Fall Break- Spain and Portugal

From October 25^th to November 2^nd I got to adventure across Spain and Portugal. What an experience! Mom and Dad left the 25^th and I hopped the train to Bologna to fly to Madrid. A few of my friends from Florence were already there so I was meeting up with them. So me and my one backpack (that I had to live out of for one week!) were on our way. I have gotten a lot more comfortable traveling alone and its crazy to think how terrified and lost I was when I first got here. I guess I am growing up! :)

The first night after seeing some of the sights of Madrid we went to a few of the bars to celebrate Zach’s 21^st birthday. Free shots are great! The next day we checked out some of the famous sites of Madrid and did some shopping on Gran Via. My favorite was the Park of Madrid. We sat by the lake with a bottle of wine and some bread. It was so relaxing and a great way to kick off my week. Another highlight of Madrid were the restaurants we found. So good and super cheap! Yum!

The next day we woke up super early and took a taxi to the airport to catch our EARLY flight to Lisbon, Portugal. This trip has to be a record for the most flights in one week—5! Quite ridiculous! It’s the best way to travel quickly and relatively cheaply. Most of our flights were early morning flights so I have perfected the art of sleeping on planes. Lisbon was probably my favorite stop of the trip. Our hostel was the best hostel I have ever stayed at. If you are ever in Lisbon I recommend the Travelers House, super cute and homey, complete with scrambled eggs every morning! The first day we spent exploring Lisbon. I love wandering the streets of random towns. You never know what treasures you will discover, like churches over looking the bay. :)

Then that night the hostel had a wine tasting aka my new favorite hobby. We met some fun people and had a great time making friends with people from all over! It was an excellent day.

For day two in Lisbon we decided to do a road trip tour with the hostel to Sintra. So the 5 of us, 2 Australians and one crazy guy piled into a van for a grand adventure, complete with the oddest variety of music. I have good news! I found my future home! The Castelo da Pena is amazing and fully furnished with many bedrooms so you can all come stay with me. I plan to move in sometime after graduation. Hahaha! In case you haven’t noticed I love touring castles. J The next stop was another palace complete with the craziest “gardens” ever. It had tunnels and caves that would connect you to different parts of the gardens. We had way too much fun exploring the tunnels and defending our castles. It was like being in a fantasy world. We all turned it to kids for a few hours, complete with an acorn battle castle vs. castle. Then it was on to Capo da Roca, which is the farthest western point in Europe. I waved to all of you! Last but not least was the most gorgeous beach ever, where I got to watch the sunset. It was an amazing day and once again one of the best I have had here. The night ended with a keg at the hostel and a pub-crawl. Portugal=Awesome!

Then it was another flight back to Madrid for a quick overnight before another flight to Barcelona! Really we flew it Girona, which is about an hour outside Barcelona. We did some exploring before catching the train to Barcelona. Girona is a really neat town with lots of neat churches and winding streets. Barcelona is quite the place with lots to see and explore. After checking into the hostel we met up with Jeff’s friend Katie (also an Iowa Stater) who is studying in Barcelona and she gave us a great introductory tour of the city. We wandered Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s famous shopping street, and checked out all the stands, costumed street performers and an great fresh food market, the Boqueria Market. Then Katie took us to a super awesome fountain show complete with music and lights. It reminded me of something Disney would do. J After a few escalator rides we reached the top of Palace Nacional and enjoyed the lights of Barcelo

The next day was dedicated to the works of Gaudi. Examples of his modernist architecture and style are all over the city. Our first stop was Parc Guell which looks over the city. It was nice to be outside enjoying the nice weather and we took a break on Gaudi’s ergonomically correct bench. Very comfy!

Another stop was La Sagrada Familiga, a church designed by Gaudi that he left unfinished. It is still under construction, but very impressive and so different from all the other churches I have seen. This guy had some really unique ideas. Next we wandered to Parc de La Ciutadella. I love parks and this one is definitely near the top of my list. It offers I nice break from the busy streets of Barcelona and has a lot to offer including a great fountain, a lake with rowboats and a wooly mammoth statue.

After making a great dinner of Spaghetti at the hostel it was time to celebrate Halloween Barcelona style! What better way then to go to the largest club in all of Barcelona. Razzmatazz has five different rooms playing all types of music. We ended up hanging out in the biggest room with about 5,000 other people. It was crazy, but a lot of fun. The highlight of the night was a performance of the Thriller dance! Those Spanish know how to party; we were out till 5:30am! And that’s normal!

