Rome: Day 3!

The next morning I was set on seeing the Coliseum in the daytime, the Pantheon, and Roman Forum. However, there was an over achieving group of people that wanted to take an hour bus to Pompei and see the ruins. With my budget and our time constrictions I passed... and I wanted to relax and enjoy myself instead of rush around town. Also, if I am not going to pay for someone to tell me about volcanic, ashy ruins and mummies, then I am going to be bored and very confused. Not to say I was right... but we had the best day ever on Saturday (and sadly the site closed ten minutes after they finally arrived there.) Sorry not sorry Pompei, we will meet one day I promise!

A group of us set out to see the Coliseum again in the daylight, but along the walk I saw a bakery with a line out the door of real Italians. Granted I had not seen many since my main local interactions were with Malaysian street vendors and Asian kabob shop owners, but I knew this bakery was calling my name. After five minutes of awkwardly standing and disturbing the flow of customers someone came over to help me. I honestly could careless how much anything cost. I just pointed to the best looking pastries and the lady rang me up and sent me on my way. I now refer to that lady as the pastry angel and if I ever see her again I will kiss her feet. Moving on. By the time we got to the Coliseum there was a thirty-minute line, but I was too happy to care. Apparently the best strategy is to buy your ticket at the Pantheon or another tourist site with less of a line so you can hop it by the time you get to the Coliseum.

Breakfast of champions. These were my fresh out of the oven pastries. They had dates and apricots in big one and the little ones were creme puffs. HEAVEN!

Coliseum. I made it!

I kept thinking about my mom every time I saw I column... so this one goes out to you big lady!

My roommate Kara and I.

 I loved the Coliseum, but in my mind I thought you could run up the stadium steps, so for anyone wanting to relive a Rocky moment- save it for the Spanish steps. All of the steps/seating has been eroded. Also, the stairs from the first to the second level of the Coliseum are super steep and dangerous for an able bodied twenty-one year old so beware if you have weak knees.

After that we moved onto these ruins that I could honestly say I have never heard of, the Roman Forum, nor did the signs they had there enlighten me on their historical significance. Kara and I were trying very hard to appreciate the ruins, but honestly if the trees and views were not so beautiful I would have rather been eating gelato. The signs literally said this a garden/playing field/path/meeting place - which is lovely, but they lost me because it was just a field with some bricks in a line. Maybe I should have sprung for the guided tour, but I did get some great shots at one of the higher points looking over the city.

Overlooking ROMA solo shot.

Very lovely ruins? African trees? Where was I?

Kara and I being confused at the ruins

This sequence of pictures makes me happy because...

...I look like I am in a girl pop group!

More Trevi fountain love

After sight seeing we passed by the capitol building and Trevi fountain yet again while constantly searching for cheap fake pashmina scarves. For our lunch break we were looking at the menus at two different restaurants that were next to each other, when the best thing to ever happen to student tourist occurred...they started haggling for our business. It was like they budget Gods were watching over me. One man threw in no service fee, then free wine, then free bread, then some more free wine... the next thing I knew there were Italian curse words flying; someone said someone else was in the mafia, and an accusation of frozen pizza to make matters worse (or better!) We settle on the restaurant that was accused of being in the mafia... who just so happened to have a very large man stand outside with us while we ate. I am not complaining I got free bread, no service fee, two free pitchers of red and white wine, free prosciutto on my caprese salad, and apparently a free security guard! Who says study abroad isn't teaching me about international business? When in doubt, work the mafia.

Pantheon nerdy solo shot!

Artsy Pantheon

Pagan symbol out of a fountain with an added cross from the church.

Creepy dolphin creatures

My mafia lunch

The capitol building in Rome

Roma day 2: Part 2

After the Vatican Museum we needed a little boost, so naturally we stumbled upon the best gelato place in Vatican City (shout out to my roommate Kara for being on top of things.) Maybe it was the second gelato of the day... and maybe I got two scoops...  but WHEN IN ROMA?! right? The pistachio flavor was divine and if my diet consists of only wine and gelato for the next 3 months I suppose I could manage. After our gelato break we went in search of the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, and of course souvenirs and scarves. We wandered by the Jewish ghetto and where the Popes used to flee the Vatican, which is by a beautiful canal.  Then we strolled by vendors and wound up at the Spanish steps! This was such an exhilarating moment that our group deemed it necessary to run as fast as possible up all of the steps (which are longer than they look) while humming the Rocky theme song. Val was the most set on this concept, but who doesn't like Rocky?! By the time we reached the top the sun was starting to set, and there was a mass going on in the Church a top the steps. Looking out over Rome, I was so grateful to be traveling and among such an amazing group of people. A couple of us went into the church and lit candles for our families and got the rosaries that we purchased earlier in the day blessed by a priest. It was the perfect way to end our "holy tourist day." 

