Last Days in Roma...

Last night was a complete crazy mess!  It was the best night out I had in Roma and couldn't have chosen better company!

Delicious vino, vodka jaeger bombs, tequila shots, and me running Cuyler into a brick wall pretty much sums up the evening.  We had a blast!  Cuyler needed a little assistance getting home, and fortunately my other apartment mate, Little Jake, was there to help me out and get Cuyler home.  This is an evening that I will NEVER forget!

Today started out by me and Cuyler laughing about last night and saying, "Man, that was an epic night!"  I went to school and took my last final - Abnormal Psychology - at 12:00 Noon.  I was ticked that the school made me take a final on my last day in Roma, so I decided to be classy and sip vino while I was taking the exam.  No one knew, I got a buzz, it was all good!

After my final, Cuyler and I went to Carlomenta and had a final meal together.  We then came back and packed and hung out until the Farewell Dinner.  The food was iffy at the Farewell Dinner, the it was nice to see everyone once more.  I thanked Amy and Lisa for an amazing semester - they rocked!

Most of us ended up at Scholar's tonight for one last night out.  I said "see you later" to Cuyler before I left and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  I am so thankful that I found one of my best friends while studying abroad in Roma.  Both Cuyler and I know this is not goodbye, but it is merely see you later.  We both said to each other tonight, "Friends for life".  I'm really going to miss him.

"Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to" - I took my leap of faith this semester and I'm so glad I did, but alas all good things must come to an end.  I have fallen in love with Roma - it will forever have a piece of my heart.  Grazie Roma per le memorie.  Ti amo.  Ciao bella Roma...Hello United States

Last Week in Roma...

Well, this week has been awesome at best!  It is the last week in Roma, and even though none of us want to take finals at all, we ended up finding time to still have fun!

Monday I studied all day in the apartment.  I went over all of my classes and got a lot accomplished - not that exciting of a day.  Cuyler and I watched the Dark Knight before we went to bed.  Spending time with your good friends is always an awesome time.

Tuesday was quite the exciting day in Rome.  The parliament was taking a vote of confidence or no confidence in Italy's Prime Minister, Berlusconi.  Berlusconi is a crooked man and is doing absolutely nothing to help Italy's economy, unemployment rate, or promote growth.  We were warned by JCU and SAI to stay away from Via del Corso and Piazza Venizia (about a mile from campus) during the day because the government was expecting 50,000 people to show up to protest against Berlusconi.

Well, there were riots all through the city but mostly in Piazza del Popolo.  People were beaten up, cars were set on fire, and the riot police were everywhere.  Public transportation was shut down or routes were shortened to avoid the target areas.  My friends, Kelly, Amy, and I had to walk to school to take our Italian 101 final because we couldn't take the tram.  Berlusconi won the vote of confidence by three votes.  May believe the votes were payed off.  It was not a happy day in Roma at all.  Cuyler and I went out to dinner with our roommate Peter because it was the last night all three of us were going to be together.  We kind of were like the three amigos all semester, so it was sad to say goodbye.  Peter was taking one last trip to London before he leaves for the USA.  He is coming back Saturday afternoon, after Cuyler and I leave for home, so we weren't going to see him again.  1st goodbye down.

Wednesday I had my History of Modern Europe final at 9:00 AM.  I was not able to function so early in the morning.  That was a rough exam.  After I finished that, I got back to the apartment and Cuyler and I went wandering around Rome for the afternoon to avoid studying for finals.  We went to Piazza Navona to see some of the Christmas market and then wandered around on Via del Corso.  We made a pit stop at Scholars to day drink a bit and hung out at the bar for a couple hours.  Typical us.  We got back to the apartment and I studied for History of the Catholic church with Kelly and Amy.  We took a break so Cuyler and I could go have our final taco dinner with Casey, Bliss, Kristen, and Breonna.  We had a blast and as usual, it was heaven for dinner.  I finished studying with Kelly and Amy after dinner and then Cuyler and I watched Ladder 49 before going to bed.

Today, I had my History of the Catholic Church final at 12:00 noon today so Kristen, Breonna, Kelly, Amy, and I started studying in the university cafeteria at 10:00 AM.  The exam wasn't too bad.  Now, I just packed up most of my life into two very overweight suitcases and am getting ready to go out and party one last night in Roma!!!!

5 Days Left In Roma...

I made another list

Top Ten Favorite Places in Rome…

1.  Piazza Garibaldi on Gianicolo Hill 

2. Campo De’Fiori 

3. St. Peter’s Square 

4. My apartment balcony - Viale di Trastevere 221 Apt C7 

5.  St. Peter’s Basilica 

6. Piazza Navona 

7. Ponte Garibaldi at night and being able to see St. Peter’s Dome all lit up 

8. Piazza del Popolo 

9. San Giovanni in Laterano 

10. Via del Moro the street running in between the two campuses of JCU

The days are winding down and Finals Week is in full swing.  Classes ended last Thursday.  We had class Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Wednesday, December 8th, was a public holiday in Rome since it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic Church, so the university was closed.  All public holidays in Rome are Holy Days in the Catholic Church.  Cuyler and I have been hanging out a lot and it has hit both of us that we need to move out soon.  We have been chilling in the room, studying for finals and making dinner in the apartment a lot this past week.  My finals don't start until Tuesday and then they go until Friday.  I'm not too thrilled about my schedule, but that's life.  

We started watching the movie Hitch on Saturday night.  It has kind of become our movie.  I introduced it to him a couple weeks ago and we think it's hilarious!  We better finish it before we leave on Saturday.  Last night Cuyler and I were woken up around 3:30 AM to some random Italian man yelling at the top of his lungs in the street.  We checked with each other to make sure we weren't dreaming, and when we realized we weren't dreaming it freaked us out.  This man seriously sounded possessed.  It probably didn't help that Cuyler and I had watched old creepy episodes of Unsolved Mysteries recently to avoid studying for finals.  It helped us avoid studying, but didn't help us when the rabid Italian man awakes in the middle of the night.  

Italian Final tomorrow!  Wish me luck!  See you all soon

Top Ten Favorite Places While Traveling Abroad

Top Ten Favorite Places While Traveling Abroad

1. Piazzale Michelangelo (Florence, Italy) 

2. Nonno & Nonna Bono’s Apartment (Sciacca, Sicily) 

3. Chateau de Versailles (Versailles, France)

4. Basilica San Calogero (Sciacca, Sicily)

5. Römer (Frankfurt, Germany)

6. Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris, France) 

7. Monastiraki Square (Athens, Greece) 

8. Big Ben & British Parliament Building Grounds (London, England)

9. Main Tower Observation Platform (Frankfurt, Germany)

10. Athens Flea Market (Athens, Germany) 

Each one of these places made an impact on me when I was traveling.  I will remember these places forever.  They are all amazing for different reasons.  I'm so lucky to have been able to go to these places.  

"God Save The Queen" - A Weekend in London, England

This blog post is really late, but that's okay.  No big deal.

Last weekend, December 3-5 we took our final weekend trip to London, England.  We weren't exactly sure if we were going to be able to go or not because Britain had gotten a lot of snow earlier in the week and Easyjet was canceling tons of flights.  Luckily, Easyjet let our flight, and only our flight go to London on December 3rd.

Our flight was pretty delayed and we didn't end up leaving Rome until 4 PM in order for us to land in London during a clear spot in the weather.  The flight crew was pretty funny.  First of all, they spoke ENGLISH which was like music to my ears.  They also tried to keep the flight humorous because of all of the delays etc.  When the lights went out in the plane to prepare for our descent into London, the main flight attendant said, "If you are scared of the dark, scream now or press the light above your head."  That gave Casey and me a good laugh.  Since the airport had been shut down for the previous two days, it was PACKED, so it took us a while to get through.  Since London wasn't used to getting so much snow as they had gotten in the past few days, the trains were running slow too.  We waited outside in the freezing cold for our train to Victoria station in London.  We finally got to Victoria station and then hopped on the "Tube" or underground to go to our neighborhood, West Kensington.

Since we got into London so late, we didn't get to our hostel until like 9:00 PM.  All of the pubs were closed for dinner, so Casey and I ended up finding this really good kebab restaurant and we got take out.  They gave us a lot of food for the price we payed, but we were starving, so it was fine.  Before we left the restaurant, I asked the guy behind the counter for plastic silverware.  He looked at me really confused and then asked, "Are you from America?"  After I responded yes, he said, "I could tell because here was call it plastic cutlery" with a smile.  Casey and I got a laugh out of that and then we went back to the hostel.  We had a little picnic in our hotel room and then went to bed so we could get up early the next day to got and see the sights.

