When in Rome...

Tonight is my last night in Rome. It's been a nice time, despite the rain and a disastrous pub crawl (Matt got beaten up by a bunch of bouncers at the last club because he tried to shove his way past them after they wouldn't let him back in).

But besides that, Rome was pretty wonderful. The ruins are so cool!!! And to think this was almost my major. In the first day alone I took over 90 pictures.

I saw the Pantheon and Donatello's tomb, the Colosseum, the Forum, where Julius Caesar's body was cremated, the cat sanctuary, this other big building I can't remember the name of..., Plaza Nuovo, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Cathedral (breathtaking) and the Pieta (!!!), and Hadrian's mausoleum. Sadly, the Sistine Chapel was closed by the time we got there, so I'll just have to come back to Rome :)

I ate pizza and gelato and tiramisu and a chocolate chip Italian pastry thing.

The sights to see here are just incredible. The amount of history, and it's there in front of you and you can touch it...there is no place like Rome.

Florence was beautiful, and Rome has the history. I don't know if I can choose between the two...but here it goes.

So my top five cities post-Italy:

1. Paris

2. Rome

3. Toronto

4. Florence

5. Prague

I love Italy. The food, the sights, the natural beauty. Everything is just so warm and inviting.

Normandy

5 April, 2010

I’ve spent the weekend in Normandy. Saturday in La Havre, Thibault’s home town. His family (parents, one younger brother my age, and a 17-yr-old sister) had us to their country home for lunch. I like French dining – began with Muscat for an aperitif alongside mini-sausages and baguette and cheeto type snacks. This was followed by a carrot, cucumber, tomato, and olive salad. Then the main course was duck with green beans, accompanied by a glass of Bordeaux (currently my favorite red wine). After that was baguette et fromage and then a delicious apple tart for dessert with café (French coffee >> American coffee). It was so good, and I was so full. Oh, and they also had us try Calvados (a very strong apple-based liquor that Normandy is famous for). Never again. Never again. I just had a sugar cube soaked in it (sugar cubes in France are made with real unprocessed, brown sugar, by the way). It tastes so bad -_- Thibault’s mother joked that once when Thibault and his friends were getting too loud having a bon fire party, she brought them out some calvados so they’d just pass out, and thus quiet down. Oh, Europe.

Then Thibault and his dad took us to Etretat, a famous beach on the Atlantic. Here we finally (and inevitably) met fellow Buffalonians! Two high school students, one from West Seneca and one from the West Side, were on a 3-week exchange program to France. The beach was very beautiful, check Facebook for pics. That night we got some Chinese for dinner and hung at a pub, drank some cidre (which was surprisingly hard to find to buy in stores, which made me sad because I love it) and played billiards.

On Sunday we took the train to Caen, then a train+bus to Mont Saint Michel. Unfortunately, we just missed being able to tour the abbey, but we got to walk around the picturesque medieval village. It was like Disney World – but real! :P And of course, there was ice cream in a waffle cone to be had (vanille being the equivalent of French Vanilla dans les Etas-Unis).

Then today we (Tim, Erin, Joe, Matt, and me, Taylor went back to Cergy last night cause he’d already been to the D-Day area) wanted to go see a D-Day beach. We found a train to get us as close as we could, but it was still 17km to Omaha and the American Cemetery, AND the bus wasn’t running because it’s a national school holiday. Our first reaction was “MERDE!” but then we found a bike rental shop, rented the bikes, 15 Euro for the day, and made our great trek. I’m really glad we did this. Now I can tell my kids that I rode a bike through the French countryside to go see the American Cemetery on Omaha beach. It took about 1.5 hrs to get there, we were there for probably as long, and then made it back with slightly better time. The visitor center at the cemetery was very well done – a miniature museum. They even highlighted a soldier from Buffalo (Buffalo pride!) After seeing the cemetery we walked down onto the beach itself. It was so serene that it’s hard to imagine that 2,000+ people died there in a day. After walking the beach we climbed the hill back to our bikes, stopping in some old German bunkers on the way. Once back to town it was time for a jambon et beurre baguette avec Orangina (like orange juice, but in pop form – it even has a little bit of pulp) avec un boule de glaces Nutella pour dessert (nutella ice cream – c’est bon!!, and it was in a waffle cone for no extra charge, God I love this country) In the end, it was definitely a day I will never forget.

This Thursday will be my first night a Paris night club. A club at Monteparnasse is free for foreigners every Thursday night, which is awesome because Paris night clubs usually cost 20+ Euro – trop cher! I have class in the morning, but I’d like to go to Paris for the afternoon-evening before the dancing begins.

Last Thursday I went to a night club near Cergy for a party hosted by ENSEA, EISTI (the computer science school that Sylvain and Lala and Antoine go to), and then the Bio Engineering school. It was a really big club. And unlike what I would ever see in America, there were times when the heightened dancing podiums were occupied only by boys. In the US they’re usually only filled with the slutiest girls in the club. It was a really fun night. There’s supposed to be an even bigger party there in two weeks, when they’ll open up the second floor (it was closed for this last party). Seriously, French student parties >> American student parties.

