So this was my first weekend in Manchester since the first week I was here. I was kind of looking forward to it because I thought I could get a lot done and be productive.... but for the most part I have been sleeping soooo much! It is almost like there hasn't been time to be stressed because its always 'go go go' and then when I get a minute to breathe I'm like 'wow this is really tiring' and my body just collapses! I have been pretty productive though I finished my third research paper and have one more to go.
Friday night I went out with Brianne, two Brittish girls and my neighbor Morgan. We went to the Footage again which is a bar/club that plays really cheesy music like BackStreet Boys and NSync and of course The Fresh Prince of BelAire (I know so weird they are like obsessed with that song!). But the drinks are like 1 to 2 pounds each which is so nice. It was a lot of fun and I got through a whole night without someone being inappropriate!! now thats a first...
Saturday I did a lot of sleeping and a lot of work on my paper. In the evening I was like hmmm I think I am going to go get my ears pierced now. So I took the bus to downtown and I was so so so nervous! Everyone always told me the second ones hurt really bad... but it didn't hurt at all. It was kind of burning and hot afterwards but thats just like last time. I really really like my second hole and I am so proud of myself for finally getting the nerve up to do it!
Tomorrow I will be spending doing a little more xmas shopping then meeting with my Management group to finish up our second presentation. I have gotten used to the disorganized-ness in England when it comes to business projects. Last time the guy that was supposed to print the poster did it the morning of...promised he would do it earlier in the week... and nope he overslept so again I will be calculating how the heck I am going to be able to drop this class and not hurt my GPA until the poster arrives at like 10:01am...hopefully BAHHHHH so ANNOYING!
On Thursday at 3am I will be leaving for Amsterdam with Brianne and will be meeting my old roommie Erin and I am so excited to see her!!! We will be spending 3 days in Amsterdam visiting the Van Gogh, Anne Frank, the tulips, the windmills, some famous churches and museums and of course the red light district. Then we will be taking a two hour train to Brussels, Belgium. There we are going to see the sights, eat lots of Belgium chocolate cake, eat Belgium waffles and visit a very famous bar (I forget the name of course!) that serves over 2000 flavors of beer! WOW!
I have found a cheap round trip flight to Prague, Czech Republic for my last weekend here which I would absolutely love to go to... but I need to find someone to go with!!! So I am going to put the word out and see... if it doesn't work out I may just catch a bus to London and spend the weekend seeing more of the sights and spend time reflecting on what an absolutely amazing experience this has been!!!
I miss you all... mixed feelings of course because I love it here but I can't wait to see you all again!
xoxo,
Nata-weeeeeeee
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
J'Adore Paris
Bonjour!
This past weekend I spent in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Ahhhh Paris. I travelled with three girls from my program and one girl I met from Italy came along as well. I was able to stay with a friend from Paris so we skipped out on the hostel fees which was awesome!
Day 1:
Montemartre: Here we went and climbed the the highest point in Paris and at the top of the hill sits the Saceur Cour Chruch. The Church is much different from most and has a very "pretty" and "elegant" feel to it. The domes almost look like they are made of flower petals. All white and sitting at the top of the grassy hill and a carosel at the bottom...it was a beautiful way to see Paris from above.
Moulin Rouge: We then walked down Montemartre and visited the Moulin Rouge. I didn't realize that this was in the Red Light District and now looking back that was pretty stupid of me! Moulin Rouge was cool to see but it was not as big as I thought!
Night Life:
We were able to meet up with my friend from back home, Rita, who took us out in the town. Nightlife is incredible in Paris but much like Barcelona where the clubs don't really get good until like 2am and they stay out until like 7am!!! Of course we were unable to do that since we had sites to see so we just went bar hoping and there was dancing there. I really like the nightlife in Paris because they play music I am used to unlike England where its all techno and you feel like your at a rave. Alcohol is very very expensive in Paris in terms of liquor and beer...BUT champagne and wine is dirt cheap! Also their really cheap champagne (2-3 euro) taste like our really really nice champagne! So that was quite nice...
The Boys:
Of course you cannot go to a country in Europe and expect not to have some interesting or inappropriate story to tell afterwards. The boys in Paris are much more preferred then those in Spain or Italy... they are forward but in a flirty way and not a vulgar way. They would say things like you are so beautiful, I love you and your country, then ten minutes later they say they want to take you to Italy with them for a week... wow uhhhh nooooo. One of the bars we went to you had to check your coat. Each of the girls (including the locals) would have to give a peck to the cheek of the coat guy. I always felt kind of uncomfortable with this but people in England do it too. So seeing that all the other girls were fine I handed my coat to the coat checker and placed a peck on his check and he swung his head around and tried to kiss me!!!! Luckily he got maybe one cm of the corner of my lip but I was like WHAT?!!! The whole night he kept coming up to me pointing to his cheek... I was like heck no!
Food:
That day we had the most amazing bagette for like 3 euro that had fresh crab in it! Also I tried the chocolate crossiant which I decided Italy's is by far the best. But my favorite food in Paris is the crepes. Je vodre un crepe avec nutella. merci. That is me ordering one crepe with nutella. This is like heaven in your mouth... doughy, warm crepe filled with goey melting nutellla... words cannot describe how amazing they are. I had four the first two days.... yes four. But then I stopped because I swear my butt started the jiggle as I walked...or maybe thats me imagining things IDK.
Day 2:
Notre Dame: We walked through Notre Dame which was very beautiful but not as awesome as St Peters. Then we climbed to the top of the bell towers and got to see the gargoyles at the top. This was really cool because the sky was greyish-navy and you could take pictures of the gargoyles over looking the Paris city with this very gothic feel.
Le Louvre: My friend that I was staying with has studied a lot of art history and had a year free pass to the Louvre. So she offered to give us a tour! That night there was a promotion that was if you were under 26 you got into free...nice little savings. Julia was very knowledgable about a lot of the art and was able to give us history about it. It is amazing how you can look at art and be like 'oh thats cool... thats pretty' but not realllllly understand it or think about it unless you have some background with it. The Mona Lisa was fun as usual and they had moved it to a bigger room so I wasn't shoved against a wall this time. There are rumors that it is a painting of Divinci drag, a painting done at two different times since the sides look different to her face...and much more all in all the painting is just very odd. My favorite part of the Louvre was the sculpture called "The Kiss" this was of Eros and Physche and I just thought it was so beautiful...not really sure why I was so drawn to it but I bought a poster of it and am going to frame it when I get home.
