Italia Top Ten

Yes, yes...as you may imagine, this top ten is primarily about food. BUT - I was in Italy, so it should be expected. Read at your own risk, as it may make you start to drool. It does for me at least. :)

1. Gelato: I know I have posted numerous photos of this heavenly food, but it needs one last commemoration. I have always been a fan of ice cream, but gelato is on a whole other level. We felt the need to have gelato at least once a day, trying new flavors whenever possible. I am a huge mint chocolate chip fan, but discovered that the more fruity flavors where in fact, even better gelato flavors. Flavors like mango, strawberry, tangerine etc. However, sometimes, one just needs a little chocolate in their day (see right). And one must always do two scoops, one scoop is for the wimpy gelato eaters out there. GO BIG OR GO HOME...as I always say. Also, it was interesting to see how the gelato would come accessorized..such as this pic, to make the whole eating process EVEN more enjoyable. I recommend this tasty treat for both hot, sticky days as well as cold, rainy days. No matter the weather, gelato hits the spot.

2. Pizza: I have always liked pizza...as do most individuals I believe. However, until one has tasted Italian pizza, you have not really had pizza. This is thin, crispy crust, a sweet sauce and cheese that slides right off the top. I usually vote for pepperoni, but now believe there's not anything that can beat the margherita pizza. The herbs that are scattered about on the top make this pizza to DIE for. This is the food I think about the most, now that I'm back in the U.S. I always end up trying to strategically hide my drool as I sit in lecture or other public setting. Now that I know the dream that is Italian pizza, that will be the first food I consume when I make a return visit. The only place at home that I've found can come close to the real deal is Punch Pizza. It's also fantastic, but it can't quite replicate the original. (sigh.)

3. Italian Accents: I had to break up all this food talk with something else. Listening to Italians speak was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It's a soothing yet energizing language that includes the entire body. Hand gestures, head bobs and of course, their animated facial expressions. Whether it was a waiter in a restaurant, a couple walking by on the street, our gondolier or someone selling us trinkets to take home - they all were so fun and entertaining to talk to. I sincerely wish I knew more Italian words than "Ciao" and "Bella" because it would have been a great time to be able to communicate in Italian and not English. But, even without knowing the language, I still appreciated its lively sound throughout the trip.

4. Prosecco: I know I mentioned this wonderful drink before, but it deserved a mention in the Top Ten. For those that missed the previous mention, Prosecco is Italian champagne. What I wanted to highlight from this in particular, is that it was sold at little shops on the street, and you could take your glass and sit by the canal or the sidewalk and sip away (see right). It was the most refreshing thing to sip in the middle of the day...as you take in the sights around you. It fit well with the relaxed lifestyle of the Italians and was a great pick-me-up after walking around all day - especially in Venice. It's unfortunate that Prosecco is so dang expensive back home. Definitely a new favorite.

5. Wall-sits. Now you may be thinking, what!?! Wall sits?!? What does this have anything to do with Italy? Well, there was a little friendly competition that happened as our group walked back to our hostels one night after dinner. Ryan, felt he was superior in the wall sit competitive arena (if there was one) and Carolyn and I felt that was a challenge. Well, I failed miserably, lasting a long time for ME but not so much compared to the legs of Carolyn and Ryan. In the end, Ryan defended his title. It was such a hilarious, spontaneous thing that I felt it was necessary to highlight. It was spontaneous things like this that made the trip fun. (Picture to the left is mid-competition...and no hands were allowed, thus the hands up against the wall...)

6. Activities to do while it's pouring outside: As I referenced during the "More Roma Tomatoes", it began pouring on our group right after we saw and sat on the Spanish Steps. The closest hideout we could find from the rain was a McDonalds, and we knew we'd be there awhile, considering how hard it was raining. We were sitting around a table, after consuming our snacks and wondering what we could do to entertain ourselves. Some of our friends back at Maastricht had told us about a great game we decided to try. Everyone in the group needed five pieces of paper (the amount of people in our group.) First, everyone wrote down a phrase on one piece of paper...preferably containing a noun and a verb. The papers were then passed along to the person to the right and that person had to draw what they saw written on the first piece of paper. Again then, the papers were passed, only this time, the third person writes a description of the drawing they see from the person before them. They are not allowed to see the original description on the first piece of paper. The papers are passed a fourth time, and a picture must be drawn from the description written etc. You can do this with any number of people but five worked wonderfully. At the end, each person reveals what they originally wrote and the two drawings and descriptions that followed. It was HILARIOUS! Our group already had a colorful sense of humor and that mixed with the horrible drawing abilities we all possessed, well, it was a great time. I highly recommend this game to anyone - all you need is tiny pieces of paper and writing utensils. Above right is one of the more tame examples. :)

7. Canals. Something we enjoyed doing, on purpose, was getting lost. This was especially true while wandering the back alleys and 'roads' of Venice. Around every turn - literally - was another canal. We got in a good workout that day as we were climbing lots of stairs to get up and over bridges. There were some beautiful canals - with the water-soaked walls of the buildings adding to the charm. I could walk the streets of Venice for hours without getting bored. Here's just one of the neat canals we stumbled upon.

