Modern Art in Rome // Southern Excursion

BUONGIORNO

These past two weekends have been so much fun. Seriously, so much fun. Lucky for me, both of them were educational, so I’ve been feeling very enriched with knowledge!

The first weekend was my one credit class, Modern Art in Rome. We had class for a few hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and we have a few projects to finish by Easter Weekend. The weekend consisted of walking through different Italian neighborhoods (we took the A Line all the way to Porta Furba, and I know that means nothing to most of you, but it’s like, really far away from campus), eating gelato, taking pictures of street art, and more walking. It was really interesting to see all the street art scattered everywhere throughout the city, and how wide the range was. Some of it was legal, most of it was not, some art covered entire buildings, some art was commissioned for beautification. All of it held a story, or a message, or a feeling. We visited museums, and we got to visit the apartment of a modern artist! The weekend was made so much better by the fact that I got a credit for roaming Rome and looking at art. Seems like a good deal to me, I’d do it again.

Before I get into that weekend, I’ll tell you about Wednesday morning. The station church was San Paolo fuori de Mura, or St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. Maura and I were super excited about this church because of it’s reputation, but our problem was the location. It’s outside the city walls (hence the name), so it took some time to get there. I booked a taxi for 06:00 and set my alarm for 05:15 the night before. Unfortunately, I fell asleep while picking the song to wake up to, and I never actually set it (this is not the first time this has happened)… So, I wake up to my phone ringing, I answer, and all I hear is loud Italian and I really don’t know how to respond and I’m still groggy from literally just waking up and so all I say is “English” and he kinda stops, and then says “address!!” really loudly so I say Via Nazareth 400 but he doesn’t understand me and keeps saying “what number” and I keep telling him 400 because I don’t know how to say 400 in Italian so this guy is yelling at me because he’s probably driving around aimlessly and I’m hopping around my room trying to put tights on yelling 400 into my phone at six am all the while receiving frantic texts from Maura because she’s been waiting for 15 minutes in the lobby but I can’t tell her what my deal is because the taxi driver still doesn’t know where to go SO to make this long story short, it was a stressful morning. It may have been the worst wake-up call ever. But it’s fine. I hung up and literally called another taxi, who got us to the metro station, which then got us to San Paolo with time to spare. Exactly three minutes to spare!

Anyway, the morning was really great after that, and I really enjoyed seeing the church. The mosaic is beautiful, and probably my favorite that I’ve seen. Which is saying a lot, because I’ve seen many a mosaic in my day. There’s also mosaics of every single pope since Peter, including Pope Frances, which is pretty cool! The church is built on Paul’s burial site, and inside the church are the chains that were said to have held him prisoner in Rome. So, pretty cool. Maura and I were also invited to a breakfast at the neighboring seminary, so we had bread and coffee with Deacon Josh. We met the two other seminarians who sat next to us, one from Liverpool and one from New South Wales!

That morning we also got to meet our Italian partners, who are high schoolers that will be completing a project with us for Intercultural Awareness. My partner’s name is Francesco and he’s very nice! There’s a very tangible awkwardness, though, because I don’t speak any Italian and his English isn’t the best. Our interactions have made me thankful for google translate and an even deeper appreciation for bilinguals.

We also had our Caput Mundi class in the forum, which was amazing, as always.

So, that weekend was our Modern Art class. It was taught by Fabio Benicasa, who is one of the Italian professors on campus and also happens to be one of the coolest, most laid-back people I have ever met. He took us around the city, showing us the coolest and most obscure things, stopping every so often to share some knowledge nuggets and have us take pictures.

On Friday, we visited the Ostiense district in Rome. Our first stop was an underpass where graffiti was legalized, so we got to see some cool art. Art in these places was often higher quality, because the artists had more time to create it. (They weren’t running from the police.) We also saw an entire building covered with murals, and even though it’s illegal, the police did not bother the artist for three years while he completed his work. It’s very well respected in the neighborhood, so it’s stayed untouched and beautiful since it’s creation.