Saturday, we left the hostel around 9:30 AM and took the Tube to Victoria Station.  Outside the station, we bought tickets for a hop on/hop off bus company.  We got on a red bus that had a live tour guide that spoke in English over the PA as opposed to the blue bus which had an earphone system talking in different languages.  The first stop we made was at Hamley's Toy Store - a 7 story toy store celebrating it's 250th Anniversary decked out for Christmas where people can play with the toys.  We got lost in there and dropped some money there too.  Typical.  There were toys all over the place and it reminded me of the store Duncan's Toy Chest in the movie Home Alone 2.

We got back on the bus and stopped in London for some lunch at Pizza Hut!!!  We missed it so much and it was delicious!  They also gave us FREE soda refills!!!  I missed refills so much!  After lunch, we continued on to see Big Ben and the Parliament Building and Westminster Abbey.  The Abbey was closed, so we couldn't go in, but we got to see the outside.  Big Ben was so neat to see up close.  I also got a small film clip of the bell chiming at 4:00 PM.  After we finished there, we walked across the bridge of the Thames River and rode the London Eye - the big ferris wheel on the river.  The line moved pretty quickly, and we got placed in this compartment with about 10 other people.  One revolution takes about 30 minutes, so it's a long ride.  You get this amazing view of London and it is so big and beautiful.

We hopped back on the red bus line after we got off the London Eye and drove past St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London.  We got off at Buckingham Palace and took some pictures.  It was pretty dark out by the time we got there, so we couldn't take an pictures with the fun guards.  We quickly hopped back on the Tube and went to Tower Hill station and bought tickets for a Jack the Ripper tour.  The tour started at 7:30 PM and took us around the city to some of the scenes on the murders and told us the stories of possible identities of Jack the Ripper and left us with the mystery of it never being solved.  It was pretty neat, but was raining the whole time, so that kind of sucked, but it was fun.  The tour guide was great and very into the story!  We got a little lost on the way back to the Tube station, and I refused to ask for directions.  Casey looked at me and said, "Fine, you be a typical man, and get lost.  I'm asking for directions."  Needless, to say she got us back.  I still claim that I would have gotten us back...eventually.

The pub was closed again by the time we go there for dinner, so yet again we ate at the Kebab place.  Casey and I didn't mind because it was so good.

London definitely is a place where you need to spend multiple days - one day to sightsee is definitely not enough!  You need at least four or five days for sure.  I want to go back to London some day because I loved it so much.  It was a blast and a half and a great way to end our weekend trips.

The flight back was typical, but Casey and I both agreed that we were happy it was our last time flying on some crap-ass discount airline for a long time!

The Weeks Are Getting Fewer...

Even though I'm posting this now, this post is going to be about this past week.

After I returned from Sicily from Thanksgiving, it really hit me how little time I had left here in Italy.  Cuyler returned home from traveling with his family on Monday, November 29th in the morning.  Him and I talked a lot last Monday.  We both only have one class on Mondays, so we spent most of the day in the room playing catch up.  Cuyler commented that the days were winding down and then looked at me and said, "Dude, I'm ready to go home."  I told him that I agreed.  Then he continued and said, "I mean, my roommate is a complete jerk" and then he smiled and waited for my reaction.  I just smiled and said, "Really?  Mine too."  He smiled his typical smile and we went on joking.  I'm going to miss living with him a lot.  We have a lot of fun together and are always there for one another.  Later that day, we sat down and watched the movie Hitch.  Cuyler had never seen it before and it is one of my favorites.  It was an awesome way to spend the day - joking and making memories with a good friend.

Tuesday brought a lot of rain and a lot of protesting to Rome.  It rained mostly all day, but that didn't stop people from protesting.  While Cuyler and I got ready for school, we were drawn out to the balcony by the sounds of yelling and cheering in the street.  Down our street came a group of people yelling in Italian, carrying megaphones and banners.  The kept going down the street and stopped in front of the Ministry of Education building.  There were riots and protests all over the city.  The government that day was deciding to pass legislation cutting funds from public education.  Now, the public education system in Italy is terrible and they barely get any money as it is, and the government wants to cut more.  There were students and other people protesting all over the street, so traffic was a mess.  Sirens were going all day long and the streets were jammed.  The trams were in and out of service all day and were evacuated many times.  I just walked to and from school in the rain.  It was better than getting stuck on the tram.  Since it was raining the traffic was two times as worse because the drivers in Italy freak out and forget how to drive any time there is a sprinkle from the sky.

Wednesday night was fun because it was my friend Megan's 21st birthday.  She goes to St. Mary's in California, and KI met her at the beginning of the semester.  She got a bunch of the group together and Cuyler and I went with the girls from her apartment, plus other girls from St. Mary's to dinner at a restaurant by school.  We got a bunch of pitchers of wine, pasta, bread, and pizzas.  It was so good and we had an absolute blast!  Then, we of course went out to the bars and clubs for drinks and dancing.  It was definitely a late but awesome night.  A little drama ensued between the girls - as usual when alcohol is around - but it was settled by the time we all got home.  

This week was a good week, and it was our last full week of classes.  I went to London this weekend, but more on that soon....

I'm coming home soon, and it is truly a very bittersweet feeling.

Sicily - Day 3

November 28, 2010

            This morning started out the same as yesterday. After I showered and got ready for the day, Nonna had put out breakfast cookies, toast with orange jam, fruit, and coffee.  We had a good breakfast and then Nonno and I watched some more soccer on TV.  Around 10:00, Nonno asked me if I wanted to walk around Sciacca and stop at a bakery.  I said yes, so I grabbed my camera and off we went.  We walked around all of these little streets and climbed up winding staircases.  Nonno is a great tour guide and was telling me all about the town square where they have a flea market.  He said, “When the flea market is happening, and I want to get through…Forget about it!  Not gonna happen!” 

Nonno and I walked down to the port and had an Espresso in a café and I took a lot of pictures.  The town square was filled with the locals chatting in little groups on a Sunday afternoon.  Nonno told me it was a typical Sunday in Sciacca.  As we walked farther, we saw a few more churches that Nonno pointed out.  Mass was going on inside, so we didn’t stay inside long.  The main streets of Sciacca were are already decorated for Christmas.  Garland, ornaments, and small lights are all hanging above the street.  We finally made it to Nonno’s favorite bakery and he bought a bunch of sweets for the week.  The try was piled high with Italian goodies and it all looked so good!  As we made our was home, Nonno pointed out one of five old town doors that would shut at night and lock the city in.  It’s not in use anymore since the city has grown, but it still is neat to look at.  Nonno said that was part of the route of a parade that happens twice a year in honor of the Blessed Mother.  Many men volunteer to help carry the statue of the Blessed Mother through town without shoes on.  Nonno said it’s a big deal and a lot of people come to watch.  It was getting hot out, so Nonno and I had to take a rest on the walk home.  He kept sweating and looked at me and said, “It’s so hot out.  Oh my God!” 

When we got home, Nonna had put out lunch and was waiting for us with a smile.  She saw the amout of sweets Nonno brought home and went, “Mamma Mia!  Oh my God!”  I laughed.  Nonna had left overs out on the table for lunch.  We of course has olives, bread, cheese, and dried sausage to start.  Then, we ate some pizza, chicken, potatoes, and French fries from the other night.  I also has two of the sweets Nonno brought home.  Nonna kept putting food on my plate and saying, “Mangia, mangia!”  I was so full by the end it was not even funny. 

Nonno told me he got his nephew, Fabio, to drive us to the airport later today.  He said Fabio would pick us up around 4:00 PM.  Nonno then said, “Now, it’s 12:30 PM.  At 3:00, we eat again, then go to the airport. Va bene?”  I responded, “Si, va bene” as I clutched my stomach. 

