Il Dolce Far Niente

Upon meeting my parents at the Naples train station, we got in the car and headed straight for Positano, a quaint city along the Amalfi Coast. After a long, windy, nauseating car ride through the mountains, we finally arrived at the hotel! We grabbed a bite to eat and wandered around the town before it started to pour rain. This seemed to be a theme of our trip- as the rain followed us everywhere we went.

On Tuesday, we had our driver, Gregory, take us on a whirlwind tour of the Amalfi Coast. Gregory took us to one of his favorite pottery shops, where we immediately fell in love with a table made of volcanic ash and painted with lemons and bright colors. My mother and I insisted that it would be perfect in our sunroom at home, and would serve as a great reminder of our travels in Italy together. After a couple other purchases (what’s a table without some plates?), we were off to Ravello! We walked through Villa Cimbrone, which is noted as one of the most beautiful views in the world. The panorama view of Amalfi was breathtaking even in the rain; we couldn’t even image what the view would be like during the summer.

Positano

On Wednesday, we met Pam and her mom at the dock to head to Capri! Unfortunately, the famous “Blue Grotto” was closed because of the high tide. While it looked like a warm, sunny day in Positano, it was absolutely freezing in Capri. Pam and I can’t seem to get out of our summer dressing mode (her Jack Rogers are still going strong might I add!) The second we hopped off the ferry, we were greeted by a cab driver who offered to drive us around for the day. Clearly American tourists, we took the man up on his offer and headed to the chairlift in Anacapri. The chairlift took us up to Mount Solaro, the highest point of the island. Pam’s first (and last) ride in a chairlift was sans-snow, but still frigid. Both of us had bare legs and wrapped our scarves around us to keep warm, while also holding on for dear life. However, our goosebumps and shivering was definitely worth the view from the top! We headed back down the chairlift, which seemed steeper on the way down, and walked to the San Michele Arcangelo, a baroque church that had a gorgeous majolica tiled floor. My mother had heard of the “man who makes the sandals on the steps” and was determined to seek him out. Nonetheless, we found the shop in all its glory and purchased a couple new pairs of sandals for Christmas! Our cab driver then took us to Capri and showed us where to go shopping and get a bite to eat. Although we didn’t have any star sightings, we could definitely see the draw for celebrities to come on their yachts in the harbor.

Everyone in Capri

View of the Blue Grotto from the top of the chairlift

Back in Positano, we had a wonderful dinner at Max, a restaurant down in a garden. Early the next morning, we hopped back in the car and headed to the Hertz rental car agency in the center of Naples. Note to anyone ever traveling to Naples: do not rent a car in the center of the city. My father had no choice but to drive us to Tuscany (the car was stick shift…lucky for my mom who got out of driving the whole way). We arrived at the Banfi Castle just in time for dinner. Castello Banfi is in Montalcino that produces Brunellos, Syrahs, and Merlots. We had a wonderful five course dinner (I only ate 2 of them. Veal? No thanks.), with each course paired with a different wine from the estate. The next morning my mom and I had a cooking class all morning. While my dad opted to work out and explore the vineyards, my mom and I made panzenella salad, homemade pasta with a pork ragu, and tiramisu all morning. After sitting down to our yummy lunch, the sun was peaking through the clouds and we decided to lay by the pool! I had been feeling a little pale and could not pass up a pool overlooking the Tuscan countryside.

Castello Banfi

Mom & I at the vineyard

Our next stop on our journey was Vernazza, one of the five towns in Cinque Terre. The roads to Vernazza weren’t any better for my dad to drive, especially in the dark and pouring rain. He deserved a lot of credit for driving after this trip for sure! We arrived to our bed and breakfast in the height of the monsoon, climbing up what seemed like hundred of steps lugging our bags to the top of the town. Although it was dark, we opened our window and could see the waves crashing right below us. We grabbed dinner at a restaurant recommended by our B&B, where my mom and I had the signature pesto pasta dish. (Cinque Terre is famous for its pesto). We went to bed crossing our fingers that we’d wake up to a bright and sunny day, only to wake up to more rain. Since the trails to hike between the five towns were closed, we opted for a trainride to the last town so we could at least see each of the towns from the train. We planned it perfectly, as I needed to be back on the computer at 1pm sharp to do my course registration for last semester. For all of you who know me well, this was a BIG deal to be on a computer at this time. It was already enough that I couldn’t use my internet plug to connect to the internet and had to sit in an internet café to enroll for 18 hours of class next semester. All in all, I was able to register and we were on our way back to Florence…or so we thought. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rains, there were mudslides that closed several of the tunnels the trains run through. Since our car was parked at the first town, our only way back was by train. The trains kept getting pushed back 15, 30, and eventually 2 hours. We finally hopped on a train 3 hours later and made a quick stop in Pisa, before heading home to Florence!

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Since I had classes most of the time while my parents were in Florence, they did a lot of sightseeing on their own. I took them to my favorite restaurant, FrancescoVini, where Fabio took my parents, Pam, and I on a tour of the wine cellar and gave us a history lesson on the building. (We have also recently discovered that Fabio is engaged...tear tear). It was great to show my parents around my neighborhood in Florence and it was sad to see them leave, but I’ll be seeing my mom in Vienna in just a few short weeks!!

