we went to venice for carnivale and it was AMAZING. everyone is dressed up in the outragous incredible costumes which dresses from like the reneissance or middle ages or old times who knows what, but all are incredible. they also have performances like are like from a circus or soemthing. its lots of fun! during the day we just walked around, took a boat from our hotel to st marco where lots of stuff is happening. they are known for their amazing sea food, so everyone loved it...i like a good little jewish girl kept to my pasta and tomato sauce. mmmm.
anyways, thursday night we took an overnight train so we got there at like 530am. we then took a boat (since you travel by boat always) to our hotel where they let us check in and we took a nap. we woke up and made our way to st marco where all the stuff was happening. we went into the bascilica which was sooo big and beautiful. while everyone went into the museum and up the tower, my friend (who is also coming back to venice) and i just walked around. it was incredible. and lots of fun. as always, they have a road full of designers and a ton of stores for venetian glass. we also bought masks to wear (which people where all day and all night).
we had a pretty good dinner then got the famous 17 euro bellinis at the famous harrys bar, where they were first made. apparently hemmingway or someone hung out their a lot....prob not hemmingway but some famous author.
anyways we then walked around and basically any square u find at night has music, djs and everyone dancing and drinking in their costumes and masks. yes most poeple treat it like halloween.
we went back early to sleep and wake up for monaco where they make the venitian glass and have little glass blowing shows. it was cool, just like any other glass blowing iv seen. the glass is sooo pretty there. we then spent the WHOLE day shopping for anything from jewlery to christmas ornaments. we then got a lunch where everyone had great seafood and i had pasta with tomato sauce. it took 5 hrs since they are SO slow. we then ordered choc cake, which like the last choc cake i had wsnt so great. they are all dry here and not very chcolately. its ok tho cuz i got a ton of gelato this weekend to make up for it!
we then came back and changed (sadly missing sasha....it was way too crowded and hard to try to meet up and timing wsnt good :-().
so ya we came back and that was where carnivale was insannnne. it was just as fun as during the day, times 19370291172037. their were still performances and people were practically just drunk and dressed up and masked up and it was awesome.
we went to st margarita where they had a dj and a TON of people where there dancing and drinking. we def had a lot of fun!
the next morning while some of my friends went on the gandala, my friend who is coming back and i got a breakfast on the water, which was really nice. we then only had a 5 hrs train ride back on eurostar- which is the fast high class trains.
venice is def amazing and i am so excited to be going back! it is absolutly gorgeous and its so nice to be by water. it wsnt even that cold there, esp during the day when the sun was out. it was so nice and warm (even warm for me and my mom). it will also be nice to go back when there isnt carnivale, it was very crowded...def crazy and fun, just really crowded. reminded me a little like disneyworld. it will be fun to see venice as venice without carnivale too! none of us wanted to leave, but im glad im coming back!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
weiss beer and cameras
i just talked about my days in munich...my nights were def interesting.
the first night we actually just went to bed from being exhausted but saturday night we went to the haufbraushaus which is a famous huge beer hall, obvi tourist spot. nonetheless, hitler actually held meetings on the second floor, but since it was destroyed in ww2 they didnt build it again with the 2nd floor. anyways, in germany you basically sit at picnic tables. any pub or beer hall is just rows and rows of tables and you sit wherever you can get a seat. so we wound up sitting next to 2 guys from switzerland. they were really nice, both 21 and both had gfs. in switzerland you become bf/gf when you love eachother. its very different and they called us crazy for havin bf/gfs before we are in love. either way they were really nice and fun to talk to!
they wanted to go clubbing but the clubs were far so we invited them to the bar in our hostel. apparently our hostel bar is where the locals go and is the most fun. so we went there and they bought us drinks, we played pool...it was lots of fun! we did jager bombs in munich...a beer place. lol
sooo the next day at breakfast we sat down next to 3 guys from the army that were stationed in germany had the weekend off and came to munich. they were really fun and total southern gentlemen. they kept trying to pay for everything. on the tour we stopped at a beer hall and after that we decided to go to a museum and they kept trying to pay. then they rolled our eyes at us and were almost offended when we shoved money at them.
