Amsterdam and Brussels

Well well well, Amsterdam. First we started by booking our hostel too late so we ended up in what my relatives might call, "The Trailside Lodge", if you catch my drift. The minute we walked into the place, we thought it would be just fine. However, then, the toilet in our private bathroom started making a extremely loud noise, on and off for about a half hour, every time we flushed it. When we told the front desk, they said they would have it fixed first thing in the morning. It was about 8pm so we decided to explore a little and grab something to eat. We walked around and I realized just how beautiful the canals were. They were quite possibly already my favorite part of the city. At night, the water gave off an eerie glow and reflected the boats and street lights. I liked it.
We made our way into downtown, where they were had "Winterland Amsterdam" going on. An annual winter carnival. We stopped and had some fresh made, powdered donuts and then visited a few more random booths as we meandered. The 6 of us all hit the hay early that night for a full day in the city on Saturday.

Saturday morning, Lauren, Jess and I woke up early and went to see the famous Amsterdam sign. We snapped a few photos, because, well, that's what all the cool people do, and went off exploring some more. There is not too too much to do in Amsterdam we realized. Especially since the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank did not accept credit cards and that is all we had available for us at the time. But we made the best of it. We took a really great tour of the city on our feet and saw a lot of the beautiful canals and town squares. I really loved how clean and pretty the city was. There were so many people out and about walking and bicycling. WATCH OUT FOR THE BICYCLISTS, THEY WILL HIT YOU. I was more scared of the bikers then the actual drivers on the road. But other then that, I loved the city. We made it all the way down to Dam Square an branched off side streets from there. We stumbled upon cute little shops, cafes, and restaurants which we analyzed the menus for lunch. However, just as 3 o'clock hit, the three of us decided to head back towards our hostel and over to the Heineken Factory. The Factory was one of my favorite visits on this trip.

As you entered, you wandered through walls filled with the history of Heineken. I enjoyed seeing the different bottles that the beer had been bottled in over the years. You continued into rooms that showed you how to make the beer and then into the rooms with the fermentation tanks. I liked this part because I didn't get to see these tanks at the Guinness Factory. We headed to the tasting room, the bottling room, and media and advertising room and then finally, "The ride". This was a ride where you were locked in a room and standing on a simulator with a screen in front of you. It showed you what it was like to actually BE the beer. It went through the entire process of Heineken production and when you became the beer, it sprayed you with water. It was a lot of fun. After, we were let out into the end of the tour, which is where we were allowed to drink 2 Heinekens for free!! And free is good!!

After the tour had ended, we met up with our other three friends who went on their own for the day. We all grabbed something for dinner at this nearby pub and made our way back down to town to the Red Light District. Not that we were interested at all in those kind of experiences, but everyone has said to at least walk up and down the streets to see what it is really like. I can not emphasize enough how ridiculous and quite distasteful is actually is. Although it is a very hyped up with all the lights and a neat place to be walking through, the women are banging on the glass and giving extremely awkward gestures to...well... gather clients. I couldn't believe it! Don't worry dad, it's not exactly my kinda place! I was glad to be able to say I walked through the Red Light District but wow, clean up your act ladies. I couldn't believe that this is what these women do for a living, and were so indiscreet about it.

The next morning, we woke up early to head to Brussels. Belgium was beautiful, and a place I wish I was able to spend more time. We spend the evening and night in the city center because that's where our flight was departing for Italy. We walked around down town, saw "The Mannequin Piss" and wandered in and out of all the tiny little chocolate shops. It was so cool. The Mannequin was a lot smaller than I had expected but was still rather funny to stumble upon. The Chocolate shops were like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, so surreal. We found St. Michael's Church in the middle of the city and took some pictures out front. By then it was getting late and places were shutting down. We ended up getting ourselves Belgian waffles for dinner and heading back to bed. When we woke up the next morning, we made a point to get ourselves to the airport shuttle with enough time to go through all the appropriate screenings before boarding our plane. It just so happens that the shuttle was full so we had to wait for the next one. Because of our luck, the next bus showed up a half and hour late and left a half our late because some woman wouldn't let the bus leave without her friends- and she refused to get off. After a number of people shouting at her over missing flights, the bus finally left. However, we barely had enough time to make our flight.

