Feb. 24-Feb. 26 (Nice, France)

Feb. 24

On Friday, we arrived at Nice in the late afternoon, and I was somewhat disappointed by the city- it was dirty and crowded and not the quaint beach town I was expecting. We made it up the hill to our hostel, quickly changed and headed straight for the beach (desperate to take advantage of the great weather… We thought 60 degrees was flip-flops, jeans, and t-shirt weather). Needless to say, our walk to the beach was pretty cold and we got some stares. The majority of those on the streets were wearing parkas… The beach was pebbles, not the sand that I was expecting, and it was beautiful! Once out of the train station area, Nice becomes a beautiful beach and boardwalk type place with cute little shops and stands all over the place. Carnevale was also happening in Nice, so there was a giant ferris wheal set up as well as costumes and confetti all over the place, which made the atmosphere that much better.

After soaking up the rays, we made out way back to our hostel for the happy hour specials. Half the group decided to stay in, but Marlee, Nichole and I decided to explore the night life of Nice. We bought our ticket for the tram and hopped on- each stop on the tram has its own little tune, which is very entertaining. About ten minutes later, the police force invaded the tram demanding to see everyone’s tickets (a common occurrence apparently). We showed them our tickets and, to our horror, we were promptly led off the tram. After revealing our passports and after a very rude, very broken English attempt at explaining where we were at fault, we realized hadn’t validated out tickets once on the tram. We were each written up and each had to pay a 30 Euro fine. A huge damper on the night, but we still made it to the recommended Wayne’s Bar and had a blast listening to live music for a couple hours. 

Feb. 25

On Saturday, at the suggestion of our hostel, we decided to visit Monaco and Cap d’Ail. Monaco was absolutely gorgeous- as the wealthiest country in the world, you would hope so! (Fun fact: 0% unemployment rate there and the most millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world.) We explore the docs with the unbelievable yachts (hot tubs on board most of them) then head to the famous Monte Carlo casino. Unfortunately, it didn’t open until two so we couldn’t go inside (not that we were in the appropriate attire anyways), but with the wide variety of fancy cars, designer shops and upscale people I can only imagine how fancy the casino is!

In front of the doc

Me, Naomi, Marlee, Caroline, Ashlee, Nichole, and Shelley

From Monaco, we caught the train back towards Nice and got off at Cap d’Ail. This is a little beach cove in the French Riviera. It was so amazing! We sat out on this terrace and enjoyed the great weather and views. There was a little running path along the cove that Marlee, Nichole and I walked along for a little ways.

Cap d'Ail

We had dinner at our hostel and sat around a table in the common room of the hostel talking and hanging out. I started getting sick earlier that day, so I decided to stay in while everyone went out. I had downloaded “The Hunger Games” books (thanks Mom!) so I wasn’t completely bored.

Feb. 26

On Sunday, Nichole, Marlee and I went for a run up to a waterfall/overlook in Nice. The view was stunning and so worth the hard run up! We then ran down along the beach for a little while before stopping to stretch and sit on the beach.

After laying on the beach for a while, we went to the flower/produce/soap/spice market along the beach. There was so much great stuff, it was hard not to buy anything! (The 30 Euro fine took enough of a toll on my budget). With the run, the beach time, the exploring and the overall great day, we lost track of time and ended up having to run to the train station to catch our train.

Feb. 23: Lugano

I suppose I should give an update on my life here in Lugano. I have officially completed two classes: Italian and Consumer Behavior. We are now only taking one class: Marketing Research. Our professor is a very kind man, but the material he has to lecture on is not exactly thrilling. It has been really warm here the past few days, and it is supposed to make it up to 75 on Friday! (Of course I will be traveling by then, but it’s still nice to think that winter is on its way OUT!) I work out pretty much every day- there are about ten flights of stairs that take you from the bottom of the Lugano hill/mountain to the top which has proven to be quite the work out. There is also a running path along the lake which is (not to be corny) absolutely breathtaking. Then a group of us does “Insanity” some nights- a work out video.

