this little hill, with the help of rose petals.

In Rome we met our other teacher for our last block of classes. Jon had met us in Florence. I'm not taking his class, but he is young and hung out with us a little bit. Real nice guy. Archie, who's business ethics class I am taking, met us in Rome with his wife Priscilla. I met Priscilla first and chatted with her and I adore her. They both are very sweet people and I'm looking forward to his class.

That night, we tried out Roman Kebobs and hung out in the hotel before it was time to go out. Everyone did a pub crawl, but Kari, Brooke, Cameron, and I tried out some Italian wine before we went to the downtown of Rome. And I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. We had a great taxi driver who took us around and showed us the sights of Rome at night before dropping us off in what could be mistaken for downtown Athens on a game weekend. It was crazy! We checked out the bars before deciding on yhe Drunken Ship. We met tons of people (it is a lot easier when everyone speaks English...) and I hung out with some great Aussies! It has been decided that Australia will be my next globe-trotting adventure. After the 2012 Olympics in London with Claire...

Sunday morning Martin took us on a walking tour of Rome. We hit all the highlights before arriving in St. Peter's square to receive the Pope's blessing. We received it, via live stream from his summer home...

After, we headed to the Pantheon, where Rafael is burried. After lunch, a much needed Mc-Ds trip for me, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain. AKA...my favorite spot in Rome. Martin, you gotta stick with him (some people still haven't figured this out), bought us gelato once again. I ventured out and instead of my usual chocolate, I got chocolate with raspberry. Good decision. We hung out at the Trevi for a little while and before we knew it was late afternoon. A quick nap and then we headed right back to the Trevi to see it at night. We had planned to eat dinner outside there, but a surprise rain storm ruined that plan. So, we did what any American would do, headed straight to the Hard Rock Cafe.


Monday (how was it already Monday?!) we went to the few places that weren't closed. First was to see Michelangelo's Moses and St. Peter's chains. Then to the colesium. WOW! Is all I have to say about it! We met a couple from TIFTON! (I wast thinking Tifton) We headed to the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill. I wasn't terribly interested in this, and I found it to be a little boring. Sorry Roman Empire. The Spanish steps were up next. I could sit and people watch for hours! Another trip to the Trevi (told you it was my favorite) was a must since we had forgotten to throw a coin in! This is supposed to bring you back to Rome (well, I did return to Rome, but more on that later...) Katie H and I ventured to the "Bone" Church. All the monks of this church were burried under it and then dug up so their bones could be used as decorations in these underground burial sites. It was one of the most unique things I've ever seen. As embarrassed as I am to admitt this, we returned to the Hard Rock for an afternoon snack. We were just too full the night before to order dessert and the peanut butter pie (I know, how typical of me) was calling my name. Another good decision. That night it was ladies night at our Drunken Ship, so why wouldn't we go back?!

Tuesday (again, where does the time go?!) was Vatican Day!Inside, it was more of a museum than I had thought it would be. I enjoyed all the ancient Egypt stuff, even if Martin claims it is all replicas and none of it is real. We toted around, saw Rafaels Stanza room and then on into the Sistene Chapel. Man do they wind you all around that place. Michelangelo's sistene chapel was almost surreal to see in person. I snapped a few photos illegally...St. Peter's was next. Michelangelo's Pieta is in there and it is, too, very impressive. That Mikey... Martin showed us how the woman who jumped the Pope at Christmas did so. She had some good hops because it wasn't an easy jump. We climbed to the top of the dome for a very impressive view. The hike up was pretty intense. We opted to not take the elevator and we were surprised when the part that the elevator took you to was the easiest. Honestly, anyone could have walked it. Even the girl on crutches (Crip as we call her) in our group could have done it. The next part that everyone has to walk was very difficult. It was narrow, slanted at some points, and the spiral staircasses were tiny. We saw a man have a mild heart attack-scary. We took in the view for a while because it was such a beautiful day.



We grabbed some lunch (pizza with ham and mushrooms as always) and went and sat on the Spanish steps. Side story: There are illegal immigrants all over who sell little touristy knick-knacks. The police won't arrest them, but if they can't provide papers, all of their loot gets taken. We watched some undercover cops make a bust and I felt extremly sad for the man. All the other men selling things, took off. Even though I never bought anything from them, they are hard workers trying to make it.

After my little sad-fest, I went off to see Rome on my own. It is a big city, but I felt safe the entire time. I had read about a National Geographic exhibit at one of the museums that I wanted to check out. It was tons of photographs that had yet to be published but were incredible nonetheless. Fran, you would have been in NG heaven.

That night, Martin had arranged a less than spectacular group meal that left me a little hungry. The obvious thing to do next, head to Italy's first ice cream shop and get the biggest chocolate milk shake I could. That night was an early one, as we were headed to Spain the next day!

