well i have officially left italy :( theres so much i could write right now! i kind of slacked off for the last month or so partially because i didnt want to admit that the semester was ending and partly because i was so busy having a good time during my last weeks there :) right now i am sitting in monica's dorm room in paris with my friend jane (from oxy). we've been in paris for a few days and it's been pretty cool. litterally and figuratively. it's really cold here! its been raining in the afternoons which sucks, but we're going to be back here a few times in the next few weeks so hopefully the weather will get nicer. we were in munich germany with bryan for a little bit (really only 1.5 days) but it was still a lot of fun! we stayed with his old host sister elisabeth and her boyfriend. their apartment was sooooo nice. theyve been working as nurses for a while so even though they're our age they have a lot more money. it shows the really different paths people can take in different countries.
in munich we had some delicccccious german food and even cooked some of our own. we went to the english gardens and napped out in the sun by the little creek/river that runs through there. it was gorgeous there. i've always had the best weather in germany. i like that place. the next day i got up to take bryan to the train station and i was so proud of myself because i made my way back to the apartment by myself on the metro AND the bus! yay kate.
monica left paris 2 hours after we arrived so its sad we dont get to hang out more now, but we'll get to see her next week. its nice because we have her bed and a cot in her room for $22.50 total for 2 nights! we're kind of into saving money right now... tonight was really nice/sad. i got to see maryn for the last time (my roomate who's in paris for a week with her mom) and her mom took us and my other roommate margaret (whos in paris for a few days) out for dinner/desert. her mom's really nice and reminds me of my grandmother in kentucky (hi gram) probably because of her tennessee accent. anyway, we got to go to a nicer restaurant and she bought us wine and such so it was really nice.
tomorrow im going to seem marion (my french friend who lived in the us for a year)! we're gonna stay in the town where her university is and then we're gonna go to her real house. im really excited for that.
the last few weeks in siena were a lot of fun. we went on a group trip to venezia (venice) and my friends and i travelled to lago di garda (lake garda) which was in the gorgeous lake region of italy. then we spent some good last few weekends in our home city of siena. i miss it a ton already, even with all the problems. i loved my friends there so much and the city is just amazing. to give you an idea, i was awoken by a marching band of drummers and men dressed in medieval costumes waving flags for the past few weekends in the start of the palio season...which is not until the end of july. we always said that when you walk around siena at night you feel like you're on a movie set. the stupid tourists aren't there and its just quiet and peaceful with the occasional crazy italian men, but its all good. i'll write more soon about my last few weeks but for now im just trying to take it all in.
ciao siena, ci vediamo :)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
czech republic
so here i am sitting at a computer in the lobby of my hostel in prague, czech republic. its amazing to think im really over here and getting to experience so much of the world. my spring break started on wednesday night and my friend margaret and i took a night train from florence to munich, germany, which was soooo amazing. we had real bed-like things and a sink in our room, free breakfast (good breakfast) and free water bottles. compared to trenitalia deutsch bahn was amazingly amazing. i went from there to bayreuth (a town father in bavaria) with bryan and stayed with his old host family from 2002 in nemmersdorf. i had the absolute best time there. the family was so welcoming, bought us food, made us dinner, and generally opened their house to us, which was especially nice considering theyd never met me. we had such a relaxing time and even celebrated easter with them a bit by taking a nice walk through the countryside and them hiding easter baskets for us (yes they hide the whole basket in germany haha).
from there we went to munich and stayed at this awesome hostel called Euro Youth Hostel, which was more like a hotel for young people. munich was my favorite big city in europe so far (tied with barcelona mb but theyre very different). i loved how everything actually worked and worked on time! it was incredible after being in italy for months haha. i even took a picture of the tv in the metro station that tells which trains were coming because it was so well organized and pretty. the whole city was so cute and just like a fairytale. i got to eat delicious german food that id been hearing about for years and had a great time all in all. we took a cool bus tour which helped to see a lot of sights all at once and learn about them too. we went to olypmic park also which was so pretty! i wish i had had my bathing suit cause the huge gorgeous pool was only 3.50Euro. there was so much more i could have seen and done, but with only a few days its difficult. im so glad i went though.
from there i took a train to prague, where i am now. this city is very nice but i thinhk it would have been better to come before munich, because munich definitely steals its thunder. while it is really pretty it can be a bit too fancy, and its soooooo international and metropolitan that you almost feel like everyone here is a tourist/youre in disneyland. but again, i only have 2.5 days here so i guess i am just doing touristy things. i think if i stayed longer or was with people from here i'd have a different experience but oh well. we went across the river today and i went up this tower which gave me such a pretty view of the city. it was neat to see the old architecture mixed with the obviously communist built buildings. one of the highlights of prague was definitely eating at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Buffallo Bills and having delicious tacos and nachos. it was so strange eating mexican food here, it definitely was a bit confusing to my sense of where i was. the other fun thing we did was hang out in the common room of the hostel last night with a bunch of australian and new zealander kids. they were so much more similar to ppl in califronia than anyone ive met from europe, its funny. they dressed just like califronians. they were all really nice and taught us some funny games.
from here i am going to budapest, so that will be interesting to get to see even more into eastern europe. who ever thought i would be going to hungary???? i dont even believe it. im taking a night train tonight with my friend margaret so hopefully it all goes well! for now i might wander around the city? im so tired but its such a nice day out i feel like i should. i should try to find margaret too since she said she was napping but i cant seem to find her.... hmmm. aye travelling. it can be stressful but in the end i think its worth it.