The final day of fall break was spent with a tour of the Picasso Museum, feeding some gimpy pigeons and souvenir shopping. Then it was a train ride back to Girona. I spent the remainder of the evening in the hostel feeling sick. Not the best way to end a great trip, but I was glad it wasn’t until the last day that I felt icky. The next morning we took an early morning flight back to Bologna and then a train to Florence completing our amazing fall break journey.

I never thought I would make it to Spain or Portugal and I got to do both! I am constantly thinking about how lucky I am to have had all of these amazing experiences. I have seen so much this semester! Study abroad has been so much better than I imagined and I cannot believe how fast it has gone!

For more pics from Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona check out Facebook! Love you all!

Mom and Dad in Italia

On October 15^th Mom and Dad arrived in Rome! I took the train right after my Italian class Thursday morning and met them at the hotel. It was so nice to see them and exactly what I needed. I felt only a little sorry that I interrupted their napping time, but we were in Rome there is way too much to see to be napping! So instead we started walking. It was so fun to see them out of their element a little bit. Mom couldn’t get over the buildings and Dad was just smiling, taking it all in. The first stop was of course gelato and then we wandered our way from the hotel to Colosseum. I have seen the Colosseum before, but it is still such an amazing architectural feat. You can clearly see the resemblance to any and all athletic facilities of today. We decided to tackle it and the Forum the next day. Instead we wandered some more, eventually finding a wine bar and relaxing in a Piazza with a good bottle of Chianti. Becky, my roommate from Iowa State, is studying in Rome this semester and we got to meet up with her for a delicious dinner. I still couldn’t believe my family was here in Italy. It was great!!

The next day we went to the Forum (aka the ancient Roman ruins). We decided to split an audio tour. Ha! The little speaker only goes so loud. I am sure we looked like idiots all huddled around it trying to hear. Hahaha! But it was helpful to have some clue as to what we were looking at. One of the coolest places was looking down on the Forum area from the Palatine Hill. It was kind of neat seeing all the tourists milling around down there. If they had been in togas it would have been perfect! Next was the Colosseum. We got to pass the ridiculously long line since we had already bought our tickets. Hooray! The inside of the Colosseum is just as amazing as the outside. I would have loved to have seen it during the Roman times, well minus all the killings inside. Yikes!

Then Dad was thirsty and he managed to lead us back to an Irish Pub we had passed the day before. After a long day of ruin strolling a beer and bar snacks was a perfect way to kick off the evening. Once again we met up with Becky and we were once again roaming the streets of Rome. We hit up the usual sights like the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. Then it was another tasty Italian dinner. Yum! One of the best things about having my folks in town was all the wonderful food I got to enjoy. Tasty! After dinner we took the back way up the Spanish steps. Much to mom’s disappointment there are just as many steps going up this way hahaha. At the top we actually ran into my friend Paula from Iowa State who is also studying in Rome. It was a complete surprise and so totally random. It was great to see her! We stood there and chatted for quite awhile, but I noticed the jet-lagged ‘rents starting to fade so we called it a night and went back to the hotel. It had been a long, but awesome day.

Saturday we decided to head to another country for a few hours and made the Metro trip to the Vatican City. It was a little gloomy out when we arrived so we headed to the museum first. Now the last time I was in Europe I did the Vatican Museum in record time. We only had 2 hours or so and our mission was the Sistine Chapel. It was so nice to actually enjoy all of the amazing pieces this museum has. It was crazy to look at some of the statues that I had been studying for the past few weeks in my art history class. It’s so true that you appreciate artwork so much more when you know what it is about. Thank god for personal audio guides! The Sistine Chapel was just as amazing as I remember, if not more so since I have learned so much more about it and Michelangelo since being here. We were one of the lucky ones to score a spot on the benches surrounding the walls and got to sit and take it all in. Besides the minor interruptions of angry guards yelling at tourists to be quiet it is a really overwhelming experience. You may have seen pictures, but nothing can compare to seeing it in person. Next was a stop at St. Peter’s Square and a walk through the Basilica. It is HUGE! It is the largest church I have ever seen and everything in it is so ornately decorated. Beautiful!

After a long day of Vaticany things we were ready to head back to Rome. We wandered along the river for a while. It was so nice to get to just hang out with my parents. I miss home so much and getting to laugh and talk with them was the best thing ever. I am so thankful that they were able to make the trip over here to see me. They deserved it to! 25 Years!We had another great dinner at the little place by our hotel. I think we have a gift for picking good restaurants…or most restaurants in Italy are just pretty darn good!

