Beautiful Views and Delicious Food

     The weekend after Fall Break, Caitlin and I explored Florence and visited the nearby cities of Parma and Modena.

     On Friday afternoon, Caitlin and I climbed to the top of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (the Duomo) for one of the best views of the city. The climb up was a constant spiral and thus a little dizzying, but it was really amazing. At two points we entered the inside of the church and were right below the beautiful frescoes that cover the inside of the dome. It was incredible. Not only could you see the church below, but you were so close to the fresco's that you could see the individual brush strokes. Everything painted in the scene was so much bigger from this point of view than from looking up into the dome from the floor of the church.



Climbing the stairs

Right below the frescoe!



      When we finished admiring the fresco we continued our climb. After a few more flights of stairs we finally reached the top. The view was spectacular. Because it was a nice clear day you could see for miles. You could see all the major monuments in Florence, the hills surrounding the city, and Caitlin and I were even able to spot our apartment. We took tons of pictures and were lucky enough to see the sun set behind the Tuscan hills. It was a great experience and if you ever visit Florence I would definitely recommend climbing to the top of the Duomo.



  

View from the top- Santa Croce in the background

     On Saturday Caitlin and I went on a school trip to Parma and Modena to learn about the production of some of Italy's delicacies. Parma is famous for their prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Modena is famous for their balsamic vinegar.
     Our day began very early... at 4 in the morning to be exact. We had to be in Parma at 8:00am so we had to leave Florence by 5:30am. Caitlin and I weren't too thrilled about getting up this early (especially me since I had to register for classes at 2 in the morning!), but our trip ended up being well worth our lack of sleep.
     Our first stop was a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory in Parma. When we arrived we were given
 cute little biohazard suits to wear into the factory so that none of our germs got into the cheese. Next, we went inside to see and learn about the cheese making process. Some interesting things I learned were that the vats in which the cheese is made cost 10,000 Euros each (this factory had 4), the cheese must age for a minimum of 2 years to be considered Parmigiano-Reggiano, and one wheel of cheese costs 480 Euros and weights about 85lbs. Once we had finished with our tour we were able to taste some Parmigiano-Reggiano that had aged for 22 years and had some nice wine to go with it. It was delicious.

Caitlin and I in our biohazard suits

Rows and rows of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

     Our next stop was a prosciutto factory in Parma. We saw each stage that the prosciutto goes through before it can be eaten. It must be salted, washed, hung to dry, and then aired for a period of up to 18 months. As we were walking through the factory there were thousands of prosciutto legs hanging everywhere. The owner told us that his factory produces 50,000 every year. When we asked him if any of his prosciutto was shipped overseas to the United States he replied, "No, this prosciutto is too good for America." lol. Some interesting facts I learned while there was that a leg of prosciutto costs around 130-150 Euros, and that the region of Parma produces about 10 million legs of prosciutto each year.
     After we toured the factory we were treated to a nice lunch which consisted of some of the factory's prosciutto. Of course it was delicious and proved to intensify my love for one of my favorite Italian dishes.

Prosciutto legs everywhere!

Lunch after our tour

  

   Our last stop was the city of Modena. Here we got to tour a balsamic vinegar factory. Balsamic vinegar is made from the juice of grapes, boiled down to create a concentrate, and then placed in wooden barrels where it is fermented through a slow aging process. In order to be considered traditional balsamic vinegar it must be aged for a minimum of 12 years. This balsamic vinegar is more expensive (The more it ages the more expensive it is). They also have balsamic vinegar that has been aged for less than 12 years (For example, 6, 4, and 2 years). Although it is not considered "traditional" balsamic vinegar and is not as expensive, it is still very tasty. After our tour we got to taste a variety of balsamic vinegar ranging in age and flavor. We tried an orange and apple flavored balsamic vinegar, as well as balsamic vinegar ranging in age from 6- 50 years. The older the vinegar the more thick and sweet it was.

    Being able to tour the different factories in Parma and Modena was such an awesome experience. It was really cool being able to see how such staples of Italian food are made. It definitely made me appreciate Italian food so much more... and is perhaps part of the reason I have gained a few pounds!

