Florence - Firenze

Tuesday began the first day of our second class trip (the first was to Venice in January – AH so long ago) around Southern Italy. I had an early start when a few of us woke up at 4am to watch the National Championship game, Go Duke! We had breakfast and left on the bus around 6am for Florence. Since we were on a class trip we got to actually stay in hotels and not hostels. It was really nice and right next to the Duomo! We had lunch when we got there and then followed our teacher around for a while learning about the historical sites nearby. Luckily that didn't take too long and we were allowed free time the rest of the afternoon. I walked across the Ponte Vecchio bridge (which is famous for amazing jewelry) and around the main Piazza. Late afternoon was spent at the Leather Market = rows and rows of stands with leather products all made in Firenze, they are very famous for their leather. We had a group dinner that night at a really good restaurant and then went to an Irish Pub FILLED with American students- apparently, they are all over Florence.

Wednesday we had another early morning to get to Siena, a close by town that relates to the Romans…what one of our classes is about. We mostly just milled around their on our own and then left to head back to Florence around 1pm. We had a free day the rest of the day and Kate and I went on a run by the Arno river, which runs through Florence. We met up with a few others around 7 and rushed to the Piazza Michelangelo which is on top of a hill with live music and amazing views of the city. We just missed the sunset but it was gorgeous regardless. Afterwards we had dinner near to the hotel and turned in fairly early.

Been Busy

Hi! Sorry for the delay in updating but I have been all over Southern Italy on our second class trip. We started in Florence then went to Rome, Sorrento, Pompeii, Naples and Arezzo then a small group of us continued on to Cinque Terre on the Italian coast. Needless to say, it was a long 11 days of traveling! But, I am back in Riva now and attempting to catch up on work and sleep over the weekend. I can't promise all of the posts of my adventures to be up at once but I will work on having them posted by Monday. Love you guys!

Munich Day 2

Saturday morning we woke up around 8 to make sure we had enough time to get things done since things were actually open! Three of us, Lindsay, Marty and me, all went to the local market to walk around. We spent time at a nearby store and ended up buying Dirndl - the traditional Bavarian dress...more likely known as a beer girl's outfiit! I tried it on and just couldn't not buy it!! SO cute and now I have my Halloween costume for a few years :-) We met up with everyone else after that and went to the beer garden near the market for lunch --> Check out that pretzel, huge! I literally lived off of pretzels and beer for the weekend...really healthy I know.

1pm we met in the Marienplatz to meet a tour group that we were told we had to go on. The guides were awesome and I learned so much about Munich! I had no idea how involved it was in Hitler's rise in Germany. It was where he attempted his 'Beer Hall Putsch' where he tried to militarily begin a revolution but failed and was put in jail (where he wrote Mein Kampf- his book outlining his extreme viewpoints). Once out, he gained power politically. We saw the room he threw a party in as soon as he got word that a Jewish man killed a member of his political team, giving Hilter a reason to attack. A few days later, Kristallnacht occurred in Munich as well as close by Austria. Some interesting stuff!! Our tour lasted around 3 hours and we visited the main sites around the city and learning a ton! We ended at the famous Hofbrauhaus for a few beers and saw an Oompha Band! (sooo cool)

We left to get back to the hostel, shower and get my drinking dress on for the night. We did a "Beer Challenge" with the same tour company that did our day tour. About 60 people met at the designated meeting spot, signed up and began our tour at a popular beer garden. We stayed there for an hour before going to the next beer hall, Augustiner, where they brew the Pope's Beer - the only beer that the Pope will drink. Next stop was the Lowenbrau beer hall and finally a club that (luckily) was really close to our hostel. It was a late/really fun night :-)

Sunday morning/10 am checkout came too soon but we packed up and left our luggage behind the front desk since our train didn't leave until 4pm...another idea that would have been great had it not been Easter and everything closed. We ended up splitting up for lunch and Lindsay, Ryan and I decided to have our Easter Brunch at the Hofbrauhaus. We got there around 11am but by 12:30 (no doubt when church began to let out) it was packed! There was drinking, singing (I know a few German beer songs now) and music...it was a blast! We stayed there for most of the day and stopped by the Englisher Garten on our way back. Inside there is a river that pitches a wave and a ton of surfers hang out there. Check out the video, pretty random in the middle of Germany! We got our train back and didn't get to Riva until past midnight but I had such a good time!

Munich Day 1

This weekend I went to Munich and I absolutely loved it! Our train left around 6am Friday morning and after a late Thursday night in Riva, we were ready for some sleep on the train. However, the Swiss Army had a slightly different plan for our train ride. 30 minutes into our trip, roughly 40 members of the Swiss Army poured into our train cart to begin their (apparently highly anticipated) four day Easter break. As soon as they got on we heard cans opening and music. We quickly realized we were not going to be able to sleep... so we decided to join in the festivities :-) We talked/drank/played games from about 6:30 AM to 8 AM until our connection in Zurich, Switzerland. The next train was much more uneventful but we got some sleep in and arrived in Munich around 2 PM.

