On Thursday, I took the train to Naples and then a train called the Circumvesuviana from Naples to Sorrento to meet up with my mom and her friend, who had gotten there the night before. The Circumvesuviana train is a little interesting, but it took me right to the heart of Sorrento, and it was an easy and BEAUTIFUL walk from the train station to my mom's hotel. They were already back from their day trip to Capri by the time I got there, so we spent a little bit of time relaxing at the hotel before heading out for a little bit of shopping and dinner.
They had already found a favorite cameo shop with a friendly owner who also happened to own an English bulldog... how perfect?! We stopped there on our way, but unfortunately Odie was at home and not at the shop... but he promised that Odie would be back the next day, so we made plans to go back! I also left with a GORGEOUS 7-layer cameo owl necklace (thanks Mom!). We stopped at a few more shops and finally found a cute place to get dinner.
On our way back to our hotel, we ran into a Maundy Thursday procession of people going to church. Sorrento is really famous for a series of Good Friday processions it does, but we weren't expecting this one. It was pretty short. There was another one that night (technically Friday morning) at 3 am which we didn't get up to see, but the concept is that it's a procession of people dressed in white robes and hoods (they actually look like members of the KKK... no joke) with Mary looking for Jesus. Then, on the evening of Good Friday, they do the same procession but dressed all in black, and they carry the crucified Christ through the streets of Sorrento with a distraught Mary following behind.
The next morning, we got up and took the Circumvesuviana train to Herculaneum, which is another Roman city (like Pompeii) that was destroyed by Vesuvius, but in a different way, and in a way that caused it to be much better preserved than Pompeii. It's also a lot smaller, so it's easier to see more. It was absolutely amazing to see how things had been preserved for thousands of years from the volcanic material. Some of the buildings even had their original wooden door frames. After Herculaneum, we took the Circumvesuviana train a few stops back toward Sorrento and went to Pompeii.
Pompeii was a little frustrating a) a lot of the more famous sites are closed right now and b) the vast, vast majority of the artwork has recently been removed from Pompeii and put on display at the Archaeological Museum of Naples. Now, I understand that some things need to be preserved, but in at least one place (the House of the Faun), an incredible floor mosaic had been removed for display in the museum and had been replaced with a replica. We just didn't understand why they couldn't do that in every case where they removed a famous fresco or famous mosaic or statue. At the very least, would it be that hard to display a picture of what the site used to look like? Probably not. Yes, you can see all of those things on display in Naples, but it's not the same to see them in the context of a museum... it's so much more awe-inspiring to see them in their original settings (like they are in Herculaneum). Even without the art, Pompeii was still really cool, and we pretty much stayed until closing time to see everything.
When we got back to Sorrento, we went back to our favorite cameo shop and guess who was there?? Odie! I'm not even ashamed of how excited I was to see an English bulldog in Italy. We stayed there for a bit to say goodbye to our new friend, and then we made our way to find a restaurant for dinner. After dinner, we got some gelato (yum!) and found a place to sit and watch the procession that was coming up (the one I mentioned earlier that happens every year for Good Friday). The procession was super cool... I've never seen anything like it before in my life. It ended up getting to us a lot later than we expected, but the only thing we had to do the next day was make it to Naples by 3 for our train back to Rome, so it was fine.
We took it easy this morning getting back to Naples. Our original plan was to take the Circumvesuviana back to Naples (which my mom and her friend had not had the pleasure of experiencing on their way to Sorrento... they had taken a car), but we ended up taking a cab because we had a driver offer us a pretty great price for one, and it was definitely easier than managing all of their luggage on the tiny and crowded Circumvesuviana train.
We got back to Rome and they dropped off their luggage at their hotel, and then I took them to my apartment to drop off my luggage before dinner. It was raining, so we ended up taking the bus to Trastevere, which is a really cool neighborhood in Rome with lots of great restaurants. The one I had originally wanted to take them to was too busy, so we went across the street to a restaurant that was equally amazing.
Today was their last day in Rome; they leave in the morning on Easter. I had such a great time showing them around the city that has become my home, and it was so great to be able to spend time with my mom... not going to lie, it made me a little homesick! I'm in my final month now, and as much as I love Rome, I know that I'll be ready to go home in May.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
My mom is in Rome!
My mom got here a few days ago and I have had so much fun showing her and her friend around Rome! They landed on Thursday morning, and unfortunately I had class until about 2:30, so they came to meet me at my school Thursday afternoon. They had already had a busy day before they came to see me and had done a lot of walking and had seen some of the sights already, so we decided to find a place where we could watch the Butler-Bucknell game a couple of hours from then.
There are a few "American" sports bars in Rome that masquerade as Irish pubs, so we called a few of them to see which ones would be able to broadcast the game. We finally called one that said they might not be able to broadcast it from ESPN America, but that they would stream it online for us on one of their TVs, which was good enough for us! The plan was to go there, watch the game (which started around 5:30 Rome time), and then find somewhere to eat dinner (since Italians eat dinner pretty late... around 8 usually).
We got there and I was pretty hungry, so we ordered an appetizer... nachos. Don't laugh. I hadn't had nachos in the entire time I had been in Rome until then. About halfway through the game, it became obvious that they were not going to make it to dinner... they were both falling asleep at the table! So yes, on my mom's first night in Italy, we ate dinner at Scholar's Lounge... one of the most American places you will find in the entire city of Rome.
The next morning they had planned on doing an early tour of the Vatican Museums, so I gave them directions from their apartment to the metro stop closest to the Vatican. I was supposed to meet them after their tour was over, but when I got there, they told me that they hadn't ended up taking their tour because the Sistine Chapel was closed that morning so they were taking a different one later in the afternoon. So we got lunch instead, and they took their tour and we met up afterward. I took them to my favorite gelato place, Old Bridge, which is right outside of the Vatican walls (how convenient!).
We got dinner that night close to the Colosseum, and the next morning I met them at their hotel somewhat early because we had a pretty full day planned. There's a pretty famous flower market in Rome in Campo di Fiori, so we went there first in the morning. It doesn't have as many flowers as it used to, but there are all sorts of vendors selling fruits and vegetables and various food items. I made them try oranges from the market, because you'll never find anything more fresh. From there, we walked over to St. Peter's to climb to the top of the basilica. Okay, actually, we cheated, because we paid the extra 2 euro to take the elevator halfway... but it's really not that much of a cheat because you still have about 250 stairs to climb after you get off of the elevator.
That was definitely worth the view! There were some parts of the climb that made me feel a little claustrophobic (narrow, winding stairways... enough said), but by the time we got to the top, I was glad that we did it. I could even see all the way to my apartment, so I pointed that out to them.
We made our way back down to the ground level and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant on the other side of the Vatican. After that, we took a bus to Piazza Venezia, because they were booked on a walking tour of Rome that started at the Colosseum. They managed to get me added on to it, which was fine with me even though I've obviously seen everything on it. It was an ambitious tour, though... the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona in three hours. I could spend three hours in the Forum alone, but it was a good introductory tour. I wish we could have spent more time in the Colosseum and the Forum (even though that was my third time in both this semester!), but I tried to point out the things that I knew that our tour guide wasn't telling the group. The Pantheon was closed for mass (or some kind of ceremony) by the time we got over there, but luckily they had already seen it on their first day. We got gelato at Trevi and finished in Piazza Navona, which will always be one of my favorite places in Rome!