Paris: The City of Lights

     For the second half of Fall Break (October 28-November 1) I went to Paris with Caitlin, Katrina and Ashley. Ashley has family that lives in Paris and they were kind enough to let us stay with them for the weekend. Despite having issues with flights being cancelled and figuring out how to get from the airport to Ashley's family's apartment we eventually all made it to Paris late Thursday night. After eating a delicious meal prepared by Ashley's aunt, we socialized for a bit, showered and then went to bed.
     On our first day in Paris, Ashley's cousin Sonia took us all around the city. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower. We took the metro there and on our way I caught my first glimpse of the tower as it flashed behind some buildings. I started clapping and jumping up and down like a little girl. lol I was so excited! When we finally arrived in front of the Eiffel Tower I took my time admiring the famous monument. It was so big and I couldn't believe that it wasn't planned to be a permanent structure at the time it was built. (It served as the entrance arch to the World Fair in 1889 and was supposed to be dismantled afterwards.)



     After taking plenty of pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower, we headed to Champs Elysees. Champs Elysees is a very famous street in Paris and is known by the French as "La Plus Belle Avenue du Monde" (The Most Beautiful Street in the World). It is 1.25 miles long, is lined with cafes and designer stores and is home to the Arc de Triumph. While we were there we admired the beautiful shops and buildings, grabbed a sandwich to go and then continued toward the Arc de Triumph. The Arc was big and beautiful and was surrounded by a huge round-about where a lot of traffic was passing through. We walked around the entire thing and got a view of every angle before we made our way to our next stop: Notre Dame Cathedral.



Arc de Triumph

    
     As we were making our way to Notre Dame we decided to make a detour... for some nutella crepes. The French are famous for their crepes and we all knew that we could not leave Paris without having at least one so we stopped at one of the many crepe stands in the area and each got a nutella crepe. We got to watch them being made and before they could even cool down we had devoured them. 

    

     Once we got to the cathedral we admired the beautiful architecture, took a few pictures, and then Katrina and I split off from Ashley, Caitlin and Sonia (they have all already seen the church) and went inside.  

     The outside of Notre Dame was beautiful, but the inside was absolutely magnificent. There were gorgeous stained glassed windows everywhere, beautiful gothic arches, and although it was dark, there was choir music playing in the background and I found it to be very peaceful. It was one of the most beautiful churches (if not the most) I have ever been in and it was the perfect way to end our first day in Paris.

     On our second day in Paris Katrina and I woke up early to visit the Louvre Museum. The line wasn't very long and once we were inside we put Rick Steves on my ipod, put our headphones in and let him show us around. We saw some very famous pieces of art including the Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Michelangelo's slaves, and of course the Mona Lisa. My favorite piece was Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss. It is carved out of a flawless white marble and the way Cupid and Psyche embrace each other is absolutely beautiful. After two hours of touring the museum we decided it was time to leave. The museum was packed with people and Rick Steve's kept leading us astray. On our way out we stopped to take a few pictures in front of the famous pyramid.

    
     After we visited the Louvre we made our way to Sacre-Couer (Sacred Heart) Basilica. It is a beautiful church on top of a hill that overlooks the city of Paris. The church was beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as the view. The sky was blue with puffy white clouds, there was a light breeze and you could see for miles. When we had finished looking around the church we went outside and decided to enjoy the scenery. We joined a group of people sitting on a large set of steps right outside the basilica and listened to a man sing and play his guitar and watched street entertainers juggle soccer balls while climbing lamp posts. Out of all the street performers I have seen throughout Europe, they were the most impressive and if I wasn't a poor college student I would have given them a tip. After 15 minutes of relaxation we made our way back to the apartment.

Sacre-Couer from the bottom of the hill

It's hard to see, but he's juggling a soccer ball!