Part of the running path

We are provided dinners Monday through Thursday, and they alternate between meat and pasta/pizza. These have been very good and are a big part of why I try to work out every day…

This weekend, Marlee, Nichole, Noami, Shelley, Caroline, Ashley and I are going to Nice (the French Riviera)! Whitney is going to Rome, so this will be the first time we are apart (AH!!). Off to Marketing Research now! 

Feb. 17-19 (Venice, Italy)

Feb. 17

Venice is by far the most beautiful city I have ever been to. My favorite city yet! It didn’t hurt that we had a beautiful weekend too…

We got into Venice on Friday evening. Our hostel (Hotel Villa Serena) was not on the island, so after dropping off our stuff, we took the bus then the water taxi to meet up with some other people from our group at the San Marco square. There was a huge stage set up in the square with a lot of different performances- juggling, singing, and dancing were what we got to see. Venice is somewhat lacking in night-life, so after these performances ended around ten, we decided to make our way back to our hostel. On the way, however, we came across a bar that looked pretty lively. Marlee, Kelly, Jill, Whit and I sat down at a table just to take it all in. We got some free popcorn (always a plus!), a few drinks, got the DJ to play Marlee’s favorite song (to which she naturally danced on the table), and we called it a night.

Kelly, Marlee, me, Whit, Jill

Feb. 18

Once again, we met everyone at the San Marco square to start our day. From there we let Marlee lead us (always a questionable decision) to a spot that her travel book recommended for lunch. The tiny sandwich shop had an interesting, if not very disturbing, display of naked women all over its walls. I must admit though, the sandwiches were pretty good. After exploring the island of Venice, purchasing the traditional Carnevale masks, and sitting by the water drinking a couple glasses of wine, we boated to an island called Marano- famous for glass-blowing. The boat ride was about 30 minutes and the weather was absolutely amazing. Although it was just a water taxi, I think I will call it a cruise. Yes, I went on a cruise in Venice. Once at the island, we watched some glass-blowing, explored all the little shops full of glass figurines and anything glass you could think of, then made our way back to Venice. From beautiful weather to sitting by the water and drinking wine to exploring these cute little towns and shops, I’d say this was in the top 10 best days of my life. Some may say that this is an exaggeration, but those people have never been to Venice.

On the cruise with my new mask!

Glass blowing

That night, we went out to dinner at a little restaurant with great food. From there, we went back to “our” square, played a few games of musical bottles (musical chairs with wine bottles) with some fellow young adults enjoying Carnevale, then continued on back to the water to explore a little more. Since there is not much of a night-life in Venice, we called it a pretty early night again and made our way back to our hostel.

Feb. 19

Around 6 a.m., Whitney jumps out of bed and runs to the door, convinced that part of our group that is staying on the island is yelling our names outside our hostel. I am not sure if she was dreaming or if she really heard voices, but nonetheless our friends had not gotten the name of our hostel, traveled the twenty minutes from their hostel to ours, figured out which room was ours, and stood outside shouting our names. Our adrenaline quickly subsided and we were back asleep.

Some dinner leftovers made their way back to our hostel Saturday night. On Sunday, we woke up (after Whitney’s incident) to a few hundred ants surrounding our bag of food. Kelly is very afraid of ants, so her screams and panic made Sunday morning pretty entertaining. Showered, fed, out of our hostel and ant-free, we made our way to the train and back home to the Montarina.  

Our group in front of the docs

Feb 10-12 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Feb. 10

On Friday, we took the train to Brussels, trained to Amsterdam then tramed to our hostel (the Flying Pig Uptown). This hostel was quite different than anything we had experienced. The reception was located behind the rowdy bar of the hostel (yes, it was rowdy when we got in at noon), there was a “smoking room” which was not intended for cigarettes, and the hike up to our room was just that- a hike!

After putting our stuff in our room, Whitney and I went to the Van Gough museum. It was 14 Euros to get in, but it was definitely worth it. The paintings were beautiful and so recognizable.