Florence

After handing in my final for Laris, I was giddy getting my things together for Florence. Group trips are for some reason my favorite thing. I think it is because someone else does the planning and logistics and I just get to sit back and follow the crowd. It took us under 4 hours to get to Florence and because I had some iTunes giftcards (preesh Kevin and Nicole) I bought some movies for my iPod. And the trip south zoomed by. Once we got all settled in our hotel, Martin (as he always does) showed us what we needed to know. We walked through the shopping market, by the duomo, and tried out some gelato. That night some of us wanted to try out what we had seriously been missing. Some good mexican food. Katie and I went Picante's style and got a pitcher(s) of margs. And queso! It wasn't necessarily Taco Mac's, but it curbed our craving. We checked out the town a little bit and saw probably about 1000 of the 4000 American students studying in Florence. The next morning we went to Santa Croce church where Michelangelo, or as Martin calls him, Mikey, is buried. There is this elaborate tomb for him, but he is actually buried in the wall next to it. After, we grabbed lunch before heading to the Uffizi. It is one of the most famous art museums in the world. It was nice and housed some beautiful and famous works, but I personally enjoyed the Louvre more. After field tripping all day it was time to catch a snooze before dinner. I forgot to mention how wonderful our hotel was. When I first saw Hotel Embassy I thought Embassy Suites. Nope. HotelEmbassy is a 4 star hotel. And it gets this food addicts stamp of approval because of it's breakfast. Helllooo yummy eggs and chocolate croisants!
That night we went to Dante's...a place that is rumored to serve wine and water water for free to students. We weren't positive about this, but once our bill came, it was true. Had we died and gone to heaven? No, we had found Dante's. Then, the owner (we nick-named him Dante), took a liking to us. Hmmm 14 girls, I wonder why. He moved us to the table in the window. That and the 18 bottles of wine that followed...definitely felt like we had died and gone to Italian heaven.
The next morning it was time to go see the famous David. Seeing the David was incredible and I also liked seeing Mikey's "Slaves." Martin said the rest of the afternoon was ours, but that he was going to walk around to go inside the Duomo and whoever wanted to join him was welcome to.I went with as did a few others. We went inside the Duomo (if you've ever seen pictures of Florence and the big red dome, this is the church it sits atop). Inside, we couldn't walk under the dome which is above the alter. Martin found this very strange as every other time he's been there he has been allowed to go under it. He took a few observations and came to the conclusion that there was going to be a wedding. And I had to agree, all the white flowers look a little wedding-like. Martin also said that whoever it was getting married, she (mainly her parents) had to be pretty important to be getting married there. When he asked some of the guards, they all had the exact same response. Just, "there will be a private mass." Yup, definitely an Italian royalty getting married...
I knew sticking with Martin was the right choice. Gelato on Martin, thank you very much. Martin had to go find a hotel for the summer program (sorry friends, I don't think you'll be staying at Hotel Embassy) we wanted to check out PonteVecchio. It literally means Old Bridge and on it are a bunch of shops, mainly jewerly shops. I didn't even realize we were on a bridge until I looked through a store's window and saw the river!
After, we went to a great sandwhich shop and I finally got a turkey sammi!
Martin's wife had passed on some shopping advice. And that was to not buy anything until the last day you are in Florence. That way, you know what you like and after you buy it, you won't have anything you like more or less expensive. I made a few purchases...for myself and for some others that shall remain annonymous until I make my return.
Katie H. and I needed a beer after that shopping and it was well deserved. We sat right outside the duomo and just took in our last afternoon in Florence. The weather was perfect for it, too!

We couldn't have asked for a better trip to Florence. It was sunny and warm and perfect. I truly enjoyed our time in Florence. I am on the bus to Rome and Martin just got done telling us all that we have planned and I'm ready to get there! If we have the weather we had in Florence, it is bound to be a good trip. Someone said this the other day and it is so true, "To appreciate the sunny days, you have to have had some rainy one." We've put in our rainy days and now we're being rewarded! Here are some of the funny/interesting/just random things that happened in Florence:
-I've come to appreciate a good salesman, thanks to Kevin and my dad. And I only bought from the best. One had some good chatter, "Oops you dropped something...it is my heart."
-Every night in Florence, we were from somewhere different. Yes, the winter games in Vancouver were wodnerful!
-We met girls that go to Florida. And I pulled a Burles. "It was so nice to meet you girls, see you at the game...in your jorts."
-The best strawberry daquri I ever had was in Florence at Art Bar. It had fruit on top that was bigger than the glass
-We made reservations at Dante's under the name Sweetie Honey, and somehow they lost it...

Spring Break Numero Dos

With the second block of classes quickly coming to a close, we are packing up our things for spring break numero dos. And I say numero dos because in a few short days I'll be in Espana! First we have our group trip to Florence, where we'll be fore two days, and then to Rome, where we'll spend 5 days. A few of us will fly directly from Rome to Valencia where we'll meet up with another UGA study abroad program. We'll visit with them and beach it up until we head to Barcelona for two days before finally heading back to Verona. This is going to be a wonderful big trip before we start our last block of classes.

School. Hmmm. That's a funny thing to call it. It doesn't feel like school. And I'm actually excited to take the final tomorrow to show our teacher how much I know on this topic. (WHOA. I know what you're thinking. I thought I was reading Allison Feeney's blog.Yes, same blog, but this doesn't mean I like normal school).

Not a whole lot is new here. It has been beautiful lately and very green. I walked downtown today (by myself, a very rare thing to be by yourself here). Currently, the Tesser and I are packing up the infamous 704. VinItaly is coming to Verona and we have to move out of our apartment for the week we are gone to allow for the hotel to use our rooms. VinItaly is one of Italy's largest wine festivals and we're headed out of town for it. Who's great idea was that...?

As we're coming into the final month here in Italy (where did the time go?!), I'm starting to miss a few things American. And here are the ones topping the list:
1. Chick-fil-a.No explanation needed. Except that Terminal A better be ready for me on May 7th.
2. Georgia spring-time. It's just not the same here. Not as many flowers, and no bar-be-ques.
3. Alpha G. Can't believe I'm missing out on a datenight...at Bourbs. Melbax, keep it classy :)
4. Braves Baseball. Looks like it's going to be a great season, so Braves, please don't play all the exciting ones before I get there.
5. Diet Coke. FountainDiet Coke, actually. With ice.
6. TV. What can I say, I'm a Feeney. And I can't wait to watch LOST. Hear who won Survivor. And log some serious couch time.

