Spring Break Part 2: Berlin

The next stop on my spring break trip was Berlin. Let me tell ya, the history there is upfront and personal. We were fortunate to have a walking tour in each city, but Berlin’s tour was exceptionally interesting. It’s crazy to think how recent all the history is also. We walked where Hitler walked, where the border crossing was (Checkpoint Charlie), saw where artists painted freedom-statement murals on the East Side of the Berlin Wall. History is fascinating (I am my mother’s daughter), so it was incredible to experience Berlin after learning about it in World History since middle school.

 We arrived in Berlin on St. Patrick’s Day, so there were some festivities at the awesome hostel bar, Belushi’s. I ate a Kraut Burger, which was nom nom worthy. I did a couple Giada DiLaurentis “mmmm’s” when I ate it. There were two guys singing some live music. Naturally we joined in singing at the top of our lungs when they played “Ho Hey” and “Wonderwall.” Seriously, every hostel we stayed in was legit. If you ever go to Amsterdam, Berlin, or Paris, stay at St. Christopher’s Inn. They’ve got great rooms, good food, and nice staff.

 The last night we had the traditional German food, bratwurst, sauerkraut, potatoes, and Apple Strudel. Have I made you drool yet? Cause I just did. I love being able to try all of this traditional food in these countries. If only I had a job that required travelling and eating food. I could be the next female Anthony Bourdain. Only without the foul language and cigarettes. But I think I’d have to be able to come up with more descriptive words other than “AMAZING” and “SO GOOD.” I’ll work on it.

East Side Gallery

    

The Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial

Spring Break Part 1: Prague

The next couple blog posts will be a series since I went to four different countries, all with distinct culture and character. I have to say that this has been one of my greatest, most fun, most memorable spring break. Not just because of the places I went, but the people who made it memorable. I went to countries I have been dreaming about travelling to since I was ten. This blog is helping me solidify my disbelief that I actually went to these places. Let me tell you about the first stop on my trip, Prague.

On the Old Stone Bridge

It’s kind of sad when the best way to describe a country like Prague to an American is to say it reminded you of Disney World. It’s sad, but true. Prague was like a fairytale land. The first day we toured the Olde and New Town.The "Prague-ians" had begun setting up the Easter Market that weekend, so it was even more colorful than usual. It was bitterly cold, so we convinced ourselves that a Starbucks cup was an essential accessory to our coat and hat wardrobe. I missed my White Chocolate Mocha since being in Europe. So even the coffee tasted like a fairtale in Prague.

Czech food is very much like German food: heavy, hearty, and starchy. We got lunch at the Czech Kitchen where I had Goulash soup, dumplings, some kind of meat roast, and the most interesting tasting spinach I have ever tried. I’m known in several places as the “garbage disposal” (I can eat almost anything), but I had to leave the spinach where it belonged, in a real garbage disposal.

I loved just walking around the beautiful city, eating Turtlenecks (a cinnamon sugared dough cooked on a spit over a fire), feasting on Kielbasa from a market vendor, and drinking hot wine (like mulled cider, only it’s WINE. So good).

Went to the John Lennon wall. Took about 55 profile picture worthy photos, wrote some lyrics on the wall, and gave peace a chance.

We toured the Prague Castle complex, which had a lot of places to discover, considering it’s the biggest castle complex in the world. It’s not what you would think as a castle, though. It’s more like a little town resting on a hill overlooking Prague. It has a bunch of different office buildings, a gorgeous cathedral, a quaint little side street, some gift shops and cafes, and hot wine. Reminded me of Disney World. Tried some more hot wine there to keep our fingers warm, and enjoyed the beauty that is Prague.

Turtlenecks! So yummy

Lots of street performers on the Old Stone Bridge

The Lennon Wall

Oh Suz...

Inside the cathedral at Prague Castle

Kate Update

It’s been midterm week here, and I leave for my spring break trip tomorrow. Not to be the one to talk about the weather, but it was rained 8 days consecutively without stopping. I haven’t seen a dove bring an olive branch to my window yet, but I am hopeful it will come soon. The Arno River was looking rough when I walked along it yesterday. On the positive side, because it’s been raining so much, it gave me no choice but to put my sorry little bum in the library to study for midterms. Contrary to popular belief, I actually did put the “study” in “study abroad” this week. I just finished my last midterm today, which means SPRING BREAK STARTS TODAY.

Lookin a little rough, Arno. This was the only part of the day that was sunny.

 Because the weather has not been the most ideal, the past weeks mainly involved staying in Florence, going to class, getting free fries Friday at The Oil Shop, walking through the markets, and drinking tea.