it was lots of fun to meet people actually! it kept the trip interesting, learned many new things about different people and had lots of fun!!
since iv been back iv been on a search for camera battery and charger. i gave up, my package isnt coming. however its impossible to find anything of that sort here! its like it dsnt exist. so fustrating. there are a million other unneccessary stores around here, but not one camera store. sigh, im trying again tom! i def miss best buy and target right about now.
the first night we actually just went to bed from being exhausted but saturday night we went to the haufbraushaus which is a famous huge beer hall, obvi tourist spot. nonetheless, hitler actually held meetings on the second floor, but since it was destroyed in ww2 they didnt build it again with the 2nd floor. anyways, in germany you basically sit at picnic tables. any pub or beer hall is just rows and rows of tables and you sit wherever you can get a seat. so we wound up sitting next to 2 guys from switzerland. they were really nice, both 21 and both had gfs. in switzerland you become bf/gf when you love eachother. its very different and they called us crazy for havin bf/gfs before we are in love. either way they were really nice and fun to talk to!
they wanted to go clubbing but the clubs were far so we invited them to the bar in our hostel. apparently our hostel bar is where the locals go and is the most fun. so we went there and they bought us drinks, we played pool...it was lots of fun! we did jager bombs in munich...a beer place. lol
sooo the next day at breakfast we sat down next to 3 guys from the army that were stationed in germany had the weekend off and came to munich. they were really fun and total southern gentlemen. they kept trying to pay for everything. on the tour we stopped at a beer hall and after that we decided to go to a museum and they kept trying to pay. then they rolled our eyes at us and were almost offended when we shoved money at them.
it was lots of fun to meet people actually! it kept the trip interesting, learned many new things about different people and had lots of fun!!
since iv been back iv been on a search for camera battery and charger. i gave up, my package isnt coming. however its impossible to find anything of that sort here! its like it dsnt exist. so fustrating. there are a million other unneccessary stores around here, but not one camera store. sigh, im trying again tom! i def miss best buy and target right about now.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
hufflepuff: trani working!!!
first, our hostel was right next to a main station (like central station) called somethin with an ha, ph and ff.....hence it being called hufflepuff since everything in Munich looks kind like hogwarts and has incredibly long names that are unpronouncable.
Munich was AMAZING. it was soooo cold and snowing like crazy, to the pnt that snow as in my eye and we cldnt see as we were walking. we first got there and bought rainboots for 7 euros so we didnt ruin our uggs, which is great cuz we can use them for venice and interloken. after that we kinda just walked around, kinda amused and surpised at the porn shops that were EVERYWHERE. naked women posters were outside to advertise for the porn shops and apparently some Munich halloween is coming up so there are costumes everywhere and the porn stores are really promoting their costumes.
anyways, the first day was spent walking around in rain boots, taking pictures of random buildings we assumed we would learn about later and finding our way to the olympic area...where the olympics took place in like 72 and then the 18 israeli hostages were shot. it was pretty cool and right next to a BMW museum.
after the olympic area we walked around some more and found some really pretty areas and a starbucks!!! fyi as a sidenot, in europe, esp italy there is no such thing as "to go" cups. when u get coffee you are expected to sit and sip it then leave. so we were thrilled to be able to take our coffee and walk around outside in the cold and have a hot hot wonderful drink!
the rest of the day we just kinda got lost and walked around everywhere, it was sooo cold depsite the 5 layers i was wearing, and i mean that seriously...3 thick socks, 2 leggings and jeans, 2 tanks, 2 long sleeves and a short sleeve, sweatshirt, northface and raincoat. scarf and gloves and hat of course. so ya, that night we got lost tryin to find a pub so went to a sports bar which was fun and went to bed early...
