We gonna party like it's your birthday

Now that I think about it, Berlin was probably one of my favorite places I visited on my whirl-wind tour of Europe.  Arriving in Germany felt very strange, but by the end of my stay in Berlin a lot of my skepticisms and stigmas of Germany had disappeared.  Germany is extremely apologetic of its Nazi and Berlin is a tribute to this with many Holocaust memorials and the overall feeling of moving forward past its communist and Nazi history.

Anyway, now to what I actually did in Berlin.  Berlin is SO cool.  Because of all the bombings in went through during WWII, it is a completely new and modern city and the buildings are AWESOME (especially the main train station, SO COOL).  We took a train to Berlin from Prague which was a great experience because we hand an entire compartment (yes, it's like Harry Potter and there are compartments) and stretched out to take a lovely nap.  We spent our first day walking around the city and just getting the vibe of Berlin.  We went to a Shul that was destroyed during WWII, which actually had a really interesting exhibit about Jews in Germany pre-Nazi time and stopped at Berlin's Museum Island (self-explanatory what it is).  We saw the Reichstag (molto bello!).  What's cool about the Reichstag is you can see through the ceiling of the main hall where Berlin's parliament meets because the idea is government should be open and transparent to the people.  Unfortunately you needed a reservation and we didn't get to go in.  So instead we spent some time hanging out in the sun on the gorgeous open field in front of it, during which Miriam wrapped her scarf around her head to keep her from blowing all over the place, and looked like a married Orthodox woman (mazel tov!)  Afterwards, we headed to the East Side Gallery, which is a giant section of the Berlin Wall that is covered in all different paintings representing peace, freedom, and tolerance.

East Side Gallery

Lookin fine

Reichstag

That night, Miriam and I went on a pub crawl to celebrate my 21st birthday (Ah.  Weird.  I'm old), despite the fact we were about to fall over from exhaustion.  We started at this awesome bar that was outside and sort of looked like an abandoned junk yard but swap out the junk for Christmas lights and cool sculptures.  The pub crawl was lots of fun, and we met some Estonian and Israeli (yay, I missed Israelis) guys and then once it hit midnight and I took my first "legal" shot, we left and went to bed, because we are lame.  Yay for turning 21!

We spent the day of my birthday on the Free New Europe tour of Berlin (seriously, they should be me for all the good things I'm saying about them) and it was awesome!!! We saw the Jewish Holocaust monument, which was interesting and consisted of a lot of large stone blocks...

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

We also saw a lot of war buildings, including the old Nazi airforce headquarters.  While leaning against this building listening to my tour guide tell us about it, I realized that simply by the act of me leaning against the building Hitler lost and would do some not so nice things upon seeing me do this.  We also stood on the ground over where Hitler killed himself.  Essentially I spent my birthday learning about Nazis and Communism, which was really interesting despite the depressing-ness factor.  After the tour we went to the Topography of Terror museum, which explains the inner workings of the Nazi party, and is actually really cool and really well done.  We finished off the day with a lovely birthday dinner, and then preceded to pass out because we were EXHAUSTED and to wake up early for our flight back to Italy!  

It was awesome traveling throughout Europe for spring break, but I was also so happy to return to Florence, mainly because I missed Italian food, but also I could not have been more exhausted after seeing 4 incredible cities in 10 days.  Lesson learned: traveling=tiring.  

Ciao ciao!

La Vie Boheme

So, I am officially a horrible blogger because I am about 5 weeks behind and am leaving Europe in exactly 11 days (AHHHHHH).  Miriam and I leave for Amsterdam tomorrow, and then I have a lovely week in Florence before heading home :)  I've been mentally blogging, so that sort of counts.  Anyway, I'm going to pick up where I left off so here's a little bit about my adventures in Prague (which is located in what was Bohemia, hence the title of this post).

Prague was nothing like I expected it to be.  People kept telling me how gorgeous it is, but I basically thought nothing of it.  However, Prague is actually incredibly gorgeous and picturesque.  Seriously, Prague IS Epcot and what every one pictures a European city to look like, hence why they shot EuroTrip there.