(Fabio asked us to take a selfie with our favorite character on the wall, of course I chose the astronaut)

We got gelato at a really nice place in Ostiense and for lunch we went to Eataly, a gigantic market/restaurant/store and we got pasta with buffalo mozzarella. This was the first time I consciously ate buffalo mozzarella, and I have to say, it isn’t my favorite. We walked around a little bit after lunch, and then met up with the other modern class at MACRO (Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, a modern art museum). Fabio works at MACRO, so we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the rooms where artists will create exhibits. There was no art that we actually saw in the museum, but it was really interesting to hear about what goes into planning and creating an exhibit. After the MACRO, we had one more stop, which was the studio apartment of a young artist. He invited the bunch of us to his work space, where we saw completed, half-completed, and just-started works of art. He showed us his mood boards and explained how and why he got into modern art. It was a really cool experience to see that kind of thing first hand, and as soon as the visit was over, class ended. It was a long day but we got to see so much, and everything was so interesting. Our assignment that night was to watch a documentary on street art called “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. It’s directed by Banksy, and it’s about this guy Thierry who started filming street artists and eventually became one himself, called Mr. Brainwash. I actaully fell alsepp during the film so I’m really not entirely sure the details, but when I woke up everyone hated Thierry, and I think he turned out to be a bit of a dirtbag.

The next day we went to an area called Tor Marancia, and we walked through a neighborhood with each building painted by a different artist. Each mural was unique and beautiful, and created such a personality for the neighborhood.

Our next stop for the day was the Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz, or MAAM (Museum of the Other and the Elsewhere of Metropoliz). This was the weirdest place I’ve ever been to, and it doubled as a refugee/squatter home for about 200 residents. The art inside was abstract, and it made you think and made you uncomfortable. There were a few things I did enjoy looking at, but mostly I wanted to leave… especially because our professor prefaced our visit with “so, a bunch of rats and cats might be running around”. We did take some group pictures, though. Those were nice.

Sunday was our last class, and we walked and walked and walked. We went to one of Fabio’s favorite restaurants in Pigneto, and ended the day with more walking! We got to see so much of the city and the city’s art, and I’m actually really glad that I took this class!! I earned a credit for sightseeing and taking pictures, basically. It was a good weekend!

Our second and final academic excursion was to Southern Italy, and we went to Capri, Paestum, Campagna, and Pompeii. We left early on Friday morning to arrive in Naples around noon, then took a ferry past Mount Vesuvius to the beautiful island of Capri! We only had a few hours to spend on the island, so we made priorities: lunch, lemon soap, limoncello, and hand-made waffle cones. And maybe if we had time, some sightseeing! We did everything on our list, and we had a really few hours walking around and taking it all in.

We had lunch with a beautiful view, overlooking the city down below and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The gelateria served hand-made waffle cones, and the gelato itself was some of the best I had! (If I was going by just the cone, this place would make my top three gelaterias.) I loved being right on the water, and hopefully one day I’ll go back to Capri and spend more than three hours there!!

(We found postcards that actually resembled the Capri we saw! The weather was didn’t match, but we still counted it as a super win.)

Our next stop was a buffalo mozzarella farm, which was seriously so much fun! We got to see where the water buffalos lived and did their thing, and then we got to try some super fresh buffalo mozzarella and spend our money on some buffalo goods. Everyone got gelato or a cappuccino, and I heard really great things about both. I got pudding, which was probably the best pudding I’ve even eaten. We took pictures with the buffalos and explored the farm, and it was so cool to see. (In all honestly though, I don’t like buffalo mozzarella. It’s kinda gross.) Other people also bought buffalo leather purses, which were super luxurious.

After the mozzarella farm we explored the town of Paestum, which is the site of several ancient Greek temples. There were three that we got to see, and one we got to go into! It was really great to see temples so different from Roman temples for a change. Plus, the architecture is super incredible. My Caput Mundi professor was my tour guide, and so the whole day was very informational (my favorite)!!

We ended the day in the small town of Campagna. We visited a Holocaust Museum that had a completely different atmosphere than any other I’ve experienced. The museum shared the story of Giovanni Palatucci, who saved the lives of countless Jews. There was a concentration camp in Campagna, but it was different from most because no one ever died there. We heard a story that the Jews who were hiding in the mountains surrounding Campagna saw a bomb dropped on the town, and even though they risked being sent to death camps, they came back to help the Italians that had imprisoned them. It was an emotional experience for many, and we took our time walking through the halls of the museum.

That night we had a fancy dinner at our hotel, and we were all told to wear our Sunday best. The speechies in Rome finally took a picture together!

The next day we had the morning to learn about and explore Pompeii!! I’ve noticed that none of my mental images of places have been even been remotely correct, and the same thing is true about my visit to Pompeii. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures or anything, because it was nothing like I expected. Honestly, though, I don’t really know what I expected. It was a lot bigger than I thought! It was so cool to be walking through history and seeing the same buildings that the Pompeiians in 79 saw. It was the coolest experience, especially because we had a guided tour, so we learned all about the city in addition to actually seeing the ancient ruins. We also got to see the famous casts of the bodies, which are pretty chilling.