we woke up early to go to Dachau concentration camp, which is in dachau germany, just half hour outside Munich. we took a tour and it was very interesting. it was incredible, in the sad kind of way, and very intense. it was the first concentration camp built, only men were sent there. the baracks were destroyed, but not the main building where nazis had their offices and the jews would first arrive and be stripped of everything, numbered and tortured/punished and inspected. the rebuilt 2 baracks for us to see an example and we were able to go to the gas chambers and furnace rooms...i really dnt know how else to describe it, totally worth it experience and undescribable. i was glad i was able to actually see one after seeing so many pictures and learning so much about it. i will say tho that we went into the gas chamber, which actually wasnt used much in Dachau...usually they were shipped to a different camp, like aushwitz to be gased, however they did gas sometimes and experiment with gases to use....obvi using the jews as the subjects. however, regardless of how many times it was used, all the furnances were and all the gas chambers were modeled after that one. which was small, low ceilings, very uncomfortable and just horrible to be in. i couldnt ever imagine. its just rediculous, and i am very very glad i was able to go there and see it. definately worth the full day and time and money.
on a happier note, i learned that munich is like very different then any city in germany. it likes to be seperate and independent, it is traditional and the most catholic and is Bavarian. like they are Bavarians. its really interesing, all the buildings we saw- which we took a tour from our hostel for free around the city, which was amzing. we saw the increidble buildings and churches. one church the architech made a deal with the devil to help him build it and the devil said there cnt be windows. so the architech build it, with windows but put columns infront of it so when u stand inside u cnt see windows. the devil's requirements were therefore met and there his footprint in the church to show his singing of the agreement. we wrnt able to go in cuz htey had services, but cool story! also i didnt realize that everyhting in munich after ww2, around the 70s was destroyed by bombings, so the nazis previous to the end of ww2 took a billion pictures to rebuild all the buildings when hitler one, obvi hitler dsnt win and the bavarians took the photos to rebuild it. there is like 2 things that survived the bombings and fires, part of one church and a statue. everything else is recently built to look old. ha it was cool tho! there was also many 3rd reich memorials that are actually on the ground and not so obvi which many ppl walk by, esp in winter. but our tour guide is awesome and pointed it all out to us. he also showed us that by this memorial statue thing, it was surrounded by 3 roads on 3 sides and the front was opened to a plaza. basically hitler but a plack on the right side and everytim eu passed u had to, by law, do the heil hitler thing. sooo jews and others hwo did not support the nazi movement would tak ea chance, cut around the back "dodging" the right side and walk to the left. however many nazis were there ready to ship ppl off to dachau or other camps or shoot you. some were lucky, and now its known as dodges road...and there is a small gold strip as a memorial.
also in the haufbrauhaus which is very famous, esp to tourists was where hitler gathered and planned and formed his nazi party on the second floor. however, as everytihng in munich, it was destroyed and when they rebuilt it they left off the 2nd floor to rid all paths on nazi stuff...not to be ignored or forgotten but to show they do not want nazi stuff and yadayada. its acutally illegal to have a swashtika printed in munich or any form of it...no toleration.
also i walked by where kristllnach was planned, tho i didnt really catch exactly where. and we passed lions that ppl rub now for good luck, since a long time ago some guy got out of being killed when tlakin to the king because he like rubbed the lion for respect or who knows.
in munich, there are 2 symbols to represent it...a lion and a monk. yup. its cool, so lion statues everywhere. also since they are so catholic, they have on that same memorial bulding thing with the 3 roads and plaza, there are to the right the reich residence, royal ppl...and the left a catholic church. the lion facing church has its mouth closed to symbolize that u cnt speka out against the church, but ht elion facin the left has its mouth open to symolize u can speak out against the king and royals. thats funny too.
munich is def known for its beer, and so i had lots of beer. it was all very very good and sold everywhere and rather cheap if u idnt go to touristy areas.
basically, for now..i will finish up with my sunday (which is the day i took the tour with the hostel and then wound up at an art museum)...oh and also after dachau we went to the duesches musuem, which is a huge 3 days worth science museum with every inovation and invention everrr...it was awesome.
but yes so we went to an art museum, got starbucks again...ate lot sof mcdonalds because at every pub i had to be vegitarian since the choice was pork or cow utter. yes, cow utter.
my sat night and even sunday was filled with lots and lots of fun and drinking which tom i will def write more about. just had to get this down before i forgot the amazing bavarian munich!!!
