*** this blog post probably will switch between tenses multiple times as it is a collection of memories which tend to be in past tense and excerpts of my journal which I usually write in present tense. sorry. Also its long... sorry, but I hope you enjoy it.
One of the best parts of MUDEC is that Miami recognizes that importance of travel, immersing yourself in the culture and taking advantage of being in Europe. Therefore two of our classes have week long "field trips" built into them. I traveled to Italy with my music class which was an interesting combination of band trip, meets college, meets the European tour bus trips. We are taking a study tour of northern Italy focusing on three main Italian opera composers, we met our class in Pesaro Italy on Wednesday morning which meant that we first had a five day weekend in Italy.
Friday January 28 Flying to Venice Italy
Packing Thursday evening was extremely difficult, my hiking backpack is deceptively small and we are in the awkward in between seasons when you need a range of clothes in a variety of layers (not to mention I am packing for ten days). Jazzy told me that we were taking the 2:30 train to Luxembourg City which meant that I would have almost an hour and a half after class to finish packing so I didn't completely finish figuring it would be better to be well rested during my marathon business class on Friday.
I actually managed to wake up when I set my alarm on Friday morning which meant that I had time to go to the crazy baker (this is Kat's host family and the best baker in town, he is also on a Luxembourg cooking show so he is kind of the Luxembourgish Duff Goldman). I treated myself to an amazing Nutella Croissant and very strong cup of coffee. As I was walking to school very content with my delicious breakfast I was stopped at the railroad crossing where I had to wait for a freight train of steel beams which were leaving the factory to pass. If you ask any Luxembourg citizen they will proudly tell you that the Differdange steel factory is one of the main steel producers for the Freedom Tower in New York city. There is know way of knowing if the train passing me in the early morning is headed to New York, however it is cool to imagine that some day in the future when standing on the observation deck of the freedom tower that some of the beams beneath me passed me on a freight train halfway around the world on a cold January morning. I also found it strangely erie considering the images of twisted steel that are burned into the collective memory of our generation.
I managed to survive my two extremely long classes pretty well this week -- probably the coffee with an insanely high caffeine content was the contributing factor. The only problem however was that Jasmine let me know that she had told me the wrong time yesterday and that we actually had to take the 1:49 train, which meant that I had to catch the 1:20 bus to Differdange which meant that I had to catch the 12:39 bus home in order to finish packing, the only problem is that my business class goes till 12:30. My professor also decided to make my life interesting and our business class ran over (signifigantly) I finally decided that I had to leave class at 12:37 otherwise I wasn't going to Italy with any luggage or I wasn't going to Italy. In a crazy packing binge I managed to stuff as much as I could into my bag and make the 1:20 bus! Which meant that I was officially on my way to ITALY!!!!!!!
I am traveling with Jasmine, Nicole (my two friends and roommates from home) Craig, Josh and Catherine who I just met in Luxembourg and who are all really nice. We flew from Brussels to Venice Friday evening on Ryan Air. Ryan Air is a budget airline in Europe, that offers ridiculously low ticket prices (sometimes around 20 euros but mostly around 45 euros). I honestly have no idea of how they actually make a profit or sustain a businesses. They operate mainly out of old WWII airfields - so we were anticipating a really sketchy airport (the kind where the man checking the bags also is running security and then goes out and holds the glow sticks) Craig even jokingly anticipated that we would still be able to see the nazi insignia on the runway. In order to get to the airport which is actually not really near Brussels we had to take the Flibco Bus which operates from main train stations to Ryan Air airports. Meeting up with everyone at "La Gare" (The central Luxembourg City train station la gare literally means train station in French, very original) was really funny. The two boys are sharing a small suitcase and each have their school back packs, the girls all have stuffed hiking backpacks and very full school bags. The bus ride to Belgium was about 2 1/2 hours and very relaxing (we all slept) we were therefore shocked when we got to the airport and discovered that it was one of the nicest and modern airports that I have ever flown out of... absolutely beautiful.