It’s been quite the whirlwind of school and work and Rome since coming back after spring break, and it’s crazy to think the semester is more than half over. It still seems like I just got here. I’ve been so many places and seen so many things, and there’s still so much I haven’t done! I haven’t even been inside the Colosseum! Or the Borghese Gallery! I haven’t even seen the Sistine Chapel!!

It’s really hard to believe I only a few more weeks in this place.

Ciao ciao,

Ally

Spriiing Break!

Sziasztok, bonjour, hola!

Bear with me, this is a super long post.

Last week I went to Budapest, Paris, and Barcelona. My spring break was filled with beautiful sights, yummy food, long days, good friends, and good times. It was the spring break I dreamed of, exploring Europe and living touristy for ten days! Traveling to three cities was ambitious, and we may be sleep deprived (scratch that, definitely sleep deprived), it was the best ten days I could have asked for.

First stop was Budapest! My great-grandparents immigrated to America from Hungary, making me about a quarter Hungarian and a distant hunky. As I’ve discovered, this is not enough to draw up intense nationalistic feelings while in Hungary. I did, however, have an amazing time seeing the sights and experiencing Budapest. We arrived Thursday night, and had three full days to spend exploring. We walked, we roamed, we ice skated, we relaxed, and we ate good. I also now know three words in Hungarian!

The first day we walked around the city for most of the day, stopping at a gourmet bagel place for lunch and the mall to buy a hat. It was very very cold, and I forgot my Switzerland hat :(. We bought groceries for dinner, and made made fajitas with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, peppers, spices, and rice. I’m so proud of us, it was seriously so delicious. We spent the night at our Airbnb, which was the cutest little place! We made popcorn, watched a movie (The Fundamentals of Caring, if you’re wondering, amazing movie, 12/10 recommend), and recovered from the day.

Friday started with an Airbnb breakfast, with Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and bananas, and granola. That day was a little more exciting, and we went to the Széchenyi Baths! It was so great to relax for an hour and soak in the thermal water. We went to the outdoor pool, so the water felt great in the 2 degree cold!!

This was the largest medicinal bath in Europe, and the bath culture has been flourishing here since Roman times!! There’s quite a history surrounding our experience, and it was so great to spend the morning here. After the baths, we walked around the park area by Hero’s square, swung on some swings, and hopped in a taxi back to the area by our Airbnb. The day before we had passed by a hummus bar, and all we could think of was going back, so we made our way and ordered the most incredible spread of Mediterranean food. I got the house chicken with couscous and falafel, and we all shared a plate of hummus and a GIANT bowl of pita.

It was delicious. Not Hungarian cuisine, but we really couldn’t pass up a place called the Hummus Bar.

That night we had a wine tasting cruise planned, so we headed back to the apartment to put our fanciest outfits. I was in charge of unlocking the door, which is not usually a problem. But somehow, because of my superhuman strength, I broke the key in half and the skinny part got stuck in the lock. Honestly still not sure how that happened. I freaked out a little because I’ve never broken a key, but it ended up not being a huge deal. I choose to believe that it’s because of my incredible strength, that’s the only logical explanation. We got the key out of the lock (thanks Becca) and got ready for the Danube cruise! Our place was pretty close so we bundled up and walked through the snowy streets to the river. The cruise took us up to Margaret Island and back, and we got to see the prettiest and biggest monuments and buildings on the Buda AND Pest side. My personal favorite was the Parliament building, which was lit up gold and shining so brightly!!

The Parliament Building was definitely the main event. We tasted seven Hungarian wines, and we had a really good time on the Vino (the very appropriate name of the boat).

We spent our last day walking, and we saw all the most important sights. We walked across the bridge to Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion, got a little lost, and saw the city from the most amazing perspective.

The next thing on our Budapest list was ice skating by Hero’s Square! This place was the biggest ice rink in Europe, and it was magical. It’s bigger than you’d imagine, which made it more fun that I’d imagine! It was really crowded and the ice desperately needed a zamboni, but it was a beautiful, brisk night and I had the time of my life skating with my friends. I really love ice skating, and it definitely made the cold weather a little more bearable. I fell at the very end, which is always what happens, because I get too ambitious and try to do spins. Still haven’t mastered spins, still unsure why I keep trying.

We wanted to get something traditional for our last night, so we each got goulash soup and chicken paprikash. I was nervous for the latter, because out of all the food my mom made in my childhood, paprikash was my least favorite. But I figured I should have some Hungarian food while in Hungary, and it turned out to be amazingly delicious.