Nonno and I watched mor soccer this afternoon and Nonno was yelling at the TV again.  Nonno was putzing in the kitchen and then it was time for me to go.  We didn’t eat again before I left because we had eaten so much earlier.  Fabio came to pick us up and I said goodbye to Nonna.  Fabio had a really nice car.  He drove like a typical young Italian, swerving in and out and driving pretty fast.  I decided when I was in his car on the way to Palermo that I would never survive driving in Europe.  I said Grazie to Fabio and Ciao and Grazie to Nonno as we got to the airport around 5:00 PM.  I managed to entertain myself in the airport until the plane took off.  We had some trouble getting off the ground on time because the dippy Easyjet employees had their passenger count wrong. Way to go!  

So, I got back to Rome around 11:15 PM and hopped on the train back to the apartment.  I'm wiped from the AWESOME weekend I had in Sicily!

I absolutely love Nonno and Nonna.  They will forever have a special place in my heart.  I want to go back and visit them someday because they are awesome and Sciacca is beautiful!  Nonno and Nonna are true models of generosity, love, and simplicity.  I love them so much.  This was by far my favorite trip this whole semester.  I had an awesome weekend!

Sicily – Day 2

Friday November 27, 2010

This morning, I woke up after a great night sleep and jumped in the shower.  Nonna and Nonno have a typical Barbie sized shower like the one in my apartment in Rome, but at least it stayed constantly warm.  My shower in Rome decides to stay hot for like one minute and then goes to freezing.  Oh how I miss my shower at home. 

Nonna laid out a delicious breakfast of toast with orange jam, breakfast cookies with Nutella, coffee, and Sciacca cookies.  After breakfast, Zio Nino came and picked up me and Nonno and he drove us around Sciacca.  First we went to Basilica San Calogero al Monte on top of a volcano in Sciacca.  It is a beautiful basilica filled with many statues and beautiful paintings.  Nonno said it was his favorite church.  You could see all of Sciacca from the top of the volcano.  It was an amazing view!  After we finished in the church, Nonno and Zio Nino took me to a Vapor Room under the basilica called Grotte Vaporo e del Mont Kronio.  People can go into it and sit in these hallowed out rooms to cleanse themselves with the volcanic vapors.  Zio Nino and I walked into the rooms and it was so hot inside!  I was sweating instantly and could hardly breathe.  We didn’t stay in for too long at all!  Then, Zio Nino drove us to a museum called Castello Incantato.  It was the old house of a man named Filippo Bentivegna.  He was an Italian who was born in Sciacca but wasn’t all with it upstairs.  He lived alone all of his life and carved different faces into rocks and placed them around his property.  He had a huge property, so there were probably thousands of stones everywhere!  He saw these stones as his subjects, and himself as the King.  It was pretty neat to see.  Nonno kept looking at the stones and saying, “This guy – he crazy!”  Then, we saw a stone with a pink colored face and Nonno looked at it and said, “Pink?  What this guy thinking?”  I was getting some good laughs out of his comments! 

After the museum, Zio Nino kept driving us through town to the Basilica di Santa Maria – a basilica dedicated to the Blessed Mother who protects the sailors.  Nonno told me all about the basilica and we walked around inside.  The next church we went to was Santa Maria del Carmine.  It was another church dedicated to the Blessed Mother.  It had a beautiful baptistery and some of their parishioners were setting up the Nativity Scene in church in preparation for Christmas.  Zio Nino then drove us to the church of St. Peter near the port of Sciacca.  As we drove through town, there were many people shopping at markets, tiny groups of old men sitting around smoking and chatting – a normal Saturday morning.  The Church of St. Peter was small, but served as a marker in the port for all of the fishermen.  It was beautiful inside and had many depictions of St. Peter’s life.  It was awesome to see.  Then, Zio Nino drove his car out on the breakwater dock in the port.  We got a panoramic view of Sciacca which was completely beautiful and also a nice view of the sea.  I took tons of pictures.  Nonno was so proud to show me Sciacca and kept making me breathe in and out everywhere we stopped to “Take in the fresh, fresh air!”  “Isn’t that beautiful air, Tim?  Just beautiful!” 

Nonno then showed me the statue of the Blessed Mother in the port who watches over and blesses all of the sailors – Santa Maria del Soccorso.  It was a big white Statue at the end of a dock in the harbor.  Beautiful location.  The port smelled like fish.  I wasn’t too fond of the smell, but Nonno loved it!  Nonno then showed me the fishing boat of his nephew Salvadore which was docked in the harbor.  Salvadore was on board the boat and came to say hello.  He had a big white and green boat named N. Tremiti.  Zio Nino drove Nonno and I back to the apartment because we were ready for lunch! 

Nonna was waiting back at the apartment with a smile on her face.  She quickly started preparing lunch, and Nonno got the pre-meal snacks out on the table.  Bread, olives, cheese, and dried sausage.  Nonna first served pasta with cooked broccoli.  It was absolutely delicious and I couldn’t stop eating it.  Then, she served chicken glazed with lemon and garlic and potatoes on the side that she made.  They are mashed potatoes formed into tiny balls and breaded then baked.  They are so good!  After lunch, Nonno and Nonna talked on the phone to their son Charlie, Marianna’s father.  I talked to him for a bit and he wished me the best of time in Sicily.  He’s such a nice man – always pleasant and kind.  It was nice to talk to him and tell him what I had seen around Sciacca that morning.  Nonno and I watched soccer this afternoon and then we Skyped for a little bit with Scotty and Marianna. 

Nonno went up the block and got pizza for us for dinner.  When he came back and Nonna saw the size of the box she looked at him and said, “Mamma Mia!  Such a biga box!”  The pizza was really good, and it was a great dinner.  Nonno was watching soccer all night.  I watched with him and Nonna did some crossword puzzles.  Nonno got really into the games and was yelling at the TV.  He was yelling in Italian, so I didn’t really pick up most of what he said.  I have a suspicion that he was saying naughty Italian words that I don’t know because Nonna kept looking at him and saying, “Michele, shush!” And then would smile at me and continue with her word puzzle.  At one point, Nonna really got into the action too.  The team we were cheering for was down a point and it looked like they were about to score, so Nonna cheered.  All of the sudden, the ball curved and it missed the goal and Nonna went, “Oh shit!”  Then she covered her mouth and started laughing and I joined right in!  It was a great night.  Nonno brought out coffee and cookies during the game and we all has a late night snack.  Before I went to bed, I tried to teach Nonna how to play Solitaire on her computer.  She was having some difficulties, but was getting the main concept of it.  As I closed my bedroom door, I heard her say, “Brava!” so I knew she had made a match on her cards. 

Sicily – The Real Day 1

Friday, November 26, 2010

I woke up today at 6:45, got ready, and I was at the train station by 8:00 AM.  I hopped on the train, which ran smoothly this time, and got to the airport a little before 9:00 AM.  I got my ticket, and got through security with plenty of time to spare.  The flight left on time, but it was the shortest and worst flights I have ever been on.  It seemed like as soon as we reached cruising altitude, we were making our descent.  That wasn’t the bad part.  That was good – a short flight.  The bad part was the turbulance.  There was so much.  The plane dropped very roughly so many times.  You know that feeling that you get in your stomach on a ferris wheel when you just crest the top of the wheel and then start going down?  It feels like your stomach is staying at the top of the wheel, but the rest of your body is going down?  Yeah, I felt that probably 10 times on the flight.  The plane kept rocking from side to side and people were shrieking.  I thought we were going to crash for sure.  It was not pleasant.  I also hate plane landings.  I love take off, but hate landing.  The lading was really rough and we all got lurched forward when the plane stopped.  Never again am I going to fly Easyjet when I come back to Europe someday. 

After I got to the airport in Palermo, I wandered around for about 20 minutes looking for the buses.  I couldn’t find them, so I called Marianna for help to see if her grandfather had told her where I had to go.  After talking to her for a bit, I just decided to ask a female police officer for help.  I talked to her in Italian for a bit and asked her where the bus depot was.  She told me a bit and then took me to the Airport Information desk.  The woman behind the desk helped me a lot and I found the bus stop.  I had some time to kill in the airport before my flight left, so I grabbed some pizza for lunch and waited for my bus to leave for Sciacca at 2:55 PM. 