The next morning we caught a train to head back to Florence for a few days before they headed to Cinque Terre. They stayed at my hostel, which was fun! After showing them my room and they headed to the Accademia museum, while I booked my flights to Spain for fall break. We met up later and did the walking tour of Florence. That one of my favorite things about this place, everything is in walking distance. We covered a lot of ground. It was nice for them to get to see where I have been for the past few months. Although we had planned to visit museums on Monday when we found out that many of them were going to closed. So instead we decided to head out to Chianti for a wine tour with the hostel. It was the same tour I had went on

earlier this semester. We got to taste some great wines and olive oils. The last stop was in San Gimignano, a medieval town in the hills and home to the world’s best gelato. We had a great day and I know they were glad that we did it since we all know they love wine J

The next day they left for Cinque Terre and I took my first midterm. Not fair I know! It actually went pretty well considering how little studying I had done. Apparently going wine tasting before midterms is not a bad idea J It was a long week with five tests, but I am slowly getting the grades back and I did pretty well. Not that it matters too much since everything transfers back to ISU as pass/fail. Hooray!

After my last exam Thursday afternoon I met Mom and Dad outside school and we were on a train bound for Venice. It’s a pretty long ride to Venice from Florence so when we arrived it was pretty late. One thing we did learn about Venice is that since there are not really streets that cars drive on there are not really any street signs either. After wandering for quite some time we finally called the hotel and confessed how lost we were. The hotel guys actually met us in St. Mark’s Piazza to lead us to the hotel. Well when we finally got there… no wonder we couldn’t find it because it looked nothing like a hotel. Besides a very small plaque on the building you would have no clue. Then when we entered it only got better. It was a basement with just brick walls. Not exactly your typical hotel lobby. The guy apologized profusely and said he was waiting for approval to redo it. Poor guy! When we did we reach the hotel (on the 4^th floor- sorry dad/Sherpa) it was very nice and we were happy to have a home. However, we were starving! It was 11pm and not a lot of places are open that late and still serving dinner. Luckily we had found a Hard Rock Café and it was exactly what we needed. I had a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger and about died! Yum! So far Venice was turning out to be quite the adventure J

The next day we did the typical touristy things: St. Mark’s, the piazza, and the Doge’s Palace. My favorite was touring the palace. Each room seemed to get bigger and even more beautiful. The last room was gorgeous and so massive! Mom’s thought was that with better footing it would make a perfect indoor arena…typical! We also got to go over the Bridge of Sighs that led to the prison. Mom made a joke about how she though it was called that because the prisoners thought “oh…damn-it” when crossing. Well true story, that is actually why it is called that. Haha! After spending a little too much time in museums we started wandering the streets of Venice. It is such a unique place. The streets are so narrow and canals are everywhere! We did manage to find the Rialto bridge, the first bridge to span the Grand Canal. Then it was wine time! We decided to have our own wine bar and bought some wine, crackers and cheese to enjoy while relaxing at the hotel. Before dinner we went out exploring again and almost let mom take a swim in one of the canals. J

On Saturday we took the train back to Florence and enjoyed the day walking around Florence. We did conquer the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo. It was a long way up, but the perfect view of the city. Then it was of course time for more gelato at my favorite place, Grom. Mom and I got caramel and apple favors. Yum! As a celebration of their last night in Italy we did go out for a tradition Italian meal complete with all 4 courses. It was a lot of food, but we managed! J I was really sad to see them leave Sunday morning, but I had a train to catch to Bologna to fly to Madrid. I am so glad that they came to visit me and I think they enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a perfect way to break up the semester here. I did get some nice things from home that I am enjoying now too, like microwave popcorn, Life cereal and caramel! I can’t believe how little time I have left here. I will miss it, but I will definitely be ready to head home. I miss you all so much!

For more pictures check out my facebook album or mom’s facebook album. (Yeah she caved hahaha!)

Amalfi Coast- Cliffs and Caves

First I want to apologize for neglecting my blog. I have been so busy lately and the thought of trying to get it caught up is overwhelming me. I really want to share with you all that I have been up to the past month so I am going to try and summarize the best I can without leaving to much out so here goes nothing! Sorry it is so long… I just can’t help myself. I want to remember it too!

