Ireland Pics!

Tara and I in front of the Dublin Castle

Patty Power!

Front Entrance

Snow

If your lucky enough to be Irish, then your lucky enough

I arrived into Dublin late Wednesday night and as I walked down the steps of the RyanAir plane I was greeted by the cold brisk weather.  I stayed at Abigail’s Hostel and the location was great.  It was really central, overlooking the Liffey River and directly across from O’Connell Bridge.  A fun fact that I found out is that O’Connell bridge was built by the same people that built the Titanic and some Irish people have superstitions and will cross the river via another bridge.  The very first night, I came to find that Dublin was beautifully decorated for Christmas.  In the middle of O’Connell street there was a massive Christmas tree beautifully decorated with lights that would flicker slowly between blue, green, and red.  There was tinsel and banters from one store to another with Christmas trees, stars and crosses decorated along them.  I instantly began to feel the Christmas spirit.  It also made be realize that the Vatican is seriously lagging.  Where is their Christmas tree?  They should have it up by now and as I returned home on Sunday night there was still no sign of a Christmas tree in Saint Peters Square. 

I instantly felt apart of the Irish culture and well not to brag but the Irish people loved me with my red hair and the last name of Powers.  The Irish culture was extremely warm and welcoming and their humor is so funny.  For the weekend I decided I was 75% Irish.  Why not?  I can look the part.  In one of the local shops I came across the origin of the last name Power.  Power derives from the Norman suname le Poer, literally meaning ‘the pauper.’  The family came to Ireland with a Strongbow and settles in Waterford, where Power  is still a common name.  Notable member of the family include Tyrone Power.  Power’s is also a famous brand of Irish whiskey.  Power’s was everywhere in all of the pubs.  I took a couple of pictures that I will post later.

On Friday, I took a day walking tour through the city of Dublin.  Our tour guide was hilarious and told us many funny stories about the Irish heritage.  I learned about the Viking Era, the arrival of the Normans, the lordship of Ireland, Gaelic resurgence and the Norman decline, the protestant ascendancy, union with Great Britain, and how it eventually became the republic that it is today.  I found the tragedy of the Easter rising in the middle of the First World War to be the most interesting.    The Easter rising was an insurrection in Ireland during Easter week by Irish Republicans against British rule, members of the Irish volunteers seized key locations around Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic free from Britain, the rising was suppressed after seven days of fighting and its leaders where executed but it succeeded in bringing physical force back to the forefront of Irish politics.  On the tour we visited the Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, the National Library, City Hall, St. Stephens Green, the Ha’Penny Bridge and much more.  One of my favorite parts of the tour was visiting Trinity College and walking around the campus.

I quickly figured out that if I was going to decide to visit another hospital, in another country, too add to my list, it would definitely be because when I crossed the street I looked right first instead of left.  In Ireland they drive on the other side of the street so there was numerous times that I looked the wrong direction and began to cross and then was startled back because a car from my left was zooming by.  It seems like looking left before crossing the street would be an easy habit to break but I def never picked up on it.  I think the city of Dublin was aware of this problem because on busy streets there were big signs that read “look left!”  The city of Dublin itself was very clean and there were many shopping malls on the main street.  My hostel was located in an area known as Temple bar.  This part of town had a little bit smaller cobblestone roads and had even more character.  It reminded me a lot like Trastevere in Rome.  One of my favorite parts of Ireland was the mere fact that they speak English.  I feel as if I have almost been muted for the past three months.  Walking though the streets I forgot that I can ask for directions and use my voice again in public.  It was a surprisingly weird thing to get used to.  Dublin is also the home to many famous musical artists and was voted in 2009 as the best city in the world for live music. 

After the tour we stopped at Starbucks and I was happy to see the Christmas cups are out.  I ordered a peppermint hot chocolate.  It was basically like Christmas in my mouth. After that we went to the Guinness factory where we had a tour of the storehouse. The plantation was huge!  Each story had a different theme about the process of how to make the beer and how the company became to be as successful as it is today.  My favorite floor that focused on advertising.  I think the advertising for Guinness is brilliant as I looked ad poster after poster of different slogans and mottos that they use.  I think that they are up there with Apple for some of the greatest and most clever advertising.  The famous advertisement slogan “Guinness is Good For You” is still used around the world.  Though Guinness has now officially on the record as denying this claim some research does support that Guinness is good for your heart.  It was not so long ago in Ireland that pregnant women were told to drink a glass of Guinness every day to fortify themselves and their baby.  The Guinness factory was founded in 1759 in the heart of Dublin at Saint Jams Gate by Sir Arthur Guiness.  In Ireland they now have an entire holiday that is dedicated to him and they call it Arthurs day.  At the top of the storehouse on the eighth story was the gravity bar.  This was one of the highest points in Dublin and there were windows surrounding the entire bar.  Upon arrival into the bar, you receive a free pint of Guiness and if you can pour it yourself.  I was not aware of this but apparently there is a certain art of how to pour.  A “perfect pint” of Draught Guiness is the product of length double pour which according to the company should take 119.53 seconds.  Guiness has promoted this wait with advertising campaigns such as good things come to those who wait.”  It should be served at a perfect 42.8 degrees.  That night for dinner we went to a pub for dinner and I got a yummy thanksgiving dinner.  The way that most places serve is that the meal is already pre-made kind of like buffet style except it is not self serve.  I got Irish beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and bread.

