Holiday Festivites with my Florence Friends

As I have said before one of the greatest parts about traveling is getting to meet new people. You may remember from my last trip (back in November) to Italy that I had made friends in Rome with two girls; Giada and Alice, who are originally from Florence. We have since continued to stay in touch and made plans for when they come to the states.  With the holiday break both girls had come back home to Florence and I got to meet up with them again. Giada was gracious enough to invite me over to her home to celebrate the holidays with her and her friends the real Italian way. Which consists of; great company, a first course, wine, second course, wine, cigarette break, espresso, main course, wine, cigarette break, desert, desert-wine, another espresso and of course tons of conversation. Giada was such a great host, and her friends were very welcoming. Giada’s group of friends they have an annual holiday dinner together (Something I am planning on incorporating in my life when I get back home). This is an all day event, so apologies if I am not making much sense, I am tired and still in a bit of a food coma. So the day pretty much went like this; Giada woke around 7 to get a friend at the train station, came home cooked two turkeys, along with all the other dishes, we watched Miracle On 34th Street, listened to 80s music (which is quite popular here), ate, drank wine, talked… all over about 9 hours. This was the first time Giada had cooked turkey, apparently that is only an American thing. Luckily I’ve had plenty was able to help them carve it, cause they were a bit unsure how to serve it. It was funny once they set them down on the table they stared at the turkey, said something in Italian, looked at me, looked back at the turkey and looked back at me for a cue. It was great though getting to experience a holiday in a new way.  The food was amazing! Unfortunately I am not able to share it with you but here are some pictures, sorry. I can’t wait until they come to visit in the states so I can return the favor.

 

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Music Memory

Have you ever noticed that one song can store a dozen memories or associations of something you once lived? The other day I was out and about in Prague (which is fuh-freezing by the way) with some friends; we went to my favorite soup place-Polévkårna and we got to talking about music.  Music is certainly something I cannot live without. Being here in Prague has created a greater bond between me and music. There’s something about the quietness in the city, people here aren’t extroverted like in the states. You don’t get smiles from others on the tram, people are just in their own bubbles minding their own. Anyways we got to reminiscing about our first memories of music and what songs were the ones that stuck out and where we were, how old we were, who we were with. Looking back at my childhood I associate jams to spending time with my dad. He had this huge boom box we called the “Ghetto Blaster” and we would take it to the pool, the river, the beach you name it. The two songs I can first remember were Bob Marley’s Buffalo Solider and TLC’s Waterfalls. TLC recently preformed this year on the AMA’s which marked 20 years since their first AMA debut. When I was younger we would have these dance parties in the living room, just jamming out to music videos on the big screen. We also had a wooden coffee table I remember making my stage. It’s funny how something so simple was so fun and able to bring us together. I must have been no older then three. It had been a while since I remembered those times, it felt like it was yesterday. It was nice. What is the first song you remember?

My lentil soup

Viva Vienna

This weekend I am visiting Vienna. We arrived this morning and so far I am loving it. It is however FREEZING! Being from southern California lets just say I am not built for the cold weather. After we checked in we were given a walking tour of the city. There is a lot of really pretty architecture, and palaces, all of the Christmas lights add more magic. Here are some pictures from today. The Hofburg Palace

Fall Break Part III -From Roma to Firenze We Go

I recently got busy with school (yes I do have class and homework for all you wondering) so I haven’t had a chance to finish sharing the rest of my fall break adventures. After Rome the girls and I took a train to Florence where we stayed for two nights. Florence is a lot more laid back and relaxed in comparison to Rome. It’s a lot smaller of a city and the people there are in even less of rush. But we didn’t complain we were very much looking forward to relaxing. Rome was a nonstop trip, with no down time. There’s just so much to see and do. Here are some photos from our last afternoon in Rome before we left for Florence.

Throwing in my last coin into the Trevi before leaving Rome

Fall Break Part II – ROMA!

One of the best parts of traveling has been meeting new people along the way. In Rome I had the pleasure of meeting Giada, Alice, and Valentina, who were born and raised in Florence, Italy. Giada currently is going to school in Rome, she study’s theater there. Her two friends Alice and Valentina were visiting for the weekend, they both are living and studying in Florence. It can be a little bit intimidating when your traveling to try and make new friends. But for me I love meeting knew people, there’s an old joke in my family that half the time we’re so friendly we could talk to trees. There’s been a few times I’ve caught my dad talking to some palm trees. None the less I think it’s important to let that guard down and just go up and talk to someone you find interesting. The worst thing that could happen is they just walk away, and you move on.

