Florence, Tuscany & Montepulciano

After our trip to the beach we only had a few days before we embarked on our big week long trip to Southern Italy with our entire group. I was really excited to travel with the group for a change. It's nice having the option to hang out with a variety of people and branch out, so I was really looking forward to this aspect. All in all, the trip was fantastic and I want to include as much as possible but unfortunately that would be really hard. So many things happened on this trip! It was a blast and I really can't imagine remembering every single story, but I shall do my best!

Piazza in Florence

Our first stop on the week long trip was Florence. I was so incredibly excited to get to Florence because it is one of those places that people tell you that you must go to. Yes, Florence was beautiful. I would even dare to say breathtaking. The city was gorgeous and the streets were filled with people. It had a fantastic view of the city from the gardens, where a beautiful Romanesque church happens to be located. I am talking about the city of the Medici family and Machiavelli and Michelangelo and many, many famous people from the Renaissance and so forth. This is the city where THE David was commissioned and produced for Cosimo Medici. It has beautiful stone streets and the night life is incredible. I loved that city the most at night because that's when it felt the most alive to me. In the day the streets were packed with American tourists and it was really hard to walk without being slammed with people. Not to say, I didn't enjoy Florence during the day, but the nights were warm and people were roaming the streets enjoying musicians playing in the streets & the like.

Copy of Michelangelo's David

We spent two night in Florence. The first night we only had our group dinner and then a bunch of us went out to walk around the city. The next day we saw some of the major sites including the duomo and basilica along with the main piazza  that has a replica of David, the archaeological museum, and the gardens. The duomo was absolutely gorgeous. It is decorated in red and green marble and has the most intriguing facade and of course the dome of the duomo is unreal. Plus this is the area where a lot of people gather along with the piazza. This is literally the center of life in Florence. My friend Marty and I went with our professor, Dr. Bugh, to the archaeological museum after we finished our main site reports. Unfortunately I did not get to see the Francois Vase, which was very tragic to me, but I did get to see the chimaera! It was absolutely fantastic! This is probably the finest piece of existing Etruscan work and it's in Florence. It is a bronze chimaera and if you don't know anything about Greek myth, the chimaera is a vicious creature that is part lion, part goat, and part snake that roams the area of Lycia and was eventually slain by the Greek hero Bellerophon.

Chimaera

After the archaeological museum, Marty & I headed to the gardens which was a bit of a hike to get to. We had to cross the bridge which crosses the Arno River and then walk all the way up to the gardens. The best part is that the gardens have the mot fantastic view of the city. You can see everything. It is so picturesque. We kept hiking up so we could see the San Miniato al Monte basilica. Italy probably has some of the best churches because they span from so many time periods that date all the way back to Constantine, etc. Anyway after we walked through the basilica we made our way back down through the city and walked along the streets. We eventually made our way to an Irish pub because it advertised free wireless internet & I had yet to contact family. So we sat down at the bar and ordered beer and watched the Barcelona soccer match against Arsenal. It was a lot of fun especially since Marty actually knows about soccer. We then left and walked across the Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that dates back to the medieval times. It is known for having jewelry markets all along the bridge as well as souvenirs. I finally had my first gelato, yes yes yes I know that's a sin but it's been so cold so I wasn't in the mood for ice cream!

New Moon posters in Montepulciano

The next morning we left beloved Florence for the great city of Rome. First we stopped at this tiny little town in Tuscany called Montepulciano. Apparently they are known for their wine and also part of the movie Twilight: New Moon was filmed here. It was such a quaint little town and I really enjoyed roaming through the town. Everyone was so friendly in the town and it was sunny and perfect. We only had an hour to see the town, so we didn't have a whole lot of time to see it all. I did have pretty amazing pizza and the wine is good!

Tuscany 

Where soul meets body

Okay, so I pretty failed at updating this big time! I know I have so much to share too! Unfortunately my excuse is schoolwork has been dragging me down. It may not seem like a legit excuse, but seriously, it has really taken a toll on my energy and time management. You may ask, but Erin you seem to have copious amounts of time to talk to me on facebook chat or on the internet...how is this? Well, the thought of sitting down and going through each trip and trying to upload pictures can be a bit of a pain, plus it often takes me over an hour to do a proper update. I do put a lot of time into my entries and I try to make them as beautiful and entertaining as possible.

Enough excuses! Where have I been? What have I been doing? Well, a simpler question may be: what haven't I been doing?

Okay so Amsterdam was a successful trip, even though it was hard to plan an entire week with four people. It was a good learning experience, so I will leave it at that. After Amsterdam I didn't really do a whole lot of major travelling. We had a lot of work the following two and a half weeks following spring break, so I spent most of it focusing on the mountains of work I needed to get done.