Buona Pasqua

This was the first time we have stayed in Verona for a weekend. And I'm very happy that we did! I feel like I know my 'hometown' that much better and feel very rested! I'm going to have to be rested. I counted and for our second spring break, we'll be gone 12 days and 11 nights. We head out Wednesday afternoon for Florence! I'm looking forward to seeing everything we learned about in our first block of classes. Thursday night we wanted to venture away from our go-to bar and started the evening at Camelot. The owner dated a girl from UGA a couple years back when she was on the Verona program and he is very nice to us! After Camelot, a few went home and a few of us stopped by Campus to check out ERASMUS night. ERASMUS is Europe's version of study abroad. It's more like an exchange, however, and most kids stay for an entire year.
Friday morning was the first morning I've woken up without an alarm! It was so nice. The team this weekend was a little smaller, only six of us, but we managed just fine. We went to the Roman theatre (different than the arena) and walked up to the top. This is probably my new favorite place in Verona and I will definitely be bringing the mama there when she comes in just 2 and a half weeks! There is a small park at the top and we just sat there enjoying the beautiful weather! It was the prettiest day in Verona thus far. After, we did what we always do when in town, get gelato. Mom, get ready for this...
That night we wanted to go out to eat. Marco, our nice desk-man and one of our friends, suggested a place and even came with us. I had some unbelievable duck and Marco picked our some fabulous wine. Now don't be getting Marco confused with Martin. Martin is our trip coordinator and Marco works the desk. Anyway, Marco had horse meat and everyone who tried it said it was delicious, but I wasn't ready to try it. Maybe next time.
Saturday was supposed to be a yucky day, and it was, so Kari, Katie, and I planned to check out the mall. We missed the first shuttle there, so the only one we could take was at 4 PM. This turned out to be ok though. We had been warned that the grocery store would be closed on Monday because it too is a holiday just like Sunday. So, we got the essentials until it would reopen on Tuesday. The mall was packed. And the best part was, we found Target. Ok, fine, it wasn't Target but it was the Italian's version. We didn't have time to check it out, but we will be back. Oh yes, we will be back. Wayne's World anyone? Anyone...?
Since I was confused and thought I had signed up for a semester in Antarctica, I needed a few basic warmer weather clothes. Hello Zara and H&M. I just needed enough to get me through Spain, since it will be much warmer weather. Hopefully we'll be on par with Atlanta and be enjoying some 80-degree weather. The mall was great fun and the free shuttle bus to get there wasn't bad either.
This morning a group of 5 headed to our neighborhood church for Easter Sunday Mass. We weren't sure what to expect, but I knew it couldn't be that far off. It was exactly the same. We even had a warm welcome, "Welcome our friends from America. From Georgia!"Yes, hello, thank you for having us. Like you didn't already know we're American... Sidenote: We stick out like a sore thumb everywhere we go. It's like we are dressed in Red, White, and Blue and sing the Star Spangled Banner or something. Back to Easter. Buona Pasqua means Happy Easter and everyone you come across says, "Buona Pasqua" to you. People are very kind on Easter. OH! I almost forgot! The Easter bunny came, too! The Italian Easter Bunny that is. Would the American Easter Bunny put a wine juice box in an Easter basket...I don't think so! Maybe a Miller Light's in Uncle Kevin's...? I have some little candies and a chocolate bunny that I have already eaten the ears off of :)

It is supposedly going to rain today, but for now, it is a beautiful Easter morning. I'm excited to hear how everyone's weekends were. There were a few others that stayed here that we would run into from time to time. One at Lake Como. A couple at Lake Garda. And there were two groups in Cinque Terre. I am so excited to go here with the mama. The people that have come back from the 5Terre have LOVED it. I can not wait!

Romeo & Juliet...Verona Style

Today (Wednesday) the Tesser (my roomie) and I woke up early to clean before the maids came. Yes, we've turned into those people. Normally, we wouldn't do this, however we had managed to turn our room into a zoo. The kitchen was destroyed. We ate chicken last night with spoons because we didn't have any more clean forks and didn't want to do dishes. It looks like we threw a dinner party...but only for ourselves. Last week, the maids were knocking on our door promptly at 9. It is now 9:45 and they haven't showed up yet. In other news, this is what's been going on here in Verona.

Tesser's mom, Deb, arrives today. It is our second batch of parents, and it is always fun to meet the rents. And by meeting the rents, we learn a little bit more about our friends. Mom, everyone is excited to meet you, too!

The class I'm taking is getting more and more interesting. I don't have much trouble paying attention in class, so I know I'm enjoying it more. I feel bad because those taking the other class are always in their room reading or studying or working on one of their projects. It's just not fair that we are out enjoying the springtime weather in Verona (and by enjoying the springtime weather I really mean eating lots gelato and hanging out around downtown) and they are stuck here at the swanky residence al adige. Hopefully the next block of classes will be a little more even in terms of school work.

Speaking of gelato...We were at Patagonia (ironic that I love the brand Patagonia and the gleateria Patagonia) the other day and I heard a group of American high schoolers with one of their moms (I'm assuming) ask if they should get gelato there. I, having tried a few gelato places, turn to them and say, "This is the best place in town for gelato." They look happy that someone is speaking english. So, they get in line and I ask them, "Where are ya'll from?" I think the ya'll threw them off and they answered, "United States." I think to myselfShocking. You're wearing hollister and abercrombie everything and you don't think I know you're from the states. AND I'm speaking perfect (ok, "southern") english. But, being the patient person I am, I asked them where, they said Maine and I replied saying I'm from Georgia. They looked a little taken aback that there would be an American in Verona other than them. Oh well, they were entertaining to talk to while I waited for my gelato. And made for a funny story...kind of.

While we were out strolling around, with our gelato of course, we stopped by the opera house. And last night, we went to see Romeo & Juliet. I was expecting a traditional (or what one would think of when you hear opera) performance. I couldn't have been more wrong. Everything was Romeo & Juliet go clubbing. Ok, to put it in better terms, it was modern Romeo & Juliet. The costumes were normal 'street' clothes. It was a little difficult to follow, especially since the sub-titles were in Italian, but it was entertaining. It last for three and a half hours! In the last hour, Juliet sang the entire time! Their voices were incredible and everyone that went enjoyed it, including me.

This weekend, I am staying in Verona to experience my hometown. I have never been here on a weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to it. I wish I could say I will be catching up on schoolwork, but schoolwork does not exist right now. It is supposed to be nice weather, so a trip to Lake Garda might be on the list of things to do. Anyway, it will be nice to relax a little before our week and half journey to Florence, Rome, then on to Valencia and Barcelona!

Prague

Oh Prague (or Praha as the Czechs call it). What a perfect weekend! Great weather, good food, and lots of field tripping.