i cant believe my program is over in a month. almost exactly a month. it seems like i spent the past 2 years of my life talking about coming here and to think im going back to CA makes me very sad. i mean, i miss it and my friends and family there but just to think this stage of my life is over makes me sad. plus ive made really good friends on my program that i dont want to leave. my friend katie and i are already planning our trip to University of Virigina to visit our new friends there. aye i dont want to get back to normal life, i just want to be on vacation forever!
i will post pictures soon! it takes so long to upload them i have to do it when i have a lot of time which is rare. but i swear i will make something soon. hope all is well elsewhere in the world.
from there we went to munich and stayed at this awesome hostel called Euro Youth Hostel, which was more like a hotel for young people. munich was my favorite big city in europe so far (tied with barcelona mb but theyre very different). i loved how everything actually worked and worked on time! it was incredible after being in italy for months haha. i even took a picture of the tv in the metro station that tells which trains were coming because it was so well organized and pretty. the whole city was so cute and just like a fairytale. i got to eat delicious german food that id been hearing about for years and had a great time all in all. we took a cool bus tour which helped to see a lot of sights all at once and learn about them too. we went to olypmic park also which was so pretty! i wish i had had my bathing suit cause the huge gorgeous pool was only 3.50Euro. there was so much more i could have seen and done, but with only a few days its difficult. im so glad i went though.
from there i took a train to prague, where i am now. this city is very nice but i thinhk it would have been better to come before munich, because munich definitely steals its thunder. while it is really pretty it can be a bit too fancy, and its soooooo international and metropolitan that you almost feel like everyone here is a tourist/youre in disneyland. but again, i only have 2.5 days here so i guess i am just doing touristy things. i think if i stayed longer or was with people from here i'd have a different experience but oh well. we went across the river today and i went up this tower which gave me such a pretty view of the city. it was neat to see the old architecture mixed with the obviously communist built buildings. one of the highlights of prague was definitely eating at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Buffallo Bills and having delicious tacos and nachos. it was so strange eating mexican food here, it definitely was a bit confusing to my sense of where i was. the other fun thing we did was hang out in the common room of the hostel last night with a bunch of australian and new zealander kids. they were so much more similar to ppl in califronia than anyone ive met from europe, its funny. they dressed just like califronians. they were all really nice and taught us some funny games.
from here i am going to budapest, so that will be interesting to get to see even more into eastern europe. who ever thought i would be going to hungary???? i dont even believe it. im taking a night train tonight with my friend margaret so hopefully it all goes well! for now i might wander around the city? im so tired but its such a nice day out i feel like i should. i should try to find margaret too since she said she was napping but i cant seem to find her.... hmmm. aye travelling. it can be stressful but in the end i think its worth it.
i cant believe my program is over in a month. almost exactly a month. it seems like i spent the past 2 years of my life talking about coming here and to think im going back to CA makes me very sad. i mean, i miss it and my friends and family there but just to think this stage of my life is over makes me sad. plus ive made really good friends on my program that i dont want to leave. my friend katie and i are already planning our trip to University of Virigina to visit our new friends there. aye i dont want to get back to normal life, i just want to be on vacation forever!
i will post pictures soon! it takes so long to upload them i have to do it when i have a lot of time which is rare. but i swear i will make something soon. hope all is well elsewhere in the world.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
1.5 hrs til spring break!
i feel bad i havent updated much. i know im going to regret it later, so im going to try to write something short now. im in cinema class right now talking about one of the most disturbing movies ive ever seen, salò. don't watch it. im not even go into it but just trust me. this class is so eh. the teacher prints out tons of pages (like 50?) and just reads them mostly though the class. it's so boring and makes him seem like he doesn't know what hes talking about, but today hes been better about asking questions.
im sooooo tired. ive been up so late every night. i feel like i never sleep here. but im going on spring break tonight!! im going to germany with bryan then prague with a bunch of friends from my program and then budapest with my one friend margaret from here. im nervous about going to all these places (for different reasons). germany because ill be with a family for a few days where i dont speak the language much at all but i know bryan will be there most of the time. its just those few moments that im dreading. but mostly im worried about prague and budapest cause i cant even read czech or hungarian! i dont even know how to say yes or now. i guess ill learn. it should be a good experience. im soooo excited, dont get me wrong. i cant wait to see other parts of europe. ive heard so much about germany too that i cant believe im really going there. and the other cities ive never even thought about much in my life so the concept of going somewhere that i barely can think of as real (if that makes sense). i cant wait! im taking a night train tonight and im absolutely exhausted so hopefully ill just pass out and wake up happy and healthy in munich.
i ended up staying in siena the last 2 weekends. we had planned on staying one of them and then we (a bunch of friends from here) were going to go to Capri/Pompeii/Sorrento but it just became so far and so expensive for the amount of time that we would be going. im glad tho, i felt like i was more a part of siena, meeting people (kind of, though other people, i could say hi to them on the street probably so that means i met them right?) and just feeling not really at home here but something like that. siena's an easy place to feel at home since its small but enough going on and such.