Early Friday morning we headed out of Dublin on a bus to Galway.  We went through a company called Galway Tours.  The bus ride was about 2 and a half hours and most people just slept.  Galway is in northern Ireland and has a population of about 70,000.  It is known to be very young and lively mostly because of that 70,000 people, 20,000 of them are college students.  The only way I know Galway is from the popular song “Galway Bay” that I have heard.  Upon arriving in Galway we hoped right onto another bus that would take us to the country of Clare where the Cliffs of Moher were located.  To get there we drove the coast Galway Bay, and first stopped at the fishing village of Kinvara to see Dunguaire Castle & into The Burren- home to 75% of Ireland's native flora & location of numerous ancient monuments many of which we visit including the Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb, the 5,800 year old Poulnabrone Dolmen and Ballyalban Fairy Fort- home of little men with green hats and orange beards!  We then stopped in Kilfenora to see the famous Celtic Crosses (Irish High Crosses).  After we stopped into the town of the county of Clare to eat lunch at a pub. After, we went to the 200-metre high, 8kms long Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs of Moher is overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs were very beautiful and from across the Galway bay I could see the Aryan Islands.  Since I was on the Atlantic Ocean I waved over to New York City and the east coast of America.  One of my favorite places in San Diego is the La Jolla Cliffs located directly across from my campus and the cliffs of Moher look very similar but with more greenery and granite.  On the way home we went via the Coast Road with views of Connemara & Galway in the distance passing by such famous landmarks as Doolin and the Leprechaun Head.

Even though English is the language you hear most often there is American English and European English and there are a few words that have a different meaning. One of things that I had to get used to was hear someone mention 'crack' they are not arranging a secret drug buy! It is spelled 'craic' and is Irish for friendly banter.  In Ireland when something that is really good it is brilliant or grand.  French fries are 'chips' (except in Burger King and McDonalds) and potato chips are 'crisps'.  If you need to find a restroom ask for the toilets - usually the bathroom is the room in a house where the bath tub resides.  Homes in Ireland do not have yards, they have gardens.

The next day we had a full day in Galway and walked through the streets and the main shopping area.  The town is not very big and I was quickly able to get my groundings.  In the main square there was a Christmas festival going on.  In 1965, the square was officially renamed "Kennedy Memorial Park" in honor of US President John F. Kennedy, who visited here and gave a speech shortly before his assassination in 1963.  Christmas music was playing and there was booth after booth of different local handmade crafts, pastries, and local delicacy.  The best part about it was the Christmas music blasting through the streets. For dinner, in Galway we went to a Mexican restaurant called La Salsa.  It was so delicious and I was ordering by grilled steak burrito and I looked outside and it was snowing!  It was officially the first snow of the winter season here in Galway.  It was so beautiful as soon the ground, tops of cars, and the trees all were covered with just a white little hint.  The snow fell for about 20 minutes right in time for the end of dinner. 

I also explored the town of Claddah.  The area is based on the Irish word "cladach", meaning a stony beach. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from here for millennia. Historically, its existence has been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century. Throughout the centuries, the Claddagh people kept Galway City supplied with fish, which they sold on the square in front of the Spanish Arch. The area has been made popular in the song "Galway Bay", and internationalized through its traditional jewelry, the Claddagh Ring, which is worn by people all over the world.  The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heart, and usually surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown).  When turned the other way, it shows that the wearer is in a relationship, or their heart has been "captured". When worn on the left hand with the heart oriented again away from the wearer, it implies the wearer is engaged; turned the other way, it indicates the wearer is married.

Around the city, listening to by passers, passing newsstands, and hearing the news I could not help but notice the huge recession that is going on and is putting a huge toll on country.  On the news, as I was leaving everyone was crowding around the TV because there was apparently a 85 billion dollar Irish bailout that was just signed.  I have not done much research on the topic and would like to do more.

On Saturday night, I headed back to Dublin for one last night and I had to catch a flight out the next day.  On the way back in the bus I watched a famous Irish movie called Angelo’s Ashes.  The movie was depressing and also controversial as it was supposed to depict the typical life in Limrick.  The last night as I was heading back to my hostel it starting to snow again and the entire city was once again covered in snow.  It snowed all night and in the morning the entire city was covered in white.  It was gorgeous.  I had sometime in the morning to walk around a little bit more and then headed back to Rome that afternoon.  I have had a busy day in the library today and will try to post pictures tonight when I get home or tomorrow!

Forzaaa Roma!!!

Last night I went to a Roma soccer game and it was one of the most fun and best cultural nights I have yet to have in Italy.  Soccer in Italy is more than just a game, it’s a passion.  I have come to realize that Italians like to treat everything with passion from food to wine to cars to fashion.  In my opinion its one of Italy’s best charms.  People are fiercely loyal to their local soccer club, and that loyalty is only put on hold when the Italian national team is playing.

The game was at the Olympic stadium in Rome.  I had to buy tickets prior and I had to present my passport when I received my ticket.  I do not really understand why because they did not even ask for photo id upon entry.  The entire night was quite an experience.  I arrived by bus 46 and as we got off we heard the chanting and singing, a good two blocks from the stadium. Already built the excitement..we arrived to the game about 45 minutes early.  Not until after we bought our tickets did we realize that each ticket had a distinct section on it.  We had originally thought that maybe we could all just get into the same section and they did not check the tickets.  However, when we got to the stadium there were different gates to get all around the stadium each with a different number.  My ticket was gate 22.  Luckily, my good friend Nico also had gate 22 so we were able to push through the crowds and sit together.  Roma playing was Munich, Germany.  We were favored to win and Roma is currently ranked second in the league.  There were a couple of different sections.  Right behind the goal on the Roma side was a huge standing room only section.  The fans were so spirited with many huge Roma flags waving in the air.  Everyone had on the colors.  I was one section over also very crowded but there were a couple of families and a little bit more laid back but still extremely spirited.  I believe that man in front of me will die of lung cancer in 5 years based on how many cigarettes he went through and blew into my face.  The Italian fans were some of the best fans they were  jumping up out of their seats, throwing their hands in the Italian way you picture in stereotypes, and the yelling, it was quite different than any game I've ever been to. Actually, if American games were more like that, it would be way more fun.  I believe the fans would've killed the referees if they were close enough. They booed the Munich players, they chanted sing-song chants at the Munich fans in the next section over, they yelled what I can only imagine were obscenities every time they lost the ball or missed a shot on goal. The fans were more entertaining than the soccer game, that's for sure! I even pretended to be Italian, including booing Inter player #26 because everyone else was, being mad at the refs, and yelling gibberish when we lost the ball. I can't even describe how neat it was to be there. 