After a very short, uneventful fight to Italy we arrived in Venice about an hour and a half late (Nicole and I officially proved that my bad luck with fights cancels out her good luck) at 9:30 pm. It is just crazy to think that I just hoped onto a plane and am now in Italy. We had to then take a bus from the airport to the main part of the city (can we tell that public transportation and I are now best friends). When we arrived in Venice (or as close as a car could get us) Nicole decided to ask the bus driver for directions (we had printed some off from mapquest and google maps but they were absolutely confusing. The bus driver was extremely nice and pointed us in the right way. Our hotel was relatively easy to find (considering it is venice and dark) and right next to the train station. After checking into our amazing nice Hotel considering it was only 21 euros per person and included breakfast we decided we better go find some dinner before everything closed as it was now nearly midnight. We found a cute looking restaurant / pizzeria that was relatively well priced and still opened. Were I had my first pizza of Italy which was absolutely amazing. We then all headed back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep as we were going to have a busy Saturday touring Venice before leaving.
Saturday January 29th, Venice Italy
Traveling to Rome
We woke up early 6:30 am Saturday morning... which meant that our friends in Oxford were just beginning their Friday night festivities wow how have our weekends changed! It was unfortunately a little overcast this morning but relatively warm (given its almost February). After a great breakfast we headed to the train station to buy our tickets to Rome. Much to our disappointment we discovered that the evening train was nearly 100 euros while the early afternoon train was only 47 euros. Also the ticket agent kept talking about a strike that evening with the rail road workers (not sure if that actually was true/ happened) regardless we decided that we needed to take the 1:10 train to Rome which unfortunately meant that we had only a couple hours in Venice.
We left the train station and subsequently spent our time speed sight seeing around Venice. Venice is a collection of extremely complicated and meandering narrow streets (which are more akin to alleys). What convinced people several centuries ago that building a city basically on hundreds of tiny islands was a good idea is beyond me (although it does make an excellent tourist destination in the 21st century). Venice was also a very extremely interesting and kind of erie city, while in every way the city is thriving thanks to tourism it also kind of seemed like it was dying, or past its prime. The bottoms of buildings were black - the side effect of centuries of flooding the paint on buildings once brightly colored was now faded and peeling. It was an interesting and almost beautiful juxtaposition to the romantic canals with gondolas floating peacefully down them.
Some things that actually surprised me about Venice were: All the streets are more like narrow allies squeezed between two buildings, which make you continually question whether you have accidently wandered down the sketchy ally. I knew that there weren't cars in Venice - obviously no room but it is still amazing. Even at Miami and Notre Dame which are largely all walking campuses you still see a school vehicle parked on the grass somewhere or in ND moving all of Carolyn's stuff into Howard. I also never considered how they get everything into Venice that they need without cars - hand carts, boats and carrying. I saw a little DHL boat (I thought that it was very innovative and unique). There are actually gondola men (is there a correct term?) and they actually wear the black and white stripped shirts (which were actually coats as it was 37 or 40 degrees which I don't know if it is actually true I absolutely fail at Celsius which could also have been why I had such a difficult time packing for Italy).
The streets of Venice are absolutely confusing - it is said that even life time locals can get lost and confused. I will give Craig credit he attempted to find our way using a free map from the Hotel and the compass on his iPhone .... we eventually gave up (I am not even sure if the map was correct). There really aren't street names (or if there are they aren't clearly displayed) instead there are signs that point you how to get to St. Mark's square or the Train Station. Although I am pretty sure that they take you on a meandering path past the maximum number of tourist shops (also I don't know what would stop a shop owner from putting up a sign pointing you towards their store by using a "sign"). We took our time meandering through city stopping along the way to buy post cards and look at things in shop windows we saw a 6500 euro fur coat how do you even wear that somewhere???? The streets of Venice are the type of place that you need to get lost and simply meander through for several hours. We eventually found our way to St. Marks Square which is a large open square with St. Mark's Basilica dominating on one side of the square. It was hard to gain an accurate feeling for the square as the majority of the buildings in the square are currently under significant restoration projects, however the size the square was large and I can only imagine what it is like during the summer.