The weekend of October 8^th to the 11^th I traveled to the Amalfi Coast here in Italy. It is located on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula. It has to be one of the most beautiful places in Italy. The coast is gorgeous and it has the bluest water I have ever seen! We stayed in Sorrento at a really cute hotel. On Friday we spent the day in Capri. Capri is an island that is famous for the Faraglioni (huge limestone formations sticking out of the sea, as seen behind me in the picture) and the Blue Grotto. The first thing we did was a boat tour around the island. This was a great way to see the entire island. We also stopped at the Blue Grotto. I decided that it was totally worth the 10 Euro to go inside. They don’t lie… it is a glowing blue cave! You have to enter through a small opening that can barely fit a small paddleboat. It was four other girls, a guide and me and we all had to lay flat in the bottom of the boat to fit through! Inside is indescribable. The sun reflects off the sand under the water at the bottom of the cave and it makes the whole cave glow blue. I took pictures, but they do not do it justice. Another highlight from Capri was the chairlift ride Isabelle and I took to the highest point of the island. We could see the entire island and the coast of Italy from up there. The view was amazing! Once again the pictures just cannot capture the beauty of this place. Capri was so amazing and we had a great day exploring the island.

On Saturday we took the bus to Positano, another town along the coast. I cannot get over how these gorgeous towns are just nestled into the mountainsides right along the sea. In some ways it reminded me of Cinque Terre. We got to go on another boat tour here, but this one I will call more of an adventure tour. First the boat stopped at a rocky seaside cliff. This was where I got my first experience with cliff jumping. The cliff was probably about 40 feet up and the climb to get up there was probably the most dangerous part. After watching a few people take the plug I decided I didn’t want to miss out on this. So I climbed all the way up. At the top I had a lot of second thoughts. It took me quite awhile but I finally jumped. What a rush! Unfortunately I did hit the water wrong and was in quite a bit of pain for about a week…Oops! Looking back now though I am still totally glad I did it!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was at the second stop on the boat tour. Here we got to swim in a cave. It was not quite as blue as the blue grotto, but the water there is unlike anything I have ever seen. Swimming in the cave felt like being in a movie. It was so neat and not like anything I had ever done before. I hope that I get a chance to go caving again someday. Preferably when the water is a tad bit warmer!

On Sunday we got to go to Pompeii. I am sure many of you know the story, but I will give a quick recap. Pompeii was a big city during the Roman Empire. In 79 AD it was covered in rock and ash after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. One positive of this catastrophe is that Pompeii is one of the most well preserved cities of that period. It went untouched for centuries and the ash persevered many of the buildings and some of the frescos on the walls are still visible today. It is unbelievable to walk the streets of this ancient city! I got to go into a theater, a wealthy house, a brothel and tour the city center. I wish we could have spent more time there since we barely got to scratch the surface. I was overwhelmed by the size of the city! Then it was back on the bus and back to Florence.

I have to add this as another one of my top places to sea in Italy. The Amalfi Coast is gorgeous and there is so much to see and do there. I would like to go back again and spend more time there! For more pics check out my facebook album.

On The Top of the World- Switzerland

Early on Saturday morning Isabelle and I left with a group of other Lorenzo students for a trip to Switzerland. After a 4.5-hour bus ride we arrived in Tirano, a town on the border of the Italy and Switzerland. It was a very cute town that caters to the tourists coming to enjoy the surrounding mountains. From here we took the Bernina Express into the Alps. The Bernina Express connects Tirano to Chur, Switzerland. This was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. The train had huge panoramic windows to see the breathtaking views as we climbed high into the mountains. We got to ride the train for 2.5 hours on our way to St. Moritz. I didn’t want to blink the whole time. It was some of the most beautiful views I have seen. We did get really high up, well above the tree line. I saw some really neat waterfalls, lakes and even a few tiny towns tucked into the valleys. It seemed like we would keep climbing forever! I took way to many pictures and none of them do it justice.

We arrived in the beautiful resort town of St. Mortiz. It is located on the highest summit of the Eastern Alps. It is considered one of the oldest and most famous winter resorts in the world and I could see why. It was gorgeous! The town has two parts the Dorf (the old part of downtown) and the Bad (the area around the lake). Our hotel, Hotel Sonne, was located near the lake. After a minor delay (we walked in and our room wasn’t clean) we got checked in and then headed out to buy some tasty Swiss chocolate. After that we took a refreshing walk around Lake St. Mortiz. It was another postcard perfect picture. I swear everything here could be a postcard! It is just amazing. It was nice to experience cool fall weather and enjoy the outdoors. It was so calm and relaxing! Next was dinner at the hotel and it was delicious! I was so hungry and it was a four-course meal. First was a basil soup and then a salad. Yes… I love salads now! Then it was a plate of penne and tomato sauce and some bbq chicken. The best part had to be the desert, chocolate pudding with a strawberry! It was an awesome dinner and a great way to end the day.

