Easter Break and Last Days Here

WOW it's been almost a month so this might be a long one so be prepared!

Easter Break started April 2nd with a long plane ride from Milan to Santorini! We slept overnight in the Athens airport and arrived to a beautiful sunset in Santorini. After a quick nap, we headed to the store, got some brews, and walked the 2 minute walk to the black pebble beach behind our hostel. Day drinking ensued, and around 4 the lovely Caitie Holmes arrived! I needed a nap after all the excitement, and so when I woke up in a panic we got ATVs rented for the next day and headed out to dinner. The food in Greece was probably my favorite food that I've had this whole trip. That night I got a stuffed pork chop and saganaki (fried cheese). Some people went to midnight mass for Easter Sunday, but a few of us just ended up going back to the hostel and drinking before I called it a night and hit the sack. In the morning we woke up and jumped on the ATVs and started riding around! Mia and I were on one together, and we had quite a few problems. It wouldn't go very fast, and all of a sudden started losing gas very quickly. I also refused to drive the ATV since I had a really bad experience on one about 7 years ago haha. The group started with going to the Red Beach which was a red pebble beach with gorgeous views. After catching some rays, we headed to the lighthouse which gave us an amazing view of the water and the islands. We then rode to Fira, which is the capitol of Santorini, but a few of our ATVs started losing gas so half the group decided to go back, only after grabbing some lunch. I had my first Greek gyro and it was amazing! After resting up and getting ready, we headed to another place for dinner and drinks and then back to the hostel to pregame before going out to Fusion for round one of being redic and the only people in the entire bar. After way too many shots, Matt, Mia, and I decided to trek down to the 24 hour bakery and get some goodies. We had to be up early the next morning for a volcano tour that our whole group had scheduled. We started off by climbing the volcano and then jumping in hot springs that weren't really that hot. Kind of a let down and it stained my swimsuit. After the hot springs the boat took us to a small island where half of our group got to watch the other half attempt to ride donkeys up this hill. Joanna ended up getting kicked by Tinas donkey and then her donkey collapsed. Witnessing this was so funny. After a great greek salad and some ice cream, it was time to get back on the boat and take it to Fira to watch the sunset. We got to the dock about 3 hours before the sunset, so the 15 of us decided to be homeless and take a nap on the dock with all of our towels and belongings. After another long climb up a mountain (story of our lives abroad) we finally got to watch the famous Fira sunset. That night we got ready a little late and then went to the green restaurant again to have dinner for Kays birthday. Stuffed peppers were on the menu for me that night, and after singing Happy Birthday and stuffing Kay with cake, we headed to fusion to be prepared to be the only people in the bar again. Let's just say the night ended with taking too many free shots and Kay getting all the boys to take their shirts off. In the morning we decided on another day drinking beach day, which included shots and massages. That night some of us decided to just head to dinner instead of going out, so we hit up a small restaurant down the street for some pasta and pizza.

Ios was our next stop on the list but first we had to take an hour ferry there. Mia and I weren't feeling it, so we had to sit by the bathroom. Luckily I passed out! When we got to Ios we checked into the hostel (where we were the only ones) and trekked to the beach. Somehow we got lost and climbed down a mountain to the "Nude Beach of Ios" but it was ok because we were the only people there. The group held our own Greek Olympics and Maura, Kay, Alex and I jumped off some rocks. On our hike back up the mountain we were surrounded by goats. Fake lives like always. The real fun was at night. The two hostel workers, Judy and Ben decided to come out with us. Judy also decided that it was a good idea to pimp us out to her friends which we did not fall for. Many tequila shots were taken, and the next day I think the entire group realized that the alcohol in Greece was in no way real. In the morning Mia, Maura, Kay, Lo and I decided to skip out on the beach and do some shopping instead. Well worth it since I got an amazing pair of earrings! We had another ferry that night, this time a 5 hour one to Athens. By the time we got into Athens we made it to our hostel and all passed out since we knew we had a busy day the next day.

For once we had a decent breakfast at the hostel, and then signed up for a walking tour of Athens. Our tour guide was for sure drunk/hungover/high the entire time so that made for an interesting experience. We got to see the first Olympic Stadium and of course our group explored the Acropolis and Parthenon. We also went to a museum but then some people got a little hangry so we needed to get some food. We did some shopping and headed back to the hostel to stress about registering since we were all signed up for that day. I ended up staying in because my registration time was kind of late but I'm glad I got my classes for next year.

The next day was a travel day. Flight from Athens to Rome, train from Rome to Cinque Terra. We got in around 9 pm that night, and since were were so glad to be back in Italy we headed to the pizza place that was on our campgrounds and got some good ole Italian pizza. We stayed in these little bungalows that were so cute and really made us feel rustic haha. The group ended up congregating in our bungalow as we told ghost stories which ended up just being really fucked up stories instead. In the morning we took the train to the first city of Cinque Terra and began our hike! Most people only do one or two cities in a day but because we are champs we did all 5! It was so much fun and we looked redic since we all had bandanas on. Cinque Terra was beautiful and I'm so glad that I sucked up the last hike and did it! That night we partied in the bungalows and played drinking games and bonding games which was great. Our group is amazing and I absolutely love them. We had another travel day the next day but we ended up getting home around 4 which was just enough time for us to run to the grocery store and relax before going to bed early.

The next week was a usual Verona week, but we were all looking forward to the upcoming weekend because it was our last Claudio trip, this time to Asiago! It was a weekend of great meals and entire group bonding. We even got to see how Asiago cheese was made which was quite gross actually but at least the cheese was good.

