Nice, Monaco, Cannes, Eze

So France was amaaaaazzzzzing. I had the best time!

We boarded the train on Thursday to go to Florence, and from there we took a bus seven hours to Nice. The bus ride wasn't bad and we stopped for food (i finally found pringles!) and we arrived at around 2 am. I went with 3 of my sorority sisters and with a bunch of people we knew from John Cabot, the other university in Rome, so it was a blast! Our hostel wasn't too grimy, but the window was broken and the room was full of trash. We told the management and they cleaned it up, but couldn't fix the window so all of my roommates were pretty nervous about someone stealing our things (it never happened, though).

The next day, we woke up at 11 am to go to Monte Carlo, Monaco!!!!! This was by far my favorite spot because it was clean and just breathtaking-- it is the richest country per capita in the world I believe, so the cars were amazing and the casino was so cool! We actually walked the entire country in about 2 hours and started out walking up a steep hill to the Prince and Princess' palace. We then went shopping and continued down the hill to enter the church where Princess Grace Kelly was buried. After that, we got lunch (just pizza, though, because the food prices there were outrageous) and then went to the casino! The cars rolling in to gamble were so expensive, and I must have taken at least thirty pictures of them. Bentleys, Ferraris, Range Rovers, Mercedes, you name it and one was there. You had to pay ten euro to go in, so my friends opted not to gamble and to save our money for dinner. That night, we went out and got Japanese food and then went to a few bars in Nice center which were really fun, but expensive! 9.50 euro for a drink--close to 13 american dollars! Such a ripoff. The French that night seemed to be so rude to our group of friends...I found that many french don't tolerate Americans who butcher their language. French men are also really smelly!

Cannes was our next destination because it is one of the only cities along the riviera with sand, not pebble, beaches! We took a 40 minute train ride and laid out on the beach all day. The sea was super warm, but wasn't as clear blue as I thought it would be and resembled the color of a Cape Cod beach. The beach was also topless-- it was so strange!!!! Many girls had their tops off and the men wore skinny Speedo suits. For lunch, we ventured to a small cafe in Cannes center and I got a ham sandwich on a baguette with a peach smoothie. I actually only wanted a peach, but with the language barrier, our waitress thought I wanted a smoothie. It was delicious anyways! The baguettes are so fluffy and crisp at the same time and were soooo much better than the ones in the U.S. I don't know how they do it! After, we walked along the shopping strip and I was really tempted to buy a Longchamp bag because it was only 75 euro! Hopefully I will pick one up if I go to Paris! That night when we got back to Nice, I had the most amazing meal of my life. We went to a fancy seafood place downtown that was actually reasonably priced, and we all got escargo, which was SO good! It had a buttery garlic sauce and was kind of chewy, but I ate it with bread and it tasted great. Then, I ordered scallops with linguine in a cream sauce and that was so delicious, too!  For desert, we went to a small pastry shop and got eclairs and almond donut/bread treats! We went out for a drink later to the bars again, but then headed in early because we were so tired.

On Sunday, we went to the medieval town of Eze before we left for Rome. It is in the Provence region of France, so of course I bought a bar of lavender soap! Going to a town like Eze has always been one of my dreams and I am so happy I got to go! It sat atop a hill overlooking the water, and the buildings were all made of stone and there were countless boutiques hidden in every corner. It was nice and breezy and was the perfect place to see before we left for another 7 hour bus ride to Rome. That night, I got back into Rome at 5 am!!!! The trip coordinators said we would be back at 2, so we were all mad because we had early classes the next day. I couldn't even go to my classes because I was so unbelievably tired and at that point I was running on two hours of sleep.

This week, I am just doing a lot of reading for classes and trying to get ahead in my lessons. On Friday, I have to be at the school at 6:30 a.m. for a trip to Campania (the Naples area) for my marketing class. I am actually really excited to see Naples and eat pizza from the place it was first invented! I am also excited for my parents to visit next Thursday before they go to Ireland! I can't wait to show them the best places in Rome to eat and see! I am also busy planning trips for the rest of the semester, as I really want to go to Ireland and Spain. Hopefully that happens!!

xoxo

 Train to Florence

 Royal Palace!

 Amazing views

 Overlooking one of the many harbors

 Casino Monte Carlo!

 A shop in Nice center

 Cannes!

 Mountains in the background--the beach was gorgeous

Me and Julia in Nice about to go out for seafood!

 Escargo

 Scallops!

 Eze

 Overlooking Provence

Me and my friends Jessica, Erin, and Julia!

France Bound!

I am so excited for my trip to Nice, St. Tropez, and Monaco this weekend!! I leave tomorrow at 5:00 and I am taking a high speed train to Florence and am then leaving from there. I hope the weather is hot and sunny!

