Lights, Camera, Niner!

I feel like everyone hates having to come back to reality after exciting adventures, but I was happy to see Rome after being away for a week. There are many aspects of this place that really feel like home to me, whether it be: seeing my roommates every waking second of everyday, sitting in the AUR garden, hanging out with friends, or even going to our favorite coffee place for our daily cappuccino. This week has been filled with school work, job applications, and the anxiety of preparing the perfect schedule for fall semester at Central. 

This weekend was a very special weekend for me. Back at home was the premiere of Niner, an independent film that I was actively involved with the production of. Although I was very sad about not being there for the theatrical premiere, I was able to watch it in Rome. Even though I couldn't share this experience with the cast and crew, I was still able to be apart of it. This showed me that for studying abroad, you must make sacrifices. Whether they be big or small sacrifices, I would never trade in this experience for anything. 

This past Friday, my roommates and I decided to try something new. Instead of continuing our consistent consumption of pizza, pasta, and gelato, we decided to go for the more ethnic feel. Kalkidan is Ethiopian, so we ventured off and tried a new restaurant called: Corno d'Africa. I have never tried Ethiopian food in my life, so this was a very interesting experience. I was beyond surprised how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to find many Ethiopian restaurants in Michigan, so I'm going to have to enjoy it for the time being.

It's sad to see time fly by so quickly here. We quickly approached our final two months. Knowing that time is quickly passing us, it really has helped me look around and really take in the little moments. Even though I should be doing my homework, I am going to sit back and enjoy the nice weather with tea on my balcony with my roommates.

Spring Break

The past two weeks have been so busy, so I finally found time to tell you all how a European Spring Break is. First off, my boyfriend Jordan Mazur, came in to visit. The first week he was here, it was spent in Rome. I had midterms that week, so it was jam packed with studying and sight seeing. He has never been out of the country before, so I took it upon myself to make sure we saw EVERYTHING. After he finally was adjusting to Italy, it was time to travel. Him and I took a 10 day back packing trip to Paris, Munich, and Venice.

Our first stop was Paris, the city of love! It was also the city of the first hostel I have ever stayed in. We stayed in the Montmartre neighborhood. It was located right next to the Sacre Coeur and the metro, so it was quite easy to get into town. We spent the first day walking to the Notre Dame, Champs Elysse, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triumph. It was a very long, but exciting day. After a long day, we decided to go out for a traditional French meal, which consisted of chicken and lamb. Following dinner, we went out for a few drinks and enjoyed the Parisian night life.

The second day we reserved strictly for the Eiffel Tower. It was on the agenda to climb all the way to the top! After about 600 steps and two elevator rides, we made it to the Tower's Summit. After experiencing some breathtaking views and more steps, it was time to walk around the city again. There was an outdoor festival going on, so it was nice to walk around and listen to some music. One thing that really took us by surprise were the amount of Irish people in Paris at the time. Apparently, it was the last rugby game of the season, so we also got to experience the excitement and competition of the Irish and the Parisians (the Irish won in case you were wondering).  After two long days, it was time to board our train to take on our next destination: Munich, Germany.

When boarding our first overnight train of the trip, we were not quite sure what to expect. But luckily, we had booked the sleeper carts. Getting sleep that night was pretty easy, and in the morning we arrived in Germany bright and early. Unfortunately, the hostel we were staying in wouldn't let us check in until about noon. That was super unfortunate due to the fact that our train arrived in at 7 in the morning. When we got to our hostel, we were astonished how beautiful it was. It was so nice, clean, and had such a friendly atmosphere. We decided to wait out the time and get breakfast. When we finally got our room, we got ready and then head out into town. We spent the day getting to know the area, appreciating the fantastic street performances, and shopped around. When the night came about, we went to our first brewery/beer garden of our stay, Augustiners. After an authentic German dinner and beer, we headed back to our hostel and hung around there for the night.

