Second Time's The Charm!

Venice, Italy

         

We Matched our Backpacks...

   The week after spring break was exhausting. I was so dead and so tired, that I had no motivation to move all week. When it came time to plan for the weekend, I was so tired of traveling that I decided to revisit Venice. The last time we went to Venice, it was the second weekend I was here. It was cold, I was giddy with travel excitement, and it was extremely crowded due to Carnival. Randy and I both wanted to go back to Venice to go to the small islands of Burano and Murano. On Thursday night, Randy and I decided that we wanted to go to Burano Friday morning, and stay till Saturday night. We wanted to make sure that we made it back in time for the Easter morning celebration Sunday morning. The problem with booking a trip the night before you want to leave is that the chances of finding a place to stay are slim. Nevertheless, at 2am Randy and I booked a hotel and our Train tickets for Friday morning at 7am…Talk about spur of the moment. The next morning Randy and I packed up our backpacks and headed to Venice. When we left the house, Randy and I noticed that our clothes perfectly matched our backpacks. We laughed, but we thought no one would notice….WRONG….Throughout the entire day, five different couples informed us that we matched our backpacks, and every time they would tell us we would just laugh. 

Bright and Early, On the Way

            When we arrived to Venice, the weather was beautiful. It was warm with a slight breeze and there was not a cloud in the sky. Our first stop was Murano, home of blown glass. It was beautiful to see all the elaborate blow glass figures, however, after about an hour, we decided it was time to move on to Burano. The main reason Randy and I wanted to go to Venice a second time was to see the beautiful small island town of Burano. The island is packed with small stucco houses that are all painted a different color. They are also known for their lace. When we arrived to Burano, the houses and island were just as we imagined, if not prettier. We spent hours on the island just walking around looking at all the houses. After a few hours, we decided to head back to the main island and check into our hotel.

 

Randy and I Trying to Blend in!

The View from our Terrace

            When we got off the water boat to the main island, we were on the other side of the island. However, the sun was just about to set so the water and sky were beautiful. Walking back, Randy and I were joking around about how terrible our hotel could be because we booked it so late for so cheap, especially because it was the last room available on the main island. The address of the hotel lead us to a small alley was with a white door with the paint chipping off and not a hotel sign around. At this point, Miranda and I were starting to fear our jokes were becoming a reality. I found a buzzer on the side of the door and rang. A man picked up the phone and instructed us that we had headed to the wrong door and that the real reception desk was 2 doors down. When Miranda and I arrived at the actual reception desk, we were so relieved. The hotel was completely normal and clean. Our hotel room ended up being on the top floor of the hotel, and our room was so nice! We had a kitchen, bathroom, dining room table, king-sized bed, and a terrace to walk the beautiful orange and purple sunset! After a long day of walking, we decided we wanted Mexican food. We trip advised the best place to go and headed on our way. The restaurant was named Iguanas. It was a cute restaurant that was packed! When we asked to sit they told us they could not seat us without a reservation. I looked at the table beside us and it said the table was reserved for an hour and a half from the time we arrived. I informed them that we could finish in time for the reservation and they allowed us to sit…and I am so glad they did. The burritos Miranda and I had at Iguanas were the BEST burritos I have ever had in my life. I still dream about it today. Happy with our fun filled day, Randy and I got some self-serve gelato on the way back to the hostel and headed to sleep.

            The next morning, Randy and I slept in a little because it was both rainy and cold out. We then explored the market and main island. While exploring we saw all the locals drinking these red and orange drinks out of a wine glass. Interested to see what all the hype was, Randy and I searched for a place to sit down and try this local drink. We finally arrived at a restaurant that allowed us to sit down. Although we told them we were only staying for drinks, I think there was a miss communication. We asked to order two spritz, a red (which is bitter) and an orange (which is sweet). They then asked us what we wanted to eat, when we told them we were not eating, the waitress became super frustrated. She took up our bread and made us sit in chairs by the door that you would sit at it waiting for a table. To top it all off, the drinks were DISGUSTING. They tasted like cherry bitter cough drops. On that note, Randy and I were done. We placed 5 dollars on the table left our drink, and headed out. Never again will I drink one of those.

Easter Cupcakes!