Orange trees in Viareggio

The weekend before the Southern Italy trip, Matt, Kelly, & I went to Viareggio Beach in Italy. It was actually Easter weekend, which made travelling on the trains a pain. They were absolutely packed, but we managed to get to Viareggio and spent the next two nights on the beach. The first night we checked into our hotel, which Kelly was not supposed to be in but we managed to sneak her in, and then we walked on the beach at night. It was absolutely amazing. I have been dying to be on a beach for so long since I've been in Switzerland, and now that the weather in getting warmer I have beach fever more than ever. We sat on the beach and drank a beer and stared at the ocean. It was the most rewarding end to travel to be able to stare out at the ocean and just sit in the sand. The smell of the ocean is one of the best in the world. We ended our night watching Italian tv in bed and going to bed early.

Pisa

The next day we did a morning/early afternoon trip to Pisa which was only thirty minutes away. You can't really pass up the Leaning Tower of Pisa when it's so close. So we trekked our way there by train and walked through the town of Pisa until we got to the church complex. Well, as for the tower...there is definitely a lean to it haha. It was such a beautiful day so it was perfect to see a world famous monument.  The church complex was really gorgeous and the Leaning Tower was pretty cool. Other than the church complex, Pisa is pretty small and it's a pretty little town but there isn't a whole lot to see there. So we decided to head back to Viareggio and go straight to the beach, plus we had been craving laying on the beach. We literally got off the train and walked straight to the beach. It was windy but it was rewarding to be able to lay in the sand with the sun out and hear the ocean. I didn't go swimming, but I managed to run in up to my knees/thighs. It wasn't so cold, but I wasn't about to dive in. We stayed on the beach all day and listened to music. It was fantastic. We went back to the hotel to change for dinner and then we watched the sunset over the ocean, which is actually a treat since I live on the east coast in the states so the ocean never sets over the ocean.

We left the next day but we got a bite to eat at a cafe before we jumped on the train.

A little treat....

Well I'm still waiting for my USB cord to arrive in the mail but since I have nothing much to offer, I thought this video might be a nice treat....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpXZ3zXn6xM

This is Kate, Amber, and I doing our rendition of "These Eyes" by The Guess Who. If you haven't seen Superbad then it might not be so funny to you, but there is a scene where Michael Cera sings this. So this is our version of Michael Cera's version from Superbad...but in Holland! What's better than that? And if you don't think that's funny then at least you have to appreciate that there's a windmill in the background.

And here's the clip from Superbad....
Superbad movie "These Eyes"

Holland: bikes, boats, & windmills [Spring Break Part One]

I don't even know how to begin this entry on spring break. It was a very interesting and exciting and exhausting week. I have seen and done so much. I guess the best place to begin would of course be the beginning...

Well, after a few days of rest and relaxation at the nearly empty villa Kate, Amber, Alyse, and I left for the train station around 3:45pm and took the train from Capolago to Lugano (only a 15 minute ride) and then from Lugano switched trains to head to Zurich. Even though it was only a couple hours to Zurich, the weather difference was pretty amazing. It was nice and sunny in southern Switzerland but a few hours north there was snow and it was absolutely frigid at the train station. I can honestly say that nothing is quite like walking around a train station (that is not heated, mind you) with a week's worth of clothes in a bag trying to find the next train only to find out that you have close to an hour to wait around. Well you can only pretend to walk around a store with your luggage, running into everything, without buying a thing for so long before you have to move on to the next heated store. We probably looked quasi-homeless. We eventually settled our bags right in front of the train departures board hoping our train would show up soon so we could find our track. We watched that board as if it was television because we were so desperate to get on the train and escape the frigid cold Zurich air. Once aboard the train we soon found our compartment and it was reminiscent of something out of Harry Potter. The door slid open to reveal a small compartment with two rows of three seats facing each other. There were four of us and at first we were excited to have our own private compartment but when it came to sleeping it was an entirely different experience. The excitement turned into utter frustration when we realized only two people could possibly sleep on the two rows of seats and the other two would have to suck it up and sleep on the floor. I sucked it up and slept on the floor with Kate and let me tell you there is nothing more uncomfortable (or more disgusting) than sleeping on the floor of that train. It was like sleeping on itchy plywood. I don't know, but it was pretty terrible. We ended up trading off sleeping arrangements after 3 hours on the floor proved to be completely miserable. It was definitely an experience for a night of sleep, or lack thereof. 

Around 9am or 10am we arrived in Amsterdam Centraal. We looked like a bunch of Bob Dylan-Rolling Stone followers with our messy hair, disheveled clothing, sunglasses, and sassy attitudes.  We had one mission and that was to get to our hostel and lay down in an actual bed for at least five minutes. Luckily our hostel was only a five minute walk from the train station and in a absolutely spectacular location. Unluckily, our beds weren't ready yet when we checked in. We were able to put our luggage in the luggage room that was kindly provided for us and we headed out into the streets. 

How does one describe the cast of characters that you come across is this city?  I could go on for days talking about all the different people we managed to cross paths with. I met people in our hostel alone from South Africa, Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, France, Romania, America, Argentina, and beyond. So many different cultures culminate in this city and form this sort of diverse community unlike anything I have ever seen. It was wild. It is a place where you can easily meet someone from anywhere in the world who have come to enjoy the local color and otherwise. Absolutely amazing how many people are there who aren't actually from Holland. Even the people who worked at the hostel were from all over and ended up in this place like a bunch of vagabonds. 