That was their last night of their first part in Rome, so I took them to the Jewish ghetto area of Rome for dinner. I had never eaten in any of the restaurants in that neighborhood before, but everyone says it's one of the best places in Rome for dinner, so I knew we would find something good. Also, it's getting to be the end of artichoke season in Rome, and the carciofi alla guidia (literally Jewish artichokes) are a must-try in Roman cuisine. They were SO GOOD, and so was the rest of the food.
The next morning they got on a train for Florence, and that's where they are now. I'm meeting them in Sorrento on Thursday after my classes are done, and then we all come back to Rome on Saturday afternoon!
There are a few "American" sports bars in Rome that masquerade as Irish pubs, so we called a few of them to see which ones would be able to broadcast the game. We finally called one that said they might not be able to broadcast it from ESPN America, but that they would stream it online for us on one of their TVs, which was good enough for us! The plan was to go there, watch the game (which started around 5:30 Rome time), and then find somewhere to eat dinner (since Italians eat dinner pretty late... around 8 usually).
We got there and I was pretty hungry, so we ordered an appetizer... nachos. Don't laugh. I hadn't had nachos in the entire time I had been in Rome until then. About halfway through the game, it became obvious that they were not going to make it to dinner... they were both falling asleep at the table! So yes, on my mom's first night in Italy, we ate dinner at Scholar's Lounge... one of the most American places you will find in the entire city of Rome.
The next morning they had planned on doing an early tour of the Vatican Museums, so I gave them directions from their apartment to the metro stop closest to the Vatican. I was supposed to meet them after their tour was over, but when I got there, they told me that they hadn't ended up taking their tour because the Sistine Chapel was closed that morning so they were taking a different one later in the afternoon. So we got lunch instead, and they took their tour and we met up afterward. I took them to my favorite gelato place, Old Bridge, which is right outside of the Vatican walls (how convenient!).
We got dinner that night close to the Colosseum, and the next morning I met them at their hotel somewhat early because we had a pretty full day planned. There's a pretty famous flower market in Rome in Campo di Fiori, so we went there first in the morning. It doesn't have as many flowers as it used to, but there are all sorts of vendors selling fruits and vegetables and various food items. I made them try oranges from the market, because you'll never find anything more fresh. From there, we walked over to St. Peter's to climb to the top of the basilica. Okay, actually, we cheated, because we paid the extra 2 euro to take the elevator halfway... but it's really not that much of a cheat because you still have about 250 stairs to climb after you get off of the elevator.
That was definitely worth the view! There were some parts of the climb that made me feel a little claustrophobic (narrow, winding stairways... enough said), but by the time we got to the top, I was glad that we did it. I could even see all the way to my apartment, so I pointed that out to them.
We made our way back down to the ground level and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant on the other side of the Vatican. After that, we took a bus to Piazza Venezia, because they were booked on a walking tour of Rome that started at the Colosseum. They managed to get me added on to it, which was fine with me even though I've obviously seen everything on it. It was an ambitious tour, though... the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona in three hours. I could spend three hours in the Forum alone, but it was a good introductory tour. I wish we could have spent more time in the Colosseum and the Forum (even though that was my third time in both this semester!), but I tried to point out the things that I knew that our tour guide wasn't telling the group. The Pantheon was closed for mass (or some kind of ceremony) by the time we got over there, but luckily they had already seen it on their first day. We got gelato at Trevi and finished in Piazza Navona, which will always be one of my favorite places in Rome!
That was their last night of their first part in Rome, so I took them to the Jewish ghetto area of Rome for dinner. I had never eaten in any of the restaurants in that neighborhood before, but everyone says it's one of the best places in Rome for dinner, so I knew we would find something good. Also, it's getting to be the end of artichoke season in Rome, and the carciofi alla guidia (literally Jewish artichokes) are a must-try in Roman cuisine. They were SO GOOD, and so was the rest of the food.
The next morning they got on a train for Florence, and that's where they are now. I'm meeting them in Sorrento on Thursday after my classes are done, and then we all come back to Rome on Saturday afternoon!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Life lately: photo class
So, I realized I haven't posted lately about my adventures in my digital photography class, which I am really enjoying! Sometimes our assignments are a little strange, but I'm learning so much more about how to use my camera and today, we made prints of our pictures for the first time. I've never made such big prints of my own photos before, and it was really cool to see something I had taken printed out in such a large format.
From our street photography assignment:
"Day in the Life" where I had to take a picture of everything I did and saw in a single day:
Finally, this week, we had to do portraits! This is one of my friend Tara in Villa Borghese:
From an assignment called "Bird, Dog, Worm" where we had to take pictures from those three perspectives:
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| Worm's eye view |
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| Worm's eye view |
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| Bird's eye view |
From our street photography assignment:
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| There was a Michael Jackson impersonator performing in Piazza del Popolo and this woman just decided to join in! |
"Day in the Life" where I had to take a picture of everything I did and saw in a single day:
Finally, this week, we had to do portraits! This is one of my friend Tara in Villa Borghese:
This class has been such a nice break for me from my academics, and it's been really fun to get out into the city and explore. For my final project, I'm working on capturing the vivacity of the many fountains in Rome, and I have to have 20 images every week for that assignment. Here are a few I've done so far:
Monday, March 18, 2013
Adventures in Germany
When I was 8 years old, my grandparents took me out of the country for the first time on a trip they took with my aunt, uncle and cousin to visit good family friends of ours in Germany. There's a lot I don't remember about that trip, but we have maintained a close relationship with everybody in Germany, so I knew I wanted to go back this semester.
I left Thursday afternoon right after my Italian class finished to get to Termini, where I then took a train to the airport. I flew to Frankfurt, and oddly enough it was really hard to find a direct flight from Rome to Frankfurt, so I had to fly with a layover in Amsterdam. I arrived in Frankfurt a little after 10 pm and Leonie and her sister Melanie and Melanie's fiance Udo were there to pick me up! It was so exciting to be back in Germany. Of course Leonie was in the US this past summer, but I hadn't been to Germany since 2000!
We stayed the first night at Melanie and Udo's apartment in Frankfurt, which was a very welcome change from all of the hostels I've stayed in lately. Leonie is in a program for school where she takes classes in Mannheim and then works in Frankfurt, so she often stays with Melanie and Udo. They had to work the next morning, but Leonie and I slept a little later and had breakfast at the apartment (where I had my first taste of her mother's jam and German brown bread--yum!) and then took public transportation into the center of Frankfurt.
We started exploring in the neighborhood of the Romer, which is the city hall of Frankfurt. This was Friday--we mostly walked all over Frankfurt seeing a few churches, Paulskirche (the seat of the first German assembly), and Main Tower. Leonie also took me to a shop that sells gingerbread from Nuremberg, so I bought some of that to brin back to Rome with me! We also went to a chocolate cafe to get some hot chocolate, and then we did some shopping on the main shopping street in Frankfurt.
She introduced me to Primark, which I had seen in the UK but didn't visit. It's basically the store that I've been looking for in vain in Rome... it has everything from clothes to accessories to small home goods. It's basically Target without the food. We don't have anything like that in Rome... you have to shop in 10 different stores for 10 different things. I was basically obsessed with it.
We also walked by the European Central Bank. I'm still trying to understand how the Euro works and Leonie and I had an interesting conversation about Greece and how all of that has been playing out. She said that it's hard because Germany has tried to help, but Greece isn't very appreciative of the help and hasn't wanted to make any changes. She said that the euro is very convenient but I can see how it would be very frustrating for a company like Germany to have to keep supporting people who don't appreciate it.
