Brussels, Belgium

Belgium chocolate :-)

Me in front of the Atomium.

Belgian waffles=perfection.

Grand Place, the historic center of Brussels. Stunning.

Belgian fries with some sauce recommended by the fry man who laughed at me when I attempted to speak French.

So the first trip out of Italy brought us to Brussels in the wonderful country of Belgium. Honestly before coming to Europe I barely knew Belgium/Brussels existed. However, we found flights for 35 euro round trip and we thought it would be a fun trip. First it was just Jesnie, Vinh and I going but then we decided to invite everyone from our dorm and we ended up with 11 people all going to Brussels. I was really nervous about traveling with 11 people I was worried it would be an absolute disaster. I did a lot of research hoping that it would help make things more organized and all in all everything went really smoothly. Obviously it took some time to get everyone moving in the mornings and we almost lost 3 people on the way to the airport coming home. However all in all it was an absolutely wonderful weekend and our group was super functional and a lot of fun. First off for some reason I did not take that many pictures and took 0 videos. I really need to get better at that but everyone else took a lot so it should be good. Our apartment/hotel was absolutely wonderful. Each apartment had 2 bedrooms, a pull out sofa bed, 1.5 baths, a kitchen with dishwasher, washer machine, and a decent sized living room. We had 2 apartments so we basically had enough room for 12 people. It was absolutely perfect for us. The first night one of our friends from NYU met up with a kid he knew from Brussels, (Pieter) so Pieter hung out with us all night and showed us around a little bit. He was really nice and spoke English really well. The first night we did not eat a meal we literally just ate french fries, then waffles, then chocolate. Pieter first said wow you guys are not like the typical Americans I imagined, overweight and constantly eating. Then we just kept going in and out of places eating and he goes ooo never mind. The french fries are just like the ones from Pommes Frites in New York except they are fried in beef fat so they have a little bit different taste. They were absolutely amazing but I still didn't find a dipping sauce as good as Mango Cutney from the one in NYC. The waffles were ABSOLUTELY phenomenal. They don't just make homemade waffles but there is this sugary glaze on the waffle itself. Then I got strawberries, chocolate, whipped cream and these amazing nuts on top. It was from this place called Elisabeths's right near Grand Place. One of the best things I've ever eaten. Then we went in and out of the different chocolate shops, the worker in the chocolate store told us that this white chocolate coffee cream one was his favorite so I tried it and it was delicious, perfection. We then got to see the Grand Place at night which is the old, historic part of Brussels. It was absolutely gorgeous the detail work etc is insane. We also saw the peeing boy statue "Mannekin Pis" which is a famous statue in Brussels. The story goes that the king or someone important was looking for this missing boy and he said as soon as he found him he would make a statue of him doing whatever he was doing. Well when they found him he was peeing so they made a statue/fountain. It is really ridiculous and it's also a really tiny statue. When we all saw it all of our reactions was just to laugh it was so dumb that it was actually a tourist thing to see.

The next morning getting everyone up and moving was obviously difficult. Katie took a really early train from Paris to meet us in Brussels. There was a really bad train accident on the Brussels train line a few weeks ago so all the lines are messed up and her train was delayed by like an hour but no one was up anyway so it worked out fine. By the time everyone was up and moving it was time for lunch. We decided to get Thai food because on wikitravel.com they said that Brussels has really good and cheap Thai food. Since we are all New Yorkers and Thai is such an amazing cheap food to eat in NYC we were all really excited to get Thai. After we ate lunch we walked back over to Grand Place to see it during the day and then went to find waffles. Our group is obsessed with food. I mean Brussels has amazing food but we are obsessed with food in general. Every dinner/lunch conversation revolves around food even when we try to talk about something else the conversation gets brought back to food. It is absolutely hilarious and almost ridiculous. One day I'm going to film us and see how many seconds we can go before referencing food again. After our waffles we found the metro to go to the Atomium, it is Brussels equivalent of the Eiffel Tower (see pictures). It was built for the 1958 world's fair and is basically a giant atom thing. It has escalators, elevators, and stairs to navigate throughout and overall is a really random thing to see. After the Atomium most of the group went back to take a nap and Jesnie, Vinh, Katie, Joe and I went to get more fries at some famous place called Marie Antoine. We googled the wrong address so it took a little while to get there but we found it. My sauce was actually really good and the fries were of course amazing. The lady at the window was mean and only spoke French so I was forced to try and speak French. Katie and Vinh were teaching me how to say random things all weekend it was actually fun. I love languages I just wish I could pick them up a lot better. French is like impossible to pronounce but it was very entertaining to try. Je m'appelle Jennifer and our address to the hotel Rue D'Idalie, 8 are like the only things I remember. O and ordering fries je voudrais pommes frittes! After our fries we went to go chocolate shopping. Katie basically speaks French fluently so she kept asking all the people in French for free samples and we got to try a lot of amazing stuff. We picked up some post cards and a few souvenirs including chocolate and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with everyone again. Jesnie, Katie and I were really exhausted so we laid down for a little bit and everyone went back to Grand Place they found one of the good Mussel places. Then we met them at the restaurant and everyone ordered Mussels. Supposably seafood in general is good in Brussels but they are well known for their Mussels, Mussels in Brussels. I was actually sick from all the food after chocolate tasting and I'm not a huge fan of mussels. I tried some of everyone else's but the texture weirds me out and I'm not big on seafood. Katie and I split a shrimp scampi dish instead. Later that night some people got fries again too. I told you we only ate food the whole time.