Prague is also where we discovered Free New Europe tours, which are exactly what they sounds like and they are AWESOME.  They tell you so much about the city and the guides are amazing (they even do tours in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). So, in the morning after seeing the famous astrological clock, we headed out on one of their tours of Prague and it was AWESOME.  We saw everything there was to see in Prague, AND stopped at Bohemia Bagels for...BAGELS!!! Although, they were not the same as home it was still good to have a bagel for the first time in 3 months.  I didn't know much about the history of Prague before, but I got rundown in about 2 hours.  After the tour, Miriam and I went to the Jewish quarter to see all the different synagogues there, including the oldest active synagogue in Europe. We also saw the Holocaust Memorial there which includes thousands of names written all over the walls of the shul, and an exhibit of children's art made in a nearby ghetto that there teacher was able to save during the war.  Afterwards, we went to the communism museum and then headed to relax before dinner.  Dinner was really cool.  My friend who studied in Prague last year told us about this rooftop restaurant that had an INCREDIBLE view of Prague from the main square, so we headed over there for dinner and had a romantic rooftop dinner for two.  I also tried Austrian beer, which was delicious, and that's saying a lot, because I don't generally call beer delicious.

The next day I did a little exploring of some more churches and shuls and then Miriam and I went on a tour of the Prague Castle.  The views from the castle were beautiful and the castle is HUGEEEEE.  We also saw a church where the monks used to brew beer, as well as an old jail the Nazis and Communists used to torture people in...good times.  After the tour we saw the John Lennon wall and Charles Bridge.  Then we got dinner, napped, and went to Prague's 5 story club, which was actually a joke.  It was pretty much filled with a bunch of teenagers and had a floor called "black music".  It was an experience to say the least.  We left on the earlier side because we had an early train (yes, train, not plane) to Berlin!!

I forgot...Prague is also home to the fried cheese sandwich which is DELICIOUS.  It's like a flat mozzarella stick stuck between bread and you're supposed to put mayonnaise on it, but I used ketchup because clearly I don't eat mayonnaise.  However, the fried-cheese-sandwich-lady felt the need to very abrasively point out where the mayonnaise/ketchup was.  Czech people aren't quite as nice as Italians.

People taking pictures of the Astrological Clock...way more exciting than the actual clock.

View from our romantic dinner.

Je suis la jeune fille

Bonjour mes amies!!!  Paris etait tres belle et incroyable.  J'adore Paris!!!  Je ne voulais pas partir.

Ok back to English, so you can actually understand me. I don't even know where to start with Paris.  I have wanted to visit Paris probably since the first day of 6th grade when I had my first French class (which was during 4th period for those of you who would really like me to be specific).  If I could have studied abroad here, I would have, so to say I had high expectations for Paris is the understatement of the year.  Luckily, the City of Lights went above and beyond my expectations.  And, I got to use my French, which was so fun.

Miriam and I stayed at a great hostel in the Bastille district right near about 5 different bakeries just waiting for us to eat every single one of their pastries.  As soon as we were settled we walked across the street, and got crepes (which I ordered for us in pretty good French if I do say so myself).  I had a banana and nutella crepe and it was pretty much one of the greatest things I've ever eaten.  The crepes there are just so much better than anywhere else, the actual crepe is just light and slightly crusty and SO FREAKIN GOOD.  After our tres delicieux crepes, we hopped on the metro (which is so fast and goes everywhere unlike the DC metro) and headed over to Musée d'Orsay to see all the beautiful, colorful Impressionist art that I have been dying to see.  It was awesome to see all these paintings I learned about when I was little (especially the Monet picnics with all the big dresses because I was in love with them when I was little).  After, we headed over to the Louvre, at which point I started to freak out because I was actually standing in front of the Louvre (!!!) and couldn't quite comprehend that this was real life (this was basically the overall theme of Paris, utter shock that I was actually in Paris).  We didn't actually go inside of the Louvre, because we didn't feel like waiting online and we heard the Mona Lisa wasn't actually that exciting and its behind glass, so don't judge me.  We walked through Jardins des Tuilleries and stopped for bread and cheese and got FREE WATER.  The water was honestly the best part because you can never NEVER get free water in Italy (or anywhere else in Europe) so I was just a tad bit excited.  We roamed around just enjoying Paris for a little while (and saw our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on the skyline AHHHHH) and then headed back to our hostel.  We had yummy French food for dinner, including amazing wine and creme brulee!!! Perfect first day in Paris :)

