French Rivera fun

We left for Nice, France around 7 on Thursday night from Florence by bus.  For this trip, we were traveling with Euroadventures (a travel agency type thing) so they get us there and set up our hotel and some tours for us.  Of course, Kaylen and I were the LAST ones to the train station, and the bus left right after we got on! We stopped for dinner at a gas station type thing on the way and arrived in Nice around 1 am.  Unfortunately, although we had all signed up for 4 person rooms, they put us in a 12 person bunk house. This wouldn't be bad except that it had one bathroom with one toilet and one mirror for 12 girls... not the best combination! We made it work though!

Friday: We slept in and took a train to Monte Carlo, about 20 mins from Nice, around 11.  Upon arrival, our Euroadventures guides walked us around the town, which is pretty small, and showed us the major sites.  Being in Monte Carlo felt like being in one of the fake cities in Disney World because it was so manicured, clean and colorful.  Seriously, it was so beautiful! We saw the royal palace, and the flag was raised which meant the Prince was home!  Unfortunately though, no Blair Waldorf moment for me! Besides, they just had their own royal wedding about a month after Prince William and Kate Middleton, so hes taken! Darn!

too big to get all in one picture! 

We also saw Grace Kelly's tomb (in the church where she was married), and then went to the world famous Monte Carlo Aquarium!  I hadn't heard of it before, but apparently it is on the travel channel etc. a lot!  It was a very cool aquarium positioned on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, but I wouldn't call it a must see. Maybe its the best aquarium in Monaco, but if you know how small Monaco is, you know thats not saying much! Regardless, I got some cool pictures, and had fun seeing the fish! 

church where Grace Kelly was married/ is buried  

jellyfish!

After the aquarium, we walked around Monte Carlo for a while longer and just enjoyed the city. Its seriously, the most perfect place you can imagine, and I can't even imagine how people live there!  The view isn't too shabby either!

bought a yacht with the credit card... that qualifies as an emergency right?

overcast day, but still gorgeous! 

We got back into Nice in time for dinner, and headed down the main street in search of seafood! The first place we found was way too overpriced, but the second restaurant turned out to be really great! We couldn't tell if the waiter liked us or thought we were completely obnoxious (his mood seemed to shift between every course), but the food was great! Also, they brought us as much bread and tap water as we could eat/drink which was such a treat! After dinner we went to a champaign party that Euroadventures was throwing for us in the hotel which was pretty fun, and then out to a bar that was just awkward.  We only lasted for about 30 mins at the bar, and then were too exhausted and headed back! 

at the champaign party 

Saturday, We took a train into Cannes, the city where they host the famous film festival every year.  It was a much nicer day (the sun was out!) and I barely needed a jacket! We took pictures on the beach, and then started wondering around the city and window shopping.  They had so many cool designer stores/ vintage shops/ boutiques/ chocolate stores etc. that we had more than enough to fill the time.  After a while, Nicole, Sam, Kaylen and I picked up some chocolate and wine and headed back to the beach.  We found some lawn chair type things and sat on the beach for about 2 hours drinking wine, eating chocolate and chatting. Definitely a highlight of the trip! 

stole these from Sam, her camera is amazing!

After a while we started getting cold, and realized we really needed a bathroom! Unfortunately, unlike in America, public restrooms are not really a common thing, and we had to get creative! We started walking into stores and asking for the restroom, but boutiques and stores don't have them (or if they did, the weren't telling us).  At this point, it was reaching emergency level, and Kaylen distracted a waiter while I used the restroom at a restaurant.  We realized that the restaurant was closing, and the waiter really wanted us to go to their other restaurant to eat (which is how Kaylen distracted him) so he took us to the other restaurant, where we again pretended to be interested in eating so the other 3 girls could use the restroom! Seriously, that is one thing I definitely miss about America! Even at McDonald's, you have to type in a code from your receipt to open the door to the bathroom.... sometimes I really don't understand Europe! 

Sorry if that was too much information, I swear I won't talk about bathrooms again... or at least on this post! We headed back to Nice after that, and got ready for Audrey's birthday dinner! We went to a hibachi grill which was entertaining, but the food was very different from American hibachi food.  I got chicken teriyaki which was more like fried chicken in a weird sauce type thing... America definitely wins in the Chinese food category! 

