It seems blasphemous to even think about leaving Italy, much less be glad about it. But seeing as I have 4 days left, I am actually kind of excited to head back to the states. Funnily enough, I know this isn’t going to be posted until after I am home and my sentiments may have changed, but as of right now I can’t wait for “real” summer to start. I want to see my high school friends and work friends, celebrate the 4th of July, and eat Mexican food.
However there are obviously aspects of Europe, Italy, and in particular, Venice that I will miss:
1. Gelato—I know this probably shouldn’t be number one, but seriously there is nothing like it. It is frozen heaven for your taste buds. Why haven’t we figured out how to make it in the states? Well, I know one place they have… And you can bet I will be trekking up to the North end for some icy goodness next semester.
2. Live music in Piazza San Marco—One of my favorite things to do was grab number 1 and head out to San Marco and listen to my favorite bald violinist go at it. He was almost always playing songs I would recognize and it was just the most beautiful (not to mention FREE) experience. And although I am convinced that one day he and I are going to get married so he can sweetly wake me up with his mad violin skills, I am going to miss him until then. :)
3. The language—Italian is seriously the most beautiful language (neck and neck with French, but Italians are so much more fun…) Although I am not always confident in my Italian I do enjoy speaking it and hearing others answer their phone “Pronto” or begin a story with an “Allora…” or just speak with they’re wonderful lilting accent (that gets bastardized by Mario games… but that is another can of worms.) I am determined to bring some of my favorite phrases back to the states. Be prepared for some Engtalian.
4. Long meals—As my sister noted the other day, when you reserve a table in Italy it is reserved for the entire night. They never double book it because they want you to be able to sit as long as you please. I have definitely learned to take my time, and it is going to be a bit of a culture shock going back to the haste of the US.
5. Spritz, Pastries, and Ae Oche—I don’t want too many of these to relate to food (although, its Italy, how can they not?) so I am combining 2 of my favorite Venetian food related entries. Spritz are basically the best drinks ever. My mission when I come home is to find a way to make one. It is sparkling white wine (attainable), sparkling water (also attainable), and either Campari (attainable, but not as good…) or Aperol (delicious, but hard to find…) or Select (my favorite, but the hardest to find…) But even if it’s with Campari I am going to throw a party and have Spritz be the signature drink. As for pastries: they just aren’t the same in the states, the food in general is just so much fresher! And Ae Oche…what can I say. It is a restaurant in Venice that t first we hated, then we liked, and now I love… Tons of pizza and very reasonable prices. Oooh, and table wine, which is another thing I will miss.
6. Having an Island—However much we complained about it being difficult to get into Venice sometimes, for the most part it was pretty cool having an island. I loved the dances in the classrooms, Monday Movie nights, and knowing that Brangelina rented out our island for their kids’ Easter egg hunt.
7. The beauty – The last and possibly most difficult is the general beauty and history all around. I have tried consciously not to take it for granted, but I am sure there have been times I have. I know when I get back to the states although things will look familiar, they will not be nearly this appealing to the eye. It seems that in Italy and most of Europe the sights are all made for beauty. The ugly industrialized areas are hidden, and even if visible, are surrounded by other more appealing sights. Really the only truly unsightly thing is the graffiti. Right now I am looking out the window of the last house we are staying in watching the sun rise and I know this beauty is going to be hard to find in the states. No mountains in the distance, or beautiful canals running through the center of the city.
And of course there are things I won’t miss: Pigeons, inefficiency, hole in the ground toilets, and Italian drivers, but these are vastly outweighed by those that I will. So, Ciao Italia! Even if I am ready to go home now, I am sure I’ll be missing you soon.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Ciao San Servolo
Well I am taking a break from packing to write this. I had no idea how emotional today was going to be. I am having trouble holding back tears as I place each article of clothing in my already overstuffed suitcases. The weather is beautiful and all I want to do is lay out in the sun for my last day on the island. But for now I am settling for Country music and packing.
Yesterday was our closing ceremony and I was one of 5 students to win an award for best student in the program. I keep laughing it off because it does seem like a somewhat juvenile tradition, but I am really grateful for it. I received a really cool calendar of Venice and 2 books about it. We also had a school sponsored dance last night, which was really fun, but a bit bittersweet.
