Prague!

So I tried to come up with a cool "czech this or czech that" title, but none of them were good so this post is called Prague!!

So this weekend Scott and I went to Prague! It was so beautiful and entertaining. It seemed like there was always a lot going on- including lots of rollerblading. So, to start, the first day we got to Prague, we took the metro to the hostel, which was outside of the city center. I was glad that we stayed there because Vera, the owner was very nice and we had the room to ourselves. The hostel was called the Boathouse Hostel and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going to Prague.

So here’s my taste of the city- the architecture (always fun to talk about) is gorgeous and mostly baroque, art nouveau, and sometimes gothic. It was nice to step away from high-Renaissance Florence for a weekend and experience something with a different flavor. Which was exactly what Istanbul was last weekend and Prague was this weekend.

The first day we took it pretty easy, we saw the massive St. Vitus Cathedral. The stained glass in there were especially brilliant and the light that they cast on the inside of the cathedral was marvelous. We also climbed and saw the miniature Eiffel Tower that is on the top of a mountain, which overlooks the city. We also walked over the Charles Bridge, named after Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor responsible for re-vamping Prague, adding stone bridges etc.

Saturday we did a ton! We did some of the Prague Castle, we did the old town and the new town. Okay, so funny thing, we went to a place called Bohemia Bagels and we both ate a lot so Scott was all worn out and saw these two old fashioned cars offering tours of the city. And then he asked if I thought we should do it! (For anyone who doesn’t know Scott…he hates spending money, period.) So, we ended up doing it- I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time at the thought of us breezing through the city in this car taking pictures like terrible tourists. Scott said that he was embarrassed to be seen taking this tour, but all in all, it was hysterical.

So we finished out our sightseeing with Frank Gehry’s “Dancing House” which is a very cool building that Gehry designed in 1996. It made me want to get more of his stuff from Tiffany’s, which then reminded me that I am poor because, well, I was looking at the building and saying, I’m in Prague, I am going to have zero dollars when I get home. But anyway, I hope he comes out with new designs soon because I am in love with my earrings.

We went to see Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” that night, which despite it being in Slovakian, was amazing and entertaining. People kept telling us, “It’s in Czech, and there are no over titles.” But it was totally fine because we had both read the play. I was very impressed by the show. One thing I didn’t like, that Scott and I already discussed was that at the end of the show, the audience clapped in unison. Which I abhor. Seriously, it’s the worst. I hate it at concerts, when the artist asks everyone to clap together; it makes me feel weird and silly. But anyway, we had a great dinner where we got homemade pasta and delicious wine. It was nice to sit and chat with Scott, I felt like we hadn’t in a while.

After dinner we went to a place called Bar and Books, which is apparently in both New York and Prague. Scott had been to one of the two in New York and it was a cool place. One of the bartenders looked exactly like Bill Ransik, winner of The Apprentice, season one. It was unreal.

Overall I would say that the city was beautiful and colorful. I wish I could have stayed longer but I have classes and the work is starting to pile up, in fact, after I write this I will get started on one of three papers due within this month.

This coming weekend I am going on a school trip to Chianti for wine tasting and a tour of some vineyards. It should be very fun. I really enjoy learning about wine here in Italy so I know that I will enjoy the trip. Then Alli and I are off on our honeymoon to the Amalfi Coast! Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Naples. I think we will have tons of fun, apparently it is a must see. We are staying in a hostel that Betty found which is like 20 euros a night and the hostel has a balcony that overlooks the ocean! How awesome.

I am excited for all of the fun that is to come this month but I am getting really exhausted from traveling every weekend. It feels like a lot because I only have class four times a week and then I have been leaving either Thursday night or early Friday morning for weekend trips. I feel like I haven’t had a chance to rest in a while, but I know what you’re thinking, poor you Megan, traveling Europe every weekend. And it’s sort of true, I have nothing in the world to complain about- I am truly having the time of my life.

I am so glad that I get to say that and mean it with my whole heart, this really is the best time of my life and I feel it more and more with each day, whether it is in Florence or in another city.

I love the friends that I have made and I can confidently say that they are not just “study abroad friends”, they are friends that I will always have because we all went through this life-changing experience together. It is as simple and as complicated as this: I have experienced too much to be the same. Which I love and I think that what I read about study abroad is true, you learn more about yourself than you do about the city you live in.

I have learned that I am a person who must travel. I can’t imagine my life any other way now. I feel that I have been so blessed with the chance and I am so happy with the entire thing.