Snakker du engelsk? (Do you speak English?)

This past weekend was spent in the frigid, Scandinavian air of Oslo, Norway. I took off from the Florence airport before 7am on Friday, watching the sun rise over the Swiss Alps. Upon arriving in the Munich airport 20 minutes late, I had to find the bus to my terminal and ran to my connecting gate. The flight was basically empty, leaving me with a whole row to myself. I guess Oslo isn’t a popular destination for those Germans. When we were landing in Oslo, I could see snow on the ground! I could spend no time worrying about whether I packed the right clothes or not, as I was more worried about finding the express train to the Oslo city center. Thank god for English signs in these major airports. I quickly exchanged my Euros for Norwegian Kroners, or NOK, and headed to buy my express train ticket. I had expected to buy the ticket from a ticket window, but a nice, English speaking man told me they charge 30 NOK extra to use the ticket window and guided me through using the machine.

Swiss Sunrise

The train ride was 20 minutes into the Oslo city center. We passed through the countryside, where the snow was beginning to melt in the midday sun. I got off at the Oslo S station, where I whipped out my directions to the hotel. The hotel was conveniently located right across the bridge from the train station, or so I thought. I found the hotel and upon getting to the front desk, I was told that I was at the wrong hotel! Supposedly they had two hotels in Oslo, and I was at the other one! Sick of lugging around my huge bag (never bringing my computer again), I hopped in a cab to go five minutes up the road. I dropped off my bag and decided to get in some sites because Carolyn, Hilary, and Katie weren’t getting in until late that night. My first stop was the Nasjonalgalleriet, or the National Gallery. My trusty Scandinavian Europe guidebook said this was a must for any trip to Oslo. There was an impressive collection of Edvard Munch’s best known works, including The Scream. I also loved Harald Sohlberg’s Winter Night in the Mountains. The painting depicts both isolation and beauty- the image below doesn't do the real piece any justice.

Winter Night in the Mountains

My next stop was the Radhus, or Oslo’s City Hall. From the outside, the building looks like a plain, municipal building, but the inside is covered with colorful murals that depict Norway’s rich history. I was able to walk though the entire building, including the assembly room where meetings are held and banquet hall. From one of the windows on the second floor I could see the water and resolved to head in that direction. 

Inside of the city hall

I left the City Hall and found the main shopping street and the docks. It was chilly down by the water, but it was so worth all of the goosebumps. I walked along the docks admiring the Viking ships and sailboats before my fingers were numb. I ran into a café and grabbed a coffee before heading up to the Akerhus fortress, where there were amazing views of the Oslo Fjord. It was nice to see all of the fall foliage and leaves on the ground, something we don’t have in Florence and what I miss most from home! By then I was exhausted and headed back to the hotel to check in.

Carolyn, Hilary, and Katie were to arrive in Oslo around 11:30 that night, so for dinner I grabbed a sandwich and hot chocolate at a café recommended by our hotel and headed back to get a goodnight’s sleep before a full day of sightseeing on Saturday. Carolyn and I woke up bright and early to get a head start on our day. We wandered downstairs before 8 to have some breakfast before heading to meet Katie and Hilary (who were consequently staying at the other hotel I originally went to).  We were surprised by the odd breakfast selection of meats, cheeses, vegetables, sausages, and other hot dog looking things. Luckily we found some fresh fruit and yogurt- I was not going to settle for cucumbers and tomatoes at 8am.

I brought Carolyn down to the water where I was on Friday and through the Akerhus fortress before making our way over to the Oslo Opera & Ballet House. The hall is an architectural phenomenon, with the roof sloping down to the sidewalk. The Opera & Ballet House looks out over the water, with amazing views of the city. We were able to climb all the way to the top, careful not to slip on the ice! 

Katie and Hilary met us here and we had a Wilton reunion before heading to our Viking ship cruise. The cruise took us on an authentic Viking ship all the way to Bygdey, where many of the museums are housed. We opted to see the Vikingskiphset, or Viking Ship Museum, first. We had no idea how to get there and decided to follow everyone else from the boat. The museum houses three Viking ships excavated from the Oslo fjord region. We still hadn’t thawed from walking all of the way to the museum by the time we were done, and decided to grab a coffee on our way back to the ship. We stopped at a cute Norwegian coffee shop on the side of the street and sipped on cappuccinos and hot chocolates while catching up on everyone’s Euro adventures. We headed back to the ship just in time and were off to the City Hall stop. We were able to snag seats and blankets this time on the ship, making the ride much more bearable.

Our Viking Ship!

I had read in the guidebook and on several websites that the restaurant Frognerseteren was highly recommended. Upon reading the reviews and looking on their website, there was no way I was going to leave Norway without going. Getting to the restaurant was going to be a challenge in itself, but we were up for an adventure. We headed to the tram station to find out our best route to get up into the mountains. It turns out we had to take a bus and tram to get there, so we opted for the 24 hour transportation pass, allowing us to use the bus, tram, metro, and boats to our heart’s content over the next day. To all of our parents: you would have been so impressed by our use of public transportation to get around the city. But, no, we wont be taking the buses in NYC any time soon.