I have done such a good job up until now not thinking about leaving this sinking fish shaped city. I have no regrets, I have been living life to the fullest: learning, laughing, making friends, and appreciating everything I can. I just hope that I can bring what I have learned here with me. I have grown a lot since I've been here: mentally, emotionally, and a little bit side-to-side.... But I also realize I have a great deal more to learn, and part of me wishes I could do it here.
Although I know it will never be the same as it was this semester, I have always had trouble with good byes. I vividly remember in Kindergarten when my mom came to pick me up from my friend Cara's house, screaming that I didn't want to leave and crying and holding onto the banister (I was a lovely child). But the kicker is that Cara lived a block away and was in my Kindergarten class.
I hope I have grown up a bit since then, but this good bye is by definition a bit more challenging. I do not know when I am going to see all these people again: probably not all in one place ever again. I have made friends from as far away as Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Japan, and Germany. And I am going to miss every single one of them. But with you, reader, as my witness, I promise to see them all again at least once. And I swear that I will come back to Venice again. I will sigh once more when I see the grand canal. So as the Italians say, "Ciao San Servolo." It means goodbye, but it also means Hello.
<3 Allison the (almost) Venetian
Yesterday was our closing ceremony and I was one of 5 students to win an award for best student in the program. I keep laughing it off because it does seem like a somewhat juvenile tradition, but I am really grateful for it. I received a really cool calendar of Venice and 2 books about it. We also had a school sponsored dance last night, which was really fun, but a bit bittersweet.
I have done such a good job up until now not thinking about leaving this sinking fish shaped city. I have no regrets, I have been living life to the fullest: learning, laughing, making friends, and appreciating everything I can. I just hope that I can bring what I have learned here with me. I have grown a lot since I've been here: mentally, emotionally, and a little bit side-to-side.... But I also realize I have a great deal more to learn, and part of me wishes I could do it here.
Although I know it will never be the same as it was this semester, I have always had trouble with good byes. I vividly remember in Kindergarten when my mom came to pick me up from my friend Cara's house, screaming that I didn't want to leave and crying and holding onto the banister (I was a lovely child). But the kicker is that Cara lived a block away and was in my Kindergarten class.
I hope I have grown up a bit since then, but this good bye is by definition a bit more challenging. I do not know when I am going to see all these people again: probably not all in one place ever again. I have made friends from as far away as Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Japan, and Germany. And I am going to miss every single one of them. But with you, reader, as my witness, I promise to see them all again at least once. And I swear that I will come back to Venice again. I will sigh once more when I see the grand canal. So as the Italians say, "Ciao San Servolo." It means goodbye, but it also means Hello.
<3 Allison the (almost) Venetian
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Aperitivo: A look at my favorite restaurant in Venice
There is a little restaurant, right on the water, that my friends and I go to when we are sick of the places that take our Day, or more affectionately known as our Kangaroo dollars. They are our meal plan tickets that get us far, but sometimes not far enough. They get us food at:
1. the Mensa, which is the cafeteria on the island. Lets just say the Mensa is not worth real money.... it is for some reason, measurably better at lunch and dinner seems to be whatever is left over.
2. the Cafe, which has coffee, brioche in the morning, panini at lunch, and ice cream whenever.
Its pretty decent, but only open until 5pm and doesn't give change for meal plan money (Kangaroos)
3. cafe's in Venice, a lot of little panini shops take our kanga's, but they are not always excellent...not that there is bad food in Venice, but I have become a bit of a snob. (Prolly bodes badly for my return to the states)
4. AeOche, lovingly referred to as the Applebees or Chillis of Venice. Super-americanized, big, cheap and absolutely delicious. They also give free tap water, which is not usually the case here.
5. The secret Upstairs, we have gotten to the point where we do not know the names of the restaurants... the secret upstairs is thus named because it has a few tables downstairs, but also a secret room upstairs that we were shown on our 1st day in Venice.
6. The Tortellini place, a pricier restaurant that has, you guessed it, really good tortellini. It was previously referred to as the angry waiter restaurant, but on our second visit they accidentally hit our friend Nick on the head with the bread basket and suddenly turned into funny, if not friendly waiters, who wave whenever we pass.
There are a few others, but these are the main 6. And believe me after a few months, 6 restaurants is not enough. So we also go to this little restaurant on the water that I previously alluded to.... it is the Venetian version of heaven on earth.