it's gotten so touristy here! i cant believe the change even in the last 3 weeks or so. i guess its only gonna get worse. ohhhh well. im always so jealous when i see them cause ill be walking to class and theyre just mosseying (sp?) around on vacation. but they only get to be here for a few days, im here for a few months :)
im sooooo tired. ive been up so late every night. i feel like i never sleep here. but im going on spring break tonight!! im going to germany with bryan then prague with a bunch of friends from my program and then budapest with my one friend margaret from here. im nervous about going to all these places (for different reasons). germany because ill be with a family for a few days where i dont speak the language much at all but i know bryan will be there most of the time. its just those few moments that im dreading. but mostly im worried about prague and budapest cause i cant even read czech or hungarian! i dont even know how to say yes or now. i guess ill learn. it should be a good experience. im soooo excited, dont get me wrong. i cant wait to see other parts of europe. ive heard so much about germany too that i cant believe im really going there. and the other cities ive never even thought about much in my life so the concept of going somewhere that i barely can think of as real (if that makes sense). i cant wait! im taking a night train tonight and im absolutely exhausted so hopefully ill just pass out and wake up happy and healthy in munich.
i ended up staying in siena the last 2 weekends. we had planned on staying one of them and then we (a bunch of friends from here) were going to go to Capri/Pompeii/Sorrento but it just became so far and so expensive for the amount of time that we would be going. im glad tho, i felt like i was more a part of siena, meeting people (kind of, though other people, i could say hi to them on the street probably so that means i met them right?) and just feeling not really at home here but something like that. siena's an easy place to feel at home since its small but enough going on and such.
it's gotten so touristy here! i cant believe the change even in the last 3 weeks or so. i guess its only gonna get worse. ohhhh well. im always so jealous when i see them cause ill be walking to class and theyre just mosseying (sp?) around on vacation. but they only get to be here for a few days, im here for a few months :)
Thursday, March 22, 2007
hello there blog world
since i'm totally behind on the updates i'll just catch up a bit and start from now...
last i left off i was going to rome with my program. it was nice to stay in a nicer hotel, even though those of us in triples (me) were still in triples. it was nice cause we got to be with our roomates so it wasn't awkward or anything. i had been to rome before so it wasn't suuuuper exciting for me, but i definitely liked it a lot better this time than last! i was told not to write about food so i'll only say this briefly: they have yummy pizza in rome. and last time i went to italy with my grandmother (hi gram if you're reading this!) she was obsessed with the spinach. i thought she was really strange and didn't understand at all, but now i do. for some reason i love spinach all of a sudden?
okay thats enough for the food. part of rome kinda sucked cause we had class each day (including saturday...boo) and our teachers kinda crazy so we litterally stood still in the back rooms of churches listening to him ramble on about who knows what for a good hour at each place. needless to say our feet hurt a lot! we also never got to the point of understanding the buses (and we're kinda cheap haha) so we walked the whole city. i know from places like paris it doesn't seem very big, but coming from Siena, Rome is gigantic! the coolest things we did were probably: eating at this tiny little restaurant where the guys there made us stay longer (not in a creepy way) and gave us a free bottle of champagne and going to see the Pope speak on Sunday afternoon. I felt kinda guilty cause the two other Jewish girls on the program went to the famous Jewish Temple that morning, but I really wanted to sleep in and ended up seeing the (Catholic) Pope instead. oh well! it was very cool getting to see how many people were there! he didn't talk for very long and i only understood a bit of it, but he seemed cute and nice. he gives shout outs too in all different languages! it was so funny. like "id like to welcome St. Andrew's School from Buffalo, NY" in each language and the groups he mentioned would yell. so i can say that i got blessed by the pope :) that's pretty neat.
we were only back for a few days before we left for Pisa/BARCELONA! on thursday March 15 we left in the afternoon to stay overnight in Pisa in order to catch a 8am flight to spain. we took advantage of the early time and got to pisa with enough time to eat and see the tower (which i'd never seen before). i think pisa was really nice. apparently a lot of people think it's kinda dissapointing, but i thought it was a cute little city. kind of a combination of siena and florence. i tried to take the must-take-tourist-photo where it looks like you're holding up the tower, but it was dark so i'm not sure how it came out. we went to bed (our hotel was litterally a block from the train station, so that was really night) and got up the next morning at the good hour of 5:20am to go to the airport.
now i'm sitting in the computer room at the CET center, trying to rip la dolce vita onto my computer but its not working :( i think ill give up and go back home cause im pretty hungry. dinner at 8ish at the mensa, the cafeteria thats free! oh and i was told to write more about how i feel about being here. so...i really like siena. i love being in europe, i think i just love things that are different. i get too bored in the same place for a while. it's weird, part of me really likes staying put and the other hates it. hmmm. but sienas a really good home base i think. its cute and nice and there's enough to do, but not so much that you feel like you're missing out by traveling. i could definitely be doing more day trips, but it's like i came alllllll this way to europe i want to take advantage of it. this weekend i'm not traveling, so maybe i'll end up going somewhere closeby in tuscany for the afternoon? it also costs soooo much here. i can't believe it. the exchange rates awful and things are more expensive in general. va bene! i'll live. i figure i'm only here once so i want to experience as much as is feasible. i'm going to Capri and Sorrento (southern italy) in two weekends and then the week after that is spring break! i'm so excited. for spring break i'm going to Germany (munich/bavaria), Czech Republic (prague), and Hungary (budapest)! i have to buy some more train tickets and fill in the gaps but it's mostly planned. i'm so excited.
anyway i'll write more soon and maybe more pictures. the site i use takes a while, so that's why i haven't put as many. i'll talk about barcelona pt II next time!