The bus came to the airport around 3:05 PM and I got on.  It only cost me 9.40 Euro, which isn’t bad for an hour and a half bus ride.  I got to see a lot of the Sicilian countryside.  I listened to my ipod on the way and enjoyed the scenery.  The bus driver was crazy.  He was a total lead foot and kept passing cars on the highway.  The bus kept rocking from side to side and any little bump the bus hit, we felt.  I got of in Sciacca at the first stop called La Villa.  It was near a huge park.  As soon as I got off the bus, there was Nonno and Zio Nino waiting for me.  Nonno looked at me and said, “Tim?” and I responded, “Nonno?”  We hugged and said hello.  We rode in a car to Nonno and Nonna’s apartment and Nonna was waiting inside.  As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted with Nonna’s warm smile and she said, “Buona sera Tim.  Come stai?”  I replied, “Buona sera Nonna. Bene, bene. Grazie”.  Right away she took me into the kitchen and her, Nonno, and I sat down and started chatting.  We talked for a while about what we would do tomorrow, what we were going to eat, and their lives when they lived in America.  It was clear that Nonna missed America and being by her children, but she still likes Sicily.  For dinner, Nonna first laid out bread, homemade and homegrown olives, four kinds of fresh cheese, artichokes soaked in garlic oil, and sausage Nonno bought from the butcher.  Then, we had spaghetti with eggplant parmeggiana.  When we were finished with that, we had potatoes and roasted chicken.  Nonna gave me a tangerine flavored digestivo after dinner and Nonno also made espresso.  Nonna gave me some lemon glazed cookies unique to Sciacca.  They were so good!  Nonno gave me a beer and some wine to drink for dinner.  It was delicious.  The meal was filled with great conversation and Nonna continuously looking at me and saying, “Mangia, mangia!”  Which means, “Eat, eat!”  She kept piling food on my plate – and I ate it all!  Nonno and Nonna are awesome! They speak with their hands ALL THE TIME and make me laugh so much!  They bicker and pick on one another, but you can tell there is true love in the air. 

After dinner, we Skyped with Scotty and Marianna and I fixed Nonno and Nonna’s computer speakers so they could finally hear Scotty and Marianna.  We talked for a while and then the three of us watched some gameshows on Italian TV.  I was trying to see how many words I could pick up.  I wasn’t doing too bad.  Nonno was explaining the shows to me too.  Nonno and Nonna graciously gave me their HUGE comfortable bed to sleep in and they slept on the pull-out couch in the living room.  I was going to tall them that I could sleep on the couch, but I could tell that suggestion would just be met with objections, so I just left it alone.  I cannot wait for tomorrow!  What an awesome day!

Sicily – “Day 1”

Thursday November 25, 2010 – Thanksgiving Day

Today started out like any other day in Italy.  Italians were getting ready for work, riding the crowded trams and looking forward to the weekend.  I, on the other hand, woke up with a smile on my face because I was going to spend Thanksgiving 2010 in Sicily with Nonno & Nonna Bono.  Thanksgivng 2010 – Sicily Style!

            I got ready, said Ciao to Cuyler, and got to the train station down the street around 9:00 AM to catch the train to the airport.  My flight didn’t leave until 10:40 AM, so I had plenty of time.  First of all, the train was severely delayed.  We are talking 25 minutes here.  Usually it is delayed only like 5 or 10 minutes, but 25 is unheard of!  The Italians were getting upset and started yelling, “Dove il tren?”  One lady asked me, and I replied to her, “Non lo so” and shrugged my shoulders.  She responded “Mama Mia!” threw her hands in the air and walked away.  Finally the train got to the station at 9:20 AM.  The large crowd that had accumulated piled onto the train and we were on our way, but not for long.  At every single station, the train stopped and then we had to wait 2 minutes for the doors to open.  Passengers would get off and on, and then we had to wait 2 more minutes for the train to be able to leave the station.  It was a very complicated process.  Cleary the train wasn’t functioning correctly, but leave it to good ol’ Tren Italia to keep it on the track!  So, finally, we made it to within two stations from the airport and all of the sudden one of the conductors is herding us off the train and onto a platform.  I asked him how I could get to Fiumicino Airport and he pointed to another train rolling up on a different track.  This was the train the that was behind ours the whole time which had caught up to us since we were moving so slow.  All of our passengers crammed onto the already packed train that had just pulled up and finally made it to the airport around 10:10 AM.  I already had my boarding pass printed, so I figured if I just hauled my cookies through the airport, I would make it in time. 

I ran through the skywalk – I’m talking an all out sprint for the terminal.  I made it, flew through security in a flash (well, security is kind of a joke in Italy) and made it to the gate.  I looked at the screen and it said, “Easyjet Palermo 10:40”.  It was 10:17, so I stopped for one minute to put my liquids and laptop back in my suitcase from security.  By the time I looked up, the screen was set to a new flight and the Easyjet employees were gone.  I looked around for them, but couldn’t find them at all.  Then, three Italians, one woman and two men, came up looking for the same plane.  The woman looked at me and asked, “Dove e il aeroplane para Palermo?”  I responded, “Non lo so” and showed her my ticket.  We couldn’t find it anywhere.  They flagged down some airport employees and asked where the plane was.  The employees used their phones to figure it out and when they hung up, they looked at us and said, “Finito!”  I knew then that we weren’t getting on the plane. 

So, I walked back down to ticketing with the Italians who started yelling at the Easyjet employees.  I stayed out of it since I didn’t know much Italian.  It was funny to watch though. Then, after a couple frantic phone calls to my cousin’s wife Marianna, I bought a new ticket to come to Sicily.  Marianna called her grandparents and told them that I wouldn’t be arriving that day, but I would be there the next day on the exact same flight.  The man behind the ticket counter felt bad that I missed my flight, so he didn’t charge me the usual 20 Euro booking fee on my ticket.  I called my Dad on the way home to tell him the story, and took the train back to the apartment.

So, I spent Thanksgiving alone this year.  I was really bummed at first and realized how much it sucked to spend it alone.  I went to the store after I got home and bought some chicken, tomatoes, and pasta and made a nice dinner for myself.  The apartment was completely empty.  All of my roommates had left on Wednesday or Thursday morning.  I was alone, which was kind of soothing in a way. 

I watched a couple movies, Skyped with my parents and Lauren, Skyped with Scotty and Marianna, and also with a couple of my friends from St. Norbert.  I kept myself busy and just relaxed.  I talked with one of my fraternity brothers from TKE and he told me he was alone on Thanksgiving too. He told me to put it into perspective and use it as an opportunity to look back and really appreciate holidays with family in the future.  He said now that I know how much it sucks to spend a holiday alone, I would never take them for granted again.  I agreed with him and it made me change my whole outlook on the day.  It was a good day, even though I wasn’t with family and had no turkey.  

A.S. Roma vs. Bayern München Soccer Game

Yesterday, November 23, I went to a Roma soccer game here in the city.  Their stadium is the old 1960 Olympic Stadium.  It's nice to see that Roma is making use of it instead of letting it just fall apart into disarry like the Greeks in Athens....

Anyway, the game was at 8:45 PM, so I got ready after class in my Roma gear and met up with three girls I've met here from St. Mary's in California, Kelly, Megan, and Genine.  We took the tram and then hopped on the 280 bus which took us all the way to the stadium.  The bus took a while to get to our stop, but it was a blast.  It was completely packed with crazy Roma fans and I knew I was in for a treat! 

We got to the stadium a little late because the grils took a while to get ready - girls will be girls.  Anyway, so we got there about half way into the first half.  The halfs are 45 minutes each with a 15 minute half time.  They don't stop the clock when the ball goes out of bounds or anything which I thought was a little weird. 

I was told that this game would be kind of subdued compared to other games, so I wasn't expecting much excitment - how wrong I was!  After we figured out the correct gate to go into based off of our tickets, we climbed the stairs and entered a stadium PACKED with screaming fans.  The Italians were yelling and pointing their hands and screaming at the ref's calls.  The Munich fans were quarantined into one section with security surrounding them.  When we got to the game, the score was already 0-1 Munich.  Soon after we sat down, Munich scored again and their fans lit a fire in the stands in celebration.  The entire stadium was filled with smoke, but luckily it has an open roof over the field.  Roma then scored one goal to bring the score to read 1-2 Munich at halftime.  Romas fans also lit a celeabratory fire in the crowd as well!  Halftime was kind of boring.  Apparently Italy has never heard of halftime entertainment like we have back in the States....

There were Italians smoking all throughout the game.  Between them yelling in our ears, climing over seats, waving flags like crazies, and drinking, they were all smoking like chimneys!  It was great! 