The next day was jam packed with all of the Paris must-sees.  We hit le Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and the Longchamp store, because yes, that is a Paris must see.  The Eiffel Tower is so cool.  I was kind of nervous I'd be disappointed after hearing about it for so long, but it did not at all disappoint...I loved it.  Miriam and I took a thousand pictures in front of it before actually climbing it.  After we climbed it we got cheese and each got our own baguette and went and sat in the gardens around the Eiffel Tower and ate lunch.  We felt so Parisian (and the bread was so freakin delicious) and just loved sitting and absorbing Paris.  After Notre Dame (where we kind of just joined a tour group for a little while), we played in a park, and that sat at a cafe on the Seine, enjoying the views and the atmosphere.  Afterwards, on our search for a metro, we stumbled on the French Holocaust memorial, so we went in there for a little while.  We wandered down Champs Elysees before picking up super cute (and so-much-cheaper-than-in-America) bags at Longchamp.  For dinner we ate at the cafe next to our hotel during which I ran across the street to the supermarket to pick up a 5 euro bottle of wine for our rendez-vous at the Eiffel Tower later.

The Eiffel Tower at night is actually one of the most incredible things I have ever seen.  We got there and took another million pictures and then plopped down in the grass and just stared at the sparkly tower.  with our delicious (and super cheap!) wine...we even had music, but then my phone died so that failed.  It was another one of those surreal moments where I couldn't believe I was there and just relaxing in front of the Eiffel Tower.  It was a great way to spend the night and I even got to argue in French with some annoying guys selling mini Eiffel tower keychains because he wouldn't leave us alone.  Parfait!

The next day was Versailles day!!!  Wooooo!  Versailles is really as gigantic as they say it is, who knew?  To be honest, though I was a little disappointed.  The palace was beautiful, but it was also filled with way too many tourists which made seeing everything a)annoying and b) really difficult (good thing I have no issues with pushing people).  The gardens were gorgeous and GI-FREAKING-GANTIC.  Unfortunately, they fountains weren't running and most of the flowers hadn't been planted, but we got the basic gist.  After Versailles, I went and explored Paris on my own for a little and saw the Pompidou Center.  It's a really cool, modern building with lots of colors on the outside and I had learned about when I was probably about 12, and wanted to see it in person.  It was awesome and had a lot of cool stuff near it.  I also went down to an area where lots of artisans make clothes, furniture, etc.  Finally, I went back to meet up with Miriam and we headed to the airport for our flight.

Getting to the airport was an adventure in itself, because we took the metro system during rush hour and had our suitcase to drag around (not fun in the Paris metro--they don't have any elevators/escalators.  I would love to know how a person in a wheelchair gets around there).  So after being shoved and pushed through the metro system, we finally made it to the Charles de Gaulle, only to not be able to get out of the metro because we had the wrong ticket.  We told the guy working there who started to go through the turnstile, so we just followed another person through and quickly walked away before the guy noticed.  Again, we are so bad ass.  We flew an airline called SmartWings, which we were very happy to find actually existed, and then we were off to Prague!

Sidenote: Parisians are not nearly as mean as everyone says they are. They were actually really nice.

Vamos a la playa, a mi me gusta bailar

So before I tell you about my adventures in Barcelona (said with an accent, and it sounds even better when you say it like Italians do-Barchelona...love it), I just wanted to say that spring break was so great!!Miriam and I went to...brace yourselves...Barcelona, Paris, Prague, and Berlin. Don't ask me to pick a favorite...I can't...they are all way too different to even compare. Overall spring break, was an incredible learning experience on so many levels. Not only did I learn a lot about the places I was in, particularly Prague and Berlin, but I also learned that traveling is actually one of the MOST exhausting activites, you don't need a lot of people around you to have a good time, and European metro systems really need to get more stairs, particularly in Paris. Anywaaaaaay, here comes the epic story of my own personal Eurotrip...


