Spring Break Part 1:Barcelona and Madrid

Spring break started off chaotic. We had to take a train from the station near our house to the bus station which is closer to the main station. That day winds in Florence were up to 40 km/hour. Which is strong, therefore the trains were delayed hours, even the ones to the main station which usually takes five minutes. Jul and I are money savvy so we wanted to take he cheapest way, of course it was about 15 minutes before our bus left for the Pisa Airport, where our flight was flying out of, and we had to take a last minute cab. It worked out because our bus was fifteen minutes late anyways. But it was a stressful way to start off the trip. 

The flight from Pisa to Barcelona was super easy. Once we arrived me made our way to our Air B and B apartment which was conveniently located near Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a bunch of street with great shopping. We quickly figured out the metro system which was really easy. On Friday, we walked around Las Ramblas, had a mediocre dinner and then met up with our friends at their hostel to go out. Another bump in the road: they were staying at a hostel called San Jordi, turns out there are five San jordis in Barcelona, so of course, we went to the wrong one, but eventually made it to the right one. From there we joined their hostel's bar crawl. It was fun, we got into the bar free and met new people from Australia and Maryland.  Apparently there was this guy there named Rory and he was a pro snowboarder on his way to Switzerland. He looked drugged out so I avoided talking to him. But the girls from Australia said he was nice. After the bar we went to this club that was two floors, an American floor and a Spanish floor. Different music, it was fun but I am not a club person. Being packed like sardines into a club with gross people sweating all over and drunk people dancing isn't my scene. But I still had a lot of fun! 

On Saturday we wandered to the beach and met our friends for lunch and enjoyed the beach for a little bit. 

We visited Sagrada Famiglia which means Sacred Family. This church was cool because it looked like a forest. It has been under construction for 175 years. 

Then we headed back and met our other friends for dinner. Gloria and I split this amazing Payaya and then we went to this bar called Chupitos where they offer over 200 shots for 2 Euro each. 

The shots were so different. We ordered a Harry Potter shot, a campfire shot and a Monika Lewinsky  shot. The Harry Potter and campfire shot included the bartender lighting the bar on fire which was awesome!! The Monika Lewinsky was a crazy shot, but I'll leave that to your imagination. 

After that bar we ventured to meet up with Gloria again at this bar where you can pour your own drinks! I poured this kiwi drink which was very strong and Yummy. 

Barcelona is a non stop party. Everyone goes to clubs and dances until 6 am. Crazy!! We had a lot of fun at night. On Sunday we went to Parc Güell in the morning. This was Gaudis backyard basically. It was beautiful and you can oversee the city of Barcelona. 

This whole morning I was thinking about my Pop-Pop. His funeral was this day and I had to opportunity to live stream it online. As I was gazing upon the city of Barcelona, I thought about everything he loved. He especially loved traveling, it was a passion of his.  I loved my pop pop more than words can describe, it was so hard not being there with my family at the funeral but I was grateful for where I was because that's where Pop-Pop would want me to be. 

After the funeral Jul and Alex returned to the apartment with ice cream for me :). They rock. That night we went to get tacos with a bunch of our other friends. The next morning we departed for Madrid. 

The flight to Madrid was interesting. We boarded a bus to transfer us to the plane from the airport, it circled a couple times and then dropped us off at the arrivals section. Turned out there was a technical problem with the airplane so we had to wait and check in again which was inconvinient but not terrible. We met this girl named Jordan while waiting which made me think of my sister Jordyn. I miss her. Once we boarded the plane, within an hour we were in Madrid. We took the train to Chueça which is the gay area. We had an amazing apartment located close to give different metro stations making it so easy to get around. We dropped our bags off and went to get lunch at this amazing market. We are fresh fruit and a chicken sandwich. 

After lunch we went to a park and rented a boat to row in this lake. It was so much fun! I had to reminisce back to my camp days where we would boat and row all the time. I forgot how much arm strength you need! We ran into a couple friends studying abroad in Madrid in the pond! What a coincidence. 

I could've stayed on that lake all day. We met these people from South America and England hat performed a magic show on their boat. So of course we stayed and watched while he did his corny magic tricks.

We stayed on this beautiful lake for a couple hours and then headed back to our apartment to get ready for dinner. We met A couple more friends for dinner at this awesome place, I ordered fajitas and they were so good!! I know, I should be eating more authentic Spanish food, but I missed Mexican, so I ordered fajitas!! 