Monday, May 10, 2010
5 towns by the Sea:Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre has been recommended to me on numerous occasions by many well traveled persons, so when I found out a group was going this weekend needless to say I tagged along. There were 11 of us, which proved a large, but manageable group. We caught an early train and made what felt like 50 transfers getting us to Riomaggiore at about 2pm.
We searched for our hostel, which ended up being a sketchy man working out of a little cubby hole of an office where he collected the money and then showed everyone to their apartments throughout the town, which were fully functional, but difficult to get to. Ours was up a few stairs with 10 beds, but one shower. Megan's, however, was up what felt like an eternal staircase that ended in a small room with one single and one double; which held a couple. Awkward...
After finding the hostel we went straight to find where the trails were, but to our chagrin they were all closed since it had rained all night the night before. The only open trail was a non-national one, which was "un po pericoloso" or a little dangerous. We took a note from Simba's book and laughed in the face of danger as up we climbed.
It was a beautiful trail, but after about the first 200 feet we had to pay attention solely to our feet or risk slipping in the mud or falling down the side of the mountain. Xander, one of the guys on our trip, ended up leading the way, smoking like a chimney the entire time. Lord knows how that happened. After a few gasps and 11 pairs of mud caked shoes, we finally arrived at the top and boy was the view worth it.
I think this view may have been inspiration for the heaven room....
Then we went down, the same treacherous path. Our legs were tired and our stomachs empty, so we grabbed a snack and then waited for the national trail to open to the public at 7:30 (for FREE!). We walked to the next town over and had dinner by the sea at sunset. I ate a ton of delicious seafood even (gasp) shrimp with eyes!
The next day the trails were still closed (sadface) so we decided to buy the 2.80 euro train ticket to go between the 3 towns we hadn't seen. These involved more climbing, but not muddy climbing, more spectacular views, but cloudier views, and more adorably bright buildings. Oh, and a really cool striped church.
We left at 2pm, catching a much cheaper train back to Venice that went through Parma and Bologna and got in at 8:03. On the ticket computer this train was hidden, but when I hit the button "Tutte le opzione" it suddenly appeared! It left earlier, had more seats, and was about 30 euro cheaper than the train it originally recommended. Thanks Trenitalia! We caught all our trains, which were on time, and even one that went more quickly than it was supposed to. We got back with plenty of time to grab pizza and the 9:30 vap back to San Servolo. The others, however, were less lucky. They had left their luggage in the hotel room, so they decided to take a later train. The problem with this plan was that the entire world was apparently going from Florence to Venice, so once they got to Florence they found out the next train wasnt until 9:30pm from FLORENCE! (Not exactly a bad place to be stuck, but it meant they had to stay in Venice because they missed the last Vaporetto...)
Overall, a super trip and I cannot wait to go back and actually do the trails with my family! My pictures cannot convey the loveliness of the scene. It was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been.... and I knew that the 1st day.
We searched for our hostel, which ended up being a sketchy man working out of a little cubby hole of an office where he collected the money and then showed everyone to their apartments throughout the town, which were fully functional, but difficult to get to. Ours was up a few stairs with 10 beds, but one shower. Megan's, however, was up what felt like an eternal staircase that ended in a small room with one single and one double; which held a couple. Awkward...
After finding the hostel we went straight to find where the trails were, but to our chagrin they were all closed since it had rained all night the night before. The only open trail was a non-national one, which was "un po pericoloso" or a little dangerous. We took a note from Simba's book and laughed in the face of danger as up we climbed.
It was a beautiful trail, but after about the first 200 feet we had to pay attention solely to our feet or risk slipping in the mud or falling down the side of the mountain. Xander, one of the guys on our trip, ended up leading the way, smoking like a chimney the entire time. Lord knows how that happened. After a few gasps and 11 pairs of mud caked shoes, we finally arrived at the top and boy was the view worth it.
Then we went down, the same treacherous path. Our legs were tired and our stomachs empty, so we grabbed a snack and then waited for the national trail to open to the public at 7:30 (for FREE!). We walked to the next town over and had dinner by the sea at sunset. I ate a ton of delicious seafood even (gasp) shrimp with eyes!
The next day the trails were still closed (sadface) so we decided to buy the 2.80 euro train ticket to go between the 3 towns we hadn't seen. These involved more climbing, but not muddy climbing, more spectacular views, but cloudier views, and more adorably bright buildings. Oh, and a really cool striped church.