We started our journey Thursday night. And I use the word journey because it is always one just to get to the airport. (I will never take Hartsfield for granted again. It is like the Four Seasons of airports) We figured out a better way to get to the Bergamo airport than going through Milan and it worked out just about perfectly. Oh, I guess I failed to mention our flight was Friday morning. Yes, you read correctly, we left Thursday night. It wasn't going to be possible to get to the airport Friday morning in time for our flight, so we decided to rough it and spend the night in the Bergamo airport. (There is a reason I didn't tell you about this until after, parentals) We got to the airport about 12:30. After a closed McDonalds, I had to eat my fourth meal and found a great kebob stand. So, we snuggled in (all 11 of us) and got our 3 hours of sleep until the kind men at the airport went around to wake everyone up at 3:30. I do not know exactly why this time, but I feel like they wake everyone up 2 hours before the first flight. And the guards are not very nice. If I had been in Atlanta and a police woke me up, I would kindly tell him, "No Way" and go back to sleep. However, this is Italia, and I didn't feel like breaking out my Italian this early in the AM. We went down to our check-in counter and waited out the next few hours until our plane took off.
When we arrived in Prague, it was sunny! This is such a big thing for us. After not seeing the sun in Munich, Salzburg, or Amsterdam, we have determined that good weather can make for a much more enjoyable experience. When we came up from the underground metro, I think we all fell in love with Prague almost immediately. We were in one of the centers of town and there were outdoor markets and tons of people out enjoying the beautiful weather. After going around in a few circles, we found our hostel. We couldn't check in, so we threw our bags in the luggage room, freshened up after our night at hotel Bergamo, and headed out to explore the town. After getting 100% scammed at lunch, we headed for the Jewish Ghetto. Since it would be closed on Saturday, we needed to check it out that day. It was interesting and I was happy that we were finally able to do something other than Churches for the sake of our two Jewish travel buddies. After the Jewish ghetto and exploring Prague, we needed a quick power nap if any of us were going to make it out that night. We caught a snooze and got ready to check out the night life. We found a cantina and had some much appreciated margarittas and mojitos before heading to the club. All in all...successful first day/night in Prague. I knew I was already loving this place. Sidenote: Thank you Athens for outlawing smoking in bars. I can handle the occasional cig in Generals, but waking up smelling like an ash tray is not something I particularly enjoy doing.

Saturday morning we wanted to do a walking tour of Prague. Our tour guide was a little boring, too soft spoken, but all-in-all I'm glad I saw the sights and heard the stories of Prague. We went to the Old Town, the New Town, the most well preserved castle in Europe, and the St. Charles Bridge. I loved St. Charles bridge. It had been a little cold and windy up on the hill where the castle was, but when we got down to the bridge, the sun decided to come out! Burak, Jonathan, and I were the only ones to last the entire 4 hours of the tour. And afterwards, we weren't done doing the field tripping. We went to the top of the astrological clock for a birdseye view of Prague. The astrological clock is one of a kind. And back in the day when it was first made, the ruler of Prague knew this, too. So, in order to make sure he was the only one with a clock like this, he sent his people to kill the maker of the clock. They were unsuccessful and only managed to blind him, however. So, the clock maker plotted his revenge. Right before he was going to die, he went to the clock and managed to break it. Since no one knew how to fix it, it stayed broken until just a couple of years ago. Atop the clock tower, we had a beautiful view of Prague. In the Old Town Square that is seen from above, there was Prague's Easter festival going on. This could be seen all over Prague with ribbons and eggs in just about every store window. With the sunny weather, Burak, Jonathan and I just strolled around the open markets. I got a delicious pretzel thing and thoroughly enjoyed every minute being in the square. Sorry Paris, move over, Prague has the potential to be my favorite city thus far.


Saturday night, we made reservations at the Beer Factory. Here is where you pour your own beer at the table from one of four taps. We shared some giggles and talked about how much we all had enjoyed our time in Prague. The next part is where we got most of the laughs we had today on our travels home. Jonathan had heard about this black light theatre that was doing a Beatles show. We thought, 'Cool. A light show to Beatles music. This will be a perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Wrong. We get there just in time to discover this is not a bar with a light show and some Beatles music. It is a full-on theatrical theatre. We sat through the first half until intermission when we decided to bail. We all ragged on Jonathan for finding this bust of a place, but it was all in good fun. We went to have (a much needed after that experience) beer at a bar close to our (awesome) hostel before calling it a night.

Sunday morning. Or should I say late Saturday night. Did you know the clocks change in Europe. Thankfully we knew this, otherwise we would have been an hour late to our flight. We had to take a cab to the airport because public transportation was not running at this hour. It was 3:45 in the morning, but because of the time change, it felt like 2:45. Sean Feeney specials run in Europe too, and we boarded our 6 AM flight. It was nice to get back to Verona today to enjoy the gorgeous spring weather we've been having. All in all, I had one of the best weekends in Prague. Wish you all could have seen it with me, but after taking a picture hiatus in Amsterdam, I return to Verona with TONS of pictures of Prague. There are tons more on my facebook, but here is little taste of Praha.

Sunny Week in Verona!

Not a very eventful week here in Verona, but a much needed relaxing one. We have started our second block of classes. Some people are taking the 8 am or the 11 am or (in very unfortunate cases) both...I'm enjoying my 11 am easy class. Well, easy thus far. The other class has already had a test and some have had a presentation. Our teacher is 32 years old, drives a porche, and is a self-declared 'ladies man.' Call me crazy, but I have a hard time thinking this class is going to be anything but a joke. In other news, it has been beautiful all week in Verona. Yesterday (Wednesday) we went for a stroll around downtown. Tess was looking for a little side bag and the rest of us were looking for gelato. Tuesday night, Brooke's parents were in town and took us girls out to eat. My 'go-to' dish has become ham/mushroom pizza. Yes, I know, this iscrazy. (I still refuse to eat onions so don't think I've completely lost my mind). I enjoyed meeting them and especially loved talking to her mom, an Alpha Gam! She lived in Engagement, the same room I lived in! She told me that when she lived there, she had 5 girls in her room! I couldn't imagine that; team enGAGment would have been crowded! She also told me how close she remains with her sorority sisters. Barb cracked me up when she asked if we should do the handshake...which obviously we did! We are headed to Prague this weekend. I have heard lots of good things about the city. Our flight times are crazy early, so it's going to be weekend without much sleep, but bring it on! After a week of resting, I'm ready for Prague!