Food:
Julia took us to a hole in the wall creperie place that was so delicious. I tried to order in French but the lady thought that I was going to slow I guess and cut me off saying 'HAM AND CHEESE OK?' Ooops...this was definitely our first exposure to the French snootiness which I didn't experience as much as I thought I would... but it is present for sure.
Day 3:
Grand Palais- When we went we saw this huge beautiful gold building and naturally thought it was the Grand Palais... it turned out to be the Hotel for the Disabled... ya figured that one out. Nevertheless it was pretty!
Trocadero- Basically just a really pretty place to take photos of the Eiffel Tower while getting bombared with people trying to sell you ugly Eiffel Tower stuff.
The Louvre- Went to see the pyramids and the gardens a bit. The Louvre used to be the Palace and then they moved it to Versailles so the gardens are beautiful.
Angelina's- The best hot chocolate you will have in your life. It is called African Hot Chocolate and its in this beautiful, small cafe near the louvre. They charge like 7 euro for the drink but if you get it to go its 3 euro so we did that... all the pastries looked so so pretty!
What we thought was the Opera House- Again messed up the buildings the Opera House was right behind the pretty building we though it was.
Eiffel Tower- Went up the Eiffel Tower right at sunset. We first stopped at the 2nd floor and I was like oh my gosh I don't want to go any higher!!! I was shaking sooo hard because it was freezing and windy. I kept trying to take pictures for my friends and they turned out so blurry because I couldn't hold my hands still. It was so worth it though absolutely gorgeous. I was really scared going to the top of the Tower like it takes so long and it feels like it never ends. But once you get up there its so beautiful. It was cool because they showed where you could look out to see Washington, NY, Miami etc and how many miles it is. So I took a photo outside of Seattle. Just a side note the weather was like 3 degrees C with windchills of who knows what... I have never EVER been more cold in my life.
Dinner- We had made reservations for this famous fondue place in Montmartre where for 17 euro you get fondue, salad, desert and wine in baby bottles... and then if you want to refill your baby bottle its 1 euro each time. Unfortuneatly, only the group that didn't make the reservation got in because we went up the eiffel tower and it took longer than we thought :( But we went to a different fondue place just down the hill and it was delicious.
NightLife- Went to a club near the Champs Elysee which is pretty chic. It was odd to me because there was like some grandpas and like older men there. I later asked my friend why that was and she said that clubbing in Paris is not like in the States where its all younger people. If the old men are rich or well known they will let them in because they know they will buy tables or buy a lot of drinks for girls... I find that a little creepy but ok. We just had so much fun that night there were three rooms a techno room, an american music room and like an oldies room. We stayed in the oldies room and sang to songs like "I Love you Baby" "Girls Just want to have fun" and loads of Michael Jackson... it was a good time.
Day 4:
Versailles- Made the trek out to Versailles which was gorgeous. The rooms were very ornate and had a lot of history. It was so odd though because it was an exhibition of this guys art in Versailles...his name was Jeff Koon. He did modern art and I just find modern art absolutely hilarious like I don't get it at all! Here we are in Versailles see beautiful, priceless artwork and people are taking photos of a blow up floating lobster hanging from a ceiling... ok? Unfortueatly, that day it decided to snow really really hard so we didn't walk to Marie Antoinette's Estates since it was a thirty minute walk and we didn't get to see the gardens which is like huge at Versailles. Like I took my camera and ran as fast as I could out to the garden took a photo of some trees and ran back in.... that was the extent of us viewing the gardens.
Deathcab for Cutie: That night Brianne and I had tickets to a concert. Deathcab originated from Seattle, WA so it was way cool to see them in Paris. We wrote on a pillow case "Seattle Girls Love DeathCab" and had a big spaceneedle on it... one of the guitarists noticed it but not the lead singer... the french were not happy with us raising our sign and so we didn't have a whole lot of opportunities :(
Overall the trip was incredible Rome is still number one, but Paris is close behind it. I absolutely have to go back sometime in the spring when the weather doesn't literally hurt my body and we are not sleeping on hardwood floors. Maybe when I am a millionaire I can stay at the tres chic hotels and go to the tres chic clubs and live the fabulous life in Paris. HA
This weekend will be my first in Manchester... I plan on doing a lot of sleeping, working on research papers, and maybe hit up some free art museums. The original Light of the World painting which hangs in my parents living room is in Manchester so that could be cool to see...
Natalie
This past weekend I spent in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Ahhhh Paris. I travelled with three girls from my program and one girl I met from Italy came along as well. I was able to stay with a friend from Paris so we skipped out on the hostel fees which was awesome!
Day 1:
Montemartre: Here we went and climbed the the highest point in Paris and at the top of the hill sits the Saceur Cour Chruch. The Church is much different from most and has a very "pretty" and "elegant" feel to it. The domes almost look like they are made of flower petals. All white and sitting at the top of the grassy hill and a carosel at the bottom...it was a beautiful way to see Paris from above.
Moulin Rouge: We then walked down Montemartre and visited the Moulin Rouge. I didn't realize that this was in the Red Light District and now looking back that was pretty stupid of me! Moulin Rouge was cool to see but it was not as big as I thought!
Night Life:
We were able to meet up with my friend from back home, Rita, who took us out in the town. Nightlife is incredible in Paris but much like Barcelona where the clubs don't really get good until like 2am and they stay out until like 7am!!! Of course we were unable to do that since we had sites to see so we just went bar hoping and there was dancing there. I really like the nightlife in Paris because they play music I am used to unlike England where its all techno and you feel like your at a rave. Alcohol is very very expensive in Paris in terms of liquor and beer...BUT champagne and wine is dirt cheap! Also their really cheap champagne (2-3 euro) taste like our really really nice champagne! So that was quite nice...