last i left off i was going to rome with my program. it was nice to stay in a nicer hotel, even though those of us in triples (me) were still in triples. it was nice cause we got to be with our roomates so it wasn't awkward or anything. i had been to rome before so it wasn't suuuuper exciting for me, but i definitely liked it a lot better this time than last! i was told not to write about food so i'll only say this briefly: they have yummy pizza in rome. and last time i went to italy with my grandmother (hi gram if you're reading this!) she was obsessed with the spinach. i thought she was really strange and didn't understand at all, but now i do. for some reason i love spinach all of a sudden?
okay thats enough for the food. part of rome kinda sucked cause we had class each day (including saturday...boo) and our teachers kinda crazy so we litterally stood still in the back rooms of churches listening to him ramble on about who knows what for a good hour at each place. needless to say our feet hurt a lot! we also never got to the point of understanding the buses (and we're kinda cheap haha) so we walked the whole city. i know from places like paris it doesn't seem very big, but coming from Siena, Rome is gigantic! the coolest things we did were probably: eating at this tiny little restaurant where the guys there made us stay longer (not in a creepy way) and gave us a free bottle of champagne and going to see the Pope speak on Sunday afternoon. I felt kinda guilty cause the two other Jewish girls on the program went to the famous Jewish Temple that morning, but I really wanted to sleep in and ended up seeing the (Catholic) Pope instead. oh well! it was very cool getting to see how many people were there! he didn't talk for very long and i only understood a bit of it, but he seemed cute and nice. he gives shout outs too in all different languages! it was so funny. like "id like to welcome St. Andrew's School from Buffalo, NY" in each language and the groups he mentioned would yell. so i can say that i got blessed by the pope :) that's pretty neat.
we were only back for a few days before we left for Pisa/BARCELONA! on thursday March 15 we left in the afternoon to stay overnight in Pisa in order to catch a 8am flight to spain. we took advantage of the early time and got to pisa with enough time to eat and see the tower (which i'd never seen before). i think pisa was really nice. apparently a lot of people think it's kinda dissapointing, but i thought it was a cute little city. kind of a combination of siena and florence. i tried to take the must-take-tourist-photo where it looks like you're holding up the tower, but it was dark so i'm not sure how it came out. we went to bed (our hotel was litterally a block from the train station, so that was really night) and got up the next morning at the good hour of 5:20am to go to the airport.
now i'm sitting in the computer room at the CET center, trying to rip la dolce vita onto my computer but its not working :( i think ill give up and go back home cause im pretty hungry. dinner at 8ish at the mensa, the cafeteria thats free! oh and i was told to write more about how i feel about being here. so...i really like siena. i love being in europe, i think i just love things that are different. i get too bored in the same place for a while. it's weird, part of me really likes staying put and the other hates it. hmmm. but sienas a really good home base i think. its cute and nice and there's enough to do, but not so much that you feel like you're missing out by traveling. i could definitely be doing more day trips, but it's like i came alllllll this way to europe i want to take advantage of it. this weekend i'm not traveling, so maybe i'll end up going somewhere closeby in tuscany for the afternoon? it also costs soooo much here. i can't believe it. the exchange rates awful and things are more expensive in general. va bene! i'll live. i figure i'm only here once so i want to experience as much as is feasible. i'm going to Capri and Sorrento (southern italy) in two weekends and then the week after that is spring break! i'm so excited. for spring break i'm going to Germany (munich/bavaria), Czech Republic (prague), and Hungary (budapest)! i have to buy some more train tickets and fill in the gaps but it's mostly planned. i'm so excited.
anyway i'll write more soon and maybe more pictures. the site i use takes a while, so that's why i haven't put as many. i'll talk about barcelona pt II next time!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
(finally!)
wow i need to update more! i dont want to forget my semester here and its already been about a month since ive talked about what ive been doing.
so quick update. on the weekend of Feb 22 I went to Nice and Monaco with Monica! Before that she came to Siena for a few days. We had a good time although getting there was a pain. My program gave me so much crap and it made me realize what type of people work here and gave me a smack in the face of reality. basically i told the truth that i was going on a trip that i had already planned and they threatened to kick me out if i missed class too much. other people have been "sick" and gone away and never gotten in trouble. ugh. well its over and done with so whatever. Nice and Monaco were amazing. it was just what I needed at the time: a beautiful place by the beach to get away. plus it was during carnivale so we got to see the huge parade. we also won 23.50Eu in like 2 seconds at the Monte Carlo Casino!!!! it was pretty cool. so monte carlo paid for our doner kebab dinner :)
in france they put french fries in their sandwiches...? it's kind of weird. i don't know how i feel about it. i got orangina and a delicious french pastry though so i was good. and our hostel! Ville St. Extuary (something like that??) we paid for a triple cause even paying for the non-existant 3rd person was cheaper than a double. don't know what. $12 a person (yes dollars)! and it was amazing. they had free computers and free internet and free breakfast. people were really cool and nice. it felt like i was at college in a gorgeous location. ill post pictures soon but the view from our room was this amazing view of all of Nice and the Mediterranean sea. we had our own bathroom too. Aye, i hate that i waited so long to write this cause i feel like ive forgot a lot.
the way home was a bit stressful cause there was a train strike (italy really likes strikes....) but i finally got home.