Since I don't have any new photos, I'll entertain you with a few from around Verona.

This is the whole group in the arena:


This is the bridge leading from CastleVecchio (Old Castle). In case Verona was ever attacked, the king could run across the bridge and burn it...


Piazza Bra from the top of the arena:

Amsterdam

Well, after having some difficulties with my flight (let's just say the dumb-ness continued), I made it to Amsterdam. Kari and I had booked through KLM (don't worry Dad, I got the miles), so we were on a totally different flight, in a different terminal than the rest of the group. Kari and I had a great flight experience. We got to the airport with plenty of time to grab a fantastic little sandwich and browse the designer shops. Only in Milan will you find Armani, Longchamp, Gucci, etc. in the airport. Definitely not in the other terminal where our friends were. We were even able to change our seats and sit next to each other. KLM fed us lunch. and we each had a Heinekin (free of charge, thank you KLM)...we were on our way to Amsterdam! After landing, we were worried we weren't going to be able to meet up with our friends. Amsterdam's airport is HUGE and just about every international flight goes through there. Lucky for us, we are good at finding each other in situations like that.


We made it to our hotel. Yes, we splurged in Amsterdam on a hotel and not a hostel. It being Amsterdam and all, we didn't want to end up in some sketchy place. The boys, being boys, didn't splurge and went to check into their place. We won in this city, for they only had two bathrooms in their entire building. HA. We ventured out to find some grub before heading to bed. I thought it was easy to get around, but trying to find MyBurito was difficult and we had to settle for TacoMundo. Mexican food...yuuum!

The next morning we had plans of taking a walking tour of Amsterdam. It was raining and cold, so we changed our itinerary (compliments of yours truly...logistics never fades), and headed towards Anne Frank's house. I truly enjoyed this tour. It was so interesting and shed a whole new light on the history of the Halocaust. I was only 13 when I read her diary and will definitely be reading it once I return home. The Pancake Bakery was our next stop. I was feeling a little saucy and decided on the banana and...wait for it...bacon pancake. And, it was delicious!


After walking around Dam Square, we headed up toward the Heinekin Brewery to do the Heinekin experience. And what an experience it was. The tour was super interactive and I really enjoyed it. I did not realize that Heinekin had horses and they were neat to see. GUUS who would have been my favorite had he been in his pen, had to fall second to Karel. I also liked the commercials section. I want to tour Budweiser now!

That night, after stumbling upon a Saloon, I had the best hamburger I have ever eaten. Yes, sorry Deer Valley, but you have been beaten. After that, we wanted to go back and get ready to go out. But somehow, David convinced us all (with his gypsy powers) to do a pub crawl that was about to start. Merrills went downtown. Yikes. But, it ended up being a really fun time and we met a lot of people!


The next morning, we grabbed a bite to eat really quick before heading to the dum dum dum...VAN GOGH museum. If you don't already know, I love Van Gogh and I was most looking forward to this. And it definitely held up to my expectations. It was a great to hear all about Van Gogh and his difficult life. The only thing I didn't like was that a majority of his most famous pieces, like Stary Night, were not there. Still fascinating to me, nonetheless.

After having a late lunch, we took a stroll through the Red Light District. I know this is what makes Amsterdam famous, but I was not looking forward to seeing it. I found it to be quite sad that people can live like that. I was happy when we left. We strolled around a little until we experienced our first pick-pocket of Europe. Carla, one of the girls traveling with us, had her wallet (passport included) stolen from her purse. I like to think I pretty street smart and very cautious, but this put me on even higher alert. After being at the police station (to report the pick-pocket) and seeing some of the craziness of Amsterdam, I was ready to head home to Verona.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam and the city as a whole. I think the canals were beautiful and like the idea of everyone riding bikes to get around. There were definitely parts of it that I also did not enjoy, like the Red Light District. It was good to see though. After seeing all of these places in the winter time, I have made a promise to myself to come in the summer time and see all the beauty that has to offer.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I've gotten lazy! Next weekend we are headed to Prague! I will try and update before we head out. I started a new class today and am very excited about it!

The Hills Are Alive...With the Sound of Music!

On the way to Salzburg, Austria, we stopped at the Salt Mines. Salz=Salt. Salzburg. Get it? Good. After hearing stories from the Mama, I knew what to expect. However, Martin told us to dress warmly. Thinking it was going to be freezing in there, I piled on the layers. I was wrong. And as soon as I put on my jump suit (think Michelin Man in a blue jump suit), I knew I needed to drop a few layers. (Seriously, what was I thinking...it's always the same temperature underground...duh) I got situated and then the little tram came. It was a fun ride into the mountain and reminded me of a ride at Six Flags or something. When we stopped, we got to go down a big wooden slide to continue our tour. Our guide did not speak English and there were other German speaking people on the tour. The tour man would speak in German, get some laughs out of the crowd, and then turn on the speakers for us. Our explanation we always half as long as what the man said, and nothing about it was funny. I'm really curious as to what was said. The tour itself was interesting, I wouldn't call it exciting, but still a fun touristy thing to do. My favorite part of it was 'mirror lake.' I was one of the first people to come down the slide and get to the lake. At first, I did not realize it was a lake. Because it was mirroring the ceiling, I thought it was just an open space of dirt. Nope, I saw a ripple and realized I was just having one of those days...a dumb-day if you will.

After the salt mine, the Michelin Man and the rest of the group loaded back on the bus to head to our hotel in Salzburg. By this time it was snowing pretty good. And by the time we arrived to our hotel, it was snowing harder than I have ever seen it snow before. I don't know how this snow compares to Attica snow, but it was a pretty heavy snow and the flakes were almost as big as my hand! We checked in and were let loose to find some lunch. At 4 o'clock we met Martin for our city tour and a break down of our itinerary. We saw all of Salzburg and he pointed out all of the things we would be doing the next day. At the end of our tour, Martin informed us that the hotel would be streaming "The Sound of Music" in all of our rooms at 9 o'clock. So it was settled, no going out on the town...we were staying in to sing along with Maria.