Me, Val, and Amanda on the Spanish Steps.

Solo shot at sunset on top of the Spanish Steps after my divine moment.

Running up the Spanish steps... please look at my roommate Kara in her yellow Kate Middleton inspired skirt... so pumped all the time.

Bellisimo

After the Spanish Steps, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain, which was packed! I cannot imagine what it must be like during the summer and height of the tourist season. By the time we got there the sun had gone down. The fountain was gorgeous all lit up at night and of course I threw some money in and made a wish.

Val and I forcing smiles after a long touristy day at the Trevi fountain

Throwing them coins!

After walking around all day and my Roman diet of gelato I was hungry. We went on a mission to find a cheap delicious meal. This meant we had to get far away from the Trevi fountain and the tourist attractions. Luckily, we stumbled on this amazing restaurant called La Carbonara. Of course, I ordered the carbonara which was awesome. They also had this amazing pistachio pasta and an excellent house wine that Kara and I shared. It had been the longest day and Pippa and Kate needed a glass of vino. After dinner we strolled home to good old Chinatown, Rome and passed out.

Vino at La Carbonara with Jackie

The castle we passed where Popes used to escape from the Vatican

Pretty bridge across from the castle.

Roma

I leave you my beloved blog readers with a shot of me breaking it down with my best dance moves on the Spanish steps... you can take the girl out of Richmond, but you can't take the Richmond out of the girl :)

Roma: Day 2, part 1

My group woke up bright and early to get ready and look our best for Vatican City. There is a minor dress code at the Vatican where you cannot have your shoulders exposed and short skirts and shorts are not recommended.  BY no means was I going to be breaking this dress code in the middle of winter, but if you are not motivated to dress up when you visit a place of holy worship then I can't help you there. We took the metro to the Vatican City, because the Italians were smart enough to put a metro stop at every main tourist attraction in Rome. I took over 300 pictures in Rome because everything I saw was worth a thousand words. I could listen to a tour guide talk about the history of Rome forever. The outsides of the buildings alone were breathtaking and walking into St. Peter's Basilica was by far my favorite part of weekend. We paid for a tour guide inside the church and it was worth every penny. The history behind the doors (one is broken down and rebuilt every time a new Pope is appointed) is fascinating not to mention I saw the Pieta and the countless Bernini sculptures. PAUSE. I saw freaking Bernini sculptures & THE PIETA ... I am dying they were incredible- so shiny so delicate, so much movement, it was insane. Lets move on. The most surprising thing I was not expecting to see were the embalmed bodies of past Popes (cool?) and the altar with Bernini's baldacchino. The twisted columns of the alter were so unexpected from the traditional ones you see in Rome. I fell in love.

PIETA... WHAAAAT

Embalmed Pope... looking good.

So beautiful inside of St. Peter's Basillica

After St. Peter's Basillica we took a short panini and gelato break, said the phrase,” when in Rome" about a hundred times, and made our way over to the Vatican Museums. There are so many sections to see it was not possible to do the entire museum in one day... but I think seeing the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's rooms, the Pinacoteca (picture gallery), and the maps room was not too shabby for one day. First we went to the Pinacoteca which was absolutely stunning and filled with massive room sized paintings. The gallery started out with pre-renaissance art and progressed into tapestries and renaissance portraits. Insert nerdy art obsessed comment here. Then we moved on to the maps room, which is a huge hall, covered in ancient maps of Europe. Not only could I not stop staring at the walls in the Vatican Museum, but also by the end my neck hurt from staring at the ceilings so long. Every room was decked out in art and detailing from floor to ceiling. If my Great Aunt Linda deserves to live anywhere... it is where the gold trim and chubby marble cherubs flow (we just need to clean up her mouth before we take her to the Vatican.)

Lunch

Gelatoo

Outside of the Vatican Museum.

The beginning of my obsession with ceilings

Embalmed Pope #2

If you cannot tell by now Val and I are dating... Standing in front of a map of Italy

This is for you mom & motivation for any bathroom renovations.