The next morning we got back on the bus to head to Lake Como. The drive was through one of the most scenic areas in the Alps. It was awesome to do in morning with the sun reflecting perfectly off the peaks of the mountains. We drove through more resort towns and saw lots of people with backpacks. I would love to come back here some day to do some hiking. I really wanted to take one of the trams up to the top of the peaks in St. Moritz but we didn’t have time. I think I am going to try and plan a trip back to Switzerland for later this semester to do some skiing. J

One of the craziest parts of the drive was this winding road down into one of the valleys. Let me tell you making hairpin turns in a double-decker bus can be pretty scary! I don’t think I would have attempted that road with my car, let alone a bus! Luckily we had an amazing bus drive and we made it down safely. We also drove right through boarder control to get back into Italy. The guards just waved at us. I have now been to two other countries in Europe and neither one has checked my passport. Kind of odd but oh well!

Next we drove around apart of Lake Como. Lake Como is a huge lake nestled amongst the Alps just inside the Italian border. We drove through beautiful little towns along the lake with lots of fancy villas. Some day when I am rich and famous I will buy a villa here and you can all come visit me! J From the town of Cadenabbia we took a ferry ride to Bellagio one of the most beautiful towns in Europe. George Clooney has a villa there! Lake Como makes the shape of an upside down Y and Bellagio sits right where the lake splits into two legs. We walked out to the point and the views are unbelievable. I bought a really pretty silk scarf. The Lake Como area is known for its silks so it was a good excuse to splurge on a nice souvenir. Next we stopped in Como, which is located at the head of the lake. I had some amazing gelato (white chocolate and strawberry) while watching a speed boat race on the lake. I liked Como, but it was a lot more crowded than the other places we stopped. Then it was back to the bus for the ride to Florence. I passed out for about half of the trip and that made it go faster.

It was a great weekend! I really want to go back to that area someday. I am really enjoying these weekend trips, but I always find myself wishing they were longer. I wish I could spend more time exploring the all the areas I visit. They are each so unique and beautiful! I can see how people get addicted to traveling. As soon as I get home from one trip I am already thinking about what is next! I want to take in as much as I can while I am here. I am going to take this weekend off though and chill in Florence. It will be nice to explore around here again and go to some of the weekend markets. I still love it here and I cannot believe how fast time is going!

Wine Tasting in Tuscany

On Friday the roommates and I decided to take a trip out to Tuscany for a wine tasting tour. I had been eyeing up signs in our hostel about wine tasting tours and Friday seemed like the perfect day. During the 40-minute bus ride our tour guide Paul gave us a quick “Wine for Dummies” talk. I actually learned quite a bit about how wine is made and a lot about the different varieties.

Our first stop was the vineyard Pietraserena located just outside of San Gimignano. The scene was as about as picture perfect as you can get when it comes to beautiful Tuscan countryside. When we arrived we were sent straight to work picking grapes. It was so much fun! I seemed to have the same problem I have with picking strawberries though, rather than put them in the basket I prefer to eat them. Yummy! I did fill a whole big basket on my own. I wouldn’t have minded picking grapes all day, but the tour continued with a tour through their facility. They do it all there including the bottling and packaging. It was neat to get a walk through of the whole process.

Then it was tasting time! We got to spend a few hours relaxing, sipping wine and eating lunch with a backdrop of rolling hills of vineyards. It was wonderful! The food was delicious and the wine was even better. I really liked their white wine and their rossa wine and bought a bottle of each. I did try a really good Chianti, but it is not my favorite…yet. J We shared a table with a couple from Australia and two girls from Ireland. It was fun to chat with them about their travels. After a few glasses we decided it was time to take some fun pictures with the grapes.

I could’ve lounged there all day, but we had to head to our next stop on the tour. This time it was to an actual wine tasting class. Here we learned the proper technique to wine tasting: how to swirl it in the glass, breathe it in and sip it through your teeth to get the full body. It was pretty funny! I also got to try some really good truffle oil and olive oil. Emily and I really liked the olive oil and decided to buy a big bottle for our apartment. Tasty! I also got to taste so 30-year-old balsamic vinegar! It was so delicious!

Then it was back on the bus to head home. That was when Paul told us about a big wine tasting festival going on Florence that weekend. Vineyards from across the area had tents and for 10 Euro you got a glass and could go tent to tent tasting the different wines. We managed to hit up quite a few tents and got to try even more great wine. It was the perfect way to wrap up our wine tasting day. It literally was a day full of wine!

Sadly this also means I will probably no longer be able to buy the cheap wine at the central market, but I should probably be drinking the good stuff while I am here. J I need to look up what the restrictions are for bringing wine home with me!