It scares me though because I know that reverse culture shock (returning home after being abroad) is supposed to be very bad. I think that I am going to have a very hard time adjusting to life at home. Just because I have a routine here, a life, friends and to just remove those things because the semester is over seems jolting. I know that I will love being with people that I have missed and I know that living in the house in Binghamton is going to be fun. It is just very hard to imagine leaving this perfect scenario.

I think that we are all feeling the same way. This makes it easier because at least we will all be able to be there for each other.

Okay, Enough already! I still have another month to enjoy and thinking about going home might ruin that month. So I am going to focus on the amazing things to come!

This weekend- Chianti, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Naples

Next weekend- Venice with Josh and his friends from France, Scott, Alli and Kel

Weekend After that- Nice! With Alli, Betty and her two cousins and Kel (9 hour train- eek. But I know that is group can make that fun)

Weekend after that- last weekend in Florence, doing undetermined Florentine things!!

 

Love and Miss you all!!

Ciao, Meg

Istanbul!

I stayed over the night before in Milan because my flight left from Malpensa. Milan is a really beautiful city. The Piazza del Duomo is particularly beautiful. The duomo in Milan is the third largest in the world and it was definitely stunning to see. I went inside on Friday morning before going to the airport. It feels massive inside with thick stone columns and archways. 

I ended up getting stuck in Milan when I got back from Istanbul so I got to go on the roof of the duomo on Monday morning before going back to Florence. The view of the city and the Alps is dazzling and I am glad that I got to do that.

So I got to Istanbul around 6 on Friday and got a Turkish visa and cool stamps in my passport! The flight was nice and short and I met two nice Italian women from Milan. One of them was a journalist and the other was a photographer. We were talking about our favorite cities in Italy and around Europe. I spoke to the flight attendant in Italian when I ordered my drink and dolce and they giggled so I asked them if my Italian was bad and Anna, the photographer, said that she could understand me. That made me happy. Anna gave me her e-mail address and said that I should tell her if I come back to Milan. I love meeting people on flights.

I met Josh and Jess in Ataturk Airport outside the passport control station. It was so nice to see them and we ended up getting a free shuttle to our hotel, Star Holiday Hotel. The hotel was in a perfect location. It was on a busy street that was so close to both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. That night we went to dinner where we sat on a rooftop which overlooked the Blue Mosque. I can safely say that the Blue Mosque is the most stunning thing I have ever seen. The entire city of Istanbul was so different and interesting. I wish I had more time there but we were very productive in our weekend there. One interesting thing I noticed about Istanbul is that the prayer leaders announce the prayers over speakers to the city, letting the people know that it is time to pray. They pray five times per day toward Mecca as part of the pillars of Islam. The prayers woke Josh up but Jess and I slept through it.

The next morning we woke up early and took a boat ride up and down the Bosporus! It was so incredible. I was between the Asian and the European continents which was very cool. We also went to the Egyptian Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. Everything was so incredibly beautiful and colorful and the Turkish people were so kind to us. I had read/heard that women should not smile or make eye contact with men in Istanbul but I did not find this to be true. I had no problem interacting with the Turkish people. It was also great to have a venti nonfat caramel macchiato- they have Starbucks in Turkey lol.

Josh and Jess both got beautiful hand-made Turkish lamps to take home. I thought that this was a great idea because they are great representations of Turkey. They are beautiful and bright and those particular lamps could be found all over in the markets that we went to so I am glad that they got them. I got myself and Alli ceramic bowls to put jewelry in because they were...well...smaller than a lamp and still pretty.

I hope that I can go back to Istanbul one day and bring home a huge lamp. 

We also went and visited the underground cisterns which were beautiful and fascinating. 

My favorite thing by far was visiting the Blue Mosque. That was the single most miraculous structure I have seen. We took off our shoes and went inside and honestly, pictures cannot possible do it justice. I was glad that it was the first mosque I have ever been in because I can't imagine one more stunning.

Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia, which my ninth grade global history teacher once told me, "If you ever have the opportunity to see it, you must." She was right. I have to say that I was much more impressed with the Blue Mosque, but I do understand the importance of the Hagia Sophia. It was very great to see that for historical reasons. We had a nice dinner and went to sleep early.

The next day we went to Topkapi Palace which was beautiful and I got to learn a lot about the sultans and the people around them such as their wives, children and servants. It was so cool to think about sultans walking through the halls that we were walking through.

Overall the trip was amazing, I feel so incredibly lucky to have gone to Istanbul and it was so great to experience it with Josh and Jess.  It is a trip that I will never forget.