        Sunday morning was Easter Sunday. Easter in Florence, Italy is split up into two days. Pasqua is celebrated on Sunday and la Pasquetta is also a holiday on the Monday after Easter, therefore we did not have school. Easter Sunday, Pasqua, is filled with festivals, feasts, and parades. La Pasquetta, is more of a traditional Easter with church services and celebrating the resurrection with families and friends.  Sunday morning, Randy and I woke up early to be front in line at 9am for the celebration in front of the Duomo. We knew that the celebration ended with this traditional Easter “cart” exploding with fireworks, however, we had no idea what was really in store. The celebration takes place as a tradition to welcome in a good harvest year. The celebration started at 10am. The parade started with horns, trumpets, and drummers all dressed in Florentine renaissance clothes. The parade ended at the from of the Duomo where they all lined up waiting for the Priest. Following the drummer boys was the flag brigade, and following them were two enormous white oxen, dressed in flowers, pulling a massive decorative Easter cart.  Next person to come in was the priest and his council. They were passing out branches and blessing the crowd and cart with holy water. The priest then gave a short traditional service in Italian and then the clock struck 11…The moment we had all been waiting was about to come, the explosion of the Easter Cart.  The priest, standing inside the Duomo, lite a white dove-shaped firework that launched into the cart and started an intense 5 minute long firework show, when you thought it was over, it started up again and again. It was loud, amazing, and exciting. After the explosion, the crowd cheered loudly and the parade progressed out of the center of town. Although we waited two hours to see this explosion, it was worth ever second to be apart of such a cool tradition. After we got back, Randy and I made Easter cupcakes, which ended up tasting like sweet cornbread (probably because they were out of a box, and Italians are all about making food fresh). We then ended the night by making brown sugar salmon, sautéed zucchini, artichokes, and
potatoes. It was a great was to end the day.

 

The Decorated Oxen

Edible Arrangement Cocktail!

            Monday was Kathryn’s birthday. Katherine, Kathryn and I woke up and headed out for the day. We got Paninos at Al’Antico Vieno, the number one rated restaurant in Florence, and ate them on the bridge overlooking the Ponte Venico. We then got a nice bottle of wine and sat in the rose gardens that overlooked the city of Florence. It was a beautiful relaxing day, and I was much better than sitting in class. We then returned home and all the roommates got ready to go out for Kathryn’s birthday dinner. We started the dinner at a small bar called the Art Bar. They are known for there crazy fruit filled drinks. There were so many different types of fruit on the edge of my glass that it looked like the bar tender made me an edible arrangement! We then went to La Giostra (aka the best restaurant ever). There I spoiled my self and had pear and pecorino ravioli followed by a white wine butter sauce sea bass with a vegetable medley...Yes, It was amazing. We waddled back home and prepared for classes the next morning.

            Overall, the weekend I had a great weekend with Randy. It was just what I needed after 10 intensive days of traveling. Of course, like always, I learned a few things that weekend. The first thing I learned it that traveling does not have to have set plans, in fact, spur of the moment, go with the flow plans are sometimes the best plans. I learned that when you think no one will notice that you and your friend match your backpacks, you will be wrong, everyone will notice and say something. I learned that sometimes, the best Mexican you will ever have, is in the country that is the farthest from it. I learned that Florence does Easter the right way and that America should not have school or work Easter Monday. Lastly I learned that you should never bake anything out of a box in Italy, it will taste like cornbread, and you will be disappointed after hours of hard work. Sorry that this post was so long. I know that it was not the funniest post. I will be posting posts more rapidly now because I have so many to catch up on, in such a short amount of time. Stay tuned! Ciao!

Better Late than Never: Spring Break Part 2

Barcelona, Spain

In my last post I talked about my adventures on spring break, part 1. Therefore, without further ado, I shall continue….

Belgium Waffles in Belgium!