When the second half started, it got pretty intense.  It was back and forth on the field the entire time.  The Curva Sud, or the South Curve, of the stadium where most of the Roma fans sit was going CRAZY!  They were waving flags, leading cheers, and yelling at the Munich fans.  We sat in the Curva Nord, or North Curve of the stadium where it was a little bit more subdued.  The girls didn't want to sit with the "crazy fans".  I was totally down for the other side of the staidum, but whatever.  About 30 minutes into the second half, Roma scored their second goal and we lit another celebratory fire in the Curva Sud.  At this point it was tied, and their were only 15 minutes left.  Munich and Roma fans started going at it.  The security had to stop them from crossing into eachother's sections.  It got pretty intense and there was a bunch of yelling, dirty Italian words flying left and right, and not so nice hand gestures being exchanged.  I officially fell in love with Roma games at this point.  Then, someone in the Munich side set off a red smoke bomb and the security went crazy.  As the game got more intense, the players kept going.  With about 7 minutes left in the game, Roma scored our third goal for us to take the lead on a penalty shot.  The crowd went absolutely CRAZY and people were cheering.  The Munich section just stood their in disbelief.  It was so awesome and we didn't know the cheers but tried to join in anyway! 

Then, as time ran out, we won the game 3-2.  It was so intense and I was so happy I got to go. 

At the end of the game, when Roma wins, they played this song that all of the Italians joined in on.  They waved their flags, held up their scarves, and kissed their significant others while singing the victory song: Grazie Roma.  It was so awesome! 

As the Italians left the stadium, they took their last jab, yelled their last cuss word, and waved goodbye to the Munich fans who we quarantined in their section until well after the game. 

After we left the staidum, we had a time and a half trying to get home.  It started to rain, the buses were packed, and it was so late that the buses were going to stop running about an hour after the game ended.  We tried to get on the bus we took to get to the staidum, but all of these Italians shoved us out of the way and we almost got trampled.  It was a total survivial of the fittest.  The bus was so packed, the doors could barely close.  By this time it was almost midnight, and that's when the buses stop.  Basically, we were stranded on the outskirts of Rome in the middle of no where on the other side of the city.  So, we just hopped on a bus that we saw and hoped it would take it close to our neighborhood.  Luckily, it took us to St. Peter's Square and we caught a taxi for 10 Euro from there.  All in all, it was an awesome night.  So amazing to see Italians in their element and join in the fun! 

 

A Day Trip to Sergio Mottura's Vineyard

Yesterday, I went on a Vineyard Tour and Wine-Tasting Lunch Excursion with Study Abroad Italy.  My two friends Megan and Kelly from California went with me too.

We left Piazza Trilussa at 9:30 AM and drove north on the coach bus for about an hour and a half until we reached the little town of Civitella d'Agliano.  We first stopped at the warehouse next to the vineyards and met Sergio's son who gave us the tour of that.  The run an organic vineyard, hand pick all of their grapes, and only use the grapes they grow themselves.  We got to try three red and three white wines that were still fermenting. We learned about their process of fermentation and could taste the differences between those wines and bottled wines.  The wines that we tasted that were still fermenting will be ready to be bottled in March.

Unfortunately, it was too muddy to walk in the vineyard, but we got some god pictures by it.  Around 12:30 we took the coach bus further into town and then walked a little ways to their storage cellar, and wine tasting room.  We got a tour of the cellar where they keep bottled wine and barrels of wine.  Sergio explained to us how long the bottles stay down there because the longer the better.

After that, we enjoyed a four course meal and desert while we tasted 7 different kinds of wine.  Sergio explained each type to us and let us mark down our favorites.  We tried three white wines, three red, and one desert wine.   I purchased some of my favorite bottles of wine - 4 of them!

I bought:
1 bottle of Poggio della Costa - Vintage 2009 (Sergio's Award Winning Wine)
1 bottle of Tragugnano Dry Orvieto - Vintage 2009
1 bottle of Magone Pinot Nero - Vintage 2007 (Sergio's favorite wine)
1 bottle of Muffo - Vintage 2007 (Desert wine)

I am so excited about my purchases!  It was a blast and a half.  I loved going on this trip!

When I got back, I hung out in the room for a bit with Cuyler.  He made dinner for us last night and it was really good - chicken with garlic and tomatoes with pasta.  What a nice roommate - huh?

I stayed in last night and hung out with some of the ladies from California.  We hung out, attempted to watch a movie and made Nutella Hot Chocolate because it was so cold outside!

Fun day all around!

End of the Semester = Research Papers!

This past week was a very busy one for me.  I had a partner presentation to do for my Abnormal Psychology class on Bipolar disorder.  My partner is from St. Mary's College in California.  Her name is MK (Mary Kay) and she is pretty funny and definitely knows her stuff as a Psych major.  We got the presentation done no problem, and our professor loves both of us, so I think we'll do just fine.

The rest of my spare time this past week was filled with writing two research papers.  I was writing a paper for my History of Modern Europe Class about the changing gender roles of men and women in nineteenth century Europe in both the public and private spheres.  Most. Boring. Paper. Ever.  I think I'll do good on my paper.  It wasn't fun to research for it though. I also worked on my History of the Catholic Church paper which is due next week.

I did find some time to hang out with my friends this week.  I went out on Wednesday night to a club with Cuyler and some of the other guys and girls from our building.  It was fun, but the drinks were really expensive.  Not so much fun.  Oh the joys of being in Europe!

Bliss has been making awesome dinners as usual, and they are so good.  She made chicken noodle soup this week from scratch.  I loved it.  A nice warm soup on a cold Italian night.  Perfect dinner!

We stuck around Rome this weekend too because we had a make-up day of classes on Friday for when we have off on Wednesday December 8th for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception - also a Roman holiday.  I got a lot done this week for school, the fraternity, and cleaning wise.

Cuyler and I rearranged out room.  We wish we would have thought of it earlier.  He turned his bed against the wall so we have a tone more space now.  It makes perfect sense!  Our room is awesome.  I'm definitely going to miss it.

This past Thursday was the 1 month mark until I come home.  I can't believe how quickly the time is flying.  I have a lot to do these next few weeks which will make me enjoy my last bit of time here.  I am sad and I will really miss Cuyler a lot and a bunch of the girls I have met from St. Mary's in California, but I will be ready to come home.

This week I made a list of Things I Miss from the States:

1.     Free water at restaurants

2. Free refills on soda at restaurants

3. Fast food

    a.     Taco Bell

    b.     McDonalds

    c.      BW3s

4. Pedestrians having the right of way

5. Being able to walk safely while you have the WALK signal

6. Television

7. Quiet

8. Being able to jump in my car and go for a drive at any moment 

9. A constantly warm shower

10. A large shower – none of this Barbie sized crap

11.  Starbucks

12. My single cup coffee maker

13. My bed

I'm sure the list will grow before I come home.  

Looking forward to spending next weekend/Thanksgiving in Sicily with Nonno and Nonna Bono!!

See you all soon!

Hanging with the French - A Weekend in Paris, France

This past weekend, I went to Paris, France.  The four of us (Tynisha, Casey, Bliss, and Me) met out on the corner by our apartments at 10:15 AM.  We caught the 10:30 AM train to Fuimicino Airport to make out 12:30 PM flight.  We flew Veuling Airlines this time.  While I was in the secuirty line, there was a hold up right in front of me.  Two nuns were being frisked and checked.  They were laughing, but the secruity guards weren't.  The most unlikely suspects, right?  Gotta watch out for those nuns!  Haha!  The flight was pretty good, a little trubulance, but not too bad.  The landing was rough - I hate landings on planes.  When we got to Paris, it was dreary, windy, rainy, and cold.  Yeah! 