That night, we went to a traditional Apfelwein restaurant. Frankfurt is famous for apfelwein, and you can drink it plain, with water or with Fanta. She helped me order some traditional German food (bratwurst, potatoes with green sauce, "handkas mit musik") and we both had the apfelwein with Fanta... it was so good! When I've traveled this semester, I've really tried to branch out and order things that are traditional and different than what I would eat in Rome or in the US, and that was definitely the case at this restaurant. The bratwurst was obviously amazing, but I can't really describe the green sauce or handkas. But I loved everything, including the apfelwein!
We just went back to the apartment that night and hung out with Melanie and Udo. They showed me pictures of their trip to the US this past fall and Udo showed me pictures of a school trip he took to Rome. We watched some German TV and Leonie and I made our plans for the next day. We planned to get up and go to the botanic gardens in Frankfurt and then do the Ebbelwein Express, a train sponsored by one of the apfelwein companies that goes all around Frankfurt. We got up the next morning and had breakfast with Udo (more brown bread--yum!), and we took the train into the city... and we were almost there when I realized that I had left my iPad at the apartment. Yup. And we were leaving for the train station straight from the Ebbelwein Express to go to Leonie's hometown, so I needed to have it with me because I would be going to the airport the next day. Oops. So we turned around and got it (I felt so stupid... at least I left it at their apartment and not in some hostel), but by that point we were worried that we would have to rush through the gardens, so we decided to go to the Goethe House instead. That was actually really cool. The original house was destroyed during WWII, but all of the furniture and artifacts had been placed in storage for protection, so when the house was reconstructed, they moved all of that back into it. They reconstructed it to look exactly like it had before. They even had Goethe's writing desk, where he sat to write Faust. Geek moment there.
After the Goethe House, Leonie took me to a German bakery where we tried some traditional German pastries as our lunch. We ate those while we waited for the apfelwein train. The train is an older version of the new trams that Frankfurt uses, and it was so cute! We got on and were given our choice of apfelwein beverages... we both tried the apfelwein with water this time. It took about an hour for the train to go all around the city and it was really relaxing.
After that, we went to the main train station in Frankfurt to take the train to Neustadt, where Leonie's dad picked us up and took us to Leonie's house in Momberg. We settled in for a bit and chatted with her parents over coffee and cake, and we Facetimed with Erik, then my dad and Ethan, and then my mom, Erin, and my grandma (who were shopping for prom dresses at the time!). That was so exciting because usually I can't get good enough wifi in Italy to facetime! And it was nice for Leonie to "see" everybody. While we were facetiming with my mom, grandma and Erin, Gerd and Helga walked in the door for dinner. When I was in Germany 13 years ago, I stayed with Gerd and Helga with my grandparents, so it was so cool for my grandma to get to see them through Facetime! Gerd and Helga came for dinner that night, and Leonie's mom made us an amazing dinner. She cooked schnitzel (SO GOOD) with potatoes, salad, more handkas mit musik and brown bread. Compared to my last few trips, it was nice to relax and catch up with good friends over some wonderful food (and of course we sampled some wonderful German beer to go along with it).
We slept in the next morning a bit, and Leonie's mother prepared an amazing breakfast for us, which included Bavarian white sausage. I can't really explain it, but it was so delicious. We also had some more of her strawberry jam with brown bread, and she gave me a jar of it to bring back to Rome with me! We spent a couple of hours walking around Neustadt and seeing all there is to see in Neustadt, and then we went to Gerd and Helga's house for some tea before Leonie and I got on the train back to Frankfurt so I could get to the airport.
I promised that I wouldn't wait 13 more years before I visited Germany again, and Leonie and I got on the train. We made it to the airport with plenty of time, but we had to share the train there with some very excited Frankfurt soccer fans who were on their way to the stadium. That was interesting. Once we got to the airport, we sat in the waiting area for a bit before I went through security. Minor mishap: Gerd and Helga had given me a large jar of Nutella (they remembered how much I had liked it when I visited before, which was before anybody in America had ever heard of it) and Leonie's mom had given me a jar of jam, and I was really hoping they would let me take those through security, but they wouldn't, so I ended up having to get out of line and check my suitcase for the flight back. Well worth it, I assure you... the jam is amazing! I still made it to my flight with plenty of time, but I had a layover in Paris, and my flight from Paris to Rome was delayed for about two hours for mechanical problems with the plane. The last time I was on a plane with mechanical problems, I ended up missing a trip to Madrid and spending two days in Washington D.C. (my family will laugh about that one), so I was worried that I was going to get stuck in Paris overnight. Luckily, I didn't, but by the time I made it to Rome it was almost midnight and the metro was closed, so I had to take a cab back to the residence.
One thing I thought about the entire weekend is how lucky I am that I know English as a first language. Leonie and I talked a little bit about this. Everywhere I've traveled, people use English as a universal language. If two people don't speak the same language, they revert to English because most likely that is a language that they have in common. It's the same at tourist attractions, airports, and public transportation... like in Frankfurt, everything was in German, but it was also repeated in English. It makes me ashamed because I don't speak any language as well as most of the people I've met speak English. Sure, I studied Spanish for four years and I'm learning a lot of Italian here, but if I had to make my way around a city using only directions spoken in Spanish or Italian, I would struggle a bit. I know enough of both to get around, but if I was forced to use only Spanish in a country that didn't speak English at all, I don't know what I would do. It amazed me when I see tourists in Rome speaking English to shop keepers or museum workers when clearly English isn't their first language. And it definitely motivates me to keep studying languages. Just a few thoughts on that...
I left Thursday afternoon right after my Italian class finished to get to Termini, where I then took a train to the airport. I flew to Frankfurt, and oddly enough it was really hard to find a direct flight from Rome to Frankfurt, so I had to fly with a layover in Amsterdam. I arrived in Frankfurt a little after 10 pm and Leonie and her sister Melanie and Melanie's fiance Udo were there to pick me up! It was so exciting to be back in Germany. Of course Leonie was in the US this past summer, but I hadn't been to Germany since 2000!
We stayed the first night at Melanie and Udo's apartment in Frankfurt, which was a very welcome change from all of the hostels I've stayed in lately. Leonie is in a program for school where she takes classes in Mannheim and then works in Frankfurt, so she often stays with Melanie and Udo. They had to work the next morning, but Leonie and I slept a little later and had breakfast at the apartment (where I had my first taste of her mother's jam and German brown bread--yum!) and then took public transportation into the center of Frankfurt.
We started exploring in the neighborhood of the Romer, which is the city hall of Frankfurt. This was Friday--we mostly walked all over Frankfurt seeing a few churches, Paulskirche (the seat of the first German assembly), and Main Tower. Leonie also took me to a shop that sells gingerbread from Nuremberg, so I bought some of that to brin back to Rome with me! We also went to a chocolate cafe to get some hot chocolate, and then we did some shopping on the main shopping street in Frankfurt.
She introduced me to Primark, which I had seen in the UK but didn't visit. It's basically the store that I've been looking for in vain in Rome... it has everything from clothes to accessories to small home goods. It's basically Target without the food. We don't have anything like that in Rome... you have to shop in 10 different stores for 10 different things. I was basically obsessed with it.
We also walked by the European Central Bank. I'm still trying to understand how the Euro works and Leonie and I had an interesting conversation about Greece and how all of that has been playing out. She said that it's hard because Germany has tried to help, but Greece isn't very appreciative of the help and hasn't wanted to make any changes. She said that the euro is very convenient but I can see how it would be very frustrating for a company like Germany to have to keep supporting people who don't appreciate it.