We decided to go into St. Mark's Basilica which I am so happy that we did, we were able to climb to top where we had a nice view of the square, grand canal and other parts of the city. The cathedral was completed in 1094 and is a mix of Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic architecture. Inside the cathedral there was an extensive museum of components of the cathedral collected over the last millennium which I was really impressed with. The best part of the church was that there was a service going on (I don't think it was open to the public it was just nuns, priest and other members of the clergy celebrating mass. At one point you could peer over a balcony and see the mass. It was really moving, all the nuns were holding large candles (maybe it was a funeral) and it was absolutely beautiful. Even though the service was in Italian (it may of been Latin but it sound Italiaish) I was still able to tell what part of the mass they were in and it had the same cadence and rhythm as at home. It was the first time that the size, and collective support of the catholic church was instilled upon me, something that will only be reiterated when we go to the Vatican.
After the cathedral we wandered around the square and along the canal, Catherine and Jasmine were even brave enough to feed the pigeons which was a great source of entertainment. We unfortunately had to leave shortly before noon as we were afraid that if we got lost in the maze of streets we might miss our train which would be bad! We picked up our bags at the hotel, had a quick lunch which was a delicious panini of prosciutto and mozzarella before we headed to the train station. It was a really quick trip to Venice and I felt really rushed, however Venice was a bonus, we were originally not planning on going to Venice and were going to go directly to Rome however flights into Venice were nearly a 100 euro cheaper so thats why we went. (I also may get back to Venice during Spring Break when I am planning on going to Southern Italy, Florence and possibly Venice).
The train ride from Venice to Rome is about 6 hours which is half the time that it takes us to get to Ohio. We were really excited when we got onto the train as we had a Harry Potter compartment which was really nice and definitely made the train ride more enjoyable as all 6 of us were together and we didn't have to worry about disturbing other people if we wanted to talk or play music etc. The train ride was very enjoyable as we slept, wrote / "did homework", and ate our weight in gummy bears as we enjoyed the scenic train ride. The only problem with the train ride was that we went through a lot of tunnels and our ears were constantly popping and it actually became quiet painful at some points. The funniest part of the journey was at some point Craig and Catherine thought that opening the window would be nice -- we quickly decided that it wasn't the only problem was that we couldn't manage to close the window....
We arrived in Rome around 7 pm at the main train station in Rome which is Rome Termini. It is crazy to consider that I am hopping on and off trains around Italy and that I am in ROME!! Our hostel was a short 5 minute walk from the train station and thanks to Nicole's "mommy folder" and map questing we made it there with no problems. When we arrived at the hostel however we discovered that they had messed up our reservation and didn't have a room with six open beds, so that we could all be together and wouldn't have to be with random strangers. They were very apologetic and gave us a free drink at the bar and said that they would try to move us the following morning. We went to the bar for our free drink - which they made way too strong, I think that they were trying to get us drunk so that we wouldn't be mad at them - and thus we began our first true hostel experience in europe. Catherine, Jasmine and I were all together and were sharing our room with two sisters and their friend who were from Chile. Jasmine made quick friends talking about the rescued miners, and Catherine who is almost fluent in Spanish was excited to finally be able to communicate with someone. We then headed out to get some dinner, we found a great little pizzeria and we had more pizza (by the end of this trip I will have eaten my weight in pizza, unfortunately it is really the only food that we can afford and we are saving for one great meal of homemade pasta but other than that I see a lot of pizza in my future). After dinner we met up with two girls from Australia that we had met at the hostel and we went out to explore the city. The highlights of the night were getting caught in a torrential rain (seriously it was communion rain.. fitting as I am in Rome) and finding a place that was selling desert Nutella Pizzas which was amazing and only 2 euros for half a pizza so I might actually end up eating my weight in Nutella Pizza this week. We returned to the Hostel - soaking wet and we decided our next day.
Sunday January 30th Rome, Italy
Ancient Rome
I survived my first night in a hostel with random roommates without being killed! We had planned on meeting at 8:40 so that wold leave and eat breakfast by 9 am. We were actually delayed as the hostel had an open room that meant that all six of us could be in a room with no one else -- if we moved all of our stuff immediately. After dragging all of our stuff down six flights of steps to the lobby and than back up to the 7th floor we probably could of used another free drink. After situating ourselves in the new room we embarked on our Roman adventure.