Munich was AMAZING. it was soooo cold and snowing like crazy, to the pnt that snow as in my eye and we cldnt see as we were walking. we first got there and bought rainboots for 7 euros so we didnt ruin our uggs, which is great cuz we can use them for venice and interloken. after that we kinda just walked around, kinda amused and surpised at the porn shops that were EVERYWHERE. naked women posters were outside to advertise for the porn shops and apparently some Munich halloween is coming up so there are costumes everywhere and the porn stores are really promoting their costumes.
anyways, the first day was spent walking around in rain boots, taking pictures of random buildings we assumed we would learn about later and finding our way to the olympic area...where the olympics took place in like 72 and then the 18 israeli hostages were shot. it was pretty cool and right next to a BMW museum.
after the olympic area we walked around some more and found some really pretty areas and a starbucks!!! fyi as a sidenot, in europe, esp italy there is no such thing as "to go" cups. when u get coffee you are expected to sit and sip it then leave. so we were thrilled to be able to take our coffee and walk around outside in the cold and have a hot hot wonderful drink!
the rest of the day we just kinda got lost and walked around everywhere, it was sooo cold depsite the 5 layers i was wearing, and i mean that seriously...3 thick socks, 2 leggings and jeans, 2 tanks, 2 long sleeves and a short sleeve, sweatshirt, northface and raincoat. scarf and gloves and hat of course. so ya, that night we got lost tryin to find a pub so went to a sports bar which was fun and went to bed early...
we woke up early to go to Dachau concentration camp, which is in dachau germany, just half hour outside Munich. we took a tour and it was very interesting. it was incredible, in the sad kind of way, and very intense. it was the first concentration camp built, only men were sent there. the baracks were destroyed, but not the main building where nazis had their offices and the jews would first arrive and be stripped of everything, numbered and tortured/punished and inspected. the rebuilt 2 baracks for us to see an example and we were able to go to the gas chambers and furnace rooms...i really dnt know how else to describe it, totally worth it experience and undescribable. i was glad i was able to actually see one after seeing so many pictures and learning so much about it. i will say tho that we went into the gas chamber, which actually wasnt used much in Dachau...usually they were shipped to a different camp, like aushwitz to be gased, however they did gas sometimes and experiment with gases to use....obvi using the jews as the subjects. however, regardless of how many times it was used, all the furnances were and all the gas chambers were modeled after that one. which was small, low ceilings, very uncomfortable and just horrible to be in. i couldnt ever imagine. its just rediculous, and i am very very glad i was able to go there and see it. definately worth the full day and time and money.
on a happier note, i learned that munich is like very different then any city in germany. it likes to be seperate and independent, it is traditional and the most catholic and is Bavarian. like they are Bavarians. its really interesing, all the buildings we saw- which we took a tour from our hostel for free around the city, which was amzing. we saw the increidble buildings and churches. one church the architech made a deal with the devil to help him build it and the devil said there cnt be windows. so the architech build it, with windows but put columns infront of it so when u stand inside u cnt see windows. the devil's requirements were therefore met and there his footprint in the church to show his singing of the agreement. we wrnt able to go in cuz htey had services, but cool story! also i didnt realize that everyhting in munich after ww2, around the 70s was destroyed by bombings, so the nazis previous to the end of ww2 took a billion pictures to rebuild all the buildings when hitler one, obvi hitler dsnt win and the bavarians took the photos to rebuild it. there is like 2 things that survived the bombings and fires, part of one church and a statue. everything else is recently built to look old. ha it was cool tho! there was also many 3rd reich memorials that are actually on the ground and not so obvi which many ppl walk by, esp in winter. but our tour guide is awesome and pointed it all out to us. he also showed us that by this memorial statue thing, it was surrounded by 3 roads on 3 sides and the front was opened to a plaza. basically hitler but a plack on the right side and everytim eu passed u had to, by law, do the heil hitler thing. sooo jews and others hwo did not support the nazi movement would tak ea chance, cut around the back "dodging" the right side and walk to the left. however many nazis were there ready to ship ppl off to dachau or other camps or shoot you. some were lucky, and now its known as dodges road...and there is a small gold strip as a memorial.