then i had the week in siena during which i found maple syrup, made french toast, and found avocados and made guacamole!!! ohhhhh it was delicious. it was absolutely amazing. that weekend i went to the Cinque Terre with my friends Megan and Elizabeth from my program. i didn't know them that well before I went, but they were really cool and i'm so glad i went with them. if you don't know, the Cinque Terre means 5 towns and its this gorgeous place of 5 little towns on the Italian Riviera about 4 hours by train (mb 2 hrs driving?) from here. you can only get there by train, boat or walking. we stayed in the same town that i stayed in last time i was there, called Vernazza. during our weekend we hiked between all 5 towns, which if you can imagine Kauai, Hawaii's coast and hiking like, the giant hill/mountain/cliffs between each...it was a bit intense. lots of stairs. we ate at some really good restaurants, had a cute little hotel room and had a good time, thanks in part to rick steves haha. oooo the pesto up there is so good. i ate so much of it. even though it was just 2 days it was so nice to go there and relax after having school in siena all week. We basically just wandered around all weekend in the little towns... not too much else. took lots of pictures so that people would be jealous of us :) the first day it was kind of cloudy but the second day was so pretty...
we came back and we just had a view days in siena. i started my cinema class and we finished the month of intensive italian. it makes me kind of sad cause i really like our italian teacher and i really didnt mind just having italian. i felt like i was learning a lot and i definitely use it when i got out, so its good. we've been eating at the mensa (cafeteria) a lot because its free for us 4 times per week and then we cook at our appartment. we make a lot of pasta with different vegetables in the sauces and last week we even made chicken with rice and guacamole. mmm.
on wednesday march 7 we went to rome with our program! ill write about that next time and hopefully post some pictures before then of nice, monaco, cinque terre, and the guacamole!
so quick update. on the weekend of Feb 22 I went to Nice and Monaco with Monica! Before that she came to Siena for a few days. We had a good time although getting there was a pain. My program gave me so much crap and it made me realize what type of people work here and gave me a smack in the face of reality. basically i told the truth that i was going on a trip that i had already planned and they threatened to kick me out if i missed class too much. other people have been "sick" and gone away and never gotten in trouble. ugh. well its over and done with so whatever. Nice and Monaco were amazing. it was just what I needed at the time: a beautiful place by the beach to get away. plus it was during carnivale so we got to see the huge parade. we also won 23.50Eu in like 2 seconds at the Monte Carlo Casino!!!! it was pretty cool. so monte carlo paid for our doner kebab dinner :)
in france they put french fries in their sandwiches...? it's kind of weird. i don't know how i feel about it. i got orangina and a delicious french pastry though so i was good. and our hostel! Ville St. Extuary (something like that??) we paid for a triple cause even paying for the non-existant 3rd person was cheaper than a double. don't know what. $12 a person (yes dollars)! and it was amazing. they had free computers and free internet and free breakfast. people were really cool and nice. it felt like i was at college in a gorgeous location. ill post pictures soon but the view from our room was this amazing view of all of Nice and the Mediterranean sea. we had our own bathroom too. Aye, i hate that i waited so long to write this cause i feel like ive forgot a lot.
the way home was a bit stressful cause there was a train strike (italy really likes strikes....) but i finally got home.
then i had the week in siena during which i found maple syrup, made french toast, and found avocados and made guacamole!!! ohhhhh it was delicious. it was absolutely amazing. that weekend i went to the Cinque Terre with my friends Megan and Elizabeth from my program. i didn't know them that well before I went, but they were really cool and i'm so glad i went with them. if you don't know, the Cinque Terre means 5 towns and its this gorgeous place of 5 little towns on the Italian Riviera about 4 hours by train (mb 2 hrs driving?) from here. you can only get there by train, boat or walking. we stayed in the same town that i stayed in last time i was there, called Vernazza. during our weekend we hiked between all 5 towns, which if you can imagine Kauai, Hawaii's coast and hiking like, the giant hill/mountain/cliffs between each...it was a bit intense. lots of stairs. we ate at some really good restaurants, had a cute little hotel room and had a good time, thanks in part to rick steves haha. oooo the pesto up there is so good. i ate so much of it. even though it was just 2 days it was so nice to go there and relax after having school in siena all week. We basically just wandered around all weekend in the little towns... not too much else. took lots of pictures so that people would be jealous of us :) the first day it was kind of cloudy but the second day was so pretty...
we came back and we just had a view days in siena. i started my cinema class and we finished the month of intensive italian. it makes me kind of sad cause i really like our italian teacher and i really didnt mind just having italian. i felt like i was learning a lot and i definitely use it when i got out, so its good. we've been eating at the mensa (cafeteria) a lot because its free for us 4 times per week and then we cook at our appartment. we make a lot of pasta with different vegetables in the sauces and last week we even made chicken with rice and guacamole. mmm.
on wednesday march 7 we went to rome with our program! ill write about that next time and hopefully post some pictures before then of nice, monaco, cinque terre, and the guacamole!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Barthelona pt 2
So since where I left off before so much has happened, but I really want to make sure I get to say everything about my trip on here! So I will start where I left off in Barcelona…
We got to the bar (this is now Thursday night) and stayed there for a little while. It was neat, it was kind of like a stock market where the prices for all the drinks are on a tv screen and they change (not extremely different but still) depending on how many people buy them. Its very neat! After that we went to the club next door which had a hugeeee line. It was a Studio 54 theme that night which sounded pretty cool but we would see. We finally got in (thanks to Bryan putting our names on a list, woo) and went around to see the whole place. It was hugeee but the music was a little eh. I figured when they said it was a Studio 54 theme they would play some 70s music mixed in with modern stuff, but it was pretty much Bee Gees after Diana Ross after Earth Wind and Fire for at least 45 mins…. Sooooo we left there after we figure out that there was a reason disco died and no one was really dancing. But it seemed like it would have been a really cool club on a normal night! We left to try and find somewhere else to go but I was exhausted and so we just went back to the hostal and went to sleep.