Hands down, the best part of the Vatican Museum was the Sistine Chapel. I had heard horror stories about how packed it gets and how you can hardly move through it, so I was a little worried. However, I am traveling during the tourism off-season and I apparently attract creepy Italian security guards like it is my job so naturally I had the best time. When we walked into the Sistine chapel (of course) it was beautiful and overwhelming, which is how I describe everything, but I swear it's true. We sat down and stared at half of the ceiling for thirty minutes. Then we stretched our necks and moved to the next section because it is so massive you cannot see it all from one point. This is when I sat next to a group of security guards who were apparently tired and slacking off in the corner. We asked them what happened to a small section of the ceiling that was broken off and they explained in some rough broken English that shrapnel from a war had shaken the entire building and destroyed a small section of the ceiling. While we were sitting there chatting about America and where we were from I noticed that people were taking pictures in the room. This is strictly forbidden by about 700 signs as you walk into the chapel, and I asked the security guards why they were not protecting the art?! They apparently were not worried about their jobs and said they didn't mind they just hate getting flash in their eyes and told me that I could take as many pictures as I wanted. So while sitting on a bench next to five security guards I took as many pictures as possible in the very sacred Sistine Chapel. Even though I was at peace with not taking a single picture, I took it as a divine intervention from Michelangelo himself that I was granted permission and snapped away.

*Sorry I have been so busy with midterms and traveling, but I am going to try and post everyday this week and through the weekend!

The ever so devine, Sistine Chapel

Bernini's Alter

Amazing

Tomorrow we will finish off Roma day 2 :) Ciao xoxo Tessily

Things I have learned while studying abroad: Swiss Style

1.     The drinking age is 18 here and I still get carded anytime I try to purchase alcohol. The typical person starts drinking at the age of 15... so by default I look 15? Awesome.

2.     The only cantione where they only speak Italian - Tocino... this is where I live!!

3.     CH stands for Confoederatio Helvetica and is the Latin name for Swiss Confederation

4.     In Switzerland the ethic groups are German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%

5.     German, French, and Italian are all official languages in Switzerland

6.     There is a lot of financial pressure when you want to create a project over here because you have to translate the labels with multiple languages on them. This puts more of a burden on pricing of products.

7.     The Swiss Army is a militia and mandatory between 19-34 for men.

8.     When you are 19-20 you have to train for 4 months, then you receive a instruction on rife and in case of conflict all of the young people have to go to secret places an prepare for battle. Then every year you have to give three weeks of your time to the military for re-training. 

9.     "Unity but not conformity"- is the motto for the Swiss people. They say they are held together by the desire to stay united. The first leaders who ruled the Swiss people tried to force them to conform to German or French practices, but they united and fought back to "just be" Swiss and make all of their difference work through unity.

10. I miss American water pressure


ALSO.. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! I will always lovelovelove this holiday and I cannot help but try and spread the spirit! It's not about if you have someone to love, but to spread the love for the people that you already have. & here are some super nerdy things that I love in honor of this holiday.

ROMA: Night One

As much as I love my Italians, I do not understand their love of the strike. All last week I was completely stressed out because as I was trying to plan my trip to Rome, I kept hearing rumblings of a train/autobus/and taxi strike in Italy that would take place from Thursday night to Friday night. Don't you think a country with a failing economy should let tourists in to spend their life savings? I am just saying Italy... this isn't rocket science.

So since we wouldn't be able to travel there until Saturday morning, I had to throw on my best charm and convince our teacher to cancel Italian class on Friday so we could have adequate time to explore (sorry Madga!) Obviously, this plan worked... but we didn't figure out until the night before we left. This lovely night also happened to be the night before our Consumer Behavior midterm and Italian quiz. Which means that Val and I were scrambling looking for a hostel/hotel/apartment that would be affordable for a weekend. We found an affordable apartment that we could rent for the weekend owned by a man named Luca. So the game plan was to study as much as possible, write a 7 page paper, pack for a 4 day weekend, go to class from 9-12, and then catch a train to Rome at 1:55 that afternoon. I went to sleep at 2 in the morning and woke up at 6 to finally finish my paper and add some finishing touches to my weekend pack. It was a little crazy, but the minute we got on the train to freaking ROMA I was so grateful I got to have an extra day traveling. We arrived in Rome around 7:45 at night and began the short walk to our apartment.  Although we were only a 3 minute walk from the train station something was different about the location we were in.

1) it was sketchy (this is the same in any language/country just follow your intuition)

2) There were a surprising amount of Asian symbols displayed

Everyone who stayed in our apartment! (thanks Luca)

Kara, me, Val, and Abby with our box of cooking wine.