Tuesday was packed full. We had to get an early start and had to fight off the Italian 16-year olds for breakfast. Man, they can be rude. The funny thing is, I've started to be able to understand a little of what they're saying. They were making fun of us Americans, saying that the kitchen was on fire, talking about the dead cow in their hotel room, and about the tornado that was coming through Salzburg that day. Yup, my Italian is really coming along...

We started out at 8:30. It was about a 30 minute walk to the Fortress. The Fortress sits atop Salzburg and was built to be able to see out over everything and make sure Salzburg was safe from invasions. Each new Arch Bishop would build onto it, so it has very interesting architecture. We took a little car up to the top and got our audio guide. The audio guide took us through the torture room (no one was actually tortured in here, it just housed the equipment...it looked rough), up a winding staircase to the top (where I have never been colder in my life; it felt like the wind was blowing through to my bones, but great pictures were achieved), and through all these secret passages. It was interesting to see and had one of the best views of Salzburg. Martin said he usually takes his group there in the afternoon because there is a great little restaurant at the top to grab a beer in...however, this trip it was too cold (and too early) for a beer. Martin also informed us that due to the Snow, Ice, Sleet, Rain, Frigid temps, that he will never bring another group to Austria and Germany in March again. He also was kind enough to inform us that this time last year they were in short sleeves...



After we left the fortress, Martin let us have a hot chocolate break at the Mozart cafe. Overpriced hot chocolate was just what my body needed to gear up for our next touristy attraction, Mozart's house. It was interesting to see, but I have to admit, not terribly exciting. It didn't take us very long and I was craving some McDonald's french fries for lunch. So we went and I discovered one of the best things McDonald's Austria has to offer: curly fries with a SOUR CREAM sauce. Anyone who knows me knows my love of some good sour cream, so this was PERFECT. Enough about food...now onto the BEST part of the entire trip.



Do. A Deer. A Female Deer. Rae. A Drop of Golden Sun. Me. A Name. I Call Myself. You get the idea. THE SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR! Not only did Martin arrange this for us. He had the bus come pick us up from the hotel. Pretty sweet deal. The bus has Maria and the children painted on the sign and I knew I was in for the best 4 hours of my day. I remember getting the Sound of Music for my birthday from Aunt Marg. (Thank you for sharing with me one of the greatest movies ever!) We got to see so much! The pond where Maria and the children fall out of the boat, the gazebo (where our tour guide said we were not allowed to go in anymore due to an 80 year-old woman trying to run around and jump from bench to bench singing "I am sixteen going on seventeen." true statement), the house, the road where the children are hanging out of the tree, even the church where Maria got married. Not only was it enjoyable for all The Sound of Music enthusiasts like myself, but it was a great tour of Salzburg and the surrounding lake towns. GREAT end to a GREAT trip.

That night, while my own family was enjoying an ATL birthday celebration (Happy 42nd birthday, dad. HA.HA.), we had our own 'family' dinner in Salzburg. Martin arranged a traditional Austrian meal for us at the hotel. We got all dressed up (dressed up by our standards, or whatever was still clean in our suitcases) We had salad, warm bread, a stuffing/pasta dish, and fantastic mashed potatoes with chicken and rice. I was stuffed! It was so fun to again have the entire group together, including Martin. Also on our trip was his future-daughter in law. She speaks German so she was our translator for the trip. She is super nice, and us girls enjoy asking her questions like, where to get our hair cut in verona, or where to shop, etc. Back to the dinner. Stories were shared, toasts were made, jokes were told, and all in all it was the perfect way to spend our final evening on our first group trip together.

The next morning (St. Patrick's Day), I had one of those forgetful days again and left one of my coats in the closet in Salzburg. Do not fret, for Martin has already arranged for it to be picked up and brought back to Verona! Again, Martin is the best. It was an easy trip home. We stopped in Innsbruck to drop off six girls who were going to go skiing there (Katie Hardaway included) and ate lunch at the most beautiful McDonald's I've ever seen. The view as incredible! And like every McDonalds should, they had wifi...We made it home to go out and have a green beer for St. Patrick's day before heading to Amsterdam in the morning! Are you tired yet, because I sure was!

4 Countries. 1 Week.

*The pictures are from the Carriage house, Dachau, Marienplatz Clock, and the Roman Bath House in Verona.




Free falling just came on my iPod while flying home to Verona (Well, first to Milan, but home to Italy nonetheless)> Funny song to come on during a flight, but thanks to KLM (who puts RyanAir to shame), I'm not worried one bit sitting here eating my inflight meal. Free falling made me think of some camp friends, who I can't wait to see once I get back in the states! I am excited to see one of them, Jenna, in Rome in a couple of weeks. Now, onto the life update. (I know every one of you reading this has been checking at least 14 times a day to see when I would actually update this silly thing). Whelp, here it goes. I've got to back up a lot. Let's see if I can remember it all.

My first final went well and I"m anxiously awaiting my grade. Wouldn't it be nice to get an A for three weeks of work! I asked Martin when we usually get our grades and he said Tony (our professor) gets them in by May...hmmm a long time to wait. I'm not wasting any time thinking about it though; I've got too many things to see and do. After our final exam, Martin took us around Verona again. I look forward to anything Martin wants to show us because it is NEVER boring. This time on the tour, he took us to the Duomo of Verona. It actually isn't THE largest church in Verona, but because it was for so long, it still gets the title. Before going inside, in true Martin fashion, we got our history on. He took us to the first Christian church (I can't remember if it was the first Christian church ever, or just the first in the HRE {Holy Roman Empire}, but I'm guessing the later). He also showed us an old Roman bath house. It is now a nunnery. And judging by the wine bottles in the windows, these nuns like to booze. The courtyard of the nunnery was the bathhouse. It still has all the columns surrounding it and the tile is there as well. There are actually quite a lot of Roman artifacts let by the empire in Verona, something I had no idea about until I got here. Martin, he's the best. After our tour of the Duomo, which also included more Roman artifacts (a few tombs, some tile, the usual), Martin treated us to pizza. It was a nice little celebration to the end of our first painstakingly difficult course (enter sarcastic tone here). After a stop to Patagonia, my favorite gelato place in town, we were headed back home to pack for our next trip.