 Oh wait! Two Saturdays ago, we went to Fiorentina vs. Chievo soccer game. It was incredibly fun to experience and watch. I may or may not have enjoyed watching the little boys behind us more. They were so cute cheering and yelling, just like their father next to them. Obviously, you probably had to be there to enjoy what I’m trying to explain. All in all, the soccer game was so much fun and Italian soccer is the bomb dot com.

 If you’re wondering where I’m going for spring break, then you’re in the right place. I leave for Prague tomorrow night. We will stay there for a couple days then take the trek up to Berlin where we’ll stay for a couple of days. Then we travel to Amsterdam, and lastly end in Paris. If you think that’s a lot of travelling, then you’re right. I will have travelled through 7 countries and I don’t even know how many miles that is. But I am soooo stoked and I can’t wait to tell you all more about it when I get back. If you have any suggestions on places to go or things to do in those countries, let me know!

Finding Normalcy

     

As life continues to speedily move by, I search for things in Florence that give me a sense of comfort, a sense of home. I have found a couple of things that remind me of my life back home, or things that humanize the lives of people who live here. For example, I was walking to class early in the morning when I walked past these two boys about the age of 9. One was crouched on the ground, using the bench as a table as he scribbled something into a notebook as the other kid stood next to him. As I got close enough to see what he was doing, I realized the boy was copying the homework answers from his friend. I thought to myself, so they do it in Italy to, eh? It brought me back to Mr. Forshey’s 8th grade math class. 

             

        When I start feeling distant from my homeland, I enjoy walking through the park when the kids get out of school. The parents are picking them up from the school across the street, hugging them while the kids show them their recent accomplishment in art class. It’s such a joy to see the parents with their little Italian tater tots, running around, screaming Italian gibberish, which sounds a lot like English gibberish. I’m not a creep, who just stands there and watches the children. I walk with a purpose and glance over every now and then. 

  

      I’ve also been reverting back to my childlike tendencies of “sickness descriptions.” The point-to-where-it-hurts tendency. I have strep throat, so I’ve been trying to explain to my host mom where the pain is. We’re becoming very good at charades. 

     Another way I find normalcy here is the Bible study. There’s nothing quite like a group of Christians meeting together to bring a sense of comfort and common ground. We’re all studying abroad in a new country, and we all love Jesus. There’s nothing too complicated about it.

       The last way I like to get into my comfort zone is listening to music on my way to class. One thing I really miss here is driving in the car, by myself, with my music of choice (I miss my alone time.). Because I walk everywhere here, I have a lot of time to listen to my jams. I enjoy secretly swaying my arms to the beat of Ben Rector. No one has to know, although I sometimes feel like my cadence walking is a bit too obvious, because I begin feeling like I’m on a catwalk. 

      It’s things like these that help me adjust to my life here. I love Italian culture, but there are just some habits that I can’t give up from the good ol’ U-S-of-A.

The Umbrella Parade

You would have thought that Carnivale had continued on through this weekend with the colorful umbrella processional we had going on today.

 Today we went to Siena. From hearing all the great things about Siena, I was really excited to check it out for myself. We knew the weather was going to be somewhat crummy, so we all brought our umbrellas, two layers of socks, and comfy shoes. Although my shoes were comfortable, they were quite soggy by the end of the day. It rained, and believe it or not, snowed the whole time we were in Siena. It did not help that our tour was mainly an outdoor walking tour. The wind was blowing, the temperature was about 23 below zero (ok, not that bad, but it was in the thirties). I’m not exactly sure of all that our tour guide said. To be honest, I zoned out 90% of the time, because I was trying to transport blood circulation into my toes by wiggling them to create friction. I’m not sure I was actually wiggling them though, because my toes were too numb to tell.

 Once the tour was over, a couple of us ran into a restaurant to eat. As we were eating, we looked out the window at the snow that was coming down pretty hard. Apparently, snow hardly ever happens in Siena, so I noticed a couple Italians with their noses pushed up against the window at the snowy spectacle. Although the snow was beautiful, we were all eager to make a dash to the bus to warm our little toesies.

 When Rachel and I were walking back to the apartment after the day was over, my cheap red umbrella began developing a mind of it’s own. Whenever the wind blew, without missing a single gust, would either pop out like all the nannies’ umbrellas in Mary Poppins, or do a little dance, making me look like an idiot who can’t hold an umbrella still. I couldn’t help but laugh at everyone else who were having the same difficulties with their strong-willed umbrellas. My umbrella died that night. It’s lying in the umbrella graveyard with all the other 3-euro parasols.

 Despite the yucky weather, Siena was beautiful, especially in the snow. But I am very happy that I will going back in May when my parents come. We’ll probably have to do another walking tour, because I only listened 10% of the tour guide’s information. Perhaps I’ll learn something next time. I Lord willing, I won’t have to use an umbrella.