8. History. This deals more with Rome than Venice, but every single monument we passed, or street we walked down - each had their own, EXTENSIVE history. Walking around the Colosseum alone gave me chills knowing the events that used to happen within those walls. So many eyes have seen the inside of that monumental building, from all walks of life. The royalty to the common man to the gladiator fighting - everyone was a part of that building's history. Then you factor in the Vatican and the religious history and symbolism that entire city-state represents. Seeing the wonders that artists like Bernini and Michelangelo created makes you want to pinch yourself. Staring at certain sculptures makes you almost well up with tears, just in wonder of how the hell someone created something that looks so wonderful and has created the following that it has. For instance - not only is the Sistine Chapel something we all learned about as little kids, similarly to the Mona Lisa - but it also is where the Pope is elected. That place has seen so much history that it is astounding. That coupled with the fact that it's a beautiful piece of art is...well...so cool. I kept thinking about parts of Angels and Demons as we walked by the monuments mentioned in that book, which were only mentioned because of the mysterious and infamous history with both the artist and the Catholic church. All just things that made me go "hmm..." throughout the trip.

9. Rain. Well, we lucked out immensely with the weather on our trip. We were supposed to suffer from rain every single day we were in Italy and somehow only had a few rainy days. But, when it rains, it RAINS! In Venice we picked up pretty quickly that rain ALWAYS means flooding. The canals are so close to the level of the streets, at least when we were there, that the flooding happens almost as soon as raindrops start to fall. We had to jump around puddles as we made our way back to the hostel on our last night in Venice or we would have had wet shoes and pants...up to our calves in some spots! (See right for some examples of canal over-flow). Rome was also a bit rain-filled, as mentioned previously. Thankfully though, my lovely plaid umbrella that I bought in Venice for a whopping 3 euros, kept me nicely dry. Rain - can ruin your day, but only if you let it. :)

10. Time. This has two meanings - one, we didn't have enough, in my opinion. And two, the Italians never rush. Everything is about enjoying the moment, whether it's your glass of wine, your meal, the people you're with, anything. The Italian way of life - I picked up quickly - was all about going with the flow. As we all know I struggle a bit in this area, I actually enjoyed this lifestyle however. Venice especially for our group was about..."let's go do....THIS..." or "I'm starting to get hungry, perhaps....lets grab some...gelato!" Just kind of a go with the flow attitude felt natural. And also, I knew after our trip came to a close, that Italy was my favorite place. I had been VERY adamant that I didn't have a favorite place - as you well know - but as soon as I left Italy I wanted to go back! I am in luck however, as my younger brother Greg wants to study abroad in Florence at some point in his college career. I'm starting to save NOW so that I can hopefully make a trip back to the country (and the food, let's be frank) that I love so dearly.

That my readers, is the END, FINALLY of Italy. I dragged it out long enough, huh?!? One last trip to document - London. I will keep that particular recollection a bit more brief. Coming soon, stay tuned!

"Andiamo la messa"

Day #4 started off with us all packing up our bags. We wanted to be ready to head out as soon as we got back to our hostel post-Mass. Bags packed, us girls headed to the train station. We waited...and waited...and waited. The boys were notorious throughout the trip for being LATE for our meeting times. As it was the last day, and we were NOT missing Mass, we left without them. If they wanted to go, in our minds, they'd meet us there. We made our way to the subway and took it all the way over to Vatican City, yet again. We walked into St. Peter's Square to find the line much more manageable and actually moving. The sun was even, slightly, out! We patiently waited as we got shuffled into the Basilica. (Picture at right is right outside, before getting into the line which you can see way in the background, right up against the Basilica)

Our friends the night before had told us that we needed to tell the guards (who stopped people from going from the front of the Basilica into the nave - or area where the Mass takes place) "andiamo la messa" or "we're going to mass" to allow them to let us through. After staring in awe at the ceiling, the sculptures and Michelangelo's beautiful Baldacchino in the middle of the Basilica, we made our way through the crowd gathered at this separation point - between the rest of the Basilica and the area for mass. We worked our way through the people and up to the guards. The phrase worked like magic, the guards let us through, to the bewilderment of the other people who had been waiting. They didn't have priest friends on the inside! Ha! (Below top - The Pietà sculpted by Michelangelo; middle below is Bernini's Baldacchino; the bottom photo is Bernini's Cattedra Petri and Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament which is behind the altar.)

The first mass was finishing up, so we slowly made our way up the side of the pews and as soon as the people started filing out, we made our way in and into one of the middle pews. Within a few minutes we spotted one of our priest friends from the night before as well as the boys sheepishly making their way up the aisle. Mass started pretty quick. It was all in Latin, which I had never heard before. The hymns were also all in Latin, and we all just listened and took in the beauty of the church. I didn't have any idea what the homily was about (if only I knew Italian!) but I was enjoying the beautiful music and the gorgeous view of the church. After mass we tried to make our way outside as quick as possible - to get a spot that provided a view of the Pope's Apartments, from where he would be speaking. We came out to a PACKED St. Peter's Square! It held thousands of people - 150,000 was the estimation from the media. (see right) We found out later that there were a few different groups there that day, protesting certain beliefs/messages the Pope had recently brought to light within the Catholic church.