Alleyway 

Amsterdam reminded me of a mixture of things. I finally narrowed it down to Neverland meets the Island of Misfit Toys meets Lord of the Flies. I don't even know if that does the city justice. There is definitely traditional Dutch culture in Amsterdam but for the most part the city is overrun with tourists and outsiders who ended up there for temporary living or god only knows what else. I truly enjoyed Amsterdam but it is abundantly clear that the culture offered is mainly due to the demand of outsiders and cultural expectations and demands set by the public coming from outside of the city. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have loved to see it in a more natural and traditional light rather than this culture created from the outside world (but I'll get to Rotterdam soon enough, which sets the score even). 

Outside the Van Gogh Museum

During our few days in Amsterdam we managed to see the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and walked around nearly the entire city. The Van Gogh Museum had the most spectacular collection of his works. I listened to the Icelandic band Sigur Rós while I toured the entire exhibit and it was absolutely perfect. [[A quick aside, I think that listening to music while going through an art museum is the  only way to do it. It can really set the tone for the entire experience, and if you don't know Sigur Rós, they are such an amazing band. I don't even know if I can describe their music properly with words, but I think that they demonstrate emotions through music perfectly. All their songs are sung in Icelandic or their own language they created, Hopelandic. It's very soothing music but I think it's also very emotionally charged and powerful. Definitely a great band to check out if you have a chance.]] I was astounded and awestruck by the paintings I actually got to see up close and in person. It was mesmerizing to see some of the most beautiful world-renowned paintings so close. I could have stayed at that museum all day staring at his work and admiring each brushstroke. He was truly a gifted artist and was able to see the world in such a unique and magical way. His perspective...I am just so jealous of his view of the world. He saw true beauty in such ordinary objects or landscapes and transformed them into the most remarkable and dazzling paintings I have ever seen. Honestly to see them in person truly made my respect and love for him as an artist all the most prevalent. I also was lucky enough to enjoy their Paul Gauguin exhibit. That was really nice but I'm not a terribly big fan of Gauguin's work. I also had the opportunity to see some Emily Breton, Monet, Manet, Seurat, and many other brilliant artists. 

The Anne Frank House was a very interesting but also extremely intense experience. It's amazing how well preserved the building is and how the story of Anne Frank has become known worldwide. I walked through the house two times because I just wanted to be able to remember it all. It was incredibly eery and oddly cool to walk through the trick bookcase that hid the entrance way to the annex where Anne and her family lived during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Her father was the only one to survive after someone tipped off the Nazis of their hiding place and shipped them all off to different concentration camps. Anne died only a month before war came to a close and the concentration camps were liberated. It is such a tragic story and her father was the one who turned the building into a museum and opened it up to the public to view. Absolutely incredible story. 

so many bikes! 

Aside from the museums, we also walked around the city which was absolutely gorgeous but incredibly cold. It was 40 degrees all week and very windy. Pretty much bitter cold. The entire city is quite extraordinary because most people ride bikes and there are thousands of bikes all over the city. Chained all the rod iron barriers along the canals and all through the streets. It is such a cool site to see all these people on bicycles of all kinds. I wish more cities were like that. I love that entire idea and mentality to use bikes. There were definitely more bikes in Amsterdam than cars and it makes much more sense. There are canals that cut through the city and have the most beautiful bridges with astonishing views of the narrow canals and the Dutch-styled buildings along the water. I really loved the set up of the city, but I would have to say that it was a little too crazy there for me. I can't even begin to describe the Red Light District. It's probably one of my least favorite places in the world. It's terrible to see women in such a sad situation where they have no other choice but prostitution. Not only that but how it is pretty much promoted in the Red Light District so it's as if you're window shopping for prostitutes. It's really rather terrible to see women being treated like pieces of meat. I definitely left with all the fervor of a feminist.  

Rotterdam

Amsterdam was a lot of fun but after a few days we were ready to leave and move on to Rotterdam. We left early Friday morning and arrived in Rotterdam before noon. Our hostel was pretty nice and in a really cool location. We only had a day in Rotterdam so we tried to use our time wisely but at this point we were all so exhausted. Once we got to the hostel, half the group passed out in their beds while I looked around the building and got some reading done. We managed to find a grocery store for some dinner supplies after we walked around the city a bit. Rotterdam is quite a spectacle because mixed in with all these classically Dutch-styled buildings are these huge modern architecture buildings. Rotterdam also has the biggest seaport in Europe, so there are plenty of boats and waterways. It was such an interesting combination of architecture, sailboats, and parks. The next day we walked along the water front to look at the boats and then continued through this park. It wasn't as cold as Amsterdam but it was pretty windy out. My favorite part of Rotterdam was seeing the windmill. I saw windmills on our way up on the trains but I actually got to see one up close. We walked quite a bit to get there but I think it was totally worth fighting the wind and cold. Eventually we made our way back to the hostel and we broke up for a bit. Some of the group went to explore some more but since it was so bitterly cold out I decided to get some reading done and hang out in the sitting room with Amber. I read my book "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting" by Milan Kundera and also perused my Rolling Stone magazine I got in Amsterdam. 

sitting room/bar/dining area at the hostel

the windmill!