            The next stop on our Western Loop, was Brussels. This stop was just a quick three-hour stop, and the only thing Meg, Katherine, and I knew we wanted to see was food in front of our faces. When we got off the bus we walked to the center of town and from there our mission to find fries and mussels began. We stumbled upon a restaurant and the only thing all six of us ordered was mussels, beer, and fries. After we went to a local bar called the Delirium Bar. This bar was known for their world famous beer called, The Delirium Tremens, as well for their 3,000 different beers to select from. After two beers at the Delirium, Meg and I went off in search of “the best Belgium waffles”. With only 15 minutes before the bus was to leave, we found a small shop that made custom Belgium waffles. My waffle consisted of bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and dark chocolate. I am not sure if the beer had any influence on the taste of the waffle, but it really was the best waffle I had ever had. After the waffles, we loaded up the bus and headed of to Paris, France. So in conclusion, Belgium was really just a quick food stop on our tour, but it was worth every bite. I could see how easy it would be for one to gain a few pounds from studying there for a long period of time…

            We arrived to Paris at 9:00am that night. We quickly checked in and ran to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night. For some reason, our group had the brilliant idea to get all dressed up to see the Eiffel Tower for 10 minutes in the pouring rain. Because of where our hostel was located, we were cutting it close to see the Tower light up at 10:00am. The Eiffel tower lights up for 5 minutes at the top of the top of every hour past sundown. When we arrived at the last subway stop it was 10:01pm. In a furry, everyone made a mad dash for the Tower…keep in mind most of us (including myself) are wearing some sort of high heel…and it is raining. When we get to the last staircase to go down before reaching the viewpoint, my foot slips out from underneath me and I come falling down on the wet steps in the freezing rain. I knew everyone saw it when I hear a loud, “OOOOO” from the crowd. Once again, instead of asking if I am okay, start screaming (while dying of laughter), “GET UP ALLIE!!! YOU’RE GOING TO MISS IT!!!”. In my head I’m thinking, “Can anyone ask me if I’m okay?! Just once!?” (don’t worry mom and dad, I’m okay). Flustered, wet, and mostly embarrassed I get up and arrive in time to see the last minute of the sparkling Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful, but I’m sure I would have appreciated it a little more if I would not have taken a tumble just before.

The "Random Building" I Wanted to
Take a Picture in front of...

            The next day, the plan was to go with the flow, yet see as much of Paris as possible. Our day started with a tour of the city. Our first destination was a large building that seemed to be quite popular. Unknowing exactly what it was, I said, “Hey Meg! Want to get a picture in front of this random building, I don’t know what it is but it looks cool”. In shock Meg replied, “Allie…Are you serious??? It’s the Notre Dame!” (Allie: 0, Paris: 2). After, we continued to see Lovelock Bridge, The Lurve, and other monuments. After the tour, we went to the Orsay Museum of Impressionism. While Meg is in love with impressionism, I really just wanted to get a picture in front of the giant clock. After, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and from there, continued on to my favorite stop… Ladurée! For the sake of this post, I will spare you with exactly how excited I was, but like me tell you… I was excited! They had a macaroon that was 4 times bigger than a normal macaroon… 4 TIMES! Once we got subsided our macaroon fix, we decided that we should go to the Eiffel Tower. When we got to the base of the Eiffel Tower we had two options, wait in a long line to pay 26 euros to take an elevator to the top or wait in a short line to pay 6 euros to climb 800 steps to the top…Of course, the poor

One of The Most Exciting Moments of My Life...Laduree!

college students we are decided that 40 floors didn’t sound that bad. 300 steps in I started feelin’ the burn, 600 steps in and my legs felt like jello, and at 800 steps I was ready to die. Nevertheless, we made it. Without planning, we timed our hike up the Eiffel Tower perfectly. We arrived to the top just as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. We ate macaroons, took pictures, drank champagne and enjoyed the views. Thankfully, on the way down we got to take an elevator so our legs were slightly spared.  

Love Lock Bridge with Megan

Orsay Museum

The Lurve

Arc de Triomphe with the
Spring Break Girls

Laduree on Top of the Eiffel Tower

View From the Top

Top of the Eiffel Tower at Sunset

At the Top!

            That night a few of us decided to go to the Sacre-Coeur plaza for dinner. We decided to take an uber because we had no idea where we were going. Our uber driver had no idea where we were going. He ended up stopping the meter, getting out of the car and asking for directions from 3 different people.  When we finally arrived the plaza was a quiet square that looked up at the beautiful church. Our one mission was to get escargot. We stumbled upon a piano bar called Catherine’s that not only had free bread and water, but it also had a special where you could get an appetizers (escargot) and a entrée for only 21 euros. I ended up getting the escargot with a knuckle of lamb and some weird bitter cabbage. The food and the music was great. It ended up being a perfect way to end a great day.