We found a spot where we could see and then the Pope started speaking. He spoke a few different languages throughout his speech - all heard through speakers throughout the Square - talking to 'his people' in the Square. Every now and then we would see his arm sticking out his window, blessing those in the Square. From our view we could only see his arm, so all my pictures have this little white-robed arm sticking out of the window. (See left) I even took a video - so neat to think we were listening to the Pope himself.

After he was finished speaking, it took over 45 minutes to leave the Square. There were just SO MANY people! We also got separated, AGAIN, from the boys. We had already set a time to meet up for our bus to the airport, so we took our time and walked back. WALKING took quite a long time, but we knew with the crowds, the subway would have taken quite awhile. It was fun to see all the sights of Rome, one last time, on the way back to the hostel. Our final stop was to grab one last gelato! (see right)

Once back at the hostel, we grabbed our bags and headed to the train station - where the shuttle buses were located. Without any issues, we all made in onto the bus and to the airport. The lines at the airport didn't take long, and before we knew it - we were airborne and headed back home. As always, getting from the airport...to the train station...to home takes QUITE awhile, but we managed to make it back to Maastricht safe and still tasting the foods of Italy on our tongues. Or maybe just me. :)

Stato della Città del Vaticano

Well dear readers, I'm back in the saddle. I'm going to finish up the Roman adventures for you today, sit back, relax and if possible - grab a glass of Prosecco. :)

You may need to retrace your steps back a few blogs to recall the events of the first two days of Rome, but we began Day #3 with quite the overcast sky and lots of rain. On the docket today though was something exciting - touring the Vatican! We had scored tickets for ourselves ahead of time, thinking we were quite smart and would be able to get into the 'speedy' line. Not as true as we had hoped. We took the underground subway over to Vatican City (quite the hike if walking, especially with puddles everywhere) and proceeded around the walls of the City to where the line was forming. Forming was an understatement. The line to get into the Museum wound around the Walls of the City for a few blocks. This line that we got into was, in fact, for all of us who had printed off tickets beforehand. A separate line for the poor saps who didn't plan ahead stretched many blocks longer. Both lines were easy to spot, with the multicolored umbrellas of all who were waiting standing out amongst the bare City walls (see right). We found out quickly that our line only appeared daunting, it was moving very fast. Within a half hour or so we are at the doors. We were glad to be out of the rain, which made for quite the chill in the air.

Once inside we got searched, more than once and got to show the contents of our purses, to all the lovely security people. No, we weren't smuggling anything into Vatican City, so we were allowed in. :)

I do not know the extent of Vatican Museum knowledge you have, but I had very little before we visited. I found out that it was a HUGE museum filled with THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS of art and artifacts that the Catholic church (magically!) found in their possession over the centuries. (Hmm...how does one manage to get ALL of these items? I'll let you figure out your own answer to this one.) Needless to say, there was so much to see in the Museum that you could spend your entire day wandering the halls and looking at the art. We started in the Egyptian wing and checked out the mummies on display. (How odd are we that we dig up old bodies and display them to others? Ironic too that one religion felt the need to display bodies of an entirely different religion who truly honored the way they buried their dead.) It was interesting to see the tombs and the artifacts. Egyptian history has always been something I've wanted to know more about. The mystery and traditions, not to mention the art are fantastic to learn about. (See upper left)

From there we wandered into the 'Classical art' which was hallways and hallways of Roman statues and sculptures. (See right) Very fun to look at, and the details on some of them had you simply staring in wonder (see left and check out the hair - amazing!). I snagged pictures of quite a few. Another one of my favorite features of the museum were the ceilings. Every ceiling was beautiful, whether it was a painting or a sculpture or simply surrounded in an intricate molding. The entire museum was one, big, piece of art. (Below, upper left is my favorite painting of the day which was actually a ceiling in one of the rooms. I'm unsure of the artist, but to me it was simply beautiful to crane my neck up and stare at. Below upper right is one of the paintings in the Raphael rooms, explained below. Lower left is a photo of one of the many maps of Italy, which lined the walls of one LONG room. We gave Italy two thumbs up! Lower right is another beautiful ceiling. How these artists painted this masterpieces is beyond me.)

Our feet were starting to tire as standing in line and then an hour or two of SLLLOOOWWWW museum walking always gives way to aching feet. It was about lunch time and we found our way down to the Vatican Museum cafeteria. As one would expect, it was a bit pricey, but we were so hungry that we didn't care much. I got a lovely piece of pizza (something new and different) and it was wonderful. As our blood sugar came back to normal we decided to head back into the Museum.