We had a bit of trouble on the way back from Holland to Zurich though. I have to say that I have lived up to my father's genes perfectly. I somehow managed to lose my train ticket from Utrecht to Zurich which cost a pretty good amount of money for a poor student. Unfortunately for me the people at the Tickets & Services kiosk were no help what-so-ever. They need to change the name of their kiosk because they did not service me in any respect to help me replace my ticket. Even though I had 3 different forms of identification, the credit card I paid with, and proof I had a reservation on the train there was apparently no way they could possibly look it up on their computers or reprint a ticket, or anything in that respect, to get me on this train. Panic and dread of having to buy another ticket after losing mine threw me and I was pretty much in shock they couldn't replace it. I did manage to reprint my ticket because I bought it online and had saved the email but trying to get to a place with a computer with internet and a printer before our train departed in 30 minutes was really hard and the most stressful time of the entire trip. After going to 4 different places around the train station begging and pleading and using the "I'm a dumb American far from home who lost her ticket and I need help" line...I FINALLY found a restaurant who helped me in my dilemma. There were a series of hoops I managed to jump through to get them to allow me to use their computer, internet, and printer along with all the steps it took to actually print the ticket but I did it. When Alyse came running towards me with a piece of paper from the printer that had all my reservation information it was like the passing of the torch for the Olympics because we literally had less than ten minutes to get to our train platform. We booked it back to Amber and Kate in the main area and then continued to rush along to the platform...but we made it. The rest of the journey went along without a hitch and we made it safely back to Riva the following day (which was yesterday). 

Spring break was really great and I had so much fun, but I am glad to be back in our little town of Riva. Unfortunately this week is crazy because I have a document paper/presentation due, a group presentation, a midterm for my Roman class, and Italian homework along with a workshop with Antonio Fava for Commedia dell'Arte. Then next week I have a paper due and a bunch of Italian quizzes. So it will be craziness around here for a while and I assume I'll go crazy at some point but I'm crossing my fingers that I'll keep my sanity. Oh! And I have a ton of Greek translations I want to get through so I can keep up with my independent study. 

So that's my long way of saying that this is all I have for now and I have a ton of work to do! 

Until next time (more pictures to come). 

p.s.

I lost my USB cord to my camera in Amsterdam so I can't upload my pictures from my camera just yet. You'll have to hold tight till my replacement comes in the mail (thank god for ebay). Until then all the pictures you've seen here were provided by the ever-talented Kate W. & Alyse C. who managed to take some fantastic shots of Holland!

What is there to say about Prague?

.PRAGUE.

I recently had a little adventure to the Czech Republic and actually made it to Prague. Last weekend we had a 4 day weekend due to class conflicts with the theater kids, which meant that I was able to plan a trip with my friends to Prague. I don't know what it is about Prague that draws me in but I have heard nothing but fantastic things about a city located in such a pivotal area historically speaking. The Czech Republic, which was once Czechoslovakia, had at one time been occupied by the Russians during the Soviet Era. Central Europe isn't usually the first place most people look toward when they think of traveling to Europe, but I am prepared to change all your minds. Prague was such a beautiful and I'll even dare to say magical city. It is filled with so much culture and excitement nestled amongst the most serene and absolutely breathtaking buildings that range from so many different time periods. Old Town, Lesser Town, Jewish Town, and even our little "Art Nouveau" district contain so much life and the possibilities of things to do are endless. I loved Prague and it is the first city I've been to where I could honestly say that I could live there and be perfectly content. While our trip was drastically affected by our circumstances, that does not mean it is not still a fantastic place to visit. When I say our "circumstances" I mean that we had our own personal guide to the city of Prague. One of the friends I went with, Kate, happened to know someone from high school who is a true Praguer. Her friend Ondrej showed us around Prague like a true pro and amazingly knew more about the city than most tour guides in America know about any American city. We were able to learn about the buildings and monuments we saw historically and we even got basic knowledge about the local lifestyle. It was so much fun gallivanting around the city without any concerns or strings attached. We had complete freedom to do as we pleased and the weather was absolutely perfect. I can't imagine what Prague is like in the spring time other than completely perfect and splendid. I wish I could go back already and spend a majority of my time there. In fact after returning from Prague we all had a bit of depression since we were no longer in our most beloved city thus far.

Well to begin we left Wednesday afternoon (February 24th) and began our journey from here in Riva san Vitale, Switzerland to Basel, Switzerland. That was about a 3 hour train ride and from there we quickly made our way along the train platform for the train from Basel all the way to Prague. This train ride would last us nearly 14 hours and would go straight through the night. We were scheduled to arrive in Prague around 11pm and finished our nearly 20 hour train ride. Now this might sound either terrible or completely thrilling, and I must say that it was the latter. Leigh Anne, Kate, and I managed to get three seats together and we bought some wine to enjoy on our long train ride. Well, first of all the train ticket man kept coming by and talking to Kate because her last name is Walker which led him to reference Walker Texas Ranger each time. He even managed to conjure up some decent Chuck Norris jokes. We met a guy who sat in front of us from the Berne who entertained us most the train ride. While sleeping wasn't the most enjoyable experience, we managed to survive and by the time we woke up the next morning we only had a few hours left till our arrival.