When we boarded the plane, there was too much carry on luggage, so they took our bags away and checked them for us.  So, we had to go to the baggage claim and wait for the bags to come before we could leave the airport.  Right outside of the airport, we took a bus which ran from Orly Airpot to a metro station in town.  We had to pay 6.60 Euros for the bus ride which is pretty steep for a 5 minute ride, but what are you gonna do?  We took two trams to get to our hostel and then checked into our room.  We stayed at Cualincourt Hostel in Paris and got a room to ourselves.  The room was VERY small with two beds, bunkbeds, a small toilet room and a tiny shower room.  We were defintiely jammed in there.  By this time we were starving, so we decided to go and get soemthing to eat.  On the way to the tram to go into the city, we ran into a post office.  I decided I wanted to get some stamps to send postcards, so I walked in with a French dictionary and asked the woman is she had stamps.  She said yes and asked me to where?  I told her the United States.  Immediately, she turned up her nose and said "No, no more!" in a nasty voice.  Then she glared at me and I left without stamps.  What a rude lady!  We then took the train to the city center and at a Cafe down the road.  I just got a simple sandwich.  I wasn't very hungry at all after the post office incident.  After we were done with dinner, we walked a couple of blocks to the Eiffel Tower and saw it lit up at night.  It was an awesome sight to see.  Every hour, on the hour, the Eiffel Tower does a light show where it seems to sparkle for about 5 minutes and then ends.  We got to see that too, which was really neat.  We took tons of pictures and then walked around the city for a bit and found a neat old beautiful church to take some pictures of too.  I'm pretty sure it was called St. Louis Church.  We took the tram back to our hostel, which was another adventure.  For some reason, the ticket I had boughten for the tram wasn't working in a machine, so I couldn't get through the gate.  Then, this very attractive French woman, about my age, walked up to me with her tram pass, scanned it, and motioned me through with her.  She smiled at me and went on her way.  That made my night.  We got back to the hostel and went to bed around 11:00 PM.

Saturday, Bliss and I woke up around 7:00 AM and left the hostel by 7:40 to catch the tram and another regional train to go to Versailles, France to see the Palace of Versailles.  Casey and Tynisha were party poopers and didn't want to come with us.  Bliss and I figured out our route and we arrived in Versailles by 9:00 AM.  We were pretty badass though because we were supposed to buy a special ticket for the regional train, but didn't and just kind of snuck on.  When we got to the end station, we needed to insert our ticket into the gate to exit.  Since we didn't have tickets, we just awkwardly stood there.  Then, we saw that a gate was left open, so we just casually walked through hoping not to get caught.  Mission accomplished!  We made it through.

Versailles was absolutely amazing!  That was the one and only thing I wanted to see when I went to Paris.  I absolutely love the story of Marie Antoinette and her downfall as the Queen of France.  Since I just did a paper on her earlier this semester for my History of Modern Europe class, it was neat to walk in the places I had written about knowing she had walked there too.  It made it come alive for me.  Bliss and I toured the palace and gardens with audio guides for 15 Euro.  There were a lot of tourist groups, but since we got there early, we avoided a lot of the crowds.  Bliss and I took so many pictures and I loved the tour.  My trip was complete!  I loved Versailles so much!  After our tour, we were hungry, so we ate a quick, cheap meal at McDonals - and also because we were and still are craving food from home!  The food was good and they had really neat and modern chairs at their tables in the restaurant.  They spun around, but were like a modern leather armchair.  I loved them!  They also had a machine where you could order your food and then walk up to the counter and get it.  Neat idea! Maybe we need to rethink this, huh USA???

Bliss and I took the train back to Paris and arrived around 12:30 PM.  We walked over to the river and bought tickets for the BatoBus - a water bus that goes up and down the river all day and stops at major attractions.  We took the bus first to Notre Dame which was absolutely amazing.  The inside of the cathedral is beautiful and there was so much to see inside.  I lit a candle for my Grandpa Kasprzak inside the cathedral and said a little prayer.  I loved Notre Dame, and I definitely want to go back someday.  After that, we took the BatoBus to the Louvre.  We didn't go inside because the line was long and it was starting to rain outside.  We took some pictures of the building and of the glass pyramid in the middle.  It was definitely a sight to see.  After that, Bliss and I made out last stop at L'arc de Triomphe and took a bunch of pictures of that.  By this time, it was about 5:30, and Bliss and I were soaked at tired.  Casey and Tynisha were only God knows where around the city doing their own thing.  They told Bliss and me that they didn't want to meet up with us after we got back from Versailles,  so Bliss and I did our own thing.  So, Bliss and I went back to the hostel and relaxed and warmed up until the other two came back for dinner around 8:00 PM.  We found a little restaurant down the street and ate a quick dinner there.  After dinner, I took the tram by myself for a couple stops and went to go take pictures of the Moulin Rouge.  I didn't realize that it was in the middle of Paris's red light district, so there were strip clubs and porn shops all around me.  It was quite interesting, but I got my photos!

We got up early on Sunday morning and headed straight for the airport.  Our plane left Paris at 9:45 AM and we got back around 11:30 AM.  I spent the rest of my day catching up on life and relaxing in the apartment.  I Skyped with Scotty and Marianna last night and called Grandma Kasprzak's house to say hit to all of the relatives still in town.  It was nice to hear their voices.

All in all, I wasn't a big fan of Paris.  It is a beautiful city with nice sights and a nice history.  The people were very cold and it wasn't very welcoming at all.  I'm happy I went, but I was happy to get back to Rome.  Looking forward to Sicily and London next!

Rememering...Honoring...Laughing...Crying....

This past week was pretty hard for me in Rome.  At that time last year, was the week where my Grandpa Kasprzak passed away.  He went through about a four day stratch spanning from November 9 - 12 where he was slipping in and out of conciousness and it became apparent to all of us that his health was failing.  I remember those four days distincly in my mind from last year.  I had just started teaching my first graders at Jefferson Elementary in Green Bay.  It was a very tough week last year, and didn't get much easier this year.
I was having a tough time not having anyone to talk to over here.  Sure, I could Skype my family in a minute, but talking to someone on the computer isn't the same as face to face interation.  I found it hard to have no one to cry with, remember with, or even anyone who understood how I felt.  Most of the family was gathering in Milwaukee this weekend from Friday-Sunday to remember Grandpa.  I was sad that I was missing the gathering and another chance to be with family.  I felt very alone in a huge city where I've made tons of friends.  Luckily, I did a few things to help me pull through.  I wrote a letter to all of my cousins expressing my sadness and feelings on not being able to join them to remember our Grandpa this past weekend.  My cousin Mark agreed to read it for me, and I hope they all enjoyed it and knew that it came from my heart.  Also this past week, my roommate Cuyler made it clear to me that he was here for me.  He could tell I wasn't being myself and was concerned.  We talked a lot last week about Grandpa and Cuyler just listened.  Last Wednesday night, he even sat down with me and watched the DVD Krause had made for my family for my Grandpa's visitation last year.  It brought a lot of tears to my eyes, but also made me smile too.  It was neat to be able to share that with Cuyler and talk about the family.  He kept trying to pick out my Dad in the pictures and see if he could fin me in any.  He was amazed at how much Grandpa had built throughout his life and told me he could tell he was special to our family.  After the DVD ended, before I could tahnk Cuyler for watching it with me, he thanked me for asking him to watch it with me.  I definitely knew things were going to be okay because I realized that I did have someone here to help me. 

Before I left for Paris Friday November 12th, the one year anniversary of Grandpa's death, Cuyler told me, "Don't even hesitate to call me this weekend.  If you need to talk to me, call me.  I'm here for you".  Friday was rough when I went to Paris knowing that the family was gathering in Milwaukee from Friday-Sunday without me.  I texted Cuyler a few times, but other than that, I pulled through.  I lit a candle for my Grandpa in Norte Dame Cathedral in Paris and tried to enjyo myself.  When I cam back Sunday, I watched Grandpa's DVD again and said the Sacred Heart prayer from the holy card at his fuenral.  It was a nice way to remember Grandpa, and I can't wait to get home and remember him more with my family during the Christmas season! 

This past weekend, I was remembering and honoring a great life – a year ago Grandpa Kasprzak passed away – a man of true faith, kindness, generosity, and love. Can’t believe it’s been a year without you, Grandpa. You are forever my angel. I miss you everyday and love you so much – RIP Grandpa Kasprzak 1914-2009

Due belle città - Two beautiful cities - A Weekend in Florence and Venice

This past weekend was amazing!  It was a complete blast and I spent it in Florence and Venice.  Casey decided she didn't want to join in this weekend, so Bliss and I decided we would just go on the trip.  Last minute, some of our friends, Kelly and Kristen joined in and came with us.

Friday morning started really early!  We all met on the corner by the apartment at 5:45 AM and waited for the H line bus to take us to Termini Station.  The bus was taking too long, so we decided to take the number 8 tram line and the number 64 bus to Termini Station.  Some homeless man was trying to talking to me on the bus, mumbling in half English about Termini station, it was scary so I just kind of nodded my head and looked away.  Typical morning in Rome.