The next day (Friday) consisted of waking up late and exploring the city. We saw the waterfront, the beach, some of Gaudi’s buildings and most of all ate some DELICIOUS food. We had amazing paella, the Barcelona specialty with rice and typically with seafood but I got mine with chicken and of course, churros con chocolata. Also I finally tried a Doner Kebab! They are Turkish food that’s become really popular in Europe, not a kebab like Americans know them as, but more like a pita sandwich that’s really delicious. Mmmmm. The beach was so pretty and I really liked just getting to walk around the city and see it all. That night after finding the yummy paella place we met up with Bryan’s Spanish Kodi and his roommates who were in the band from the first night. They were so nice and so cool! I could see them being friends with Zane at home. We went to their apartment and hung out for a little bit. Their one roommate was Mexican, which was fun and nice cause he spoke American English really well. Bryan’s friends David and Andy came over too and then we all went out to a bar that the Spanish guys took us to. It was really cool getting to go out with people from Spain cause I felt like I got the real Barcelona experience. The bar we went to was a reggae style type place and it was very chill and fun to just sit around and talk with everyone. I really liked all of Bryan’s friends all in all.
The next day was sightseeing day. We went to Park Guell with all the Gaudi architecture. It was soooo cool to see the city from way up on the hill. It’s freaking huge. I took lots of pictures and we ate a snack up at the top. The hike up there was definitely worth it. Then we took the metro to go to La Sagrada Familia but unfortunately it started pouring rain as soon as we got off. We bought an umbrella and braved the elements. It was just closing as we walked up but the guy finally let us in for 2 mins (he said) and didn’t charge us which was awesome, plus we stayed a lot longer than 2 mins. It was so incredible. I have no idea how Gaudi thought of all this stuff! Later that night we tried to find a place to eat that we had heard was amazing but it was closed ☹ We ended up at this big tapas bar called Qu Qu and it turned out to be very cheap and delicious! Then we hung out at BarAmsterdam near Bryan’s apartment with a bunch of Dutch folk, but I was about to fall asleep (not used to the Barcelona lifestyle apparently) and we went back and went to bed since I had to get up for my plane the next day. All in all it was a GREAT trip. I’m going back with my friend Margaret and Jessica on the 16th of march and im so excited.
Next I have to write about my crazy trip that was Nice and my daily life in Siena. Yesterday was my friend Julia’s birthday and we made her a cake that was literally pour the contents in a bag into a pan and bake it, but it was good! I made it pretty with berries and such. Mmm. More updates soon! I hope this wasn’t too long.
more pix!
We got to the bar (this is now Thursday night) and stayed there for a little while. It was neat, it was kind of like a stock market where the prices for all the drinks are on a tv screen and they change (not extremely different but still) depending on how many people buy them. Its very neat! After that we went to the club next door which had a hugeeee line. It was a Studio 54 theme that night which sounded pretty cool but we would see. We finally got in (thanks to Bryan putting our names on a list, woo) and went around to see the whole place. It was hugeee but the music was a little eh. I figured when they said it was a Studio 54 theme they would play some 70s music mixed in with modern stuff, but it was pretty much Bee Gees after Diana Ross after Earth Wind and Fire for at least 45 mins…. Sooooo we left there after we figure out that there was a reason disco died and no one was really dancing. But it seemed like it would have been a really cool club on a normal night! We left to try and find somewhere else to go but I was exhausted and so we just went back to the hostal and went to sleep.
The next day (Friday) consisted of waking up late and exploring the city. We saw the waterfront, the beach, some of Gaudi’s buildings and most of all ate some DELICIOUS food. We had amazing paella, the Barcelona specialty with rice and typically with seafood but I got mine with chicken and of course, churros con chocolata. Also I finally tried a Doner Kebab! They are Turkish food that’s become really popular in Europe, not a kebab like Americans know them as, but more like a pita sandwich that’s really delicious. Mmmmm. The beach was so pretty and I really liked just getting to walk around the city and see it all. That night after finding the yummy paella place we met up with Bryan’s Spanish Kodi and his roommates who were in the band from the first night. They were so nice and so cool! I could see them being friends with Zane at home. We went to their apartment and hung out for a little bit. Their one roommate was Mexican, which was fun and nice cause he spoke American English really well. Bryan’s friends David and Andy came over too and then we all went out to a bar that the Spanish guys took us to. It was really cool getting to go out with people from Spain cause I felt like I got the real Barcelona experience. The bar we went to was a reggae style type place and it was very chill and fun to just sit around and talk with everyone. I really liked all of Bryan’s friends all in all.