The Piazza

Making the most of it

Staying warm and enjoying some tiramisu 

Arezzo, Cortona, and Everything in Between

Dramatic Pause. 

Aaaand we’re back. Time for an update on my recent excursions. Two weekends ago, we took a day trip to Arezzo and Cortona, two Etruscan towns. Both towns are situated up on hills, making them lovely spectacles and objects of gorgeous views. If you’ve ever seen “Life is Beautiful,” it was filmed in Arezzo. And “Under the Tuscan Sun” was filmed in Cortona. We ate lunch in Arezzo at this adorable Trattatoria. Wine racks lined the walls, Red and white tablecloths covered the tables. I ordered my favorite pizza, Cuattro Stagioni (Prosciutto, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives). Molto Buono.

Arezzo

Cara and I in Arezzo

Trattoria in Arezzo

Cortona was an adorable town. The road winding to the top gives any human being bus-sickness, but it was worth it. The hilly town has narrow alleyways, quaint shops, and breathtaking views of the valley below. I was in a leather shop when I got to talking with the shop owner. She was the sweetest British lady. When she was in college, she studied in Florence for a month, decided she was going to live here, fell in love with a Florentine, got married, and they’ve lived just outside of Cortona for 40 years. Loved hearing her story, though it didn’t help my hopeless romantic side in the slightest.

Cortona

                                          

Cortona

On Valentine’s Day, a couple of us went to a fragrance shop and a leather shop. Both are local businesses where they make their goods right there in the shops. The moment you walk into the perfumery, a huge whiff of about 200 fragrances fills your nostrils with scents of patchouli, lavender, rose, and a whole bunch of others. If you know me at all, you know I love to smell things, so this shop was so much fun for me. I ended up walking out with about three different fragrances spritzed on me. I wasn’t about to leave without testing a 150-euro perfume. And no, Mom, I didn’t buy any.

 Last week was also the week I partook in a cooking class. I truly felt like a Food Network chef. My dream had been accomplished. We made a Sicilian pasta dish with homemade tomato sauce and eggplant, cauliflower flan (don’t hate it until you’ve tried it), and panna cotta with a balsamic caramel sauce for dessert (kind of like a firm vanilla pudding, or creamy jello. It’s the only way to describe it, but it’s really good.). I intend to make it for anyone who wants it, so let me know and I’ll make you a true Italian dinner.

Alex and I were the designated dessert makers. We owned that Panna Cotta

Brewing up something delicious

The delicious Panna Cotta

This past Sunday, we took a bus just outside of the city near the small town called Fiesole. We took a tour of an Olive farm, Fattoria di Maiano, where they make literally one of the greatest tasting extra virgin olive oils I’ve ever tasted. The farm is also a bed and breakfast, so everywhere you look is picture perfect. The place was actually a filming location for a movie called “A Room with a View,” which I’ve never seen before. The olives are done for the season, but it was still cool to see the production machinery and taste some of it on a toasted baguette. Plus, I love learning anything from Tomazo, our 20-something guide. I think he works as a model on the side. Just a guess.

View from the farm

The restaurant at the bed and breakfast

                             

The farm also had animals

Also went to the Uffizi Gallery, the original offices for practically every Medici that ever lived. It was also the first art collection open to the public. Saw Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Springtime. Other works included Leonardo, Carravagio, Michelangelo, and Brunelleschi, but this stuff is boring to read about. Just go see them, and you’ll see why I’m excited.

And we climbed the Belltower.

414 Steps. We're obviously on step 34 at this point.

 

Me being daring

Hey, it was a big drop. 

You are now up to date.

Ten Things

       Kathleen Kelly is to New York City as I am to Florence, for all you “You’ve Got Mail” aficionados. Except instead of the smell of bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, it’s the aroma of cigarettes and wine. Which leads me to the first installment of “Ten Things I love About Florence”

 1. The smell of leather and secondhand smoke down every street.

2. The concaved cobblestone streets around Santa Croce from all the wear and tear over the years. It’s really funny to watch people trip over themselves and walk like they’re drunk. By “people,” I mean “me.”

 3. Maria Grazia’s Tartufo Pasta.

4. The creepy guys on the streets that try to sell you umbrellas…..

5. The little Italian boys playing soccer in the Piazza de Santa Croce.

6. Old men wearing fedoras, oversized glases, and London Fog.

 7. The river walk.

 8. The Oil Shop. The. Best. Sandwiches. Number 4 is my kryptonite.

9. The quiet streets at 7:30 in the morning, when all the stores are just opening and the old women are walking their dogs that have their own sweaters.

10. The military guy in the glass triangle display-thingy that’s protruding out of a military building I pass by every day. I’m pretty sure he recognizes me by the two scarves I alternate every other day and the same pair of jeans I’ve worn for the last four days. One day I know we’ll be friends.