We left at 2pm, catching a much cheaper train back to Venice that went through Parma and Bologna and got in at 8:03. On the ticket computer this train was hidden, but when I hit the button "Tutte le opzione" it suddenly appeared! It left earlier, had more seats, and was about 30 euro cheaper than the train it originally recommended. Thanks Trenitalia! We caught all our trains, which were on time, and even one that went more quickly than it was supposed to. We got back with plenty of time to grab pizza and the 9:30 vap back to San Servolo. The others, however, were less lucky. They had left their luggage in the hotel room, so they decided to take a later train. The problem with this plan was that the entire world was apparently going from Florence to Venice, so once they got to Florence they found out the next train wasnt until 9:30pm from FLORENCE! (Not exactly a bad place to be stuck, but it meant they had to stay in Venice because they missed the last Vaporetto...)
Overall, a super trip and I cannot wait to go back and actually do the trails with my family! My pictures cannot convey the loveliness of the scene. It was honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been.... and I knew that the 1st day.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Deutschland: German and English aren't as similar as they seem or The moment I fell in love with Venice
Just returned from a chilly, rainy weekend in Aachen, Germany where I visited family, saw the city, and heard a ton of Deutsch. It was an interesting trip to say the least as I met many relatives and attended my 3rd cousin's confirmation.
We ate loads of cake, and turkish food. Popped over to Belgium for lunch on Sunday, and discussed politics....a lot.
I saw "Maibaums" which are birch branches that guys decorate and put in front of their girlfriend's house on the 1st of May.
I also saw the Aachen Cathedral, which apparently contains Jesus' diaper, and lots of places that were frequented by Charlemagne. I learned some german words: Genaugh means exactly (and they use it all the time!), verdamt means damn, kapf means head, augen means eyes, orring means earring, and schtool means chair. Oh and I actually heard someone use the term Schadenfreude. (They were quite impressed that I knew what that meant.) But I also spent a great deal of time sitting at a crowded table listening to everyone laugh at German jokes that I hadn't understood, and probably wouldn't have if they were in English. I also sat through a 2 hour confirmation ceremony without the slightest idea of when to stand or sit, or how to pronounce the words of the creed. But they sang some songs in English as well as a song in German that was set to the tune of Go tell it on the Mountain. On Monday I helped clean up the house and ran errands with my... lets call her my aunt and then took a nap until my cousin got home and we had coffee and, you guessed it, cake, and then drove to Dusseldorf Weeze (an ex-army base) to catch my flight.
By the time I got to the airport I was tired and hungry for some real, untranslated English, but my phone didn't have enough money to call home from Germany, and the duty free store didn't sell Cosmo. So I settled for a Newsweek that cost a whopping 4.50 euro, and a seat next to an elderly British gentleman who was obsessed with fixing the zipper on his suitcase. On board I encountered the rudest flight attendant I have ever met, she pulled the earphones out of people's ears and then grilled them on where the life-jacket was on board. When they couldn't answer, she scolded in her heavy German accent, "Pay attention next time, it is your safety not mine." I agreed with her sentiment, but not her behavior. And the irony was they just continued to pay no attention to the rules. The steward specifically said turn off all electronic devices including cameras, and a flash went off 2 seconds later. Then as he was saying leave your seat belts fastened until we come to a complete stop, he was answered by a chorus of seatbelt clicks. I am not sure if they were doing this to spite the flight attendants, but it certainly seemed that way.
I called home from the bus and almost cried when they picked up, so much for my firm stance against homesickness. We chatted for the entire bus ride, and when I arrived at Piazzale Roma I was ecstatic. The smell of the canals, the musical sound of the Italian language, and my slow meander through the creepily charming, empty Venetian Calle emphasized the fact that this place is going to be really hard to leave. It feels like home.