We had decided the night before that we would go to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, all the old ancient parts of Rome. Even though the Vatican offers free admission on the 4th Sunday of the month we decided that we didn't want to be rushed (it is only opened from 9:30 to 12:30) and decided that we would pay the 15 euros and go on Monday. I figure that after all the expenses and time to get to Rome that I don't need to be running through the Vatican to save 15 euros -- I also don't know if it will be the only time in my life that I have an opportunity to go.
We headed back to the train station to catch a subway to the Colosseum. Being in the subway station was great as it reminded me of being home in the hustle and bustle of New York. We did an amazing job navigating the subway (and by amazing I mean Nicole and me who are comfortable with navigating mass transit and Craig who is actually quiet good with navigating with his iphone compass) all and all I think we did much better than New York tourists do. When we exited the subway station we were literally right in front of the colosseum. It is incredible that it is right there (maybe only a 1000 feet) it was as if time had stood still in that spot for the last two millennium while everything else around it has hurtled into the twenty first century. Immediately after leaving the metro station people descend upon you and attempt to sell you tickets and tours (they aren't really authorized tour guides though) which is at first overwhelming but also annoying. We decided that we wanted to purchase the audio tour... I wanted to not only see the colosseum but to also understand the history and all the fun facts (unfortunately my high school art history is very rusty considering it has been shoved to the recesses of my brain and buried under the three years of useless knowledge -- BLS --- that I have accumulated since I took the class).
it is amazing how I can study something dozens of time, see countless pictures and movie references and yet still be absolutely amazed and flabbergasted when seeing it in person. The best part was that during our subway journey the clouds had completely cleared and were instead replaced with bright blue skies with a couple puffy white clouds - postcard weather. We explored the Colosseum for nearly two hours - as Catherine kept saying she wasn't sure if it was gross/ morbid considering what has happened in the colosseum throughout its history or the fact that we payed 16 euros to see it. I absolutely loved the Colosseum (it is currently number 1 of things I loved in Europe)
After the colosseum we headed up the hill to the Roman Forum. Rome reminded me a lot of Disney World its sunny, really green, palm trees, we are walking down a really wide cobble stone street and as it is Sunday there is practically no traffic so the mass of tourists are spilling into the street. Lining the sidewalks are all types of carts selling souvenirs, food, ice cream, playing music.... Disney World.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the Roman Forum, I have always had a difficult time understanding/ imagining the forum and I'll admit that even after being there that I can't clearly picture what it was like at the height of the Roman empire. What id did impress on me was the size and number of people that lived in the city. Secondly the ingenuity and how advanced the society way. I remember reading the Magic Tree house books when I was younger... I wish that I could go back to see Rome 2,000 years ago how would it differ, how would it be similar to today. Similarly what will people vacationing 2000 years from now think as they walk through the ruins of our society?
After the forum we continued exploring and took a trip through my art history text book - Trajen's Column, the Arch of Constantine. We then decided that we wanted to go to the catacombs. A surprisingly very nice woman working at the ticket counter for the Roman Forum told us that we had to take city bus 118 (Just another way to emphasize how tiny Luxembourg is the entire country runs on one bus system that has 26 busses that together cover just about the entire country, the city of Rome has at least 118). She told us where we had to walk to in order to catch the bus... Craig was really excited because it was apparently along a 4000 year old road and leads to a famous portion of the city wall. What the woman forgot to mention was that the bus stop was about 2 1/2 miles away! After we were nearly killed trying to 8 lanes of traffic (and to think last weekend I refused to cross 4 lanes of traffic in Germany). It started to become increasingly less toursity and Craig's really old road was absolutely beautiful. The gate was incredible but it was a hell of a walk get to it, however we all pretended to be amazed and excited as Craig was all about the gate and the wall. (Traveling with 5 other people for ten days, and doing basically everything together is kind of being in a 6 person marriage, at some point you have to smile and pretend that you are loving what they are because at some point the tables are going to be switched).