After arriving at the airport, we ran to check in and get our passports checked. The man took 5 minutes to yell at us about how, "Being Americans, we should know better then to show up so late for a flight" and that "in America, we would never be allowed to run through security to get to the plane." We shrugged him off and kept going- making it  through security and to the gate in under 9 minutes. Luckily it was a small airport. but unluckily, the plane left 10 minutes EARLY!!! So after dealing with a lot of very irritating and rude airport personnel, we had to stay in the airport for an early flight the next morning. It was awful! The airport was small and freezing, so we all curled up behind a vending machine that gave off a little heat and I was very thankful to be on the next possible flight.

Overall, it was a crazy experience, and a lot of fun. As much of a drag as it was to miss the flight, it definitely added to the adventure.

Rome Part 2

The next day, Kristina and I woke up and went to see the Colosseum. It was beautiful and much bigger then I had expected!! There was a 2 hour wait to get inside, so I just paid to join one of the "skip the line" tour groups and then listened to a little of the history and went on my own when I got inside. Kristina had already gone to Rome with her family while I was in Greece so she stayed outside and ate some lunch. I couldn't believe how incredible the ruins were. There was even a tiny section of the bleachers that had been somewhat restored. It was awesome! To be standing in a such a monumental building that was completed by 80 AD was so cool! 

Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. This, besides the Vatican, was my absolute favorite part of Italy. I love love loved the Trevi Fountain! My favorite part was the two sea horses, one calm and obedient, while the second was restive. I thought the detail in the stone was absolutely incredible and huge!! It absolutely dominated  the entire square that it was built in. Kristina and I both threw a coin over our shoulders and into the fountain, in hopes to return one day! I thought it was so beautiful and couldn't get enough. I forced her to walk back with me in the evening to see it at night!!

After the fountain, we made our way over to the famous "Wedding Cake" or as the Romans call it, "the typewriter" or historically known as, Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II. It was in honor of the first King of unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel. The Corinthian Columns were amazing and the statue of him on a horse was very fitting. It can be seen throughout Rome and is probably the most intense monument I had ever seen. It is 443 feet wide and 230 feet tall. The base of the structure is museum of Italian Reunification  and in 2007, an elevator was added to  allow tourists to the roof for a 360 degree view of Rome!

So after the "Wedding Cake", we made it over to the Spanish Steps, which I thought were phenomenal. It's hard to say anything in Rome was disappointing really. The Spanish steps were very nice, but very crowded so the feel for them was a little less exciting. We headed back to the train station after that because it was reaching around 7pm. I loved Rome but I was also glad that I decided to live in Florence. I felt that Rome has many of the monumental tourist attractions but Florence is so much more cultural and fun! I never knew how much bigger Rome is then Florence until I went. It was amazing though, to experience Rome.

Rome Part 1

Rome Rome Rome, where do I start?
Two weekends ago, Kristina and I took a trip to Rome. I was very happy that I had finally picked a weekend to go because I was getting nervous about running out of time. I couldn't possibly study in Italy for a semester and NOT go to Rome. We took a very early train out on Saturday morning that put us in Rome at about 9:30 in the morning. Normally, I wouldn't mind taking a train that early because it is easy to fall back asleep and nap, however, we managed to make a friend who talked and talked and talked. Her name was Romina and she was going to visit her friend for the day. Romina was from Albania and wanted to talk to us to practice her English. She spoke the language very well and normally, I would be thrilled to help her because she knew fluent Italian and could help me in return. But honestly, it was too darn early and she talked our ears off and then some. Finally we made it to Rome.