This morning everyone had to be up packed and on their way to the metro by 7 am. Needless to say it was very difficult to get 12 people, actually 11 people up and ready. Katie got to stay at the hotel and sleep a little longer because her train didnt leave until 9 am. However after a somewhat complicated morning we made it to the airport with plenty of time before our flight. The flight was on time and honestly I fell asleep before we even took off. Then we had to catch the train from Pisa airport to Florence and finally we made it all home. It was such an enjoyable weekend and the food was amazing. I really wish I could have gotten another waffle with those strawberries, chocolate and nuts on top but it's probably better I didn't. I literally feel like I gained 5 lbs from this weekend and really going to try and eat healthier this week. Midterms are the next 2 weeks so the travel plans are on hold for a weekend. Then for Spring Break we are basically meeting EVERYONE in Barcelona. It is going to be soooo much fun and really praying for some warm weather so we can go to the beach. Then we get to see the rest of our friends in Prague. Everyday I say my life here is perfection and it really is. It's so wonderful and I am so glad and blessed to have this experience.

I really miss everyone. We all said that traveling has this weird thing when you come back to home which is currently Florence you kind of want your Mom or Dad waiting for you at the train station to drive you home to your bed. Also, i had this weird desire to watch TV today. I haven't seen any real TV in over a month now so I'm going to try and watch some Biggest Loser episodes. Most of the TV websites Fox, NBC, and hulu are only accessible to people in the USA so it's kind of difficult but I found one so I'm excited.

That's all for now. Bonsoir!

Fa Bel Tempo! :-)

So, I'm being good about blogging and writing again today. It was absolutely gorgeous out today, I hope Florence stays that way. I woke up early to write a paper for politics that I have to get done before I leave for Brussels tomorrow. I went to Mama's Bakery, I think I mentioned it before it has American coffee and bagels and feels like NYC. I managed to finish my paper before I left for Italian so I was excited. On the way to class, I actually got hot and just wore my short sleeve shirt, jeans and flats today. The Italians think us Americans are crazy for not wearing jackets but I'm from upstate NY, 60s is considered summer.

Our campus is also absolutely stunning when the sun is out. Marketing was cancelled so all I had was Italian. Today they brought in kids from a nearby Italian high school and we had to speak in Italian for half the class and then they had to practice using English for the second half. The two kids we talked with were really fun and could definitely speak English a lot better than we could speak Italian (I figured that would happen). The girl spoke Italian really quickly and kind of mumbled with her hand in front of her mouth so it was really difficult to understand. I realized that when speaking English in Florence I should be a lot more conscious of how fast I talk. They asked us about some American pop stars like Lady Gaga and Kesha. It was really entertaining to hear their questions. We asked them what they thought of Americans but they seemed shy and didn't really answer. However, the one boy asked us "I see in the sitcoms and movies, all these big house parties, why do you party in the house?" We told him that those are fraternity houses that he sees in movies and that most people don't go out because they have to be 21 to drink. He couldn't understand why we wouldn't just party in a pizzeria, club, bar, etc. It was really funny. Also they asked us where else in Italy we had traveled so we answered Roma, Venezia, Verona, etc. and that we were visiting other countries in Europe. We asked them where their favorite place was but they told us they had been to Rome once but never leave their hometown. I am assuming it is because they can't afford to travel but it seemed so weird that they had never really seen Italy. Then someone from my Italian class pointed out that most Americans don't visit all the states but still I found it strange. At the end they asked for our full names so they could find us on facebook. The boy also told us to come visit him in Arezzo and he would show us all around. He said he knew where all the good wine and cheese places were. They were all hospitality and culinary students so they all cook and know where all the good restaurants are. Unfortunately they don't know Florence that well.

After class I wanted to sit outside in the gardens behind the main villa, Villa La Pietra. La Pietra is where the family who originally owned the estate lived and we are not really allowed inside the building because it is a museum used for tours, etc. However, the gardens we are allowed to use at anytime it's just been too cold to sit out there. When I got out of Italian the clouds came out and it got a little colder (Florence weather is bi-polar) so I couldn't really sit outside. Instead Vinh and I went and explored the gardens. They are huge and really nice. Everything is kind of dead right now but in the spring they will be breathtaking. The top two pictures are a few of the pictures I took today. Overall, it was a very productive day and I'm excited to go to Brussels tomorrow not that all my work is done, sorta. Pray for safe travels and send me your chocolate requests. Belgium is like THE place for chocolate (and waffles and french fries). :-)

Also the third picture is of the man that taught a cooking class Jesnie and I went to on Tuesday. It was really fun he taught us how to make four different types of Italian appetizers. One was bread with a sun dried tomato and cheese spread, avocado rolled in tuna, a quiche type cake with a blue cheese sauce, and a zucchini that was stuffed with meat, zucchini, cheese, and bread. All of them were really good and are good party appetizers. The man who taught us actually worked as a chef for Golden View which is a restaurant right on the Arno and is one of the places I went with Katie's family when they were in town.