Our train left Termini Station at 6:45 AM and we arrived in Firenze or Florence around 10:50 AM.  The train ride was very nice with comfortable seats in a quad of four with a table in between us all.  It was very cold on the train, but I slept most of the way there.  We met an older couple from the States who were going to visit their granddaughter in Orvieto and a girl studying from Loyola University on her way to Florence too.  Seeing Orvieto from the train really made me want to go there.  Now I just need to find a day to go....

Once we got to the station, the four of us split up to go and check into our hostels.  Bliss and I stayed at the David Inn on Via Ricasoli.  It was a little side street right next to the Duomo, a large cathedral in Florence.  We had a little trouble finding the hostel.  There were two kinds of numbers on buildings down the street - big blue numbers, and little red numbers.  The hostel was number 31, but it was the big blue 31, not the little red 31.  Whatever.  I ended up calling the hostel to see where they were and the lady had a really really thick Italian accent.  I just kept say "uh-huh" and when I hung up the phone, I looked at Bliss and said, "I don't know what the hell that lady just said".  The hostel was interesting to say the least.  It was on the third floor of an old building, smelled like cat pee, and had only one shower and one toilet.  It was a little sketch, so we were happy we stayed there only one night.  Lukcily, the sheets to our beds were included in the price.  Our friends, Kelly and Kristen weren't so lucky and they had to pay for sheets if they wanted them.  They opted not to have sheets and just slept on a mattress while wrapped in sweat pants, scarves, and sweatshirts.  A very interesting night!

After we all got checked into our hostels, we met at the Duomo and decided to start walking to find cheap food.  We ended up running into the Academia where the original "David" statue by Michelangelo is housed.  So, we got some chips, soda, and a few sandwiches from the supermarket across the street and ate those for lunch.  We went into the museum and saw a lot of paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo.  We weren't supposed to take pictures of the "David" while we were in there and every time someone would pull out their camera, the lady security guard would yell, "NO PHOTO!!!"  I took my camera out on the sly and turned the flash off. When the lady wasn't looking, I snapped a photo, and a pretty good one at that!

After we were done in the Academia, we went down the street to the Duomo.  We went inside and I was in awe.  It was a beautiful church inside.  It was pretty simple, yet elegant.  They had tree like stands for intention candles, so I lit one and said one prayer for all of my family members collectively.  The Duomo is constructed out of a lot of green, pink, and white marble.  It is very massive, and has a lot of statues inside and outside.  It is an amazing building!

From there, we continued on and walked through town.  We hit up Ponte Vecchio, a bridge spanning the river with expensive shops built on it; saw a fountain dedicated to the god Neptune; and we also hit up Florence's leather market and browsed around.  Florence is known for its leather, but it is really expensive.

Around 4:00 we started our walk to a big hill in the city to reach the top of it called Piazzale Michelangelo.  The climb was kind of steep with a lot of stairs.  We met a couple from the States while they were taking a break on the side.  We walked the rest of the way with them.  Once we got to the top, the view was breathtaking.  You could see all of Florence and we made it up there right before sunset.  It was so neat!  We took a bunch of pictures and then just sat up there on some steps for a while until after the sun set and talked about home, our time here in Italy, and where we were all going to go after we went our separate ways.  It was kind of a sad conversation, and it made the reality sink in that we only have a couple weeks left here.  While I was sad to realize it, I was also a little anxious to know I would be coming home soon.

For dinner, we went to a pizzeria and I had a tomato salad, and a pizza with peppers on it.  Someone at a table around us ordered a Napoli pizza -with cheese and anchovies on it - and I just about died.  It smelled so bad and I had to discreetly cover my nose.  The girls thought it was hilarious, along with two British ladies sitting next to us!  The four of us walked around Florence for the rest of the night browsing the shops, watching the street entertainers and soaking up the city while we could.  For desert, we each got a waffle with Nutella on it.  It was a struggle because the waffles were huge and the Nutella was really rich, but Kelly and I were champs and finished our waffles.  Kristen on the other hand, was not a champ that night and she was quite sad about that.  Bliss and I got back to our hostel around 10:30 PM and met two of our roommates.  They were a couple from the Chicago/Milwaukee area traveling around for 4 months in Europe.  They had two of the four months done and were headed to Rome, Poland, and Budapest next.  The night went well, and I got a good sleep even though the hostel was sketch.

Saturday morning, Bliss and I got up and got the hell out of that hostel.  We met Kristen and Kelly at the Duomo at 8:30 AM and headed to the train station. We tried to switch our tickets to the 9:30 AM train to Venice, but there were no seats left.  So, we sat in McDonalds and had some breakfast while we waited for our 10:30 AM train.  I wrote some postcards and had a completely over priced breakfast from McDonalds.  When I went outside to mail my letters, a woman asked me in broken Italian which mailbox to put her letters into so they could go to "Espana".  I told her which one and she was so happy. I thought it was neat that she asked me - maybe she thought I was Italian!  The train ride from Florence was only about two hours and we arrived around 12:30 PM.  Bliss and I met this man from Chicago on the train who had a house in Croatia.  He was traveling for a bit around Europe before he headed back to the Sates this Thursday.  We got to Venice and found out that there were two stations - Venezia Mestre on the mainland and Venezia San Lucia on the islands.  We got dropped off at the Venezia San Lucia which was beautiful and met Kelly and Kristen's friend Kim who joined us for the rest of our trip.  Bliss quickly realized that our hostel was not on the islands, but on the mainland.  That got a little frustrating and then the other girls had trouble finding their hostel.  We eventually got everything figured out a bus ride, miles of walking, and a train ride to the other station later.

Evenutally, we were back on the islands ready to explore.  I took tons of pictures and was amazed at the construction of the city.  We all got some pizza by the slice to tide us over until dinner time that evening.  My pizza had french fries and sausages on it.  It was so good!  We decided just to walk around the city and explore - the best thing you can do!  We found a bunch of shops, bakeries, and souvenirs.  On our walk, we ran into this couple from North Carolina.  They ended up joining us on our quest to find the Basilica di San Marco.  It was a beautiful Basilica with a piazza on the other side of the island.  We walked through many winding streets and some sketch back roads to find it, but we did!  It was a beautiful basilica and square.  Bliss went off to meet her family friends in Venice for dinner, so from then on, it was Kim, Kristen, Kelly, and me.  We continued walking around and checking out the stores, the bridges over the canals, and watching the gondolas.  We ended up eating around 8:30 PM at this really nice restaurant in a main square in town.  We all got the tourist menu - Gnocchi and tomato sauce, salad, chicken, and a caramel creme desert for 15 Euro. Good deal!  The waiter also gave us all free drinks of the orange liquor.  It was pretty interesting.  We had a great dinner and ended up staying at the restaurant for about 2 hours.  Bliss rejoined us and we went to get some more desert after from a small shop that had crepes.  Bliss and I headed back to the hostel around 11:00 PM.  We had to take any train leaving Venezia San Lucia Station for one Euro because all of them stop at Mestre station.  Bliss and I jumped on a train headed to Munich, Germany and then walked to our hostel.  The hostel was nice this time.  It looked like an older hotel and we only had one roommate this time. He came in while we were asleep and then we left before he woke up in the morning.

I had a warm shower and a good night sleep.  We caught a six hour train from Venezia Mestre station at 9:20 AM on Sunday morning and got back to the apartment around 4:00 PM.  I Skyped with Uncle John and Aunt Kathy back home last night and then later with Grandma Kasprzak and Grandma and Grandpa Fischer.  We had nice conversations and it was really nice to see them all!

It is a very rainy day today in Roma, and is supposed to be all week.  I have been working on my History of Modern Europe paper all day long.  Not too fun!

It was an amazing weekend with adventure and good friends.  I love Florence and Venice and can see why my cousin Johnny loved Florence, Italy when he studied there for a semester three years ago.  It is a beautiful city!

Three Bs: Beer, Bratwurst, and Birkenstocks - A Weekend in Frankfurt, Germany

This past weekend was simply amazing!  Going to Germany was so awesome and I couldn't be prouder to be part German after I experienced time with the great people of Frankfurt!