That morning we had to say goodbye to our darling, wonderful-smelling Airbnb (because someone had already booked Sunday night), so after dinner we made our way to Pal’s Hostel for our last night. I was honestly expecting four cots in a barren room, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an apartment fit with a living room and kitchenette! I’ve never stayed in a hostel, and I’m aware that an apartement is not the typical hostel, but it was a good first experience!

Breakfast for our last morning was pancakes, and mine was filled with pistachio cream and topped with house-made white chocolate sauce and marzipan. Words cannot describe!!!! We had walked past this place a few times before, and I am so glad everyone else was in the mood for pancakes, because it was absolutely amazing!

We walked around St. Stephen’s Square one last time before calling a taxi to the airport. We sat for two hours or so before sprinting to our gate at the last minute, because of course we had to continue with our bad airport habits!! Also, still confused why every flight doesn’t include complimentary water.

Now I’m sitting in a Parisian apartment writing about my weekend in Budapest, because that’s a thing that I do. I spend a weekend in Budapest, and then fly to Paris.

Budapest is a beautiful city. Vaguely reminiscent of Pittsburgh, in the weirdest way, but that only made me love it even more.

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Arrival in Paris went infinitely better than the flight to Budapest, as we were not stuck at the airport until 2am. We took a train into the city and found our cozy little Airbnb a short distance from the Seine, halfway between the Louvre and Notre Dame. Airbnbs in Paris are real heckin’ expensive, so our place was small. Especially for five people. But I’ll use the word cozy, because I was in Paris and I really can’t complain!!

Tuesday morning we woke up early to take a train to Versailles. We stood in line to enter at 9:30 when it opened, which turned out to be a really great idea, considering the line was CRAZY long when we left a few hours later. All morning we explored the Château de Versailles, and saw the King’s Grand Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and the gardens.

The tickets came with a free guided tour, so we could learn about the history of everything we were seeing. It was really cool to see and hear about where the royalty would have audiences and eat and sleep and live their life. We looked a little ridiculous with our guides/phones up to our ear the entire time, but it was totally worth it!

We stayed in Versailles for lunch and found a cute place for crepes! (We ate an abundance of crepes while in France. Like, way too many crepes.)

We were all super anxious to see the Eiffel Tower (for all you French speakers out there, le Tour Eiffel) so when we got back to Paris we went straight to see it. It was just like the Colosseum, in the sense that when you exit the Metro it’s just there. Like, you leave the subway station and it’s right there in front of you. Right there. I was the first one out, and after getting over the initial shock of actually being in the presence of the Eiffel Tower, it was pretty great to see everyone’s reactions when they came up the stairs to meet it. Crazy! We walked around for quite some time underneath the tower before exploring the area to find the best view.

Later that day we went to see the Arc de Triomphe and walked down Avenue des Champs-Élysées. We bought macaroons at Ladurée (best macaroons ever) and spent the rest of the day just walking around.

We eventually ran into Paris Fashion Week, which was kind of crazy, because all of a sudden there were hoards of paparazzi and cameras flashing and fancy-looking people so we stuck around a little bit and snapped a few pictures of people who are probably famous. (If you’re paparazzi, they’re for sale ;).). We saw Rami Malek, who is actually very high on my list of favorite actors, and it’s safe to say i freaked out a little bit. Like, a lot. To the point where a guy with a camera told me to calm down! I’m not gonna calm down man, this is your job!! I don’t leave my house every day thinking I’m going to casually bump into one of my favorite actors!!!!!

That’s my man

The rest of the day was surprisingly unfilled with casual celebrity encounters, but exciting nonetheless. We stayed in the city to see the Eiffel tower light up, and it was THE BEST. It was magical, to say the least. Now I’ve got one-up on Thomas Rhett.

That night we wanted to find a place to go after dinner, and we settled on a cute jazz club near the Seine. We didn’t think there was anything special about it, other than it being a cute jazz club in Paris, so we didn’t give it much thought until we saw that a few scenes from La La Land were filmed there! We were at the La La Land club! It was one of the most fun nights of the trip, and honestly, this semester. There was a live band and an open dance floor, filled with cute couples, old and young, dancing the night away. As soon as the band started playing “Another Day of Sun”, we all had to get up and dance. And it was so much fun!!! I broke out some of my dusty swing dance skills from over the summer, and we had a blast. Seriously, if you’re ever in Paris, I 100% recommend checking out Le Caveau de la Huchette!!!!