After disembarking the train and stopping to get a quick and delicious bite to eat, we managed to work the metro and bus system to get to our hostel. Okay so our hostel was said to be located in the "Art Nouveau" district of Prague. Well....I must stress the quotes around art nouveau because there wasn't much about this area that reflected it's title. It wasn't the most attractive side of town to say the least, but we're young and capable girls so we sucked it up and checked into our hostel. Our hostel wasn't too shabby but then again it wasn't the best. It was filled with the wildest objects to decorate it in an attempt to make it have this eclectic chic sort of look, but their attempt failed slightly and by slightly I mean they pretty much failed since most of the decor was shabby looking to begin with. Now it wasn't terrible but if it had some work done on it then that may have done wonders. Our room was filled with about ten bunks and we each had a security locker to place our stuff when we were out and about. We set our stuff down and hit the streets. We took a bus down into the more attractive side of the city and definitely less ghetto. The central part of the city is really extraordinary and I could walk around the city for hours.

At the Center of the World in Prague

We walked around a bit and then met up with Ondrej who showed us all around the city and did a really fabulous job of keeping us entertained. It was so much fun. We had dinner out by the Astronomical Clock which dates back to the medieval period and not only tells the time but also the planetary movements. It was pretty warm out but as it got darker it became a tad bit chilly. We snacked on some trdelnik which is cooked dough with sugar and it is addicting. I could eat some trdelnik on a daily basis.

Astronomical Tower

Our first night in the hostel....well where does one begin? We got back around 11pm or so and managed to get in bed around midnight. It was just the three of us but there were other people's stuff on some of the bunks so we assumed they were enjoying the night life. When we first got in bed and turned the lights off one of our fellow hostel stayers arrived back clearly intoxicated. He stumbled his way across the floor and woke up Leigh Anne in bed by sticking his face less than a foot in her face (mind you she was on the top bunk). He spoke elaborate Czech and offered her wine and Fanta. After she kindly but forcefully refused he eventually passed out in his bed, but not after he stared at Kate and I sleeping in our beds debating whether he wanted to make us the same offer. Luckily Leigh Anne came to the rescue and told him we did not want any wine or Fanta. I'm guessing us [pretending to be] asleep was not a good enough indicator that we wouldn't be interested. Eventually I was able to fall asleep and in the morning we had breakfast which was pretty good and hit the town once again. It wasn't a terrible experience at the hostel and honestly I can look back and laugh it off as just part of the European experience. Would it have been my first choice in a place to stay? Probably not, but it served its purpose and my expectations weren't that high to begin with.

So on Friday we decided to hit some of the major sites in Prague. We took a bus over toward the main castle in Prague. We hiked our way up to the castle which had the most spectacular view of the city. Prague's skyline is blanketed with the red shingled roofs of the buildings with the churches and beautiful architecture breaking through. It was something out of a fairytale. We walked through the church that was next to the palace and this church had such elaborate stained glass windows that it was just unbelievable. Pictures do not do it justice. The church was simply gorgeous. We would have walked through the castle itself but we decided we would rather walk back down into Old Town to get lunch and coffee. We really just wanted to take the city in and not rush ourselves or put pressure on ourselves to tour every single place. To be quite honest, I like to think that it is because I will have to come back to see it. We met up with Ondrej yet again, after we did a little bit of shopping and wandering around,  in the Center of the World which is this circle in this square outside some of the main shopping. He walked around and eventually had the opportunity to meet up with his friends. We went to this place to play pool and hang out which was a lot of fun. I love meeting new people and luckily Ondrej and his friends were a great group to hang out with. They were so nice and even put up with a bunch of silly American girls. It was the perfect last night in Prague.

On the Charles Bridge

Our last day in Prague we met up with Ondrej at the John Lennon wall. This wall is so incredible. Apparently it was originally painted during the Soviet era and was a symbol for peace but was painted over by the government. It was repainted soon thereafter but painted over again. The third time it was repainted the image stayed. After that many people have added graffiti to the wall to where the original image is not even visible anymore. People come to this wall and put message of love and peace as well as pictures that range from portraits of John Lennon to abstract art. It was so beautiful out on this particular day so it was perfect to be out in the city and staring at this wall was exactly what I wanted to be doing. Ondrej took us to the river to show us more graffiti that people have done and it was really a neat experience. Unfortunately we had to leave soon after that to catch our train back.

John Lennon Wall

Leaving Prague was really depressing for me because I really wasn't quite ready to leave. In fact it almost felt wrong to leave such a truly great place in the world. I really loved Prague the most of all the cities I have been to in Europe thus far.

Powder Bridge at night

Hopefully now all of you are inspired to either see Prague for the first time or even revisit it. I would be thoroughly surprised if you were disappointed.