The Boys:
Of course you cannot go to a country in Europe and expect not to have some interesting or inappropriate story to tell afterwards. The boys in Paris are much more preferred then those in Spain or Italy... they are forward but in a flirty way and not a vulgar way. They would say things like you are so beautiful, I love you and your country, then ten minutes later they say they want to take you to Italy with them for a week... wow uhhhh nooooo. One of the bars we went to you had to check your coat. Each of the girls (including the locals) would have to give a peck to the cheek of the coat guy. I always felt kind of uncomfortable with this but people in England do it too. So seeing that all the other girls were fine I handed my coat to the coat checker and placed a peck on his check and he swung his head around and tried to kiss me!!!! Luckily he got maybe one cm of the corner of my lip but I was like WHAT?!!! The whole night he kept coming up to me pointing to his cheek... I was like heck no!
Food:
That day we had the most amazing bagette for like 3 euro that had fresh crab in it! Also I tried the chocolate crossiant which I decided Italy's is by far the best. But my favorite food in Paris is the crepes. Je vodre un crepe avec nutella. merci. That is me ordering one crepe with nutella. This is like heaven in your mouth... doughy, warm crepe filled with goey melting nutellla... words cannot describe how amazing they are. I had four the first two days.... yes four. But then I stopped because I swear my butt started the jiggle as I walked...or maybe thats me imagining things IDK.
Day 2:
Notre Dame: We walked through Notre Dame which was very beautiful but not as awesome as St Peters. Then we climbed to the top of the bell towers and got to see the gargoyles at the top. This was really cool because the sky was greyish-navy and you could take pictures of the gargoyles over looking the Paris city with this very gothic feel.
Le Louvre: My friend that I was staying with has studied a lot of art history and had a year free pass to the Louvre. So she offered to give us a tour! That night there was a promotion that was if you were under 26 you got into free...nice little savings. Julia was very knowledgable about a lot of the art and was able to give us history about it. It is amazing how you can look at art and be like 'oh thats cool... thats pretty' but not realllllly understand it or think about it unless you have some background with it. The Mona Lisa was fun as usual and they had moved it to a bigger room so I wasn't shoved against a wall this time. There are rumors that it is a painting of Divinci drag, a painting done at two different times since the sides look different to her face...and much more all in all the painting is just very odd. My favorite part of the Louvre was the sculpture called "The Kiss" this was of Eros and Physche and I just thought it was so beautiful...not really sure why I was so drawn to it but I bought a poster of it and am going to frame it when I get home.
Food:
Julia took us to a hole in the wall creperie place that was so delicious. I tried to order in French but the lady thought that I was going to slow I guess and cut me off saying 'HAM AND CHEESE OK?' Ooops...this was definitely our first exposure to the French snootiness which I didn't experience as much as I thought I would... but it is present for sure.
Day 3:
Grand Palais- When we went we saw this huge beautiful gold building and naturally thought it was the Grand Palais... it turned out to be the Hotel for the Disabled... ya figured that one out. Nevertheless it was pretty!
Trocadero- Basically just a really pretty place to take photos of the Eiffel Tower while getting bombared with people trying to sell you ugly Eiffel Tower stuff.
The Louvre- Went to see the pyramids and the gardens a bit. The Louvre used to be the Palace and then they moved it to Versailles so the gardens are beautiful.
Angelina's- The best hot chocolate you will have in your life. It is called African Hot Chocolate and its in this beautiful, small cafe near the louvre. They charge like 7 euro for the drink but if you get it to go its 3 euro so we did that... all the pastries looked so so pretty!
What we thought was the Opera House- Again messed up the buildings the Opera House was right behind the pretty building we though it was.
Eiffel Tower- Went up the Eiffel Tower right at sunset. We first stopped at the 2nd floor and I was like oh my gosh I don't want to go any higher!!! I was shaking sooo hard because it was freezing and windy. I kept trying to take pictures for my friends and they turned out so blurry because I couldn't hold my hands still. It was so worth it though absolutely gorgeous. I was really scared going to the top of the Tower like it takes so long and it feels like it never ends. But once you get up there its so beautiful. It was cool because they showed where you could look out to see Washington, NY, Miami etc and how many miles it is. So I took a photo outside of Seattle. Just a side note the weather was like 3 degrees C with windchills of who knows what... I have never EVER been more cold in my life.
Dinner- We had made reservations for this famous fondue place in Montmartre where for 17 euro you get fondue, salad, desert and wine in baby bottles... and then if you want to refill your baby bottle its 1 euro each time. Unfortuneatly, only the group that didn't make the reservation got in because we went up the eiffel tower and it took longer than we thought :( But we went to a different fondue place just down the hill and it was delicious.
NightLife- Went to a club near the Champs Elysee which is pretty chic. It was odd to me because there was like some grandpas and like older men there. I later asked my friend why that was and she said that clubbing in Paris is not like in the States where its all younger people. If the old men are rich or well known they will let them in because they know they will buy tables or buy a lot of drinks for girls... I find that a little creepy but ok. We just had so much fun that night there were three rooms a techno room, an american music room and like an oldies room. We stayed in the oldies room and sang to songs like "I Love you Baby" "Girls Just want to have fun" and loads of Michael Jackson... it was a good time.
Day 4:
Versailles- Made the trek out to Versailles which was gorgeous. The rooms were very ornate and had a lot of history. It was so odd though because it was an exhibition of this guys art in Versailles...his name was Jeff Koon. He did modern art and I just find modern art absolutely hilarious like I don't get it at all! Here we are in Versailles see beautiful, priceless artwork and people are taking photos of a blow up floating lobster hanging from a ceiling... ok? Unfortueatly, that day it decided to snow really really hard so we didn't walk to Marie Antoinette's Estates since it was a thirty minute walk and we didn't get to see the gardens which is like huge at Versailles. Like I took my camera and ran as fast as I could out to the garden took a photo of some trees and ran back in.... that was the extent of us viewing the gardens.
Deathcab for Cutie: That night Brianne and I had tickets to a concert. Deathcab originated from Seattle, WA so it was way cool to see them in Paris. We wrote on a pillow case "Seattle Girls Love DeathCab" and had a big spaceneedle on it... one of the guitarists noticed it but not the lead singer... the french were not happy with us raising our sign and so we didn't have a whole lot of opportunities :(
Overall the trip was incredible Rome is still number one, but Paris is close behind it. I absolutely have to go back sometime in the spring when the weather doesn't literally hurt my body and we are not sleeping on hardwood floors. Maybe when I am a millionaire I can stay at the tres chic hotels and go to the tres chic clubs and live the fabulous life in Paris. HA
This weekend will be my first in Manchester... I plan on doing a lot of sleeping, working on research papers, and maybe hit up some free art museums. The original Light of the World painting which hangs in my parents living room is in Manchester so that could be cool to see...