When we got to the building Luca was nowhere to be found. We buzzed every buzzer and called out, but it's best not to draw attention in the area we were in (even though there were Asian and Polynesian people in an out of the building like it was selling delivery food.) Finally, we found his number on an email and attempted to call him, which led us to a woman who said," Yes, he come now he on his way." Which leads me to twenty minutes later (an hour from when we arrived) when Luca showed up to let us in.

 I fondly like to refer to our apartment as the IKEA palace. Everything from the beds to the giant letters that would stare at me from the bottom of my drinking glass was labeled with my dear Swiss brand. Luca even assembled a bed right in front of our eyes from there in record-breaking time. After he left us with coffee, tea, and some breakfast snacks (we were technically staying in a "bed and breakfast*") we went to the restaurant that he referred.

* There was a gas stove in the apartment with no way of lighting it so the hot coffee and tea became a huge tease, however, Luca did leave us an abundance of milk and these dinner rolls with chocolate chips in them. The concept sounds bizarre, but they were so good dipped in milk!

Goofin

Yippee I am in ROMAAA

The ladies... it was so awesome to be there at night.

When we got to the restaurant they offered a tourist menu for a flat rate with bruschetta, suppli (an amazing fried risotto ball which I had never heard of), your choice of pizza or pasta (I went with fungi or mushroom pizza), and your choice of a beer, water, or coke. It hit the spot after six hours on the train and waiting an hour outside for Luca. After that we went on a mission to see some landmarks at night. We walked for 15 minutes in the cold (note: it was still January even though I was in Italy) until we found the all mighty Coliseum. I highly recommend seeing every major touristy landmark at night, during the day, and at sunset. There is something about the lighting during the different times of the day that gives you a different perspective and appreciation each time you visit. The Coliseum was basically vacant around it (insert magical effects here.) So, we took advantage of this by running around and taking silly pictures of our first surreal moment in the city we've learned and dreamed of our whole lives. Also, for those of you who are interested there is a Gay bar across the street from the Coliseum... just a fun fact.

After completely exhausting ourselves we all went home to get a good nights sleep. I know it's not very exciting but, the next day we had planned to tour Vatican City. Even though I am not a practicing Catholic it would be so so wrong to be hangover in such a sacred place. Don't worry; I still brought some cooking wine for another night. :)

More to come and nom... gelato style.

Dachau

"Work will set you free"

Dachau

Sunday morning I packed up my things and prepared to leave Munich. There is a well-known concentration camp twenty minutes away by train in the town Dachau.  I consider myself a pop culture expert of sorts and when we arrived at the train station to grab coffee before our tour I could not believe my eyes when I saw Heidi Klum and Seal all over newspapers. If the most adorable couple that pops out babies every nine months and gets married every year to a different theme cannot make their relationship work then there is a little less hope for the rest of us. Overall it was going to be a sad day. When we arrived at Dachau we paid for the audio tour and began our dissent into the camp. The whole experience really felt surreal. I have seen a million pictures of concentration camps in school, I have read Night, but when you reach the actual gates that read, "work will set you free" it is unreal. I cannot say that I "imagined the people walking through the gates" because it is not imaginary what happened there. It is completely true and real and horrible. The vastness of the camp yard was the most breath taking to me. There is no real way to describe it, but to me the ground tells so many more stories than the replicas of their living quarters or the gas chambers. In the Dachau camp they actually did not use the gas chambers frequently. There were a small percentage of people who were killed that way, but most were hanged and burned in the infirmaries. I personally didn't take any pictures of those areas. It really didn't feel right at the time, but the pictures I have were taken from fellow classmates of mine to feature here. After a tour of the grounds we walked through the museum and watched a 20-minute video about the camp.

The yard

Monument

Gas chambers

Gas chambers

Bunks

After we left Dachau we took the train back to my beloved Munich to grab our bags and head to the train station. After my last kabob and pretzel diet I was dying for some fresh food. Surprisingly, I found some delicious sushi at the Munich train station and the most divine pastries I have ever eaten. Munich sure knows how to treat a lady.

On Another Note:

I am leaving on Saturday for a 10-day trip to Edinburgh, Dublin, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. I will be freezing my ass off in all of these countries and do not have a sufficient pair of waterproof rain/snow boots. You can check the weather there is a 100% chance that I will catch pneumonia. Please feel free to email my mother or leave her a comment here to add a small sum of money to my account so I do not have buy a crappy pair and miss out on the sights (see I love Munich- walking tour.) Also, I know absolutely nothing about these places I am planning on visiting in next week, so if you happen to have any sight seeing suggestions or off the beaten path "must-dos" I would LOVE any advice I can get!