Our main goal was to see the Sistine Chapel, which is part of the Vatican Museum. There are signs pointing the way from the time you enter the Museum. We decided to start following the signs...which we weren't anticipating would take us more than a few hours to do. The directions/arrows lead your throughout almost the entire Museum, and past some wonderful pieces of art. We saw some truly colossal statues of Roman/Greek gods and goddesses, more beautiful ceiling paintings and even the Raphael rooms. Yes, the Raphael that the Ninja Turtle got his name from - that guy! He had painted all the walls and ceilings in a few rooms of the Museum, and were gorgeous and extremely detailed. Very surreal to be in a room surrounded by a masterpiece such as those. The path to the Sistine Chapel, at this point, was becoming a solid line. It was many people's goal, apparently. We were at a snail's pace in no time. Right before we got the Sistine Chapel we went through Religious Modern Art. I must say, this was by far the strangest art I've ever seen and at this point, and we all were SO tired of looking at art that it was even more unappealing. We were MORE than ready to get to the Sistine Chapel. The line took us down flights of stairs...then back up flights of stairs...around hallways and through tiny corridors...all of which lacked any art until finally we got there.

The Sistine Chapel, as I had learned in AP Art History back in high school, is in fact quite small. The ceiling is also quite high up, so it's very hard to see the details that we know so well from our textbooks. Also, there is NO photography, video or anything of the nature allowed. From the time we entered the room - which had people packed in like sardines, there were guards in every corner all yelling the same thing in a monotone voice. In your head, think of Italian accents and very bored sounding people: "NO PHO-TOS...NO VID-DI-O...NO PHO-TOS...(usually interspersed with) YOU SIR - NO PHO-TOS!!! (and swift movement to said person's side to enforce.) Well, I'm not much of a rebel, anyone who knows me can attest to this. But dang it - I was in the SISTINE CHAPEL! There was NO way I was going to leave without a picture. So holding my camera at about waist high and pointed up to the ceiling...I snapped two (one can be seen above). I also got a fantastic shot of Michelangelo's Last Judgment (photo right above), which is one of the large walls of the Chapel. For ONCE, being short was great. No guard could spot my head, let alone my camera. (HA!) I was not singled out for my "PHO-TO" before we were pushed and pulled out the exit by the crowd. TRUE SUCCESS!!!

We thought we'd be able to easily exit at this point, but it took a whole half hour to find out way out of the Museum. It's truly a maze in there. The final stretch to the door is down this spiral staircase, which is also a true architectural piece of art in its own right. We laughed to ourselves as we spotted the even longer line of poor, wet people waiting outside. They had hours of waiting to get in, AND hours of waiting to see the most celebrated part of the Museum. We chuckled all the way to our lunch spot - some slices of pizza and drinks split amongst all of us, as more of a snack. It was then we wanted to go see St. Peter's Basilica. It was still raining, so with our umbrellas hoisted, we made our way into St. Peter's Square. Lines were the theme of the day, as the line to get into the Basilica wrapped all the way around Bernini's colonnade's inthe Square. Carolyn went to see how long this particular line would take us, and we were told it'd be over an hour wait. After spending the entire day, basically, walking and standing we just decided to not do the Basilica. We were all bummed, as this was one of the main things we wanted to see, but we were all extremely tired and slightly cranky from the loooonnnggg day; it was the best solution. We did stop and take some photos though. (see above left)

On our way back to the hostel, we decided to stop at the Castel Sant' Angelo. Again - for the Angels and Demons fans out there, this is the 'final spot' where the movie goes - where the cardinals were held. It was neat to see the angel on top, with that arrow pointing down into the depths of the 'Castel'; a visual that in the movie gets zoomed in on. We took pictures of St. Peter's Basilica and Dome from far away and of the Castel up close. We then took the Bridge of Angels (see upper right), which connects to the Castel, back towards the center of Rome. (Above left is standing on the Bridge of Angels with the Castel in the background, and the angel on top is just barely visible.)

We then split up and headed back to our individual hostels, to rest our very tired feet. It had been a long day of historical facts, tons of pictures and very sore feet. We decided to meet up with the boys at our usual spot - the train station - to decide where to go for dinner. (Below is the Dome of St. Peter's - the tallest, from floor to ceiling, it the world)

Now is where the cool, "it's a small world" part of the trip comes into play. If you recall, back in my Poland blog, I explained how Carolyn and I had met Elliot, a seminary student from St. Thomas who was studying in Rome. Well guess who we ran into, in the middle of the Rome train station. Yes - Elliot! I'm not used to getting my name called out, (how many Betsy's do you know, really?) let alone in Europe. But I heard it, clear as day, in the middle of the train station. I turned around to see Elliot! We all exchanged hugs and remarks of the randomness of seeing each other again. He told us he was waiting for some friends who were to be arriving on the train at anytime. We asked if he knew of any great dinner spots - as he was studying there. He told us there was a fantastic pasta spot, his favorite in fact, right next to the train station. He pointed us on our way and we waved goodbye with rumbling stomachs.