Happy Birthday Audrey!

After dinner went went and checked out Carnival! Unfortunately we missed the main parade, but we caught the tail end where they do an encore.  The crowds had thinned a lot by then which was both good and bad.  We still had a blast seeing all the floats and throwing confetti on each other though! After seeing the floats, we road the ferris wheel and saw an amazing view of Nice from the top... also I remembered how terrified of ferris wheels I am.    

After making it alive off of the ferris wheel (it was definitely debatable... seriously so it was so tall!), we headed to a bar and caught a live concert! Unfortunately, they were on their last three or so songs, but they were a really awesome cover band and played Nickleback and U2 songs.  It was at the back of the bar and so crowded and crazy! Definitely another trip highlight! 

Sunday: We spent the morning in Nice hanging out on the beach and walking around the city.  Nice is so beautiful and quirky in its own way... also they have really good McDonalds!  I have never been one to eat fast food, but when you are on a budget, it definitely comes in handy sometimes! The only downside to French McDonalds is that they only give you 1 or 2 ketchup packets! They actually tried to charge us for extra packets, like seriously? Just another time when I'm reminded that I am not in Texas anymore! 

macaroons... yum!

Beach in Nice

Around 2, we got on the bus and headed to Eze, an old Roman city.  It is built up a hillside and is absolutely beautiful! The buildings are all only a few hundred years old, but the walkways etc. were built by the Romans.  Its such a charming little town, and the view is seriously out of this world!

After Eze, we took a tour of a perfume factory which was pretty cool, but my nose definitely felt like it was going to explode after a while! Then just a 5 or so hour bus ride home to Florence! As always, it is so nice to be home after a weekend away! Tomorrow I am meeting up with my parents in Berlin, which I could not be more excited about!  They are on their way to the airport now, and I am so glad that it is them and not me who has to travel for the next 15+ hours!  I'll update yall again soon! Until then, hope all of yall have a great rest of the week/weekend... continue to keep me updated on yalls lives!! 

XOXO

The leaning tower... of venice?

Kaylen and I left for Venice Friday morning and had a nice 2 hour train ride through the country side.  The trains here are really a pretty nice way to travel! I had planned on reading my Rick Steves book on the train to figure out things to do in Venice, but of course, I forgot that in Florence.  Once we got off the train we had a kind of like "so, we're in Venice... what now?" moment, but started making our way to the hostel. We had no map, but did have instructions... which in Venice doesn't mean much.  The streets are more confusing that Florence, and people kept saying "just keep straight, 2 bridges and you are there".  After an hour and a half, we FINALLY made it to the hostel... it always feels like such an accomplishment when we navigate a new city! Take that Venice! 

first view of Venice from the train station, so beautiful!

we found the hostel!!! (brown door on the left)

Once we got settled in, we asked the lady at the desk for a map and recommendations for how to spend our afternoon.  She suggested we go to a touristy area and then to Campo Margarita for dinner.  Unfortunately in Venice, getting anywhere is definitely easier said than done! First things first though, we were starving and found a Chinese restaurant a few doors down from the hostel.  Don't get me wrong, I love Italian food, but it was so exciting to eat something other than pasta and tomatoes.  After lunch, we headed out (armed with our map) and started exploring the city.  After about an hour of walking around, we felt we had really gotten a since of Venice and wanted to find a destination/something/anything to do! 

got a map!

Venice is so pretty!

As we were walking along the grand canal (seen above), we happened on this pink building advertising it had a Marilyn Monroe exhibit.  We figured this would be a good starting place, and headed inside.  The guy working the front desk was nice and told us that we really shouldn't pay to see the exhibit, but did tell us how to get to the Campo Margarita.  This is how that convo went...

museum guy: "Oh its easy, just a 30 minute walk, pretty straight from here"

Kaylen/Laura" "hahahahahahaha"

museum guy: "whats funny?"

Kaylen/Laura: "umm 30 minute walk? We're from Texas, we don't even like to drive for 30 minutes!" 

museum guy: "Oh I love Texas, Rangers and guns!" 

Kaylen/Laura: "uhh ya..."

Museum guy: "haha just kidding, but really, I love guns!"