That night, we went to a traditional Apfelwein restaurant. Frankfurt is famous for apfelwein, and you can drink it plain, with water or with Fanta. She helped me order some traditional German food (bratwurst, potatoes with green sauce, "handkas mit musik") and we both had the apfelwein with Fanta... it was so good! When I've traveled this semester, I've really tried to branch out and order things that are traditional and different than what I would eat in Rome or in the US, and that was definitely the case at this restaurant. The bratwurst was obviously amazing, but I can't really describe the green sauce or handkas. But I loved everything, including the apfelwein!
We just went back to the apartment that night and hung out with Melanie and Udo. They showed me pictures of their trip to the US this past fall and Udo showed me pictures of a school trip he took to Rome. We watched some German TV and Leonie and I made our plans for the next day. We planned to get up and go to the botanic gardens in Frankfurt and then do the Ebbelwein Express, a train sponsored by one of the apfelwein companies that goes all around Frankfurt. We got up the next morning and had breakfast with Udo (more brown bread--yum!), and we took the train into the city... and we were almost there when I realized that I had left my iPad at the apartment. Yup. And we were leaving for the train station straight from the Ebbelwein Express to go to Leonie's hometown, so I needed to have it with me because I would be going to the airport the next day. Oops. So we turned around and got it (I felt so stupid... at least I left it at their apartment and not in some hostel), but by that point we were worried that we would have to rush through the gardens, so we decided to go to the Goethe House instead. That was actually really cool. The original house was destroyed during WWII, but all of the furniture and artifacts had been placed in storage for protection, so when the house was reconstructed, they moved all of that back into it. They reconstructed it to look exactly like it had before. They even had Goethe's writing desk, where he sat to write Faust. Geek moment there.
After the Goethe House, Leonie took me to a German bakery where we tried some traditional German pastries as our lunch. We ate those while we waited for the apfelwein train. The train is an older version of the new trams that Frankfurt uses, and it was so cute! We got on and were given our choice of apfelwein beverages... we both tried the apfelwein with water this time. It took about an hour for the train to go all around the city and it was really relaxing.
After that, we went to the main train station in Frankfurt to take the train to Neustadt, where Leonie's dad picked us up and took us to Leonie's house in Momberg. We settled in for a bit and chatted with her parents over coffee and cake, and we Facetimed with Erik, then my dad and Ethan, and then my mom, Erin, and my grandma (who were shopping for prom dresses at the time!). That was so exciting because usually I can't get good enough wifi in Italy to facetime! And it was nice for Leonie to "see" everybody. While we were facetiming with my mom, grandma and Erin, Gerd and Helga walked in the door for dinner. When I was in Germany 13 years ago, I stayed with Gerd and Helga with my grandparents, so it was so cool for my grandma to get to see them through Facetime! Gerd and Helga came for dinner that night, and Leonie's mom made us an amazing dinner. She cooked schnitzel (SO GOOD) with potatoes, salad, more handkas mit musik and brown bread. Compared to my last few trips, it was nice to relax and catch up with good friends over some wonderful food (and of course we sampled some wonderful German beer to go along with it).
We slept in the next morning a bit, and Leonie's mother prepared an amazing breakfast for us, which included Bavarian white sausage. I can't really explain it, but it was so delicious. We also had some more of her strawberry jam with brown bread, and she gave me a jar of it to bring back to Rome with me! We spent a couple of hours walking around Neustadt and seeing all there is to see in Neustadt, and then we went to Gerd and Helga's house for some tea before Leonie and I got on the train back to Frankfurt so I could get to the airport.
I promised that I wouldn't wait 13 more years before I visited Germany again, and Leonie and I got on the train. We made it to the airport with plenty of time, but we had to share the train there with some very excited Frankfurt soccer fans who were on their way to the stadium. That was interesting. Once we got to the airport, we sat in the waiting area for a bit before I went through security. Minor mishap: Gerd and Helga had given me a large jar of Nutella (they remembered how much I had liked it when I visited before, which was before anybody in America had ever heard of it) and Leonie's mom had given me a jar of jam, and I was really hoping they would let me take those through security, but they wouldn't, so I ended up having to get out of line and check my suitcase for the flight back. Well worth it, I assure you... the jam is amazing! I still made it to my flight with plenty of time, but I had a layover in Paris, and my flight from Paris to Rome was delayed for about two hours for mechanical problems with the plane. The last time I was on a plane with mechanical problems, I ended up missing a trip to Madrid and spending two days in Washington D.C. (my family will laugh about that one), so I was worried that I was going to get stuck in Paris overnight. Luckily, I didn't, but by the time I made it to Rome it was almost midnight and the metro was closed, so I had to take a cab back to the residence.
One thing I thought about the entire weekend is how lucky I am that I know English as a first language. Leonie and I talked a little bit about this. Everywhere I've traveled, people use English as a universal language. If two people don't speak the same language, they revert to English because most likely that is a language that they have in common. It's the same at tourist attractions, airports, and public transportation... like in Frankfurt, everything was in German, but it was also repeated in English. It makes me ashamed because I don't speak any language as well as most of the people I've met speak English. Sure, I studied Spanish for four years and I'm learning a lot of Italian here, but if I had to make my way around a city using only directions spoken in Spanish or Italian, I would struggle a bit. I know enough of both to get around, but if I was forced to use only Spanish in a country that didn't speak English at all, I don't know what I would do. It amazed me when I see tourists in Rome speaking English to shop keepers or museum workers when clearly English isn't their first language. And it definitely motivates me to keep studying languages. Just a few thoughts on that...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Pope Francesco!
Just a few hours after I wrote my last blog where I said I wasn't expecting to see white smoke from the Vatican tonight, we have a new pope! I walked over to St. Peter's around 6:15 and stopped for gelato on the way, expecting to wait around in St. Peter's, see black smoke, and turn around. Last night, we didn't see smoke until about 7:45, but around 7:15 everybody turned to the screen. At first it looked kind of gray, but then it was obviously white and everybody started screaming and cheering and rushing to the front of the square. It was then that St. Peter's started to fill up as people from all over the city rushed to see the new pope make his first public experience. It took almost an hour for everybody to be ready for him to come out, but it was such an amazing experience!
First, someone came out and announced that there had been a successful vote and gave us the name of the newly-elected pope... Pope Francesco, formerly Jorge Mario Bergolio, of Argentina! How exciting!
It stopped drizzling right before he came out to address the crowd, which was nice because it got everybody to put their umbrellas down so we could see better. I couldn't understand all of what he was saying because he spoke in Italian, but people around me were laughing so he must have been funny!
While we were waiting, members of the Swiss Guard processed out to the front of the Basilica basically right in front of me, so that was cool.
Once he finished speaking, he told all of us good night, and then came the mad dash to the exit. One thing the Vatican does not understand: crowd control. They wouldn't open the rest of the gates, so we were all trying to exit through one tiny little opening in the gate out of the square. But I eventually made it out and back to my apartment, where I am still in shock! I was not expecting to get to witness this tonight... I thought for sure it would happen this weekend while I'm gone.
Sitting back at my apartment, I am still in shock that I got to witness something like this! Not only that, but I get to see the new pope at Easter mass in a few weeks. And I'm going to Germany tomorrow to see some good family friends, and my mom is coming to visit next week. I actually cannot believe my life right now.