We found the little restaurant, after walking past it a few times. We were greeted by an elderly Italian woman, who reminded me of Strega Nona. (The Tomi dePaula books) She didn't speak a lick of English but showed us to a table in back and handed us each a hand-written menu. The restaurant looked like her kitchen, with old, colorful wallpaper, only 8 or so tables and the hand-written menus on varieties of paper. We sat down at a table next to two young guys, who were able to converse in excellent Italian with our host. It was easy to see she enjoyed chatting with the two guys and they were obviously complimenting her choice of wine - which they were sipping. After trying to decipher the menu, we decided to ask the guys if they had any recommendations. They responded in English - and we immediately understood they were American. They told us they came often, and to get the 'special' - which changed every night. After conversing for awhile, they told us they were studying in Rome - as priests. (Just like Elliot.) We told them we knew of someone doing the same thing - and recounted meeting Elliot and running into him in the train station and his recommendation for us to come to this particular spot. They looked at us funny, and said they knew Elliot! In fact - it turns out - these were the friends Elliot was waiting for at the train station! They couldn't find him and had to decided to come to his favorite restaurant in hopes he would come there too. One of them dashed back to the train station to try to find Elliot but came back without success. We decided to push our tables together and chatted about their lives as priests and the delicious pasta we were shoveling down. We actually ate gnocchi again; this one was a tomato-based sauce and was absolutely fantastic. (See right - although it may not look it, one of the best meals I've ever tasted. Italian food has become my absolute favorite of any place we went!) The boys, it turned out, were both from St. Thomas as well and knew my friend Paul too. It was a crazy, wonderful night.

We ended the evening talking about mass the next morning. The guys told us we should come - as the Pope would be speaking to the crowd (in the Square) at noon, right after mass. The whole group decided that would be a wonderful thing to do - and we decided to go to mass beforehand too. Not only would it be neat to attend mass in the Basilica - the largest interior of any Christian church in the world and regarded as one of the holiest places on Earth - but we would get to skip that long line we saw earlier that day AND get to see the Pope on top of it! We were all extremely excited to go, and knew we would get a true glance into the Catholic world the next day. We said goodbye to our new-found friends, and made our way home to the hostels. We set a time to meet up the next morning for mass, knowing in the early afternoon we would need to be on a bus headed to the airport. What a fantastic way to end our trip in Rome?!?!

Day #4...up next!

Blogging 2nd Wind

I'll admit...I was not planning on finishing this. I didn't really think that it was read, and well, I had my photos to remind me of the wonderful last few trips I hadn't yet had time to blog about.

BUT I have been told by a few people that'd they like to see the end of my blog AND have been emailed by some new friends from around the world with interest in the Maastricht study abroad program because they came across my blog! (Well...they were already interested, and when the Googled "Maastricht" my blog appeared, they read it and were MORE excited to go after reading through it. Just wanted to clarify. But still really cool!)

SO, I will do my very best to get back into the blogging spirit and continue on. Even if only a few people read it (my parentals), at least it'll be complete for anyone out there that stumbles across it in the future.

Keep your eyes peeled...

More Roma Tomatoes

Continuing on with where we left off...Day #2 in Rome:

We wanted to start the day back at the Palatino Hills, which was the area we had such a good view of from the Colosseum. The tickets we had bought for the Colosseum were also for this area - which was wonderful on our wallets. It was a bit overcast at the beginning of the day, but I wasn't going to give in to the clouds. Sundress day it was! (Though I was realistic too - I brought a cardigan.)

We walked around the Hills for a good couple hours that morning. Most are ancient rocks that stick up out of the earth, resembling only slightly the buildings they used to be. This area also overlaps with the Roman Forum hill area - also ruins you can walk through. We took lots of pictures, but they eventually started to look the same. Like a bunch of rocks. When that realization hit us, we knew it was time to press on! (See above left for some steller statue poses and on the right - a great group shot in the Palatino Hills)

If you know me - you know what was up on the docket next. LUNCH. We found a great little spot right across the street from the Roman Forum. It was a bit crowded but we glimpsed a pizza coming out of the kitchen - which was the selling point. We each ordered our own pizza. Before you judge, take a look at the picture. You would also order yourself your own pizza, right? I thought so.

Gelato came next - naturally. This was a great mint chocolate chip (my favorite ice cream flavor = fun fact), so it was one of my favorite gelato flavors too. :) Again - no spillage on my white clothing. (Take this time to practice your silent cheer. If you must reference the previous post to learn the cheer again, please take the time to do so.)

Our group made our way back to the Pantheon, to see the inside of this architectural giant. The oculus on top is world-famous, and the architectural skill used to complete the Pantheon still stumbles today's architects. It's amazing to stand in something and have no idea how it was created. It's a strange but unbelievable feeling. The inside was packed with people, but we took our time taking in the marble and stone and the awesome shape. (See right)

The Spanish Steps were next (see below) - which have a bit of a strange history to them. (I encourage you to look up the Wikipedia site - as I don't want to bore you with the historic details if you'd rather not know. History buffs would find it interesting, I'd imagine.) About this time the overcast sky was looking more ominous. We did sit for awhile, taking in the view and a wedding that was going on nearby. But, the clouds did open up a bit - and we had to dash to find the closest dry place. Walking in the rain isn't that pleasant, even with my wonderful plaid umbrella from Venice. McDonald's was the closest place, and was actually a cool find.