The next day was sightseeing day. We went to Park Guell with all the Gaudi architecture. It was soooo cool to see the city from way up on the hill. It’s freaking huge. I took lots of pictures and we ate a snack up at the top. The hike up there was definitely worth it. Then we took the metro to go to La Sagrada Familia but unfortunately it started pouring rain as soon as we got off. We bought an umbrella and braved the elements. It was just closing as we walked up but the guy finally let us in for 2 mins (he said) and didn’t charge us which was awesome, plus we stayed a lot longer than 2 mins. It was so incredible. I have no idea how Gaudi thought of all this stuff! Later that night we tried to find a place to eat that we had heard was amazing but it was closed ☹ We ended up at this big tapas bar called Qu Qu and it turned out to be very cheap and delicious! Then we hung out at BarAmsterdam near Bryan’s apartment with a bunch of Dutch folk, but I was about to fall asleep (not used to the Barcelona lifestyle apparently) and we went back and went to bed since I had to get up for my plane the next day. All in all it was a GREAT trip. I’m going back with my friend Margaret and Jessica on the 16th of march and im so excited.
Next I have to write about my crazy trip that was Nice and my daily life in Siena. Yesterday was my friend Julia’s birthday and we made her a cake that was literally pour the contents in a bag into a pan and bake it, but it was good! I made it pretty with berries and such. Mmm. More updates soon! I hope this wasn’t too long.
more pix!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Firenze, Siena, Barcelona!
I have so much to say ! It’s incredible what a few days in Europe can mean. Let’s start from where I last left off.
Bryan came to visit the beautiful city of Siena as a said before. We didn't get to do everything I wanted to do with him but that's the way trips always are. We stayed in Florence on Friday night where Jane and some of my friends from my program also were which was very fun! Bryan and I ate at this really good restaurant then met up with Jane at this bar, which was fun but was all Americans pretty much, so that was eh. We finally found this dance club we were looking for called Space Electronica which was fun but only had like 30 people, but all of us had a good time I think!
In Siena I tried to show Bryan the basics and just to see the general city area. We ate dinner in the Campo and sat out there and drank some vino rosso. The trip was quick but I hope that I showed him the best of Siena!
and thennnnnnnnnnn...
My trip to Barcelona, Espana began quite hectically, like many things in Kate’s world. However that and the fact that the trip was not long enough were the only bad things. Let me start off by saying I LOVED Barcelona. It felt like the CA or the Florida of Europe. It was more laid back than Italy, but still had that neat European flare. And it’s gorgeous. Siena is gorgeous too of course, but in a much different way than Barcelona.
Anyway, I nearly missed my bus to the airport in Florence on the afternoon of Wednesday the 14th , but luckily I did not. I made it there and after a quick layover in Rome I arrived in Spain. My plane was about a half hour late unfortunately but Bryan was really nice and still met me at the airport, despite the fact that it was about 12am. But in Barcelona that’s like 6pm. We took a bus back to the city where we dropped my stuff off at the first hostel we stayed at. Barcelona’s hostels fill up quick so it was only a temporary stay until we found something better, but it was very nice still. Then Bryan took me to his friends’ band’s concert!! It was so cool and I wish I hadn’t been so tired cause everyone was dancing like crazy. They were great and I’d love to see them again. He met the guitarist (I think?) in the band on the beach just playing guitar, which is so awesome. They are the nicest guys. Bryan’s got some cool friends. Oh and their name is Zulu 933 I think, I’m not sure if they’re online or anything, but just incase they get huge ☺
The next morning Bryan had class and I slept late. We checked out of the hostel (a little late, whoops) and I got to see his apartment for the first time. It’s in a really nice location and the apartment itself is very very nice. His host senorita I’m not so sure about since she was quite annoying in my opinion but oh well. He’s got a really nice bedroom with a really pretty view and someone to wash his clothes for him which I think is a nice plus. We found another hostAl this time (I learned the difference) thanks to mr. ricky steves called the Hostal Resedencia Neutral. It was really close to Bryan’s apartment and a block away from one of the main streets Passeig de Gracia. It was great. I couldn’t have picked a better place. And it was a really great price too. Later that day we explored the city a bit and then went out to dinner at this tapas bar which was sooo good. I love tapas. You get to try little bits of a lot of different things instead of having to settle on one big meal. I suppose if you really wanted you could order a lot of the same thing, but that’s not the point. Anyway the restuarant was a little touristy, but in a good fun way and it had really great food and not much money in a really cool place. We got to sit at the bar to see all the action too! We met this Dutch couple who reminded me of people my mom would like. The man had lived in Barcelona for 15 years thirty years ago and they were really friendly and even let us try some of their food. After dinner Bryan took me to a musical that his French friend was directing called La Revista Negra or the Black Review, which was really really cool. It was basically about the treatment of African Americans from the 1920s compared to now in New Orleans (around Hurricane Katrina). It was really interesting to see a Spanish take on it. The singing was incredible and the dancing was awesome too. It made me want to learn how to dance like them hehe. The play was in Spanish but the songs were in English so between all that I understood probably 90% of it. A lot of the cast was American so it was neat to see some US culture in Barcelona. I really love theater and I don’t know if Bryan knew that from the start but I was so glad that he took me to that since I really miss being around it since doing it when I was younger. More people my age should go to live performances like that. Oh! And the best part was that since his friend was working on the show, not only did we get in for free (50Euro tickets) but we got to sit in the front row all by ourselves!