To save you all from reading another 1o pages of this I'll skip ahead to this past weekend which was our last trip--Paris. We were unsure at the beginning if we would be able to go or not due to the volcano but we decided to DO IT LIVE and just go! Erin, Maggie, Lo, Joanna, Steph, Matt, and I were the night travelers who had to sleep in Bergamo airport and take a 6:30 am plane to Paris. We made it there though, and after a quick change of clothes headed to the Louvre. Seeing the Mona Lisa was amazing! I can now say that I have done that and I am so happy that we ended up going. We were all getting somewhat hangry so we decided to grab some overpriced food before meeting up with Kaitlin, Jake, and Chad at the Notre Dame. The church was absolutely beautiful with all the stained glass. After heading back to the hostel to check in and get ready, we all went out to dinner and then headed to the Eiffel Tower for our pregame. The Eiffel Tower lights up every hour on the hour so we stayed there for a few hours to finish our wine. The group navigated the metro system somehow and went to a few bars before getting in taxis and heading home. Saturday morning we woke up and hit up the Eiffel Tower first for the climb up. The view from the tower was amazing and Paris is absolutely beautiful. We then grabbed food and sat on the lawn in front of it for a picnic and quick rest before walking to the D'Orsay. I liked the paintings in the D'Orsay much better than the Louvre because there were impressionist. The girls were all craving some shopping time after that, so we headed to Longchamp where we all got new bags! I got a hot pink one and I am so happy! We decided to grab Subway on the way back to the hostel, and after a quick shower and nap we got our wine and headed back to the Eiffel Tower for another pregame. We hit up the same bars as the night before, and Jo, Steph, and I headed back early since we were a little tire. In the morning we headed to Versailles which all in all ended up being a small fail but it was still beautiful. We were so tired by then that after a quick stop at the Arc De Triomphe and a few pictures, we had to head back to the hostel to rest before our long journey home. Our group did make it back to Verona around 3 that morning, but only after a plane ride, a crazy taxi ride where we almost got killed, a creepy stay in the Brescia train station for an hour, and a train ride home.

Yesterday we had our last Italian class of the semester before our exam next week. After class Lo, Maura, Mia and I decided to go spritz hopping and get a few spritzes and snacks. I woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and again this morning so this is really making for an exciting last few weeks here. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow though!

Our days are coming to an end which is so sad. I can't believe that four months of being here are almost over.

Nutella is Like Sex for Children

Sorry I've been slacking at my blogging, but I've been so busy that I haven't really had time to write!

Verona is amazing like always. I feel like I'm never really here though because of all the traveling I've been doing. When I'm not on a trip that I've planned with my friends I'm on a trip planned by Claudio (much appreciated). I finally got a weekend to be here (last weekend) but we'll get to that eventually! Nothing too exciting has been happening while I've been here though, just class and whatnot. Our Italian is starting to fall behind but I'm sure we'll be able to study and get it right for the test. Painting and Photo are my two favorite classes. Painting is so relaxing even though it's at 9 am, and Photo is fun because of Mauro, our teacher. Also i haven't been doing too bad with my photos. He's like the ones that I have done so far so that's exciting! Art History is growing on me. My class is done with classroom meetings for the semester and all we have are two field trips left.

Last week we had our first of 2 breaks--Spring Break. Maura, Mia, Kalyn, Lo, and I went to Galway and Dublin, Ireland, and then Lo and I headed off to Amsterdam. Mias friend Kelly was with us in Ireland too, and Maura's friend Erin met up with us in Dublin, so we had a pretty solid crew. We got to Dublin on Thursday the 18th, but we were just there for the night before taking a 3 hour bus ride to Galway. That first day we just walked around the city after stopping for lunch at what we thought would be a Mexican restaurant. It wasn't what we expected, but I got this breakfast burrito which was really good. We walked around and picked our our Claddagh rings and other jewelry for a few hours. When we were done with that we just walked around by the water and then headed back to the hostel to get ready to go out. Mia had another friend that was there for the night and it was her 21st, so after pregaming we went to meet her at a few bars. Let's just say the night resulted in going to McDonalds and me ordering a quarter pounder, 2 medium fries, and a coke. Operation diet is going into effect the second I land in STL in May. The next day we woke up early, grabbed the free toast the hostel had, and got on a bus to do a Cliffs of Moher tour. We stopped at the Aillwee Caves first, which were really cool since there are only 2 cave systems found in Ireland. After that we saw a tomb, and then headed on over to the Cliffs. The view was absolutely breathtaking and I wish we could have spent a little more time there. The weather was extremely nice the entire time we were on this break also, so we were able to get away with just wearing a light jacket. After the Cliffs we stopped at a few more quick stops and then made our way back to Galway. That night we weren't really feeling going out, so Mia, Maura, Kalyn, Kelly and I found this small Chinese restaurant and finally got some really good Chinese food!

After another 3 hour bus ride back to Dublin, we went to the hostel, got Erin, and headed to the Temple Bar to grab a sandwich and our first real Guinness. After getting some food in our stomaches we walked around the city and saw some of the Medieval buildings and Dublin Castle. We met up with Kelly's cousin who actually lives in the city, and he took us to a few parks and such. We made a taco dinner that night, and after pregaming we headed to the Temple Bar area and went to a small bar with a live band. It closed kind of early (1--I mean it was Sunday) and so we went to a club called Sin with some British boys that we had met. Dare drop it like it's hot ensued, and by the end of the night I was demanding taco fries sans taco meat, but with gyro meat. Very good. In the morning we woke up a little later than expected, and hopped on the Hop On Hop Off bus tour to take us to the Guinness factory. We didn't actually get to see the beer being made, but we did learn a lot and got to enjoy a free pint of Guinness each at the end. Somehow we ended up with more beers than people, so a few of us took advantage of that and left feeling a little tipsy. Mia, Lo, Kalyn, Kelly and I got back off at a prison for a prison tour which was interesting, and after that we headed back and took a really long time to get ready. We went to a little bar that night that was pretty chill, and we headed back somewhat early because we had big dreams of getting up early so that Lo and I could do some things before leaving for Amsterdam. That of course didn't happen and we woke up a little later than we wanted so Lo and I left and went to the airport for Amsterdam.