After a couple of mishaps, including getting off at the wrong stop at the famous Holmenkollen ski jump and running up a hill after our bus, we finally reached Frognerseteren. The restaurant is perched on a mountainside overlooking the city, with big fireplaces giving it a ski lodge feel. We decided to sit inside, Hilary and I opting for a brie salad, Carolyn meatballs, and Katie, our resident daredevil foodie, an elk burger. Our visit would not have been complete without taste testing the famous apple cake. AH-MAZING. 

Frognerseteren

After taking some scenery pictures, we caught our bus back down to the city center and headed over to Vigeland Park. We had a quick pit stop to buy some Norwegian hats to keep our heads warm and entered the vast sculpture park. There are nearly 200 sculptures of granite and bronze by Gustav Vigeland presenting human form in a variety of emotions. The most impressive structure was at the end of the park, which was a huge sculpture of intertwined bodies.

We took the tram back to the hotel to pursue our hunt for Norwegian sweaters. After trying several different stores that were all closed, we deemed our search an epic failure. Supposedly nothing in Norway is open on Sundays, so we were straight out of luck! We went to three different concierges to ask if they knew of any place that was open on Sunday that sold sweaters and we were told that our only chance was an open air market. (Note: We found the market on Sunday and it wasn’t open). We also asked for a dinner recommendation of where we could get fondue and took the tram to a very residential area in the western part of the city. Just our luck: we could not find the restaurant and called the number, which was ultimately out of service. We resolved to go back down to the water and try one of the other suggested restaurants. Our luck turned around, as we were able to be seated at D/S Louise. This was a fabulous restaurant right at Akker Bridge. There were Norwegian nautical themed pieces on the wall and even a stuffed polar bear, conveniently towering right over our table. In the mood for something very warm after our day spent mostly outdoors, we got warm goat cheese salads and french onion soup. Our meal wouldn’t have been complete without a round of desserts, including crème brulee and chocolate torte. Our meal ended around 9 o’clock and we were exhausted from all of our walking, so we decided to call it a night!

Sunday morning got to sleep in a bit, knowing that nothing opened in the city until later. Carolyn and I grabbed breakfast and headed to Hilary and Katie’s hotel to store our bags and find the market. I must say, we got to know the streets of Oslo pretty well this weekend. We ended up finding the market, which was just a bunch of empty tents. So, we hopped on the tram to head down to the water to get a coffee at one of the outside cafes. All of the cafes in Oslo have outdoor seating, even when it is below freezing. They have heat lamps and fuzzy, fur blankets for everyone to wrap up in. When we walked by these restaurants on Saturday night, people were eating even outside with their hoods of their jackets up! We Oddly enough, T.G.I. Friday’s is very popular in Oslo, and they even have T.G.I. monogrammed blankets for customers to wrap up in. ended up sitting inside by the fireplace at the nearly empty café, The people of Norway must sleep in on Sundays because there was not a soul walking around even at 11 am! After a quick trip to the souvenir shop to buy a pair of gloves (the only shop open at the time), I parted ways with the girls, who were going to head to the National Gallery, and made my way back to the airport. On the tram back to the hotel to get my bag, I was mistaken for a local and asked by tourists if I spoke English and could point them in the direction of the Opera House. This is one of my highlights of the trip, as I knew exactly how to get there! Maybe I have a future as a Scandinavian tour guide! My trip to Norway has inspired me to learn a Scandinavian language… Swedish Rosetta Stone is definitely on my Christmas list!

Ha det!

B

When in Venice...

The weekend of October 8-10 we traveled to Venice to celebrate Jenny’s 21^st birthday. I fell in love with Venice from the second we got off the train.  I had seen pictures of the city, but it wasn’t until we were on our water taxi to our hotel that I could believe the city is literally surrounded by water. With no cars, everyone walks or takes the water bus to get around. We grabbed a quick lunch and met up with three of Pam and Jenny’s friends from Furman that are studying abroad in Brussels before heading to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. The museum was filled with plenty of modern art. Pam, our resident art history major, was the critic and walked us through some of the pieces. Before Jenny’s birthday dinner, we met up with everyone at Harry’s Bar, famous for their Bellinis. Although we paid 15 euro for a single Bellini, it was well worth the birthday toast to Jenny!

Jenny's 21st

The next morning we got up bright and early before heading to the San Marco Piazza to see the San Marco Basilica. The inside of the basilica was absolutely incredible. We were shuffled along in a line throughout the entire church and decided to come back the next day to experience mass. When we got out of the church, the tide had risen and the piazza was completely flooded. We had to walk on ramps to get from one side to another, taking fifteen minutes for what should have been a two minute walk. People were yelling in all different languages and being really pushy, so we decided to get out of the main tourist area. So, we boarded a water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for their glass blowing. The ride took an hour, stopping at various other islands before finally heading to Murano. We jumped off the boat in search of the restaurant famous for their seafood recommended in our guidebook. At the other end of the island we found the restaurant and were lucky to get a table outside in the sun. We wandered through the shops after lunch, in search of presents for people at home (Grama, you have something on the way!) and decided it would be best to take a water taxi back to Venice so we would not waste any more time. After haggling down the price of a water taxi, we jumped onboard, where Sally decided to become best friends with the driver. He let her grab hold of the steering wheel and the two shared their life stories while Lindsay, Pam, and I enjoyed the view from the back.