First, someone came out and announced that there had been a successful vote and gave us the name of the newly-elected pope... Pope Francesco, formerly Jorge Mario Bergolio, of Argentina! How exciting!
It stopped drizzling right before he came out to address the crowd, which was nice because it got everybody to put their umbrellas down so we could see better. I couldn't understand all of what he was saying because he spoke in Italian, but people around me were laughing so he must have been funny!
While we were waiting, members of the Swiss Guard processed out to the front of the Basilica basically right in front of me, so that was cool.
Once he finished speaking, he told all of us good night, and then came the mad dash to the exit. One thing the Vatican does not understand: crowd control. They wouldn't open the rest of the gates, so we were all trying to exit through one tiny little opening in the gate out of the square. But I eventually made it out and back to my apartment, where I am still in shock! I was not expecting to get to witness this tonight... I thought for sure it would happen this weekend while I'm gone.
Sitting back at my apartment, I am still in shock that I got to witness something like this! Not only that, but I get to see the new pope at Easter mass in a few weeks. And I'm going to Germany tomorrow to see some good family friends, and my mom is coming to visit next week. I actually cannot believe my life right now.
Papal Conclave
So, in case you've been living under a rock for the past month or so, the Pope has resigned and the Vatican is in the middle of conclave, as of yesterday afternoon!
The first vote started yesterday around 4:30, and the smoke from the ballots was supposed to be between 7 and 8. I was in class until 6:15 but we headed to St. Peter's right after (getting gelato on the way at our favorite gelato place, which just so happens to be right outside the Vatican walls...) to wait with the crowd for the first smoke!
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| Waiting for smoke from the first vote! |
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| They have cameras on the chimney because you can't actually see it from the square. |
I'm going to Germany this weekend to visit a good friend of mine, so my fingers are crossed that we see white smoke before I leave, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen and that sometime while I'm gone we'll have a new pope. But, we just found out that we got confirmed for tickets for Easter mass with the new pope so that definitely will make up for missing the white smoke if it comes this weekend!
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| Black smoke... no pope! |
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| "Sede Vacante" stamps and seals (it's a different seal during a conclave than when there is a pope!) |
Monday, March 11, 2013
London!
My final stop on my spring break adventure was for a few days in London. I have to preface this by saying that my trip to London was a bit of a stretch for me because I did it on my own. Why? Because I was already in the UK visiting Ellen in Scotland, and I knew I probably wouldn't get the chance to go back to the UK this semester, so either I went to London by myself while I was already there or I had to accept the fact that I wouldn't get to go at all this semester, and I just couldn't do that. So it was just me, for three and a half days.
On one hand, it was really nice to be able to do my own thing and see what I wanted to see without worrying about anybody else. On the other hand, it was weird being completely by myself in a huge city like London--but hey, at least everybody spoke my language! I got to London around 5 and made my way to my hostel by way of the Gatwick Express, a train that went right from Gatwick to Victoria Station. Then I had to figure out the Tube to get there and walk a few minutes from there. The place I was staying had been recommended to me by Hannah, who stayed there a few weeks ago when she and her friends went to London. I think I had a completely different experience there (and being alone didn't help), because I struggled there the first night. I was put into a tiny room with two sets of triple bunk beds, and my room was only half-carpeted so I had exposed concrete underneath of me. Oh, and there was no window in my room so I'm pretty sure that's illegal... and there were only two bathrooms to share with the entire floor, with absolutely no hot water. So yeah, that was different. I set my stuff down in my room and made my way to the London Eye, since my hostel was just a short walk from it. It was really cool to do at night and see London all lit up! I definitely had a few freak-out moments once we were near the top, but I'm glad I did it. It took about 45 minutes to go all the way around. I was considering not buying a ticket to do it because they are pretty expensive, but I'm glad I did because it was really cool!
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| View of Parliament from the top! |
I was already a little uncomfortable in the hostel when I went to bed that night, but once I woke up in the morning and couldn't even take a shower because there was no hot water and even the cold water kept turning off, I knew that there was no way I could stay there for two more nights. So I took a long, hard look at my bank account, scoured Kayak and Travelocity for a while... and booked a hotel. Sure, the people were plenty nice enough, but if I was going to be staying on my own I needed to stay somewhere else, just for my own sanity.
While I was waiting for that to go through, I went to Leicester Square to buy my London Pass, which is a sightseeing pass that gets you in to a lot of the sights and gives you unlimited transportation. Once I had that, I went to the Tower of London, which was so cool. It was rainy and wet, but I spent basically half of my day at the tower exploring all of the different buildings. It's a huge complex with a ton of history. The Crown Jewels are also there, and those were amazing to see.
After the Tower, I went to Westminster Abbey, because it closes earlier in the afternoon than most other things and I wanted to make sure I got to see it. I was absolutely blown away by this place. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, but needless to say it was spectacular. It's huge, for one, but it's also amazing to think about how many people are buried and commemorated inside. And then you think about how many coronations and weddings have taken place there (most recently the wedding of Will and Kate!), and it's even more incredible. You get a free audioguide with your ticket, so I was able to tour it and learn about everything I was seeing.
And, as an English major, I have to say that being in Poets' Corner was by far my favorite part of the Abbey. Standing in the same place where people like Chaucer, Robert Browning, and Charles Dickens are buried and where there are memorials to dozens of other authors, playwrights and poets (including Shakespeare... my fav) was mind-blowing. Chaucer was the first to be buried in that area and it wasn't because of his writing... he had some position in the church and that's how he ended up there. But eventually it became a place to honor all sorts of writers and scholars... Handel is buried there too!
After I was finished at Westminster, I went back to Tower Hill to do the Tower Bridge Experience, which takes you up into the top of the bridge. It was cool, but it isn't something I necessarily have to do ever again. At that point, I was able to check into my new hotel, so I went to do that before I picked up my luggage at my hostel. When I went to check in, I was a little worried because they said they had overbooked my original hotel and they had to send me right down the road a block to their sister hotel. I had searched for so long that morning to find mine and I was nervous about what the new one looked like, but it was even nicer than the one I had originally booked at and because they had to move me, they gave me free breakfast every morning... not too shabby. On my way back to the underground to go to my hotel again, I stopped at a pub that had a sign out on the sidewalk advertising its pizza for dinner because it was getting late and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find anything by the time I got back to the Hyde Park area, where my new hotel was.
I actually met some American girls there who were staying in the hostel above the pub (which would be really interesting, I'm sure!). They were on their spring break from school in the US visiting a friend in Dublin and spending the weekend in London, and one of them noticed that I was traveling alone and told me all about how she traveled alone for a few weeks last summer because her friend who was supposed to make the trip with her got sick at the last minute, and she wished that people had approached her just like they came up to me when I was sitting waiting for my food! Needless to say, I was definitely glad for some company at that point. We all ended up hanging out at the pub for a bit and made friends with the two bartenders before I headed back to my hotel and they headed up to their rooms in the hostel. But we made plans to meet back at the same place the next night because it was karaoke night, which we were sure would be entertaining.
I got up early the next morning because I had a full day of sightseeing planned, and it all revolved around seeing the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace around 11:15. I didn't want to waste the entire morning before that, so I went to St. Paul's Cathedral pretty much as soon as it opened. There's a memorial inside to American pilots who died fighting for the British in WWII, which I thought was cool. And I got to hear about how important St. Paul's is to Britain and how badly people tried to protect it during WWII. It's a beautiful cathedral, and you'd think I would be tired of seeing churches by now, but every one that I go to is a little different. Actually, I'm pretty sure that St. Paul's is the only non-Catholic church I've seen this semester, so that's a nice change of pace!