We finally made it to Amsterdam after being a little delayed, and her Uncle picked us up from the airport and took us to his apartment. Lo and I went to the store to get food to make for dinner after he supplied us with some appetizers and wine. We opted to make cheeseburgers, mashed potatoes, and beer. We went out that night to a bar that her Uncle told us to go to, and then another bar called Nasty. I ended up breaking my camera which wasn't fun at all, but I didn't let it ruin my weekend. We got home pretty late (around 4:30) but made sure we got up around 10:30 to start seeing things in Amsterdam. Around 2 we met her Uncle outside his show, Boom Chicago, and he walked us throughout the city. We went through the Red Light District and then stopped at the Anne Frank house. It was a very sombering but I really enjoyed it. After grabbing dinner we headed back to her Uncles house where we passed out for 4 hours until 10:30. We got ready really fast and headed to a bar we found called the Pirate Bar, where I decided that 5 tequila shots were a really good idea. We went to Paradiso, a discoteca, after we had a few and danced the night away to the most random collection of music ever. Thursday morning we biked down to the Van Gogh museum--yes I said biked. Lo's Uncle let us use two extra bikes that he had to get down to the city center. It was about a 20 minute bike ride and I struggled most of the way but it was worth it. We even saw a collision. Anyway, after seeing the museum we went to a park to walk around, stopped in the Heineken museum, and then found a street market which provided us both with a package. That night we went to Boom Chicago where Lo's uncle was the technical director. It's kind of like Second City--very funny and so much fun! We had some drinks with some of the cast and her uncle after the show, and then Lo and I spent some more quality silent time around the city and ended up in an Italian restaurant at 1 am. The next morning we had to be up early for our plane, and after what was the best week I could have asked for I was back in Verona.

Mia, Maura, and Kelly didn't end up coming back until late at night, so we didn't do anything until Saturday. Saturday we took Kelly around Verona and went to Castlevecchio, Piazza Bra, Piazza Erbe, and so on. That night we went to Campus for British night which was fun like always. Since Sunday was daylight savings for us over here, we didn't even get out of the house until 5 pm (we were a little confused and hungover) but we walked around for a little and then sat in Piazza Erbe and had a spritz before going to a really good pizza place for some pizza. I got tuna and onion which was amazing! I've had two days of class this week and normally I wouldn't be done until Thursday afternoon but this week we don't have Art History scheduled so I am actually done until Monday the 12th of April! We have our Easter Break and most of us are going to Santorini, Athens, and Cinque Terre for the break! It's going to be amazing and absolutely beautiful. I also get to see the one, the only, Caitie Holmes so I'm pretty excited!!

Our program ends in 39 days (which I am very sad about) and the only reason I am somewhat counting down is because my parents and Woj are coming then.

I promise I won't be so lazy and there will be another update right after I'm back from Greece and Cinque Terre!!

Monjour and Dome

It has been so long since I’ve written in here! I have been extremely busy with traveling and such, but I have been having an amazing time. Let’s start off with Roma, Roma-ma.

On Friday morning, Courtney, Steph, Maura, and I left for Rome. We took the train into the city, and tried to find our hostel, Hostel Beautiful. Judging by the name, you can probably tell that it’s a little shady. We check in and are instructed to put our things in a room that is wide open until our room is ready. I decided I had nothing of value in my bag, and if someone wanted my underwear then so be it because we had sightseeing to do! Courtney, Steph and I headed to the Vatican to begin our tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Everything in there was absolutely amazing, and fun fact—if you spend one minute in front of everything in the museum then it would take you 15 years to see it all. After that we went to St. Peters Basilica and had our BFF Rick Steves give us a quick tour. By that time, it was time to meet Lo and Mia at the hostel. When we got back, we met our new best friend, Monjour. He was working the front desk and super creepy. Steph, Courtney, and I went to dinner with Stephs cousin Peter at this great little restaurant that he frequents. We were the only people in there and naturally I ordered gnocchi. The four of us finished our meals and headed over to Dennis and Chris’s apartment to pregame before going out. That night we went to a bar that had cheap shots, tequila was in order, and then to 3 more bars until about 3:30 when we headed back. That’s when the real fun began. We get back to the hostel and head to the front desk to pick up our keys from Monjour. He is sleeping, and def on some sort of drugs. So we wake him and he decides to tell us that he doesn’t have our key and that someone is already in there sleeping. AKA a strange person is in our room. Of course in our drunken states we all go off on this man until he realizes that the key to 29 was just on a different key ring.

Saturday was our power sightseeing day. The five of us headed out to the Coliseum. We joined in on a tour and we had an awesome tour guide named George who referred to himself in the third person. The Coliseum was so cool once inside! It was a really nice day out too, so that made everything so much better. We had a break between the Coliseum and Palatine Hill so we grabbed some lunch and then headed back. Palatine Hill was where Rome was founded. Our guide for this tour was basically the narrator from VH1’s “Fabulous Life”, and I couldn’t take him seriously haha. The view we had from Palatine Hill of the city was so cool. Our day was pretty much done after that, so we went back to Hostel Beautiful (Oh by the way they removed the S from the sign on the door so it literally read Ho tel Beautiful. Good cover up guys) and made dinner. Our dinner for 5 girls and one boy consisted of peppers and 2 pounds of pasta, and since family dinner rules applied, we had to finish it all. And we did. All of us were kind of tired and didn’t really want to go out, but we had to meet up with Maura and her brother, sister, and cousin so we sucked it up and did. On the way to meet up with them we went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Both were beautiful, and it was even better that we were drinking our wine while seeing them both. I think we all got a little drunker then we were planning on getting and decided on crepes after we left the bar.