Flooding in San Marco

As our birthday present to Jenny, we went to a wine tasting recommended by our hotel. After getting completely lost trying to find the restaurant (note: give yourself double the time you think you need to get somewhere in Venice…you WILL get lost, even if you have a map) we sat down and tested our first of five wines. Each glass was brought out with a little dish, such as bruschetta or cheese, that complemented the wine.  We quickly became best friends with the owner of Enoteca Cicchetteria and ended up singing karaoke behind the bar. We even had a diverse audience of local Italians and tourists from San Diego. My one complaint; however, was they that didn’t have a single Journey song on the playlist. We then made our way to a “funk” bar, recommended by the locals. After a couple of Marvin Gaye songs, we resolved to go home and get a good night’s sleep. Since the bar was so far away from our hotel, we resolved to get a water taxi home. We were pointed towards the Venice Casino, where there are always water taxis parked. Since we were going to have to walk through the casino to get to the taxis, why not gamble? We had to show our passports and get our pictures taken (very high security) and we received our vouchers. Intimidated by the tables at first, I was the guinea pig to use my 10 euro in the slot machine. Epic failure. After losing 8 euro at the machine, we decided to head upstairs to the blackjack table. There was something very James Bond-esque about sitting down at the table with men in suits and the women standing behind them holding their drinks. While the men were betting 100 euro chips, we started with 10 euros. Low and behold, after a few hands, we were on a winning streak. (Thanks to John, Papa, and Dad for all those games of 21 and Ashton Kutcher for just being in the movie “21”) We left the table 50 euros richer, with more money on our vouchers to use at the slot machines. Pam played the “Buffet” slot machine, winning another 20 or so euros. I must say, I can now see how people get addicted to gambling. We decided to call it a night, hoping to get in more sights the next day before leaving.

The next morning we set off for an 11am mass at the San Marco Basiliica, which was more crowded than we expected. The time extended all the way out of the church, across the flooded piazza. By the time we were inside, there was nowhere to sit, but we stood and marveled at the interior of the church. The combination of the architecture and murals, along with the Italian hymns, seemed like something out of a movie. After mass, we headed next door to tour the Doge’s Palace and headed across the river to see a couple more churches before heading to the train station. We even enjoyed some entertainment from a little man who played the accordion, drum, and other instruments all at once. I can see this as a possible career for my brother.

Future Career?

We decided not to travel last weekend because this past week were midterms. Why can’t midterms at Vandy be like study abroad? For my fashion marketing class I had to develop my own fashion brand and create and marketing and retail strategy, which I will be presenting to our class after fall break. I created a sportwear brand called “Studio 10,” which has retail locations in the ten fittest cities in the United States according to the American Fitness Index. I also had to give a presentation in my Public Relations class on a brand strategy for the Aveeno Positively Ageless line, which included a big social media campaign, benchmarking Dove’s Evolution of Beauty YouTube video (check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U). On Wednesday I had my Italian mideterm and spent the rest of the day studying for my Business Strategy midterm, which was my final midterm before fall break.

Our fall break is ELEVEN. WHOLE. DAYS, with classes starting again on November 2^nd. This weekend I am meeting up with Hilary, Carolyn, and Katie from home in Oslo. We have a full weekend planned- I’m so excited to visit my first (of hopefully many) Scandinavian country! On Monday, I’ll be meeting up with my mom and dad to do a trip down the Almalfi coast. It’s hard to believe that once we get back from break, we’ll have less than two months left in Italy! There are still so many things to look forward to, including my cousin Melissa’s visit for her 21^st birthday and trips to Paris, Copenhagen, and Madrid!

"The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you're hungry again."

Its been almost a month since I’ve updated our blog. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and designate a chunk of time to get our travels down on paper. When I left the states, I thought I’d be blogging several times a week, instead of once a month. However, I am currently on a 2 hour plane ride watching the sun rise over the Swiss Alps while headed to Oslo, Norway for the weekend. What a perfect opportunity to update everyone. (especially because no one on my plane speaks English and therefore can’t read over my shoulder, my biggest pet peeve when using my laptop on the plane)

Our weekend trip to Sicily (Oct 1-3) with our program was basically a never ending cycle of meals. I think my stomach must have expanded three sizes this weekend (thank god for my gym membership). We ate our way through the weekend, with feasts at local restaurants and ranches near Siracusa, on the eastern coast of Sicily. Upon our arrival in Sicily, our guide greeted us, complete with his Gucci sunglasses and SAI program t-shirt and bag. He had just landed form Milan and told us we had to wait for the students from Rome before getting on our way. We checked into the hotel and headed straight to dinner. Our group dinner consisted of various Sicilian delicacies, such as grilled eggplant and rice balls. There was plenty of bread and wine to go around as well. The waiters brought out dish after dish, finally ending the meal with a lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate. We didn’t realize how much food there would be, so we made a mental note not to eat everything at the beginning of the meal the next day and pace ourselves. And I quote, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Sicilian Sunset