Fun in Florence

On Saturday we went out for Betty's 18th! We went to a cool dance show called "Firenze Danza" which was basically a recital for all of the dance schools in Florence. It was funny that they did some dances to Andrea Boccelli and some to Mika and Missy Elliott. We went to see Billy from the hair salon perform and he did really great. I will tell him that when I go in to have him wash my hair for like 30 minutes. It's the most glorious thing in the world and definitely worth £10. After the dance show we hopped on the bus and chatted as Betty counted down the minutes to her birthday- we were hoping that we wouldn't be on the bus when it was 12 and we weren't.
We were however in the midst of baking yet another chocolate cake with powedered sugar on top. We devoured it between the three of us and then got ready to go out to Space Electronica...known as Space. It was very entertaining so see people dancing in cages and I finally understood what people meant when they said that going there was both an 'experience' and an 'event'.
When Alli, Betty and I got out onto the dance floor, about 8 men crowded around us and tried to dance with us. So we left the dance floor quickly and went to see what things were like downstairs. It was more calm...no cages etc. And we decided that a good way to disuade the men would be to start a crazy dance- similar to Scott's crazy walk. It didn't help because a man came over and took my hand, it looked like he was going to kiss it but then he kissed my elbow, which is beyond strange.
The next morning Kelly got back to Florence around 10:30 and she came in and yelled "Buongiorno!" We were so thrilled that she was back!
Scott got to Florence around 6. We went out to dinner for Betty's birthday to a place called Il Gato e something...it means fox. The resaurant was named after the cat and the fox that Pinocchio meets on his way to school. It was amazingly delicious and the pizza tasted like the pizza in Sicily, which was literally the most delicious thing I have ever had.
If you want it: Go to Palermo, then go to the sketchiest of possible parts of town, and eat the most delicious thing ever- it's so worth it!
So anyway, the next day Scott and I went to the Synogogue which is very beautiful and we walked around the city a bit- we found awesome Birkenstocks for so so cheap which was a terrific purchase. On Monday night we cooked in the apartment and Scott made is ricotta cheese cake. It was so delicious! And he made it without an electric mixer.
Tuesday Scott and I went to Assisi and Perugia. Assisi was beautiful but the churches were only okay compared to ones that I have seen in the past. I thought that the view from Rocca Maggiore was very beautiful. Perugia was a lot better. We got there and we only had about two hours to see things. We tried to find the city center and ended up walking for a while, but it ended up being fine and the city center was very clean and lovely. We walked down the oldest street in the city and saw an Etruscan Arch. We also say an Etruscan Well which was about 35 meters deep. The Duomo and the central piazza were very nice. We made it to our train in time thanks to a crazy cab driver zipping around the streets and Scott and I were shocked the see how much we had walked on the way up.
When we got back we went out to dinner at a Acquedotte (I believe) which is near the Synogogue and Scott's uncle Rich once cooked there. The food was very delicious. Then we went to the main event which was of course Bealtes Night at Be-Bop. They were so good, the only thing that was sad was that we found out that Paul McCartney was married and expecting a baby...which stinks because I have a crush lol...but anyway, we went to Shot Cafe during intermission and met a cute bartender from Liverpool named Ben. When we went back to Beatles Night it was even more crowded. They put on a terrific show and Scott said, "I want them to play my favorite song- 'Something'." and then right after he said that, they started playing it- which was awesome.
Florence has been so amazing and fun and it feels like I fall more in love with it every day.

Tomorrow I am going to Milan for the night because my flight to Istanbul leaves from Malpensa. I am going to do some sights in the morning before my flight such as the Duomo (the third largest in the world) and I would like to see "The Last Supper".
Istanbul is going to be so amazing and then the week after that is Prague! I foudn out that there is a Frank Gehry building there called the Dancing House. It looks incredibly cool.
So many amazing experiences to come!
We also booked Nice for the first weekend in May- we are taking an overnight train (9 hours) and we were able to save £30 by getting a seat instead of a bed, so we did that. It should be interesting if nothing else haha.
Nice is going to be incredible though, I really can't wait!

Love and miss you all,
I will have pictures up soon, my computer hasn't been picking up the connection in the student center so I haven't had an oppertunity.
Ciao <3!