We had big plans on Sunday, but as the morning came around they got a little messed up so we checked out of the hostel and put our baggage at the train station holding area. We went to the square to wait around so we could see the Pope give his blessing. There were so many people there and it was def a once in a lifetime experience that I am very happy I did. Since we had done most of our power shopping, we went to the Pantheon and then just walked around, got gelato, and did some shopping until it was time to head back to the train station. McDonalds was in order, and then we hopped on our train to head back to Verona.

The week after I was only in Verona for 2 whole days before leaving for Vienna, but those two days were good. I had Italian on Monday, and I like to believe it is getting better but I just really need practice haha. Tuesday I had painting and photography, and I am still really enjoying both of those classes. It’s such a nice change to take classes like that instead of real classes. I also like how in Italian we got our grades and I got an A++. I’m not sure how that happened but I’ll take it haha. Our entire program got at least an A so everyone was thrilled. Wednesday we had an art history field trip to the Arena and then to a church. I hadn’t been in the Arena yet and it was really cool to see especially after going to the Coliseum. I had to rush back to shower and pack and leave. Meg and I met up at the train station and made our way to Milan. After a two hour train ride, we had to take an hour bus to the airport. We split up at the terminal, and I headed to my gate. I grabbed a sandwich and got on the plane. When I landed in Vienna I was already frightened by the scary German language and kept looking for words I knew such as “uscita” which means exit in Italian, but alas, there was nothing like that. Buying a train ticket was just as confusing, but I somehow made it to Westbanhof station and tackled Caitie when I finally saw her! It felt great to see someone from school and I had 5 days to spend with her! We popped open some wine and caught up with each other until around 2 when we went to bed.

Thursday morning we stopped at this bakery down the street and got pastries. Mine was this huge pastry with I couldn’t even tell you what was on it but it was amazing. We walked down Maria Hilsomethingingermanwhichconfusesme which is a big shopping street and then made our way to this outdoor market called the Nash Mart. I became really acquainted with the U-Bahn, which is one of their subway systems. We then walked over to meet up with her advisor, Bruce. He let me read a picture dictionary to learn some German while he talked to Caitie haha. After that we went to her school to see it and then to Stephansplatz to see Stephansdom and do a little more shopping. I ended up getting a shirt that I really wanted from H&M so I was happy. Caitie and I stopped in a little coffee shop that had really great coffee, and I’m not really that big of a coffee fan either. We headed back and grabbed dinner at Centimeter. We both got brews and this meal that consisted of three hot dogs wrapped in bacon, infused with cheese, lying on a bed of fries. Amazing. When we were totally stuffed, we headed back to her room to get ready to go out to Praterdome for the night. After a pregame, we headed over to the Dome for an awesome night. The discoteca has themed rooms for dancing and Thursday was ladies night so I only ended up spending 3 euro. We left there around 3 and then stayed up till 6 doing after hours. We went to bed when it was getting light outside.

Friday Caitie and I got up super early to start the Unofficial festivities, but everyone was being super lame and not starting so we left and walked around Maria jfkdjfalk until about 2 when everyone decided it was time to start. After many games of circle of death and asshole, we left and went to a bar down the street called Back Bone and kept the Unofficial celebration going. On the way back I finally had a box of noods, which was awesome. We all went out to a bar and then to a pizza place that had 15 shots for 10 euro. Everyone was tired and cold so we had a night bus adventure which consisted of Caitie getting us kicked off for not having her pass, and then when we were getting checked on another one, one of the boys, Chris, made a scene and dropped all his change and then pretended not to know what the conductor was asking for so we could stall and get off before he made it to Caitie. Priceless.

Bratislava was our destination on Saturday, and so we woke up at 7:45 to get ready and wake everyone up to head on over to the train station. The boys went on the train after us, so Caitie, Diana, Kailin, Kristina, and I walked around and tried to find a way up to the castle. When we finally got up there we realized that we couldn’t even get in, so we stopped at the restaurant up there. It was surprisingly cheap and I tried gnocchi from Slovakia. It was made with sheep cheese and bacon, and I was in heaven. The boys met us up there, and after a few drinks we headed down to the main part of town, walked around, and went to an Irish pub for another drink or two before leaving to get back to Vienna. After a quick nap on the bus, we got ready and started pregaming to go our for Kristina's birthday. Since it was snowing we went to a bar down the street that was the 1-euro bar. Just a heads up, vodka green is a shot and it’s not that bad. We stayed there and drank, and Ryan and I dominated at darts (who would have thought that I would actually be good?) and then we all went back.

Sunday we slept in and then Caitie, Kristina, and I went back to Stephensplatz to get some postcards and souvenirs. We then went to a restaurant that was themed like a train, but I had my first schnitzel, which is pretty much just a deep fried piece of meat. We went back to the dorm and then after a quick power nap headed to the opera for the night. We got standing room tickets for 4 euro, and it wasn’t really that bad standing. We saw Simon Boccanegra, which was an Italian opera. I was excited because I could understand a few words haha. When we got back around 10, I taught Caitie how to made bruscheta, homemade tomato sauce, and gnocchi. We ate and then I packed and took a 2-hour nap before having to leave to get to the train station. We found a taxi for me around 3:15, and I headed to the S-Bahn stop. My train was at 4:30, and I got there at 3:30 so I had an hour to kill. I tried getting a box of noods but they were done serving noods. I was quite upset. So instead I sat in the freezing station by myself frightened for about 45 minutes until people actually showed up haha. I finally got to the airport, and my flight wasn’t bad at all. The airlines I flew on was Air Niki, and it was actually really nice. In the hour flight they give you a drink and food. The way there we had tea sandwiches with swiss and peppers and on the way home we got another sandwich—just enough to tie me over. I landed a little before 8 and then got on the bus to take me to the Milan train station. There was traffic, so I got there just a little after the train I wanted to take had left. I then had two hours to kill, so I walked around and sat for a while, spotted someone with McDonalds, and headed across the street to waste a little more time. I’m actually on the train right now, and it hasn’t been that bad of a ride. I should be getting back to Verona in about a half hour.