Our next day in Siracusa began with a trip to the local market. Our tour guide brought us around to different stands (my favorite being the fish stand of course), ending with a cheese and dessert tasting. We then boarded a bus to take us out to the Pantalica Ranch for surprise, surprise, meal #93845 of our trip. After another round of food, we basked in the sun and waited out our food comas. That evening, we got a group to go to the rooftop bar at the Grand Hotel Ortiga for drinks and apperitivo before meeting our group for dinner. After taking in the gorgeous view (and some Bellinis) we headed to what seemed like our sixth meal that day. The next morning we headed to the Siracusa Archeological Park, where we saw the Theatro Greco and various other ruins. Before no time, we were headed back to the airport. A trip with Sicily is not complete without a cannoli, and we heard through the grapevine that there was an excellent bakery in the airport. Cannoli in hand, we headed back to beautiful Firenze.

Lindsay, Pam, and I in a cave at the park

Teatro Greco

I guess this is the ironically appropriate time to talk about the gym Jenny, Noelle, and I joined. Our gym is called “Swan Gymnastics Center” and is only a five minute walk from our apartment. It a great activity to do in between class and dinner, since we usually eat around 8 or 9 at night. There is no place to compare this gym to in the states. There is only 1 elliptical, 4 treadmills, and 8 bikes, in addition to plenty of weight machines for those macho Italian men. We usually head to the gym and go on a machine before taking one of the many classes offered. We’ve tried “Fit Boxe” (kickboxing,) “GAG” (arms and legs), and Total Body. The best part about the classes are the remixes, including our new found Replay mashup. We usually stand out like sore thumbs in our Nike shorts and bright tank tops amongst what seems to be the Italian work out uniform of black pants and a t-shirt. The best part about the gym is the owner, who sits on his laptop on Facebook all day and plays 90’s throwback music videos on the flatscreen TV. We’ve seen everything from Britney Spear’s “Oops I did it Again” to Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Needless to say, there’s no need for an iPod or magazine. The environment of the gym provides entertainment in itself.

On Wednesday after our weekend in Sicily, we were graced by the presence of Carolyn and Lauren and their friends from London Maggie and Ashley! The girls had just finished finals for their program and were on their whirlwind tour of Italy before starting their internships. After they hiked Cinque Terre early Wednesday morning, we met up for dinner at none other than Francescovini. We introduced them to some real Italian food, including Vivoli, or “Pam’s Gelato Shop.” The girls were exhausted, but got up early the next morning to head to the leather market and the Duomo, where we said “ciao” and they were off to Roma!

Playing tourist at the Duomo with C&L

Hey Juliet

This past week went by so fast! After getting back from London, we had a full week of activities to look forward to. After doing massive amounts of laundry on Sunday afternoon, along with everyone else in Florence, we went across the street to the Red Garter to watch the Steelers vs. Titans game. Jenny, one of my roommates, is a diehard Steelers fan, while I love my Nashville Titans. We reserved a table right in front of the game and got dinner and watched the game. After the Titans (and Cowboys) suffered losses, we went back to the apartment to catch up on some homework.

Tuesday was my 21^st birthday! Although I had a paper due in my fashion marketing class and a public relations quiz, I looked forward to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Francescovini, right in our neighborhood. Fabio and I had emailed all week making plans, including ordering a cheesecake for my birthday cake!  We invited all the girls and had the whole room to ourselves!

Dinner at Francescovini

My class on Thursday got cancelled, so I’ve basically had a 4 day weekend. Thursday night, Pam and I checked out the beer festival right in the Santa Croce Piazza. If we weren’t going to make it to Oktoberfest, this would have to do! There were people in all sorts of outfits and from all over the world. While Pam, Jenny, and Noelle were off on a fieldtrip to Pienza on Friday, I started my day off at the Ferragamo Museum. There was a special exhibition on Greta Garbo, a Hollywood star and Ferragamo inspiration. The exhibit focused on her minimal and essential style, showcasing pieces from her personal wardrobe. After the museum, I headed up Via Tornabuoni to check out Gucci. For my Fashion Marketing class I had to chose an Italian brand and visit its store to do a marketing analysis. After working with Gucci and their PR a lot this past summer at my internship, I decided it would be a great option. This was my second visit to the store, as I had to add a couple final points to my paper. I then did a little shopping at H&M and Zara (they are amazing and do not compare to the states what-so-ever) in attempt to make my wardrobe a little more “euro.” I headed over to the computer lab and finished my paper, before taking a nap and awaiting the girls to come back!

Yesterday, Noelle, Jenny, Pam, Lindsay and I decided to do a last minute day trip to Verona. Ever since falling in love with the movie “Letters to Juliet,” Verona was on my must see list. On Friday night, we looked up train times, ultimately deciding on a 9:30am train. Upon getting to the train station, we found out the direct train went out of a different station on the other side of town. It was nearing 9:20 and we were getting nervous about making the 9:30 connecting train. After finding an English speaking assistant, we ended up booking a ticket for a 10 o’clock train that connected in Bologna. This gave us time to get a cappuccino and magazine (im never paying 7 euro for a magazine again). Pam, Noelle, and I had to book the last 3 standing room seats, leaving Jenny and Lindsay no choice but to book first class tickets. While those two were probably sipping champagne in their car, Pam, Noelle, and I had to sit on the ground by the bathroom of the car. Hey, at least it was carpeted and the ride was only 30 minutes.