After I was done there, I made my way to Buckingham for the ceremony. Let me just say that I've seen several changing of the guards ceremonies at Arlington and other places, and in terms of pomp and circumstance, Britain definitely has the upper hand when it comes to these things! The entire ceremony lasted over an hour. When the band started playing, though, they played some contemporary music... like You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story. One thing that was weird about the entire area around the palace was that there were no trash cans anywhere... I asked a police officer because I had something I needed to throw away, and he said they don't allow them because of fears of terrorism! Isn't that strange? I would never have connected trash cans and terrorism in my mind.
Anyway, after that whole ceremony, I knew I wanted to get to Kensington Palace, which is in another part of the city and is where Will and Kate live. I had downloaded this cool London Underground app on my phone which I thought would be able to get me anywhere I wanted to go... until I got to where I was supposed to transfer lines and found out that the line I was supposed to take to get there was scheduled to be closed all weekend. So I had to figure out how to get there and I ended up backtracking and taking two different lines, but I did eventually make it! That was another thing my London Pass got me into, so I toured that for a bit, but there wasn't too much to see. I didn't have to buy a separate ticket so it's not like I wasted money on it, but it's another one of those things I don't necessarily need to do again. Then again, it probably depends on the day because they have different exhibits open at different times.
The last thing I wanted to do that day was visit Shakespeare's Globe. I couldn't tell from my map which underground station was the best to take there, so I asked somebody in the underground station and they told me that most people go to Waterloo and walk up the Thames from there to get there. No big deal, I still had plenty of time before it closed for the day, so I took his advice. He didn't tell me, however, that it was a 25 minute walk up the Thames and that I would have no idea where to go once I got out of the underground station! I finally made it there in time for the last tour of the day (everything closes pretty early in London right now because it's not really peak tourist season).
I loved the Globe, for obvious reasons! Shakespeare is one of my favorite things to read and seeing a show at the Globe is definitely on my bucket list now. I got to learn all about how they researched how to rebuild the globe and how they do everything true to how it would have been done in Shakespeare's time... even when it comes to building sets and making costumes and stuff. So cool. They even built it with a thatched roof just like the original one had, even though there hasn't been a thatched roof built in London since the fire in 1666 and they had to do all of this special fire protection to it and get a ton of special permission. When we were there, they were setting up the stage for a school production they're getting ready to do of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Usually, though, they only perform in the summer, because it's an open-air theater.
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| Right in front of the stage! |
I dropped my stuff off back at my hotel and went to meet up with my new friends for karaoke night... we didn't participate, but we loved watching all of the locals get into it ;) We met a British guy at the pub that night and we loved talking about how he feels about England and America. He had a very sarcastic sense of humor, but we asked him how he felt about the Queen and even he admitted he loved her (everybody there does... it's amazing!). He is not, however, a huge fan of Will and Kate... understandable. We did get him to try an American accent for us and that was pretty entertaining... I don't think they're as into the American accent as we are into the British accent.
The next day was my last day in London, but I didn't fly out until 6:30 pm, so I still had a full day of sightseeing ahead of me. I knew I wanted to see the British Museum, which opened at 10, so on my way there I stopped at King's Cross to see Platform 9 3/4 and then at Abbey Road. The British Museum is absolutely full of history... in just one section of it I got to see the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, and statues from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Unbelievable. It also has statues from Easter Island and a ton of Egyptian mummies. I was under the impression that the Magna Carta was there as well, and it turns out that it used to be, but about 12 years ago it was moved to the British Library, which was built for that and a bunch of other artifacts like original manuscripts and maps and such. I ended up talking to one of the docents about it and he told me that I should definitely make it there and told me how to get there from the Museum. He asked me where I was from and when I told him Indiana, he actually started talking to me about football! I was so shocked because I don't think I've talked to anybody about football since I've been in Europe. But it turns out he's a huge fan and watches all of the games he can get in London, and he even talked to me about Peyton Manning and how Indianapolis felt when the Colts released him. So that was pretty cool.
Once I got to the British Library, I was definitely glad I managed to find it. To give you an idea of how incredible it is, here's just a small list of the things I got to see inside of it:
- The only surviving Beuwolf manuscript
- A Gutenberg Bible (which I freaked out about... secretly a huge Gutenberg fan here)
- Original Beatles lyrics
- Handel's original Messiah
- Notebooks from Jane Eyre
- Old books of Shakespeare
- The Magna Carta--even though there's no evidence that there was one official copy of it, the British Library has a copy from 1215, which is amazing.
At that point, as much as I loved being in Ireland and the UK, I had been traveling for 10 days and was ready to get home. I loved London and I know now that I definitely need to go back... there are still things I would have loved to have seen, but as busy as I was, I ran out of time! London has such a different history than Rome, but that's what I loved about it... you could be anywhere in the city and run into something interesting, and it's history that spans from the Magna Carta to more recent stuff, like the building of the Globe. And it was just such a cool city overall.
I'm glad to be back in Rome... if you haven't heard, conclave starts tomorrow! Crazy! Let's just say I'll be hanging around St. Peter's when I'm not in class for the next few days...
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Edinburgh
I finally realized I could post pictures from my iPhone, so I figured I would update with my adventures in Edinburgh!
Random, but this is the tiny little plane I rode from Dublin to Edinburgh.
I'm visiting another friend who is studying in Edinburgh this semester and interning with Scottish Parliament, so I have most of the day to myself to explore while she's at work. It's actually been kind of fun to be on my own for a bit! I got here pretty late the first night, so I just checked in to my hostel (Ellen's apartment won't let me stay with her) and took it easy for the night, but Tuesday I got up pretty early to start exploring Edinburgh. The first thing I did was find some breakfast... Not ashamed to admit I went to the Starbucks around the corner because I really, really miss being able to have a cup of coffee this size in the morning! Ellen told me that Starbucks isn't that popular here and people don't like it as a business, but I was happy with my coffee that wasn't quite American but was more American than an Italian espresso.
After breakfast, I walked down the Royal Mile, or High Street, to Edinburgh Castle. Nobody lives there anymore, but you can tour it, and it's where the Honours of Scotland, or the Crown Jewels, are kept. I forgot to take pictures on my phone, so I can't post any until I get back, but I had a great view of the rest of Edinburgh from the castle, which is kind of up on a rocky hill above the rest of the city.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering up and down the Royal Mile, which has Edinburgh Castle at one end and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the other. On the way, I stopped at St. Giles Cathedral and of course popped in and out of the various wool shops that line High Street. For lunch, I stopped at a pub and had the traditional steak and ale pie, which was delicious! I'm starting to become a big fan of pub food... It's usually pretty inexpensive and delicious!
Eventually, I made my way down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland (which is apparently about once a year).
I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, so I bought postcards and took pictures of those... That's what this next picture is! The tour took us through Mary Queen of Scots private apartment and ended at the ruins of an abbey. The Queen's gardens are closed in the winter, but if you go to the Palace in the summer, you can visit those too.
After I finished up at the Palace, I went back to my hostel to meet Ellen for dinner at a pub. She took me to one of her favorite neighborhoods here and I had the most delicious burger and chips.
She gave me a brief tour of the city, including some of the campus of The University of Edinburgh! That's where she took classes here before her internship started. We hung out at her apartment for a bit, which is less than a block from my hostel, and then I went back for the night because I had a busy day planned for yesterday!
