γεια! (thats hi in greek... i think)

sunset

gyros

this weekend, i got to go with one of my friends here in rome, kealy, to visit one of my best friends from BC in thessaloniki, greece! my first feeling in greece was pure confusion as all of the signs were literally written with greek letters on them and i quickly wished i had a sorority level education of the greek alphabet. we eventually made it to trisha's appartment and grabbed some gyros for lunch... which were delicious! i had tzatiki sauce on mine which was basically a cucumber dressing, and then i also had pork, onions, tomatoes, and french fries all on a pita (which is apparently what everyone gets). then we spent some time catching up, and getting to know some of the other people in trisha's program before we had greek salad and little spinach pita-like things for dinner. that night, we spent some time exploring the town and "living like the locals." the next day, we woke up and had τοστ for lunch (which is pronounced like toast) which were basically ham and cheese paninis on white bread, along with some bbq chips. after that, we walked around by the pier and saw spent some time enjoying the views on the coast line and seeing the "white tower" which is the most famous thessaloniki landmark. overall, the city had a lot of grafiti and did not really look like a safe place, but it actually was very safe and the people were very friendly... minus the fact that i had no idea what they were saying.  because there was not really a lot to see in the city itself, as it is not known to be touristy, we checked out some of the main squares and did some shopping. luckily, we got to catch the sunset, which was very beautiful and picturesque as it set over the water with the mountains in the distance. that night, we celebrated trisha's birthday which was actually sunday, but we went to a traditional greek restaurant!  i apologize if everyones mouths are watering after this post, but like i said there wasnt necessarily a lot to see, so kealy and i got our tourism fill from trying all of the different traditional food... which was honestly a much needed and healthier break from pasta, pizza, and gelato! During dinner we had greek salad, grilled fetta, different types of meat, chicken, and pork, then there were cheese balls, and french fries! that night, we went to a few different bars to celebrate trisha's 21st birthday! the next day, we had gyros (again) before we grabbed a flight home. it was a really great weekend and i was happy to spend some time with trisha for her birthday :) this weekend/today i am going to budapest, prague, and krakow!

roman day trip: tivoli!

as a part of my last full weekend in rome two of my friends and i took a day trip to a small town outside of rome called tivoli! this small mountain side town at first seemed very empty, but we soon realized it was full of life! we went into a renaissance village called villa d'este which was filled with beautiful frescas (paintings) inside and more importantly, a huge garden outside. within the garden there were two huge waterfalls and multiple smaller water fountains with statues dedicated to different gods and goddesses. it was a lot of fun to frolic around for the day and take pictures and we even got to see an ancient organ for a small concert! after spending about two hours in the garden, we explored the center of the town for a little bit before we headed back to rome! i was happy to see a more scenic view of italy, which is something i will really remember!!

iviva barcelona!

parc guell

inside sagrada familia

so last weekend we went to barcelona for a weekend of fun! the first night we got there we got some traditional tapas (enchiladas for me) and then went out and explored the town and some of the areas by the beach. the next morning we got up and headed to the sagrada familia church designed by gaudi, which was a very very beautiful church filled with stained glass, mosaics, and intricate sculptures. it was honestly the prettiest church i have ever seen and i really enjoyed all of the time we spent there. after spending an hour or two in the church we hiked up the mountainside to gaudi's house and to parc guell. there we found more mosaics and the lizard statue which was really cool, and then after our photo shoot at the parc we grabbed some traditional paella! it was very tasty and very unique! then we took a short nap at the hostel before we grabbed some burgers for dinner and prepared for another night of fun. the next day, we walked down the most popular street in barcelona, las ramblas. we did a lot of shopping, hit up a local market, and then we checked out the waterfront/harbor area for some more beautiful views. we had a tappa sampler that night for dinner along with more paella and black rice, which was a nice ending to our weekend! unfortunately, we had a 5:55 am flight sunday morning so it was an early night for us but nonetheless a great weekend!! it was really nice to see a different culture, especially one where i spoke the language (even though barcelona is technically part of a region where they speak catalan). i am so glad we got to go there for the weekend and hopefully one day i can go back and enjoy the beach!

Perugia: EuroChocolate

This past weekend some of my roommates and i went on a schools sponsored trip to perugia to go to the annual chocolate festival! we started off with a tour of the perugina factory, which is home to one of the most famous italian chocolates, baci. the tour of the factory was pretty cool and it provided us with TONS of free samples of chocolate... which was a lot for 9:30 in the morning. after the factory we took the "minimetro" up to the town center of perugia. the mini metro was the coolest form of public transportation i have ever seen as it was basically like the monarail but with the littlest cars. once we arrived in the center of perugia we grabbed a bite to eat, so that we didnt fill up on just chocolate. after, we strolled around the town, which was so so beautiful. we saw tons of different types of chocolate ranging from pasta to beer to traditional chocolate bars. the whole day was really interesting because it was a real cultural experience, and it was really nice to be in a nice and quaint town as sometimes rome does seem to be an overwhelming city. once the day was over we trekked back to rome and grabbed some salads for dinner... in an attempt to compensate for the chocolates. it was a really cool day trip and it was nice to see a different part of italy! next weekend i am going to barcelona... so until then! enjoy the new taylor swift album everybody... and the rest of your week!