After checking in to our hostel, which was upgraded to the hotel section for free because they overbooked our room, (NICE!) we went and grabbed lunch at a little cafe. We had previously made a reservation for a tour of the Vatican at 1pm that afternoon so after lunch we made our way over to Vatican City.

The Vatican was beautiful and enormous!! I was so happy I had booked the tour. It was supposed to be 3 hours but since the guide hadn't finished, she continued for a whopping total of 5 hours. It was wonderful! She guided us through the entire museum, the Sistine Chapel, and eventually made our way over to St. Peters Basilica! She didn't tell us about every piece in the Vatican because there was so much to see, but she also gave us a little fun fact. If you tried to spend only one minute looking at every single object in the Vatican, it would take you 12 years to get through the entire museum. It is very hard to believe, but it's so large, that I do.

The Vatican was incredible! The courtyard, the sculptures, the artwork, and the building itself was entirely unreal to me. Each room was designed so differently from the one before. I think my favorite part was the variety of frescos on the ceilings. Pretty much every room and ceiling had it's own aura of sophistication and was decorated elaborately. My favorite was the room with the old tapestries. Each tapestry had it's own beauty to it and its own story, especially the tapestry of the Resurrection of Christ. Oddly, walking from one side of the tapestry to the other, the eyes of Jesus follow you across the room and the weaving makes it look like no matter where you are standing, his body is facing you. However, out of everything in that room, it was the  ceiling that caught my eye. Using the shadowing effect, somehow with paint, the artist was able to create the idea of sculptures that were carved into different colored tiles of the ceiling. It looks mostly two dimensional, but really, its a completely flat painting that you could run your hand completely flat against. It was so weird and could only be noticed if you stand in a corner of the room and look at the arches of the ceilings. Gosh, I thought that was SO cool!
More great things:
School of Athens by Raphael
The Sculpture of Laocoon and His sons-Beautiful detail
Nero's Bathtub over the Roman Mosaic
Gallery of Maps near the Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel itself was absolutely, without a doubt, the most beautiful building and/or chapel I have ever seen. My breath was literally taken away. The Last Judgement was the most beautiful fresco I had ever, ever imagined. I had no idea anyone could produce such an amazing piece of art, and to think, Michelangelo was a sculptor! Also, another favorite, like everyone else's, The Creation of Adam fresco. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. I thought it was so beautiful, but then again, the entire ceiling was just as remarkable! I fell in love with Vatican City at that moment. Again, I wasn't supposed to take pictures, but...we all tend to break the rules here and there...

Laocoon and His sons

Nero's Bathtub

2 Dimensional Ceiling

School of Athens

The Last Judgement

Creation of Adam

St. Peter's Basilica was also incredible. The line to get in was very long but it moved quickly! Once we were in, It was very beautiful. I liked the inside better then the inside of the Duomo in Florence and the Duomo is the prettiest church, at least on the outside, that I have seen. We did not get much time in St. Peter's because they were holding mass but I did get to look around at the smaller chapels and the sculptures. It really is amazing to me how much art and beauty is in the country of Italy. So much time and effort went into these churches and buildings and it's amazing how strongly they still stand. It is all so fascinating to me. St. Peter's was beautiful and my favorite part of the church was Michelangelo's Pieta. Michelangelo is just surreally talented it boggles my mind. The Pieta is almost as incredible as the David. His talent really lies in his ability to produce great detail in every piece of art. He is officially my favorite artist of all time I think.

After the entire tour, we left for the hotel and changed, had some dinner at a local restaurant, and then met some friends from Boston for drinks who were also in Rome for the night! In the middle of conversation about New England, some kids behind us tapped us on the shoulder and told us that they went to Emerson College. So well all joined tables. Small World!

November 13th!

Michelangelo's Pieta

The Wingspan of the Holy Spirit is 6ft, if you can imagine that!