I had an awesome time in Vienna and it was so great seeing Caitie, but I really do just want to be back in my bed in Verona. It’s funny, we’ve realized that we call any place with our bed “home”. I like that Verona has become my home, it makes me feel really good and comfortable. I’m looking forward to a weekend without traveling—this weekend we have a Claudio trip to Venice, Murano, and Lake Garda so that should be relaxing. I’m also excited because I feel like I haven’t seen my whole group in such a long time since we all have different classes. After this week though we have Spring Break the next weekend! I’m getting so excited for Ireland and Amsterdam!

Allora.

These weeks have been going way too fast; I can't believe I'm going to Rome tomorrow when I feel like I just got back from Barcelona!

So let's start where I left off--last Tuesday. Lo came over and we made tomato and mozzarella pesto bread things for an appetizer and then spinach and ricotta ravioli. It was sooo good! We pregamed here and headed over to Campus to catch the bus to Alter Ego, one of the discotecas in Verona. However, getting onto the bus was about the same madness as trying to get on a barndance bus, so somehow we got in a taxi and headed on up to the mountains! Alter Ego was really fun, and in the end our new friends ended up taking us home. I woke up in the morning with Lo on my floor and a bag of chips next to me like usual. We had an Art History field trip to San Zeno church that day, which is normally my day off. After strug city happened, I decided to do a little shopping and buy a new spring coat for the weekend! I also needed to pick up my paintbrushes and such. It was a beautiful day out! Thursday in Art History there weren't that many of us but Andrea took us to one of the towers in Verona since it was such a nice day! I came home and that night we finished Dexter season 2. We've vowed that we aren't going to start any new shows once we get through Dexter.

Friday began my journey in Barcelona! The girls for the weekend were me, Lo, Kalyn, and Mia. We took a somewhat early train to the station and then got to Bergamo airport where we met up with some of the boys (Jake, Chad, and Peter). When we got to Barcelona we got to the hostel and met up with Dardi and Dennis. All we did before dinner was go to the store and get alcohol and snacks, and then did a quick pregame before trying to find dinner. We got off the metro and it was pouring, so we just ran into a pizza place. It ended up being a Chicago style pizza place which we were all disappointed about because we wanted some Spanish food, but it was alright since we didn't want to venture back into the rain. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to finish pregaming, and Groebe met us. He took us to a bar called the Dow Jones bar. It was really cool! There are monitors throughout the bar with the drink prices on them, and they fluctuate like the stock market. Every hour the stock market crashes and the drinks become really cheap. After that we headed to Shoko--a discoteca. The end of the night proved itself very interesting, and I ended up falling asleep around 5.

In the morning we struggled out and switched rooms at the hostel, and then began our day around 12. We all met up with Connor and he took us around the city. Barcelona has such a different feel than so many other places I've been (both in the US and Europe) but I absolutely loved it! The group stopped at the Gaudi apartment and the girls and I took a guided headset tour which was helpful. The boys took us to a kebab place for lunch that they love, and let me tell you it was worth it! What I had was kind of like a huge burrito with lamb and chicken and sauces and oh my gosh was it amazing! After eating more than we should have, the gang headed to Parc Guell for an amazing view of the city! I wish we had more time there but we had to head back after about an hour and a half so the boys could get ready for their dinner with their friends. The girls just got food from the supermarket to make for dinner, and then got ready and pregamed. That night we went to a huge bar which I don't remember the name but we just kept getting pitchers of beer and then somehow we switched to tequila shots. It was Groebe and Connors birthdays so that was fun celebrating! After terrorizing that place, we got in taxis to go to a discoteca. We were getting into a cab with Dardi and all of a sudden this random girl gets in the front seat and starts slurring "sabes" to the taxi driver. We drove a few euros and then just yelled at the girl and stopped the taxi and got out. Oops. Dardi was randomly in the middle of the street so he let us get in the taxi with him. The next discoteca was pretty fun, tequila followed me however. Chad and I wanted to leave so the two blackout queens wandered around trying to find our way out. When we finally got there we waited at a bus stop for a taxi, and then somehow Connor came outside and got us one. When we got out, we had no idea where we were at all. I hailed us another taxi and in my slurred awesome Spanish I asked the taxi driver to take us to the Apollo Theater. I couldn't understand what he was saying, and he finally pointed and we realized that we had been there the whole time. Oops again.

Sunday morning we walked around to this castle, but had to leave pretty soon because we had a flight to catch. Our flight ended up being delayed, not too much but just enough to make us miss our train back to Verona by about 5 minutes. Our other options were to take a bus for two hours then take a train back, or to just get on this train with this nice 18 year old Spanish boy who was going to Padova and get off at Verona. We opted for that option since there were some really sketch men wandering around the Bergamo train station. We chilled at McDonalds with our new friend Ivan and got on the train. At one of the train stations we had a layover at, we realized that Ivan probably would be no help to us if we got attacked since he sounded like his voice hadn't even dropped yet. But we made it home safely around 2:30 in the morning.