So much talk about the fans I almost forgot to mention the score of the game.  The game started out a little rough for Roma, defiantly not playing their best.  About halfway through the first half Germany scored their first goal on a corner kick.  Ten minutes later another goal was scored by Germany (it was beautiful goal to give them props).  As you could imagine, the Roma fans at this point were NOT very happy.  We went into halftime losing 2-0.  The fans did not loose hope as Roma came out on the field ready and hot.  They quickly shot over 5 shots on target within the first 5 minutes.  It finally looked like they had their act together.  It was also cool to see all this action because Roma was now shooting on their home side.  About half way through the half Roma scored their first goal.  When that first goal went in the stadium went crazy!  I could feel the stadium shaking.  Families and friends hugging each other everywhere, dads lifting their kids in the air, sparklers going off, and if you were not best friends with the person standing next to you then you quickly became best friends.  The game starts back up again and 5 minutes later Roma scores another goal!  It was a really cool goal, and the person who scored actually shot the ball on the ground.  Then in the 87^th minute a goalie takes out a Roma soccer player in trying to punch a ball out.  The whistle blows and Roma receives a penalty kick.  We all watch and wait with anticipation.  The ball then hit the left inside goal post and bounces in.  The stadium goes insane.  Roma is now up 3-2.  Three minutes later the game ends and Roma wins after being down two goals at halftime.  Immediately all of the fans take of their towels that they have around their waist (they are like little small rectangles) and they have the Roma flag on them.  They hold them up in the air and in unison began singing the Roma Anthem.  The anthem is actually a very beautiful and prideful song.  Looking around, I saw many men with tears in their eyes from the win.  Needless to say, I walked out of the stadium proud to be living in Rome.

Tonight, I am heading to Dublin, Ireland for Thanksgiving break.  I have been planning Ireland for awhile now because it was one of my top places that I wanted to go.  I have done a great deal of research on what I want to do.  There is so much to be seen in Ireland I wish I had a month but I will take what I can get.  I am also going to be spending a couple of days in Galway.  According to the weather forecast it is supposed to snow two of the days I will be there and the temp is freezing.  Today I bought extra socks and mittens.  I am going to be wearing lots of layers.  So I am ready for the snow (hopefully).  In the words of my eighth grade principle BRING IT ON!

Monday

Yesterday was a rainy, windy day and I spent the entire day in my apartment procrastinating, doing homework, procrastinating a little more, and then doing some more homework haha.  I have a midterm tomorrow in my cognitive psychology class that I am preparing for along with my econ paper.  Some of roommates went to see Harry Potter at an English movie theatre downtown.  I am not a huge Harry Potter fan so I did not go.  Last night for dinner we made homemade meatballs!  The recipe is actually surprisingly easy and did not take long at all.  The trick to making meatballs is breadcrumbs.  I will include the recipe and directions on the bottom.  On the way to school today I bought my ticket for a Roma soccer game.  I embarrassed myself a little by forgetting soccer was called futbol and asked to buy soccer tickets. Opps.  It is student day so a ton of my friends and classmates are going.  Romas colors are maroon red with golden yellow.  The gold symbolizes God in Roman Catholicism while the maroon represents imperial dignity.  Here is the recipe that we used to make meatballs!

Ingredients:

·         1 lb lean ground beef

·         1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

·         1/3 cup water (more or less)

·         1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         1 medium onion

·         garlic

·         salt

·         pepper

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together. Don't add all of the water at one time. Mixture should be moist but not so that the meatballs fall apart.

Shape meatballs to desired size and place on a broiler pan (I wet my hands before shaping each meatball and it helps make a nice meatball.) Broil until outside is slightly brown on one side and then turn and broil the other side. When finished, add to spaghetti sauce and simmer at least 20 minutes.

Mammertime Prison

This morning, Tara and I set our alarm at 9:00 am in order to have a productive day of both sight seeing and studying.  It was raining out but that did not stop our plans to take the number 46 bus to the Mammertime Prison.  We left our apartment ready with rain boots, umbrellas, and singing a combination of “under my umbrella” along with “singing in the rain.”  We had some difficulties finding the prison but that just made the adventure more exciting and it was well worth it because the tour was one of the coolest tours I have yet to do. 

The tour was extremely high tech with an audio guide and a corresponding soundtrack.  Mammertime prison is most famous because it is where Saint Peter was imprisoned before his execution for 9 months.  The prison is 2,500 years old.  We first entered a room where we saw a hole that viewed down to the jail cells.  We were told that this was the hole that they lowered the prisoners down into the cell and then covered it up.  We then took the stairs down to the level of the actual prison floor.  I saw the column to which Peter was chained.  It is said that a miraculous fountain sprang up in this room so that Peter could convert and baptize his fellow inmates.  We saw the hole or “fountain” that to this day still fills with water from the rain.  I then went into this room that was meant to be a virtual jail room.  The walls changed colors and told history about Saint Peter and more facts about the jail.  The virtual jail room made me feel like I was on a ride as it the wall changed from brick to stone and even told a couple stories with actors.  There is now a church on top of the jail cell.  In the church there is an upside-down cross which commemorates Peters upside-down crucifixion.  On the walls near the entry are lists of notable prisoners and they were executed.  For example, strangolati, decapitato, moto per fame (died of hunger).  The sign by the names reads “Here suffered, victorious for the triumph of Christ, these martyr saints.” 