The thing to do on Monday nights in Madrid is go to a bar to pregame called Boulevarts and then go to this club called Independence. Three tequila shots later (I know who am I?) we headed over to Independence. It was packed, and everyone from Syracuse was there which made it fun. Three mixed drinks later I was still standing and having a great time. Fortunately, I didn't throw up. Luckily for me Jaime got me home and bought me pizza! She's a good friend. When they told me they partied until 6 am I believe it. You can't tell what time it is when you're in the club. We were home by 3:30 but some of our friends were out til 6.  

Me and Jaime. 

The next day we visited the Royal Palace. We walked through rooms that reminded me of my Grandy and Grandfather's old house in Devon. There was beautiful wallpaper and ceilings where the Kings would live. 

After the palace we were starving so we met some friends at the local market called San Miguel. This was a place with all different kinds of food, from a Mozzarella bar to a burger bar. 

This place was amazing. I tasted a mozzarella contraption with jelly, mozzarella, rocket lettuce, and crunchy things. It was amazing!! 

 I also tasted a burger. It was a burger which you could pick it out raw and then they cook it right in front of you. It was such an interesting burger with Parm cheese. But very Yummy! 

That night we went to the Real Mardird VS Schalke. This is a German team. The stadium was huge and the energy was high. We got to see Cristiano Ronaldo play which was incredible. He is so good looking and a great soccer player! Unfortunately, they lost the game but still went on in the Champion League. 

All in all, the first half of my spring break was so amazing. I had the best time in Spain. It was such a different culture compared to Italy. I loved both cities but Madrid was more relaxing and fun. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I travel to Lisbon and Dublin!

London Calling

London is a great city. & it is impossible to see all of London in one weekend, I guess I'll have to go back. Sigh.

I met my friend Molly at the tube stop near her apartment in Marble Arch.  The tube is the subway system London has which is genius.  The way they constructed that system is amazing and it allows you to move throughout London very easily.

The first thing that caught me off guard was how they drove on the other side of the road.  It was weird crossing the street and having to look the opposite way I would usually look.  But after a day I got used to it. It is even weirder being in a car in the front seat of an Uber and feeling like you're the one that should be driving.

Once I met Molly we ventured to Borough Market where we walked around and shared a bunch of different food.  We shared an omelet slice pie thing, a vanilla doughnut (New York Times Rated #1), a milkshake and the best stir fry and dumplings I have ever had!  The markets are filled with people hustle and bustling.

After the market we went to see Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye, that is where we met Alexandra.  

We then went to SelfRidges which is a huge department store that has everything.  Alex got her eyebrows threaded while I bought a dress.  It is a very cute dress that I can wear to work this summer! After that we met Juliana and a bunch of our friends at a pub in Earls Court.  The pub was called Bolton and had a live band! I drank cider which is very good there. 

The next morning we had to wake up at 6:45 am because we were going to Harry Potter. 
The bus ride was about an hour from London to the Harry Potter studios.  When we walked in there we really didn't appreciate Harry Potter but afterwards it made me want to watch the whole series over again.  We explored the set and saw how they made the movies.  These actors and actresses grew up on the set and it was crazy we were able to be there and see that!! Below are just some pictures of the amazing experience.  We were lucky enough to be there during animal week so we met the owls and dogs that were in the movies. 

After HP we went to the Buckingham Palace, saw the Queen and had dinner with her. LOL I wish, although she would probably be cool, we went to Camden market after the Palace and ate fish and chips along with other fun things including choc. covered bananas, etc.  There was a Philly Cheesesteaks, but I didn't waste my time because they were obviously frauds. 
After the market we had tea at a hotel close by, this was great! We were so full from the market but we got to bring home the left over treats from tea.  Tea was yummy along with the treats we got with it! Alex found a groupon, so it wasn't terribly expensive. 

After tea we met Jul again in hopes to catch a comedy show in Piccadilly Circus, unfortunately it was sold out so we wandered around and found a cool pub which felt like someone's living room.  We actually encountered a Hare Sharma dance party in the middle of the street so we obviously joined in. It was a lot of fun. We hung there for most of the night and then went to this other pub then headed back to Molly's apartment.
The next morning I met Nicole, my old camp friend for brunch, she is studying in London this semester and she goes to Cornell.  She is doing great, nothing really has changed, she is still the funny Picket everyone knows and loves.