Friday started out quite early.  I woke up at 5:45 AM and met Casey, Bliss, and Tynisha on the corner to walk to the train station at 6:45 AM.  The sun wasn't even up yet!  It was waaaayyy too early!!!  We caught the train to Fuimicino Airport and ended up in the slow security line. There was nothing wrong, just the security workers kept dinking around and made the process a lot longer than it needed to be.  Casey and I were hungry so we got some McDonalds for breakfast.  I had a Ham and Cheese Toastie which was really good, but Casey was quite disappointed with her Egg McMuffin.  It just wasn't the same as home!!  Our plane was late boarding, but we made it to Frankfurt with time to spare.  We flew Alitalia airlines and the flight was pretty smooth.  My ears hurt a lot on the flight and they didn't pop until we were long out of the airport.  It sucked because I couldn't hear anything out of one ear.  We eventually found our way around the airport with the help of nice German employees.  They noticed we looked lost and helped us find the proper train and platform.  We took the regional train to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof Station in town.  I was trying to pronounce the names of the stops that the train made in German and a German lady was laughing at me on the train.  It was quite entertaining!  We found out hostel which was only a few blocks from the train station, and locked up our luggage since we couldn't check into our room yet.  We also found it entertaining that our hostel happened to be in the middle of the Red Light District of Frankfurt, so our hostel was surrounded by strip clubs and porn stores.  So much fun!  We had time to kill and were all starving, so we set out to find some German food.  We went to this amazing authentic German restaurant called Cafe Hauptwache. It was delicious food! I had homemade potato soup, bread with three kinds of sauces to dip them in, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and of course - a bratwurst! Goal #1 complete!  The spoons the waitress gave Casey and me with our soup was as big as my pinkie thumb!  It was huge!  I also used the bathroom is that restaurant and they put ice in all of the urinals - weird!  Anyway, what an awesome way to start out the weekend in Germany, with delicious German food!  After lunch, we decided to walk around the town for a little bit and explore.  We were all walking down the street when all of the sudden I spotted it - A blue sign that said, "Birkenstock" and pointed down the block.  I almost lost it and I ran to the store down the street.  I looked over all of the shoes and picked out which pairs I wanted to buy.  Unfortunately, since my feet are so huge, they didn't carry my size in both of the shoes I wanted, only in one of them.  So, I only got one pair of Birkestocks, but at least I got them!  Goal #2 complete!  After we left the Birkenstock store, we went to the beautiful old church in town called St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in town.  It was a huge brown stone gothic style building and was decorated so nicely on the inside.  After we spent a little time inside, we waled back to the hostel to check into our room - 501.  When we got into the room, we realized that 4 of the 6 beds were already taken.  This posed a problem because there were four of us and two empty beds.  So, we went back to the reception desk and told the management.  After they checked out the situation for themselves and realized we were telling the truth, they upgraded us to an apartment style room with a bathroom, kitchen, and small living space free of charge for the night.  We realxed for a bit and got settled into the room before Bliss and I walked to the post office to find some stamps.  I had a hell of a time figuring out the stamp machine.  It was all in German so I just pressed some buttons until I got the right amount of stamps and ran!  When we got back to the room, I wrote post cards and the girls got ready to go out for dinner.  We walked across the river on a foot bridge and saw the city by night and then kept walking to the pub district in town.  We ate at this little German pub for dinner.  I got mashed potatoes, Handkäse - a spicy cheese served with bread and butter, homemade vegetable soup, and Apfelwein or Apple wine - very popular over in Germany.  Dinner was delicious, as was expected and I was so full after dinner.  We ended up taking a cab back to the hostel because we were too tired to walk, and we relaxed for the night in the hostel.  We got back there around 10:45 PM.  


Saturday, we left the hostel around 10:00 AM and went to a local flea market across the river.  There wasn't much stuff to buy, mostly just German locals selling housewares and other junk - nothing for tourists, so we kept walking.  We were getting a little frustrated because we really wanted to see some of historic Germany, but were quickly realizing that Frankfurt was a modern city.  After the flea market, we walked across the river again and stumbled along Römer, an old historic part of Frankfurt filled with old buildings and gift shops galore!  We hit the jackpot!  We wandered into all of the shops and were greeted with Beer steins, Coo coo Clocks, and hand stitched clothes and decorations.  Lucky for us, the shops were just putting out their Christmas items, so we got to look at all of that too!  I definitely spent way too much money in the shops of Römer, but I'm happy with what I bought!


After spending a couple of hours wandering around the shops and old buildings, we stumbled across a Subway up the block.  We caved and wanted American food, so we ate lunch at Subway - it was so delicious!  After we ate lunch we decided to walk around some of the public parks that Frankfurt prides itself on.  The parks were beautiful and stretched all across the city!  We found some fun statues and took some funny pictures with them in the parks.  Casey and I also went crazy when we saw leaves.  We don't have parks with leaves around us in Rome, so this was a treat!  Casey and I really miss Fall in Wisconsin right now, so we threw leaves in the air and took pictures in the leaves in the parks.  German people were looking at us funny, but we had no shame.  We had a blast!  After we walked through some of the parks, we went to Main Tower - a big tower in town owned by a bank with an observation deck on top.  We bought student tickets and took the elevator up to the deck.  My ears popped on the way up, but the view was amazing!  You could see all of Frankfurt from up on the observation deck.  It was such a beautiful sight to see!  It was really really windy up there, so we only stayed up there for about 20 minutes or so.  After we came down from Main Tower, we walked over to the English Theatre in Frankfurt and bought front row tickets (at 30 Euros each) for that evenings closing show of the Broadway play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"  The show was at 6:00 PM that night, so we went back to the hostel to relax and change before the show.  We also checked into our original room - room 501 - where there were now 4 of the 6 beds open.  We went to the theatre that night and saw an amazing show!  There was a four person cast and it went through the struggles and love affairs of two married couples.  Each character had a secret that was revealed throughout the play, and it was shocking to figure out what they were.  The play lasted for about three hours and was well worth the 30 Euros for front row seats!

After the play, Tynisha remembered a German restaurant where she had eaten a few years ago when she was in Germany with her Mom.  The restaurant was called Wirtshaus, and it had the most delicious Sauerkraut I have ever tasted!  I got a plate with Frankfurter, Beef, and Pork Sausages, mashed potatoes, and of course, Sauerkraut.  To drink, I had my first German beer – Binding Beer, which is brewed right in Frankfurt!  It was awesome!  Goal #3 complete!  The entire day was long and exhausting so we went back to the hostel around 11:00 PM when we were finished with dinner and went to bed. 

We slept in on Sunday and checked out of the hostel around 11:30 AM.  We got some pastries for breakfast.  My pastry had some weird fruit with seeds in the middle.  It was kind of gross, but at least I tried something new, right?  On our way through town, we ran into a marathon, and couldn’t cross the street.  All of the sudden, we saw Germans just running across the race to get to the other side of the street, so we did it too. We figured if they were doing it as locals, so could we as tourists!  So much fun!  We got tickets down on the Main River for a sightseeing cruise, which lasted about an hour and a half.  The boat was late picking us up, so we sat for a while on the riverbank and fed some of the swans and ducks in the water.  The ferry was huge and the river cruise was awesome.  We saw a lot of the neat skyscrapers on Frankfurt’s skyline, new development going on in old harbors and some fancy hotels and churches along the river.  We got sausage lunches on the boat along with German beer.  The mugs that our beer were served in were really nice, and somehow, the mugs that Casey and I drank out of made their way into our coats because they decided they wanted to come home to the United States with us….Haha!  After the cruise, we walked around Römer some more.  I wouldn’t let the girls leave me along because I was afraid that if they left me alone in a shop, I would buy something else.  After we were done in Römer, we walked back to the hostel and got all of our luggage.  We took the regional train back to the airport and found out that Germany (and the rest of Europe) had gone through Daylight Savings time on Sunday morning, and we were at the airport an hour earlier than we expected to be.  So, we had a lot of time to kill, which was okay with us because we were all exhausted from the weekend.  We ate dinner in the airport and our flight left around 6:40 PM.  It was the bumpiest plane ride I have ever been on and the landing was terrible.  I was freaking out on the plane.  I hate plane landings.

Overall, the trip was a huge success and I had so much fun!  I definitely gained a huge appreciation for the German culture and left Germany being very proud to be part German.  I took a ton of pictures of random German words for my Aunt Linda to translate for me when I get home.  I was also trying to pronounce any German word I saw and was failing terribly.  Oh well!  I absolutely love Germany!  Can’t believe it’s November already!