The next picture down is my American coffee with my bagel with scallion cream cheese from Mama's bakery. It's so comforting and delicious.

Finally the last picture is of my nutella croissant that I couldn't wait to take the picture so there is a bite out of it. They are so amazing especially when they are hot. Today Cassandra specifically asked the guy to make more so we had them right when they came out of the oven. The nutella burnt my tongue as I ate it. OMG! Seriously the most amazing thing ever and they only cost 70 euro cents. The only problem is they are definitely not low cal.

That is all for now. I will blog Sunday night after Brussels. We are flying out of Pisa so we will probably go see the leaning tower while we are there. Should be a fun weekend there are 10 of us going and Katie is meeting us there from Paris. We rented two apartment/hotel things so we can cook a few meals to save money and they also have a pool and gym so hopefully I can swim laps! Love and miss you all!

La Dolce Vita

So, I apologize for not blogging in quite sometime. I am going to try and make it more of a habit. Katie blogs every night, I don't know if I'll ever be able to do that but at least a few times a week. Anyway, when I first arrived in Florence I was in a lot more culture shock then I thought. I was never unhappy or depressed but I anticipated it to be super easy knowing I could speak the language and lived in Rome, NY my whole life. After I adjusted I was waiting for that OMG study abroad is the most amazing time of your life to kick in. I thought that would also happen the first week. But again it took a lot more time then I thought. However, it has all happened just as I knew it would.

Well, I'm in love with life and study abroad. I am so relaxed all the time. There is nothing really to worry about ever. This week my marketing and politics class got cancelled so I only have had to go to Italian from 1:30-2:45 pm, Mon-Thurs. This weekend Katie (my roommate from NYU in New York City) came to visit with her family. It was really nice to show them around Florence and see the more touristy things that I have yet to take time out to see. I think they really enjoyed the relaxed Italian lifestyle and most definitely the gelato. Also they were extremely generous and paid for ALL of my food for the weekend at the different restaurants around Florence (you need to thank your parents again Katie). Also Jesnie (my roommate here) went to Switzerland for the weekend to visit her family there so Katie stayed with me. It was just like old times except this time in Italy. It was a really amazing weekend and worked out perfectly that I had not planned a trip somewhere else that weekend.

This Friday 10 of us from my dorm are going to Brussels, Belgium for the weekend and Katie might be able to meet us from Paris! :-) As most of you know, I love to plan. So booking trips and organizing hotels and making sure we have all the details set has been my source of entertainment. Basically every weekend until I leave is booked with a trip, all of which I got amazing deals on (after a lot of research). After Brussels we have midterms so I'm just doing a day trip to Modena with NYU where they make balsamic vinegar and we are going to go balsamic vinegar tasting. Then it's Spring Break, to begin Spring Break we have an apartment in Barcelona. Katie and Joe are meeting us there from Paris and then my friends from NYU (DFB, Milena, Adriana, and Nina) who are in NYC this semester are also coming. It is going to be such a fun weekend I cannot wait. From Barcelona we are flying to Prague to visit our friends studying abroad there. The Czech Republic is not on the Euro and the exchange rate is amazing. So we have free places to stay and the crowns which will make a much cheaper second half of spring. Also in Barcelona and Prague they have Starbucks! The last weekend in March I am going to see Manuella and my Grandma's family in Calabria. Well, actually I only bought my return ticket home, I haven't bought my ticket there yet because I am waiting for prices to go down. Ryanair.com which is a cheap European airline has sales that they change every Thursday and Monday night so something should go on sale before then. I already talked to Manuella yesterday and she said to call her back with details because she wants to take that Friday off of work. Mary is planning to come for Easter Break which is so exciting and crazy! She applied for an express passport so hopefully that all works out and she can get here! If Mary comes I am making her bring me so much stuff from home, I already have a list formulating in my head. The day Mary leaves I am flying to Paris to see Katie and Katlin and to celebrate Vinh's birthday. Ever since I left Paris I have been excited to go back, it's so much fun and there is so much to do. I am most excited for the pastries from Laudrée (be jealous Marina). The weekend after we are going back to Spain (Ibiza) for Jesnie's birthday. Then we are finishing off our travels with a trip to London to see the last group of study abroad kids. So again free places to stay but unfortunately we will be paying with the British pound, not cool. Then finals and I will be flying back home.

I had a dream the other night. I was about a block from Friendlys and I realized I could turn my blackberry back on (I cannot express how much I miss it). I got so excited but then we pulled into the driveway and I realized that study abroad was over. Everything was just done and I started bawling crying. Then I woke up and realized I was still in Italy. So my goal is to appreciate every minute I have here, before it's over. I'm in love with how simple and easy going life is here. Everyone is trying to stress me out with summer internships and housing but I keep ignoring it. I am going to start working on some summer applications tonight and hopefully make a habit of checking career net every night. Also I can't figure out housing until I find out about RA. Pray that I get that job it will save so much money $$$ and also the stress of finding an apartment in NYC.