Natalie
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Barcelona, Spain
I went to Barcelona, Spain with my friends Helen from NYU and Traci from Miami. I got to meet up with Flan and was supposed to see my old roommate Erin but we got the dates mixed up.
We arrived in Barcelona at 11:50pm and had to take the subway to our Hostel. I thought since we were going to Spain they would speak Spanish and communicating wouldn't be that bad. I was very wrong...they spoke Catalonian and actually get offended when one speaks Spanish to them. The tickets were somewhat hard to figure out because I couldn't read it. And this old lady was lingering around very quietly obviously trying to find where our money was kept so she could pick pocket. Luckily we are such smart travellers and had already pulled out the exact amount beforehand. It was amazing how this lady had been standing right next to me the whole time and I hadn't noticed until I was done buying the ticket and waiting for Traci...it was like she was invisible! I tried to get through the gate with my ticket but each time failed later to notice that we had bought train tickets not subway!
Once we bought the SUBWAY tickets and arrived at our stop we were greeted by probably 10-15 prostitutes that stand on the street "Las Ramblas" all night. Making clicks whenever a man walks by...the area was extremely sketchy or as a Brit would say "dodgy."
The first day we went to La Sangrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera and the Picasso Museum. A lot of Barcelona is designed by a man named Gaudi who was inspired by nature and that shows in his architecture. La Sangrada Familia was built by him and is still under construction today. I found the architecture interesting because you could see his inspiration everywhere. The coloms like trees, windows like palm trees, etc. But I don't think that the architecture is beautiful just different and very funky.
Parc Guell was a lot of fun- designed also by Gaudi. Lots of sculptures and crazy areas to explore. At the top of the park a bunch of people laid out black market stuff to sell. One man had earrings placed on top of an umbrella. All of the sudden the man freaks out and said he would be back in fourteen minutes. I turned around and the entire market was gone....a total ghost town. I was like 'ooookay where are the police at?' Sure enough the police had come so everyone had to run. This is so impressive but not as hilarious as when it happened in Rome because they had to run over this huge hill to get away- now that was a sight!
I really enojoyed the Picasso Museum and liked to see how his art progressed over time. He went from being a very detailed artist to a crazy one. Some say he really did go crazy. I'm not sure I think maybe his friend Sarbetes inspired him since once he met him the art changed drastically.
For dinner we tried the Tapas- a Spanish meal. These are small, appetizer like meals and you order three to four for dinner. They are very tasty and some better than Italian food. But they didn't fill me up that much because I could only afford two at a time (usually running from 4-6 euros each). As the trip went on sometimes I had a hard time with the looks of the food. For example if you ordered paella (rice stirfry with seafood) then entire eels and crawfish would be in the dish. Or if you ordered a fried seafood tapa the eyes would still be entact...so awful. At one restuarant there was rows and rows of meat hanging from the ceiling...the hooves were still there!!!!
The next day we went up Montjuic, walked Port Vell, saw a Cathedral under construction and met up with my friend Flannery.
Saturday we spent walking Barcelona street markets and went to a Flamenco Show. I was not expecting this dance to be like this. Generally men sing while the spotlight is on a woman or man doing the dance...it is a tap dance. I loved how they would fire eachother up and cheer them on. The women would get so into it and get these crazy aggressive faces on. We were served a glass of Sangria during the show. Generally I really don't like wine but Sangria is tasty! It was served with ice and oranges inside...very sweet.
The last morning we spent at the Chocolate Museum. Spain invented chocolate back in the XVI Century. I learned a lot about the productions and uses of chocolate. There was multiple chocolate sculptures which were incredible. Once man was painting Audrey Hepburn in chocolate.
Each day we treated ourselves to a Spanish sweet. Its like I eat the food of the country when I am there and starve myself in Manchester otherwise I would look like a sumo wrestler! My favorite was churros and chocolata...its the spanish hot chocolate and is very thick and sweet and then churros (without the sugar all over it). You dip the churros into the hot chocolate and it is like heaven. One day I tried Spanish Gelatto which is not as good as Italian...after my fifth lick the entire scoop fell the to ground...I think it was God's way of telling me I've had enough Gelatto this semester....I just love it so much!
The Spanish men were a little bit of an issue but I must say that I prefer being harassed by Spanish men then Italian. The Spanish mens way of telling you they think your pretty is by hissing, barking or moaning sexually at you. Vs the Italian that would just say incredibly vulgar things. Oh the joys of being blonde in Europe.
Overall Spain was a blast...it didn't steal my heart like Italy but thats ok. And I didn't get fooled by any of the crazy shows and skeems I read about that happen on Las Ramblas to steal your money....but I did see others falling for them!
Three days until Paris!
We arrived in Barcelona at 11:50pm and had to take the subway to our Hostel. I thought since we were going to Spain they would speak Spanish and communicating wouldn't be that bad. I was very wrong...they spoke Catalonian and actually get offended when one speaks Spanish to them. The tickets were somewhat hard to figure out because I couldn't read it. And this old lady was lingering around very quietly obviously trying to find where our money was kept so she could pick pocket. Luckily we are such smart travellers and had already pulled out the exact amount beforehand. It was amazing how this lady had been standing right next to me the whole time and I hadn't noticed until I was done buying the ticket and waiting for Traci...it was like she was invisible! I tried to get through the gate with my ticket but each time failed later to notice that we had bought train tickets not subway!
Once we bought the SUBWAY tickets and arrived at our stop we were greeted by probably 10-15 prostitutes that stand on the street "Las Ramblas" all night. Making clicks whenever a man walks by...the area was extremely sketchy or as a Brit would say "dodgy."
The first day we went to La Sangrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera and the Picasso Museum. A lot of Barcelona is designed by a man named Gaudi who was inspired by nature and that shows in his architecture. La Sangrada Familia was built by him and is still under construction today. I found the architecture interesting because you could see his inspiration everywhere. The coloms like trees, windows like palm trees, etc. But I don't think that the architecture is beautiful just different and very funky.