We met our group back at the hostel at seven and joined the rowdy folks at the bar for a few drinks. Some braved the smoking room others went to check out the “coffee shops,” but the majority of our group headed out to dinner around 8. From there we went to a few different clubs- all playing American music, which we have gotten used to at this point. Each club also had a “smoking room” and one even sold weed! A definite culture shock.

At the Flying Pig Bar

Me, Whit, Katie, Olivia and Gina

Feb. 11

After sleeping in until 11, I leapt out of bed and ran downstairs hoping to make the free breakfast! Of course, the one day I sleep in, the one day there is free breakfast, it is over at 10:30. We ended up going to a place called Bagels  & Beans (a chain in Amsterdam). It was great! I got my first bagel in Europe and enjoyed a great coffee!

After breakfast, we went ice-skating in our shoes on the frozen canal (first time it has frozen in 15 years!), took pictures at the “I Amsterdam” sign, and toured the Anne Frank house. The Anne Frank house was my second favorite part of Amsterdam (I will explain my first later). It was so amazing to be in her house and learn more about her history and what happened during that time.

Standing on the canal!

Whit, Marlee, Nichole, me, Naomi, Kelly

Following Anne Frank’s house, we did a little shopping then saw the Red Light district, another culture shock for me. There are 200+ windows with women standing behind them in small rooms. These women ranged in looks and were often beckoning to the walker-bys. The area is quite literally lit up with red lights and it was very uncomfortable to walk through.

Now my favorite part. Every time the canal freezes (not often), there is a competition for the youth of Amsterdam. Whoever wants to can strap on their skates and compete for Emperor or Empress of Amsterdam. There is an ice skating race of about 100 yards and thousands (I am not exaggerating) of people line the streets to watch this traditional event. Whitney, Marlee, Kelly and I climbed up onto a moveable light pole and got what one could argue were the best seats in the house!

Ice Skating competition.

This night, some of us just stayed at the bar in the hostel, while others found more clubs. Now, at the Flying Pig, there is a cat that hangs out around the bar. This cat was nothing but friendly and social and we had a lovely time together the whole night. As the night was winding down, I got my phone to try to send out a few emails. Apparently Buttercup (the name we had given her) did not like being ignored and preceded to pounce on my arm and start biting me. I was obviously very frightened and jumped back from the table where I had been sitting. She began making her way around the table and attacking everyone who was in close range! A very strange way to end our night.

Whitney and I with the cat... before the attack.

Feb. 12

We got up early Sunday morning and caught the 8a.m. train back to Lugano. It was a ten hour train ride with one switch and we all just slept the entire way. A very long but very fun 10-day adventure! This weekend we are heading to Venice for Carnival, next weekend is Rome, then the weekend after that is our next ten-day already (and DAVID IS COMING!!!!).

Feb. 6-9 (London, England)

Feb. 6

Let me just start by saying that the pound (London’s currency) is horrible for Americans. I had to budget to the extreme in London, but I was still able to see and do everything that I wanted to. Figuring out how to get from the airport to the hostel proved to be much harder than we imagined. We ended up taking a 1.5-hour bus ride to a random bus station then a cab to our hostel.  Another group figured out that the train was 20 minutes and took them right to the hostel… O well, we were in London!

We stayed at the YHA hostel- a nice hostel that had way too many hidden fees (we had to pay to be members, pay for internet, and pay for breakfast)… O well, we were in London! We got in pretty late, so we went to eat a late dinner at a great little Japanese restaurant by our hostel then went to bed.

Feb. 7

On Tuesday morning, we went to see the changing of the guards at the Buckingham palace, which was amazing! This is a tradition in London that draws a huge crowd. After watching this for about an hour, hearing them play the James Bond theme song and seeing more horses (this time with police on them, not carriages), we were off to explore London.