Our hostel was really close to the train station so we dropped our stuff off and began wondering around the city…which was DEAD. We didn’t take into account that it was Good Friday (and Easter is a pretty bug deal in Europe) so pretty much everything was closed. We stumbled upon the area that Munich holds Oktoberfest which is a massive, concrete area that is packed with local brewrey tents during the festival. We then made our way to Marienplatz, the main square in Munich to window shop (our only option). Friday night, a friend of a girl in our group met up with us and took us to a local place for really great German food and Bavarian Beer. Beer in Munich is such a big deal, it is actually considered a food group. We were told that anywhere you can eat an apple, you can drink a beer (a train, the streets, a bank...anywhere). It is also a written law that everyone working in Munich is allotted one beer during their workday…which is surprising because the drinks are not small! (Only offered in ½ or full liters) That night we went to a few bars and beerhalls around the city and turned in somewhat early after a long day of traveling.

Paris!!!!!!!!!

After another hectic week, three of us (Kate, Aubrey and Me) headed to Paris for a girl's weekend! Our train from Milan left Thursday night so around 7 we made our way there and had dinner/drinks before our 11:30 train. The train was definitely not as nice as what me and Lauren had on the way to Prague. There were 6 of us in a compartment and I was stuck on the bottom…a bit claustrophobic, it took a while to convince myself that the two people above me were not going to fall/smush me while I was sleeping. We woke up in Paris around 9 and went in search of our hostel. It took a bit to find but once there, we dropped our stuff and then grabbed a quick brunch before going to the Louvre!

On our way we were overwhelmed with the shopping and popped into a couple stores :-) But, getting back on track, we made it to the museum around noon. It was pretty packed and VERY overwhelming with the amount of things to see but we got the main ones in, including the Mona Lisa! We spent a while in there before we relaxed in the sun outside the museum, in front of the Arch de Triumph. After we walked to the Notre-Dame Cathedral to check out Quasimodo’s house!!! It is beautiful, very gothic and I constantly sang the song “The bells of Notre-Dame” song from the Disney movie until we went inside and there was a service going on. After the cathedral we had an early dinner and then did a night boat cruise along the Seine River that runs through Paris. Since it is the “City of Lights,” all of the major monuments are lit up so it was really neat to see at night, although it was FREEZING at the open part on the top of the boat. I also got to see the Eiffel Tower light show!!! Absolutely amazing! Since Friday was a lot of walking, we headed home to check in and get settled in our hostel instead of going out.

Saturday morning we woke up early and went to Versailles! We toured the palace, it was ridiculous how big that place is!! It was the unofficial capital city of France in the 17th Century and was built by Louis XIV and upkept by his successors. Every bit of each room in the HUGE estate was covered in decoration…it was extremely decadent and unnecessary but really cool to see. We spent the morning taking a tour though the palace and exploring the gardens in the back (I am sure they are gorgeous in the summertime but there were no flowers and the fountains were turned off since it is the off-season.) We made our way back to around the Eiffel tower for lunch. We explored around that area for a little while (Paris is way bigger than I thought, the main sites are pretty far apart) since we kept stumbling into new areas we hadn’t explored yet. At 5pm we had bought tickets to the TOP ahead of time online – which I strongly suggest because we didn’t have to wait in any lines. We skipped the line, right into the elevator and to the top…pretty high up!! Although it wasn’t sunny, the views were crazy! We also saw a couple get engaged up there :-) The pictures I took from the second floor – midway up the tower- were better because you could tell what things were but I am so glad I went to the top.

After that, we walked back to hotel to shower and get ready for the night. Once ready, we went straight to the Moulin Rouge to check it out! The cheapest show was 80 Euro so it was a bit out of our price range but we still wanted to see it. Now, I am not sure if Paris has a ‘Red-light District,’ but if they do, the Moulin Rouge is smack dab in the middle of it. I was expecting it to have a bit more class about it…but it didn’t. We stayed and took a few pictures before making back towards the Eiffel Tower to go to a club we were told to go to, "it is where all the celebrities go." When I got there, I could see why. It was an expensive cover charge and the beers (their cheapest option) were 8 Euros! Needless to say, there were not many of those that night. But it was still a great place, we stayed through a really great rap/reggae band and then around 2 the DJ came out and it became a really fun dance club. We were there pretty late and took a cab back. The next morning our train left around noon so we slept until it was time to head to the station.

Conclusion: I absolutely LOVED Paris! It was such an amazing city and I HAVE to go back!!!