The second day in Germany, we were fortunate enough to take a guided tour through the concentration camp memorial of Dachau. It was such a humbling experience getting to learn about the history of the camp. A lot of the memorial sight gave off such an eerie and unsettling vibe, especially in the roll-call square and the crematoriums. After a day tour of Dachau, Jordan and I decided to go on the "Beer Challenge" which was a tour that took you to the most well known beer gardens of Munich. Unfortunately it was cancelled, so we went to the Hofbrauhaus and spent time there. We ended up meeting up with some people from our hostel, and had a nice night out.

On our last day in Germany we spent time walking through the Viktualienmarkt, which is an outdoor food market in downtown Munich. After that, we found a nice spot by a river, and stayed there for a while. After a nice and relaxing dinner, we got an authentic dinner of Schnitzel, and then headed to the train station to head to our final destination: Venice.

This overnight train was definitely not as nice, we however, did find our own Coachette. After a night of barely any sleep, we arrived in Venice. We checked into our cozy little Bed and Breakfast, and got ready for the day. Our host was nice enough to pretty much plan our day out, so we followed his recommendations. We went to grab some coffee and breakfast, and then headed to the Fish Market (taking a Venetian Gondola to get there). Following the market, we headed around to San Marco's Square and got lunch there. After lunch, we decided to take a boat ride out to Murano, the well known glass blowing island of Venice. We stayed there for a few hours and walked around the different glass shops, and we even sat in on a glass blowing factory (they were making cups at the time). We finally decided to head back to the main land, and got dinner. For dinner, I had the Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia, which is a traditional squid with ink sauce pasta. It was delicious, and a nice way to end the day.

On our final day of the trip, we just took it easy and walked around the island and shops some more. Finally around 5pm, it was time to head back to Rome. After such a long time away from Rome, it was super nice getting back. It was an exciting and unforgettable trip!

Under the Tuscan Sun

What would you think when you hear about Tuscany? Most people would settle with the thoughts of rolling hills, countless olive trees, and countless rows of grape vines. If you were one of these people, you are right! This weekend I went on a trip that was planned through my university to Pisa, Florence, and Trequanda.

We started our weekend with an extremely early wake up call to meet our group in front of our school at 7am. We then had a three hour bus ride to the city of Pisa. There we had a tour of the city which ended with taking a million pictures at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, getting lunch, and shopping. The weather was not the best, but at least the rain held off until we were on the way back to the hotel.  That night after checking in, our group was served a delicious 5 course Tuscan meal. The meal included a Tuscan style soup, salad, salmon pasta, sea bass filet with Mediterranean style potatoes, and tiramisu. After dinner, the group was quick to disperse to our rooms and get sleep.

The second day consisted of yet another early wake up call, and a 40 minute bus ride to the city of Florence. Upon arriving to the city of Florence, we had another group tour of the city. It took us to the most beautiful parts of the city. After the tour, it was a free day to spend around Florence. Financially this was not the best idea because of the leather shops. You guessed it, a leather jacket and pair of boots were bought in the midst of the excitement. My roommates and I also decided to try a Tuscan lunch delicacy called Lompredotto. Lompredotto is the fourth stomach of a cow boiled in water with tomatoes, onion, celery, and parsley. It was a bit unsettling, but it was definitely tasty. After another long day, we were greated with another 5 course Tuscan meal. This time, we had a classic Italian antipasto dish, another Tuscan soup, and pork and beans. Instead of spending the night out on town, we all went to bed early due to the earliest wake up call of the weekend.

We started our final day in Tuscany with a 6am wakeup call. We needed to get on the road in order to get to the city of Trequanda. We were a bit skeptical because not many people have heard of this town. It is a small wine town next to the city of Sienna. We knew we were close to our destination because of the numerous amounts of olive trees in sight. After a three hour bus ride, we made it to our destination. This day consisted of a tour of vineyard, a wine tasting, and a lunch. It was probably the most beautiful place I have been to since being abroad.

After a long exciting weekend it is always nice to come back home to Rome. The traveling is exciting, but being back to my apartment and seeing my friends always makes this study abroad experience one to remember.