(I was also so excited that I didn’t take literally any pictures except for the sign outside.)

The next morning we were tourists yet again, and we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. I really enjoyed walking through Notre Dame, especially now with all of my knowledge of Christian churches. It was also incredible to see the architecture of a Gothic church, because it’s so different from the churches we visit in class. I love stained-glass windows, and Notre Dame really knocked my socks off.

The Louvre was everything I’d hoped it’d be, and since I was really only hoping to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, I did not leave disappointed. We roamed around the Egyptian exhibit of the museum (because the Egyptian exhibit is always the coolest exhibit) and we got too see a whole lot of sarcophagi. And a mummy!! We were also a little tired of seeing Greek and Roman art every other day of the semester, so we thought we’d go a different route. We saw all the highlights, including the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I’m no art history buff (no matter how much I’d like to be) and I guarantee I know the names of approximately three things in the entire museum, but it was still a really cool experience, and I loved walking through the Egyptian exhibit and the hall of paintings where the Mona Lisa is.

The rest of the day consisted of walking around, eating crepes, another key fiasco (buckle up: I promised Liz and Becca that they could leave their stuff at my Airbnb while we all went to the Louvre, because they had to check out and fly to Budapest that day. So I went back to meet them with the keys, ready to unlock the door, which is normally no problem. But as I’ve found, my brain does not respond well to keys and locks. So I put the right key in the lock, it didn’t work, so I tried the other wrong key, and it wouldn’t come back out. The key got stuck in the lock for 45 MINUTES and we were all calm on the outside but FREAKIN out on the inside because Becca and Liz had a flight to catch! So we tried yanking it out and picking the lock with a bobby pin, which didn’t work. They made the mistake of letting me try the bobby pin and I literally got the bobby pin stuck in the lock. With the key. So I called the locksmith and used my French to ask if they spoke English, which they made it very clear that they did not, and so I just kinda prayed that this key would be miraculously freed from the lock. Thank God Jonah was there, and he finally got the key out. Becca and Liz made their flight no problem, and the moral of the story is I’m never touching a key again!!) and some more really great sights. I ate an entire baguette, which made me pretty much like a French citizen. Even more so after buying it in French! I said to the lady “deux baguettes” and when she pointed to the baguettes, I said “oui”. You don’t have to tell me you’re impressed, I know you are.

As for the stereotype that the French don’t like Americans, I didn’t have any bad experience. Granted, I was in Paris, where I imagine they are very used to speaking English with the tourists. There were minor instances (like on the phone with the French locksmith) where I did get scoffed at for being American, though I was hardly offended because je ne parle pas Français.

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The flight to Barcelona was at 06:55, meaning we had to leave our cozy Airbnb (darn) around 3 in the morning. So, we didn’t get much sleep. But we’re used to it, and we ended up knocked out on the plane anyway. It was nice to get to Spain so early, because we had the whole day to explore the city (or so we thought)! We dropped our things off at our very spacious and multi-room Airbnb (yay Barcelona) and walked to a nearby place for lunch. It was an interesting meal, very Spanish in the sense that it was tapas and paella, but we were the only ones in the restaurant and the woman who took our order really liked coming over and talking to us. It was a very personal experience, and it honestly felt more like a home-cooked meal. The food was really good, and the lady was so so nice, and we figured we just hadn’t figured out the Barcelona restaurant scene… it was here that we discovered our love of patatas bravas and tapas in general, so it was certainly not wasted time. We really love patatas bravas.

We ended up not exploring the whole day, because as soon as we got to our Airbnb after lunch, we all fell asleep. For like, four hours. We all needed that. We woke up starving so we took the metro to the shore and found a really cute place to eat. I got sausage and beans with garlic aioli (so good), because I really dislike shellfish, but the other four girls got seafood paella. It was honestly a terrifying experience because everything still had a shell and eyes and none of us really knew how to eat shellfish. We all toasted with a clam though, and I joined in because I’m close the ocean and even though it was not my favorite thing, now I can say I had a clam in Barcelona (worth it???). It’s all for the experience!!!

(Guess which one is which!)

The next day was our touristy day, and we made plans to visit Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia. We needed to kill some time before entering the park, so we found a place in the area to have tapas and mimosas, of course, because what else would you have for lunch in Barcelona?? We tried more tapas here, and fell in love with the sausage! And the patatas bravas, obviously.