Another amazing thing is we found this café about 2 min from my apartment that sells BAGELS, American coffee, cupcakes, apple pie, english muffins, and cinnamon buns. It's like a taste of NYC sitting in the middle of Florence. It is absolutely adorable in the inside and makes me feel so happy in the inside. All they are missing is Wi-fi and I would basically live there. Also, the gelato places are all starting to open up because the weather is getting nicer so I just have had tons of amazing gelato. Earlier today I got lemon and yogurt flavored gelato. Together they tasted like lemon meringue, by far the best combination I have ever had! Overall I am just so happy to be here and thankful that God has blessed me with such an amazing opportunity. I do miss everyone and love you all! Skype, call, write, or just comment!

The Roman in Rome

So this weekend was my trip to Rome. I absolutely loved every second of it. I kept telling everyone I grew up in the wrong Rome. There is a lot to see and do in Rome which makes it really expensive but fun. All of the old buildings, monuments, fountains etc are around every corner and you never know what amazing thing you are going to run into next. Its big city-ness made me happy because I do miss New York City, a lot. The streets are much wider and there is a metro system. Also, people stay out at night and things do not close down as early like in Florence. We ate at an amazing restaurant in Rome suggested by our tour guide in the Vatican. we had to wait over an hour for a table but it was worth it. In the middle of the restaurant there was a big wood burning oven and the walls and ceiling were all decorated with dried herbs, garlic, hot peppers. It was really, really adorable.

The first night we walked everywhere around Rome so we got to see a lot of it by just exploring so that was really nice. We found the Trevi fountain and it's just as amazing as all the movies and pictures make it seem. The second day we took the bus to Vatican City then took another bus to the Pantheon where we got lunch at a nearby restaurant. Vatican City was really really beautiful and we were happy we paid for a tour because it made it much more enjoyable and worthwhile. The Pantheon was like whatever it takes two seconds to walk in walk in a circle and walk out. Then we got amazing gelato at some famous place called 'Gioletti' it was really good but I got tiramisu and I think they put straight up liquor in it which makes it taste a little funky. Then we took the bus to the Colosseum but we did not realize that it closes at 3:30 pm so we couldn't get in. So we walked home and took a much needed nap. After we finally woke up we took the bus to the restaurant our tour guide suggested. When we finally left the restaurant (it was in a less touristy neighborhood) we walked back towards the city center and ran into hundreds and hundreds of Italian teenagers just hanging out on the streets, partying doing whatever. They were all crowded in the streets, hanging out in the piazzas but it was really cold out so I dont how they were staying outside. Also, they don't like Americans in their area of town and I kinda felt really out of place and unwanted as we walked through.

The next morning we woke up really early to go see the Coliseum but the line was really long so we paid for a tour so we could skip the line but didn't actually go on the tour. We walked around really quick there really wasn't much to see. You kind of have to go inside the Coliseum just to say you did it but there really isn't anything that interesting to see. So that was Rome! Absolutely loved it. However it was nice to get back to Florence. I'm glad to be in Florence because it's so much different that New York City and its a good home base.

Katie and her family might be coming to Florence this weekend! So excited!!!! They are in Paris and want to come to Italy and Florence seems to be the most affordable trip. So I will do all the touristy things in Florence with them so that will be good. I was saying when I left Rome that I have seen almost all of Rome but have yet to climb the Duomo or see David and they are right here. That's all for now. I'm in love with my life here. I have finally learned to relax, enjoy doing nothing and enjoy my semester off from hard classes. It's perfection, for real.

Planes, Trains and I Motorini?

CULTURE POST (especially for Aunt Ann and her students :-) )

Transportation in Europe cannot be compared to America in any way shape or form. First off, let’s begin with walking. In NYC at least there are little lights that tell you when to walk and when to stop. Also, if you run across the street and a car is coming, the car will stop. NOT THE CASE in Europe. The streets here are extremely narrow, I believe I’ve mentioned this already but literally you cannot be obese and fit down the sidewalks here you simply won’t fit. Also the sidewalk is all cobblestone and uneven so you constantly have to glance down to make sure you don’t twist your ankle or flat out fall (not joking). So assuming you can fit down the street and the sidewalk is fairly even you have to be careful how/where you cross the street. In the street at selected intersections, not all and not always in the most logical places are these white lines painted on the roads. There are some little walk man traffic lights for pedestrians but not many, so you have to only cross the street on these white lines. The cars will only stop here and at first it’s hard to determine if the cars will actually stop. I had my doubts the first couple weeks and got super nervous every time I crossed the street. However, it's like NYC you just have to get comfortable. Slowly but surely, we are getting used to just walking out in front of flying cars and motorni that slam on their brakes to allow pedestrians to cross the street. However, be warned that they WILL NOT stop if you are not in a white painted line area. Another interesting thing is that the streets appear to be one way but then the following block they switch to a one way in the opposite direction so you never know exactly where to look. In general, I have just accepted that Italy does not really design anything efficiently or logically.