And then this weekend, I don’t think we have plans for it yet. But we bought tix for a UK trip in June. We have a 5 day weekend for Scottland and England. I’m hoping for a weekend trip to Dublin, and definitely to Bordeaux and Lyon or Toulouse.

Ahhh, all of our butts hurt from the biking L There was a full chorus of ow’s when we remounted the bikes at the cemetery for the ride back home. At least the train’s seats are soft this time.

And with that, I bid you adieu.

Just a pleasant evening

Things I miss about Buffalo:

• UB's internet
• The Hub
• Wegman's
• Chicken Wings
• Tim Horton's
• Mighty Taco
• Ovens

Things I love about Europe:

• Walking
• The weather
• The food
• The friendly people
• The buildings
• The sights
• The reduced drinking - I'm actually an equal adult here!

In other news: I got the REU (National Science Foundation-Sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates) I wanted at UCLA!!! I'm gonna be in Cali this summer, woot!

Vienna and Budapest

The last portion of my vacation was in Vienna for 2 days, Budapest for 3, and then Vienna again for the last.

In Vienna, my favorite site was the State Library - it was like the library out of Beauty and the Beast. I want one one day. We also saw the royal burial vault. It was really cool to see the coffins holding people I learned about in AP Euro. Also in Vienna, saw Schoneberg Palace - the Hapsburgs summer home. It was beautiful of course, accompanied by gardens that led to a beautiful view atop a hill. And on our first night in Vienna, we took the train to a village named Modling for dinner. It was picturesque and we could actually see stars outside of an old church lit up against the night.

In Budapest, our hotel was on the Danube and our room had a river view - we could see the palace, several bridges, and several monuments atop a hill from our window (amazing!) Budapest is beautiful at night. In fact, I like Budapest at night more than I do during the day. Our first night there was one of my favorites of the whole trip. We walked to the other side of the river to go exploring and ended up climbing the winding paths leading to the monuments on the big hill that we saw. Despite being in a city, the air felt fresh and calm. As an added bonus, we saw several cats chilling out along the path on our ascent. There were also a bunch of perfect look-outs on the way up. It was so beautiful, the city lights, the air, I could have stayed there all night.

The next day we toured the Hungarian Parliament building and then went to a really cool bar in the evening. The following day we walked around some more, exploring the palace area, and went to a night club called Alcatraz (it was in fact decorated like a prison). All in all, Budapest was fun. There food was too deep-fried (worse than American food!), but it was the cheapest so far.

So from Budapest we returned to Vienna. We toured the largest underground lake in Europe, which used to be a mine and then was used by the Nazis to build jet planes in 1944. We spent the night in a village staying with Taylor's "Aunt" (who was an exchange student living with his mother when they were in high school) and her twenty-something son and daughter. They cooked us a traditional Austrian dinner (red cabbage, dumplings, yumminess in general) finished off with ice cream covered in freshly whipped cream and raspberries. And they had a cat and a wood-burning stove (a god-send after standing in freezing cold snow waiting for a bus) - it was one of the best night's sleep I had in two weeks. They also gave us the traditional Austrian breakfast - breads, toast, rolls, ham, and cheese. It was WONDERFUL.

Then it was onto the train for what became a 16 hour trip home. We had a layover in Frankfurt because the earlier train had sold out. Frankfurt didn't seem to have very much and only had free wifi if you had a T-mobil phone, even at Starbucks! And then we started freaking out a little because the sign said that our train was cancelled. Turns out they just had to put us on a different train and then transfer at a station along the way. So we made it back to Paris and then back to Cergy around 12:30. Safe and Sound. And Tired.

I'm really glad I went on the trip - I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Prague

1 March 2010

Just got to Wien. Praha was BEAUTIFUL. One of the most beautiful cities I have seen yet, second only to Paris. The food was good too. There were food vendors in a town square and I got potatoes mixed with cheese and ham and a big sausage in a baguette and a frieddough/soft pretzel thing that looked like a big bracelet with cinnamon sugar coating it. I also got fresh hot candied almonds. Very good.

The buildings in Praha are just so beautiful, and they all have yellow lights at night and gold accents that make it all the more wonderful.

And the weather was good. The weather keeps getting progressively better with each city.

Saturday night we went to an awesome night club – Golden Tree I think is the English translation of the name. There were about 5 levels underground and a whole bunch of different rooms and bars, plus one room with the dance floor and lasers and smoke machine and European techno. Needless to say, it was a fun place.

My 3 Favorite Cities thus Far:

1. Paris

2. Toronto

3. Praha

Berlin

23 February 2010

In Berlin today. German food is AWESOME. So good! So hearty, so filling. I had a “meatball” with potatoes that were just too good. All this with a beer, because it’s cheaper than water. Haha, I’m getting in touch with my heritage! I should learn some German recipes, ‘cause god the food was tres enorme.