By the time I got to the airport I was tired and hungry for some real, untranslated English, but my phone didn't have enough money to call home from Germany, and the duty free store didn't sell Cosmo. So I settled for a Newsweek that cost a whopping 4.50 euro, and a seat next to an elderly British gentleman who was obsessed with fixing the zipper on his suitcase. On board I encountered the rudest flight attendant I have ever met, she pulled the earphones out of people's ears and then grilled them on where the life-jacket was on board. When they couldn't answer, she scolded in her heavy German accent, "Pay attention next time, it is your safety not mine." I agreed with her sentiment, but not her behavior. And the irony was they just continued to pay no attention to the rules. The steward specifically said turn off all electronic devices including cameras, and a flash went off 2 seconds later. Then as he was saying leave your seat belts fastened until we come to a complete stop, he was answered by a chorus of seatbelt clicks. I am not sure if they were doing this to spite the flight attendants, but it certainly seemed that way.
I called home from the bus and almost cried when they picked up, so much for my firm stance against homesickness. We chatted for the entire bus ride, and when I arrived at Piazzale Roma I was ecstatic. The smell of the canals, the musical sound of the Italian language, and my slow meander through the creepily charming, empty Venetian Calle emphasized the fact that this place is going to be really hard to leave. It feels like home.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Here comes the sun/rain (do do do do)
Although it is drizzling at the moment, we have had multiple days of beautiful sun. (In fact I am pretty tan for mid-April.) But the drizzle has come and gone since last weekend, after Lauren, Alex, Jenna, and I went to Trieste.
This is the Piazza dell'Unita di Italia in Trieste
Last Saturday, we took the 10euro, 2 hour train ride from Venice to Trieste, which is an adorable city that is extremely close to Slovakia and was apparently property of Austria up until the end of WWII. It has this piazza (which is gorgeous), tons of Roman ruins (some of which the Italians just decided to build around), a super old and gorgeous cathedral, an interesting cuisine (a mix of Slavic food as well as Italian, with lots of seafood), and the best gelato I've had yet (Jazzini, my mouth is watering just imagining it...). Oh and it is right on the coast, making it even more gorgeous.
We had a very interesting first experience, as the restaurant we chose for lunch was a bit extra-ordinary. The water/service/seating were all free, which is extraordinary in itself, but when it came time to order they seemed to have nothing on the menu. "Solo spaghetti con mare mista." our waitress said, later adding fried fish as an option. Since we had no idea what kind of fried fish it would be, we decided to opt for the spaghetti. "Quattro." we said, uncertain of what the mixed seafood would be, and laughing at the fact that they even had a menu. She literally wrote 4 spaghetti on a sheet of paper and then ripped it off and put it on our table and walked away.
So we were left to hope we had not made a mistake while waiting for our food. She brought us each a plate and then set a large wooden board in the middle of the table and walked away. Needless to say, this added to our already increased anticipation. And then she brought out the pot you can see in the picture, which apparently includes 4 portions of Spaghetti with a ton, and I mean a ton, of different types of seafood. Quite good, and not expensive, but we didn't know how to pay. It seems a European custom to bring your food and then forget about you, and hence we were finished and had no way of knowing how to pay. So we grabbed the sheet that said 4 Spaghetti, and wandered up to the front where an old man was standing at a cash register as if waiting for US. What an interesting system...
The rest of the trip was full of walking up and down hills (I am convinced none of Italy is flat) and seeing the ruins (the arch goes right into a restaurant) and the cathedral, which was possibly one of the most beautiful churches I have seen yet. And Europe has a lot of beautiful churches.
Our return to Venice was cold and rainy, so we grabbed pizza at our favorite (if quite americanized) AeOche, and then sat in Piazza San Marco and watched the couples in the rain, while listening to live violin music. Venice is nothing if not romantic.
And on that note (haha I made a pun), I am off to eat (big suprise there) and watch some Monty Python. Ciao for now!
<3 Allie
Sunday, April 18, 2010
French Spring Break Details and Pictures
I realize I have not been as active as I originally planned to be on this blog, but here are the summarized details from my wonderful, crazy, relaxing, touristy Spring Break 2010:
NICE: Nice was just as gorgeous as I remembered it. The water was the most turquoise blue I have ever seen, and I could not seem to take a picture that captured its beauty. It had cool fountains and these strangely awesome statues on the top of poles that were lit up at night. We climbed up a large hill/small mountain and saw a beautiful waterfall and a Jewish cemetery. We walked along the beach a lot and skipped rocks or just enjoyed the view.