Parc Guell was a lot of fun- designed also by Gaudi. Lots of sculptures and crazy areas to explore. At the top of the park a bunch of people laid out black market stuff to sell. One man had earrings placed on top of an umbrella. All of the sudden the man freaks out and said he would be back in fourteen minutes. I turned around and the entire market was gone....a total ghost town. I was like 'ooookay where are the police at?' Sure enough the police had come so everyone had to run. This is so impressive but not as hilarious as when it happened in Rome because they had to run over this huge hill to get away- now that was a sight!
I really enojoyed the Picasso Museum and liked to see how his art progressed over time. He went from being a very detailed artist to a crazy one. Some say he really did go crazy. I'm not sure I think maybe his friend Sarbetes inspired him since once he met him the art changed drastically.
For dinner we tried the Tapas- a Spanish meal. These are small, appetizer like meals and you order three to four for dinner. They are very tasty and some better than Italian food. But they didn't fill me up that much because I could only afford two at a time (usually running from 4-6 euros each). As the trip went on sometimes I had a hard time with the looks of the food. For example if you ordered paella (rice stirfry with seafood) then entire eels and crawfish would be in the dish. Or if you ordered a fried seafood tapa the eyes would still be entact...so awful. At one restuarant there was rows and rows of meat hanging from the ceiling...the hooves were still there!!!!
The next day we went up Montjuic, walked Port Vell, saw a Cathedral under construction and met up with my friend Flannery.
Saturday we spent walking Barcelona street markets and went to a Flamenco Show. I was not expecting this dance to be like this. Generally men sing while the spotlight is on a woman or man doing the dance...it is a tap dance. I loved how they would fire eachother up and cheer them on. The women would get so into it and get these crazy aggressive faces on. We were served a glass of Sangria during the show. Generally I really don't like wine but Sangria is tasty! It was served with ice and oranges inside...very sweet.
The last morning we spent at the Chocolate Museum. Spain invented chocolate back in the XVI Century. I learned a lot about the productions and uses of chocolate. There was multiple chocolate sculptures which were incredible. Once man was painting Audrey Hepburn in chocolate.
Each day we treated ourselves to a Spanish sweet. Its like I eat the food of the country when I am there and starve myself in Manchester otherwise I would look like a sumo wrestler! My favorite was churros and chocolata...its the spanish hot chocolate and is very thick and sweet and then churros (without the sugar all over it). You dip the churros into the hot chocolate and it is like heaven. One day I tried Spanish Gelatto which is not as good as Italian...after my fifth lick the entire scoop fell the to ground...I think it was God's way of telling me I've had enough Gelatto this semester....I just love it so much!
The Spanish men were a little bit of an issue but I must say that I prefer being harassed by Spanish men then Italian. The Spanish mens way of telling you they think your pretty is by hissing, barking or moaning sexually at you. Vs the Italian that would just say incredibly vulgar things. Oh the joys of being blonde in Europe.
Overall Spain was a blast...it didn't steal my heart like Italy but thats ok. And I didn't get fooled by any of the crazy shows and skeems I read about that happen on Las Ramblas to steal your money....but I did see others falling for them!
Three days until Paris!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bath and Stonehenge
Right after Italy I had one day to sleep and then went off to Bath, England with the International Society. Bath was just okay. Its not that big of a city so having two days there was kind of boring. The first day we went to the Roman Baths where people came for healings. This was pretty cool because it was like a little piece of Italy in England. We had dinner at the oldest place in Bath called Sally Lunns Bunns. Since we had dinner at 5 we got a good deal of having soup, main dish and wine for 10 pounds. I had the steak with beranise sauce over a Sally Lunn Bunn and it was very tasty...everything is home made there.
The next morning we went to Stonehenge. I actually found Stonehenge much more interesting than I thought I would. I was a little disappointed when I left because I felt that it was still a big mystery and I was more confused than I was when I first arrived. I guess now they think that it was built as a calendar, temple where sacrifices would happen. Maybe it was originally made as a calendar and then they added on to make it a temple...not quite sure. It was strange because stonehenge is located right off a local freeway so people drive by everyday and see it! I always imagined it as on this big hill...but its actually on a very flat area that winds hit it crazy amounts...soooo cold!
I got a flyer on Stonehenge and it really surprised me that they are planning on moving it in the next ten years. They want to put it in a museum-like situation where more tourists can easily access it. Excuse me but how stupid would that be??? The whole point of seeing Stonehenge is that is has been there for thousands and thousands of years...duhhh.
That afternoon I visited the Jane Austen Center. Jane Austen lived in Bath for five years of her life but she didn't like it very much and enjoyed the country side more because she felt inspired there. Northanger Abbey was written right after she left Bath and she made multiple references to it. That is the one story that I have not seen (I don't read the books only watch the movies).
So that was my quick weekend trip...Wednesday night I leave for Barcelona, Spain.
The next morning we went to Stonehenge. I actually found Stonehenge much more interesting than I thought I would. I was a little disappointed when I left because I felt that it was still a big mystery and I was more confused than I was when I first arrived. I guess now they think that it was built as a calendar, temple where sacrifices would happen. Maybe it was originally made as a calendar and then they added on to make it a temple...not quite sure. It was strange because stonehenge is located right off a local freeway so people drive by everyday and see it! I always imagined it as on this big hill...but its actually on a very flat area that winds hit it crazy amounts...soooo cold!
I got a flyer on Stonehenge and it really surprised me that they are planning on moving it in the next ten years. They want to put it in a museum-like situation where more tourists can easily access it. Excuse me but how stupid would that be??? The whole point of seeing Stonehenge is that is has been there for thousands and thousands of years...duhhh.
That afternoon I visited the Jane Austen Center. Jane Austen lived in Bath for five years of her life but she didn't like it very much and enjoyed the country side more because she felt inspired there. Northanger Abbey was written right after she left Bath and she made multiple references to it. That is the one story that I have not seen (I don't read the books only watch the movies).
So that was my quick weekend trip...Wednesday night I leave for Barcelona, Spain.
Venice
After having absolutely horrible weather in Cinque Terre we were pretty sure the weather was going to be equally as bad in Venice. We woke up and went outside to see not a cloud in the sky...it was absolutely incredible. Venice is very surreal everything obviously is sinking and sometimes parts are worse than others during high tide. We had to take a water taxi to our hostel and you could see that most of the doors were blocked off because of the water level rising.