After connecting in Bologna, we had an hour and a half ride to Verona. When we finally arrived, it looked more like South Norwalk than what we pictured Verona to look like. It happened to be that the center of Verona was a 20 minute walk from the train station. When we finally got to the heart of Verona, it was a lot larger than we expected, it was still very historic and quaint. Using Lindsay’s guidebook as our map, we found a place to grab a bite to eat before heading off to the Torre dei Lamberti. The tower consists of 368 steps, and we climbed every single one to the top! From here, we had a great panoramic view of all of Verona. 

View from the top of Torre dei Lamberti

After climbing down the tower, we headed to “La Casa di Guilietta,” or Juliet’s house from Romeo and Juliet. Talk about a tourist trap. It looked so different from the movie "Letters to Juliet"- with hundreds of people and tour groups shuffling through the corridor to the courtyard to see Juliet’s balcony. We heard the other side of the river was nice, so we decided to catch a break from all of the big tourist groups and go across. We walked along the river, enjoying the scenery and saw some ruins of a Roman theater, before walking back across and having a Spritz (typical Italian aperitivo drink) at a restaurant overlooking the river. Our time went by so fast, and it was finally time for us to head back to the train station. We stopped at a bakery on our way out of the city and grabbed a tasting of goodies to go. We came to the conclusion that they speak a lot less English in Verona, as there was quite the language barrier when ordering at the bakery, resulting in getting different items than requested.

Juliet's Balcony

We took the direct train back to Florence and met up with some girls from Furman than Pam, Jenny, and Noelle know. The girls are doing a program elsewhere in Italy, but were in Florence for the night. We brought them to all of our favorite places and eventually ended up at a club called Space Electronica. Everyone who has been to Florence told us we had to go, so Pam and I successfully led 20 people or so to Space, acting as tour guides. As always, we found an elevated surface to stay away from the creepy Italian men. We met up with the girls again this morning for lunch and said goodbye, pointing them in the direction of the leather market. We are getting excited for our trip to Sicily next weekend with our program! More to come!

xx

Winning London

Its hard to believe that just one week ago, Pam and I were on our way home from (a freezing cold) London. Our first traveling weekend was definitely a success. We flew to London last Thursday night for an early birthday celebration with my parents, our two friends Carolyn and Lauren from home, and Carolyn’s mom, Mrs. Toll.

After jamming our carry ons with a weekend’s worth of clothes, Pam and I headed off to the airport. For future reference, don’t expect there to be an electronic self check-in station like there is at LaGuardia. Even though we weren’t checking bags, we had to wait in line with everyone else who was checking luggage for our flight on Meridiana Air. This was quite the procedure that made us appreciate our airports in New York (who would have thought that we’d ever say that?)  After getting our seat assignments (another thing we didn’t like about airport check in: getting assigned middle seats) we got a quick snack at the snack bar and a bag of M&Ms to share on the flight. Mom, they don’t have peanut butter M&Ms over here thank god! We followed everyone upstairs to the security check point, where Pam got full body searched and proceeded to get her beloved Chi hairspray and Aveeno facewash confiscated. We then went straight to the gate. We had only been sitting down for two minutes when another security guard asked Pam to do another security check. What a joke…she didn’t even ask her to bring her carry on to check, but just her purse (which included a stuffed animal…embarrassing)  Finally, we boarded the plane and were off to the UK!!

Upon our arrival in London, we quickly realized that we were not dressed for the weather. Both in shorts and flip flops, everyone around us was wearing pants, boots, and jackets! We can't help it we have sunny, 80 degree weather everyday in Florence ;) When we finally got to the hotel around 11 that night, all we wanted was some food and sleep. We ordered some room service and settled in with some London broadway preview TV (it was either that or Arabian television).

After an amazing night’s sleep, we met my mom and took the tube to reunite with Carolyn, Lauren, and Mrs. Toll! It was so good to finally see people we recognize over in Europe! After a round of hugs, we set off to see Carolyn and Lauren’s room and classrooms in South Kensington (or South Ken as the Brits call it). The girls’ room was adorable, looking like it was straight out of the pages of Pottery Barn Teen. With a polka dotted rug and beautiful view, it’s hard to call it a dorm. Pam and I envied the girls’ spacious (and clean) kitchen. After seeing where Carolyn and Lauren lived, we set off to the London Eye. It was the number one attraction on our London to-do list. While crossing the bridge to the London Eye, we even made a friend! We think she thought we were British and wanted a picture with some locals! 

New friends in London

Wilton on the London Eye!