Monday we had Italian, and afterwards I had my final cooking class. It ended with a bang consisting of fried artichokes, fritelli, fried squid, fried anchovies, and home made gnocchi. I was in heaven with everything :-) I am so sad that class is over but can't wait to try out all the recipes on my own. Tuesday was a lazy day after painting class and photography, but Wednesday was a great time. It was an absolutely beautiful day outside, but we couldn't leave the apartment because the cleaning lady was there. So I sat outside on the patio for a little bit to write some postcards. That night we pregamed at Lo and Kalyns apartment, and headed to Campus for a great rager. Our friends Giocamo and Andrea from the discoteca were there, so we hung out with them until it was time to go home. Giocamo was being the DD for the night so he drove us to a doughnut place and then home. The doughnut was amazing--chocolate creme filled!!

Tomorrow Mia, Lo, Steph, Courtney, Kalyn and I head to Rome! Maura is coming too and meeting up with her brother and sister. Next weekend from Wednesday to Monday I'm going to Vienna to visit Caitie and I could not be MORE excited!! I'm traveling by myself though which is a little nervewracking, but I'll figure it out and be fine!

My Life Isn't Real.

I can't believe we are in our 6th week of being in Italy. Time has gone by so fast it is unreal. I'm enjoying everything so much, but I do not want to EVER leave!

Last week we started taking real classes. And by real I mean painting, photography, and art history. We are still taking Italian but it is only once a week for 3 hours instead of every day for 3 1/2. Last Monday after Italian class I had cooking at Rafaelas. It was a good class, but I enjoy Francescas food so much more! We made meatballs, pasta with sauce, tomatoes stuffed with tuna (hello Derek food), and deviled eggs. I was really excited though because she had a cat. I was in heaven for a few minutes thinking of Sam haha. After cooking I came home and probably watched a few episodes of Dexter, the most addicting show in the world. Tuesday I ended up being late to my first painting class. It was alright though because we were just mixing sand. I thought class started at 9:30 instead of 9. We're painting frescos in class, and what we've done so far is make the base for our paintings and put it on our canvas, and then chosen a picture to paint. I'm painting "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." Class is really nice and relaxing which is a nice change of pace from school in Champaign. My photography class was cancelled that afternoon because the teacher was in America--is my life real? So I napped and hung out with the roomies until it was time to go to the girls apartment for dinner. The girls decided to cook dinner and hold a pregame for my birthday which was really nice! They made bruschetta, pesto pasta, pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant, and salad. They also bought cake and ice cream. As they were moving the table into the living room though it just all of a sudden shattered. Once again our lives aren't real. Everyone else came over for the pregame which was really fun like always, I opted for vodka since it was my birthday (almost). We all took bottles of wine with us to Campus and on the way we got them taken by the Italian militia. When we got to Campus I decided that tequila shots were the best choice and so we had to take a cab home at the end. Thank goodness I didn't have class on Wednesday so I could sleep off my hangover. The roomies and I finished Dexter that night so it was a great birthday all in all. I also received some gifts from my parents and family (some haven't arrived yet, I know) so I was very surprised and happy! Thursday after Art History class Maura and I packed and headed over to the train station to begin our Prague journey!

About 11 of us took a train from Prague to Bergamo, which is a smaller town close(ish) to Milan that we flew out of. We got to the airport around midnight since it was the latest train we could do, and our flight wasn't until 7:55 in the morning. Let's just say that sleeping in airports is not very fun, and not much sleeping occurs. Our plane was even delayed almost 2 hours. But in the end we made it to Prague! After checking into our hostel (which was so nice) we got some lunch at the Spirit Bar. I had an amazing lunch of garlic soup, a meat platter with sausage, bacon, pork, and steak, and our table got 2 desserts. It was a much needed meat filled meal! Our group decided to walk around for a while, but when we started becoming incapable of functioning in that huge size, Lo, Maura and I walked around for a few hours. It was so great being in a smaller group because we got to find sights on our own and begin to figure out the layout of the city. We went back to our hostel to get ready for dinner, and Maura, Lo, Lily and I went to grab something quickly. I ended up giving in and having gnocchi, but it was the best gnocchi I have ever had! It had tomatoes and mozzarella in it--so light and amazing! When we got back to the hostel some of the other girls were going to dinner for Claire's birthday so we joined and had some brews. When we got back to the hostel we went to the bar downstairs for our free shot, followed by some absinthe shots and tequila. Mia and Meg finally met up with us and we got in the free limos to take us to the strip club for Claire's birthday. Mia, Maura, Meg, and I opted not to go in since we saw more nakedness then necessary just on the walk in with all the pictures. We sat at a sports bar and waited for everyone else to come out. Around 1 everyone else was done, so we walked to the tram stop to go to a discoteca. On the way we had to stop and grab some fried cheese--amazing! We went to a discoteca called Golden Tree which was really fun. Lots of dancing and dare drop it like it's hot. Which will be making an appearance back in the states. We were tired around 4 so we got a cab home and paid in monopoly money (aka Czech monies).

Saturday morning we were all exhausted, but we got up and got stuff done anyway! A few of us went to a little breakfast place where I had eggs and ham. We then went to the clock tower for our free walking tour. Even though it was so cold, it was worth it! We learned so much from the 3 1/2 or so hour tour that we would have never learned on our own. We even got to take our break at a bagel place. I had been craving bagels since there aren't any here! After grabbing a quick hot chocolate, me, Alyse, Lo, Meg, Katie, and her boyfriend went to the John Lennon wall for some pictures. It was really awesome seeing that and fun to take pictures with. Around 8 Meg, Lily, Alyse and I went to dinner at the UPrince hotel. I got lobster soup for a starter, and then veal ravioli for dinner. After that we met up with Mia, Maura, and Lo at the Beer Factory for the rest of the night. This place was so cool! Every table has a tap in the middle of it, and you are essentially racing the other tables in the bar. It tallies how many beers your table has drank. Our table was in second only to another group of American boys, and we weren't that far behind them. We went home and on the way grabbed some HUGE bratwursts that were so heavenly. I really needed a meat fix after eating so much pasta in Italy. I took a power nap before going to the airport at 4 am. We were all a little drunk still, but managed to make it home around 10. Since we were exhausted and hungry and the convenience of McDonalds was there, we decided to grab some.