    
     That night Caitlin, Katrina, Ashley, her two cousins Sonia and Bina, and their two friends, and I all went to dinner together. We went to a popular creperie for some savory crepes. I had a crepe with tomatoes, sausage and cheese. It was yummy, but nearly as delicious as the crepes we ordered for dessert. We shared a nutella crepe and a honey crepe. Ohh they were soooo good. I think I might have even liked the honey crepe better than the nutella (shocking right? lol).
     The next day Trina and I made a day trip to Versailles. We took a 45 minute train ride out of Paris, arrived at 11, waited in line for 2 hours (I'm not exaggerating-not even a little) for 25 Euro tickets, and if we wouldn't have cut in line (I know, I'm bad) to enter Versailles, we probably would have waited another 2 hours. Thankfully it was all worth it. For starters, after getting our tickets we met up with our friend Jess and her friend Katie. Because we had bought their tickets they were kind enough to bring us Starbucks. I had my first caramel frappuchino in 2 months (They don't have Starbucks in Italy) and I was introduced to these delicious mini pancakes that we dipped in a warm caramel sauce. They were to die for and immediately turned my mood around from cranky to chipper. Secondly, the palace and it's gardens were absolutely AMAZING. Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
     Once we were inside the gates the first thing we did was tour the palace. It was spectacular. We walked through so many rooms and all of them were so detailed and ornate.

        After touring the inside of the palace we went outside to see the famous Versailles gardens. I thought the palace was huge but the gardens must have been at least 1000 times bigger. It was incredible. There were many fountains, lakes, smaller residences, and thousands of trees and other types of shrubbery, all of which were very intricately designed and placed throughout the gardens. We explored for a few hours and enjoyed the beautiful grounds. My favorite part was the changing colors of the leaves on the trees and the spectacular sunset we saw while we were at Marie Antoinette's house.

Looking out over all the gardens

Marie Antoinette's House

    

     When we left Versailles it was completely dark outside. We had spent the entire day there and despite the rough start, it ended up being my favorite day in Paris. When we got back to the apartment Caitlin, Ashley, her two cousins Bina and Sonia, Katrina and I made homemade enchiladas, rice, and guacamole for dinner. They were delicious and it was nice getting a little taste of home and having a break from all the Italian and Spanish food we had been eating.

     After dinner we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower to see the light show. Once we got there we found a spot to watch the show and then waited for it to begin. At 11:00pm the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle. It was absolutely beautiful and was the perfect explanation for why Paris is known as the City of Lights. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend in Paris.

 

Madrid: Land of Fiestas... But Not So Many Siestas

     On Monday, October 25th I woke up to the sound of pouring rain. My Fall Break started that day and I had a flight to Madrid that morning.. I had originally planned on walking to the train station and then taking a cab to the airport, but because of the rain I knew I would have to take a cab straight from my apartment. I started calling cab companies 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave (you can't hail taxis in Florence) and every company I called replied the same way: "There are no taxis available at the moment, call back in a few minutes." This went on for 20 minutes (I was freaking out the entire time) before I realized that I wasn't going to find a cab. I was running very late and I knew that I would have to sprint to the train station in order to get a cab so I could get to the airport on time. So that's exactly what I did. I ran through the cobblestone streets with my rolling suitcase in tow all the while holding an umbrella in my hand because it was raining. As I came up to the train station I was gasping for air and dripping sweat only to find that the line for the taxis was 100 people long! A long string of curse words came out of mouth at that moment, but I knew that if I waited in line I would miss my flight. I stood there for a moment and thought to myself WWJD? No, not What Would Jesus Do... What Would Jeff (my Dad) Do. I knew my Dad would never even consider walking to the back of the line and admitting defeat so I immediately ran up to a young woman at the front of the line, explained my situation and asked if I could please take her taxi. One of my first experiences with Italian kindness couldn't have come at a better time. After a thousand "mille grazie's" I hopped into the cab that came 5 seconds later and was off to the airport. Despite some traffic on the way there I thankfully made it to the airport, got through security, and boarded my flight with 10 minutes to spare. After a ridiculously stressful morning I was so relieved to finally be on my way to Madrid!      Once I arrived I met up with Katrina, Caitlin (she arrived a day earlier than me), my old roommate Ashley and few other friends for lunch. We went to a Tapas restaurant close by their school. Tapas are Spanish "snacks" that are very popular in Spain. We all ordered the "Menu del Dia" (Menu of the Day-a popular item at many restaurants) which consisted of 2 tapas, a drink and a dessert. I had a hamburgesa (hamburger), a dish with potatoes, eggs, and bell peppers, Tinto de Verano (a popular wine cocktail which was delicious!) and helado (ice-cream) for dessert. It was all very yummy and left me very full!
     After lunch Katrina and I met up with her friend Jenien and we went to Retiro Park. Retiro Park is a very famous, huge and absolutely beautiful park in the middle of Madrid. It is in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die, and rightly so! There are trees everywhere, beautiful fountains and sculptures, and a manmade lake where you can rent a boat and row around. When we arrived we walked around admiring the changing colors of the trees, frolicked in the leaves, and then headed to the lake to rent a boat! It was a lot of fun. We took turns rowing (I was a pro rower, if I do say so myself ;), and just chatted, joked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery around us. It was very peaceful and relaxing and I had a great time.