Oktoberfest

On Sunday night Isabelle and me made the quick decision to book a trip to Oktoberfest through a tour group called Florence For Fun. Spots were filling up fast and we both really wanted to add this experience to our abroad adventures. It was last minute trip plan and we left Thursday at 11:30pm. After a quick week of classes and a trip to the offices to hand over the money L we found ourselves at the train station waiting for a bus to Munich late Thursday night. We managed to snag the best seat on the bus (the one with the most leg room) and began the 8-hour journey to Germany. Since it was an overnight trip it was important to get some sleep. I struggled with that! If you have ever tried it you know it is impossible to get comfortable sitting in a bus seat. I kept getting neck cramps and the bus was freezing! The bus driver had the air conditioning cranked and I couldn’t feel my toes. I had to get out all of the sweaters I packed and cuddled up in my bath towel. Needless to say I was ready to get off that bus when we arrived in Munich.

Since Oktoberfest didn’t start until Saturday we had all day Friday to explore the city of Munich. A big group of people on the trip decided to do a bike tour of Munich with Mike’s Bikes. I had to convince Isabelle to give it a shot, but there was one major problem. She doesn’t know how to ride a bike! The bike guide pulled out an ancient tandem bike and Isabelle and one of the Florence for Fun guides, Tyler, teamed up for the excursion. I was so excited that we were able to do the tour and it was totally worth it! I got to see some of the most famous places in Munich. We went to the Marienplatz (home of the Glockenspiel), the Hofbrahaus (largest beer hall in Munich), the National Theater, and my favorite the Englischer Garten. It was huge! Bigger than NY Central Park! One of the craziest things at the park was watching people surf the artificial waves on the Eisbach River.

After the tour me and another group of girls from Syracuse decided to take a train ride out to Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was the first concentration camp in Germany. It was very moving to see this area. Like everyone I have seen movies, documentaries, and read books about the concentration camps, but walking the same places that those people walked is very emotional and hard to explain. The atmosphere of the place was very somber and quiet. I did the personal audio tour of the entire camp. The most moving were the interviews on the recording of the survivors. I went into the barracks and saw the cramped conditions. It is hard to imagine how the fit so many people in one room. I also went to the Crematorium. This was very hard to witness and something I will never ever forget. The whole trip was very quiet and very personal.

We took the train back to a very hustling Munich train station. While walking back towards the town center we decided to pop into one of the stores to try on the typical German dresses, dirndls. It was so fun! I actually really liked the one I tried on. Sadly, it was 80 Euro and I couldn’t figure out when I would ever wear it again. It was really fun to try on though and probably would’ve made a great Halloween costume for years to come J

The Florence for Fun crew decided to have dinner at the world famous Hofbrahaus. What a place! It was absolutely nuts! People were singing, dancing on chairs and swinging their liter beers through the air. It was quite a sight to see and be apart of. I had my first liter of beer, which I did manage to finish! I also ate some traditional German food and it was delicious. I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing at first, but it ended up being a really great time! Afterwards Isabelle and me grabbed gelato and had to run back to catch the bus to the hostel. Note: do not by gelato in Germany when you are used to Italian gelato. There is no comparison! I was really disappointed with how long it took to get to our hostel. We were 45 minutes away from Munich! It was a typical hostel experience, including my first experience with shared bathrooms. Yikes! But it was a clean bed and I had a great night of sleep in preparation for a big day ahead.

I don’t even know where to begin in describing Oktoberfest! It was not what was expecting, but at the same time exactly like what I expected. It reminded me of home! Wisconsin is very German and I can totally see where the love of beer and bratwurst comes from! First we decided to stake out a spot along the parade route. The parade was so neat! It was just wagons full of people and/or kegs and they were all pulled by beautiful teams of horses. I absolutely loved it! There were also a few marching bands tossed in the mix. The grounds of the celebration are huge. It is like a giant amusement park complete with a few roller coasters and a ton of carnival rides. I did make it on a few rides, including one roller coaster with five loops to create the Olympic rings! The majority of the people are dressed in traditional German attire, lederhosen and dirndls. It makes the atmosphere so festive and fun!

The one bummer to Oktoberfest and the part we found most frustrating was trying to get into the giant beer hall buildings. These buildings are huge and there are tons of people, but in order to be served you must find a seat. In all the big tents we went into there was not a seat to be found. After going in about 3 or 4 different tents we gave up and bought a roast chicken. Hahaha! It was delicious and it put me in a much better mood. We found an outside bar and ordered a few beers from there. It was great to finally enjoy my first beer of Oktoberfest! I enjoyed it so much that the glass didn’t make it back to the bar and will have a nice new home in Wisconsin! A few beers later we decided to try and get into a tent for a second time. Success! After waiting in a short line at one of the smaller tents we got a seat! Hooray! It was great to be apart of the party inside. Each tent has its own band playing and everyone is singing and cheersing one another. I did manage to get a picture with a bunch of German boys in lederhosen!