Around 11 we finally made it home!! Mia, Maura, and I were going to take short naps, but we ended up sleeping until 8 pm! We didn't want to be too lazy, so after getting ready we drank some wine and walked around Verona. Since it was a Sunday night around 11, nothing really was open, but we were able to sit outside at a bar in Piazza Erbe and have a spritz or two. There was even a Chinese restaurant open for us to grab some spring rolls on the way home!

This week is already going by fast. Yesterday we had Italian class, and then I had cooking class again. This meal was absolutely amazing! We made friend artichoke, fennel, broccoli pasta, fritatta, and pizza. I was stuffed afterwards and now have some great meals to make when I get back home (and even over here). Today I had painting and photography, both of those classes are going to be really fun. In painting we added the base colors to our frescos. I'm excited to see how this turns out since I'm not that great of an artist, but, when in Verona! Tonight Lo is coming over to make dinner and then we are going to the discoteca, Alter Ego, for Hannahs birthday and Fat Tuesday. This weekend should be exciting, Lo, Kalyn, Mia and I are going to Barcelona! A bunch of our friends are going to be there, staying in the same hostel too so I'm very excited!!

He Took a Lot of Medicine.

Mia's Birthday was last Tuesday making our otherwise boring week full of studying very fun. Lo, Meg, Maura, Mia, and I went out to dinner at a sushi place called iSushi which was right by some of the girls apts. It wasn't half bad and after that we went back to our apartment for a small pregame. This pregame ended up being the 5 of us drinking bottles of wine, bonding over ex boyfriends, and ended with us singing "Boom Box" to the tune of "Oom Bop" as I stood and held a boom box over my head. When we got to the bar everyone was sober, so naturally we made fools of ourselves. An interesting night ensued and let's just say class wasn't so hot in the morning, however we made it through somehow. When I got home I took a nap and attempted to study. Thursday I actually got some studying done before the exam Friday, which wasn't too bad. After our exam Maura and I came back to the apartment and showered and got ready. We were ready at 5 so we opened up a bottle of wine and turned on 2000-2009 best of hip hop and r&b power hour. Mia and her friend Bridgette came home to us about to open our second bottle of wine each. I had to go to bed around 9:30. Fail.

I did feel great in the morning however when we had to be at the train station for Carnival at 9:30 though! A pretty big group of us headed over to Venice in the morning, and got there around 12:30 in the afternoon. After taking a ferry to San Marco, we bought masks and started walking around the streets looking for a place to eat. Venice is absolutely beautiful! I can't believe how pretty it is and that is completely built on the water. I'm excited to go back there with Claudio and also with my parents in May. After wandering around for a while we settled on a small place run by azns. I got gnocchi which was great--I'm obsessed with gnocchi now. Since we needed to start drinking we found vino that was 3 bottles for 8.50 euro, so naturally we got 6 bottles to split between 5 of us. It's legal to walk around the streets with open alcohol here (at least that's what Claudio told us--if we get in trouble he is bailing us out) so we cracked open our first bottles and started walking. Since Carnival was just kicking off that day it wasn't so crazy yet but it was still really fun. We did get a lot of stares from people in disbelief that we were all drinking our own bottle. We ended up standing in a dark corner to chug so we wouldn't get as many stares but instead we got hit on by these creepy Americans from like Oregon and Virginia. Weirdos. For the rest of the day we walked around the square and had a lot of fun--the train ride back we passed out after Lo and I played some cards.

Today was a Claudio trip that I felt pretty well rested for for once! It started off with us going to Salo' to see a villa that was built for D'Annunzio. He was friends with Mussolini but got exiled into this villa because Mussolini wanted him out of the way for a little. The villa was amazing inside though. The guide had to take us in in groups of 10 and she didn't speak much English so she had a speaker system that she played the descriptions out of, and they were in this great British accent. After the tour of the villa we had about 1 1/2 hours to kill walking around the gardens and such so we did that. They were so pretty and we all had a great time taking pictures. We ate our lunch on the bus, and headed over to Borghetto. It was such a pretty day out so after walking around for a while a group of us climbed the rocks by Lake Garda and layed on those for about an hour or so. I was so scared while climbing on them that I was going to fall in the lake but I didn't! It would be beautiful to go back there when it's nicer out, I'm thinking that I will def. have to. We stopped in one more town-Sirmione-before dinner. It was really nice having the whole day to just relax and do our own thing and walk around without everything being too structured. We finally made it to dinner around 6:30 after feeling like either a) the bus driver was going to kill us by running us off the mountain or b) Claudio was going to drop us off in the middle of nowhere, followed by him telling us we only had 12 hours to make it back to Verona before our belongings got set on fire. Dinner was absolutely amazing, and I think I am still going to be full tomorrow from it! For antipasta we had prosciutto cotto (cooked) and crudo (raw), salami, breads, and hot peppers. Then we had risotto with sausage and gnocchi in a butter sauce with cheese. Our main course was amazing; rabbit, donkey, steak, potatoes, polenta, and I had some of Mias spinach. I was absolutely stuffed from all that food and wine. Dinner lasted a little over 3 hours, and it was so nice to be dropped off and be back at the apartment!

Tomorrow starts our first real week of class. I have Italian 2 at 2:30, followed by cooking class. Tuesday I have Painting at 9:30 followed by Photography at 2, and then some of us are cooking dinner and celebrating my birthday because most of us don't have class Wednesday (my actual birthday). Wednesday I'm thinking about going out again, maybe just for happy hour or something because we leave for Prague on Thursday! Our first real weekend trip out of the country...I'm so excited for another stamp in my passport!!