Then we went to the airport and had a bumpy ride home.  It was beautiful to look out on to the Italian Alps while flying.  All in all it was a spectacular trip to London!

Wine Vino

Every week is better than the last.  This week I went to a wine tasting with school at Pinot's Wine Cellar.  This cellar is 700 years old and had incredible variety of wine.  From red to white to dessert wines.  There were many types of wine at Pinot's but we only tried three types along with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  DISCLAIMER: Pinot is not his real name.. that would be ironic.  Pinot owns a wine shop in Italy? Too good to be true.  Pinot is just a nick name for Giuseppe, he was a cool guy.  He says he enjoys his job because there are many beautiful girls, typical Italian man.  

We arrived to Pinot's and ventured down to his wine cellar where we were surrounded by many bottles of wine.  It was cute and cozy.  We began trying the balsamic vinegar, it is very important to smell what you are trying first, for memory purposes, you will remember what it was by using all your senses.  The balsamic vinegar was thick and tasted sweet but very good.  I ate it with bread and some Parmesan cheese. I liked it with the cheese. Then we tried the olive oil, apparently olive oil is very good for your digestive system and how your body functions.  Pinot told us to have a spoonful the morning after the wine tasting so you feel better, haha. 
The first wine was a white fruity wine, the second was a red fruity wine, and the last was a dark red wine.  

Tasting wine is complicated, there are three steps: Look, Smell, Taste. 
Step One: Looking, Is it transparent? Does it have residue in it?
The white wine was transparent and had no residue.
The red wine was transparent as well with no residue.
Step Two: Smelling, Smell for the bouquet, a mix of flowers, fruits and spices(red).
The white wine smelled like pears and apples with daisys.
The red smelled like plums with cinnemon.
The other red had chocolate in it!! This was my favorite smell. 
Step Three: Taste, Make sure the wine hits your whole tongue to experience all the wine has to offer!
THEY ALL TASTED YUMMY!!!

Let's just say were were all very happy after the third glass.  We paired the reds with prosciutto and salami.    Bueno!

After the wine tasting we met Megan for dinner at this restaurant called ZaZa.  It is good there, everyone got this tomato soup and I got a meat sampler, it had a lamb chop, steak, chicken, and sausage.  It was a taste of everything and was very good!

After that we proceeded to go to the bar and meet our friends out.  We didn't last too late but it was a good night over all.

Roma

Time is flying by here in Italy.  Since my last post I have had two Italian quizzes and I got a 98% on both! Could've done better, but I'll live.  The weather has been particularly warm this week and we have been super busy. 
School update: Classes are easier than Syracuse! In my Econ class we are paired with a group and then paired with a company locally in Florence.  Our company is called EnjoyFirenze. This company performs archeological digs and finds hidden gems in Florence, which is awesome.  They dug up an old Roman bath house under Piazza Signoria, which is the political Piazza. We are working with them to broaden their reach and our group is excited to help them out. 
I got my first manicure in Florence...it took 1.5 hours...let's just say I was not happy. I am going to avoid going to Italians for manicures,  the Chinese know what they're doing!

This past weekend we took a trip to Rome with the school.  Since we are in the Antiquities to Michelangelo history of art class, we got to stay an extra night. Friday morning we embarked on a train to Rome.  It only took an hour and a half!  When we got there we took a bus to Vatican City and entered the Vatican Museum.  There we saw the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo.  This work of art is amazing, here are some fun facts about. the Sistine Chapel:
 http://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-sistine-chapel
We could not take any pictures of it, but it was exquisite.  We walked through St. Peter's Cathedral and then went to have lunch in the touristy area which was a bad idea. We sat outside, which was another bad idea.

WARNING: If someone is begging you to come eat at their restaurant, odds are it is average.  They tried to rip us off pretty bad. For example, bringing out bread (we can't resist bread), thinking it was free but when we received the check it was not.  We fought them to get it off the bill, it worked :)! Also, every other minute there was someone coming up to your table trying to sell you something.  If one more person asks me if I want to buy a selfie stick I may or may not freak out!!