Kaylen/Laura: "uhhhhh..."

Italians really love Texas, especially when you tell them that you ride a horse to school... silly gullible Pablos! We started our long trek to the Campo, and found a piazza with what looked like a leaning tower... didn't know Venice had one of those too! In our walking around, we also stumbled on the Academia, an really incredible art museum in Venice.  Seeing as we had nothing else to do, an art museum seemed like a pretty good idea.  As always, Italian art is simply amazing, but after as many museums as I have been to at this point, I think I can check seeing Italian art off the list! 

Academia 

Leaning tower of Venice... doesn't look like its leaning here, but it totally was! 

We finished with the museum around 4:30 and figured that by the time we found Campo Margarita (a piazza) that it would be dinner time.  Of course, the first time that we actually wanted to take a while to get somewhere, we found the Campo pretty quickly.  Like actually, we didn't get lost at all! At 4:45 we arrived in the Campo and decided to go grocery shopping for our dinner.  We ended up with a loaf of bread, potato chips, lunch meat/cheese and wine... pretty classy right?  We sat on a bench and ate our feast (surrounded by tons of cute outdoor patio restaurants... but we were totally beating the system so we felt pretty smart) and it finally started getting dark.  To warm up, we decided to go into one of the pubs in the square called the Cafe.  After being there for a few minutes, the guy from the Museum (Dominick) walked in, Venice is so small!  He introduced us to some of his friends who were pretty eccentric and fun!  Hanging out with locals is one of my favorite things to do abroad! It is honestly the best way to get a real since of the city and the people who live there.  Also, Italians are so much more fun and chill than Americans as a whole!  Thank goodness, Dominick offered to walk us home after a while because otherwise we would have been totally lost!  On the way, him and some of his friends suggested that we go see a really cool view of Venice! We went back to the museum where we met him earlier (on the main canal) and went to the top floor where they have a balcony.  The view was so beautiful, and it was such a cool experience! Again, when you hang out with the locals, you see things that the guide books don't tell you about! 

classy dinner

our new Venetian friend, Dominick 

In the morning, we slept in and went back to the Chinese restaurant for round 2.  Seriously though, you can get 4 euro chicken fried rice at this place... jackpot! We went back to the hostel to get our bags and ended up napping for another hour, before heading to the train station.

big girls gotta eat... round 2! 

All in all it was a really great weekend!  Although we won't be making a habit of it, coming without a plan turned out really great.  Kaylen and I always joke that only we could make something out of nothing! Every trip that we take makes me into a more and more confident world traveler, and I can't wait for the French Rivera this weekend! Also, I'm so excited because my parents told me that my plane ticket can be extended coming home and I get to stay for a few extra weeks and travel around with David! We haven't worked out all the details yet, but its going to be so much fun!  Hopefully after that, I can just move here permanently... but really.  Anyway, hope all of yall have a great week! 

XOXO

  

my weeekkk

Getting back from Rome I was completely exhausted, so the beginning of this week, I gave myself a lot of chill time. 

Monday: We cooked cheese fondue, pesto pasta and red wine pears in cooking class. I forgot my camera so no pictures this week, sorry!  My group made the red wine pears which turned out really good.. and they were so easy to make!  After class I came home and did some homework, slept, ate, slept, and eventually went to bed around 10. 

Tuesday: Between my classes, I went to lunch with Jenna which is always fun!  I got risotto, which is something we had made in cooking class a few weeks ago, but I hadn’t tried at a restaurant yet.  Amazingly enough, I actually liked the version we made in class better!  Later, I went over to Jenna/Steph/Brianna’s apartment and had dinner there (they made grilled veggies and pesto ravioli, so good!!) and we got ready to go to the opera!  I forget the name of the opera we saw, but it was definitely an interesting experience! I forgot to read the description of act 1 before it started, so the first act I was really lost.  Everything is in Italian, and it was seriously confusing.  The second and third acts I read about in intermission though which made the performance much more enjoyable!  I’m not sure I will need to see an opera again any time soon, but I’m definitely glad I saw one!  Something that I thought was pretty funny was the number of times you applaud the actors.  You clap for them between the first and second acts, between the second and third acts, and at the end.  Also, at the end when we were clapping, it was probably about 10 minutes of applause… my hands started hurting.  Those opera singers sure like their applause!