Everything was more fun after that and we went on a few more rides and I think had a few more beers. (I remember buying one from the carrousel bar… it was actually going around in circles like a carrousel!) Then it was back to the hostel on the Germany version of the Moonlight Express (aka the drunk bus in Ames) I did call mom and have everyone on the bus say hi! The next morning I was feeling fine, but I did see quite a few people that looked a little iffy. Hahaha! Then we were back at Oktoberfest until 4 pm that afternoon. We did manage to get a table right outside the Hippodrom tent. I decided to have Sprite…lame I know. I did manage to add that glass to my collection as well. J The ride back to Florence was really, really long! We watched a ton of movies and once again I couldn’t sleep. We got back to Florence really late Sunday night and I basically fell into bed. I love not having class on Mondays!

Oktoberfest was quite the experience. I have learned that beer is pretty good, lederhosen are awesome and Germany is great! I had a lot of fun! The whole time I was there I kept thinking about people back home and how much fun it would we with all of you. Can’t wait to go again someday!

The Adventure: Cinque Terre

4 Thoughts:

1. Do not over pack.

2. Always book places to stay.

3. Forest fires are scary.

4. I never want to be homeless.

Now…

On Friday we decided to use the train tickets from the failed beach attempt last week. The train left at 9:30am. At first I didn’t think we were all going to make it. The guys were late and jumped on board at the last second. But we all made it and we were on our way to Viareggio for real this time! I group of us planned to go on from there to Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. This was my first time actually using the train system, which is pretty neat once you get the hang of it.

When we got to Viareggio it was a gorgeous day outside. I had read in my book that a lot of the beaches were private and you had to pay. Being poor students we were on a mission to find the free beaches. After wandering a few million blocks (well it felt like a million. I began to regret all the clothes I packed.

Yes Dad I am learning that bringing options is not always necessary J I began to think that this day was going to turn out a lot like our other travel day. Finally after asking about a 3 different people we found the bus stop we needed. That is one thing that has been really frustrating since getting to Italy. Every time you ask someone a question you never get the same answer twice. We were told to stand at three different bus stops. Luckily bus number 9 did take us to the free beach. It was absolutely gorgeous! The sand and the sea were perfect. It was pretty busy, especially when compared to the empty “private” beaches a few yards away. We chilled on the beach all day and it was so relaxing. I swam, took a nap and read my book. Beaches in Italy seemed pretty similar to beaches back home, except for the crazy number of guys in very unattractive speedos. Ewww. I saw enough of a few old men to last me a lifetime.

After the beach we hopped the bus back to the train station. Here the group split up with a few heading back to Florence and the rest of us to find someplace to stay in La Spezia. Well the finding the place to stay thing is easier said than done. We had called all the places in my guidebook and they were full. We found an Internet Point to look for others and they were also full. By this point I had already picked out my park bench. We started wandering again (we have gotten really good at that) and once again got really lucky and found a hotel with a room for only 120 Euro and split 7 ways that isn’t too bad. We did break the law by having more than 4 people. Isabelle, Beth and I snuck in the hotel so the front desk lady didn’t ever see out whole group. We felt pretty sneaky. Thankfully it all worked out and we were happy to have a place to stay! It was weird though because when we got to the room there were only four beds, but there were seven extra blankets, three extra pillows and even seven bars of soap. Its like they knew! Hahaha!

The next day we were up early and ready to hit the trails of Cinque Terre. We met the rest of the group back at the train station after they took an early train from Florence. Cinque Terre is a beautiful area along the Mediterranean Sea. It is actually five small villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore) built right into the hills along the coastline. Hiking trails connect these towns, which can only be reached via train, bus or hike. No cars allowed! This offered a great get away from the crazy traffic and busy streets of Florence. We took the train to Monterosso where we were going to start our hike. I was getting worried because I knew we didn’t have a place to stay for the night. Once again I started calling and asking around. Everywhere was booked. We had struck out big time. We tried to find someplace that would even let us store our bags for the day, but no go. Having no other option really we hit the first leg of the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. Since this is the most challenging stretch of the hike we decided to do it first. As we were heading up the mountain (and yes I mean mountain check out my pics on facebook) we met a couple from Vancouver. They were staying in Monterosso and offered to let us keep our stuff in their hotel room while we hiked for the day. This was the nicest thing anyone could do for us! It helped us out greatly and meant we could really enjoy the day. So a shout out to Colleen and Peter, Thank you so much!! We asked if we could do anything for them and they just told us to pay it forward. I thought that was a great message and I will never forget their generosity.Having no backpack and a much better outlook on the day the crew and me hit the trail…Onward and upwards! And man was it a lot of upwards. I have never done so much straight uphill hiking in my life! If you have done Gibralter Rock or the Rock Face hike at Devils Lake take that times at least five. It was a lot of work but totally worth it. The views were unbelievable. I have never seen anything so beautiful! Check out my facebook for more pics!