It was very hard to follow maps in Venice its like a maze. Every street is like an alley way that goes about 4 stories high so there is no way to look up and see tall buildings to tell you where you are. Basically you just follow little signs to famous Bridges and find your way around.
We had a tour of St. Marks Square and little areas around Venice. We had a quick break for lunch then a boat tour. The boat tour was my favorite part because we got to go around Venice and through little residential canals. It was amazing how those canals are only three feet deep!! We saw many gondala riders and they are so good at steering those long boats...that would be so difficult! Luckily, since it was fall the water didn't smell but I can see how during those hot summer days the water could get pretty stinky.
In the evening we went shopping and got lots of little gifts for friends of Venetian Glass. I tried on like one million rings and many times they would get stuck on my finger! I would panick buy luckily my friend Helen had purell and so I could get it off that way. I don't know how many rings in Venice are smoothered in purell from me ...oops.
I know that I have to come back to Venice because there was not enough time to do a gondola ride...you can't experience Venice fully without one!
It was very hard to follow maps in Venice its like a maze. Every street is like an alley way that goes about 4 stories high so there is no way to look up and see tall buildings to tell you where you are. Basically you just follow little signs to famous Bridges and find your way around.
We had a tour of St. Marks Square and little areas around Venice. We had a quick break for lunch then a boat tour. The boat tour was my favorite part because we got to go around Venice and through little residential canals. It was amazing how those canals are only three feet deep!! We saw many gondala riders and they are so good at steering those long boats...that would be so difficult! Luckily, since it was fall the water didn't smell but I can see how during those hot summer days the water could get pretty stinky.
In the evening we went shopping and got lots of little gifts for friends of Venetian Glass. I tried on like one million rings and many times they would get stuck on my finger! I would panick buy luckily my friend Helen had purell and so I could get it off that way. I don't know how many rings in Venice are smoothered in purell from me ...oops.
I know that I have to come back to Venice because there was not enough time to do a gondola ride...you can't experience Venice fully without one!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Cinque Terre: The Land of 5
Cinque Terre consists of five small towns along the cliffs of the Mediteranean Sea. The towns have rainbow colored bulidings and looks beautiful against the turquoise sea. Unfortuneatly, I was told that the weather was to be "temporale"...which means rain and thunder storms.
The tour goes even if there is bad weather so we had to go. It was pouring so bad and the wind was crazy. Despite the horrible weather we still got to see how beautiful this place really was. I was a little concerned about using English in these areas because it is not super touristy so most only speak Italian. When we first arrived I really had to go to the bathroom and this local started to have a full on conversation with me I had no idea what he was talking about! He pointed to the bathroom and I had a pleasant surprise. Inside the bathroom was this tray like contraption that had a hole in the ground. I got to squat over the tray and attempt to aim for the hole...lets just say the first time was not so successful...it made for a good laugh.
We had clam spaghetti for lunch which tasted soooo good. Cinque Terre is known for its fabulous seafood!
So Cinque Tere was not really my favorite part of the trip since the weather was not good. There is nothing to see there it is just to go and enjoy the weather and see the beauty. O well...
O and I forgot to mention the crazy Italian driving. It was supposed to take over 2 hours to get there by train but with an Italian car driver it took under an hour and a half!! I don't even want to know how fast he was going on the freeway with absolutely no turning signals just weaving through traffic. As we zoomed up the cliffs to get to Cinque Terre I got a little queezy and car sick because he was taking the turns so fast... I knew we were going to go over the edge any second!
The tour goes even if there is bad weather so we had to go. It was pouring so bad and the wind was crazy. Despite the horrible weather we still got to see how beautiful this place really was. I was a little concerned about using English in these areas because it is not super touristy so most only speak Italian. When we first arrived I really had to go to the bathroom and this local started to have a full on conversation with me I had no idea what he was talking about! He pointed to the bathroom and I had a pleasant surprise. Inside the bathroom was this tray like contraption that had a hole in the ground. I got to squat over the tray and attempt to aim for the hole...lets just say the first time was not so successful...it made for a good laugh.
We had clam spaghetti for lunch which tasted soooo good. Cinque Terre is known for its fabulous seafood!
So Cinque Tere was not really my favorite part of the trip since the weather was not good. There is nothing to see there it is just to go and enjoy the weather and see the beauty. O well...
O and I forgot to mention the crazy Italian driving. It was supposed to take over 2 hours to get there by train but with an Italian car driver it took under an hour and a half!! I don't even want to know how fast he was going on the freeway with absolutely no turning signals just weaving through traffic. As we zoomed up the cliffs to get to Cinque Terre I got a little queezy and car sick because he was taking the turns so fast... I knew we were going to go over the edge any second!
Florence: The Floating City
We only had one day in Florence and had to get everything done. When we arrived at our hostel we were told that since it was Monday all of the museums would be closed and probably most markets. BUMMER!! The whole point of going to Florence is to see the David!
So in the morning we went to see the Duomo. The outside was awesome it was pastel green, pink and white ( I have to wonder if it used to be the italian flag colors and it has faded over time). Very Beautiful. We then saw the typical Florence sites such as Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Vecho, some more churchs and a lot of piazzas. In one of the piazzas my friend Jenny and I imitated the statues. We decided to get really creative and have four people imitate a big statue. We used an umbrella as a sword and it looked awesome! So many tourists thought it was cool and they were jealous of our coolness so they took pictures of us. I felt famous hahaha.
We hiked to the top of Michealangelo's Piazzle and saw the view from the top of Florence. It had been raining on and off again and there was a full rainbow over Florence...the city had the effect of looking like it was floating on clouds....so pretty.
NOTE: The next day we went to Cinque Terre and got back early so we were able to go into the Academy Gallery and see the David after all on Tuesday.
So in the morning we went to see the Duomo. The outside was awesome it was pastel green, pink and white ( I have to wonder if it used to be the italian flag colors and it has faded over time). Very Beautiful. We then saw the typical Florence sites such as Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Vecho, some more churchs and a lot of piazzas. In one of the piazzas my friend Jenny and I imitated the statues. We decided to get really creative and have four people imitate a big statue. We used an umbrella as a sword and it looked awesome! So many tourists thought it was cool and they were jealous of our coolness so they took pictures of us. I felt famous hahaha.
