Documenting my semester abroad in Florence.
Fiorentina vs. AC Milan
Oh, man! Italians are serious about their football. They made me want to start following soccer.
AC Milan is really, really good. We knew Florence didn’t really have a chance. But the game was amazing anyway. The fans were insane. We happened to sit right on the border of Florence fans and Milan fans. Security had to line up on the border after the game. People were shouting expletives and jumping all over the place. Needless to say, it was fun as hell.
April trip to Venice.
Barcelona: I’m finally blogging about it!
Barcelona, where I went around the first of April, was beautiful and bustling.
We (Kate, Tessa, Ivy and I) stayed right off of Las Ramblas, the most happening street in the city. While the hostel experience wasn’t the most desirable the first couple of nights (thanks to some rude, smelly, hot dog-eating roommates) the next few nights were much better (thanks to attractive and friendly Argentinian roommates).
Thank God I had a little Rick Steves book with me there. Kate and I did all the planning/organizing of the trip. And we couldn’t have done it without you, Rick.
The trip was full of the flavors, architecture and art of Catalunya. We went to Gaudi’s Parc Guell, toured his Casa Mila and Sagrada Familia, visited the Picasso museum, and Kate and I ventured to a neighboring town to see the Dali museum. Dali was one hell of a self-promoter. And kind of a crazy genius artist. Did you know he collaborated with Disney to make a film? It was weird.
I tried Catalan cream (damn good), paella (not a big fan), and amazing fresh fruit juices from the market on Las Ramblas. And we went to a chocolate museum, so I had to get some treats there. Rick told us about a hip juice bar/restaurant called Juicy Jones. The juice was so good. And it was exclusively vegetarian, so Tessa was pleased.
The weather was perfect. And the travel was pretty much flawless, aside from nearly missing our bus to the airport on the way home.
Oh, and on the way to Spain, when I was feeling a little nervous to be traveling without Laura, we saw a rainbow.
The Kitty Cats of Greece
Spring Break ‘11: Rhodes, Greece
This spring break tops the rest. I mean Chicago was great and all, but Greece was amazing. Beautiful weather, delicious food and friends from home made this the perfect, relaxing break.
Although some criticized us for staying in Greece all break, it was worth it. We weren’t rushed. It was a true vacation.
Gina, Katherine, Laura and I were all together! It was great. Even if Katherine did the strangest lip-smacking snoring thing in her sleep each night.
We went to Greece in the off-season, which meant lots of places were closed. Especially in Faliraki. It was there where we met our taxi driver/tour guide Michael, who showed us around the island of Rhodes the rest of the week.
Michael took us to Lindos, Kalithea and the Seven Springs. We saw the beautiful white houses of Lindos, the sandy beach and Kalithea and walked through the water tunnel at the Seven Springs. We also saw wild peacocks!
Every day we somehow managed to end up at Cafe Finn. Greece was the land of cheap eats. I had great seafood (including stuffed calamari and shrimp with noodles) and even better treats from Finn.
Rhodes Old Town, which was about a 15-minute walk from Hotel Angela, was full of fun stores and more good food. Old Town is actually within a medieval castle site. How cool!
It was a fantastic trip. I could (and might) tell more about it. Oh, one more fun tidbit: We were only 22 miles away from Turkey! In the words of Laura, “How exotic!”
I scrubbed the bathroom today. I now know what soap scum mixed with hair and chipped paint looks like.
A brief trip to Milan
Friday, March 4, the Communications kids went on a school-organized field trip to Milan. We toured the headquarters of the historic Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and spoke with the editor of the Culture section. I even asked a question!
After that, Laura, Kate, Meghan H. and I walked to the Triennale di Milano design museum. Laura had this all planned out. We saw a really interesting special exhibit called Graphic Design Worlds. It showcased the work of more than 30 designers. The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel ad campaign by Kessels Kramer was fun to see. It’s clear who the target is and the art/copy work so well together. Check out the campaign!
And we also saw some weird exhibit about the importance of the hat in cinema. It was strange. I’ve never thought about hats that much. But I got a really cool poster from it (for free!).
Then we hopped the Metro to go to the Duomo and eat some lunch. We shopped a bit, too. But I can’t afford that designer stuff.
Michael Palin
Ingrown toenails are really gross. This is the first (and hopefully last) one I’ve had. I had to go to the doctor here to get it checked out. I was terrified. I was convinced I’d have to get part of the nail removed, but I don’t have to! The doctor was friendly, and he told me to go out and get new, loose shoes (OK! Gladly!). And he said removing part of the nail would be “too aggressive.” He gave me a prescription for a packet of salt-looking stuff. I had to over boil water and then mix the “salt” in it. I have to pour that mixture, which I have saved in a water bottle, onto gauze and wrap it around my toe, leaving it there for 40 minutes two times a day. He also gave me some bottle of purple medicine. I have to put one drop on my toe twice a day. He warned me it would stain my skin. And he was right.
Anyway, check out the pre-treatment and mid-treatment pictures. They are both disgusting.
This past weekend (Feb. 25-27) the Communications kids took a school-organized trip to Roma. Not only did we get to see the sites with great tour guides (KSUF professors), but we also had time to explore on our own.