This McDonald's was the fanciest one I've ever been to. There was a separate cafe area where you could order specialty coffees, much like Starbucks. It was two stories and sported comfortable booths and tables and quite the upscale wall decor. It was in this McDonald's that a Top Ten event occurred. (Quite a funny one - and one you can replicate. Intrigued? Good.)

Once we'd had enough fries, fancy coffees (see right) and apple pies, we felt it was time to get back out and see Rome. The rain hadn't let up however, so we decided to split up and head back to the hostels. We got back together to go out for dinner in a few hours.

The dinner location was exciting for me that night - as it came highly recommended from my Alpha Chi Big Sis - Lauren Stoneberg. She studied in Milan a year ago, and her family came to visit her - and they all came to Rome. They went to this particular restaurant and told me I had to go taste it for myself. I got my whole travel family excited about going, because I talked about it so much. (Can you imagine such a thing?) We had a bit farther of a walk than our directions from Google led on, but we did manage to find it amongst the twisted Roman streets. We were shown back to the patio area, now covered (as it was STILL pouring). We ordered bruschetta and wine to start off...and then I ordered myself gnocchi (see right). This was a specific recommendation from Lauren - and SUCH a good one! Although the picture may not look appetizing, it was one of the most filling and delicious pastas I've ever had. It got so that I had a few little dumpling balls left, and eating just one more was painful to do. My poor stomach was filled to the brim. I had three little balls left on my plate when it was taken away. They gave me three dumpling balls too many, silly them.

We left that night, with a bill a bit higher than normal, but our stomachs were happier than normal - so we were content overall. We had a good time walking home that night, a Top Ten moment in fact occurred. Our multiple carafes of wine made have had something to do with this. You'll get a chuckle, promise.

That was the end of Day #2, and I'm just getting to the good stuff! Day #3/#4 were full of great and wonderful surprises. Stay tuned!

Roma Tomatoes

Okay, you caught me. This post is not about tomatoes. But I hope it got your attention! Especially considering I haven't written in an obscene amount of time. Fail. Fail. FAIL! I know. To be completely honest, I didn't think anyone would want to read this after I got back. I have been informed that is not so, and that I must finish my blogging. So - parentals - this blog is dedicated to you! (They have been harassing me to write since I returned. Over a month ago.)

We were in Rome for three days - the most time we spent in any one city, I do believe. So, I'll go at this a day at a time, and add on as I get a chance. Here we go!

ROME. DAY ONE. This was the place, out of every place in Europe, that I wanted to see and experience the most. Perhaps it's my slight obsession with food. (Okay, a LOT of it might be my obsession with food.) Perhaps it's my slight obsession with art. Perhaps it's knowing that Greg would have killed to be going instead of me. (He gets to go in college - don't worry people.) No idea what the exact reason - but I was PUMPED to be heading to Rome as we left Venice. We had a train ride that wasn't too horribly long - and we had plenty of daylight left to explore once we got there. The boys were in a separate hostel (Ben and Ryan - Canada, in case you forgot) and Carolyn and I were split up in ours. Theresia was coming to meet up with us, and we both were hoping she'd end up in our respective rooms. Guess who's she was in!?! MINE. Yes, yes, Italy was off to a fabulous start. :)

We decided to meet up with the boys at the train station after we'd checked in to our hostels - which was conveniently right in the middle. Carolyn and I grabbed our first Roman food while we waited - pizza! (See above right). And yes, it was better than American pizza. I know you were thinking it!

We decided to go to the Colosseum first - as it was the closest to our hostel. I couldn't believe it when we turned the corner and it was just looming in the distance. The freaking Colosseum! WHAT?!?! So cool. So unbelievably cool. We decided to get the guided tour, and we walked around inside, snapping photos everywhere we looked, until the tour started. We learned about the history of the place, how it got it's name, about the true and not so true things people think about gladiators, and all the while just absorbed the history of the place through our pores. We took pictures on the ground level, and the upper level - the only two levels you were able to walk on. The floor was open and you could see the tunnels and rooms below the floor where the gladiators and animals were before and after their matches. It felt so neat to be in a place that has so much history and mythology surrounding it. You could also see the Palatino Hills from the upper level in the Colosseum - a great view for pictures.