Shannon's Visit

So, we ate pretty much the whole time.
Okay, so Shannon got to Florence on Easter and it was very nice to see her. We did some Florence sights and walked around outside because it was gorgeous. We took Shannon to my the best gelato place in Florence (in my opinion, and yes, I have probably had enough gelato to make that kind of statement). She got Frutti di Bosco which she refered to as "berry shit" and we all loved it so much that we went back again that day...so it began.
Important revelation: I was under the impression that Florence did not have good pizza (not bad, just not as good as Rome or Sicily). But when Shannon came we tried so much pizza and we actually found a place that was terrific. It's called Caffe Castelvecchi and it's in Palazzo Vecchio. It was so delicious and it was the nicest, sunniest day in Florence while we sat outside and ate. Perfect.
So we went to Fiesole that evening- I think that Fiesole offers the most beautiful view of the city because you can see the whole city, the Tuscan countryside and the mountains off in the distance blend into the sky- it's unreal.
We also took a trip so Siena whichwas pretty much a bust becuase it started raining and there really didn't appear to be a ton to do. I might go back to check out the Duomo there, but other than that it seems like a lot of cities in Italy. We did find a really fun escalator in the mall which didn't have steps, so it was like the moving sidewalks in the airport only on an incline...I know, it doesn't sound that amazing haha.
So we had a lot of fun, it was a very relaxing Spring Break for me. We watched Enchanted twice, went to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens and we ate tons of pizza and cake. It was a very fat few days.

Mom and Wendy

Alright well Wednesday Mom and Wendy got to Florence!
I still had some midterms left so we did quick sightseeing and then we cooked dinner for them in the apartment. We went to Venice on Friday and Scott met us at the station- he had done research and made plans for us which was so thoughtful. I can tell that he is learning a lot about the city when he walks around with his professors one on one. Listening to him tell us all about Venice made me think that I probably should have taken a class about Florentine history. My classes are teaching me things about Italian culture and the media. I also like learning about Italian wine culture and appreciation. I feel that it is very important to maintain the integrity of Italian wine families and I am upset to learn about American and Asian companies pressuring local winemakers to sell their companies. I feel that this sort of abandonment is a slippery slope on the way to homogenization. Not good. When I drink a glass of wine, I like to know who made it and how they did it. I enjoy it much more when I know that it was made with tradition and historical imtegrity in mind.
But anyway, enough about globalization for now.
One of my favorite things we did was when we went into the Basilica San Marco, which I missed out on the first time I went to Venice because it was so crowded during Carnevale. It is one of the most spectacular churches I have ever seen, and I have been in a ton of them. The ceiling and surrounding walls are covered in gold and there are scenes and saints depicted. Scott knew all about the exterior and how the all of the marble was stolen from other areas of the world, which accounts for the fact that no single marble column is the same as another.
We went to Murano the next day where we went to the glass museum. I enjoyed that very much and it made me want to take some kind of glass throwing class. I don't think that Binghamton would offer such a thing but perhaps there is some other way to learn about it.
Overall, Venice was amazing and dream-like as always and I look forward to going back again soon when Josh goes. Kel, Alli and I are all going to go to Venice and it will be so much fun.
I still really want to see the Peggy Gugenheim museum, Burano and a church that Scott tried to take us into but it was unfortunately closed...
Mom and Wendy went home on Monday which was sad but I know that they both had a great time and it made them want to travel more- which I fully support and I hope we can plan a fun place to go!

Sicilia!

I'm going to attempt to sum up this weekend-

Alright so on Thursday Kelly's roommate Kerri's (who I love- so sad she went home today) cousin and his girlfriend came to visit Florence for the weekend so we went out to Trattoria Za-Za, which is always delicious. Then we went to Shot Bar and had some more fun and then we had falafel across the street from Be-Bop. The thing was none of us were packed for the trip and we went to bed around 2:00 when we had to catch the bus at 3:35...it was not good. So Betty woke us up and we quickly threw things into our bags and magically didn't forget anything. 

We sprinted (the most exercise any of us have done since getting here) to Santa Maria Novella and Kelly saw that the bus was about to leave so she stood in front of it with her hands out lol.

We bought bus tickets from a man who appeared out of no where and I can't believe it but we actually made it.

So the flight there was fine, I couldn't sleep because RyanAir seats don't recline and I was sitting between two big men. So anyway, we got to Trapani at around 9 and took a bus to the center of the city. Then we decided to take another bus up to Erice which is a tiny town on top of a mountain- it was the most surreal thing in the world- we were literally above the clouds- it was the highest I have ever been while not in a plane. We could see the countryside and the coast of Sicily and it was truly breathtaking. Then we wanted to go inside the castle at the top and it turned out that it was a restaurant and hotel so we had a great (and surprisingly cheap) lunch where I tried risotto for the first time- it was fab.

So then it was time to take a bus to Palermo where our hotel was- we spent some time finding it and once we realized where it was we all got a little bit freaked out. First of all, there were severely sketchy characters all around saying things in Italian and following us, which was obviously not fun because it was night time. So we got to the hostel and it didn't have a name outside. I looked inside and it was nice so I started to feel better. We went to our room and put our stuff down and then went to get some pizza around the corner. It was awesome- the 7 of us got 4 pies and devoured them...you know, because we're thin.