After lunch we made our way back to Park Güell and spent a few hours walking around and taking in the sights. It was really beautiful, and I had such an amazing time seeing the beautiful tiles and mosaics and incredible architecture of this place. It has amazing views of Barcelona, with the ocean in the distance, and it was sunny and warm and absolutely amazing. The afternoon was accompanied with upbeat music from street performers and a slight breeze in the air, and I’m seriously trying to oversell how great this day was. I was over the moon to finally experience some warm weather!

After Park Güell we made our way to Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona with the shops and restaurants and where Ed Sheeran met whomever he wanted to meet, and we went to La Boqueria. It’s a heckin’ HUGE market right on Las Ramblas, and it was amazing. Hannah was freaking out because she kept finding things that reminded her of Argentina, which was super sweet! (Side note: Spain is very different from Latin America, so I sadly wasn’t experiencing any Costa Rica nostalgia.) I bought some watermelon juice because it’s basically #summer, and we bought empanadas (which did actually remind me a little of my Costa Rica trip) and ice cream! I loved walking through the market, and it completely reminded me of the West Side Market. The food being sold was naturally a little different, but the feeling was the same and I loved looking at all the really appetizing looking food. I kept my distance from the seafood section, because wow, did it smell like seafood.

After we bopped around Las Ramblas for a little while and went in a few shops (and bought some souvenirs), we headed to La Sagrada Familia. We didn’t dance around it but we did explore the whole thing and it was breathtaking. The peaks were so high it was impossible to get the whole church in one picture, and if you were up close you had to break your neck just to see whole whole thing. It’s seriously massive, and the interior was just as amazing as the exterior. It was unlike any church I had ever seen, and I’m honestly still amazed with the architecture. There were stained glass windows on the walls of all different colors, and the setting sun illumated the church in a warm orange and red glow. It was beautiful and impressive and unlike honestly anything I’d ever seen. It was designed by Gaudí, who also designed Park Güell, so it was cool to see his work twice in one day!

That night we went back to Las Ramblas for dinner, and after awkwardly drinking a pitcher of sangria at a smoker restaurant, we quietly left and found a nicer, smoke-free establishment. I got chicken and veggie paella, and it was amazingly delicious! That night was rough, I won’t lie, because the 22-days had caught up with me and I could not keep my eyes open. The rest of the group wanted to go dancing that night, and I wanted to join them, but we made the collective decision to send me home because I was honestly falling in and out of consciousness. So two of us went back the Airbnb and slept like rocks. Like actual rocks. It was a good decision, for sure, because the next day I could actually hold my head up at meals!! (Who’d’ve thought sleep could be effective??)

The next day was our BEACH DAY. And it was the best day, not that I’m surprised (there’s a reason “beach day, best day” was my Friday motto over the summer). We started the day with brunch at the most Insta-worthy joint, called Brunch and Cake. Seriously, look this place up and tell me it’s not the most Insta-worthy looking food you’ve every seen. So Insta-worthy we didn’t even feel bad about taking an insane amount of pictures of our food before we started eating. I got a house made pumpkin burger with sweet potatoes, cheese, strawberry, hummus, and greens on a handcrafted pretzel. To drink, a smoothie with banana, coconut milk, raw cocoa, almond butter, dates, and vegan protein. So good.

We got our brunch so we needed our cake, and when we went to ask how much the cupcakes were, they gave us one for free! They’re apparently supposed to be one per table, but we got more than one per table ;). We saved them for a beach snack and made our way to Barceloneta Beach! The beach itself was pretty crowded, but after buying a tapestry to sit on (after bargaining for it, like I’m gonna pay 20 euros for that) we found a spot and sat for a few hours. It was too cold to go swimming, but that didn’t stop Hannah and I from running into the surf! It was actually so cold my legs felt like pins and needles for the next twenty minutes… but it was worth it. It was windy but sunny and warm and it was so nice to lay and soak up the sun. It was the perfect day to end spring break, completely relaxing.

I found out later that my (second) favorite skier, Joss Christensen, was at Barceloneta on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. And I didn’t see him! He must’ve been sitting less than 50 yards from me, but it’s fine, at least I can say now that I was there at the same time he was!!! (Not quite as exciting, but I’ll take it.)

That night we went to our final dinner, and surprise, we got tapas and paella! It was delicious, as always, and we ended the day with some funky ice cream from next door.

The next morning we boarded our flight at 06:35, and made it back safe and sound to our Rome home. Just like that, spring break was over.

What a trip!

Szeretettel, avec amour, con amor,

Ally

PS – this is such a long post and if you got through the whole thing, you are amazing.