Post-tour, we waited up for Theresia - as she had finally made it to the hostel and was going to meet up with us there. It was great to see her and be one big travel family of five! (Photo on the right was the first of the FULL group). We decided to see as much of Rome as we could that night, and walked in the direction of Carolyn's favorite, the Vittoria Emmanuele. I don't exactly know it's history, but it's much newer than the majority of Roman architectural wonders. It's beautiful to look at, but I prefer the ancient, falling-apart things. :)

Gelato was next on the agenda. Very important part of the day! OBVIOUSLY. One can never have too much gelato. Or pastries. Or pizza. Or pasta. I think we know why I liked Rome. It was a fancy schmancy chocolate gelato this time (see left), which was delicious and dangerous considering my choice of shirt color that day. I'm happy to announce I made it with no stains! :) (This is rare. For any Vose family member. This moment should be celebrated: "the time is now, the time is near, it's time to do a silent cheer.....RAHHHHHHH")

We walked down past many expensive clothing stores, licking our gelato, trying to follow the twisted roads all over our map. Doesn't that sound great?!? It was...eating and exploring at the same time. The next destination was what I was looking forward to the most - the Trevi Fountain!!! It's a fountain I learned about for the first time back in the Lizzie McGuire days (Don't judge, I was thirteen and watched the Disney Channel. At least we know I learned something!). It's supposedly lucky - toss one coin in over your shoulder and you'll have a safe journey home. Two - you'll fall in love in Rome. The second option seemed too inconvenient and expensive, ha, so one coin for me! Funny story to follow in the Top Ten about me at the Trevi fountain. I know you're excited to hear about it. (See right)

The Pantheon was close by, so that was next on our agenda. Sadly though, it was closed for the day, so we decided we'd have to come back. We did take a few photos though - it's amazing how this humongous structure is just sitting in the middle of the city (See left for BIG building and small Betsy). That's what is so great about Rome - around every corner is a new surprise, something that seems out of place yet fits in with what you picture Rome looking like. I LOVED IT! Ready for the Pantheon experience the next day, we pressed on to the Piazza Navona.

To my fellow Angels and Demons lovers - this the place of Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers (see right) representing the fourth pillar of science: water. Read the book or watch the movie - it'll all make sense. :) Everyone was starting to crave some pasta at this point. We would eat anywhere that looked affordable. This wasn't hard to accomplish, as there are restaurants on almost every street, all advertising their pasta specials. They key is not give in to the first place that smells like heaven - but walk onwards a bit to a place that smells just as good, with prices that are a bit easier on the wallet. I ordered fettuccine in marinara that night - basic, but it was delicious. Over our food and wine that night we hashed out our places to see the next day. After paying our bill we wandered back to Piazza Navona to look at the art that was for sale. The whole place was covered with people selling and displaying their paintings. It was all lit up with the fountain flowing in the middle - such a relaxing place to 'window' shop. I was very tempted to buy something, but wasn't sure if any were actually real or if they were worth the price. If we would have come back on one of the next two days, I think I would have given in though. Such a sucker for that kind of stuff. :)

We had quite a hike home, as we had walked quite a ways across Rome throughout the afternoon. We were tired, full, and over-stimulated with the sights and smells of Rome. My favorite part of the walk back was seeing the Trevi fountain at night. So beautiful and still packed with people. What a perfect day it was!

***Stay tuned for Day 2 of Roma! :) Coming soon to a computer screen near you!

Venezia

I am officially done with exams/classes/and Maastricht's school system. YES! I'm currently chilling in the Brussels airport...and have been for five hours now...got 7 more to go! I fly out of Brussels at 9:45 AM MY TIME, land in Newark around noon YOUR TIME...that will be weird. I'll be landing in Minneapolis around 5:30 PM that night - which means less than 24 hours from now I'll be home. CRAZY!

So - I have Venice up next in the travel log...so here goes!

We left for Venice VERY QUICKLY after getting home from Poland - two days later. We got into Venice pretty late, around ten I believe. We had to take a bus to get onto the actual island of Venice...we saw SO many pizza places on that ride. It was fair to say we had quite the pizza craving when we got there! We had quite vague directions to our hostel (i.e. go up to the bridge and veer right [and there were a LOT of bridges])...but somehow we managed to find it. We were pretty damn proud when we got there - as we even took a water taxi to find it! Water taxis are there actual taxis - and are way better than a gondola ride (in my opinion.) We checked into our hostel, met the two Brazilian girls who were sharing the room with us (yes, they were gorgeous, I know you were wondering) and went to find PIZZA! We didn't have to go far - it was across the street! He was just closing up for the night, but we complemented how nice the pizza looked and how hungry we were. It worked! The pizza slices were HUGE (see above left!) and my favorite part, he drizzled olive oil on top! AHHHHH it was SO good! Carolyn and I then went to go wait for our travel partners - Ben and Ryan (Canada) who were coming from there trip to Budapest. We ended up getting the end of the main canal right as their water taxi went by. MAN were they surprised to see us yelling and waving. It was great. :) We met them at the stop, and showed them the way to the hostel (as we were OBVIOUSLY experts now!). We all headed to bed early, to prepare for the great FULL day of Venice the next day! (Picture above right = HEELLLLOOOOooooo Venice!)