While we didn't make it to the catacombs (I don't think bus 118 runs on the weekends) the adventure was actually a lot of fun. During our walk home we stopped and had gelato (my diet in Italy has consisted of Pizza and Gelato... I have the top and bottom of the food pyramid covered its just everything else in the middle that I am lacking. For dinner we planned on meeting up with Marisa who is one of Jazzy's friends from Miami who is studying this semester in Rome and hence makes are almost a local in comparison to us. We braved the Roman bus system and were partially successful this time however we assumed that you paid your bus fare when getting onto the bus but apparently you have to by tickets from connivence stores (how were we suppose to know that) and if we had been caught it would have been a 200 euro fine. We met up with Marisa who then led us through the winding maze of streets to a really cool part of Rome. It had an amazing vibe and feel. We stopped at what looked like a tiny restaurant, the kind that you wouldn't necessarily notice but was charming in its own way. The food was absolutely amazing, I chose to have Veal Saltanbocca which was so good (sorry Cafe Piaza)
After dinner we decide dot take advantage of having a personal tour guide and go exploring the city. Marisa first took us to the Pantheon we then continued, first stopping at Marisa's favorite place for Gelato and I'll admit significantly better than the one we had earlier in the day. Eating gelato, meandering through the streets of Rome on a beautiful and warm evening is honestly one of the best things that we could have done. The best part however was that we ended up at the Trevi Fountain which was magical, especially in the evening with the fountain beautiful illuminated and the water cascading down the elaborate and intricate foutain. After taking about a million pictures we all threw money into the fountain. 3 coins over the left shoulders apparently brings you love. Marisa said that they collect over 3000 euros a day from the fountain and donate it to charity - thats a lot of wishes.
Exhausted we headed back to the hostel (this time we bought bus tickets as we didn't want to use up or "Trevi Wish" by avoiding the Roman bus ticket monitor). When we got back we went straigt to bed.. not joke we were all upstairs and in bed by 11:40.
Monday January 31st Rome, Italy
The Vatican
To say that I woke up sore would be the understatement of the year (seriously Mom and Dad how did you manage to do Disney World for a week?) We had to get an early start in order to get to see everything in the Vatican in one day. We grabbed breakfast at a little bakery and then headed back to the subway station again.
It was by far the best weather that we have had in Europe, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, crisp blue skies with warm sun and nearly 55 degrees. I even wore just a heavy sweater figuring I would survive without a jacket. The wall which separating Rome from Vatican City is actually nothing amazing and looks just like another old brick wall. However when you walk through you enter into an amazing square. The white marble glistened everywhere in the dazzling morning sunlight. The Square is almost entirely encircled with small section open and looking out at the city. As we were settling down to enjoy the view I pulled out my chocolate croissant which I had transported halfway across the city, the only problem was that I accidently dropped it and it fell to the ground. I contemplated claiming the 10 second rule, I mean the ground is "holy" what is the worst that can happen, but I ultimately chose not to eat it.
We then proceeded to get in line for St. Peters, continuing with the whole Disney World-esque feel there were the serpentine lines set up were during peak months you would inevitably for an hour but the security wasn't that bad and we got through in under 5 minutes. My favorite part of Rome was standing on top of the steps of St. Peters overlooking the entire square, the city and even mountains in the distance. It was entirely surreal to be standing at the Vatican - it was really the first time that it hit me where I was standing, the significance of the place.
I can't begin to properly explain St. Peters, it was absolutely beautiful, ornate and detailed. Everywhere you looked there was another amazing statue or detail and also unlike other cathedrals that I have visited that seem almost cluttered and mismatched with centuries of additions everything worked and fit seamlessly together. My two favorite parts were Michelangelo's Pieta. I can't even begin to comprehend his skill and talent as this particular statue was competed when he was only 25. The massive stone statue was so lifeline with grace, beauty and vivid expressions of pain and anguish. I also loved the dome of St. Peter's its size and grace where what impressed me the most.