Changing of the guards

In front of the Buckingham Palace

We had lunch at a small Irish pub called O’Neill’s (we missed Dublin) then headed back to our hostel to get ready for High Tea! High Tea is another tradition in London. Literally you are “just” drinking tea, but we got really dressed up and went to a five star hotel to enjoy our tea and treats in their “lounge.” I chose the “Whole Rosebuds” tea (very cleansing and good for the skin according to the waiter). After tea, we were off to a show! What a London-esque day!

Getting ready to leave for high tea.

We got really cheap (17 pounds) group tickets to go see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater. This is a Broadway musical that I have been wanting to see for a while now, and what better way to experience it than in London?! The Apollo Theater was smaller than I thought it would be, so our seats were great! (There really were no bad seats). Wicked was absolutely terrific! Although my memory is not very good (and I have seen my fare share of musicals since I was really young), I’d say it is easily top 3 best musicals I have seen. The acting was great, the music was great, and the story line was GREAT! Wicked is the back-story of Wizard of Oz, and it explains how the good and bad witches came to be. It is a very clever and well done script. I even recognized some of the songs that I did not know were from Wicked. After the play, some people went out, but a few other girls and I were just too tired from our day of activities that we called it a night and took the subway (known as the underground) home (London transportation is so easy and great!).

In front of the stage at the end of the show.

Feb. 8

On Wednesday, we saw Big Ben (the big clock), the Parliament building (huge and attached to Big Ben), the London Gallery, Westminster Abby, the London Eye (The giant farris wheal), and the British Museum (where the Rosetta Stone, pieces of the Parthenon, and much much more is held). It was a packed day, but I am so glad I got to see all of these things! Outside of the London Gallery are giant lions that a lot of tourists tend to climb up and get pictures on. Needless to say, we all did this.

Countdown to the Olympics in London!

In Front of the London Gallery also.

Big Ben and a small section of Parliament.

Westminster Abby

In front of the Rosetta Stone!

Design for the 2012 Olympic Medals! (In the British Museum)

Everyone met up back at our hostel to get ready for dinner and a night of festivities. A few of us ate at a place called The Court. I had a great burger and a great beer for only 4 pounds! After this, the small group I was with lost the bigger group who could not find tables at The Court. We got on a bus to go to Camden where everyone was eventually going to meet up. After getting sufficiently lost, we found a strange cobblestone alley with a lot of different bars. We chose to go into a bar resembling a barn and were met by the sound of rock music and people having a great time. The bands playing were strange but pretty entertaining. Only later did we realize that this great time was most likely induced by hard-core drugs. Upon this realization, we promptly made our way out to try harder to find our friends. Finally we found them at the Wagon Wheal bar where more live music and fun was happening. Luckily this fun was far from drugs and we ended up having a blast!

Feb. 9

On Thursday, we went to finish our tour of London. We saw Abby Road (where the famous Beatles picture was taken), the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge and London Bridge. Unfortunately the London Bridge was not as exciting as we thought it would be… It was like any bridge you would see in America with cars driving across it and all. The Tower Bridge was more exciting and colorful and no cars were driving across it (a much better tourist attraction). We ate an early dinner at the hostel and went to bed early because our train to Amsterdam was at 6a.m.!

Tower Bridge

Abby Road picture! 

(Lots of traffic so this proved to be quite challenging.)

February 4-6 (Dublin, Ireland)

Feb. 4

The ten-day was exhausting! I am shocked by the amount of stuff I saw/did these past 9 nine days. I will start in Dublin and work my way through to Amsterdam (chronologically for those of you who are still trying to figure out my writing strategy).

First time I have seen this in Europe!

We left the Montarina on February 4, taking a bus to the airport at 6 in the morning then flying out of Milan. Apparently getting to the airport two hours early is not expected in Europe… We got to our hostel in Dublin late Saturday afternoon and checked in. The hostel (Ashfield House) was so small we had to take turns bringing our stuff in. Deciding not to spend more time in the hostel than we had to, we left to get a late lunch at a very cool, multi-floor Irish pub. We happened to be in Dublin during a rugby tournament weekend and watched Italy vs. France while eating lunch. Unfortunately, Ireland ended up losing the next day, but we enjoyed watching the games with such rowdy fans!