On Easter we went to mass in French which was just as confusing as Italian mass. One woman sat in front of us, heard us speaking English before mass began, glared at us, and moved. The 2 elderly ladies next to me fell asleep during the homily, and communion was another free-for-all. We cooked one night in the hostel and made warm goat cheese salad, which is apparently the equivalent of a Caesar salad in southern France. We also met some interesting characters, such as a Canadian guy who is somehow living from hostel to hostel as a traveling chef. He gets a big group together who pay 5 euro each, and he cooks them a big meal, and somehow makes money off of it! He had quite some stories... Also we met a huge group of Americans who were randomly staying with each other, and only seemed to want to party. We did not see much of them though, but one of there roommates was a Belgian kid who never seemed to wear a shirt and explained his stay in Nice as "lets just say I had to get out of my town for a little while..."
MONACO: Our 3rd day in Nice, Ryanne, Alex, and I took the train to Monaco. It was also just adorable. Even the trash cans were attractive! I guess thats what you get when your country is filled with bazillionaires. We went to the palace, after being lost for most of the morning. (Ryanne and I decided that's one thing Venice has taught us, to be ok with being lost and be confident that we will eventually find our way.) We finally figured out all the bus stops had maps, and thus made our way to the Palais and Oceanography museum. Both were great visits, and inexpensive compared to some of the places we have been. Also people warned us that food would be expensive, but with a little walking we found plenty of restaurants between 5 and 10 euros. It was a perfect day trip, and even though it was cloudy it only seemed to rain right as we were going inside.
CANNES: We went to Cannes on Monday, and it was well worth the visit. Our hotel was called Waikiki, and for 25euro per person per night, we were 10 steps from the beach, with comfortable beds and one of the best showers I have ever seen. In fact, we all showered once and sometimes twice a day. Cannes just makes you feel like a celebrity! There was the big movie house where the Film Festival is held, as well as a red carpet out front. (We of course took advantage of this...) Cannes also had sand beaches, and gorgeous weather. There were these cute little stands all along the water that sold fresh paninis and crepes and gelato: all delicious. We ate a lot of sushi in Cannes as well, since it seemed to be the cheapest food, and was also quite fresh; Cannes being on the ocean. We walked by the docks and the beach and also shopped: Lexie, Ryanne, and I had not brought enough tops for our 10day trip!
GRASSE: Our last day in Cannes we decided to take a day trip to Grasse, which is known for its perfumeries. We went to the train station, only to find that there was a strike, and the first train out (which was actually a bus) was at 12:30. So we waited and then ended up getting on a different bus, but it took us to the right place. We took a tour of Fragonard perfumerie, and then asked directions to the center of town, which was supposedly about 30 minutes away, ALL UPHILL. So we trekked up to the center, which did have an incredible view and some cool old structures. We looked for other perfumeries, but when we were told they were down the hill we decided to just head back to Cannes as it was getting rainy and we wanted to use our awesome shower. Well, we found out that apparently this small town has 2 train stations, and we were at the wrong one. The other was further uphill. So instead we decided to try and walk to the nearest bus stop, which we did not realize was on the side of a HIGHWAY, so we returned to the "wrong train station" and waited an hour for another train/bus that had the worst driver I have ever seen. We felt like we were on a rollercoaster! But we eventually got back safely, and were entirely thankful for our shower.
PARIS: Paris was the last and most touristy part of our vacation. Ryanne and I were staying with friends from BC who randomly ended up being roommates, which was perfect! We didn't feel as if we were forcing them to babysit us because we had each other, but they could also trade off if they wanted to come with us certain places. It was absolutely fantastic! One day we climbed to the top of Notre Dame in the morning, the Pompedeaux in the afternoon, Sacre Cour (possibly the prettiest church in Europe) at sunset, and the Eiffel Tower at night. We ate macaroons, which are the most interesting cookies you'll ever taste and we had sushi, yes, again, at a place where it came around on a conveyor belt and you picked which one looked good. The plates were different colors, which corresponded with the price of the dish! We also saw the Rodin museum, Luxembourg Gardens, the Louvre, and Shakespeare and Co, which is probably my favorite bookstore ever. It was started in the early 1900s, and writers like F Scott Fitzgerald lived there when they were down and out! The entire upstairs is full of books for reading instead of buying, comfy couches, a piano for anyone to play, a typewriter for "your own creative use", and "The mirror of wishes" which is just what it sounds like. I could live there.
All in all it was a fabulous trip, but now I must kiss and fly.