It was our first night in Rome and the nice gentleman working the desk at our hostel gave us a few suggestions of places to check out, that weren’t touristy and/or expensive. Let me tell you I’m a student ballin’ on a budget. Taking his advice a wondered in the direction he suggested and came upon buzzing streets, of bars and restaurants filled with a lot of young and hip adults. As we continued to explore we could hear live music, so naturally we followed our ears and they led us to a square where people were dancing, and playing homemade instruments. It was here where I saw Giada and Alice sitting together, and something told me “Hey, they look fun, go talk to them.” So I did. And I’m very glad that I did cause they were amazing! I don’t think there was ever a moment we weren’t laughing.

The girls were so kind enough to offer to take us out (Roman style) our last night in the city. By the time we met all met up it was around 7:30pm and the girls and I had been out walking since 10:30am, we were so looking forward to eating. But in Rome there’s no urgency for anything and they eat dinner extremely late. Which is great because back home I’m used to rushing and getting as many things done as I can in a short amount of time. However it’s not ideal when you’re starving. So us three meet up with the other three and the first thing they notice is how tired we look, and then Giada and Alice look at each other a giggle and say the reservation is at 9:00pm! Then we all laughed, note to anyone going to Rome anytime soon, carry snacks! Luckily Alice took us to an amazing Italian restaurant which was more than well worth the wait. But in the meantime Giada took us to a bar, which is apparently the usual thing to do, you go out get a drink, talk, go to dinner, drink, talk, end dinner, talk, go out, talk, drink (responsibly, ofcorse). It was truly a priceless evening, one I hope we can all come back together again and share.

The front of the resturant.

Munich

After Oktoberfest the girls and I took a day to explore around Munich. It was quite interesting to compare the atmosphere there to the feel of Prague. Munich seemed to be more alive, the people were very inviting and lively. Our first order of business was brunch! Which we ended up having at this very traditional German restaurant. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very ‘Mom and Pop’ it felt as if we were guest in the owners home. I had a delicious pumpkin soup, which helped me accept that fall has officially arrived. After brunch we visited Munich’s central square where the Marienplatz is located. This was where markets and tournaments were held in the Middle Ages. Located there is this tower with figures that dance and play music every day a certain hours. From the square we strolled through the buzzing streets and came upon this farmers market, where I found a delicious young Italian wine. Apparently this is the season for young wine, and though you can drink it like lemonade I was warned not to drink too much cause it ferments in your stomach which will cause a very delayed buzz. So I bought two bottles for the road. From the farmers market we made out way to St. Peter’s Church which has a tall tower (that you can pay one Euro you can hike up 300+ stairs to get to the top of) and see a panoramic view of the city. I’ll admit the view was worth the hike and the tush exercise. We ended the day with some froyo, and I wouldn’t of had it any other way cause I have been craving it! Yogourtland is certainly on my list of places to visit when I get back home!

My First Time

Today was a very peaceful Sunday. My roommates and I spent the morning relaxing around the house and then went to a very cute cafe. Where we got pumpkin and gingerbread lattes. They were so good! They even did a design in the foam. I have not had the best luck here finding a decent cup of jo. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love my coffee and its been a struggle not having any. First off, I haven’t mastered Czech yet so I can’t get specific on my order, second non fat is almost nonexistent and for someone who is lactose intolerant, its not pretty, and third soy milk is like a unicorn – hard to come by. So we both were very happy to feed our coffee cravings-FINALLY! After the cafe our Czech buddy took us to a huge plaza. This mall was literally five stories tall, it was great! In this plaza they had a Topshop, which is a pretty popular store. My Czech buddy could not believe that I had never been to one so she insisted on popping my cheery! I’m glad she did because I got the cutest pair of shoes. On sale too! So for all my friends back at home basking in the sun while I’m freezing here, nee-ner-nee-neer! 🙂

Farmers Market

Today our Czech class’ assignment was to visit the local farmers market and test our Czech, we also had to explore and try some new food. It was so nice to find organic fruits and veggies my classmates and I were ecstatic! Molly especially – as you can see she filled up her backpack with lots of greens! Trying to eat healthy here in Prague is a definite struggle. Most of their meals consist of meat and potatoes as you can see below.

I Survived My First Week in Prague

I’ve been a bit busy with orientation but here are some pictures from my first week in Prague.

Lunch with my roommates