After the tour, Tara and I hoped on a bus and went to our favorite Chinese restaurant right next to the Vatican.  We have only been twice but every time we go it is filled with priests.  I think we found the Vatican priests hotspot!

Dodgeball With Cars?

Now, I do not dare step foot in a car here in Italy but as a bystander on the street I always need to be aware of the cars around because they are definitely not watching out for me!  At first, I found the idea of crossing the street to be a very frustrating experience.  The roads are just plain insane.  Roads in town are very narrow and there are no shoulders (I still don’t understand how more side view mirrors are broken).  It is a regular event to have to stop because a guy in front of you has decided to stop in the middle of the street, park and roll down the window and have a little chat with a friend.  Stop lights?  Those are merely suggestions.  Street Signs? Who needs them?  Everyone knows the names of the streets.  Smog control devices?? You wont find too many here in Italy.  This is readily apparent if you find yourself behind a truck or bus going up hill.  Every freeway has a fee.  The speed limit is basically non-existent.  The fast lane is…well…fast.  Keep right unless you plan on driving over 90 miles an hour.  Above all you have to watch out for the crazy kids on Vespas and mopeds.  My friends and I like to joke around that the Italians have a fatalistic attitude when behind the wheel.  It reminds us of an old Disney cartoon where Goofy (as a mild mannered family man) does a Jeckel and Hyde thing when he gets behind the wheel.  He turns in a fast driving, irritable horn blowing maniac.  All in all a well mannered man may greet you friendly in the street but is most likely to cut you off a couple minutes later on the road!  Driving is probably one of the most obvious cultural different.  I for one will never have to adapt to the insanity that is the Italian ways of the road.

At first I didn't notice the little things that I had become accustomed to be missing.  Well, in some cases they are missing while in others they are simply done a different way.  However, as time went on I became aware of these little differences.   USA I have realized revolves around convenience.  We love convenience is far less convenient than the USA.  Here are some reasons why.  In America there is a little shop you may have heard of...  7-11.  There is one on every corner and they are open all hours of the day and night and on every day of the year.   There are 24-hour super markets and even 24 hour Wal Mart stores.  In Italy, there are no 7-11 stores.  Shops open at 9 am and close at 12 pm.  Then they re-open in the evening between 3 pm and 9 pm.  And if it is Sunday then forget it you should have planned ahead! In Italy air conditioning is a rare thing.  There is no such thing a drive-thru's.  Restaurants open at 8pm in Italy so you must become accustomed to dining late.  I think that I mentioned this in the driving part, but in Italy freeways are not free.  As a matter of fact all freeways are toll roads.  You must stop every so often to pay up.  In the US garbage disposals and dishwashers are everywhere and not used strictly by the rich and influential.  In the US garbage is picked up from your home on a weekly basis.  In Italy, garbage is not collected at your home.  You must transport the garbage to the curbside dumping locations.   They are huge mountains of refuse that are removed once a week.

Also, in Italy there are rarely electrical outlets placed in convenient locations in all of the rooms.  For example, in the kitchen of my apartment there are no electrical outlets on the wall behind the counter!  There are only 3 outlets and they are on the other side of the room!  By the way, when I say three outlets I mean room for 3 plugs.  Outlets are not all doubled like they are in the States.  In my apartment we have an economical 3000-watt service.  This is a pain.  We have to be very careful not to overload our connection.  We cannot use the blow dryer and the straighter at the same time because if the refrigerator kicks on while both of these items are in use the circuit breaker will blow.  Also, every outlet in our apartment is wired to a single 10-amp breaker.  When we first arrived we were blowing the breakers at least 3 times a week.  Well that is just a few conveniences of living in the USA.  Tonight we are having Poker night in my apartment and we are playing with M&Ms!

Melted Chocolate

This morning I woke up a little earlier and skyped with my entire apartment that I will be living with next semester and we were even able to do a three-way to include my roomie Jenelle who is studying in Israel right now!  I am lucky to have such good friends to come back to in San Diego.  They truly make the whole process of leaving Rome bittersweet. 

After, I left my apartment for my favorite little café located near my school in Trastevere.  The bar/café is named Friends and it has free wi-fi which is huge draw especially to college students.  The layout is similar to that of Starbucks with a bar on the side and lots of tables.  A big difference is that you either have to order at the bar and drink your coffee or drink right there at the bar or you have an option of taking a table and a waiter will come and bring a menu.  There is no such thing as a to go cup,  To sit at a table you will be charged a service fee.  I came to class 3 hours early with a couple of friends to do work in Friends café.  The laid back, chill environment is a fun place to do your work.  The café has dark undertone, not very well lit with guitars and artsy posters hanging up on the walls.  Some of the walls are also lined with bookshelves for décor.  At each table there are outlets so I am able to plug in my computer.  Sitting at the table, I see students, workers, and business men come in and out all speaking the beautifully eloquent Italian language.  In the background there is usually a soft jazz piece playing or sometimes playing is what I would classify as indie music.  The café is warm and cozy especially when you look outside and see the pouring rain.

Despite Italy being world famous for coffee I still have not come to enjoy the taste or the caffeine in coffee.  However, I go straight for the hot chocolate.  Here in Italy it is comprised of milk, sugar, a thickening agent like flour or corn starch, and, of course, chocolate (often in the form of cocoa powder), hot chocolate in Italy has nothing to do with the watery, sippable kind that I usually have in the states. Hot chocolate in Italy and many parts of Europe is thick, almost the consistency of pudding, and the way to enjoy it is with a small spoon, one delicious mouthful at a time. It literally tastes like melted chocolate.  Just be careful because they usually serve it quite hot!