Hope you enjoyed the pics and I promise to write again soon.
<3 Allie
NICE: Nice was just as gorgeous as I remembered it. The water was the most turquoise blue I have ever seen, and I could not seem to take a picture that captured its beauty. It had cool fountains and these strangely awesome statues on the top of poles that were lit up at night. We climbed up a large hill/small mountain and saw a beautiful waterfall and a Jewish cemetery. We walked along the beach a lot and skipped rocks or just enjoyed the view.
On Easter we went to mass in French which was just as confusing as Italian mass. One woman sat in front of us, heard us speaking English before mass began, glared at us, and moved. The 2 elderly ladies next to me fell asleep during the homily, and communion was another free-for-all. We cooked one night in the hostel and made warm goat cheese salad, which is apparently the equivalent of a Caesar salad in southern France. We also met some interesting characters, such as a Canadian guy who is somehow living from hostel to hostel as a traveling chef. He gets a big group together who pay 5 euro each, and he cooks them a big meal, and somehow makes money off of it! He had quite some stories... Also we met a huge group of Americans who were randomly staying with each other, and only seemed to want to party. We did not see much of them though, but one of there roommates was a Belgian kid who never seemed to wear a shirt and explained his stay in Nice as "lets just say I had to get out of my town for a little while..."
CANNES: We went to Cannes on Monday, and it was well worth the visit. Our hotel was called Waikiki, and for 25euro per person per night, we were 10 steps from the beach, with comfortable beds and one of the best showers I have ever seen. In fact, we all showered once and sometimes twice a day. Cannes just makes you feel like a celebrity! There was the big movie house where the Film Festival is held, as well as a red carpet out front. (We of course took advantage of this...) Cannes also had sand beaches, and gorgeous weather. There were these cute little stands all along the water that sold fresh paninis and crepes and gelato: all delicious. We ate a lot of sushi in Cannes as well, since it seemed to be the cheapest food, and was also quite fresh; Cannes being on the ocean. We walked by the docks and the beach and also shopped: Lexie, Ryanne, and I had not brought enough tops for our 10day trip!
GRASSE: Our last day in Cannes we decided to take a day trip to Grasse, which is known for its perfumeries. We went to the train station, only to find that there was a strike, and the first train out (which was actually a bus) was at 12:30. So we waited and then ended up getting on a different bus, but it took us to the right place. We took a tour of Fragonard perfumerie, and then asked directions to the center of town, which was supposedly about 30 minutes away, ALL UPHILL. So we trekked up to the center, which did have an incredible view and some cool old structures. We looked for other perfumeries, but when we were told they were down the hill we decided to just head back to Cannes as it was getting rainy and we wanted to use our awesome shower. Well, we found out that apparently this small town has 2 train stations, and we were at the wrong one. The other was further uphill. So instead we decided to try and walk to the nearest bus stop, which we did not realize was on the side of a HIGHWAY, so we returned to the "wrong train station" and waited an hour for another train/bus that had the worst driver I have ever seen. We felt like we were on a rollercoaster! But we eventually got back safely, and were entirely thankful for our shower.
PARIS: Paris was the last and most touristy part of our vacation. Ryanne and I were staying with friends from BC who randomly ended up being roommates, which was perfect! We didn't feel as if we were forcing them to babysit us because we had each other, but they could also trade off if they wanted to come with us certain places. It was absolutely fantastic! One day we climbed to the top of Notre Dame in the morning, the Pompedeaux in the afternoon, Sacre Cour (possibly the prettiest church in Europe) at sunset, and the Eiffel Tower at night. We ate macaroons, which are the most interesting cookies you'll ever taste and we had sushi, yes, again, at a place where it came around on a conveyor belt and you picked which one looked good. The plates were different colors, which corresponded with the price of the dish! We also saw the Rodin museum, Luxembourg Gardens, the Louvre, and Shakespeare and Co, which is probably my favorite bookstore ever. It was started in the early 1900s, and writers like F Scott Fitzgerald lived there when they were down and out! The entire upstairs is full of books for reading instead of buying, comfy couches, a piano for anyone to play, a typewriter for "your own creative use", and "The mirror of wishes" which is just what it sounds like. I could live there.
All in all it was a fabulous trip, but now I must kiss and fly.
Hope you enjoyed the pics and I promise to write again soon.
<3 Allie
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