After the show ended we heaeded over to a bar where Bryan’s friend David was at. At the bar they have this TV screen with all the drinks and the prices and it looks like the stock market numbers and the prices really change depending on how much people buy! Then we headed over to a club, whose name I also forget but it was a huge line to get in. Bryan had put us on some list which was pretty snazzy so we didnt have to pay! It was Studio 54 themed night and while I thought that meant a few 70s songs, it actually meant ALL disco which was fun for a few songs but then we left because I think there was a reason disco died in the first place :) We got back to the hotel at 430ish am (which is very early for Barcelona time!) but I was exhuasted and wanted to be able to see the city tomorrow.
Ok this is getting long so I'll write more later about the beach and the rest of the city and food that I got to saw :)
here are some pictures of the trip to barcelona that i talked about thus dar, i'll add ones from siena and florence later!
Bryan came to visit the beautiful city of Siena as a said before. We didn't get to do everything I wanted to do with him but that's the way trips always are. We stayed in Florence on Friday night where Jane and some of my friends from my program also were which was very fun! Bryan and I ate at this really good restaurant then met up with Jane at this bar, which was fun but was all Americans pretty much, so that was eh. We finally found this dance club we were looking for called Space Electronica which was fun but only had like 30 people, but all of us had a good time I think!
In Siena I tried to show Bryan the basics and just to see the general city area. We ate dinner in the Campo and sat out there and drank some vino rosso. The trip was quick but I hope that I showed him the best of Siena!
and thennnnnnnnnnn...
My trip to Barcelona, Espana began quite hectically, like many things in Kate’s world. However that and the fact that the trip was not long enough were the only bad things. Let me start off by saying I LOVED Barcelona. It felt like the CA or the Florida of Europe. It was more laid back than Italy, but still had that neat European flare. And it’s gorgeous. Siena is gorgeous too of course, but in a much different way than Barcelona.
Anyway, I nearly missed my bus to the airport in Florence on the afternoon of Wednesday the 14th , but luckily I did not. I made it there and after a quick layover in Rome I arrived in Spain. My plane was about a half hour late unfortunately but Bryan was really nice and still met me at the airport, despite the fact that it was about 12am. But in Barcelona that’s like 6pm. We took a bus back to the city where we dropped my stuff off at the first hostel we stayed at. Barcelona’s hostels fill up quick so it was only a temporary stay until we found something better, but it was very nice still. Then Bryan took me to his friends’ band’s concert!! It was so cool and I wish I hadn’t been so tired cause everyone was dancing like crazy. They were great and I’d love to see them again. He met the guitarist (I think?) in the band on the beach just playing guitar, which is so awesome. They are the nicest guys. Bryan’s got some cool friends. Oh and their name is Zulu 933 I think, I’m not sure if they’re online or anything, but just incase they get huge ☺
The next morning Bryan had class and I slept late. We checked out of the hostel (a little late, whoops) and I got to see his apartment for the first time. It’s in a really nice location and the apartment itself is very very nice. His host senorita I’m not so sure about since she was quite annoying in my opinion but oh well. He’s got a really nice bedroom with a really pretty view and someone to wash his clothes for him which I think is a nice plus. We found another hostAl this time (I learned the difference) thanks to mr. ricky steves called the Hostal Resedencia Neutral. It was really close to Bryan’s apartment and a block away from one of the main streets Passeig de Gracia. It was great. I couldn’t have picked a better place. And it was a really great price too. Later that day we explored the city a bit and then went out to dinner at this tapas bar which was sooo good. I love tapas. You get to try little bits of a lot of different things instead of having to settle on one big meal. I suppose if you really wanted you could order a lot of the same thing, but that’s not the point. Anyway the restuarant was a little touristy, but in a good fun way and it had really great food and not much money in a really cool place. We got to sit at the bar to see all the action too! We met this Dutch couple who reminded me of people my mom would like. The man had lived in Barcelona for 15 years thirty years ago and they were really friendly and even let us try some of their food. After dinner Bryan took me to a musical that his French friend was directing called La Revista Negra or the Black Review, which was really really cool. It was basically about the treatment of African Americans from the 1920s compared to now in New Orleans (around Hurricane Katrina). It was really interesting to see a Spanish take on it. The singing was incredible and the dancing was awesome too. It made me want to learn how to dance like them hehe. The play was in Spanish but the songs were in English so between all that I understood probably 90% of it. A lot of the cast was American so it was neat to see some US culture in Barcelona. I really love theater and I don’t know if Bryan knew that from the start but I was so glad that he took me to that since I really miss being around it since doing it when I was younger. More people my age should go to live performances like that. Oh! And the best part was that since his friend was working on the show, not only did we get in for free (50Euro tickets) but we got to sit in the front row all by ourselves!
After the show ended we heaeded over to a bar where Bryan’s friend David was at. At the bar they have this TV screen with all the drinks and the prices and it looks like the stock market numbers and the prices really change depending on how much people buy! Then we headed over to a club, whose name I also forget but it was a huge line to get in. Bryan had put us on some list which was pretty snazzy so we didnt have to pay! It was Studio 54 themed night and while I thought that meant a few 70s songs, it actually meant ALL disco which was fun for a few songs but then we left because I think there was a reason disco died in the first place :) We got back to the hotel at 430ish am (which is very early for Barcelona time!) but I was exhuasted and wanted to be able to see the city tomorrow.
Ok this is getting long so I'll write more later about the beach and the rest of the city and food that I got to saw :)
here are some pictures of the trip to barcelona that i talked about thus dar, i'll add ones from siena and florence later!
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