Friday morning we all piled in the limo (charter bus) and headed through the Alps to Munich. What a beautiful drive! It was quite an incredible sight those Alps! Two stops and one kit-kat mcflurry later, we arrived at the North Pole. Just jokes, it only felt like the North Pole, but H-E-L-L-O chilly Munich. Martin took us on a quick walking tour so we could get a feel for the city we were in. One thing I really like about Martin is that he is very good about making sure we know where we are and how to get home to where we're staying. At the end of our little tour, he showed us the Hofbrauhaus. This world famous beer hall in Munich was a unique experience. Let me set it up for you. A huge open space filled with large tables (and even bigger beers) and german music playing by a band dressed up as yodlers. We got our beer, our dinners, had our laughs, and headed home for the night. Did I mention the ground was covered in snow? Yup. I'm not complaining however; anytime I get to break out the bean boots, it's a good (and comfy) day.

Saturday morning in Munich: We ate our breakfast in the hotel, a perk of traveling with Martin, and headed out to Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp. It was a very interesting experience. I can't believe that people are capable of doing such horrible things to other people. I think it was good to see and made everyone in our group think about what had happened, especially because it didn't happen THAT long ago. After leaving Dachau, we grabbed lunch on our own and I treated myself to my first Starbucks of the trip. Haven't found one with crumb cake yet, but the hunt continues. We met back up with Martin and because of the balmy 18 degrees and snowy weather, we did our city tour from the bus. Munich was a lot more modern than I expected. I like it, and like many European cities, easy to get around. I especially like the large open "walking streets' that only pedestrians are allowed on. American, get with the program. That night we ventured to another beer hall for dinner. This one was a little smaller but just as much fun! Afterward, we decided it was finally time to test out our first European discotecta, or club. Without going into all the details (you're welcome, mother), tequilla was a flowing and so were the dance moves. I totally abided by all sorot rules...

The next morning, which was extremely too early for our discotecta butts to be out of bed, we headed to the Nymphenburg palace and park. It was built as a present from the king to his wife as a thank you for giving him a son. What ever happened to a hug and a kis and I'll tell ya I love you? Anyway, it was grand and the carriages these people had were nuts. After the palace, it was time for a kebob. These are very popular all around Europe, but especially in Munich. We learned that this is because of the huge Turkish population in Munich. (Athens folk: Think Pita Pit but waaaay better) And then to Marienplatz to watch the clock...? Yes, this is THE thing to see in Munich. It is in the middle of the 'walking street.' We weren't sure the clock was going to do it's thing being a Sunday, but with the number of people around, we knew we were in the right place. That night it was time to really emerge ourselves in German culture. Party of 27 at the Hard Rock Cafe. Absolutely. It was a nice touch of home. Except for the ice cream. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I've ever eaten bad chocolate ice cream, but damn you Italia and your gelato. Others just don't compare any more. Dinner was great fun, and having the entire group together is always nice. The next morning we were leaving for Salzburg and someone needed to pack up her suitcase. (and by pack I mean sit on it my suitcase and pray that it zips). My suitcase zipped (barely) and it was off to Salzburg!

Remember that time it snowed in Verona...

Well, it's Wednesday here, and our final part un is this afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good about it, so I figured I'd update my blog a little bit. It is currently snowing in Verona and it is supposed to continue all day and all night. If we get a lot of accumulation, it is going to be really difficult to not go play in it. This snow has the potential to make our lunch date with Martin tomorrow a little difficult. If only we were in Athens, school would most definitely be cancelled. Inspired by Katie's random letters, I've decided to post a few random thoughts I have of Italian/European/American culture and about my experiences here thus far:

1. Italy-I don't understand why you have free healthcare but make people pay to use the bathroom. Obama, please don't adopt this crazy phenomenon. Also, thank you for putting most of your signs in English. Presh....

2. Italian Peanut Butter-You could run, but could not hide from the wrath of Tess and Allison. Sorry I'm not sorry, Migros, for the spike in peanut butter sales.

3. To the French Gypsy's-Please don't try and set us on fire. We're smarter than to give you money. And when you ask us, "Do you speak English..." If we didn't, then why we would answer you with a firm NO. C'mon now...

4. Paris-Until we meet again. I will be back.

5. America-Take a hint from Paris and design your cities as well as Paris did. It makes so much sense. Marta, you are not smart-a. Also, please adopt public transportation. I can get around without a car just fine...(Mom and Dad, that does not mean I do not want my CRV) On a side note, thank you, Georgia, for Chick-fil-A. I miss you.

6. Tess, Katie, Kari, Brooke, Cameron, David, Sammy, Burak: Thanks for being such fun travel buddies. If our hostel is gross and we don't shower for days, at least I have ya'll to laugh with.

That's all the random thoughts for now. I will take pictures of the snow and post later. We are leaving for Munich on Friday and will be there until Monday when we head to Salzburg, Austria. It is going to be very cold/snowy/rainy the whole time. That will not stop my frolicking and singing, "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC." (i apologize in advance for any of you who have to witness this)

Remember that time I fell in love with Paris...

You know that our travels went well, so here's the rest about our fabulous trip to Paris. We arrived Thursday night and met tons of Americans on the bus to the center of town. We took a taxi to our hostel, The Three Ducks, and checked in. We knew it was too late and we were too tired to try and figure out the metro station and a taxi was way easier. There were nine of us and we had a 'dorm' style room for 10 people. There was not a random 10th person, thank goodness. We knew it wasn't going to be a spectacular hostel, but the location was great, and the price was great (even for Paris). But it was a little worse than we expected. Never let the boys do the research again...So, I bought my sheets (a sometimes common thing among hostels) and sucked it up. There was a bar in the hostel that doubled as the reception desk and we decided to have a much needed drink. The next day we were headed out to explore Paris!