Cars, obviously I do not have much experience because I do not drive a car here and I would never dare to try. However, last weekend we took a cab home from the train station and I began to realize that on the wider roads there are not real lanes. For example if there is a 4 lane high way in the US you like blinker and then move over to the left or right lane slowly. Not here its just kinda a wide street and you can just swerve in any kinda order there are not specific lanes. So weird. Also to get a cab you have to call a cab number and they come and pick you up within a few minutes. Almost all the operators speak English so it works out fine but taxis dont just drive around and you hop in, you have to specifically call for one. The taxis, buses etc here all made my Mercedes, its kinda of strange to ride in a mercedes cab but its Europe so. Also all the cars here are the small smart cars, like all of them. The only trucks I've seen are for construction. Even the garbage trucks I'm pretty sure are small and compressed vehicles. Yesterday I just saw a normal size Jeep, nothing really big just a normal American car. It barely fit down the street and it was completely scratched on both sides, so yes they only drive smart cars and there is a reason. As for parking, that is really limited so a lot of times the cars park half on the sidewalk and half in the road (making it even more difficult to walk down the street).

Buses-The bus system is also an entertaining experience. What you do is buy tickets at little stores called Tabachi, there is not like a bus ticket machine or a bus station. You have to buy it from a Tabachi or a store that displays the bus ticket sign in their door. In Florence at least it costs 1,20 euro to ride the bus. Once you get on the bus there is this little machine where you need to validate the ticket. The machine puts a time and date on your ticket. The ticket is then good for 90 min in case you need to transfer buses or whatever. The weird thing is that randomly someone who works for the bus company or whatever will come around and check everyone's tickets. However, he rarely comes so you can technically just ride the bus for free which a lot of people do but I am too paranoid and it makes me feel uncomfortable to not pay for the bus. The bus also does not stop at every stop along the route like the subway. A little before your stop you press the button to indicate you want to get off at the next stop. Of all things I actually think that is a logical and efficient system. There is no real reason to make every stop if you dont have to. To catch the bus, because it does not make every stop and some stops share multiple bus routes if you see your bus coming you need to stick out your hand (similar to catching a cab). If you dont stick out your hand they'll assume you are waiting for a different bus and they will pass you, they dont care promise. When the bus driver finishes a bus route they often take a break in San Marco, which is the main bus circle in Florence. So you might find your bus in San Marco just chilling and the bus driver just decided to take a break, get a cappuccino, smoke do whatever he feels like. I dont know how often these breaks are, they seem frequent to me but I really dont know but then again its Italy and we relax here and have no real concept of time. I was informed today that the buses actually have a time schedule but I have my doubts on how well they follow them. Also if it rains or snows (which VERY rarely happens here) the bus drivers just dont show up to work so the bus you wait for, just wont ever come. Oh Italy! Because of all this ridiculousness I have been avoiding taking the bus. However, yesterday I took because we were running late because the line to get sandwiches for lunch took longer than anticipated and not having to walk a mile up the hill to campus was so amazing. Today, I felt so tired when I woke up that I decided to take the bus again. It does take forever but it cuts my 2.6 mile walk down to like just a mile to catch the bus and I avoid the hill. I'm trying not be to lazy but it's so much more enjoyable to take the bus and let's be honest I'm not in Italy to lose weight. It'd be nice but definitely not my goal.

Planes-When I flew into Florence, I did not realize how small of an airport it would be. However, everything worked out really well and I did not really notice anything different than our airports. I will be doing a lot more flying throughout the semester so I will update that later.

Trains-Trains in Italy and Europe in general are a really popular method of transportation. Florence has two big train stations so that made getting to Venice last weekend and Rome this weekend nice. However, they really are not that cheap and I anticipated prices to be a lot lower than they are. The trains for the most part were right on time (surprising but amazing). Similar to the bus tickets you need to validate your ticket in this little yellow machine before boarding to indicate the time and date. If you don't you have to pay a fine. For the first train from Florence to Bologna we had specific assigned seats in this tiny 6 person car with 2 rows of three people facing one another. It was second class so there was very limited leg room. On the way there it was fine but on the way back I sat to a "true European" she smelt so bad and for anyone who knows me well, knows that I have the most amazing nose and smell everything. So sitting next to this smelly Italian girl was torture in this little car and I could barely breathe, literally. The second train we took from Bologna to Venice was just how Amtrak kind of is in the US. There weren't really assigned seats you could just sit where ever. Overall though the train ride wasn't bad and sometimes had some really pretty views. I have noticed that McDonalds tend to be around every train station I've been to so far. Naturally I got it on our trip to Venice (between Hard Rock and McD's I was being quite American). They have a sandwich here called CBO (chicken,bacon and onion) I dont know if it's in the US too but it was amazing (well for McDonalds standards).

I MOTORINI- During orientation, I remember the safety guy say "the biggest threat to your safety here is the motorini" I laughed not really believing him. They are like bicycles in NYC but WORST. The bicyclist driving everywhere and threatening pedestrians is also a problem here like NYC but now on top of that there are motorini everywhere. Motorini are what we call Vespas (at least I think they are the same). Because the streets are narrow and there is no real place to park they are definitely the best way to get around. They can zip through cars and in the narrowest allies but they are so dangerous. They come up behind you and they rarely stop for pedestrians even in the white lines. In the rain they all have these leather blanket things to lay in their lap so they dont get wet. Overall I kinda of wish I had one, they are just so dangerous.



So that is the update on Italian transportation. It always makes for an interesting day, no matter which I use after all "it's all about the experience"

Carnevale a Venezia.