Fabiano Hates Me, and I'm Pretty Sure All of Italy Hates Me...

Wow am I exhausted! Let's do a quick recap of my past week and then I'll tell you all about Florence! Last week was pretty chill. Well besides Wednesday. Wednesday was Matts birthday so we all went out for him. Let's just say it was a top night for all of us. It was also the night I decided to eat an entire can of pringles and pass out mid conversation on skype, only to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to all my lights on and my hand hurting because it's been smushed under my computer for about 3 hours. It was really fun though and everyone was feeling a little rough in the morning. It was also the first day that people actually didn't make it to class. I did though :-). Thursday Mia and Maura left for Paris, so after class I did some errands (and got some gelato) and then came home and made dinner and just hung out by myself catching up on some TV and getting everything ready for the weekend ahead!

Friday after school I headed home to get my bags and go to the train station. Most of the crew was going on this trip plus others in the program so there were a lot of people that we knew! After making a stop in Bologna we finally made it to Firenze! We walked around and found our hostel pretty easily. There were 9 of us plus a few friends from the Milan program staying in the same hostel which was great! The hostel was actually pretty nice for 7 euro a night, except for the workout climbing the stairs haha. After getting settled in we went to a small shop for some wine, and the owner ended up giving us a wine opener and 9 bottles of wine for 19 euro! Dinner was next on the list; we went to a restaurant called ZaZa that was recommended to us by some of the girls friends (and Rick Steves). This place was amazing. I had this amazing pasta with a tomato sauce and cheese, and of course tiramisu for dessert. When we got back to the hostel the pregame began, and ended with Lebomb shots and pulls on a 5th of whisky. We all decided to go to Space Electronica for the night which was so much fun! It was our first discoteca and it did not disappoint. When you got there you get a card and they basically hole punch different spots on your card for different things and when you leave you pay with the card. It didn't end up being that expensive and we didn't need much to drink at that point. It was so much fun just dancing the whole night.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and I started my day with a cup of cioccolata calda (molto bene--the best I've had yet) and a pastry with creme. Our group got a little split up but we started off at the Duomo in the actual church part. It was huge and completely beautiful. I lit a candle while I was there also. After exploring the inside, a few of us decided that it would be amazing to climb to the top of the bell tower--414 steps. There were 4 different levels, so we got to take a break every once in a while and take some great pictures. It was worth it to walk all that way! The bells did go off when we were climbing though and it was extremely loud. The view of Florence from the top of the tower was breathtaking. The walk back down was a little scary--some of the steps were really narrow and it had been raining earlier so they were also wet. After the Duomo we ventured to the Academia to see the David. I have to say it was my favorite thing about Florence. It's funny because we walked right past the building at first; you would have never guessed that the building had no name and looked just like a random house. The rest of the museum was pretty cool, but I could have stayed for hours just looking at the David. We went to lunch at a small pizza place afterwards and Joanna and I split a pizza that had spinach, red peppers, and onions on it. It was amazing and just enough to tie me over until dinner later that night. When we were done eating we headed over to the Uffizi to look around the art galleries. Of course we stopped for some gelato on the way over. I had chocolate chip this time around. The Uffizi was really cool, it was awesome to see paintings and drawings that were done as early as the 1400's! My favorite part of the gallery was the "Birth of Venus" which was painted by Botticelli. We tried going to the Medici palace after that to go to the gardens, but by the time we walked over there we didn't want to be rushed and it was getting dark so we decided to call it a day and take a nap before dinner. Around 9 we went to dinner, and after a small fiasco ended up eating one of the best meals on this trip. We got free wine and lemoncello, and I also had bruschetta and pizza. It was the best pizza I have ever had: tomatoes, prosciutto, arugula, and parmesan cheese. Completely amazing. Dinner wasn't over until almost midnight, so we headed back to the hostel for a quick pregame before trying out a new place. That didn't end up working too well, so we settled for Space Electronica again. It was awesome though, I love that place.

In the morning we had to be out of there by 10, so we left and went to the Boboli Gardens in the Medici Palace. The gardens were amazing, and it was so much fun walking around them. I'm so glad we decided to go that day instead of the day before because it was sunny out and everyone was in a much better mood. We had to carry our stuff with us, but luckily they had a bag check so we could let them hold onto our backpacks. After walking around the gardens for a few hours, we went to drop off our stuff at Kalyns friends apartment. That made traveling around a lot easier. We were so hungry and wanted to go the the Oil Shop to eat, but it was closed so we settled for a place called "Self Service". If you ever go to Florence, do NOT go to the self service. As Joanna would say "I think this was the worst meal I have ever eaten. In my entire life." We all pondered that statement and agreed. I mean if you like balls of bread that you think are meatballs and chicken that is in no way chicken, then I guess it's ok. Oh and it was 10 euro. Awful. But at least it was entertaining. The girls needed to to some shopping so Alex left to do some more sightseeing and we went to the markets to get some goodies. I ended up getting a scarf, a leather journal, and a mask for Carnival this weekend. We also stopped in H&M and got a few things. Of course I was craving nutella gelato so that had to be had. We still had a ton of time to kill so we sat in a restaurant and I ended up with an 8 euro orange juice. At this point though I really didn't care and just laughed it off. We killed a little more time walking around and doing a little more shopping, got our stuff, and headed to the train station. Maggie, Kaitlin, Courtney, Joanna and I opted for the direct Eurostar which was really relaxing and worth the extra money. It felt so good to be home even though I loved being in Florence.

Now we have another full week of Italian, and our test on Friday! I'm so nervous because I feel like I'm still horrible at Italian. I'm going to start studying tomorrow though since it's Mias birthday today. Also I got a package from my parents...I am so excited about it! Sweatpants and lots of chips, cookies, and ranch. And about 8 cards for my bday and Valentines day. So great!!