Jenien, me and Trina in front of the Lake.

The changing colors of the trees were so beautiful!



After 3 failed attempts Jenien was finally able to master the thinking pose!

  The next day Caitlin and I met up with one another while everyone else was in class and decided to visit the city of Alcala de Heneres. The reason we chose to visit this city was because it is home to the Universidad de Alcala: the University that inspired the architecture at USD. After a 45 minute train ride and making our way around the city searching for the university, we finally found it. It was a beautiful building and there was definitely a resemblance. It was a nice little taste of home and I was glad I got to see it. 

Universidad de Alcala

USD. Resemblance?

    
     When we arrived back in Madrid we met up with Ashley, Stephanie and Mariana for some Mexican food! Since Caitlin and I have yet to find tortillas in Florence and there aren't really any Mexican restaurants we were super excited. We ordered the Menu del Dia for the second time. I had a delicious drink called Jamaica (it was like a punch) a plate of nachos, carne asada tacos with guacamole and ice cream for dessert. It was AMAZING and reminded me of the delicious Mexican food in San Diego!

     After lunch Caitlin and I visited two famous Plaza's: Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor and then headed to the Prado Museum. We had free entry into the museum because it was past 6:00pm and were there until close at 8:00pm. We saw many masterpieces including some by Raphael, Goya, Velazquez, and El Greco. My favorites were those by Raphael. His colors are so vibrant and stunning, especially his shades of blue.



Plaza Mayor

Prado Museum


     At 10:00 that night I met up with Katrina, her roommate Rachel and their host mom (aka their Senora) Carmen for dinner. In Spain dinner is not served until around 9:30/10:00 at night! We went to an authentic Spanish restaurant and had a typical Spanish dinner. In Spain, dinner is the smallest meal (lunch is the largest) so we had a variety of appetizer like dishes to share. There was a basket of bread, tortilla de patata, green peppers, a plate of tiny fish, some steak with french fries, and endless free water (yaya!). My favorite was the tortilla de patata. The best way I can describe it is as an egg frittata with thinly sliced potatoes inside. It was delicious. During the meal we had a nice conversation together in Spanish. Carmen doesn't speak English and Katrina and Rachel are only allowed to speak Spanish when they are around her. I was surprised at how much of the conversation I was able to understand and that I could actually contribute a few sentences here and there! We all had a great time and Carmen even invited me to dinner at her apartment for the next night!

     On Wednesday morning I met up with Caitlin and Mariana to visit Retiro Park for the second time. When I went with Katrina and Jenien we only walked around a small part of the park and had forgotten to visit the "Glass Palace." I heard that it was absolutely beautiful so I had to go back. While we were there we did a little more exploring than I had the first time, went on the boats and then visited the Glass Palace. As the name suggests it was completely made out of glass and was gorgeous. It was located on a small lake that had beautiful red trees coming out of it, a fountain and black swans!