So Carnevale in Venice is supposed to be the place to for the Carnevale festivities. It is a big deal in Italy and many of the smaller towns hold huge festivals as well. Seeing we are in Italy and what other chance would we be able to witness Carnevale we decided to go to the center of it all Venezia! (The best way to describe it is the New Orleans of Mardi Gras).

When we first arrived in the morning the city was completely empty. It was strangely quiet and there was no one on the streets at least the ones near the train station. We asked someone why the city was so quiet and they told us that the locals all leave for 2 weeks during Carnevale because they do not like to deal with all the tourists. We explored the very tiny streets of Venice until we found somewhere to eat for lunch. Venice just for clarification is basically all water, there are canals all throughout the tiny city that serve as roads. There are absolutely no roads and there are no where for cars to even drive. The streets are really narrow because they are just for pedestrians to get around the city. Around every corner and basically every other block you have to cross a bridge to get over the canals. The water is also this pretty blue/green-ish color and I know some people complain about Venice smelling it was too cold for it to smell. Back to Lunch, I was not happy with my lunch at all. They said that it was 10 euro for a pizza and drink but did not mention the 3,50 euro cover charge. (commas are used for decimal points, and periods for commas...weird I know). Another cultural fact is that you do not have to really tip your waitress, instead some restaurants have a cover charge per person that is added to the bill and some don't have it all. Regardless a tip is just a euro or two and is not necessary. If there is no cover, I try to tip more cause its a strange concept to not tip. Also aside from the cover charge the restaurant was run by non-Italians and it was super obvious. Needless to say i didn't pick the restaurant and I was not satisfied.

After lunch we strolled the streets shopping for masks for Carnevale. The masks aren't like halloween masks they are all really stunning with feathers and different jewels. If you are willing to pay you can have yours with swarovski crystals. Basically they look like the masks from Masquerade in Phantom of the Opera (see pics above). Aside from the really pretty ones you can also get animal faces or really anything. In one of the shops we got to watch a man painting some of the different types of masks which was kinda cool.

Moving along, it was so strange to be back in Venice I had been there with Sound of America and it was exciting to be back. When we finally reached San Marco which is the main square it brought back all the memories from SOA. St. Mark's Basilica with the famous 5 domes where we had one our concerts was just as stunning as the first time. The square itself though hardly looked like it did the first time. There was a big stage set up for the evening's kickoff ceremony and finally we ran into people dressed in the traditional costumes. You can rent full on costumes for the Carnevale event and they are really over the top. People all over the square were just walking around in their elaborate costumes and stopping to take pictures with all the tourists. Also there were little kids dressed up in all sorts of different costumes, I think they did a kid's thing in the morning. Although it was fun and exciting to be in St. Mark's I soon began to realize that there were very few Italians. Carnevale really has just transformed into a tourist attraction for primarily Americans and is not really that authentic at all. I ran into dozens and dozens of NYU students and I heard primarily English spoken on the street all day.

After finding San Marco, we decided to explore the streets a little more. Venice really is stunning and the way I keep describing it is "enchanting." However, its really not that big and can be easily done as a day trip. At 9 pm was the "kick off ceremony" so we had some time to kill and then we stumbled across HARD ROCK CAFE in Venice. It sounds ridiculous I know but live without the option of American food and you will want it so bad. I ordered Chicken fingers with Ranch!!!! Vinh got mac 'n cheese sooo good and Jesnie got loaded Nachos which were amazing, AMAZING and they were so salty. Italians here like don't put salt in anything, not their bread or butter. Typically I'm not big on salt but here I like crave it and when I cook I add it to everything. So we were all very happy with our American meals in one of Italy's most beautiful cities. Having American food was very comforting, (it sounds ridiculous but it really was nice) and also they had American coffee like made with coffee beans and not espresso. I was very content. Then we moved 2 blocks into San Marco to wait for what we thought would be like an exciting parade or great like circus type show. No, wrong, fail. It was an old classic Italian play performed in Italian of course so we didnt even know what they were saying. At this point it was kind of raining and the "kick off ceremony" was a major let down.

All in all, Venice is "enchanting" and wonderful. The pictures I have are amazing, I dont know if blogspot will do them justice. It was nice to witness Carnevale (def once in a life time event) and to find American food in Italy. However, it was not what we had anticipated it to be so we were a little disappointed.

This weekend I decided I am going to Rome, I booked a hotel FINALLY today after reading 100s and 100s of reviews. Its not expensive to get to Rome from here about 16,00 euro each way but Rome is a big city so hotels are expensive. Also, hotel standards are not international. When booking you have to make sure you have a private bathroom most hotels have shared bathrooms. There are just so many sketchy aspects of traveling in Europe and you have to be so careful with everything. I have read countless travel web pages and I research EVERYTHING because if I'm going to spend the money it better be nice and worth it. I'm excited to have all this research, booking flights and booking hotels over with so that I can just research the cities and countries and appreciate everything. I read the wikipedia article for Carnevale a Venezia and it did make things more interesting. Growing in Rome, NY I am really excited to get to real Rome! It was a last minute decision to go and I am really hoping it goes well. Please pray that everything runs smoothly, that the hotel is clean, safe, and has a bathroom and for overall safety (Rome is the famous place for pickpocketers).