Tomorrow is a Friday and I usually do not have school on Fridays but it is a make-up day.  I came to the café to start working on my econ paper that is due the first week of December.  It is going t be 15 pages and that includes graphs.  My only guidelines is that is must be about a developing country.  I am choosing to do my topic on water in Sub-Sahara Africa.  I will talk more about my subject once I do some more research.   For dinner I will be having homemade ravioli with basil sauce. 

Tuesday

From looking out my window in my room it looks like its going to be a rainy week in Rome.  I enjoy running around and jumping in the puddles with my rain boots and my umbrella.  I went to the grocery store this morning.  I have become used to the Italian style grocery store and now bypass trying to read all of the labels for the food because I have memorized my favorite brands and can pick them out merely by the label.  I am still unable to read what type of milk I am buying.  There are four different color caps (red, green, blue, and white).  I never know which one to pick.  In the states I usually drink 2% milk but now I usually just switch off.  I can barely taste the difference between the different colors of the cap so why not?  My favorite section in the grocery store is the cheese section.  I usually pick out a new cheese every time and eat it with crackers for a snack the rest of the week.  I have become friends with the workers who work at the store and I get free lollipops every time I go.

I am a little bummed about my finger because I am going to have to take a few weeks off of basketball.  Dad, you better use this to your advantage and start practicing so when I come home I don’t beat you again.  Tonight Tara, Marni, Carly and I are going to have a study party in our apt and crack down with some homework before the weekend.   A lot of people in my classes are forgetting the “study” part about “study abroad” and are really struggling and at this point classes are coming to an end.  I am hoping to start seeing Christmas decorations up and around Rome in the next coming week.

Czech Me Out!

This past weekend Prague blew my mind.  Prague is often known as the pearl of Europe and I now understand why because it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  When I arrived at the airport I immediately converted my money from Euro to Crowns.  For every 1 euro I received 20 crowns.  Therefore, when I turned in 100 Euro for weekend spending I was returned back with 2000 crowns.  I felt rich!  I was traveling with my friends Jenni, Whitney, and Vanessa. 

Prague is not overrun by tourism, but its effects are evident for all to see. Much of the post-communism reconstruction and regeneration of Prague has been driven by tourism, as ancient buildings have been transformed into fine restaurants and stylish hotels.  We arrived at where we were staying called the Czech Inn and I immediately began figuring out the public transportation system in the city.  When I arrive in new cities I really like to figure out the transportation system and I think it is so fun.  I quickly learned that Czech is an extremely difficult language and is nothing like Italian or Spanish.  Czech, is a consonant-rich Slavic language, is one of the most difficult European languages to learn. English speakers find some sounds very hard to pronounce.  It literally looked like I just closed my eyes on the keyboard and clicked random letters and that is how the language originated. 

The weather in Prague was great!  The taxi driver was telling us that two weeks prior it was negative ten degrees and how nobody can believe the current weather.  On Sunday, there was not a cloud in the sky with the sun shining at a nice 65 degrees.  The city of Prague was so clean.  There was not a piece of trash to be seen and everything in the town was operating efficiently.  During the morning I saw machines not only cleaning the roads or merely picking up the trash but they were almost like suction tubes picking up excess dust and dirt.  No wonder the city was so clean.  The buildings in the city were tall all with distinct pastel colors often with  a gothic or baroque style.  The people in Prague were friendly and many people came up to me asking about my hair and I also saw lots of  ladies with their hair dyed red haha.  A lot of people thought I was from Russia or Hungry and not until I opened my mouth they did they think differently.

The Czech Republic has a long rich history and I was only able to brush the surface of it but it was fascinating epic story.  Inhabitants of the city have witnessed a declaration of independence, Nazi control, brain washing communism & capitalist democracy.   And that was just the 20th century!  On Saturday, I went on a three hour walking tour where I began to immerse myself in the city and learn about Prague.  By far my most favorite part of Prague was the Charles Bridge at night.  It is also popular with Czech artists, musicians and souvenir vendors whose stands line both sides of the bridge year-round.  At sunset I came to enjoy the breathtaking view of the fully lit Prague Castle against the evening sky.   The bridge is now a pedestrian zone (although both tram and car traffic were allowed there in the past) and is almost constantly filled with people. If you want to have it all to yourself, go there at night or very early in the morning.  The Charles Bridge was the most important connection between the Old Town, Prague Castle and adjacent areas until 1841.  It is aligned with over 30 baroque statues.  This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. One of the nights when I was out on the bridge I saw a proposal!  A guy got down on one knee and took out a little box from his pocket.  The couple did not speak English but I guarantee you by the expression on the girls face she said yess!

Another one of my favorite sights was the Lennon Wall.  The wall holds messages of peace, freedom and hope. People started writing messages in graffiti when the nation was still under communist rule. It became a monument towards free speech - in communist times the wall became the soapbox of the repressed people of Prague and people risked arrest and imprisonment to get their message across. The wall was repainted several times by the authorities but this didn’t stop the graffiti reappearing.  This wall is symbol of freedom and at every special occasion people are burning candles there. The first night I was there I visited it and then when I came back the next day it was different.  The next day when I came back I came back prepared with a black sharpie pen and wrote some of my favorite quotes!  I also visited the famous Prague Castle.  The Prague Castle illuminates the skyline and can be seen from many different locations from the city.  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world.  The outside has gothic influence and at night it is illuminated beautifully.  It is currently home to the Czech president.  When ever he is home there is a flag that waves in the air.