We hiked to the top of Michealangelo's Piazzle and saw the view from the top of Florence. It had been raining on and off again and there was a full rainbow over Florence...the city had the effect of looking like it was floating on clouds....so pretty.
NOTE: The next day we went to Cinque Terre and got back early so we were able to go into the Academy Gallery and see the David after all on Tuesday.
Pompeii & Naples
In between our two days in Rome we had a day tour to Naples and Pompeii. Naples was so beautiful, located in the south of Italy right on the western coast. The rocks were white, water turquoise and palm trees everywhere. After taking a stop in Naples we stopped at the Cameo Factory. Cameos is a type of jewelry made of either onyx or seashell and they carve out a sillhoette or a womens face on it. I bought a ring and a necklace for a friend there.
Next we stopped at Pompeii. Pompeii started 700BC and was first devestated by a huge earthquake and then by an erruption of Mount Vesuvius. So we had a tour through the ruins of this city this was so interesting because it was like the place was frozen in time. There was still places to tie up the horse, wine shops, houses with frescos on the walls and ...brothels. I don't mean to sound like a perv but this was my favorite part of Pompeii. He showed us these engravings on the ground of large mens private parts that were made into arrows pointing to the brothels. In Pompeii there are 25 brothels which is ridiculous because its not that big! It makes me think that every woman had a job on the side!!! Inside the brothels the rooms had beds that still had the mattresses, blankets and pillow there (of course hardened by the ash). The frescos had paintings of different positions that they could choose from....creative.
Next we stopped at Pompeii. Pompeii started 700BC and was first devestated by a huge earthquake and then by an erruption of Mount Vesuvius. So we had a tour through the ruins of this city this was so interesting because it was like the place was frozen in time. There was still places to tie up the horse, wine shops, houses with frescos on the walls and ...brothels. I don't mean to sound like a perv but this was my favorite part of Pompeii. He showed us these engravings on the ground of large mens private parts that were made into arrows pointing to the brothels. In Pompeii there are 25 brothels which is ridiculous because its not that big! It makes me think that every woman had a job on the side!!! Inside the brothels the rooms had beds that still had the mattresses, blankets and pillow there (of course hardened by the ash). The frescos had paintings of different positions that they could choose from....creative.
Rome where you want to.... Rome 'round the world.
So Rome is my favorite city in the entire WORLD! It definitely goes on my short list of places to go back to in my lifetime.
So us four girls from Manchester met up with Jenny and Danielle in Milan at 11pm. Because there wasn't any transportation in Milan between midnight at 5:30am we had to camp out in the airport. Bergamo Airport is really small aka there was no carpet or chairs to sit in. We had tile floors, phosphorescent lighting, and really loud tvs going on all night. I did not get any sleep at all...not a drop. This was my first complete all nighter and I was up for over 40 hours. WOW!
While my unsuccessful sleeping was going on I used my phrase book to learn some Italian. I didn't want to be the typical tourist that relied solely on English to get around. So I learned phrases like well Do you speak English, I don't speak Italian, thank you, excuse me, I would like..., sorry, please, let me through, He stole my bag (hahah), how much is this...and some others I don't really remember. Although while using these phrases I really was surprised at how I could somewhat understand the Italians because it was so much like Spanish. And usually they always spoke English anyways but they would smile and it seemed like they were pleased that I at least attempted to embrace Italian language.
We arrived in Rome at 7:30am and went straight to drop off our stuff at the Yellow Hostel. The 4 Manchester girls went to Villa Borghese to explore. Then we went to our tour in Vatican City. I did no know that Vatican City was not a part of Rome and it had its own Pope. I always thought it just consisted of the museum and St Peters but people actually live there. The Vatican Museums were absolutely incredible we only got to touch on what was there because it is a HUUUUGE museum. We saw the Sistine Chapel and it was so much different then a expected. Much smaller, and dark because of the paintings. The ceiling done by Michealangelo was incredible so vibrant. I found it interesting that one of the disciples (?) that was next to Jesus on one of the paintings in the chapel was holding an entire bodies worth of skin. This was supposed to represent how he was skinned because of his faith. But it also was supposed to represent Michealangelo himself basically feeling skinned by doing the Sistine Chapel. Michealangelo didn't want to paint the chapel, he saw himself more has a sculpturer and has currently working on four pieces. Since the Pope insisted he do the ceiling he had to stop his sculptures and paint. The chapel took a total of six years and he was in his fifties. He had to be raised on scaffolds to get to the top and paint by candlelight. When he died he died nearly blind because of the strain he had to put on his eyes in that chapel.
Next we went to St. Peter's Basicilica the most beautiful place I've been to in my life. It is hard to describe how pretty this church is all I can say was the minute I went inside my body was covered in goosebumps from head to toe, tears came to my eyes....and I knew that St. Pauls was nothing compared to this church. We had arrived in the evening and the choir was singing, it would echo all throughout the domes of the church. We did not have enough time to go the top of the dome and see where St Peters bones might have been buried but I am okay with that because it just means I HAVE to come back :)
That night we saw the Trevi Fountian, another incredible sight in Rome. Although it was very crowded and you had to be extremely mean to all the people trying to sell you flowers you didn't want. It was so ridiculous I could see them coming to me and I would be like 'No Grazie' they come closer, 'NO' they are shoving a rose in my face NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Until finally Danielle comes along (who speaks fluent Italian) and yells at him to get lost. This is pretty typical I don't know why people target me I try so hard to look mean!!!
The second day we had in Rome we started with the Collesseum. We had gotten pretty good at using the underground railway but were not sure if we were going to have to stop to ask for directions to find the Colleseum itself. Coming up from the stairs we saw it immediately this huge massive structure. The sun was so warm I felt like it was summer, not a cloud in the sky. We were ooing and ahhhing and the locals kind of laughed at us. But hey it was the COLLESEUM!!!! hellllooooo. Being there was really surreal seeing the underground where the lions were kept and the prisioners, seeing writing still on the walls and the stands were people stood or sat according to class...amazing.