PPS – I promise I’ve been looking for stamps to send postcards and letters, but Italian mail is one thing I haven’t yet mastered…

INTERLAKEN (aka my favorite place)

Guten Tag!

Ich soll Deutsch sprechen, weil ich einem Deutsches Land besuchen!

(I apologize for my terrible grammar.)

(Me, excited to feel like a part of this place, because of my snow pants, ski jacket, and backpacking backpack. I fit in there!)

This weekend I went to Interlaken. It was a perfect three days of winter, which I miss so dearly. The trip began with our late-night flight to Zürich! We wanted to arrive in Interlaken in the daylight, so we booked an Airbnb for the night. We walked around a bit in an attempt to find a fun place to spend an hour or two that evening, but it was a Thursday night so everything was closed… and we ended up going back and watching the Olympics in German. The next morning was exciting, because we took a train to Lucerne, then a GoldenPass Panoramic train from Lucerne to Interlaken. Words don’t do the scenery justice, and as we passed by alpine cities like Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, all four of us just kind of sat with our eyes fixed out the windows, hands poised to take the next picture. It was two hours of passing through the most amazing sights, the best part of which was definitely traveling past Lake Brienz.

Once we got to Interlaken West, it was a 30 minute walk through the town to our Airbnb. We checked-in, dropped our insanely heavy backpacks off, and left to explore all Interlaken had to offer. We walked down Höheweg and went into just about every shop we passed. Which was a whole lot of shops. There were music boxes, chocolates, and Swiss-themed everything in every store. I’m not much of a tchotchke person, but I did purchase a hat! It doesn’t have anything to do with Interlaken, but if anyone asks me where I got it, it’ll be exciting to say Switzerland! It was also a little bit necessary, considering we spent the entire weekend in below-freezing temps. We got hot chocolate from the Funky Chocolate Club, which was amazingly delicious (#chocolatewasted)!!!

That night we decided to make our own dinner (yay for saving money) and we bought pasta (because obviously we haven’t eaten enough pasta since arriving in Italy)!!

The next day was 100%, without a doubt, my absolute favorite day. My plan for the trip was to eventually go skiing, but I really didn’t think I’d get to because none of my travel companions wanted to ski. But they were so supportive of my need to ski, so we decided we didn’t have to stay together and I could venture by myself (!!) to a mountain somewhere while they explored the town of Grindelwald. It was a win-win for everyone, because Grindelwald is a beautiful place! So, we took the train to Grindelwald with our Jungfrau Region passes, I went to the first rental place I saw, rented some gear (Head boots and Dynastar skis if you’re wondering), and walked outside, feeling like I could conquer any mountain.

I left my friends to exploring Grindelwald, and I hopped on the ski bus to the gondolas. I was alone for the first time, which was a little intimidating (and slightly different than taking the metro alone in Rome) but I was surrounded by other people with skis so I was pretty sure I was going in the right direction. We got off not five minutes later, and I followed the herd to a long line of gear-clad ski-hopefuls. I stood in line behind two English-speaking guys, and I tried my darnedest to get in a gondola with them so I knew there was the option to ask them questions about where the gondola was actually going. The ride up the mountain was about 15-20 minutes, and my jaw didn’t un-drop until I was off the lift.

I skied all around the left side of the region, and it was crazy when every time I went around a corned a new mountain came into view. I only skied for a few hours, but I had enough time to find some favorite runs and figure out how to use those t-bar lifts. It was really embarrassing when I first attempted to do so, because I didn’t grab it in time and I lost my balance. So I fell over in front of a whole mass of people and I was too embarrassed to try again so I went under the rope and hopped on the good old-fashioned chairlift. Honestly, don’t ask me why it was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me, but it was. I did eventually figure them out, though, after finding myself trapped at the bottom of a run (which turned out to be my favorite) with a t-bar providing the only exit. I was determined to not make a fool of myself again, so I mustered up some courage and planted my butt on that bar. And it stayed there! An older guy had joined me this time, and I got to practice my German! He said something I recognized as Deutsch, and I responded “Ich spreche Englisch”. So, I guess you could say I’m pretty much fluent. He also spoke English, just like everybody else in Switzerland, so I told him about how I’m studying abroad in Rome and he told me about how he loves living an hour from Grindelwald (#goals). I heard about his life and I told him about the super tiny resort I work at. I love the German language, but it was refreshing to have a conversation in English, considering the entire morning I had been surrounded by a language I don’t totally understand.