The Glass Palace

     Our next stop was the Spanish Royal Palace. On our way there we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called "Cien Montaditos" (100 Sandwiches). The three of us ordered 2 small sandwiches each and shared 2 plates of fries and it only cost us 2.50 Euro each! That was by far the cheapest lunch I have ever had at a restaurant in Europe and it surprisingly left me full afterwards. If I lived in Madrid I would eat there all the time! I wish they had places like that in Italy!

     After lunch Mariana left to study for a midterm and Caitlin and I went to visit the Palace. It was amazing. There were so many rooms, all of which were ornately and beautifully decorated. I couldn't believe that someone could have enough money to build something so extravagant!

     That night I went over to Katrina's senora's apartment for a homemade Spanish dinner. She made tortilla de patata, salad, and a plate of tiny fish that looked liked noodles. She also served us some bread and goat cheese with chorizo. Yet again everything was very yummy and we had another nice conversation. We didn't finish dinner until 11:00pm!

     After dinner I rushed back to my hotel, and got ready to go out. Madrid is known for their fiestas: Partying starts on Wednesday night and continues on through the weekend. You don't go out until at least midnight and you don't come home until at least 4 in the morning. The Spanish know how to party, and I couldn't leave Madrid without experiencing at least one fiesta! And you know the saying...When in Madrid...

    At midnight I met Caitlin, Ashley, Mariana, Stephanie, and a few other girls at Cave Bar: a bar that legitimately looks like a cave inside! It was awesome! We ordered a few drinks and then headed to Orange Cafe: a popular club on Wednesday night. It was a blast! The club was huge (so much bigger than some of the clubs in Florence), there were a lot of people there, the DJ played great music, we ran into a few other people from USD and got to chat with them, and we danced the night away. I ended my night like a true Spaniard and made it back to my hotel by 4:30am. 

Ashley, Caitlin and I at Orange

     Thursday morning I woke up with one thing left on my list of things to do before I left Madrid, and that was to eat Paella. Paella is possibly the most famous dish in Spain and there was no way I could leave without having it. Unfortunately Katrina and Ashley had class, and Caitlin had already had paella and made plans for lunch elsewhere, thus leaving me with no one to eat with. I didn't want to eat by myself so I made a phone call to my new friend Jenien and she came to my rescue! (You are amazing Jenien!) While I was waiting to meet her outside of the subway station I randomly ran into my other friend Janine who is also studying abroad in Florence, but was in Madrid visiting a friend. She was waiting for her friend to get out of class and had nothing to do in the meantime so she ended up joining us for lunch. The restaurant we went to was called Casa de Valencia and was recommended to me by Katrina's senora. She spoke highly of their paella so I figured that would be the best place to go. Katrina's senora was right: the paella was fabulous. It had shrimp (which I had no idea how to open!), green bell peppers, artichoke hearts (my favorite part), chicken and clams. It was a huge portion, was served nice and warm, had great flavor and left me completely stuffed. Although it was quite an expensive meal it was definitely worth it! You can't go to Spain and not have paella! After we had finished our food I said goodbye to both Janine and Jenien (lol) and headed to the airport to catch my flight to Paris for the second half of Fall Break!

Paella!

Last Day in Munich: Dachau and Olympic Park

      On our last day in Munich Katrina and I woke up early to visit the nearby Dachau Concentration Camp. Here is a little background: Dachau Concentration Camp was opened in March of 1933 and was one of the first concentration camps established by the Nazi's. It was primarily a camp for "enemies of the state" which included communists, criminals and spies. There were also Jewish prisoners at the camp, but they were not the majority. Although Dachau did not serve as an extermination camp and prisoners were not kept there indefinitely, they still endured harsh conditions and treatment and many were murdered. Over the 12 years that Dachau was operating over 40,000 people lost their lives.
     Over the few hours that Katrina and I were there, we saw the gates at the entrance of the camp with the infamous words "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes One Free) displayed on them, the barracks where the prisoners lived, the gas chambers, as well as the crematoriums. Although it was depressing, seeing the concentration camp was a good learning experience and I was glad that I had the opportunity to visit.
    