We woke up, didn't shower (how about didn't shower the entire weekend), and headed to Angelina. Brooke, one of the girls in our travel group, had a friend who had spent a lot of time in Paris who wrote out a bunch of things we should do/see/eat/etc. Angelina is where Coco Channel drank this hot chocolate drink every day. I had a ham, cheese, and mushroom omlet. It was delicious. When I went to college I started eating eggs, and now I've started eating mushrooms in Italy...Back to the hot chocolate. It was delicious!


After our extremely filling meal, we walked around to see what we would find. We headed towards the Louvre (knowing we were going there that night) and headed down to the Arc to Triumph. We stumbled upon the DIOR fashion show that was just letting out. It was something like fashion week in Paris...? Some of the best people watching ever. It was a great walk down the Champs Elysees (one of the most famous streets in the world) and very windy and cold. The Arc was incredible and so big! Some of the group headed off to shop, and the rest of us grabbed a snack and headed back towards the Louvre.


The Louvre was incredible. What a fantastic place. I bought my headset and started the journey. I enjoyed every minute of it. Seeing the Mona Lisa and all of the other famous things there was a really great experience. We grabbed a quick bite and headed back to the Three Ducks. We got ourselves ready to see what Paris night life had to offer. And Frog and Princess was the happening place. It was fun, almost as many Americans as French people, and they played American music.


Saturday, we got ourselves ready for THE Eiffel Tower. Sink shower once again and then we were off! I really liked going to the top. It was like looking out the window of an airplane. I was very happy the highest we could go was enclosed-it was freezing and windy. From the top we were able to see everything; even some of the 'other' statues of liberty. We were practically frozen afterwards, so a cup of coffee (tea for me) and some crepes were next up on the list of things to do.

We wanted to hit one more museum, the Musee de Orsy. But, when we got there, it was closed. I was a little bummed out, but decided I'll just have to come back to Paris one day. For dinner, we went to the Moulin Rouge district to try a foundu restaurant. They served wine in baby bottles and we had a great evening there! I really, really, really enjoyed my weekend in Paris. I like how organized the city it. It just makes sense to me. The metro station is practical and easy to use, there is so much to do, and the people are quite friendly (surprisingly).

Today (Monday), we started reviewing for our final that starts on Wednesday. It is a two-part exam that starts Wednesday afternoon and then the essay is Thursday morning. (Yes, we actually do take classes over here...) I definitely have some studying to do, but I'm not terribly worried about this exam. Katie Hardaway and I had gone to different places this weekend (she went to Belgium) so we decided to grab lunch. It was great to catch up!

Remember that time I didn't update my blog in FOREVER...

Well, it's Sunday now and it's been almost a week since my last update. And for good reason. Last week was super busy. We only had 3 days of school, but we had other things on our schedule.
First being the city tour of Verona. We were supposed to do this when we first arrived, but it had been such yucky weather that we waited. Martin, our trip coordinator, is full of knowledge. He led us around and we got a better feel of the history of our home. We went inside the arena and to the top of the belltower. We also went to Juliet's house. (From Romeo and Juliet) If you a leave a note to Juliet on her wall, rumor has it that she will write you back. It was interesting to see all the letters on the wall. After Martin left us, we had lunch at a great little Bar, I think my new regular hangout, and got gelato from the best place in town, Patagonia. I went with the double scoop and it was well worth it!
Wednesday we finished class early and headed to Venice for the day. It was cold and there was a chance of rain. But we trecked there anyway. I'm sure if it had been a nicer day, I would have enjoyed Venice much more. However, it didn't live up to my expections or the hype that everyone puts on it. We toured the Doge palace and almost got kicked out. The Doge was the governmnet leader of Venice and his palace is incredible. There is a very lengthly selection process to the Doge and once he is elected, he has to live by himself in the palace and cannot communicate with anyone expect for at state affairs. This was to make sure every decision he made came from him. Martin was giving us the history lesson and pointing out interesting things to us when the trouble started. First, we got yelled at because we were taking pictures. Fine, no big deal, cameras put away. Then, in the next room we came to, the 'security' said Martin could not explain things to us. Whatever, we got away from her and entered the next part of the palace. Just as Martin was begining to talk, 'head of security' started yelling at him to stop. There were some words exchanged in Italian and I think it was best that we didn't know what was being said. Anyway, from then on we had security following us. It was like we were VIPs...
After Martin left us with money to get back to Verona with, we had a girls dinner. I've come to the conclusion that meal times are most difficult for us. It usually includes soem wandering, some "I don't want to eat here." or "It looks too fancy" before we finally settle on a place. The boys are the most difficult. They eat about 5 sandwiches a day and could care less where we eat meals. So, us girls have started looking for places on our own, while the boys grab a sandwhich and eat standing up. Then, they usually come to our restaurant and hang around our table finishing the leftovers. In Venice we found a great little place for some pasta and pizza before heading for the train.
The train took a little longer than expected and we were worried about being able to get ready to go out for "Crazy Wednesday" at our local bar, Campus Bar. After sprinting through the rain and then having our train 'cancelled' it was getting late. Once we finally did get back to Verona, we jumped on the wrong bus. FAIL. So, we get off at a random stop (don't worry parentals, Verona isn't THAT big and it is not dangerous) and try to call for a taxi. We find some young folk on the street and ask for their help. They said that taxis will only come to the next street over. So we follow the dudes and where do we end up. Campus Bar. We die in laughter. Some of the group decided to bail and head for home, but Tess had plans to meet up with her new Italian friends and some of decided to stay too. After being in Venice all day and getting stuck in the rain, we looked a hot mess. It was a fun evening and we had the next day to sleep in.
On Thursday, we headed to Paris at around 2 in the afternoon. I played travel agent and had all of our logistics figured out and was very thankful that it all worked out and things went very smoothly. I am going to have to update on Paris tomorrow. Too tired after such an awesome weekend! Let me just say though, I LOVE PARIS.