Pompei and Napoli

pompei town square

margarita pizza

after our time in positano, we got up early and got in a cab to go to pompei! overall, i thought the whole place was pretty underwhelming, although it was cool to see a city so well preserved, it wasnt really overly exciting. we got to see the ancient baths, houses, and a high school, but besides from the buildings, many of the mosaics and ceramic pieces had been removed and relocated in a museum. it was still very interesting, just not as cool as i thought it would be. after pompei, we figured we had some extra time before our train so we journeyed to napoli (naples)! there we went to a place called brandi which is the home to the margarita pizza... which we of course had a taste of. we then went for a walk around the town and saw some of its main monuments. i had been warned that napoli was some what of a sketchy and run down city, but since it was a sunday it was pretty deserted. it was still pretty trash-filled however. after spending some time in the city, we took the train back to rome and had one final dinner before my parents left to go back to the US. it was really nice to have them visit and i miss them tons already and really hope they had a great trip!!

The Almafi Coast: Positano and Capri

A view of Positano at sunset!

sorry its been awhile! but its midterm season here, so needless to say its been a little bit crazy. anyways, last weekend my parents were here and we took a trip down to the almafi coast for a relaxing (but rainy) weekend. we started out friday morning taking a train from rome to salerno, a town just outside of almafi, and from there we took an hour and a half bus ride to the town of almafi. the bus ride to almafi was probably THE CRAZIEST bus ride i have ever been on in my life (and i think my parents would agree). it was filled with death-defyingly winding turns that scared all of us. once we made it to almafi, we took another bus to positano which had more of the same types of turns making us all think it would never end. once we got off the bus, we had to take another cab down to the hotel before we were finally there. the hotel was really really beautiful, even though it was raining, it was still a gorgeous site.  after exploring the town and grabbing some food we went back to the hotel tired from traveling. the next day, after grabbing a great breakfast at the hotel (it has been awhile since i have had eggs!) we took a boat over to the island of capri for a fun filled day! my mom and i got custom made sandals which was really cool and then we took a boat ride around the island. during our trip we got to see some pretty amazing views, my favorite being the green grotto! despite the fact that it was raining pretty much all day we still managed to have a lot of fun. we then took the boat back to positano and grabbed dinner at a restaurant called chez black which has been frequenting in the past by celebrities like denzel washington and jimmy fallon. the next morning we got up and went to pompei and naples! i will write that post when i have some more time but right now i gotta get some sleep so i can be up and ready by 6 to head to perugia for a chocolate festival! hope everyone else has a great weekend.

PARIS.

after years of dreaming about going to paris and seeing the eiffel tower, my dream finally came true this past weekend! seven of my friends from john cabot (mostly my roommates) and i journeyed to the airport last thursday night just to find our flight was delayed, which just prolonged my excitement. we finally made it to our hostel that night just after midnight, which was when we had the first of many crepes we would eat during the weekend. the next morning, we woke up at 9 in order to grab some free croissants from our hostel and then got a jumpstart on our day. my friend abby from BC met me and my friend claire for some sightseeing... once again it was nice to have a tour guide who made sure we didnt get lost. we started by going to see notre dame, the home of the hunchback, and were overjoyed when we realized we could get in for free! the building was truly beautiful and full of stain glass windows and murals painted on the walls. after notre dame, we took the metro over to the eiffel tower where we grabbed sandwiches and nutella crepes to eat while we sat on the lawn in from of the eiffel tower. i must say, it was the perfect lunch in every sense. after lunch, we had the first of many photo shoots in front of the eiffel tower as the three of us had fun trying to take pictures of us jumping up in front of the tower. we then headed over to one of the big shopping districts in the city, and abby gave us a tour of her school, which was truly beautiful. it really had a campus feel that i think claire and i feel is missing from JCU here in rome. we then had the chance to pass by the two famous cafes where lost generation writers such as f. scott fitzgerald and ernest hemmingway used to hang out. after this, we went over to the luxembourg gardens to hang out and share a bottle of wine before getting ready for dinner and meeting up with the rest of our fellow travelers. for dinner we stumbled upon a quaint little french restaurant where i had the most delicious salmon and ratatouille... which i loved almost as much as the movie! we then took off to a british pub where we met up with a bunch of other BC students who were studying in paris/visiting paris for the weekend. i feel like i have met so many new BC people while being here which is a nice compromise since I am not actually doing a BC study abroad program.  anyways, this brings us to day two, which unlike day one, was really rainy. we started off by going to the louvre, where it once again ended up being abby, claire, and i exploring the sites. once again, we were overjoyed to learn that since we are students of the european union (weird to think about) we were able to get in for free!! while at the louvre, we got to see the mona lisa, michael angelo statues, an underground mote, an ancient sphynx, and napoleons apartment. after spending almost 3 hours in the louvre, we walked to the arch de triomphe, stopping along the way to grab some lunch crepes and doing some shopping. i bought a longchamp bag which was something on my bucket list while i was in france! after taking many more pictures, we went back to the hostel to get changed before embarking on the greatest adventure of the weekend... CLIMBING THE EIFFEL TOWER. we started to climb the tower just as they turned the lights on which was a really cool experience. although it was raining, it was still a lot of fun the climb up the tower. once we got to the top, it was really windy and i felt like i was going to blow off but we managed to get to the side without the wind and take a ton of pictures! on our way done, as it reached 8pm, the lights on the tower started to sparkle! apparently, this happens for the first 5 minutes of every hour, which we got to see 4 times over the course of the night!! after we climbed down, we took some more pictures then saw the lights sparkle again as we headed for dinner. at dinner i got a burger and french fries (so parisian) and then we went back to the tower to meet some of my roommates. we then ended the night by getting a final strawberry and chocolate crepe and heading back to the hostel for a chill night before we woke up REALLY early to catch the bus to the airport. on our way to the airport, we witnessed a huge brawl on the metro which was pretty cool because we were safe inside, but other than that i found the metro pretty safe and easy to use! it was truly a fantastic weekend, and although i feel like im missing half of the details of our weekend, i have to catch up on some school work and more importantly... PREPARE FOR MY PARENTS TO GET HERE TOMORROW!! more information on our time together soon!!