Palace of Versailles

            The next day, Meg was insisted that we take a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. Unfortunately, it was the one day one spring break that the weather was terrible. Therefore, we did not really get to see all of the gardens. However, the palace itself was incredible. The amount of gold that was embossed in the small details was absolutely amazing. After visiting I can see why building that palace put France into bankruptcy.

            After we visited the palace, Meg and I had one last touristy thing to do before we had to leave. The goal was to get to French baguettes, to go the Eiffel Tower, and have a sword fight. If this action didn’t scream.. HEY WE’RE AMERICANS! I don’t know what did. We finally stalked down a tourist looking couple and captured the perfect picture. The baguettes were pretty good too. We then went back to the hostel and prepared to go to out last stop…. Barcelona

Mmmmm.....

We Blended Right in!

  

Fruit from the Barca Market Place

            Not many people are aware that Barcelona was the country I was set on going to until the day before the applications were due at the study abroad office. Therefore, this was one of the places that I was most looking forward to visiting. When we arrived it was just as beautiful as I imagined. We went on our walking tour of the city, per usual, and after we went to the market. The market was filled with fruit, vegetables, and fish restaurants. For someone that is only used to seeing bread, pasta, and pizza this was so refreshing. After I had fruit overload, we went to a restaurant to have the traditional paleta (rice/jambalaya) and sangria. Then we ventured on our 45-minute walk to the Sagrada Familia Church that is in the process of being built. The church looked like a giant drip castle, similar to the ones we use to make on the beach when we were little kids. Although it was still being built since 1882, it was beautiful to see.

Meg and I Explore Barcelona!

The Sagrada Familia Church...
See the Drip Castle?

Park Guell, Mosaic Benches, Barca

            The next day we went to Park Guell, a park filled with mosaic sculptures and benches that overlooked the entire city. After spending a good three hours getting as many pictures as we could, we went straight to the beach. The beaches in Barcelona are a little bit different than the beaches in America, because the sand was imported for the summer Olympics in 1992. The sand was more like tiny pebbles and the beaches were filled with people trying to sell you neon green mojitos and Indian tapestries. However, the water and the palm trees looked much like a resort. Meg and I decided to take a walk on the beach and on out way back, about 500m from where our blankets were, we saw a man about 75 years old, completely naked, standing straight up, starring right at us. That was a glass shattering moment for us because we then realized that we were at a nude beach. However, I’m pretty sure the only people comfortable enough to be naked on the beach were those over the age of 65 years old. It was comical, yet disturbing. After we went to a restaurant called FOC. It was a tiny whole in the wall restaurant; however, they had the best fresh squeeze sangria, with real fruit at the bottom, fresh fish, and the best nachos. It was a great find after a hot day on the beach. After the day was over we were all exhausted. Barcelona was not filled with as many tourist attractions as the other stops on spring break. Nevertheless, it was a great, relaxing way to end a perfect spring break.

Beaches of Barcelona!

            By the end of spring break we had successfully visited 5 countries in just ten day. I was broke, bruised, sore from the bus ride, and a little but fatter than when we first started, but it was worth every pound and penny. In As always, I learned a few things on part two of spring break. First, when you only have two hours to experience all the fattening delicacies in Belgium, don’t hold back, you won’t regret it.  Second, never wear heels when running to see the twinkling lights on the Eiffel tower, with 5 minutes to go, in the rain…You will slip (again) and everyone will laugh at you…again. Third, when attempting to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower, you consider taking the elevator, unless you are okay with your legs being sore for the rest of your vacation. Fourth, never be afraid to be a typical American and fence with French baguettes at the Eiffel Tower, the pictures and the memories will be worth it. Lastly, when going to a foreign beach, always look at your surroundings before you pick your spot, because you may be in the middle of a nude beach filled with 80-year-old men. Well, that’s about it. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I had 3, 10 page papers due in one week. More to come soon!