Today, I decided to take the train from Edinburgh to Leuchars, where I then got on a bus to St. Andrews. Obviously it's a little early in the year for golf, but I know that my grandpa loves St. Andrews, so I knew I should try to get out there if I was going to be in Edinburgh. It was pretty easy to get there and to find the Old Course, which is right on the beach, basically. I walked up and down the course for a bit, and then I stopped for lunch in the restaurant of a hotel right off of the course that had pictures of the owner with famous golfers all over the place. That's where I took this picture:
St. Andrews, where they use golf bags as umbrella holders. I guess when you call yourself the home of golf you get a little leeway there.
I explored some ruins they have there of a castle and a cathedral, both of which overlook the beach. It was gray and wet, but it almost made it more mysterious and beautiful. I also walked around the University of St. Andrews campus. Finally, I made my way back to the bus station (not hard... St. Andrews is not that big and it was easy to find my way around) and got on the bus to go back to Leuchars where I could get the train to Edinburgh.
Ellen and her friend Nicole introduced me to Edinburgh pub life last night, which I loved! It's a completely different atmosphere than the bars and clubs in Rome. There was live music and everybody was singing along and dancing. I was really sad when we had to leave, which was ridiculously early by Rome standards... The pub closed at 1! In Rome, that's about the time when things would be getting started in a club.
I'm getting ready to check out of my hostel and then find something to eat for breakfast before I head to the airport. Scotland and Ireland have been great, and it has been wonderful to be with familiar faces (thanks Hannah and Ellen!), but I am unbelievably excited to go to London today! I'll be there until I head back to Rome on Sunday.
Random, but this is the tiny little plane I rode from Dublin to Edinburgh.
I'm visiting another friend who is studying in Edinburgh this semester and interning with Scottish Parliament, so I have most of the day to myself to explore while she's at work. It's actually been kind of fun to be on my own for a bit! I got here pretty late the first night, so I just checked in to my hostel (Ellen's apartment won't let me stay with her) and took it easy for the night, but Tuesday I got up pretty early to start exploring Edinburgh. The first thing I did was find some breakfast... Not ashamed to admit I went to the Starbucks around the corner because I really, really miss being able to have a cup of coffee this size in the morning! Ellen told me that Starbucks isn't that popular here and people don't like it as a business, but I was happy with my coffee that wasn't quite American but was more American than an Italian espresso.
After breakfast, I walked down the Royal Mile, or High Street, to Edinburgh Castle. Nobody lives there anymore, but you can tour it, and it's where the Honours of Scotland, or the Crown Jewels, are kept. I forgot to take pictures on my phone, so I can't post any until I get back, but I had a great view of the rest of Edinburgh from the castle, which is kind of up on a rocky hill above the rest of the city.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering up and down the Royal Mile, which has Edinburgh Castle at one end and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the other. On the way, I stopped at St. Giles Cathedral and of course popped in and out of the various wool shops that line High Street. For lunch, I stopped at a pub and had the traditional steak and ale pie, which was delicious! I'm starting to become a big fan of pub food... It's usually pretty inexpensive and delicious!
Eventually, I made my way down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland (which is apparently about once a year).
I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, so I bought postcards and took pictures of those... That's what this next picture is! The tour took us through Mary Queen of Scots private apartment and ended at the ruins of an abbey. The Queen's gardens are closed in the winter, but if you go to the Palace in the summer, you can visit those too.
After I finished up at the Palace, I went back to my hostel to meet Ellen for dinner at a pub. She took me to one of her favorite neighborhoods here and I had the most delicious burger and chips.
She gave me a brief tour of the city, including some of the campus of The University of Edinburgh! That's where she took classes here before her internship started. We hung out at her apartment for a bit, which is less than a block from my hostel, and then I went back for the night because I had a busy day planned for yesterday!
Today, I decided to take the train from Edinburgh to Leuchars, where I then got on a bus to St. Andrews. Obviously it's a little early in the year for golf, but I know that my grandpa loves St. Andrews, so I knew I should try to get out there if I was going to be in Edinburgh. It was pretty easy to get there and to find the Old Course, which is right on the beach, basically. I walked up and down the course for a bit, and then I stopped for lunch in the restaurant of a hotel right off of the course that had pictures of the owner with famous golfers all over the place. That's where I took this picture:
St. Andrews, where they use golf bags as umbrella holders. I guess when you call yourself the home of golf you get a little leeway there.
I explored some ruins they have there of a castle and a cathedral, both of which overlook the beach. It was gray and wet, but it almost made it more mysterious and beautiful. I also walked around the University of St. Andrews campus. Finally, I made my way back to the bus station (not hard... St. Andrews is not that big and it was easy to find my way around) and got on the bus to go back to Leuchars where I could get the train to Edinburgh.
Ellen and her friend Nicole introduced me to Edinburgh pub life last night, which I loved! It's a completely different atmosphere than the bars and clubs in Rome. There was live music and everybody was singing along and dancing. I was really sad when we had to leave, which was ridiculously early by Rome standards... The pub closed at 1! In Rome, that's about the time when things would be getting started in a club.
I'm getting ready to check out of my hostel and then find something to eat for breakfast before I head to the airport. Scotland and Ireland have been great, and it has been wonderful to be with familiar faces (thanks Hannah and Ellen!), but I am unbelievably excited to go to London today! I'll be there until I head back to Rome on Sunday.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Galway
Okay, so I can't update with pictures because I didn't bring my computer with me, but I figured I would post about the first part of my spring brew now that I've left Ireland!
I left Rome on Friday morning to fly to Dublin to take a bus to Galway, where I got to visit my friend Hannah who is studying there this semester. It was so nice to see a friendly and familiar face and Galway was beautiful! Getting to the airport in Rome was interesting because there was a mixup with the bus that was supposed to take me and a few other girls to the airport and it actually left without us (if you watched the EU vs Italy video I posted in my last blog, go to the part about queues in Italy and you might understand), but we got on the next one and I was a little rushed to make my flight, but I made it so it's all good. Once I arrived in Dublin, I had to find my way to the bus that took me to Galway. It's about a three hour drive and I had to wait for about two hours to get the next bus. Luckily it was the express line, so we went most of the way without stopping and it picked me up right at the airport and dropped me off right at the bus station in Galway. Hannah met me at the bus station and it was so exciting to see her! Another one of her friends was with her and we went to grab dinner in the downtown area. They ordered pizza and pasta which I obviously get plenty of in Rome, but I was so excited because I could finally order a real dinner salad! People don't really eat salad as a meal in Italy, and I've missed it. So it wasn't a very Irish meal, but it was just what I needed!
I had been traveling all day by the time I got there, so Hannah and I just hung out at her apartment in Galway and watched a movie Friday night, because we had to be up early-ish the next morning to go on a tour of the Ciffs of Moher. She had already been before so as a student she got to go for free again, but I paid 20 euro and it was absolutely worth it. A bus came to pick us up at her apartment building and took us to the main bus station where we got on our real tour bus for the day. On the way, the bus driver was very chatty with us and was talking to us about learning Italian and Gaelic (Hannah is studying Gaelic and obviously I'm studying Italian). One thing he did tell us was that there are few recorded cases of dyslexia in native Italian speakers because Italian is such a simple and phonetic language, which I can definitely see. We were bummed that we didn't get to stay on his bus all day, because Hannah had actually had him before, but his bus was going on a different tour.