also in the haufbrauhaus which is very famous, esp to tourists was where hitler gathered and planned and formed his nazi party on the second floor. however, as everytihng in munich, it was destroyed and when they rebuilt it they left off the 2nd floor to rid all paths on nazi stuff...not to be ignored or forgotten but to show they do not want nazi stuff and yadayada. its acutally illegal to have a swashtika printed in munich or any form of it...no toleration.
also i walked by where kristllnach was planned, tho i didnt really catch exactly where. and we passed lions that ppl rub now for good luck, since a long time ago some guy got out of being killed when tlakin to the king because he like rubbed the lion for respect or who knows.
in munich, there are 2 symbols to represent it...a lion and a monk. yup. its cool, so lion statues everywhere. also since they are so catholic, they have on that same memorial bulding thing with the 3 roads and plaza, there are to the right the reich residence, royal ppl...and the left a catholic church. the lion facing church has its mouth closed to symbolize that u cnt speka out against the church, but ht elion facin the left has its mouth open to symolize u can speak out against the king and royals. thats funny too.
munich is def known for its beer, and so i had lots of beer. it was all very very good and sold everywhere and rather cheap if u idnt go to touristy areas.
basically, for now..i will finish up with my sunday (which is the day i took the tour with the hostel and then wound up at an art museum)...oh and also after dachau we went to the duesches musuem, which is a huge 3 days worth science museum with every inovation and invention everrr...it was awesome.
but yes so we went to an art museum, got starbucks again...ate lot sof mcdonalds because at every pub i had to be vegitarian since the choice was pork or cow utter. yes, cow utter.
my sat night and even sunday was filled with lots and lots of fun and drinking which tom i will def write more about. just had to get this down before i forgot the amazing bavarian munich!!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
my bed is broke
so, i just came back from my art class where we went to see the roman forum. it actually started raining, then hailing/snowing. the ground is now icy mushy and it feels like im in englad. the roman forum is outside, so i have like 5 layers on, no joke. but i swear it didnt make me heavier! i just went to sit on my bed like a normal sit, not a flop or a bounce or a fall. and my bed is kinda broken now. i suppose i should tell them i need a new bed and mattress while they are at it...maybe, we shall see.
in the meantime, the forum is fine. i have it with 2 sorta friends, i take the pix with this one guys camera which is dumb that i wnt with mine but w/e im gettin his pix from him, and he takes the notes. it was intersting. its incredible ot think they built all this and walked around and everything. they have one arch they built to show they conquired jerusalem and there is a menorah and other things they claim would come from solomans temple. that was cool. however if u walk under it its disrespecting jews, because they built it to show they conquered jews. so what im thinking, after speaking to my wisdomness father and remembering all that i learned when in israel and in jerusalem, is that it must have been from the first destruction of the temple.... which is kinda cool. that i can combine both knowledge from diff things into 1, hopefully ill remember it well for the exam! not many jews in rome, its fun to see some jewish stuff- even if its tech a bad thing. i was like the only one to recognize it was a menorah on the arch from my class. i prob should really check out that synogogue near me- maybe there will be a koshermart with bamba like in florence!
they also had this temple for like 13 women or something. they are picked at the age of 5 and have to be virgins because they are supposed to be pure and protect the fire. literally, no joke an actual fire. if the fire went out they were punished. at the age of 33 they were allowed to leave and get married. isnt that weird/crazy.
so here i sit freezing in my room, with the hail outside and no heat and my broken bed, and my dirty sheets cuz my roomie was in my bed under my comfortor and hungry and tired and not wanting to study for my quiz. ever. just like spanish i suck at italian. and my classs dsnt teach my anything cept how to book a hotel. which is dumb, because if we actually called to book a hotel- which we dnt, because u do it online and we are students os its hostels and they speak english, we wldnt be able to understand anyways. i rather learn how to order things or ask for directions. sighh
im getting excited for munich tho! i found a media place which is kinda like a best buy. so hopefuyll they will have a charger and battery for my camera since my package is never ever coming. i was gunna go today till it decided to pour and hail. weird weather.