We explored St. Peters for over an our. Unlike other cathedrals that I have visited so far in Europe tat feel like they are no longer in use, empty shells of their original purpose St. peters was the exact opposite. I even sat down for several minutes and prayed and reflected. After St. Peters we grabbed a quick lunch as we weren't sure how long it would take use to go through the vatican museum and we didn't want to be rushed. Now, if I could offer some advice with my newly acquired travel gent skills - don't go to Rome in the summer the crowds and lines while be annoying and time consuming will mostly take away from the overall experience and impact of the city.
We were able to get into the museum for only 8 euro saving 7 euro with our school ids. I then used the 7 euro t purchase an audio guide which I strongly believe are necessarily (unless you can bring Mr. Chemile with you). Now i am not a huge museum fan but its hard not to love the Vatican museum. My favorite artists by far was Raphael - it was his use of color and the detailed expressions that differentiated his work - my favorite was The Transfiguration. Just like Disney World every part of the Museum empties to the Sistine Chapel so that it is your final thing to see before leaving. Nicole loved the Sistine Chapel because when she went to the Vatican with her family during the summer the guards continually move people through the chapel - Nicole described it as a conveyor belt and she had at most 3 minutes. On the contrary we were not rushed and we were able to sit down for nearly a half an hour. I am not sure if the chapel was my favorite pice of art and I was actually more impressed with the Pieta however its hard not to be impressed by the Sistine chapel or fail to recognize and appreciate its significance.
I could of spent more time in the Vatican, however we had plans to meet up with Marisa in St. Peter's Square (no big deal). She then took us on a walking tour of the city to all of her favorite places. We went to a beautiful park, meandered through the streets in the shopping district. While we were at the Spanish steps we saw an actual photo shoot taking place... I didn't see Tyara Banks so I don't think that its Americas Next Top Model but it was still cool. We then attempted to find a "dive" pizzeria that Nicole had eaten at five years earlier with her family and claimed it was the best pizza that she ever had in her life. The only problem was that we didn't know the name and only had a general idea of where it was. Miraculously we found it... it was a mom and pop shop where ingredient was extremely fresh.
While eating dinner we were children and ended up drawing on the paper table cloth... and ended up making a list of the highlights from the trip. These are the types of moments that I never want to forget. While I hope to return to Italy in the future either with my family or with my own family in the future, these are the types of experiences that you can only have at 21 - traveling with a giant pea green backpack and 5 friends from college. We unfortunately had to leave the following afternoon in order to meet up with our class, and I am sad to be leaving Rome as I am absolutely in love.
Tuesday February 1, Rome Italy
Traveling to Pesaro
We woke up early again as we had a final couple places that we wanted to see before we had to leave. We went to the Pantheon which is notable for its early use of concrete and massive unsupported dome. The pantheon was really cool - but not that beautiful. I however did enjoy the Pantheon as it is where Raphael is buried. As we had a little time left we went back to the Trevi Fountain in order to see it during the day, and also went back to the Colosseum. We then headed back to the hostel for one final time to pick up our bags before our 1:58 train to Pesaro. We had a couple minutes to kill in the hostel and everyone decided to take advantage of the last minutes of free wi-fi. I was originally planning on not checking my email/facebook/the internet (with the exception of emailing mom to let her know what city i am in) I personally think that being too connected can deter from the experience. I however was board and decided to check my email - as I scanned my emails I immediately saw on Nielsen e sent from the previous day. As I started to read the email to sounded like a rejection email but it was actually an offer. I literally screamed.... I was so incredibly happy. If all I had to do was go to the Vatican I would have gone moths ago. After calling Mom and Dad at home (and probably giving them a heart attack as it was only 6:20 in the morning at home) we headed to the train station.
It was sad to leave Rome -- It was absolutely amazing filled with incredible sights, world famous art, amazing food, great friends and an amazing sense of relief. My memories of Rome will always have a special place in my heart. And yet our trip in Italy is only half over -- let the fun begin!!!!!
Sorry that I didn't upload more photos I am literally running out the door to catch a train to go to Spain. It takes about 5 minutes per picture to upload and I just ran out of time. The best are on Facebook. I will add some more when I get back.
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