Miriam and I woke up bright and early Friday morning for our 8 am flight to Barca from Pisa. We finally made it on to the plane (after dumping some of my toiletries, and rearranging our bags so we didn't have to pay 80 EUROS (20 per kg you're over) for heavy bag fees. Well, we sat next to a bunch of guys who were going to Barcelona for their friend's bachelor party. They all had matching shirts counting down to the wedding (which was on my birthday!) and were just generally rowdy and bachelor party-like. They were awesome. They had a toy trumpet, inappropriate hats,silly wigs, and were ready to have a good time. The guy we were sitting next to asked us to sign his shirt. I loved them, despite the fact it was 8 am and we'd been up since approxiamately 5 am.

 We landed in Barcelona and headed to our hostel. On the way we met up with our friend who used to go to UMD and is studying abroad in Barcelona, Alex. She was our official tour guide for the day and was absolutely AWESOME! Seriously, she knows everything little thing you could possibly want to know about Barca. We got lunch and then headed up to Mount Juic to see the Olympic Stadium and other stuff up there andddddd to meet up with KEREN AND VERED (can you tell I was just a little bit excited?) We took the funicular, yes that's what it's called, which is basically the same as the metro but it goes up a hill, and it's just fun to say. We walked around Mt. Juic for a little and then all of the sudden I hear "turn around", and Keren is standing behind me. We hugged for too long, and I was just unbelievably happy to see her. Alex showed us around the Olympic Park and then Keren and Vered left to lay down and Miriam, Alex and I did some more touring. She took us to Las Ramblas, a famous street in Barcelona which has the BEST market ever and we got such delicious smoothies. I got a cactus fruit smoothie, mostly because it was bright pink and I could not resist. Then we went down to the BEACH and stuck our feet in the freezing cold water.  From the beach, we did more walking around and touring, and then went to the Magic Fountains (like the ice cream place in Summit, but not really).  I cannot even describe how cool these fountains are...the closest I can get is that they are like Disney World.  They're set to music and the lighting changes and its just incredible.  Miriam, Alex, and I sat there and stared in silence and happiness.  It was one of those moments where I realized how great my life is and how lucky I am to be galavanting all over Europe.

After the fountains, it was back to the hostel to get Keren and Vered and then all of us went to dinner at the oh so normal time of 10 30 PM, so weird.  We ate dinner at a restaurant on the beach that had delicious sangria and then stayed there until about 2 (which is early for Barcelona).  We met yet another bachelor party, and they all wore matching clothes too, and they were just as nuts as the one on the plane.  

The next morning Miriam and I went back to the market on Las Ramblas for more smoothies, followed by Starbucks :).  Then we became stupid tourists, and this is actually painful for me to admit, but we got on one of those city touring busses, which ended up being great because we had such limited time in Barcelona.  We saw all of the Gaudi buildings, which were SO COOL.  We started off at La Sagrada Familia, his church that has been under construction for 150 years and will not be finished for another 10-20 years.  We didn't go inside, but the outside was so gorgeous.  It was so different than we have been seeing and was great to see another type of architecture.  From there we went to Park Guell, which is the COOLEST place ever.  The tile work is amazing and I fully intend to have my kitchen tile look like that in 20 years.  The park was teaming with people, and I honestly could have spent all day there exploring. We saw a really cool band there, but finally tore ourselves away to continue our tour.  After lunch, we started going up to Mt. Tibidabo, of "Friends" fame, but that failed, so we continued our Gaudi tour. We went to Casa Mila and Casa Batllo, where we actually went inside.  The inside was so cool, because it continued the curvy lines that are so characteristic of his style.  We got to see a bunch of other stuff from the bus as well.  

After Casa Batllo we went back to the hostel to lay down for a while.  Keren and I got some much needed catch up time and somehow managed to condense the last 2 1/2 months of our lives into a 45 minute conversation.   I went to the fountains and dinner with Keren and Vered.  The fountains were awesome again, and this time there was a Disney medley, which obviously made my day.  Then we went out for tapas and Miriam met us at the restaurant.  The food was delicious and it was so great to spend time with them.  I said goodbye to Keren and Vered, which was hard, and then went to bed because Miriam and I had an 8 am flight to PARIS!!!!!  

Barcelona is an incredible city and so different from Florence.  After Rome, I was convinced I didn't like big cities, which freaked me out because I love New York, but Barcelona convinced me of the opposite.  Basically, Rome is just way overrated.  Barcelona is so big and has so much life, but I really don't think I could handle the 10 30 dinners and staying out till 6 am on a daily basis.  However, I definitely want to go back as soon as possible and stare at Gaudi architecture all day long.  