We boarded the Eye in no time and spent the full 30 minutes taking pictures and taking in the view. We were so lucky to have such a sunny and clear day and Carolyn and Lauren pointed out all of the landmarks like pros. After deboarding the Eye, we decided to grab some lunch at Harrods! Of all the restaurants in the store, we chose a quaint café and had some sandwiches and salads before touring the store. My favorite section was definitely the ball gown room, complete with gorgeous floor length gowns. We also tried to sneak a peek at the wedding dress section, but it was roped off for appointments only. Maybe Harrod’s can be my first stop when looking for a gown? (kidding).

After a quick run through Top Shop, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for my birthday dinner! We made a quick pitstop at Boots pharmacy to get some blister band-aids because our feet hurt from walking around all day. There was no time to rest, as we quickly showered and threw on our dresses and heels and met my parents downstairs. We took a cab to Notting Hill and headed straight to Beach Blanket Babylon for our dinner. Upon our arrival, my mother insisted on pictures outside of the restaurant. Talk about personal paparazzi. We were taken to our table on the second floor, heading up a windy staircase and traversing a drawbridge, all in heels, to get to our crescent shaped table. As the Tolls arrived, we had a toast of champagne with strawberries and contemplated the choices on the menu. For those of you who know us well, we already knew what we wanted to order because we looked up the menu online prior to dinner. After some bread, risotto, and vino, our dinner concluded with a decadent chocolate cake and fresh fruit. We then parted ways with the parents, opting to go back with Carolyn and Lauren so they could do a quick shoe change and then go out in Picadilly Circus! We ended up at a bar I went to in July when I visited Melissa, which wasn’t very crowded, but allowed us to chat and dance. I requested my favorite song (Dynamite, obviously) before deciding to call it a night!

The next morning, we met my parents at breakfast downstairs before heading to Buckingham Palace. We took plenty of touristy pictures before deciding to head across the river to the Tate Modern. The Pope was in town, so we were redirected to another tube station to get there (bring on all of our blisters from walking). We finally got to the museum and Pam, our designated art history major, gave us her two-cents on the exhibits. To continue on with our day, we took another tube over to Notting Hill, as my mother insisted on going to the Portabello Market. We wandered the streets of Notting Hill (yes, it looked exactly like the movie) and browsed cute antique shops. Pam and I decided that in the future, we need to pack half as much in our carry on luggage so that we have room to shop! After the market our stomachs were growling, so what better way to satiate our hunger but with some tea and sandwiches? Our recommendation for tea was at the Orangery Restaurant, in Kensington Gardens. Little did our concierge know that the restaurant was closed that day for a private event, so we were panicked and asked a local where their favorite spot to get tea was! We ended up at Liberty, a department store with a tea room on the 2^nd floor. We had to wait a half hour, but boy was it worth the wait. We had tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts galore. Needless to say, we left very satisfied.

Buckingham Palace

We had to rush back to the hotel yet again to change for “We Will Rock You,” an award winning musical in London. As an avid “Bohemian Rhapsody” fan, I was very excited to hear this song performed on broadway. We took our seats just in time before the play began. Although the first act was very “out-there” and difficult to follow, the second act made up for it, including all of the well known hits from Queen. We felt as if we were in the front row at a rock concert, with people waving their hands in the air and clapping along. After the show, it was time to part ways, as Pam and I had an early flight out the next morning. We were sad to say goodbye to Carolyn, Lauren, Mrs. Toll, and my parents, but it was definitely a weekend filled with plenty of memories! We hope to see Carolyn and Lauren in Florence soon so we can continue our euro-adventure together!

Under the Tuscan Sun

CIAO FROM FIRENZE! (Pam and I finally learned how to say this correctly today- you pronounce the “z” as a “c.”)

We apologize for taking so long to update our blog with our travels! After a week of harassing the internet man, we finally received internet. Now, we’re all up and running!

Here’s a play by play of our adventures in Italy thus far!

Last Tuesday, we touched down in Zurich airport. During our grueling 8 hour flight to Switzerland, I slept half of the time, while Pam closed her eyes for 45 minutes and proceeded to watch “Thelma and Louise.” After touching down, we found a café in the Zurich airport to have “Welcome to Europe” mimosas and did a much needed wardrobe change. Upon boarding our connection flight to Florence, Pam looked out the window and noticed that our bags were not being put on the plane, but were just hanging out on the tarmac. As we pulled away from the gate, we said “Arrivederci” to our luggage and couldn’t stop thinking what we were going to do without our 200 pounds of luggage. The second we touched down in Florence, we went straight to the luggage counter (thanks dads for making us smart travelers) and put in a claim for our “lost” luggage. Boy were we lost in translation. Our bags were going to be put on separate flights that evening and the next morning. All we wanted to do was take a cold shower with our own towels and shampoo. Pam wouldn’t be doing that until 2 days later. Yet, I couldn't wait until then and used my T-shirt to dry off.