After lunch, we got bussed back to the hotel and then our class went to the museum across the street from the hotel. We were a decent group, about 20 people, walking literally 50 feet.  While crossing the street a group of three children (ages ranged from 8-13) joined our group.  One of them opened a Red Bull can and I looked over suspiciously thinking "What is this girl doing with us?" then I felt a tug on my purse and it was the smaller boy trying to reach into my purse.  Thank god I caught him because my phone was in my bag.  He had balls trying to pick pocket me because my bag was right in front of me.  I didn't really think much of it though so I continued to walk to the museum.  Next thing we know the kids are running away.  They opened this girl's backpack in our group while entering the museum.  They took her wallet.  Fortunately the wallet only had cash and her cards inside.  But, it opened all of our eyes to how pickpocketing is so evident in Rome and all over in fact.  These were gypsy children.  It is sad to think these kids do this to many people daily and they think it is ok.  From that point on we were very aware of our surroundings. 

The museum we went to was very nice. It had frescos from Emperor Augustus's wife Livia.  They would paint on their walls for decoration, usually scenes they would enjoy looking at. 

After the museum we went back to the hotel and rested.  Alexandra, Jul, Jaime and I went to dinner at this restaurant we heard had amazing chicken parm....I would be the judge of that.  We hopped in an Uber and headed toward Trastevere where Hosteria del Moro da Tony was located.  This was a crowded fun area of Rome, but dirty, there was trash everywhere.  Once we got to Tony's we discovered there was a 15 euro menu.  You just order the 15 euro menu and they bring you all different kinds of food.  This menu is paired with unlimited wine...between the four of us we drank four bottles.  The food included calamari(best ever, shoutout to Jake), bruschetta, fried zucchini, and caprese salad for appitizer along with penne a la vodka and chicken parm with tiramasu for dessert.
Needless to say we were drunk and full.  I ran into my old camp friends Hannah and Britney Finger at Tony's, Hannah is studying abroad in Rome and Brit is in Florence.  Such a small world, it was very good to see them. 
After dinner we came back to the hotel and met new friends on our program! They were all hanging out in a room and invited us in.  We hung out there and then went to bed.

The next morning we woke up SO early (7:30am) and walked through Rome to the Colosseum.  It was so cool! The history behind it was really fascinating.  Rocky was our tour guide and he is my favorite.  The Romans would have Gladiator fights and they would also have animal vs. man fights as well for entertainment! Crazy stuff. After that we went to the Roman Forum.  This was like ancient Rome frozen in time, unreal to comprehend.  Such a beautiful sight. The Pantheon was very cool as well.  It is almost a spherical building.  When it rains, no matter how hard, it raining softly in the Pantheon.  After that we went to lunch at a near by restaurant.  I had a salad, I needed it! After that we went to the Villa of Broghese.  Borghese was a Cardinal and he collected magnificent works of art.  This was a separate option for our school trip, it was worth the time.  The sculptures by Bernini were amazing.  Here are some of my favorites:

After the villa we went back to the hotel, rested and met Alex's friends Eli and Jacob.  We had dinner with them and then went to a bar called Scholar's to watch the SU Duke game.  The game began at midnight Rome time so we were excited! We grabbed a table at the bar and it just so happened that the people sitting next to us were from Syracuse! It was such a small world. They were visiting Rome too but they had no idea Cuse was playing.  Once Syracuse lost we decided to go to the Colosseum, because how cool would that be to drink a bottle of wine in front of the Colosseum at 2:30 am?! 
It was sooo much fun, but we did not get home til late. AKA we were dead for the next day of museums!

We woke up from our 'nap', about 3.5 hours of sleep to go to breakfast and to museums.  I do not remember most of the musuems but we saw some pretty cool stuff.
The San Clemente Church was our last stop.  This Church is located near the Colosseum.  You enter the church and you think it is just a regular old beautiful Church.  BUT, it is not just a 11th century church, underneath you walk down the stairs and you see a 4th century Church from Roman times.  It GETS BETTER!!! You walk down another flight of stairs and you are walking on 1st CENTURY roads, in a 50 AD Town!!!! That was soooooo cooool.  I was very taken aback and amazed by this architecture and history.  It was truly amazing.

All in all the trip to Rome was a success and very fun! It was awesome being able to make new friends and experience the city's ancient history. 