We Open in Venice, then on to Verona

Well, I didn't actually go on to Verona, but Kiss me Kate is a great show.

Venice is freakin awesome. Not only is it one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, but it's just really really cool. I mean it's streets are literally water, which you can't quite conceptualize until you've actually seen it in person. It was such a nice, relaxing weekend after a very crazy week and the school took us, so it was great to see people I hadnt really hung out with all week.

We left for Venice on Friday morning by bus and then took a boat over to the actual city, because they obviously don't use cars there. Our hotel rooms were obviously not ready, because that would make our lives way too easy, but we were really lucky to be staying in the actual city and not on the mainland. We got lunch and explored for a little while before starting our touring for the day. That day our teachers showed us Piazza San Marco and the cathedral of San Marco, as well as the Doge's Palace. The Piazza did not have nearly as many pigeons as everyone said (lame), although there were people who were letting the pigeons climb all over them...ew. The Cathedral was absolutely stunning, mostly because instead of being covered in frescos, its covered entirely in mosaics which is beautiful as well as completely mind blogging, because I would like to meet the people who had the patience to cover a GIGANTIC church with tiles the size of my thumb nail. They deserve a medal, or a cookie, whichever they want. The Doge's Palace, although beautiful, was pretty boring, mostly because all we wanted to do was be outside because it was BEAUTIFUL out. After the day of touring I went to dinner with a bunch of girls from my program at a cute little restaurant our professor recommended. Navigating the streets of Venice was interesting, but we somehow managed to not get lost among all the tiny little streets, bridges, and canals. Go us.

The next day, Miriam and I along with our friends Joanna, Stacey, Beth, and Lucy decided to ditch school and all the art they were going to look at because we decided that seeing the islands of Murano and Burano would be way more fun/beneficial to our travel experience then looking at yet another piece of Renaissance art (Mom, you can pretend I didn't say that, Renaissance art is great!) And it was SUCH a good decision! Not only are the two islands gorgeous, but we got to experience more Venice because we were on the water busses all day (SO FUN! and way cheaper than a gondola, where they don't even sing to you when you take one). Getting onto the busses though was quite interesting, mostly because Italians just kind of push and push instead being at all organized. This meant that all of us except Joanna, who, typical to her Southern nature, is not very good at pushing, got on the boat. We were yelling her name and encouraging her to push, and luckily she got a little burst of Northern/Italian-ness and pushed her way onto the boat.


Once we were all safely on the boat we headed to Murano, where they are famous for their blown glass. We watched some guy actually making the glass, which was SO COOL and I kind of wish I could do it, but me+hot temperatures+breakable materials+heavy objects=disaster and lots of burns and broken bones. Then we shopped our little hearts out and explored Murano, which is covered entirely in glass shops. We stopped for lunch and then headed over to the STUNNING island of Burano. Burano is the most colorful place I have ever been. Every building there is painted some beautiful, bright, happy color, and the white houses just look out of place. Burano is also famous for its homemade lace, which was beautiful. We spent our time on Burano relaxing by the dock and taking funny pictures, and mostly just admiring the stunning beauty of the island. It's definitely one of my favorite places I've visited so far. After Burano, we headed back to the main island of Venice to relax and get dinner, which was an adventure in itself. We really wanted pizza for dinner, so we went to the restaurant school recommended that supposedly had pizza...well, it didn't. So, after we finished looking at the menu we literally got up and ran out the door. Then we spent another 15 minutes looking for the right restaurant, until finally we had pizza sitting in front of us around 10 30 PM. Which was delicious, and totally worth it.