Part Deux!

So I last left off with Carnevale in Bellinzona. I had to break it up for several reasons, many that involve going to class and lunch, but mostly because it would be the longest entry in the world. The day trip to Torino was a pretty epic long day, so that story alone deserved its own entry. So here goes...

Saturday:


So Amber, Matt & I decided to go to Torino as a day trip. It was originally planned to do a night there and just leave early the next morning, but one thing about Europe is that many trips can be done in a day. The trick is to get up super early and get back home pretty late. We weren't out late in Bellinzona (compared to my many other classmates) and when we got back at midnight I managed to get myself in bed right away. At 6am Amber and I woke up and zombied our way around the apartment. We literally had no words and basically pointed and grunted to convey messages to each other. By 6:50am we met up with Matt outside the villa in the frigid Swiss morning air. We did the fifteen minute walk to the train station at Capolago and waited outside in the cold for our train to pull up. There were actually two guys there on the bench either drunk or hung over from Carnevale and we knew this because they were wearing hot pink and purple wigs with grass skirts over their sweats.

We took the train from Capolago to Chiasso, which is only about a 20 minute train ride. When we arrived we purchased our roundtrip tickets from Chiasso to Milan, Italy and then sat down in this little cafe at the train station for a cup of coffee. We caught the train from Chiasso to Milan around 8:30-ish and continued on to Milan and from Milan to Torino. We arrived in Torino around 11:30am and luckily the weather was on our side. The sun was out which made the 45 degree weather so much more enjoyable.

First we walked down the street directly in front of train station which runs perpendicular. I don't know the name of the street because street signs are nowhere to be found, or at least I have no idea where Italians put them. The street had a nice overhang over this tiled floor and the shops all along the way included (but are not limited to) Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Mont Blanc, Swatch, Rolex, and H&M. It reminded me a lot of Fifth Avenue in New York City. Very high end and the street itself is really aesthetically pleasing. We continued on and walked through the squares which had tons of families out walking in the sunshine. Eventually we made it to the Piazza Reale which has the Palazzo Reale and the Palazzo Reale was the palace for the Royal House of Savoy. It's at the end of the piazza and has gates with statues out front and it's really something.

We walked on to go to the Mole Museum of Film and Cinema and honestly words cannot describe how amazing this museum is. It's SO COOL. They have everything in this museum regarding film and they even do the entire transition from shadow puppets and how people were interested by how they mimicked real life all the way to modern film. It was fantastic. I have never been so impressed by such a modern museum. That and the Hard Rock Vault in Orlando Florida are the coolest by far. I got to see original story boards from Star Wars and the original script for Psycho and Citizen Kane. They had chairs in the center of this museum which you sit in and can watch light shows on the ceiling and also watch scenes from movies in Italian in front of you on these huge screens. There is also this elevator that goes straight up the middle of the museum and it doesn't have an elevator shaft. It's just a free hanging elevator with all the cables hanging from the ceiling. And around the main room are different themed rooms and each room is a different genre of film (horror, first films made, westerns, dream sequence, etc). We literally spent 3 hours in this museum because there was so much to do. It only cost 5 euros and it was worth every single euro. Oh and did I mention the Mole is the tallest museum in the world? I believe it, you can see it over the entire skyline of Torino.

After that we had our pack lunch on the bench outside of the museum. We made our way back towards the Piazza Reale on our way to Palatine Towers. On our way there we started to see people in costumes for Carnevale. As we approached the piazza we heard music blasting and when we arrived at the same piazza where families were earlier there were now hundreds of people filling the square. I mean hundreds packed in dancing to music with vans all over the place playing different music. People were drinking in the streets and hanging out celebrating Carnevale. It was insanity to the max. It was unbelievable that this just materialized literally out of nowhere while we were in the museum. We pushed our way through the crowd and enjoyed seeing people in all the different costumes having a good time. The Palatine Towers aren't too far from the piazza so we managed to get there relatively easy.  The Palatine Towers is this medieval Roman gate that used to be one of the 4 main city gates of Torino and has two statues in front of Augustus and Julius Caesar. It's right by the palace and the il Duomo di Turin where the Shroud of Turin is located. Then we made our way back through the crazy rave in the center of town and walked to the Egyptian Museum which has the second largest collection of Egyptian artifacts next to Cairo. I believe it. The museum cost 3.50 euro and it was two huge floors of a ridiculous amount of Egyptian...just everything. Ranging from 3000 BC all the way to the Roman Empire. It was fantastic. I saw mummies and coffins and tombs and reconstructed chapels and tools. I literally saw everything. We spent about 2 hours in this museum and I took so many pictures because I couldn't believe all the amazing things that I saw. I couldn't believe that the collection they had acquired.

So after we walked out of the museum we headed back towards the square yet again because we saw a cheap pizzeria on our way to the Palatine Towers. Well the rave that was there and in full swing 2 hours prior was now completely gone. It was as if it had never happened. The square was pretty much vacant and the vans and venders and everyone and everything was all gone. We thought we had imagined it all because as soon as it arrived it had left and moved elsewhere. Crazy.