     After our morning at the concentration camp we decided to wrap up our trip with a visit to Munich's Olympic Park, home of the 1972 Summer Olympic Games! The park was amazing! We walked around and saw the Olympic tower, the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatic Center. The architecture of each of the buildings was very interesting, and in my opinion quite modern for being built in the 70's. There was also a huge lake surrounded by green hills (shocking right?! lol) and the weather was gorgeous. After a cold and cloudy weekend the sun came out, the sky was blue, and the temperature was perfect. Having an opportunity to go to an Olympic game has been a dream of mine for a while now and after visiting the Olympic Park it has become an even higher priority on my Bucket List! London 2012???

     After visiting Olympic Park we headed back to our hotel, had a delicious lunch at a restaurant nearby, grabbed our bags and headed for the airport. I bought some Harribo gummy bears and a souvenir stein which I somehow managed to shove into my bag along with the three other steins I had accumulated, and then reluctantly hopped on the plane (after having to check my bag because it was too heavy for a carry on lol). That weekend was easily one of the best weekends of my life. Oktoberfest was a blast, Austria was gorgeous, and Munich is now one of my favorite cities. I will definitely be back. 

Austria: Salzburg and Lake Wolfgangsee

     The day after Oktoberfest, Katrina and I went with a tour group to visit Salzburg, Austria and the surrounding Lake District. We left early in the morning and took a beautiful two hour bus ride to Salzburg. There were rolling green hills dotted with farms and cute little houses, tall forest green trees, fog hovering between the hills and snow covering the mountain peaks in the distance.

     When we got to Salzburg we only had a few hours there so our tour guide (a cute little old lady) walked us through part of the city very quickly so we could have time to explore on our own. She showed us the garden from the Sound of Music, and we walked by Mozart's old house, and his birthplace. The garden was small, but beautiful. Unfortunately we went through it very quickly so we weren't able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to, and I didn't get very many pictures. 

Garden from the Sound of Music

 

     Our guide led us across the river that runs through the middle of Salzburg to the oldest part of the city where she left us to explore for 2 hours. She recommended we visit the castle on top of a hill for some great views of Salzburg and the surrounding area, so we took her advice. We took a trolley up to the top and walked around for a while just enjoying the beautiful scenery.

View of the castle on top of the hill

View from the front of the castle

View from the back of the castle

     
     After visiting the castle we made our way back down the hill to find lunch. We walked through the streets for a few minutes and came across an open air market. There were many food vendors so we picked one and ordered a bratwurst sandwich. Bratwurst is a type sausage and is yet another traditional German meal so we had to try it. I got ketchup and mustard on mine and it was fabulous. After we finished our lunch we had half an hour before we had to meet up with our tour group. We decided to pass the time by indulging in a little treat. On our way to lunch we had passed a pretzel stand filled with a variety of huge chocolate covered pretzels so we grabbed one, found a spot by the river, and enjoyed our tasty snack and the view of Salzburg.

Mmmm!

    
     Our next stop was the Lake District near Salzburg. The drive took about 30 minutes and was just as beautiful as our drive to Salzburg, but this time instead of fog being scattered among the rolling green hills, there were lakes! The lake we got to visit was named Lake Wolfgangsee. When we arrived we had 45 minutes to explore the small town of St. Wolfgang before we got to take a boat across the lake. Katrina and I walked through the streets admiring the charming buildings covered in flowers and vines. We also walked along the lake and eventually decided to sit on a dock and enjoy the peaceful beauty of our surroundings. There was no one around us, it was completely silent, the water was like glass, there was a slight breeze, and the view of the rolling green hills was amazing: it was the epitome of serenity and i enjoyed every moment of it.

 

Serenity

    
     Although I was sad to leave the dock, our boat ride across the lake ended up being just as beautiful and enjoyable. We were one of the only boats on the lake, we passed many beautiful houses (many of which I wouldn't mind owning!), and we had a 360 degree view of the one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day and I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about how happy I was at that moment.

Trina and I at the end of our boat ride