We boarded a bus that took us to check in and received our welcome packets and keys. A cab then dropped us off right in the middle of the street in front of our apartment. Thank god we didn’t have our 4 huge suitcases, because not only were we not on the 2nd floor, as we were told, but we were on the 4th floor, up 11 short flights of stairs. We met our 6 other roommates, 2 of which go to Furman with Pam, and decided to grab a quick bite across the street at “The Red Garter,” an American restaurant. How ironic. We got into bed at 9pm and were awoken by “Dynamite” blasting on the streets at midnight. Apparently, we live on the party street of Florence. For those of you who know how light of a sleeper I am, this is an issue. Where was this music coming from you ask? The “House of Sizzle,” partnered with “The Red Garter” of course! We climbed out of bed and opened our window to see a huge party flooded out on the street. Knowing we had orientation the next morning, we got back into bed and put pillows over our heads, eventually falling asleep when the party died down (3am) before waking up to the street cleaners (6am).

Wednesday was our first day of orientation. It basically lasted all day- everything they said; however, was online and in our packets, so Pam and I played brickbreaker on our phones for a while (I beat my high score!!) and tried to track down our luggage via bbming and emailing our moms and calling numbers that didn’t exist. That afternoon, we heard a rumor floating around that our luggage was downstairs in a room. Pam and I ran downstairs only to see our luggage awaiting our arrival! Instead of waiting in the line for a cab (we’re so impatient), we decided to drag our luggage down the street to our apartment and unpack! That evening, we had a welcome reception with our program at The Palazzo Borghese. There were lots of Italian foods to sample in this gorgeous building!

Jenny, Pam, Noelle, and I at the Palazzo Borghese!

On Thursday morning, Pam and I went to the market called “Meta.” This is no Village Market, but it will do for our months here. We walked around analyzing every item in the store, using our Google translator to help us decipher body wash from dish soap. That night we went to dinner at a local place down the road with our roommates. I got a great tomato and mozzerella salad and Pam got tuna (nom)! We told the waitress we were new on the street and she absolutely loved us (we think its also because she works with our program)!

Girls of Via dei Benci

Friday was another day of orientation, including sitting in a room filling out our “Permit of Stay” forms. Talk about another language barrier. What could have been a 5 minutes process was a 2 hour long ordeal. That long day called for a night of Sushi! Pam and I went to dinner on our street at a restaurant called Kome. Sushi is really big over here (thank god). The restaurant had a revolving conveyer belt that had all different kinds of sushi going around, usually 2-3 pieces per plate! They have the system down: every plate is a different color and has a different price. While Pam and I each had 5 or 6 plates, the couple next to us had a record 22 plates stacked up. Who knew these skinny Italians could eat THAT much!

On Saturday we crossed the Arno and went to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. After asking a local woman in a linen shop for a recommendation for lunch, we grabbed a bite to eat and wandered down the street to the Gardens.

Yesterday, Pam, Jenny, and I took a day trip to the beach, Viareggio. We woke up bright and early, put on our swimsuits, and headed over to the train station. After passing several McDonalds (supposedly they’re nicer over here because of the standards for meat, but no family, I still refuse to eat there), we got to the train station. Pam and I both agreed that buying tickets here was even easier than Metro North! There was a touch screen kiosk in English that was fool proof. After validating our tickets (shout out to Chandler- thanks for telling us!), we boarded the hour and 45 minute train to paradise. Upon exiting the train,  we decided just to follow a group of teenagers our age, assuming they were going to the beach. Sidenote: we were told that when Italians wear flip flops, its only when they go to the beach or shower, and therefore should not wear them to avoid looking “American.” We came across a beach club called “Balena 2000” aka an amazing beach club with 5 pools, a rooftop sunning deck, beachside service, and a restaurant (see our vacation pictures below). For 15 euros, this was quite the deal. We knew our parents would definitely approve of this place and went straight to the beach. We pulled up 3 chairs under an umbrella, put on our shades, and got our ipods out. All of the sudden, a shadow came over me and I heard someone saying “Excuse me!” Assuming it was a beach vendor trying to get me to buy a fake Gucci bag, I didn’t open my eyes until the a woman’s voice said “Where’s your ticket.” Supposedly, we were led in the wrong direction and our wristbands that we were given were only good for the pool area and didn’t include umbrellas on the beach. We didn’t want to make the Italian woman or the 2 Italian lifeguards she dragged over mad, so we got up and walked to the rooftop deck and got our tan on. Midmorning there was a water aerobics class in the pool (Mom- remember the one in the Dominican Republic? Well, this one was worse). We watched from above, deciding not to join in because of the Italian regulation that you must wear a swimcap in the water. We laid out, literally “under the Tuscan sun”, until late afternoon, before making back to our beloved Florence to get a goodnight’s sleep before the first day of class.

Study Abroad?

Today was our first day of classes! We were anxious to start classes, as we both knew zero Italian before coming over here. We only knew our favorite words (Pam’s: scusi and mine: arrivederci). These two words weren’t going to get us very far! Plus, when we would try to speak in Italian, people would immediately speak back to us in English. I guess I don’t look very Italian. Pam, on the other hand, has the Euro look down. On our first day, the Italian professor taught us 14 common questions and responses, rapidly firing them at every student. Our hearts couldn’t stop beating, not knowing if he would call on us next! Our professor has an odd method of teaching (including playing music in the background, such as “Build me up Buttercup” and other American oldies), but this class was just what we needed to gain more confidence in attempting to speak the language.

We’re off to dinner! More to come on our euro adventures! Ciao! 

xx Britt