We got dinner at this pizzeria and had some cheap food which was delish. We then walked about a mile so we could go see the Po River and we also had a couple hours to kill. The river was spectacular at night and had this beautiful bridge that went over it with the archways and it was all lit up. After that we walked back to the train station tired and exhausted from our long day. We caught the 9:50pm train from Torino to Milan, which was just crazy. The train was filled with teenagers who all chain smoke  and they were drinking and loud. We were so tired that we didn't find much of it amusing and spent the next 2 hours in a haze of smoke and yelling italian boys. We got into Milan around 11:50pm and the train from Milan to Chiasso wasn't until 12:38pm so we spent our time walking around the freezing cold train station wasting time. We arrived in Chiasso around 1:45am and to our disappointment and upset the next train to Capolago-Riva San Vitale wasn't until 2:30am. We were heartbroken and tired and the Chiasso train station was the last place we wanted to be. It was covered in confetti and broken bottles and god knows what else because of Carnevale and in Europe they don't believe in heating train stations so it was freezing. We barely made it but kissed the Swiss train when it finally arrived, because one thing is certain: Swiss trains are freaking awesome compared to the crappy ugly Italian trains. There is this huge difference because the Swiss trains are so ridiculous nice (and expensive). We finally got back to Riva at 2:30-ish am and walked back to our apartment. I was in bed at 3am completely exhausted and my body sore as any other. I thought my entire body was going to give out because of pure exhaustion combined with the run and bike ride I did the day previous to this trip. I was literally feeling the burn...majorly.

Amber me & Matt in Chiasso at 2am completely worn out

The whole weekend was amazing. Torino was fabulous and by far one of my favorite cities. The museums and shops and city itself were so ridiculously cool. I want to go back already but probably won't make it there again until April.

It was a fantastic weekend, in total.

Weekend Adventures in Como, Bellinzona, & Torino: PART ONE

This weekend was absolutely crazy. I was able to see and do so much and by the end of it I was absolutely exhausted. I have never felt so accomplished in my travels, especially considering I have done this with a small group of peers. I have always had adults planning my travels for me and preparing all the transportation accommodations and hotels, etc. Instead, it was all on me and to be quite honest I feel like it has been such a rewarding and challenging experience. I have to give my parents and other adults I have had the privilege to travel with credit for all that they put into traveling. It is frustrating and exciting and nerve racking and often very challenging, but when you are able to do it yourself it is ultimately rewarding. I feel as if I could travel anywhere in the states now after doing some of the trips here. Why? Well, it is hard enough planning a trip on your own or with a few friends but it becomes a little more interesting when you have to figure it out in another language that you can barely scrape by with. For example:

A man came running up to us at 1:45am at the Chiasso train station on our way back from Torino. We were exhausted and slightly delirious and suddenly this man who had clearly missed his stop at Como (the stop before Chiasso) came up to us speaking in elaborate Italian. He was distressed and frustrated and looking to us for help. We stumbled and I eventually said "Non parlo italiano benne" or I don't speak italian well, so he says "parle francais?" "No, je ne sais pas parler francais bien. desolee." No I don't know how to speak french well, sorry. And finally, "inglese??" [english?] "yes!" and finally the language barrier was broken, slightly, because he then continued to explain his situation in a mixture of english and italian. He wanted to know when the next train was and unfortunately it was the last train, so we directed him to the bus and wished him luck.

That didn't really affect our traveling but there are so many situations where we aren't sure how to get somewhere and we have to sit and think about how to ask someone in italian how to get there. I can't walk up to people and ask directions or simple questions without knowing how to ask them in italian or whatever language speaking region I'm in. It's frustrating but exciting as a 20 year old student studying abroad, but at the same time it makes New York City look like nothing at this point. Being in a strange Italian city at night with two other friends trying to find the train station and a place to eat makes New York look like a walk in the park. It also makes traveling locally around the states seem possible and doable.

Anyway....on to my weekend.

Thursday:

So instead of having class on Thursday, we took a day trip to Como, Italy to see this incredible Roman museum that also contains artifacts from a wide range of time periods. We mainly went to focus on ancient Rome for our Roman Town class. We looked at inscriptions that discussed the Plinys, who are known because they are great primary sources for history. Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger are very important historically speaking and are important sources for historians especially in Classics. Pliny the Elder actually died in the eruption of Pompeii. Anyway we walked around and looked at inscriptions and artifacts from the Roman period. It was pretty fantastic. We also saw the Duomo di Como which was this fantastic church architecturally and was absolutely gorgeous. We weren't able to go inside but we walked around the outside and paid special attention to the Pliny statues on the facade of the church.