Sunday, we went with school to visit the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which is a collection of modern art. It was Peggy's personal collection, although now it is part of the Guggenheim collection. Buuuut, fun fact: because it was originally her personal collection, Peggy Guggenheim was a bit skanky and used to sleep with all the artists to get good prices on the paintings, including her daughter's husband (the daughter committed suicide when she found out). So, if you're looking to get cheap, priceless works of art, do what she did, it seemed to work out pretty well for her. Or, just get really rich and then you won't have any issues. The museum was cool and had amazing views of Canal Grande. After the museum we laid by the water and then got lunch and headed back to Firenze. Upon arriving in Firenze Miriam and I sprinted, like actually sprinted with all our stuff, back to our apartment because we thought a)our bladders we're going to burst or b)we would pee in our pants. We ended stopping at a bar to use the bathroom because we simply could not make it home. We had to buy coffees after this, but it was the best coffee ever (Actually it was gross, but whatever) because I had dry pants and an intact bladder.

Moral of the story: pee before you get on the bus and go visit Venice because it is actually incredible (I never wanted to leave!!!).

Ciao!

We are family...

So on Saturday, after lots of flight complications and lost baggage the Touger family finally arrived in Firenze. I met them at their apartment that was literally in Piazza Santa Croce and it was so great/weird to see them here in Italy. We were all very happy to see each other, and although she denies it, I’m pretty sure my mom was more excited to be back in Florence than to see me ☺ We went dinner pretty much as soon as they were settled and I think this was the first time I’ve ever seen my dad drink wine for anything other than a religious occasion. After dinner we got yummy gelato and then I took Ben to Kikuya where we met up with Jess and another girl from my high school.

Sunday was rainy and gross—actually the whole week was, my dad was not happy. We walked around a little bit and went to lunch (my dad had his first taste of Italian chocolate and LOVED it, obviously we’re related) and then went to the Palazzo Vecchio, the old city hall of Florence and a former Medici residence (seriously, is there a place in this city that the Medici didn’t live in?). The palace has a special exhibit going on now featuring a skull encrusted in lots of shiny shiny diamonds. It was so sparkly and wonderful. The exhibit is entitle For the Love of Gd, although I need to do more research into what it’s supposed to mean because it didn’t really tell you. Either way there were lots of diamonds. It was great. After the shiny skull we toured the rest of the palace’s art collection. If you ever want to see someone truly bored, bring my brother to an art museum and see what happens. It’s hysterical. Except for when he decides to take it out on me by hitting me with his broken umbrella. Afterwards we just hung out and relaxed and then went to a late dinner. We went to a really yummy restaurant on Piazza Santa Croce, and even though the food was really good, the owner was a complete foodie and yelled at my brother for putting Parmesan cheese on his pasta because it had mushrooms on it. He also definitely judged us for having white wine instead of red. After dinner, I hung out for a little while and then went back to my apartment to “study” for my midterm the next day.

Monday I took my joke of a Mafia midterm and then met my family at their apartment and waited for them to get ready…which took about 5 years thanks to my incredibly slow moving brother. The rain held up on Monday so we walked around the city and then my mom went on search for a place for my parents to change their money. Meanwhile, my brother, my dad, and I sat in front of the Duomo and I just stared at my brother being completely absurd. Finally, we climbed the Duomo and saw the beautiful view at the top. After the Duomo we went and saw my mom’s old house and then chilled out till dinner. I took my parents to a place in a piazza that coincidently my mom used to eat in all the time. The food was delicious and Ben ordered his first legal beer, he was very excited. He also managed to drop his cheesy pasta into my wine…gross. Watching my dad eat Italian food is so funny. I have never seen him get so excited over food before. Just shows how delicious it is.


Tuesday I took a midterm and then met my family for shopping day! It was a very successful shopping day complete with both leather and jewelry! Thanks parents!! For dinner that night my parents had gone to the San’Ambrogio food market and picked up lots of yummy fresh food. It was great to have a “home cooked” meal! We had fresh gnocchi, tagliatelle, ravioli with mozzarella, bread, and delicious wine. It was so great! I took my brother to a bar that night, and then went to sleep!

Wednesday I actually went to my classes and then met up with my family to go to the Natural History Museum and the costume gallery. The museum had these really cool, really old, and really realistic wax models of the human body. The costume gallery in the Pitti Palace was beautiful. I wanted approximately half of all the stuff I saw in there, not that I have any place to wear 1950s gowns. That night my fabulous parents took me, Miriam, Ali, Negrin, and Jordan (and Ben too, because, you know, he needs to eat) to La Giostra (also known as the best restaurant in the whole wide world). It was so fun to have my family and friends all together and have the best food in the whole world. A big dessert sampler came and we literally finished it .4 seconds. Then my brother, dad, and the two boys preceded to see who could drink the most free limoncello. I would seriously love to know what came over my dad on this vacation that compelled him to drink. After La Giostra, we joined the rest of Florence to celebrate Italy’s 150th birthday. There were great fireworks, although Italy is not as safe as the US and got firework dust in our eyes. Ouch. But fun night overall.

act like a walrus Dad!