On the way to the Cliffs,we stopped at the ruins of a church, a fairy fort, Poulnabrone Dolmen, and the Burren, which is basically an area of Ireland that is a huge rocky plateau area. That was a different landscape than how I pictured Ireland, but it was beautiful and we saw sheep everywhere! I never realized I liked sheep as much as I do until I saw them all over the place in Ireland... I caved and bought a little stuffed sheep with a shamrock on it. I had to. We also stopped at a pub for lunch and I had the first burger I've had since I've left the US... it was so good to have red meat! We don't get a lot of it in Italy, and the burger definitely did not disappoint. We finally made it to the Cliffs in the afternoon, and we had absolutely perfect weather for them. It was sunny and warm... We walked around with no jackets on and just soaked up the sunshine. The water looked so blue underneath us and the views were amazing. We also climbed a tower that gave us an even better panoramic view of both sides. We definitely got lucky with the weather, because it made our trip out there so much better. I could have stayed out there for a while longer, but we had to get back on the bus and we stopped at a few more places on the way back, including a castle and something called the mini cliffs (basically just a rocky beach in the Burren).
We were pretty exhausted after that day, but we went back to the apartment and had dinner and went out to the Quays, a pub, for a bit where I had my first Guinness! It definitely did not disappoint. We didn't stay out too late, but the next day we took it easy and walked around Hannah's campus and downtown Galway and shopped. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the first time since I've been abroad, which was amazing! Peanut butter is so expensive in Rome because everybody uses Nutella instead. Hannah took me to a Claddagh jewelry shop, so I bought a Claddagh ring of course! That was yesterday... It was super relaxing after our long day out at the Cliffs, but it gave me a good taste of Galway.
We went out to another pub last night. Rebel moment... I ordered another Guinness and stole the pint glass so that I could have one from Ireland! I know I could have just bought one in a souvenir shop, but it's so much more fun to say that I have one from a pub. Oops. I also tried some Jameson which surprisingly was not that bad... Not my favorite, but I understand why the Irish like it! Another friend of ours from Butler went out with us too, so that was really exciting and a good taste of home for me.
I got up this morning and had to take the bus back to Dublin. After a little confusion with the bus timetable, I finally got on the right bus and made the three hour trip back to the airport. I flew on a tiny little regional plane to Edinburgh, but now I'm here and excited to spend the next couple of days sightseeing here and visiting my friend Ellen! I'm hoping to make it out to St. Andrews on Wednesday...hopefully it won't be super cold out there! It's moments like these that make me realize I'm really abroad. I leave for London Thursday afternoon and then it's back to Rome! Ireland was amazing and I didn't want to leave, but I'm sure Edinburgh and London will be just as amazing.
PS: my apologies for any typos or autocorrect mishaps in this post... It's hard to type this out on my iPad!
I left Rome on Friday morning to fly to Dublin to take a bus to Galway, where I got to visit my friend Hannah who is studying there this semester. It was so nice to see a friendly and familiar face and Galway was beautiful! Getting to the airport in Rome was interesting because there was a mixup with the bus that was supposed to take me and a few other girls to the airport and it actually left without us (if you watched the EU vs Italy video I posted in my last blog, go to the part about queues in Italy and you might understand), but we got on the next one and I was a little rushed to make my flight, but I made it so it's all good. Once I arrived in Dublin, I had to find my way to the bus that took me to Galway. It's about a three hour drive and I had to wait for about two hours to get the next bus. Luckily it was the express line, so we went most of the way without stopping and it picked me up right at the airport and dropped me off right at the bus station in Galway. Hannah met me at the bus station and it was so exciting to see her! Another one of her friends was with her and we went to grab dinner in the downtown area. They ordered pizza and pasta which I obviously get plenty of in Rome, but I was so excited because I could finally order a real dinner salad! People don't really eat salad as a meal in Italy, and I've missed it. So it wasn't a very Irish meal, but it was just what I needed!
I had been traveling all day by the time I got there, so Hannah and I just hung out at her apartment in Galway and watched a movie Friday night, because we had to be up early-ish the next morning to go on a tour of the Ciffs of Moher. She had already been before so as a student she got to go for free again, but I paid 20 euro and it was absolutely worth it. A bus came to pick us up at her apartment building and took us to the main bus station where we got on our real tour bus for the day. On the way, the bus driver was very chatty with us and was talking to us about learning Italian and Gaelic (Hannah is studying Gaelic and obviously I'm studying Italian). One thing he did tell us was that there are few recorded cases of dyslexia in native Italian speakers because Italian is such a simple and phonetic language, which I can definitely see. We were bummed that we didn't get to stay on his bus all day, because Hannah had actually had him before, but his bus was going on a different tour.
On the way to the Cliffs,we stopped at the ruins of a church, a fairy fort, Poulnabrone Dolmen, and the Burren, which is basically an area of Ireland that is a huge rocky plateau area. That was a different landscape than how I pictured Ireland, but it was beautiful and we saw sheep everywhere! I never realized I liked sheep as much as I do until I saw them all over the place in Ireland... I caved and bought a little stuffed sheep with a shamrock on it. I had to. We also stopped at a pub for lunch and I had the first burger I've had since I've left the US... it was so good to have red meat! We don't get a lot of it in Italy, and the burger definitely did not disappoint. We finally made it to the Cliffs in the afternoon, and we had absolutely perfect weather for them. It was sunny and warm... We walked around with no jackets on and just soaked up the sunshine. The water looked so blue underneath us and the views were amazing. We also climbed a tower that gave us an even better panoramic view of both sides. We definitely got lucky with the weather, because it made our trip out there so much better. I could have stayed out there for a while longer, but we had to get back on the bus and we stopped at a few more places on the way back, including a castle and something called the mini cliffs (basically just a rocky beach in the Burren).
We were pretty exhausted after that day, but we went back to the apartment and had dinner and went out to the Quays, a pub, for a bit where I had my first Guinness! It definitely did not disappoint. We didn't stay out too late, but the next day we took it easy and walked around Hannah's campus and downtown Galway and shopped. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the first time since I've been abroad, which was amazing! Peanut butter is so expensive in Rome because everybody uses Nutella instead. Hannah took me to a Claddagh jewelry shop, so I bought a Claddagh ring of course! That was yesterday... It was super relaxing after our long day out at the Cliffs, but it gave me a good taste of Galway.
We went out to another pub last night. Rebel moment... I ordered another Guinness and stole the pint glass so that I could have one from Ireland! I know I could have just bought one in a souvenir shop, but it's so much more fun to say that I have one from a pub. Oops. I also tried some Jameson which surprisingly was not that bad... Not my favorite, but I understand why the Irish like it! Another friend of ours from Butler went out with us too, so that was really exciting and a good taste of home for me.
I got up this morning and had to take the bus back to Dublin. After a little confusion with the bus timetable, I finally got on the right bus and made the three hour trip back to the airport. I flew on a tiny little regional plane to Edinburgh, but now I'm here and excited to spend the next couple of days sightseeing here and visiting my friend Ellen! I'm hoping to make it out to St. Andrews on Wednesday...hopefully it won't be super cold out there! It's moments like these that make me realize I'm really abroad. I leave for London Thursday afternoon and then it's back to Rome! Ireland was amazing and I didn't want to leave, but I'm sure Edinburgh and London will be just as amazing.
PS: my apologies for any typos or autocorrect mishaps in this post... It's hard to type this out on my iPad!
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