After that we had free time to wander the city. We were responsible for getting back to Riva on our own, which meant we had as much time in Como as we wanted. A side note, Como is where George Clooney has one of his Italian villas, which is pretty nifty. So my friends Amber, Kate, Matt, Marty, and I went down to Lake Como, which is absolutely gorgeous with mountains that have houses and buildings nestled in the side, and we had lunch there on the benches. After that we made our way to the bus station which was interesting to say the least. We had to figure out how to catch a bus that went to Mezzegra where Mussolini's grave marker is and it's just outside of Como. Trying to communicate to the bus station ticket lady in broken Italian while still being confused about which bus to take and how much to pay was beyond confusing and frustrating to the point where we almost gave up.

Eventually we figured it out and waited for our bus which arrived shortly after. We took an hour long bus ride through the narrow roads around Lake Como which cuts through these amazing little towns that are so cute. The houses are stucco with shudders and are situated right on the hillside with bridges that cut over the roads over to the other side of the street. Stone walls line the roads and people are out walking around talking and shopping. I definitely want to return to this little areas to explore the next time I make it out to Como. So while on the bus we realized that there were no signs or indicators letting us know which stop was what. The bus would stop at a bus stop which had no signs indicating what town it was. The classic quote was when the bus was careening around these narrow roads honking at passing cars (literally inches from hitting the car and killing us all....I never felt so close to death) and we had no idea what stop was next or previous when Matt goes, "uhh....I have no idea where we are going." It basically summed up our adventure to Mezzegra, but luckily a man across the aisle helped us out and yelled up to the bus driver telling him to stop at Mezzegra and he let us know when to get off the bus. We arrived and walked up this hill cutting through this town and randomly we stumbled upon Mussolini's grave marker. His grave marker is this black cross with his name, Benito Mussolini, and the date of his execution. This grave marker is on a stone wall conveniently located next to someone's driveway. This site is really interesting because when the fascist regime in Italy was being overthrown, Mussolini tried to escape to Switzerland and then onward but was caught by anti-fascists in Como and executed at this place in Mezzegra which the simple marker denotes. After he was executed, him and his mistress were taken to a gas station and hung upside down on meathooks and then taken to Rome where his body was stoned by the people and completely destroyed. It's an amazing story which makes our crazy bus ride out there completely worth it because we saw something so unique and interesting.

After we took some photos of this location we walked back to the bus stop area and went inside this great cafe where we got cappuccinos for one euro (super cheap!) and hung out and chatted it up until the next bus came. We got back on the bus and then arrived back to the center of Como where we walked around and enjoyed the sights for a little bit until we headed back to the train station so we could catch dinner at the villa. Later that night we went to the Carnevale opening parade in Riva san Vitale which was basically where all the kids from high school to elementary march in this parade dressed up while marching bands play. There are all sorts of tents out which have make shift bars and are run by the local bar owners of Riva. There was confetti and lights everywhere and it was so nice to be able to mingle with the locals for such an exciting occasion. Oh and Carnevale is this celebration in February that lasts about a week and it is basically a combination of Halloween and Mardi Gras. People dress up and I mean everyone dresses up and their costumes are always elaborate and crazy.

Friday:

Okay so after our adventure to Como we were excited to finally sleep in Friday. Well, Amber Kate and I ended up waking up at 9:30am so we decided to go for a run through Riva. We ran a little over a mile through town, which felt great because the weather was spectacular. The Lake Lugano in the morning is so beautiful and the people of Riva are walking around or hanging out in their little gardens. I absolutely loved my Friday morning run. After arriving back at the villa we debated going on a hike but decided instead to do yoga with Alyse in the main classroom. Yoga was awesome. Alyse and I decided to start doing yoga every Tuesday/Thursday and whenever we have free time. After that I showered and relaxed at the apartment and read some Harry Potter in bed while Amber and Kate napped.

Then we did the craziest 30 minute bike ride to Mendrisio to get our Carnevale tickets at the train station there, because the one in Riva didn't sell them. The bike ride there was almost entirely uphill and down this main road. We went through several rotaries and cars do not care about bike riders, so it was pretty intense being passed by cars and trucks that were flying down that road. Also the bike seats were the most uncomfortable bike seats in the world and for the past two days my butt has been feelin the pain. When we finally got there out of breath and my legs crying in pain from the run & yoga on top of the uphill bike ride, we got our tickets and hung out for a bit then headed back. Luckily the ride back was all downhill making it not so bad.

Friday night after dinner we started the preparations for Carnevale in Bellizona. As I've mentioned before, Bellinzona is the capital of the Canton of Ticino (the Italian speaking portion) of Switzerland. So the Carnevale there is pretty huge and everyone always says it's this huge blow out. So we got dressed as crazy as we could with what we had so we would blend in. When we got on the train there weren't many people on but the ones that were on the train were decked out in Carnevale costumes. As the train made more and more stops there were loads of people cramming onto the train with alcohol everywhere and yelling. It was insanity. We only stayed in Bellinzona for a few hours before heading back because we had an early morning. But basically Bellinzona had made all these huge tents which had bars and dance clubs in them and there were people everywhere wandering the streets. Any place that was open was either a bar or a dance club. There were lights strung about everywhere and people in the most amazing outfits. It was quite the experience. We got back to our apartment a little after midnight covered in glitter and confetti and went straight to bed because we had our train to Torino to catch at 7am the next morning.