Another great place in Prague was Old Town Square.  It is a huge marketplace for Prague. Over the next few centuries, many buildings of Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic styles were erected around the market, each bringing with them stories of wealthy merchants and intrigue.  The Old Town Square's most notable sights are the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock and the stunning St. Nicholas Church.  The old town square was huge and in the middle there were food venders selling typical Czech food and many cafes surrounding the outside.  For dinner one day, I got a huge sausage link and then went to a bench and ate it and people watched in the huge lively square.  I quickly became a big fan of Czech food.  They are all about the meat and I love that!  Every restaurant was filled with burgers, ribs, and steaks.  One night for dinner I had some ribs, mashed potatoes, and the most delicious garlic soup.  For dessert I had heated raspberries with vanilla ice cream.  One of the main sights in the square is the astronomical clock.  The astronomical clock in Old Town Square has kept its time for over 6 centuries and continues to work till this very day. The clock shows three individual sets of data. It shows the revolutions of the Sun, the revolutions of the moon, and the revolutions of the stars. The clock is divided into red and blue halves representing day and night. It's quite an amazing thing to see, considering the relatively low technology they had in those times.  Loads of tourists flock to see the clock in action to strike the hour.  It is said that they made the creator of the clock go blind so that he would not produce another one ever again!  Right after the amusing chiming of the clock, a Czech in a traditional costume appears at the top of the tower and blows his trumpet. Again, the performance is very brief but it is unforgettable because it draws everybody's attention and brings a touch of medieval time. After that, tourist groups disperse but the atmosphere remains very lively.  In Europe, I have become very accustomed to piazzas and squares as a place to be outside and enjoy.  It is going to be weird to go home to backyard.

The very first night I had a little bit of a mishap to say the least.  I was pulling out my hairbrush from my locker/drawer where I had my stuff and I thought the top part would stay open.  Clearly I was wrong as the heavy top of the locker came smashing down on my thumb nail.  I immediately started gushing blood, finger swelled up really big, and yes my finger nail was officially off.  I quickly wrapped up my finger and gauze, tried to clean it out, and it was extremely painful.  I decided to just deal with it for that night.  The next morning I went off to a hospital that supposedly for foreigners.  Turns our they did not speak English and they were not very nice and it was confusing trying to figure out what the doctors were telling me.  Also, they are not very gentle as when I took x-rays they just throw your hand in different positions.  They told me I hurt a nerve in my finger area which was why it was so painful.  When the doctor and nurse figured out that I would be returning to Rome on Monday therefore they quickly wrapped up the finger in a soft cast and told me to go to a doctor in Rome and he will remove the soft cast for me.  In other words they decided it would be easier to just not deal with me since I would be leaving.  O well!  This happened the first night I was there and I was not going to let a little finger accident ruin my weekend.

I arrived back in Rome on Monday.  I got a t-shirt as a trinket and it says on the front “Czech Me Out” in cool writing.  Haha get it?  An interesting difference in air travel in Europe is that when a plane lands everyone claps and applauds for the landing.  This week I am not too busy and look forward to spending the next week and the weekend in Rome.

Boom Boom!

Thunder here in Rome, is loudest thunder I have heard before in my life. I woke my roommate up in the middle of the night because I thought the Vatican was getting bombed it was so outrageously loud. The next morning, I decided to do some research on what exactly is the cause of thunder is and how it is formed. This is what I learned (warning may be boring to some but I think it is really cool!) Thunder is the acoustic shock wave resulting from the extreme heat generated by a lightning flash. Lightning can be as hot as 54,000°F (30,000°C), a temperature that is five times the surface of the sun! When lightning occurs, it heats the air surrounding its channel to that same incredible temperature in a fraction of a second. Like all gases, when air molecules are heated, they expand. The faster they are heated, the faster their rate of expansion. But when air is heated to 54,000°F in a fraction of a second, a phenomenon known as "explosive expansion" occurs. This is where air expands so rapidly that it compresses the air in front of it, forming a shock wave similar to a sonic boom. Exploding fireworks produce a similar result. When lightning strikes a shock wave is generated at each point along the path of the lightning bolt. With nearby lightning strikes the thunder will sound like a loud bang, crack or snap and its duration will be very short. As the shock wave propagates away from the strike center, it stretches, diminishes, and becomes elongated. Then other shock waves from more distance locations arrive at the listener. At large distances from the center, the shock wave (thunder) can be many miles across. To the listener, the combination of shock waves gives thunder the continuous rumble we hear. In addition, the temperature of the atmosphere affects the thunder sound you hear as well as how far away you can hear it. Sound waves move faster in warm air than they do in cool air.

Today, the sun is out again and I just have my economics and history classes to attend too. After, my roommate Tara, is in a photography class and one of her projects is to have a photo model shoot and she asked me to do it for her. So after class I am going to the studio to help her out. She is a really talented photographer and always notices cool reflections and lighting on objects (things I never notice) just when we are walking around.

Tomorrow, I am leaving for Prague for the weekend and will not be returning until Monday. Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. Recently, I have been doing research on Prague and plan to visit the Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Dancing Building, Prague Cathedral, Old Town Square, TV Tower and the Vyshedhard. On Saturday night I will be attending a Prada fashion show event. I am also really excited to try some Czech food. In my research I have found Czechs like sugar in just about everything, it seems. Sauces, gravies, and salad dressings are uncommonly sweet. A common meal for children is noodles, with loads of sugar, ground poppy seeds and melted butter. Coming from the girl who likes to eat candy for breakfast I am naturally unopposed to this sugar craze. I am also looking forward to some good sausage. The weather is going to be extremely cold so I am going to pack smart with warm clothes.