Thursday was well, rain-filled. I skipped class (gasp!) to go to Lucca, a small Tuscan village, with my family. It was awesome to see all the parades and stuff they had going on for Italy’s 150th anniversary, however, it was also really really rainy. It literally did not stop all day long, which meant lots of waiting around for it to stop down pouring. However, the food was 1000 times better than the weather. We ate a delicious restaurant, where I had spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chili flakes (SO GOOD and so easy) and my dad and my brother each got this eggplant tomato sauce that is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Sorry, mom, don’t remember what you ate. Then we climbed one of Lucca’s towers and headed home. That night we went to Gato for dinner along with Miriam, and introduced my family to the best balsamic vinegar in the whole world. It was St. Patrick’s Day that day so Miriam, my brother, and I met up with some friends to celebrate. The next morning I left for Venice, so I stopped by quickly to say goodbye to my parents and then headed for Venezia!

It was such a great week with my family and I am SO happy they got to come see my life here! Thanks for visiting! (although it sounds like you guys were way more upset about leaving the food than leaving me...rude.)

When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie...that's amore

Was going to have to use that title eventually...

Hello again friends!!! My papers are officially DONE which means a) spring break is here and I’m seeing the lovely Keren Shpigel TOMORROW and b) you all have the lovely privilege of reading about my la dolce vita. But seriously, I’m really living the sweet life. I had midterms that week, but I’ve learned when you’re abroad that pretty much doesn’t mean anything and I think I studied for a total of maybe 2 hours for each test…abroad college is great. Here's a brief(ish) run down of the week before my family got here and hopefully I'll post about their visit in a little bit. Tomorrow morning (literally morning as in 5 AM) I leave for spring break which includes Barcelona, PARIS!!!!!!!!! (AHHHHHH), Prague, and then I am turning 21 in Berlin.  Never in my life did I think I'd be spending my 21st in Berlin, but hey, I'll take it.

Monday afternoon I went with Miriam and Negrin to a park near Piazza Independenza and we, and by we I mean Negrin and I, kicked a soccer ball. Keep in mind I was wearing a leather jacket and boots…great soccer playing outfit. I even headed the ball…I’m gonna be the next Mia Hamm. That night we had a lovely dinner with Stacey and Joanna and their friend from home and I had my first Italian garlic bread. It was extra garlic-y and delicious. The next day Miriam and I went to apperitivo after class and felt really grown up having our pre dinner drinks. After we went to dinner with some girls on our program from UMD, and it was great to just have a night talking about UMD and catching up. The next day AIFS organized a pizza making class and OH MY GD…seriously some of the best pizza I’ve had…and I made it. I put peppers on my pizza which was very exciting because they NEVER have peppers here. Afterwards we went to Joshua Tree, where Negrin and Doug DJed for the night. Thursday I literally cannot remember what I did so it must not have been that exciting. Friday I sat around and did some work on my papers and then went to Chabad with Negrin. Later that night I met up with Jess and her roommates and we had an awesome night at the club Full Up…complete with a bongo player accompanying the DJ. Jess’s roomates’ friend from home was visiting that night from Rome and he was too funny. He constantly spoke Italian and said Santa Croce strangely and then proceeded to call the Duomo the Dwarma. Jess and I also randomly ran into a girl from our high school that night about 5 different times, and by 5 I mean twice, but still, random. We finished the night at the Secret Bakery with delicious fresh baked pastries!! The next day I was supposed to do work but I pretty much spent the day in bed waiting for my family to get here!

papers are dumb.

But, really.  More posts when my stupid papers are done.  

But life is great.  Having my family here was wonderful and I fell in love with Venice this weekend.  Seriously...it's great.  Everyone should go.  Especially to Burano.  

I'm officially done procrastinating

....maybe.