The trip began early Friday morning. Too early. We were at the Santa Maria Novella Train Station by 7:45 a.m.. We got to take the EuroStar super-fast train. It was really nice. It only took an hour and a half to get there!
After arriving, we pretty much went straight on over to the Colosseo. I know I’ve been to Rome before, but it’s still amazing to see such a structure. And to think of all the people and animals killed (for fun) inside it. Erika, the KSUF Roman Achievement professor, told us that when the Colosseo was first opened, they city was basically shut down for 100 days of continuous game play.
Laura and I tried to recreate our picture of us there from 5 years ago. I’m not sure if we succeeded.
We went on to check out the Roman Forum next. I can’t comprehend how old it is! I was standing on an ancient Roman road!?
From there we walked to the Pantheon. The opening in the center of the dome is massive. I guess it is about 30 feet wide. Supposedly a perfect sphere could fit in it, making it, according to Erika, one of the 8 Wonders of the World. I thought there were only 7. Maybe there are 8.
We then had to check into our hotel. The girls all stayed in one and the boys in another. I shared a room with Laura and Kate. It was really cute. We stayed in Residenza Zanardelli. There were tassels all over the place. I liked it.
Then it was on to the Trevi Fountain. There were hordes of tourists there. But it was still beautiful, glowing with light in the dark. We all threw our coins in. I threw in a 10 cent franc I had left over from Switzerland. I didn’t want to waste my Euros.
By this point in the evening, we were really hungry. We went to some restaurant close to the Trevi. I ordered spaghetti with mussels. It was garlicky goodness. I guess I really like mussels now.
The next morning we got up and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast of coffee with chocolate (noms!) and rolls and croissants. I had three cups of coffee.
Then we made our way to the Vatican to tour the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica with KSUF Art History professor Rocky. He knows so much. He’s a walking Renaissance encyclopedia. We had headsets in the museum so we could all hear him talk about the different art and rooms. He told us a lot about Raphael and Michelangelo. We also got to see the Laocoön, a Greek sculpture that Michelangelo tried to emulate in his work. He regarded it as the best sculpture ever. Interesting.
The Sistine Chapel was beautiful. Overwhelming. It was evidently quite scandalous when it was first completed because there were so many nudes painted everywhere. Rocky said Michelangelo thought the male nude was the epitome of beauty, so he painted a lot of them. I guess some other artist had to come in and paint clothes over the crotches of a bunch of the men.
From there we walked into St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s massive. Incomprehensibly large. The baldacchino over St. Peter’s “tomb” is 10 stories tall! But everything is to scale, making it hard to understand just how huge everything is.
After that we had lunch at a place close to the Vatican. I happened to notice on the menu that the pasta was shown in a carton coming out of the microwave. I decided to get a panino, which was what I had planned on getting, but must of the girls got pasta. Then we saw them microwave it, and people got pissed. In the end, everyone laughed that she went to Rome to eat what was basically a Lean Cuisine. I guess that’s why you shouldn’t go to a restaurant that advertises “Crisis Prices” on a sign outside the entrance.
Once the pasta had been unwillingly eaten, we had some free time to go to the Spanish Steps. It was packed! Tourists everywhere. It was really relaxing just to sit and enjoy the sun. We also looked in a couple stores (like Gucci and Tiffany’s) and ate some gelato. Eating that gelato was stupid because we had to meet up with everyone for dinner shortly after. We ate at Trattoria da Luigi. We had all the courses. Two pastas, a salad, veal with potatoes and tiramisu and, finally, coffee. Damn. That food was good. Of course we needed more treats, so Laura, Nora and I went to Leonidas, a Belgian chocolate shop, to get some chocolate. After having it in Brussels, there was no way Laura and I could pass up another chance to eat some.
After stuffing myself to near explosion, some of us decided to go out and about for a bit. We saw crazy drunk men playing rugby in the middle of a piazza and lots of creepy old drunk guys. And I got a hug from a really drunk little man. We called it a night pretty early, and I was in bed by 12:30.
The next morning we went to the Galleria Borghese to see some more paintings and sculptures. By this point, I was arted out and my ingrown toenail (Yes, I got one from my tight shoes) was killing me. It was throbbing like crazy. I just wanted to sit. And then, of course, it started to rain. Typical. But some of the sculptures were really amazing. Bernini’s The Rape of Prosperina and Apollo and Daphne were awesome (in the original sense of the word, as Professor Rocky would like us to use it).
After that, all we had left was a lunch break and the trip home. The bus ride to Roma Termini was insane. So many people crowded on one little bus. We were all soaked from the rain, and my toe was screaming. I was really beginning to freak out about my toe. I was told I would have to get part of the nail out. But then I saw a rainbow while on the bus, and it calmed me down. I know I don’t usually believe in that stuff (like you, Mom), but I swear I see rainbows when I’m stressed or in new, intimidating or even scary situations. Thanks for looking out for me, Baba.
And finally we were on the speedy train back to Firenze. I slept almost the whole way. I drooled on my coat.