Outside the Colleseum we had some classic Italian abuse. I've basically heard it all but this was the worst probably insulted sexually about 10 times from going from the Colleseum to Constatine's Arc (note: its one minute away). We ended the day by seeing Trevi Fountain once again, the Pantheon and the Temple. And were on our way to Florence.
Some Random Things I noticed while in Rome/Italy in general:
-There is no such thing as a line. It was so funny to me how even when you are supposed to be lining up to check into RyanAir they all just push and shove to get to the front. When I was getting on the Shuttle there was a lady behind me trying to shove her bag in between my legs!!! It's not really considered rude to push your way to the front in Italy.
-The caffeine drinks are really small. I ordered a hot cocoa and it was the smallest thing I have ever seen!
-The men are rude to the foreigners. I got followed around by five men singing about my chest, I had men offering me lollypops but hinting at something else. I had dads look up up and down five times right in front of their wife and baby girl...you get the point. My favorites were sexy princess and Barbie...I don't mind those.
-Gelatto is so amazing. We had gelatto every single day. My favorite flavor was Tiramisu.
-If they think you can't afford their products in a store they will straight up tell you to leave.
-They tend to be very helpful with tourists. Multiple times when we were looking at a map locals would stop to help :)
-They don't serve tap water. You have to pay for the water in the glass bottle.
Overall Rome is tight.
So us four girls from Manchester met up with Jenny and Danielle in Milan at 11pm. Because there wasn't any transportation in Milan between midnight at 5:30am we had to camp out in the airport. Bergamo Airport is really small aka there was no carpet or chairs to sit in. We had tile floors, phosphorescent lighting, and really loud tvs going on all night. I did not get any sleep at all...not a drop. This was my first complete all nighter and I was up for over 40 hours. WOW!
While my unsuccessful sleeping was going on I used my phrase book to learn some Italian. I didn't want to be the typical tourist that relied solely on English to get around. So I learned phrases like well Do you speak English, I don't speak Italian, thank you, excuse me, I would like..., sorry, please, let me through, He stole my bag (hahah), how much is this...and some others I don't really remember. Although while using these phrases I really was surprised at how I could somewhat understand the Italians because it was so much like Spanish. And usually they always spoke English anyways but they would smile and it seemed like they were pleased that I at least attempted to embrace Italian language.
We arrived in Rome at 7:30am and went straight to drop off our stuff at the Yellow Hostel. The 4 Manchester girls went to Villa Borghese to explore. Then we went to our tour in Vatican City. I did no know that Vatican City was not a part of Rome and it had its own Pope. I always thought it just consisted of the museum and St Peters but people actually live there. The Vatican Museums were absolutely incredible we only got to touch on what was there because it is a HUUUUGE museum. We saw the Sistine Chapel and it was so much different then a expected. Much smaller, and dark because of the paintings. The ceiling done by Michealangelo was incredible so vibrant. I found it interesting that one of the disciples (?) that was next to Jesus on one of the paintings in the chapel was holding an entire bodies worth of skin. This was supposed to represent how he was skinned because of his faith. But it also was supposed to represent Michealangelo himself basically feeling skinned by doing the Sistine Chapel. Michealangelo didn't want to paint the chapel, he saw himself more has a sculpturer and has currently working on four pieces. Since the Pope insisted he do the ceiling he had to stop his sculptures and paint. The chapel took a total of six years and he was in his fifties. He had to be raised on scaffolds to get to the top and paint by candlelight. When he died he died nearly blind because of the strain he had to put on his eyes in that chapel.
Next we went to St. Peter's Basicilica the most beautiful place I've been to in my life. It is hard to describe how pretty this church is all I can say was the minute I went inside my body was covered in goosebumps from head to toe, tears came to my eyes....and I knew that St. Pauls was nothing compared to this church. We had arrived in the evening and the choir was singing, it would echo all throughout the domes of the church. We did not have enough time to go the top of the dome and see where St Peters bones might have been buried but I am okay with that because it just means I HAVE to come back :)
That night we saw the Trevi Fountian, another incredible sight in Rome. Although it was very crowded and you had to be extremely mean to all the people trying to sell you flowers you didn't want. It was so ridiculous I could see them coming to me and I would be like 'No Grazie' they come closer, 'NO' they are shoving a rose in my face NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Until finally Danielle comes along (who speaks fluent Italian) and yells at him to get lost. This is pretty typical I don't know why people target me I try so hard to look mean!!!
The second day we had in Rome we started with the Collesseum. We had gotten pretty good at using the underground railway but were not sure if we were going to have to stop to ask for directions to find the Colleseum itself. Coming up from the stairs we saw it immediately this huge massive structure. The sun was so warm I felt like it was summer, not a cloud in the sky. We were ooing and ahhhing and the locals kind of laughed at us. But hey it was the COLLESEUM!!!! hellllooooo. Being there was really surreal seeing the underground where the lions were kept and the prisioners, seeing writing still on the walls and the stands were people stood or sat according to class...amazing.
Outside the Colleseum we had some classic Italian abuse. I've basically heard it all but this was the worst probably insulted sexually about 10 times from going from the Colleseum to Constatine's Arc (note: its one minute away). We ended the day by seeing Trevi Fountain once again, the Pantheon and the Temple. And were on our way to Florence.
Some Random Things I noticed while in Rome/Italy in general:
-There is no such thing as a line. It was so funny to me how even when you are supposed to be lining up to check into RyanAir they all just push and shove to get to the front. When I was getting on the Shuttle there was a lady behind me trying to shove her bag in between my legs!!! It's not really considered rude to push your way to the front in Italy.
-The caffeine drinks are really small. I ordered a hot cocoa and it was the smallest thing I have ever seen!
-The men are rude to the foreigners. I got followed around by five men singing about my chest, I had men offering me lollypops but hinting at something else. I had dads look up up and down five times right in front of their wife and baby girl...you get the point. My favorites were sexy princess and Barbie...I don't mind those.
-Gelatto is so amazing. We had gelatto every single day. My favorite flavor was Tiramisu.
-If they think you can't afford their products in a store they will straight up tell you to leave.
-They tend to be very helpful with tourists. Multiple times when we were looking at a map locals would stop to help :)
-They don't serve tap water. You have to pay for the water in the glass bottle.
Overall Rome is tight.
Italy Trip
Click here to see more pictures from Italy. On the sets named Rome, Pompeii and Napoli, Florence, Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre
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