Ciao Ciao for now! <3 Emily

AmsterDamned

Amsterdam, Netherlands: What a cool city.  The night before our flight I couldn't sleep.  I could not believe I was going to Amsterdam.  The place that I have heard so much about from my Pop-Pop and Dad.  I was so excited!
We had a mid-day flight which was nice because we were able to sleep in on Friday.  We arrived to Amsterdam around 2:00 pm. The airport was very clean and big, it reminded me of IKEA.  We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed straight into the city to explore. The canals running through the city were really nice.  While walking near the Centraal Station, which happened to be our point of reference all weekend, we ran into a Tour company which offered a bunch of activities for us to do.  The lady also told us of a great Thai food place near by.  We bought tickets to the Ice Bar and then headed to 'Bird', the Thai restaurant.  I was a little hesitant because of the name..but I got over that once I tasted the amazing Pad Thai.  I know, Pad Thai in the Netherlands...weird right? Just take my word for it, it was good!

Off to the Red Light District we go! We stopped by a coffeeshop on the way.  It was so interesting, you literally walk into a shop and look over a menu of different kinds of uhh...'indulgences'.  I did not indulge, but it was really different to see! The Red Light District was something out of a movie.  Walking from street to street you can look into these windows and there are half naked women.  I really was surprised because I have never seen this before.  These women do not have self esteem so they choose to display themselves in these windows for men to look at them and then they bargain for sexual favors.  It blows my mind! It is weird to think that this is normal in Amsterdam, such an experience! 

After being surprised by the District, we went to the Ice bar.  For 17 Euro we got a cocktail and two drinks in cups made of ice.  It was more of a tourist experience then anything.  It was cool, we met other people abroad while in the ice bar.  Everything was made of ice and it was -9.6 degrees Celsius.  They gave us Heineken jackets to keep warm, but it was freezing! 

On Saturday we woke up early and headed to the Anne Frank House.  Waiting 45 minutes was considered short because people usually wait four hours to enter.  This experience was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.  Walking through the building and up to the Secret Annex was life-changing.  In middle school I remember we had to choose someone to researched and dress up as for a project. I picked Anne Frank.  Anne Frank represented bravery and innocence. What she went through, no one should ever have to go through.  It is impossible to imagine what her life was like, but her diary allows you to feel with her.  The empty rooms in the Secret Annex where Anne and her family hid during the Holocaust were filled with emotion.  As I stood there in what was Anne's parent's bedroom, I broke down and teared up.  To think these people had to hid for being Jewish is unimaginable.  Then to think that they hid there for so long just to be caught a year before the war ended.  It all hit me at once, even though we studied Anne's story many times before, the experience of actually being there had a very strong effect on me.  It is hard to put into words how I felt while I was there. 

Afterwards, we went to a Pancake Bakery down the street.  Jaime and I split a pancake and an omelet.  BEST OMELET I HAVE EVER HAD! I wasn't that impressed with the pancake.  But the omelet was BUENO! 

We had to walk off the breakfast so we ventured to find the Fault in Our Stars bench where Hazel and Augustus kissed.  We found it! That was the highlight of Jul's trip to Amsterdam.  Then we made our way to the Heineken Factory.  Here we learned how they brewed their beer.  We got to sample all of the ingredients that go in to making a beer.  I tried Barley (Crunchy), Hops(Bitter), and Wort (Tasted like beer without the Alc. Sugar Water).  They had us go into a simulator where they brewed and bottled us on a platform. We then learned how to taste a beer the right way.  You must take a big sip to get through the foam. I am acquiring a taste for beer now! It was really fun!! Then we were released into a bar where you can send videos to people, play video games, drought your own beer, and drink more.  We stayed there for a bit, it was such a fun atmosphere!!

On Sunday we went rented bikes and rode to the Van Gogh Museum. They had headsets that explained the paintings, which made the museum more interesting.  Van Gogh was a crazy guy to say the least! He cut off his own ear because he got enraged because he had a disagreement with his friend Paul Gauguin, another painter.  He cut off his ear and brought it to a brothel.  He then spent most of his years in an asylum. After that he went to Paris where he ended up killing himself.  My friends and I think that he might have fallen in love with Gauguin and Gauguin did not feel the same so Van Gogh went crazy?? Thoughts??  Anyway, this museum was very well done. 

After the museum we visited the I AMSTERDAM sign, typical tourist spot.  I do not know how people take awesome pictures in front of that sign because there are so many people!

We tried to teach Alex how to ride a bike...that was fun HAHA! 

All in all I had the best time in Amsterdam.  It was such a cool city with really cool people.  Everyone was so nice and willing to help us. Now that I have officially experienced Amsterdam, I hope to return with my Pop-Pop, Dad and cousins, the thought of that is awesome!