There was a cliff walk on one of the trails, which consisted of a narrow metal pathway built into the side of a very steep peak. I am not afraid of heights; I never have been, and imo, height makes any situation better. As a person who is very vocal about my love for jumping off of things, I have a reputation to uphold. But this thing was super scary and my ski boots didn’t make it any easier. However, I mustered up some courage, and walked all the way to the very edge. The view from the trail was incredible, and absolutely worth every shaky step!

I really enjoyed spending the morning by myself, exploring the Grindelwald ski area, and hearing everyone around me speak German. That had to be one of my favorite aspects of this weekend, and because of my extensive (not really) education of the German language, I did actually understand a bunch of stuff around me. Signs were easy, conversations not so much. If anything, this weekend made me realize how much I want to be fluent in German. And how much I want to live in Europe.

We met back up later that day to try and take the train up to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe. That ended up being really super very expensive, so instead we took the train to each little town in the Jungfrau Region. We got off the train to explore at Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen, both so charming in their own way and both filled my heart with so much glee! As we passed by the residential/cottage area of Wengen, we saw people casually skiing though the narrows streets, which is the coolest thing!!! This trip seriously made me want to drop everything and ski across Europe…

By the time we took the train back from Grindelwald, it was really late and we decided to grocery shop for another homemade dinner (still wondering: is Coop pronounced like chicken coop or co-op?) We fell asleep almost as soon as we got back, because exploring an entire region of Switzerland really takes it out of ya.

Sunday morning was more relaxed for me (I ended up not going paragliding because there were only three spots left) so while my three buddies jumped off a mountain I took my time walking through Interlaken and saw the sights for myself. It was more than just a sightseeing trip for me, because my parents spent time here in their newlywed days! It was so cool to see where they stayed and hear about what they did, and then see all the same things and go to the same places! I found a place to eat at the Hüri Bierhaus, had some goulash, and continued my travels. It turns out that I really love solo traveling, even just for a morning. Our train left around midday, so when they landed back on Earth we headed for the train station. The ride back to Lucerne was even better than the ride there!

I wrote a little blurb while on said train ride (to try and not be a procrastinator, it happened anyway):

I’m currently sitting on the Interlaken-Luzern express, and we’re passing by Brienz Lake again. The water is that kind of blue that looks unreal, almost too blue, and lined with the tallest mountains I’ve ever seen. The snow-covered ground peeks through the trees on the mountainside, and though the peaks are hidden behind clouds, there’s an occasional peak that shows it’s face in the sunlight. I’m no descriptive writer, but I really wish I could detail every little aspect of my view. Everything is so beautiful and perfect and amazing. It’s snowing, and I’m pretty sure I can hear Edelweiss playing softly in the background (or that might be my imagination, probably the latter).

I’m leaving Interlaken, which is sad, but I don’t feel like it’s a final goodbye. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but I’m pretty sure I’m going back. This place is a dream, how could I not?

A few more fun things because it’s been several days since I returned from Switzerland: We had a snow day! It was the first snow the city’s seen in six years, and I felt pretty special to experience it. I built a snowman on the lawn, I made a snow angel, and I played in the snow like a child on Christmas. I love snow!!! You guys have no idea how excited I was to have a few days of winter here. Also, it’s a pretty neat thing to see snow-covered palm trees outside your window.

(Don’t ask why he’s made of four snowballs, none of us are sure.)

I also got to have cappuccinos after mass with Professor Lev and her husband again! She is seriously my favorite person. I really love going to the different Lenten station churches on Wednesday morning, and seeing the churches as they should be: alive and filled with people. We saw the crypt of St. Cecilia, admired the beautiful mosaic (I love being so #educated about Christian art) and got to experience another English mass. The liturgy included the two prayers that I (kinda) know in ASL, so that was fun to (kinda) sign them! It’s also a great feeling being up before everyone else and seeing the city wake up. And spending a full morning out and about before anyone’s even woken up on campus!

The Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, bright and early yesterday morning. Santa Cecilia is the station for Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent. Fun fact: its apse mosaic is strikingly similar to the mosaic in Santa Prassede, as both were commissioned by Pope St. Paschal! This gets confusing when you have to know both for the Christian Art final.

Spring break starts with our flight to Budapest tonight, and after Hungary we’ve got Paris and Barcelona planned. Stay tuned for those adventures! I also have papers due the week I get back, for three of my classes. One on refugee education, one on Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and one on St. Paul (or as the Protestants like to call him, Paul). It should be an exciting two weeks!

If you’re wondering what song has been playing in my head since last Thursday:

Con amore e tanti abbracchi,

Ally