This week has been really hectic with classes and homework...and I already have a five page paper due next Wednesday! But this week has also been fun- I have been running to the Tiber River and back everyday which is 3 miles and it is absolutely gorgeous with a view of the Vatican and all of the little shops in Trastevere, and all of my friends went to the Hard Rock Restaurant Rome last night for some american food! Since we have been a little bit homesick and craved burgers and fries, we ventured out to a part of the city near the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain that was very touristy. I got nachos and buffalo chicken!! It was sooo good and was a break from the heavy carbs of bread and pasta. After, we went to Giolitti's gelato, which is the most famous gelato place in Rome! It was SO amazing. I got peach and strawberry and it was the best thing I have ever eaten. After that, we walked off everything we ate and then caught a bus near the Victor Manuel monument, which was beautiful at nighttime. However, on the bus we had a few problems. When we reached our stop, the doors didn't open and we couldn't get out and none of us knew how to say "wait" or "stop" in italian, so we had to scream at the bus driver in english and it was so embarrassing and so american of us. My friends and I are really trying hard to fit in but it is just so hard when we can only understand broken italian! I am getting better at it though and I can count to ten and say my name/address/where I am from/where I am going! A lot of people speak english, so it is actually easier to understand people than one would think.

Today I have just been concentrated on finishing all of my homework for the weekend. I also watched the Hurt Locker for class and it is so amazing!! Well, that is all for now...I will write when I get back from France on Monday!!


More things I have learned to love about the Italian culture:
-the cups and plates are MUCH smaller than in the U.S., so our portions are always small, which is great.
-they don't have bagels here--they only have bruschetta bread (hard bread) used to put jam on for breakfast in the morning
-the white bread is actually good for you here because there are no preservatives and it is made from only natural products...we can't even find whole wheat bread in the grocery store!
-instead of hotdog or fried food stands on the streets, they have fruit stands where you can buy slices of watermelon or fruit cups of peaches, pineapples, apples, oranges, etc.! These are everywhere!
-everyone here wears birkenstocks which i find to be a really strange footwear of choice...literally everyone wears them

Trips I am hoping to plan soon: Vienna and Salzburg!!!! I really want to go on a Sound of Music tour.


xoxo

Pantheon and Discotecas

So it is three in the afternoon and I just got back from the flea market in front of my apartment (called the Portuense market) and I bought two cute rings for 15 euros! Now I am about to eat lunch and finish up my homework for the day/night.

Yesterday, a group of my friends and I found the Pantheon! It is so easy to get to and is about 15 minutes away from me. It was gorgeous and I never even realized it was a church or is home to two tombs- that of the first Roman king and the artist/sculptor Raphael. I also didn't know that when it rains, the maintenance people actually have to mop up all of the water on the floor of the building because they do not cover the opening on the top! It was super touristy and there were definitely some thieves there, but it was a great experience and absolutely beautiful! I actually live close to all of the famous sights in Rome- the Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon and now I know how to get to all of them! I also have to be careful next time to wear sleeves because yesterday I was wearing a tank top and I wasn't allowed to go into any of the churches I wanted to go to because it is rude not to dress conservatively. For example, men are not allowed into the Vatican unless they are wearing long pants and a nice shirt.

After my long afternoon walking around the Pantheon area, I went home and made some pasta for dinner until around 10:30 when I got ready to go out. We went to an area call Testaccio, which is famous for discotecas (if you watch Jersey Shore), or clubs. It took forever to get into one of them, called Coyote, but it was really fun and my friends and I danced all night until around 3 when we left! (it is very normal to go out until 3 or 4 in the morning here) However, there were some really creepy Italian guys there so we had to avoid them. But it was nice to go out and have a fun time with a bunch of my friends.

Next weekend I am going to the SOUTH OF FRANCE! I leave thursday and come back late sunday night which will be really hard because I have a 9am class on monday. But I am going to Nice, Cannes, and St. Tropez! I am soooo excited because I have always wanted to go! That's all for now because I have to do homework...here are some pictures from yesterday!

 I went on a run yesterday to Campo de Fiore and came across a giant fruit market! I got a watermelon for only 1 euro! And I got pears, which taste like olive oil. The peaches are amazing!!

 The Pantheon

 Me in the Pantheon

 Raphael's tomb

The discotecas--what you see here are the creepy Italian men. I was with a huge group of friends so we had fun!!!

Peroni & Pasta

Today is Friday and because I don't have classes on fridays, I got to sleep in and sightsee all day! But before I tell you about today, I will fill you in on my week.

This week was really stressful because I had to find all my classes and buy my books. It is going to be really hard to travel all the time and study, but I cut down to four classes so hopefully that takes a load off of my back. We all went out on tuesday to Scholars, an irish-american bar, for karaoke night and it was so fun! It was also really strange ordering at the bar and I didn't even know what to get so I just asked for a Rum&Coke which was good. The drinks here are expensive- like 5 euros (7 US dollars), but the Italian beer Peroni is cheap. I haven't tried that yet and I don't really want to because I would rather have a mojito or my new favorite- sex on the beach (a peach vodka/juice cocktail). We went out around 11 because the culture is to go out between 11 and 12 and stay out until 3 or 4! I still have to get used to that. Because I had school in the morning, I only went out until 2.