Miss everyone! I know you are all being bombarded with snow but stay warm! Also I will have no internet for the weekend. However here's my cell number, its +39 (country code) 320-231-7049. If you call me, it's free for me. So call anytime :-) or skype!

Il cibo é buonissimo!

I have been meaning to blog about my food for quite sometime and I'm afraid after the long delay I wont be able to express how amazing everything was. However, I am going to try and remember and then more frequently update with photos of my meals.

Il gelato- Grom is delicious. All of their flavors are amazing. The crema di Grom which is like a creamy ice cream with cookies in it, is their signature flavor and its simply perfection. The caffé which is espresso flavored is wonderful also I love that they have dark chocolate and dark, dark chocolate flavored. Luckily, there is a Grom in NYC, only one outside of Italy aside from the one in Paris and Tokyo. I have been to Grom in New York and it is the same, something about being just South of il Duomo and being Italy though makes it more enjoyable. Also, knowing we can get it when we get back is very reassuring.
There is also another place about 2 min from my apartment (finally something close) and its amazing. It was an event for our apartment building so it was paid for by NYU which made it even better. It's a really nice and adorable little place. The tiramisu gelato had a strange texture but the yogurt-nutella flavor was delicious absolutely amazing. We tried to go back last night but of course it was closed because nothing is ever open in this city.

La pizza- Lacasamia is a cute restaurant that has a lot of room; nice but casual. The best part is the pizza cost about 3.50 euro and they are really good. I got the spicy salami one I think and then they give you this spicy olive oil to drizzle on it. Pizza, in general here is a big personal size one thats flat with usually fresh (unevenly distributed) mozzarella cheese, a light tomato sauce and fresh basil.
Three words, La Gusta Pizza. So our RA, kept telling us about how amazing this place was but they like were on vacation the first week we got here. So finally it opened up last week and the restaurant doesn't actually open until 7 pm (i told you, nothing is ever open here). When we got there I should put in the disclaimer that we were absolutely starving, but anyway I got the caprese pizza which was the basic fresh mozzarella, basil, amazing fresh light tomato sauce with this AMAZING spicy salami. I cant even talk about it without getting super excited, it was sooooooooo amazing. Omg, honestly I would go all the time its another place just like a min from our apt but we are trying to live on a budget, sorta.

Il cappuccino- Thats all they drink here. Either a shot of espresso or a cappuccino. The man in the campus cafe I think makes them the best, I look forward to them everyday. I do love the cappuccinos, enough to drink them without sugar. BUT I really miss having a large caffeinated beverage in my hand walking into class. Just a regular coffee in hand is a very comforting feeling, especially for someone kinda addicted to coffee. However, one positive is that cappuccinos never cost more than one euro which is much cheaper than the typical $4.00 starbucks drink.

Nutella croissants-On campus they have fresh croissants filled with nutella, pretty self explanatory. It really isn't worth going a day without one. Elaine was right they are AMAZING.
However, I've yet to try or find the "amazing Italian pastries." If anyone has any suggestions on good places to get pastries here, please let me know. Everything seems to be plain cookie type things that are like jam-filled, not my thing. I want something with a lot of flavor and if I'm going to eat the calories it better be AMAZING and not filled with jam.

Teatro del Sale- So back to the restaurant I was talking about before with the screaming chefs from the window where we could see the kitchen. First off it was free so no matter what it tasted like we were excited. Little did I know it was going to be a 10 course delicious feast. So first we had our polenta, bread, hummus, meatballs (the meatballs were made with a different type of meat, definitely not beef and the sauce tasted like my aunt anns :-) ), and quiche-type thing. Then they brought out this amazing bread sliced thin like bread sticks drenched in olive oil, so delicious. Then there were these super wide rigatonis with an amazing cheesy tomato sauce and the pasta was cooked absolutely perfectly al dente. Instead of sprinkling cheese on top they just mixed it while cooking, omg it made a world of a difference it was SO amazing. Mmmm. I dont remember the exact order but also served was a swordfish over peas with this amazing oil based sauce. The sauce was really good but I'm not a big fish person so I was disappointed when I found out it wasn't chicken. There was also sausage over a broccoli, a boiled chicken dish (neither of which I tried, I wanted to save room for whatever else they had). The chicken and potatoes that they served last were sooo wonderful and literally melted in your mouth. Actually we aren't exactly sure if was chicken but it had been cooking rotisserie style the whole time we were eating and the potatoes were flavored PERFECTLY with rosemary, olive oil, and garlic. Honestly, I dont even like potatoes but these potatoes were cooked perfectly so that the outsides were crispy and they tasted delicious. Then for dessert was this amazing super rich cake type thing with a giant bowl of whip cream and those wafer type things that look like giant straws. Of course there was also amazing espresso to drink. Unfortunately I drank the espresso not realizing it was 9 pm already and was unable to sleep that night.