In my book Eat, Pray, Love I finished the section on India. I think Elizabeth Gilbert is a beautiful writer and I am always able to pull away some favorite quotes from every chapter. I have two favorite quotes from the section on India. The first is "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." Secondly, which is my absolute favorite is "Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be." That’s all for now and Na shledanou! (goodbye in Czech). The picture above is at a flower stand right next to my house that I pass by everyday and it is always so pretty. The other day I was wearing a flower dress so I decided to take a picture!

Attack of the Birds

This week I am busy catching up on all of the schoolwork that I missed last week.  School is starting to catch up with me as I have three 10 page papers that I need to turn in before the end of the semester.  Yesterday, I was extremely excited to go the grocery store and begin to start cooking my own meals again because I have been eating out for the past two weeks!  When I buy fruit at the grocery store I have to weigh it on my own by selecting a corresponding number on a scale before I can go through the check through.  I got hamburger beef, bun, tomatoes, onions, eggs, milk, cereal, grapes, apples, and the biggest bottle of Gatorade I have ever seen.  Even though the Gatorade tastes different here (a little bit more sweet).

On my way home from school I looked up in the air I saw thousands upon thousands of birds in the air all moving together encompassing a big black mass moving together.  I wish I had my camera to video tape it but I have a YouTube link to click on and you can see what I am talking about.  The video is a good description of what the birds look like but does not make clear just how many birds are in that mass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YadP3w7vkJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVO827GK4tE

It turns our these birds are called Starlings.  They appear in Rome to sleep during the fall season.  During the day they fly out to the countryside for food, then after they fill the skyline of Rome and it almost looks as if they are performing a dance.  One thing I learned about them is that they poop everywhere- on the sidewalk, on cars, and on many lucky pedestrians. In fact these birds are becoming a real problem in the city of Rome. Hundred of thousands of dollars  are spent cleaning the ancient beautiful Roman architecture that becomes covered in bird poop during the fall.  Last year, a mass of the birds collided with a Ryanair plane that was landing at the airport. Several birds got stuck in the engines, and the plane had an emergency landing during which several passengers were injured.  The city has responded by trying to get rid of the birds. One strategy is to use a megaphone to project starling distress calls at a mass of birds. The birds react by fleeing into the sky to find another place to stay for the night. Supposedly this strategy is working, since the number of starlings decreases every year.  But starlings are still extremely present, darkening the  sky at 5pm every night. If your traveling through Rome remember to take cover!

Pisa, Florence, and Venice

We took the train from Cinque Terre to one the most famous cities in the world, Pisa.  Pisa is commonly known as a tourist quickie, meaning that it is a quick visit to take a look at the leaning tower, take a picture, and leave.  The fabulous collection of buildings that most people know are gathered on one side of the city and is called "The Field of Miracles".   The Field of Miracles is made up of three sights, the Duomo, Baptistery, and the Leaning Tower.  They all right in a row located on a beautiful big stretch of green grass.  It was refreshing to see so much grass and just be able to lounge on the grass, look at leaning tower, and enjoy the nice sunny day that we had.  So I knew that the tower leaned but I did not realize how much it actually leaned.  Started in the 12th-century, this most famous example of Pisan Romanesque architecture was leaning even before its completion. The 294 tilting steps to the top were closed for years as engineers worked to keep the bell tower from toppling. The formerly clean and tidy area around the tower was turned into a construction zone as engineers used steam pipes to dry out the subsoil and huge weights to stabilize (but not straighten out) the tower Now 30 people an hour can climb to the top.  I took the famous picture where I stick my hand out and pretend that I am holding up the leaning tower.  Unfortunate, my dad along with the pictures of the trip went back to America so it may take a little while before I can post the pictures. 

After Pisa we hopped back on the train and headed towards Florence where spent two nights.  Extra precautions were taken in the train station because the train station is known for pick pocketers.  That night we had a nice meal at a local pizzeria  and walked around the town a little.  Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 367,569 inhabitants along with many college students who study there.  Most people when they decide that they want to study in Italy are usually conflicted with the choice to study in either Rome or Florence.  Florence lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A center of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.  On Saturday we went the Accademia Museum where we saw one of biggest attractions in Italy, the David.  After the Accademia museum we went to Piazza San Marco. Near the Piazza San Marco was University of Gonzaga Florence.  We checked out the school because John may want to study in Florence when he is a junior.  After, we walked though the leather market and mossied in and out of a few shops.  Florence was a fun filled two days including a visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Baboli Garden, and Pitti palace.

Our last stop on the trip was Venice.  I have already been to Venice so I will not bother with going into detail about the city itself again.  The hotel was really cool and our room was a little loft room with a downstairs where there was a couch which was made into a pullout bed for me and then an upstairs loft area leading to a bed for my parents.  There was a huge window that looked out towards the river and we could see and hear gondolas riding by.  That window turned out not to be my moms friend since during the night mosquitoes flew in waking up my mom because they were buzzing in her ear.  She woke up that morning with over 15 bug bites.  I guess she is more popular with the mosquitoes than my dad and I because we woke up scotch free.  We explored the city by getting lost, and then went to Saint Mark’s Square and Cathedral.  Saint Mark’s Cathedral is by far my favorite and in my opinion the most beautiful church in all of Italy.  The entire church is made of mosaic and a crazy amount of detail is put into every square inch of the church.  Look up pictures online and you will see just how detailed the entire church is including the floor.  The next morning we took the train back to Rome had a nice dinner in Trastevere and my parents took a cab to the airport to start in 18 hour flight back home.  We had a great 10 days and I am happy that they made it back home safetly!

Papal Mass, Trevi Fountain and Cinque Terre

Papal Mass

On Tuesday night we went out in the city of Rome and visited the famous Trevi fountain and ate at a little restaurant right around the corner from it.  We did the classic throw the coin into the fountain which is a tradition that says if you throw the coin into the water you are ensured a return trip to Rome.  Someone told me that they scoop out about 30,000 dollars a day which makes since because every person throws in about 10 cents and there are over 3,000 visitors a day.  