at the opera

Wednesday: After Italian on Wednesday, Nicole and I went to Gusta Pizza, always a favorite but it was pretty crowded.  Because it’s a small restaurant, if there isn’t enough seating, they sit you at the same table with two other rando people.  We ended up crashing this couples date who were sharing a pizza while Nicole and I each had our own pizza and ate the whole thing.  Would have been awk if I hadn't been too busy stuffing my face with pizza!  Because the day was so beautiful, after lunch we decided to climb the Duomo.  We went back to my apartment so I could change into tennis shoes (Nicole was already wearing them.. It was casual day) and headed to the Duomo.  Let me just say that climbing this thing not something to be taken lightly, it’s a serious workout!  It takes about 20 minutes to climb, and at one point you get to the part where you are literally scaling the dome, its pretty freaky!  It was definitely worth it though because the view from the top was amazing! Here are some pictures from the Duomo! 

scaling the dome...

finally made it to the top!

Climb the duomo, CHECK

After our climb, we went and got gelato at Groms, a really famous gelato place, and walked around for a little bit.  Then later, we had our little Florence groups now annual Wednesday night dinner.  Sarah, Emily, and Audrey hosted dinner (which is always BYOV… bring your own vino) and made this really good bruscetta and pasta with veggies!  Kaylen and I have big shoes to fill next week when we host!  We hung out until about 11 drinking wine and chatting, so fun!

Thursday: I slept in late today which was so nice, and then met Kaylen at the train station to buy our tickets for Venice tomorrow around 2.  After we got our tickets we went to lunch at Gusta Ostaria (the pasta gusta), which was the first time I had been there!  I have now officially been to all the gustas and can highly recommend them to anyone coming to Florence… seriously though, so good!  We were planning to go to the Bobili gardens after (the gardens in the back of the Pitti Palce, old Medici palace) but they were closed which was a serious bummer because it was another gorgeous day in Florence!  Instead, we went and got gelato and sat on the Santo Spirito bridge (facing the Ponte Vecchio) to people watch.  That is one of my favorite things to do in Florence, and today did not disappoint.  Here are some pictures of our time on the bridge

getting artsy 

Tomorrow, Kaylen and I are going to Venice for the night and then back to Florence Saturday evening.  We were planning to do Milan also, but don’t want to overdo it because Kaylen has been sick!  I’ll fill yall in on the weekend on Monday though!  Lots of love!! XOXOXOXO

Roman Holiday!

On arriving in Rome, I very quickly realized that it was most definitely NOT Florence!  Although I was only in Rome for a weekend, and I am really taking any experience I get over here as bonus and amazing, being in Rome really made me miss Florence.  It’s a huge city with tons of people, cars and tourists.  Unlike other big cities though, there really aren’t sidewalks and it is crazy to get around!  I was constantly feeling like I was about to be hit by a car/vespa/bus etc. and one guy from TCU even got hit by a Smart Car!  Last weekend, my 48 hours in Paris made me completely fall in love with the city and never want to leave.  Being in Rome was a completely different experience and made me so, so soooo glad that I live in Florence!  Now that, that rant is over, heres the breakdown of my trip!

Friday: This trip was with all of the TCU people because it was organized by ACCENT, so we were always in large groups (which is probably another reason I didn’t like it as much).  We caught the 8:45 train from Florence to Rome and got there around 10 (usually it’s a 3 hour train ride, but we took the fast train).  After getting there, we were set free to get lunch etc. and we went to what looked like a cute café.  After spending the weekend in Rome, I realized that really it’s a major tourist restaurant, but at the time it seemed cute.  I ordered pasta carbonera which if anyone has had it, is an egg/bacon/cheese type pasta.  Its usually really good, but this version of the dish was basically Velveeta pasta with bacon.  It was wayyyyy too rich and felt like a rock in my stomach after lunch.  Then we met up with our guide for the trip, Frea (she is from Australia, but has lived in Italy for 7 years and is super cool) for a walking tour.  We saw a bunch of really cool churches, palaces, and ended at Trevi Fountain.  Again, not to sound like a spoiled brat, but after 4 churches, its pretty hard to differentiate between and appreciate them, so I can’t really tell you much more about what I saw.  Trevi Fountain was pretty fun to see again (the last time I was in Rome, I was a sophomore in High School) and we threw coins in the fountain.