excited for warmer weather and a beer coat in munich where i will be in 7 layers....i seriously mean 2 leggings, jeans, uggs (hope it dsnt pour), tank top, short sleeve, long sleeve, big tshirt, sweatshirt, northface, raincoat. sound good? gloves, hat, scarf....maybe 3 socks and i might be good to go.
in the meantime, the forum is fine. i have it with 2 sorta friends, i take the pix with this one guys camera which is dumb that i wnt with mine but w/e im gettin his pix from him, and he takes the notes. it was intersting. its incredible ot think they built all this and walked around and everything. they have one arch they built to show they conquired jerusalem and there is a menorah and other things they claim would come from solomans temple. that was cool. however if u walk under it its disrespecting jews, because they built it to show they conquered jews. so what im thinking, after speaking to my wisdomness father and remembering all that i learned when in israel and in jerusalem, is that it must have been from the first destruction of the temple.... which is kinda cool. that i can combine both knowledge from diff things into 1, hopefully ill remember it well for the exam! not many jews in rome, its fun to see some jewish stuff- even if its tech a bad thing. i was like the only one to recognize it was a menorah on the arch from my class. i prob should really check out that synogogue near me- maybe there will be a koshermart with bamba like in florence!
they also had this temple for like 13 women or something. they are picked at the age of 5 and have to be virgins because they are supposed to be pure and protect the fire. literally, no joke an actual fire. if the fire went out they were punished. at the age of 33 they were allowed to leave and get married. isnt that weird/crazy.
so here i sit freezing in my room, with the hail outside and no heat and my broken bed, and my dirty sheets cuz my roomie was in my bed under my comfortor and hungry and tired and not wanting to study for my quiz. ever. just like spanish i suck at italian. and my classs dsnt teach my anything cept how to book a hotel. which is dumb, because if we actually called to book a hotel- which we dnt, because u do it online and we are students os its hostels and they speak english, we wldnt be able to understand anyways. i rather learn how to order things or ask for directions. sighh
im getting excited for munich tho! i found a media place which is kinda like a best buy. so hopefuyll they will have a charger and battery for my camera since my package is never ever coming. i was gunna go today till it decided to pour and hail. weird weather.
excited for warmer weather and a beer coat in munich where i will be in 7 layers....i seriously mean 2 leggings, jeans, uggs (hope it dsnt pour), tank top, short sleeve, long sleeve, big tshirt, sweatshirt, northface, raincoat. sound good? gloves, hat, scarf....maybe 3 socks and i might be good to go.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Florence
So, i just got back from florence, which was INCREDIBLE!! i took my 8gb chip thingy for my camera, and guess what- my camera didnt like it. so missa, saving my life not only had an extra battery for me but an extra memory card. i love her! i need my package like asap if that even comes, knock on wood it does.
either way.....florence was amazing. before i forget i saw a synogogue, the onyl one in florence go figure. apparently there are like 1000 jews but not all religious. it was bout in the 1800's and still stands originally today. its absolutly beautiful. it has a dome and some features of a church because 1 jew and 2 catholic architechs built it...so the christains put in an organ and that thing thats like where some high up person sits thats a circle with stairs...sorry i dnt know what its called, anyways the stained glass was soooo pretty and so where the walls. they wldnt let us bring anyting in so no pictures :-(. but they had a little museum from ww2 that either survived that or the flood in 1966. they had the smallest and cuttest sidors and teffilin and tallis. the nazis kinda took over for a little, but didnt destroy anything cuz they thought there were gunna be treasures and jewels and all they found was a torah and they were like ehhh, which is why everything is original and all. it also is hard to find because unlike ANY church in florence (or anywhere) its wsnt like off a nice park area or plaza, it was kinda hidden in buildings and streets. so ya, that was awesome!
so the second coolest thing in florence was the biggest lindt ball i have everrrr seen. ever, like ever. just go on facebook, its amazing.