Vienna

Saturday morning we woke up around 7:30 for our early train out of Prague. We arrived in Vienna around noon and our hotel was easy to find. We dropped our things and walked down the main shopping road towards the St. Stephen's Cathedral. We had to stop and get lunch and we found an extremely authentic restaurant "Copenhagen Bar and Restaurant" that we sat at (that was sarcasm, they had no German food, Lauren hated it but I got a chicken sandwich that tasted like Chick-fil-A and was ecstatic!) We walked through the Cathedral afterwards and then Mozart's House. He lived in the apartment only for a few years, but it was here that he composed some of his best concerts. We got an audio tour and spent about an hour in the museum. By the time we were done it was time to go back for a much needed shower.

That night we planned to go to the Ferris Wheel we read about/saw when we were on the train. We made our way over there and found out it is located in the middle of a Theme Park...but a super low-budget Theme Park haha EXCEPT they had actual pony rides and their carousel had real horses! We went to the popular beer garden nearby for dinner and drinks until it closed around 10:30 and then took our ride on the Ferris wheel. Vienna is not that exciting at night so it was mostly us just ridding for no real reason. We went later to the strip of bars where Vienna's nightlife is and hung out there the rest of the night.

Sunday morning we got up early and had another full day in Vienna before our flight out late afternoon. We saw some of the main sites in Vienna: KarlsKirche, Opera Haus, Palace Gardens, Spanish Riding School (where they learn/practice Dressage with horses - we tried to get tickets for the practice they have in the morning but the horses were sick and it was cancelled) We got a really good lunch, actually German food Weinerschniztle and all! It was a lot and we were about to fall asleep in the restaurant but we dragged ourselves out and to the Modern Art Museum for the rest of the day.

We got to the airport in time for Lauren to try and figure out her flying schedule (a constant issue for her the whole trip since British Airways inconveniently decided to strike that weekend and they switched her flight back and forth the whole time). Of course, they were not even there. BUT since our original plans were to stay in Milan Monday night we got a later flight out of Vienna which was now an issue since Lauren was coming back to Riva with me because her flight was changed to leave on Tuesday. This is only a problem because the trains do not run past 10 from Milan to the Riva station...meaning we got as far as we could -the last stop in Italy- and then had to take a cab back to my apartment...50 Euros, very frustrating. The night wasn't over yet though, we spent another hour or two in the villa - me trying to finish work due the next day and Lauren on hold with British Airways.

We didn't get much sleep that night but Lauren worked it out so she would fly to London Monday and be able to fly out on Tuesday for LA. So after my classes were over we went to the train station together and I sent her on her way back home. I had such a blast with her and I am sooooo happy she came to visit! This weekend we are headed to Paris and I am so excited! I will make sure to update a bit quicker this time :-)

Finally...Prauge!

After our very hectic morning, we just wanted to find the hotel and calm down. We struggled at the train station to find the direction of our hotel (and went a totally backwards way of getting to it) but finally, we made it!! We put our stuff down in our really cute, perfectly located room :-) We were one street away from the main town square and in perfect walking distance from everything. We walked to the clock tower, the middle of Old Town, and went to the top for excellent views of the city. Afterwards, it was time to eat. We had such an awesome meal at an outdoor cafe that was sooo cheap! The Czech Republic works in Crowns which one Euro is 25 Crowns...so lunches would cost us 500 Crowns but really only be about 10 Euro. VERY confusing, and I am not sure Laur and I ever figured it out, but it was cool carrying around 1000 Crown bills!

After lunch, a nap was a must. We snoozed for about an hour before getting ready and heading to a popular Irish Pub, which surprisingly are all over Prague. We ate and drank there until about midnight and headed home...but not before picking up one of the greatest food concoctions ever created...the Fried Cheese Sandwich. Lauren saw something about it on the Travel Channel and was literally talking about it for weeks ahead of time. SO on the way home we stopped at the stand and ordered it. They might as well call it a heart attack. It is a patty of cheese that is deep fried to ordered and put between two buns with mayonnaise. And it is DELICIOUS! We took them home, had a picnic on our bed and went to sleep.

Friday morning we woke up to a sunny sky and decided that this day in Prague would be "our day." We walked to the town square and saw the Dhali museum which was...odd...to say the least but still very cool. We had a traditional Czech lunch of Goulash and then over the Charles Bridge and on to a boat tour where we went up and down the river for an hour learning about the buildings along it and drinking a beer on the top floor. Afterwards we hiked up to the palace and Cathedral where there were amazing views of the river and Old Town AND (the best part) they had castle guards out front! Of course I tried to make them move and took pictures with them. We headed back to the hotel around 6 to get ready for the Pub Crawl we signed up for.

On the way to the Pub Crawl we had a little bit of time and stopped in a place called Bed. There were no chairs, just big beds with comfy pillows. I had a Cosmo and felt like I was on an episode of Sex and the City haha We then made it to the Pub Crawl where were immediately handed free drinks (and they kept coming all night long). It was so much fun! And since it was just me and Laur, we were forced to meet other people to hang out with which ended up being a blast. We were herded around Prague to different bars that looked like restaurants from outside but down one floor would be nightclubs. We were out pretty late then went for a Fried Cheese Sandwich and fell asleep.