I Latini- So one of our friend is in a homestay and someone recommended to her we go to this place for dinner with a big group because its family style. So nine of us agreed to go, unaware for what was it in store. The waiter came over to us and told us that the student discount was 35 euro per person for a 4 course family style dinner, thats about $45-50. All of our faces were like oh no and we asked for a normal menu. But once we realized we werent going to get much on the normal menu for cheap we decided, we are in Florence, we are having fun, once in a lifetime lets do the family style deal. So all 9 of us gave in and it was totally worth it and so much fun. First off everyone got their own plate of prosciutto and then there were these mini salami things that were delicious! Then came out the pasta which included 3 types: penne bolognese, raviolis, and rigatoni with wild boar meat ( weird I know, it wasnt bad). Then there was this soup sorta thing too but it tasted too much like tomatoes so I didnt really like it. Then came out the meat dish, it was a large plate with prime rib, steak, chicken, rabbit and maybe lamb but I'm not sure. I ate one of the mysterious meats and it was good and also the chicken which was absolutely delicious. Also the potatoes were amazing, at the level of the ones from Teatro del Sale. For dessert was this huge plate of different things I only tried a bite of own or two I was so full at this point. But the biscotti I could not resist, they were the most amazing biscotti I have ever had, they were simple with just almonds in them but literally to die for. Mom and Rita, if I can bring them back for you I will, they were soooo amazing. The nine of us had an amazing evening and the italian owner and waiter treated us very well. It was definitely worth the 35 euro.

Il Gatto e La Volpe- Another good restaurant recommended by some people who came to Florence before. The balsamic sauce to dip with the bread in is out of this world and unlike any other balsamic dressing. Luckily this place is reasonably priced and my spinach and ricotta tortellini with truffle sauce were absolutely wonderful.

Sandwiches- Basically the only thing you eat for lunch here and everyone is really good at making them taste amazing! You already heard about my mortadella sandwich with the balsamic onions which I still cannot get over. Yesterday we went to Bar Lydia and this really old Italian man made our sandwiches that were wonderful. I got pesto, fresh mozzarella, salami and roasted peppers that I also cannot stop thinking about. He was adorable and reminded me of my grandparents from home. Side note, Italian old people aren't like little fat italian grandmothers like you picture that are warm and friendly that just want to feed you. Maybe they are in their own homes but when they walk down the street they are old, skinny italian women that usually have a cane and look scary and mean. In fact no one here is fat, everyone is skinny and petite. You can't fit down the streets if you are fat, like literally most Americans would not be able to walk on the side walk if a car was driving by. Anyway back to my sandwiches. Today I had amazing spicy salami with goat cheese, onions, bells peppers, fresh tomatoes and a spicy sauce on a really good bread. It also came with french fries and a bottle of water for 5 euro. Amazing deal and it seems to be the Florentine student hot spot because while I was in there about 30 people came in and out almost all of which were Americans and Im going to guess students. Another side note, aside from NYU, there are also hundreds, probably thousands of study abroad kids here. Florence is a really big study abroad location in general so the streets especially late at night are almost always filled with wandering, loud American college kids.

So that wraps up my amazing meals so far. Although it sounds like I eat out all the time and just gorge myself on Italian food, that's actually far from the truth. We cook dinner almost every night, some nights which tastes really good others not so much and I walk 2.6 miles each way to class so I'm always starving. We try to be creative with our cooking but we are kind of running out of ideas. Please send me cheap easy recipes on facebook if you know of any, I'd love that. Also, its hard to cook because they dont have the same ingredients here as they do in the US like shredded cheese in general. We wanted to make tacos but couldnt find any cheese that would be appropriate. But we are trying and cooking definitely says a lot of money to make way for all our traveling. Yes so much is booked now, post about that later.


CULTURE LESSON:
Ciao gli studenti di Signora Pasqualetti. Non lo so se Signor Benson ha permesso di vedere il mio blog ma qui una lezione su il cibo italiano.

Italians take forever to do everything and its most obvious in food. In New York City, they want you in and out as quickly as possible to make room for the next guests and to have a high turnover rate. Not the case for Italy, no one cares. First off they give you the menus and for some reason they let you sit there forever to look at it. I don't know if typically it takes Italians forever to decide what they want but they leave you with the menu for a very long time. Also, closing the menu to try and get the waiter's attention doesn't necessarily do the trick. To drink you always order bottled water either con gas (with bubbles, kind of like seltzer) or senza gas (without bubbles, what we typically drink in America). Also, wine is always an option and the house wine usually is priced cheaper than water. The water is served at room temperature and I've never seen anyone have a cup with ice. In fact most things are served at room temperature, I dont really get it. The food actually surprisingly comes out pretty quickly but is never like steaming hot. Both my pizza and my pasta dishes I noticed weren't like steaming hot, which is how I usually prefer my food but whatever. You usually order at least 2 plates but we are cheap and just order one to save money. However, i piatti primo usually consists of a pasta dish or risotto followed by a meat dish i piatti secondo. Although most people sit in the restaurant with friends its also not weird or socially unacceptable to eat alone. In America it always makes me sad to see people eat alone but I don't think it is a big deal here. Finally after you've finished your meal you can just sit and socialize in the restaurants for hours, literally hours. There is no pressure and no one rushes you out. When you want the bill, you ask the waiter for "il conto" and he'll bring it but not pressure. Every time I've gone out to eat except for one of the pizza places its taken at least 3 hours. Time means nothing and Italians relax, drink cappuccinos and enjoy. It kind of stressed me out at first to waste so much time but I'm starting to get really used to it. More culture lessons to follow! Also comment with questions!