On Thursday, all of my friends went into the heart of Trastevere where all of the shops and bars and restaurants are. It is so beautiful I can't even describe it. Winding cobblestone streets with tuscan orange and tan buildings-- it is breathtaking. My favorite part of Rome so far. We went to a little restaurant where they give you bread (although you have to pay for it), water (which is 2 euro-annoying), and the house wine. I liked the red wine more than the white wine, and I really loved the bread. I got lasagna and it was SO good!! It doesn't come in squares here, it takes up the entire plate and is a mush of cheese, sauce, and meat. For dessert they give you watermelon and it is the perfect ending to dinner. They charge you a service fee (5 euros) which includes tip and watermelon. You don't tip here because waitors and cab drivers get paid much more by the hour than in the US and in some instances waitors will be offended if you leave them a tip because you are insulting them. After that, we went to a small italian bar and got a drink (rum&coke) and sat and talked for a while. Then we made our way to Campo de Fiori which is a huge Piazza (square) with bars and restaurants and it is also where all the Americans hang out. We went to the Drunken Ship- an american bar- where we got $20 pitchers of sex on the beach and they were delicious!! Then, we went to Sloppy's and had a great time dancing to American music while sipping on our drinks. After that, I took a cab home for 10 euros because I live far from the friends who I was with and got in around 2:30-3. It was such a fun night and I saw so many people from my classes there!

Today, me and my three other friends went to sightsee and started at Campo de Fiore but walked to the Trevi fountain, the Colusseum, and another really cool monument. We also decided to get lost and wandered the windy streets and got gelato and ended up right back where we started- at the location where Julius Caesar was stabbed! It was absolutely gorgeous just walking around and window shopping at all of the boutiques-- it is the most beautiful place I have ever been!!!!

Tomorrow, I want to go to St. Peter's square and the Spanish Steps, which are supposed to be beautiful. On Sunday, I might go to the beach with my school and friends!

 Where Caesar was killed!

 Campo de Fiore

 Restaurants in Campo

 Chocolate chip&oreo gelato

 Trevi Fountain

 Colosseum!

 Roman Forum

 Most beautiful church I have ever been to

 Prosciutto, olive oil, bread

Pasta!



Ciao!

Roma

Greetings from Rome! I have been here for three days now and i feel like I have been here forever because I've been so busy with finding my way around, learning italian, and starting classes. I am finally sitting down to write this before we all go out to Campo de Fiore which is an area with food markets and American bars! We are going to Scholars which is the bar that all the American students in Rome go to.

I live in an apartment in Trastevere, which is a very authentic part of Rome because I live among other Romans in old school apartments...with out a clothes dryer (we have to hang dry ALL of our laundry outside), without AC (and its like 80 degrees here everyday/night so we all sweat to death and are perpetually sweaty), and we have to light a match to light the stove which is terrifying. My room is sooo small I have a single and it is barely big enough for me to move around. The outlets are really weird here too and you have to do all these fancy techniques to get any plug working. And the windows don't have screens which is really strange but the fresh air is really nice when there is a breeze. I really like it here and the culture is so amazing. The language is beautiful (bella!) and all the shops close at random times during the day for siesta and everyone takes long lunch breaks. Yesterday I tried my first cappucino and it was sooo good, but i still have to taste the wine! I went grocery shopping and got so confused with buying milk because they don't do percentages so I just picked a random bottle that ended up being really good. The fruit is all native of Italy and the bread is freshly made so everything goes bad so quickly but it is all so delicious and good for you! Tomorrow I might attempt chicken parm but our stove gets so hott very quickly so I have to be careful. I have eaten two pieces of pizza (I wasn't that hungry this week because of jet lag/I was still getting used to the food) and they were soooo goooood. And cheap. Like 2.50 in american dollars. You can get any kind- margherita, potato, panchetta, cheese, spicy sauce, etc. I have only tried the cheese and margherita but they were delish! 

To get to school, I have to take a tram and then a bus because I live a 30 minute walking distance from the school. The public transportation is basically free unless one of the officers is standing in the tram in which case you have to swipe your card and if you don't have one it's a $50 fine! I haven't seen any officers at all, though. After my 10 minute commute I walk to the top of Monteverde and my school sits on the huge hill. It is gorgeous and is really small--only 500 students and 4 buildings. But there is a beautiful garden where people hang out after classes and there is a coffee shop and pizza shop around the corner. My classes are harder than I thought they would be which is annoying but hopefully I will do well because they count towards my GPA :(. 

I already planned trips to Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii (and Sorrento where I hear they have CHICKEN PARM), and to Assissi and I am thinking about going to Croatia, Ireland, Spain, the South of France, and London. I am not sure what I am doing for fall break but I could visit Berlin, Prague, and Amsterdam or go to Egypt! No idea yet, though.

Well, that's all for now because I have to do some reading and then go grocery shopping. Hopefully I will update again soon! Also, this blog website is all in italian and its really hard to know what I'm doing haha.