The first town was Vernazza. I grabbed some spaghetti with pesto. It was delicious and only 5 Euro. I sat near the beach overlooking the clear blue waters and enjoyed my lunch. It was picture perfect! Then we hit the trail again to Corniglia. I cannot even describe how beautiful the area is. If you ever visit Italy make sure to go to Cinque Terre. I actually got home sick because I wanted my family to see it! (Luckily my folks are going to spend three days here when they come visit in October.) The hike was a lot of uphill again. I was surprised at the number or older people and young kids doing the hike. It made me feel really out of shape. One guy actually called out to us jokingly asking us why we weren’t taking the stairs two at a time! Ha ha yeah right! We reached Corniglia, the third town of the stretch, and after a short breather decided to head out to the next town, Manarola, in search of a beach. We found a rocky beach area and decided to jump in the Mediterranean for a quick dip. It was so refreshing! I cannot get over how clear the water was. I found a few pretty rocks along the shore to keep as free souvenirs! Next was Manarola and then on to Riomaggiore along the famous Via Dell’ Amore. This was by far the easiest of all the hikes, but not any less amazing. The path went through tunnels that were covered with graffiti art. (Note: The graffiti art in Italy is awesome!) Then from Riomaggiore we caught the train back to Monterosso to pick up our stuff.

Since we had pretty much struck out at finding a place to stay most of the group planned to catch a train back to Firenze. I decided to stay in Riomaggiore to meet up with some fellow Iowa State students that are studying in Rome, including my roommate Becky. It was so wonderful to see her! I have been quite homesick and this really helped. However, it was not going to me a nice quiet evening in Riomaggiore. When I arrived in town I called Becky and she told we there was a big forest fire on the next hill over.

Sure enough when I went out on the terrace of their apartment we had a clear view of this expanding fire. I was amazed at how fast it grew! It was pretty close to the town so the girls had packed up their stuff in case we needed to leave. We watched the fire for quite awhile. At one point an ash (still glowing) flew onto the terrace we were watching it from. It was pretty scary! Finally we saw some flashing lights on the hill and the fire seemed to die down a little. Since we did not seem to be in immediate danger anymore we went out to grab some dinner. I decided to have the gnocchi with pesto. (Yes, pesto again, but it is SO good!) After a nice dinner and a slight mistake with the bill we headed back to the girls apartment. There was a DJ on the piazza below the terrace of the apartment giving some sort of outdoor concert. (Who cares if there is a forest fire we will party anyway!)

We had a great time chilling out on the balcony drinking some Limoncello and dancing. Now this is where the night went downhill. The lady that the girls had rented the apartment from lived in the apartment upstairs. When she saw “cinque” girls and not “cuatro” girls she was really upset. We tried to explain that I was leaving and I have no idea if she understood. Not wanting to get in any more trouble Becky offered to leave with me for a while so the lady would think I had left. Italy has some really weird housing laws. Having nowhere else to go for the night, I was pretty screwed. I ended up sneaking back into the apartment and sleeping on the bathroom floor for 2 hours, before getting up at five to go to the train station.

So I got to enjoy dawn at the train station in Riomaggiore. I never want to be homeless again! I did get to watch helicopters fill up water buckets from the sea to dump on the fire. I have no idea why they weren’t there the night before! Then I caught the 7am train back to La Spezia, then to Viareggio where I changed trains to get back to Florence. I was so tired, but I didn’t want to sleep on the train for fear of missing my stop. Luckily I made it back to Florence in one piece, but totally exhausted! A full day of hiking and no sleep was not a cool thing. After a nap and some Chinese food with Isabelle I felt a lot better. It was an adventure and I am sure another story to look back on and laugh about someday. Even with some of the not so cool things that happened it was still an amazing weekend! Cinque Terre was beautiful and something I will never ever forget! Now on to Oktoberfest this weekend! Ciao!