And as for French, I can kind of read, forget about reading German. Luckily, a bunch of places have English menus. And I already have my eye on some apple strudel and a doughy sugary chocolately almondy pretzel thing that I am eating before I leave here.

Tomorrow we’re going to hit up museums. There’s so much to see here, Taylor and I wish we spent one less day in Amsterdam and came here instead.

26 February 2010

Berlin was a really good experience. Yes, the food, and the museums. There is just so much history there. On Wednesday I went to the Pergamom, saw Nefertiti, Berlin City Hall, the Brandenberg Gate, the Bundestag, and the Berlin Synagogue. The Bundestag is an awesome capitol building. It is a shining example of a beautiful hybrid of classical and modern architecture, not to been green building.

Yesterday I went to the Holocaust memorial. There is an entire museum underneath it. Both memorial and museum were beautiful in how moving they were.

I also went to Checkpoint Charlie, where they had walls with historical information. At this wall a Scottish tourist, who turned 70 that day, told us about his experience during WWII. He was still a kid at the time but remembered how scarce everything was in Britain because of the U Boat blockade. And he remembers listening to Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech on the radio and his dad telling him that it was going to be a very important speech. His older brother was 17 when he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He survived the war physically, but drank a lot because of it. It was amazing to hear a firsthand account from some who lived through the time in Europe, and I am grateful he shared his story with us.

After checkpoint Charlie we went to a technology museum. It had so many train engines!!! And they’re so huge!

But in the farthest part of the train section there was a boxcar that carried deported Jews. That was…haunting. I was almost surprised to not sense the scent of death from it. Right near the museum was a park with the remains of the train station that first deported Jews from Berlin. We stood on one of the old platforms.

We then went to the Jewish museum. It was huge, and in a very modern and architecturally significant building. It was a very well put together museum.

This morning we walked down to the Victory Tower on Unter den Liden before heading to the train station. Now I’m on my way to Prague

Amsterdam

21 February 2010

Why does Europe fail at public Wifi?!?!

So I’m in Amsterdam right now. No internet…I was really looking forward to having some internet…but no, I am denied.

Anyways.

So we arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon. It was very odd weather – not quite hail yet not quite snow. It was like Dip-in-Dots Ice Cream, or bits of packaging foam, except it hurt when it hit your face.

We walked around a bunch. Had dinner at an Indian Restaurant – the food was tres bon. At night we walked around the Red Light district, then stopped for ice cream/waffles with chocolate syrup at a place called Australia before heading back to the hotel for bed.

Today we went to the Van Gogh Museum and the Nemo science museum. At the Nemo museum Erin and I played DanceStage (aka DDR). They also had a exhibits on puberty and sex, in a children’s museum – only in Europe. We learned some very interesting facts.

The Van Gogh museum was alright. I found out I didn’t like his art until he went to Paris – it was very dark and devoid of color before then.

Then it started to rain. And it was very cold. So, cold and wet, we walked around. Ate at a restaurant where I had Sate – a traditional dutch dish of chicken in peanut sauce – similar to the Thai dish, except not deep fried. It was really good and the bread we got had really good garlic butter spread. Oh, and I had a bagel for lunch today! (Haven’t found a bagel in France yet)

After dinner we walked around the red light district a little more and went to the sex museum.

Hahaha, Taylor is making the argument that the Netherlands and France should give us free wifi because we liberated them in WWII. It’s the least they could do.

Tomorrow we’re going to the Anne Frank House, the Reijjsomething museum, the Resistance museum, and maybe the Heineken Plant tour. Then we head on out to Berlin Tuesday morning.

I hope there’s better weather tomorrow. And maybe free wifi in my future…

And Amsterdam is kind of cool because most everyone speaks English. So it makes things easy to get around. There are also a ton of Americans here. A lot of them sound/look like Long Island girls *shiver*

It’s also neat here because so many people ride bikes instead of cars. There are bikes EVERYWHERE. Bikes, bikes, and more bikes.

So, Amsterdam is good enough, but Paris is still my favorite city by far. Followed in second by Toronto.

22 February 2010

Still in Amsterdam. Today we went to the Rijk Museum, the Dutch Resistance Museum, and the Anne Frank House.

It has been pouring rain for the better part of the day, so I gave in and bought an umbrella at an outdoor market (I forgot mine in Cergy).

The Rijk Museum was pretty cool. They had a bunch of Dutch paintings and artifacts from the 17^th/18^th centuries.

The Resistance Museum was really put together well. It was actually interesting to read all of the little plaques.

The Anne Frank House was not worth the 8.50 Euros. Granted, I have never read the book, maybe if I had it would have been cooler, but it was pretty much just a bunch of empty rooms with quotes from her diary splashed on the walls every now and then.

Haha, I sort of miss France :P

Berlin tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be better, and free wifi will be more available. And they will serve tap water and won’t charge extra for ketchup.