Ashfield House

After exploring the town of Dublin for a while, we went to meet up with everyone at one group’s apartment. After everyone had caught up (being apart for more than a couple hours brings an astonishing amount of stories), we left for the Temple Bar area (the most popular bar strip in Dublin). We decided to brave the crowds and went in Temple Bar itself (the most popular bar in Dublin). We pushed our way to the front of the crowd, right in front of the band that was playing. This was easily one of my favorite nights yet in Europe. The two-person band was unbelievably talented and played mostly American, recognizable songs that everyone was singing along to.

Temple Bar area

Feb. 5

After enjoying a free breakfast at our hostel, we made our way to the free walking tour (free is a key word for us these days). We happened to run into our tour guide on the way to the meeting spot (which proved to be in a very different direction than we were heading, so I’m glad we ran into him!). We learned a lot about Ireland and Dublin’s history, saw the original structure of the Dublin castle, and learned that the people of Dublin love Obama (mostly because he is not Bush).

Castle

In front of the castle with Kelly and Whit

We took a quick break from our tour to grab lunch (the most amazing Kabob sandwhich I have ever had) then back out in the cold we went. We saw Trinity College, the Trinity library, the Chester Beatty library, the parliament building, and lots and lots of horse-drawn carriages!

Parliament building

Sunday afternoon, we went to tour the Guinness Factory. It was really interesting to learn all about how the beer was made, why it is different than other beers, and we got to try some! Our beer tasting was in the “gravity bar,” which was a bar on top of the factory with huge windows instead of walls that looked out over all of Dublin.

Gravity Bar

After some more exploring of Dublin on our own (shopping, listening to street music and wandering), we went to watch the Super Bowl at one of the only bars that was open on a Sunday night. This was a terrible experience. The waitress clearly did not want to be working and did not like Americans. After searching our purses (still not sure why), making us move tables, and forcing us to buy drinks or leave, we decided the Super Bowl was not worth it and left. During all this commotion, Whitney had left to walk one of our friends home and said she would be back in 15 minutes. An hour later, when everyone was trying to head out, she still wasn’t back. Naturally, I thought the worst and was panicking. A few girls stayed behind with me to wait for her, and during this time, one girl accidentally knocked over the glass she had been drinking out of. The waitress then officially kicked us out, and as we were walking out, Whitney showed up! (The girl she had walked home had gotten really upset over something, so she had been consoling her). Long story short (but not really), this night was not nearly as fun as the first night in Dublin!

Feb. 6

On Monday, Whitney, Kelly and I went to visit Kilmainham Goal (the old jail in Dublin). Getting there was an adventure on its own. We decided to jump on a bus that looked like it was heading out of the city (the jail was just outside the city)… needless to say, this was not our best decision. We soon realized this was not going to take us to the jail, and we hopped off. Two miles later, and lots of stopping to ask for directions, we found the jail. Quick side note- for those of you who know how bad my direction sense is, you will be happy to know that I have gotten much smarter and my direction sense is better than most on this trip. We got a tour of the jail and heard many different stories about prisoners, the history of the jail and facts about the different parts of the jail.

The jail

After some souvenir shopping (I got some Claddagh earrings and a present for you Dad!), we hopped on a bus (the right one!) and headed off to the airport to catch our plane to London. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip! I have to go eat lunch and head off to our new class (7 chapters due by Wednesday already! The class hasn’t even started!).

February 2

Happy February! Today in Lugano, there are two feet of snow on the ground. Some may say this is exciting and fun, but all it means for me is that I have now slipped and fallen twice, it is absolutely freezing out, and I can’t work out outside. To sum it up, I am not a fan of the snow or the cold. Hurry up warm weather!

Snow on palm trees!

Today also brings one midterm (in Italian) and one final (in Consumer Behavior). Hopefully these go well and I can enjoy a nice, relaxing ten-day vacation around Europe.