Government building

weird looking fountain

pretty church (#2 I think??)

throwing coins in Trevi Fountain

Then we were set loose for dinner and free time.  Kaylen, Nicole, Sam and I went to dinner at this really awesome place which had a 15 euro special.  You got bruscetta, pizza, pasta, dessert, and 2 types of wine (all you can drink) and it was all soooo good!  After a ton of food and wine, we went to the piazza by our hotel which has a bunch of bars at night.  We ended up at the Drunken Ship, which was a lot of Americans, but still very fun!  Also, Sam and Nicole knew a couple of guys that they met in Venice who met up with us.  They tried to take us to another bar, but we got lost and ended up back at the Drunken Ship.  Around 1:30, Kaylen and I decided to call it a night and tried to start making our way back to our hotel.  Unfortunately, the map we were given of Rome has the hotel taking up a 5 block area, which it definitely does not in real life!  Because of this, and since we had only been in Rome for less than a day, we could not figure out how to get back and ended up asking a group of Italian girls that we ran into.  They were super fun and it was one of theirs 23^rd birthday!  She kept trying to get us to drink with them, but we were needing to go back to the hotel, so they showed us how to get home.  FINALLY we made it back to the hotel about 45 minutes later.

Our new Italian friends

Drunken Ship!

Saturday: Around 9, we met with Frea and the TCU group to go to the Vatican.  Again, I have seen all of this before, but it was definitely nice to see with a set of older and more appreciative eyes!  Compared with the Louvre and Musee Orsay in Paris, I didn’t like the Vatican museum as much, but all of the artwork is still incredible.  Probably even more amazing than the art though is the building.  Every room has ceilings painted in elaborate designs and scenes from the bible.  The Sistine chapel ceiling is of course, amazing, but even better I think is the painting of Judgment Day (also by Michelangelo) on one of the walls of the chapel.  As Michelangelo was painting it, many people were critical of his work, especially a cardinal who said it belonged in a brothel.  To get back at the cardinal, Michelangelo painted him as one of the guards of Hell.  Rumor has it that when the cardinal complained to the Pope about being painted as a guardian of Hell, the Pope told him that “while he had jurisdiction on earth, he had no power in Hell”.  We also saw St. Peters Basilica which is huge and amazing, but in my opinion, just another church.  I can definitely see how those with catholic roots would appreciate it more though!

Inside the Vatican museum

The Vatican/ St. Peters Basilica 

At this point, Kaylen and I split up from the group and grabbed some much needed lunch (it was around 2:30 and we hadn’t eaten since 8 am!) at a pizza place.  Then we went back to the hotel and napped/read/relaxed for a few hours before dinner.  Around 8, a big group of us went back to the restaurant we had been to the night before, which was just as good a second time!  Because we can have Italian food any time we want, I didn’t really feel guilty going back to the same place twice…just like in Florence, I frequent places more than once!  After dinner, we went back to the Drunken Ship and danced to lots of American music (the Italians love American music) and I met a guy that I though was Italian, but apparently was from Ohio… whoops.  Stupid fake Pablo!

silly Pablo... (real one)

Dinner!

Sunday: We got up SOOO early, and headed on a walking tour of the Forum and the Coliseum.  Not much to say except that all of those things are so cool! If you get a chance, they are pretty awesome to see in person! 

Chillin at the Coliseum 

Roman Forum 

It started raining around lunch time which was bummer because I didn’t have an umbrella, but on the bright side, we got to see it rain in the Pantheon!  It was probably one of my fav parts of the weekend, because it looks like something is descending from the heavens or something.  Also, there was a choir singing in the Pantheon, which added to the whole effect of the rain. 

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and hung in the lobby for a few mins waiting for everyone else. Then we headed back to the train station and back to Florence!  I went to sleep around 9 pm on Sunday and got some much needed sleep! 

Overall, it was a really fun weekend, but I don’t think I will be going back to Rome any time soon (unless to visit Megan!).  That’s about it for that trip though… LOVE YALL!