The next day we went to Cefalu which is a seaside town- we saw GORGEOUS men lying on the beach, which was a definite highlight, I wanted to take a picture of them but I felt sketchy, so I was glad that Kelly did lol.

Quick note: Everyone in Sicily is SO nice and the men are all...tutto incredibly attractive. 

So we ate some more food and did a bit of shopping then we headed back to Palermo. Once again, supremely sketched out by the area we were staying in...for example, we believe that a man threw a bottle/change/bottle cap...(something that made that kind of noise) at us, another character followed us on his bike and yelled things at us. Yeah, it was not so good. I sort of felt like someone was going to grab me and steal me. Anyway, we went back to the same pizza place again and loved it so much...

Okay so here's where it gets interesting/very very had to adequately describe.

We woke up at 5:30 to get back to Trapani to go home (you know, good idea to get back early so that we could study for midterms...would be a good idea).

We got to the airport with no problem but then Ryan Air (aka never again) cancelled our flight and I asked someone what that meant to us and she was like, "I don't know." So we figured it would be better to get back to central Trapani so that we would have access to train schedules and access to an airport that didn't suck.

Betty (thank god someone spoke Italian) called the Palermo airport and found us a flight to Florence airport that left at 6:55 and we made reservations. The flight was supposed to cost 137 euros. Ew. So we really needed to relax so we went and had pasta, bread, beer...good healthy things. We got on the train to Palermo and we had a change over so we got off and I realized, as the train was leaving, that my bag was on the train...OMG.

So I ran and grabbed the handle of the train and screamed, "ASPETTA!!!!!!" (wait...)

Kerri was waving wildly and screaming (thanks :)) and they stopped...I got on and retrieved my bag while Italians laughed at me.

So we got to the airport and tried to pay for our tickets and they told us that they cancelled our reservation after 5...which they NEVER told us. So the ticket price went up to 150 euros. I was pretty much in disbelief at this point.

Anyway, we took the late flight...got back to Florence around 10 and studied.

Betty had downloaded American Idol top 10 men and women so that was fun to watch.

I guess that sums up the weekend- although I don't think it is comprehendible. 

Love you all and see mom and wendy in 2 days! Shannon in 5ish!

Ciao

Wonderful Weekend in Paris!

So, I just realized that I haven't written in this blog since Rome, not good...

Well, I've been super-busy! It's awesome here- I am literally in love and the thought of leaving makes me so upset. So, I wont think or write about it. So the weekend after Rome Scott came to visit- Which was terrific: we did Santa Croce and saw the tombs of many famous Italians. We also went up to Fiesole finally which was incredible. The tuscan countryside was gorgeous on the bus ride up and then you can see the whole city. It was so amazing. Then we did Piazzale Michelangelo, which is another great view of Florence. 

Okay so I'll recap Verona too...went there with Alli and Scott the weekend before last and it was a gorgeous little city. We saw the Roman Arena, the House of Capulet, The Basilica San Zeno, etc. We also went to Bardolino which is on Lake Garda- the largest lake in Italy. It was incredibly beautiful. So other than some major travel mishaps, that weekend was great.

PARIS

This weekend was so so so much fun. I got to see Josh! And Laura, Callie, Seth and Norah!

It was terrific- Josh made us really fat all weekend with pastries, crepes, etc etc etc.

We saw a LOT in two days so I will recap my favorites- The Eiffel Tower- even more incredible and huge than I imagined...The Louvre- probably the most impressive place I have ever been. But that's tough because I live in Florence, which amazes me everyday. 

We saw Sacre-Ceour, the Arc de Triomph, Notre Dame, Champs Elysee, the Pantheon, Pont Alexandre III...

Josh was a terrific tour guide- he had historical facts written on note cards so he could tell us about what we were seeing. One sweet thing was that he loved to surprise us (or at least me because this was my first time in Paris) He would be like, "Go look around that corner" and there would be a view of the whole city. It was so so beautiful. 

I feel like I rushed this entry but I have to make a presentation in Int'l Law tomorrow about genocide- so I should really get to that.

Mom and Wendy Countdown- 9 DAYS!

Shannon countdown- 12 DAYS!

Istanbul- 25 Days! 

I'm going to Sicily next weekend with a bunch of people and it's going to be so fun and so hot!

I can't believe midterms are a week from today...not good.

Anyway, I'm having the time of my life- love you all!

Ciao!