The next day was perfect, weather wise. The forecast predicted storms, so we were SUPER pumped about the sunshine! We wanted to just roam through the streets of Venice, and we didn't have any destination in particular. We stopped on the Rialto bridge first - one of the main bridges that connects the two sides on either side of the large, main canal. We got some great pictures on the bridge (above left)! We saw plenty of street vendors and stores selling the beautiful, eleborate Venetian masks (see right) and Murano blown glass. I wanted to go in every single store! (I wasn't allowed to though, which was probably good.) We made our to San Marco's Piazza (see left) and took LOTS of pictures. The whole piazza is surrounded by gorgeous buildings and the architecture just blows you away. And, right next to the piazza is a WONDERFUL view of the other islands close by. We were just overwhelmed with all the picture opportunities! No worries, we regained our composure and rose to the challenge! Our first gelato stop of the trip occured next - and yes, it was delicious. OBVIOUSLY! :) We did more wandering (the theme for the day) and ended up back at the main waterfront. At this point, Ben wanted to find Harry's Bar, which is the place the 'Bellini' drink originated - he was told to find it from his dad. It wasn't far, and the interior was as you'd imagine. Very simple, but classy. The bartenders wore white tuxes, and the probably have their 'regular' customers who come see them everyday. Bellini's were super spendy, so just Ben got one. The bartender was very kind though, and poured the other three of us each a little glassful. It is a DELICIOUS drink! Champagne and peach puree. (SO GOOD!) (see right)

From there we wandered on, through more little back roads and over countless bridges. Then we all were starving for some REAL food...we found a great looking food stand, and had these pizza-like-rollup/sandwiches (confusing right?) and some Prosecco to wash it down (see above left)! I had never had Prosecco before (it's Italian champagne) and it was VERY cheap. We sat next to the canal while we ate/drank/chatted. Post-lunch we all wanted a little gondola action...but as a true gondola ride was SPENDY (about 80 euros total for all of us) we went the cheap route - the gondola that just crosses the canal. It was 0.50 euros and takes about 2.5 minutes. PERFECT! We were pumped and took photos and videos throughout our brief ride (picture above right). That was all the gondola action I needed! We then continued with the day's theme (yes...WANDERING) and happended upon a street called Gregorio (see above). It was photographed in honor of Greg (come on, you know me!) and there's another story that will be documented in the Top Ten. (Get pumped.)

We wandered on...and saw many neat shops. My favorite was full of carved wood pieces, that looked like normal clothing! They even had the 'rippling in the wind' effect going on...it was so neat to look at up close (see way above)! We then happened upon another Prosecco stand...so of COURSE we had another glass! We sat on a bridge overlooking the canal...sipping it as the sun added to my freckle collection. It was truly my favorite part of the trip (see right)! A gelato stop was soon after that (yes, I know, number 2 of the day...I am not ashamed.) and more pictures. We crossed another one of the large bridges that connects the sides of the main canal - and it provided a GREAT background for pictures (see left). We then found a little park-like area outside of a gorgeous building (see right) - which we found out was just a normal office building. I would LOVE to work in a building like that - eat my lunch in the garden right outside...and maybe enjoy some post-work Prosecco. WOW - that would be the life!!!

We ended up back at Piazza San Marco (see left)...where we located a coffee shop for some much needed caffeine. A true cappuccino was enjoyed and it WAS great (see below left). The perfect amount of milk/coffee combo. (I just realized how much we ate/drank this day...wow...). We sat and people watched and pidgeon watched (both hilarious). At this point, Ben had met up with a friend who was also in Venice, so Ryan, Carolyn and I were killing time until dinner. We went back to the shopping streets, and did a healthy amount of window shopping/judging (you assess the styles in the window and give your opinion...try it sometime! VERY fun!) before we came to this perfect little canal/bridge spot. The walls of the buildings were a peach, and with the late afternoon sun, the water in the canal just looked beautiful. We took advantage and took some great pictures - some of the best of the trip! Then we made our way back towards the hostel, to check in with Ben, and got some cannolis on the way (below right). Yes, yes, more food. Judge away. They were awesome. :)

Ben ended up staying with his friend for dinner, so the three of us hunted down a cheap but tasty dinner spot. We found the perfect location, under a tent in the middle of a plaza. It was starting to sprinkle, and this way we could stay outside but stay dry. I felt the need to try the spaghetti, because Italy's got to do it the best I figured (below right), and they did well! We shared some house wine and chatted for hours (see left). By the time we left, it was dark and raining a bit more. My sad, sad umbrella (a few prongs were no longer able to do their job) so we did a bit of umbrella shopping for me...and took in a few more of the back streets of Venice before heading back to the hostel with wet shoes and wet pants' hems. We saw the canal was flooding in some areas, as we walked home. Guess even a little rain, mixed with the tides, can really do some damage! Yikes!

We had a wonderful time in Venice...one of my true favorites in Europe. The mixture of fantastic weather, delicious food, some lovely shopping opportunities and of course, great friends, made the day really memorable. I was stoked for Rome the next day though! Our train left in the mid morning and we arrived in Rome in the early afternoon. The ride went fast (...because, YES, I napped!) and before we knew it, bye bye canals, HELLLOOOOO gladiators!

Roma is coming soon! Stay tuned! (I may need to get some more coffee...it's now 3:40AM. Little over 3 hours until check in. Little under 7 until flight time.)