On Friday morning we went to a papal mass at the Vatican.  My parents went early to reserve seats and yes we ended up with front row seats to see the Pope Benedict!  About 8,000 people piled and into the center and about 10:45 the Pope came out from the back.  It was really exciting to be so close to such a worldly leader.  The blessing was given in six different language with a beautiful band playing from Turkey.  After the papal mass we did a tour where we were able to go under the Vatican and learn about the rich history and see the burial sights of Saint Peter himself and all of the past popes included Pope John Paul.

Late Friday afternoon we went off to the Termini train station in Rome to catch a train to Cinque Terre.  We took bus 64 and on the way there my dad almost got pick pocketed in the crowded bus.  We arrived to our hotel in CInque Terre around 9:30 at night and quickly realized just how quaint and small our town of Vernazza really was.   Cinque Terre is a remote chunk of the Italian Rivera, and is the traffic-free and there is not a museum in sight, just sun, sea, sand, wine, and pure untouched by tourism Italy.  There are five different towns they are all connected  by trails.  The entire route between the towns if you wanted to hike is about 5 hours.  However, since it was raining a few days before we came we were only able to hike the first trail from Riomsggiore to Manarola.  

We woke up early on Thursday, grabbed quick coffee ad headed toward the first town called Riogmaggiore.  In order to do this we hoped on the convenient regional train.   When we arrived we went up a huge residential hill where we saw spectacular sea views.  We were able to look over the entire Italian coast and the different cities.  The sky was perfectly clear with a couple of white puffy clouds in the sky and the water down below was a beautiful aqua blue that you could practically sea the ocean floor  it was so clear.  The town of Riomaggiore was probably my favorite towns and we were able to see true Italian lifestyle.  Riomaggiore's rugged and tiny beach is rocky but calm and peaceful.  

After exploring we went on our way to the next town called Manarola.  In order to get there we did a hike called "Via dell Amora"  which means pathway to love.  I learned some interesting facts about the hike along the way.  The Cinque Terer towns were extremely isolated until the last century.  After the blasting of the second train line in the 1920s a trail was made between the first two towns.  Happy with the trail, the villagers asked that it be improved as a permanent connection between neighbors.  It became established as a lovers meeting for boys and girls from the two towns.  Hence, why it is called the Pathway of Love.  This new lane changed the social dynamic between the two villages and made life much more fun and interesting for courting couples.  It was interesting as we were on our walk we saw hundred and hundred of locks connected to the railing (the kind of locks that you would connect to a locker).  I found out that closing a padlock with your lover onto a cable or railing is the current craze in Italy and became re popularized by a teen novel.  Manarola is tiny and piruresque with a bunch of homes on the cliff side and a fun-loving waterfront.  Manarola has no sand but offers the best deep water swimming in the area.  We were hungry for lunch and went to a cute restaurant literally right on the water called Marina Piccola.  For an appetizer, my dad got the local speciality which is accuighe or anchovies.  For my main course I ordered another local specialty.  This region is the birthplace of pesto which is made of basil, is ground with cheese, garlic, olive oil, and pine nutes.  I had my pesto on whats called trofie which is kind of like a noodle  made of flour with a bit of potato designed specifically for pesto to cling to.  After lunch we walked to the top of Manarola where we were greeted by a square faced by a church and a bell tower which served as a watch tower when pirates raided the town.  Manarola had particular interesting vineyards.  They lay on a hill side with naitivity scenes crafted by the locals spotted against the vines. 

 After we skipped the town of Capitola which was the only town not on the water and population 240.  Instead we went back to our city called Vernaza.  Vernazza is said by Rick Steves to be the jewel of Cinque Terre.  It has the only natural harbor overseeing by a ruined castle and a stout stone church.  Only the occasionally noisy slurping of the train by the mountain reminds you of the modern world.  Most of the action of the town is at the harbor where there are outdoor restaurants and a bar hanging on the edge of the castle.  Fearing the change the modern world would bring and the ideal to keep Vernaza small proponents stopped the construction of a major road into the town and region.  Leisure time is devouted to taking part in what is called "passeggiata" which is strolling lazily together up and down the main street.  This is also know as vita pigra di Vernazza which is translated to "the lazy life of the Vernazza."  It is important to note that my parents and I are getting a comply different experience going in the month of November.  The towns are extremely vacant and not many tourists are out.  However in the summer months the five cities are absolutely packed.  In the summer if you do not have a hotel reservation you will not be allowed into the town because it is so packed with tourists enjoying the sun, culture, and renting boats and kayaks.  In the winter,the population shrinks, as many people return to their more comfrtable big-city aartments to spend the money they reaped during the tourist season.  We stayed in a hotel called Albergo Barabra.  This hotel rents nine simple but clean and modern roomer overlooking the harbor square.  When we returned I went for a run around the city.  It was difficult to run because in 20 minutes in one direction I was already at one end of the city!  Running is an easy way to master the layout of the city.  

After a quick break at the hotel we went of the the last city called Monterrosse which is the most touristy of all five cities.  his is a resort with a few cars and lots of hotels, rent-able breach umbrellas, crowds, and a thriving late night scene.  The town is split into two parts ( new town and and old town).Right on the beach their was an indoor soccer field a bunch of little boys were playing a pickup game in.  I wanted to play so badly!  When your on the waterfront you can pick out each of the Cinque Terre towns decorating the coast.  After dark these towns sparkle.  For dinner we had trouble finding a restaurant even on the main strip because many of them shutdown for the winter.  Sounds like a pretty good lifestyle to me, work for 7 months and then take 5 months off to enjoy your family and just relax!  I am on the train now again on the way to Pisa and Florence!