sooo everything really was cool... when we first got there friday morning we dropped our bags at the hostel and went on the free walking tour, we went into an incredible castle and passed many. apparently florence is just so awesome and castley- i love it! also they had these wine doors, a bar wouldnt be inside, it was a little mailbox door u slipped ur money in and got wine in return. hehe
so then in the rain we walked around and saw so many amazing leather stores-not huge luck for me, i found a wonderful pair of boots that were rahter expensive but iv never felt better leather in my life- i had no time to try any on, sooo oh well. when the right time comes ill find boots.
they also have this bridge thats been there forever and has all these gold/jewlery stores on it, no other store is allowed some guy made it a rule...apparently it used to be butchers/delis and it would smell bad so ya. only jewelry.
we then hiked up a billion stairs to this park- michaelangelo park with a few of florence. the entire city. the city is actually rather small we were able to walk everywhere. it was sooo pretty. so then in the pouring rain we made our way back the hostel and ate dinner for there for free- it was pasta and sauce. it was yummy. esp for free, and a lot of pasta.
so we woke up suppper early sat morning to go see david and the ufizzi gallery which has many famous painting and of jesus and stuff, since i am in italy. david was incredible, the museum was fun too. i ran into one of my friends from class and her friends- they are the nicest girls in the world, i really hope we can hang out here!
so before ufizzi and after david, some of the girls and i walked around florence, florence is SO nice to walk around. everything looks sooo old and the castles are awesome and thats when i saw the giant lindt ball and got ferrero roche chocolate things but all dark chocolate, yummy.
so after ufizzi we walked around for a little and went back to the awesome park for nonrainy clear beautiful pictures.
thenn we went to the church croce where lots of famous dead ppl are burried, like galileo and michael diangelo annd a statue of liberty thingy. it was pretty cool.
all the churches we saw were very pretty (but the synogoue was the best, not to be biased or antyhing). it was fun to walk into one, felt comforting...i really need to go to the one here. my friend kept telling me to speak hebrew to them, which i would if it was like a rabbi but just because someone is in a synogogue dsnt mean they speak hebrew....ha maybe ill try the one in rome. i also found a koshermart, kosher restaurant and chabad near the temple. i got bamba from the koshermart. :-D
soooo also friday night (sorry this is out of order) we went to the markets where they had a ton of leather stuff and gadgets and stuff, and i got a really pretty purple scarf finally, i haggled it down...:-D my good israeli haggling skills came to use. i got my sisters something, but u know- they will have to wait and see. it was lots of fun minus all the creepy men whistling and saying things. ew.
ok so back to sat night, we went to this restuarant called Za-Za. it was sooo good, it was authentic, homemade italian restuarant where lots of famous people, like ben affleck and otherss had come. the food was incredible and the wine (house) was deliciousss. so it was overall a really good day and meal. after that we went back to the hostel kinda late, cuz we ate dinner for a while. some of my friends went to a bar, some of us got gelato and went to bed early. yes i ate way too much junk food there. but at least for breakfast i was able to order a number 5, no bacon, no cheese and just eggwhites. ha, they prob thougth i was crazy. but it was free. yayy!
sooo sat morning we woke up and my friend and i went to the synogogue since we cldnt go in sat night- which i was tryin to catch havdalah for. not like i go to services all the time, but its been 3 weeks without stepping in one, not being fully surrounded by jews and not going near a hillel. so i have a huge urge to go. maybe in munich? haha
soo after that we walked around for a while. oh we also passed the duemo so many times, we never went up cuz all there is is a view, which we got from the park. so we saved money. but ya, that was florence. :-D
it was def lots of fun!
i dnt think much happened before i left, thurs i stayed up all night. on wed i had my other art class and we went to the capital museums which had amazing statues and stuff. too much info to even try to tell you guys anything, but it was cool. im liking the mythodogy stuff w/ g-ds, very intersing. jesus, no offense, not so much. esp since here all the pictures of jesus show details of him bleeding. just not my cup of tea. i rather see g-ds looking happy or something. or the cupid psyche statue where they are going to kiss. thats cute, yay love!
so glad i dnt have classes monday, but i have lots of hw, need to go food shopping and meet up with one group for a group project.
next weekend im going to munich, it was thea cheapest and easiest thing to book last minute. who knew vienna and like madrid or berlin are a billion bucks?
im just so excited i have something every weekend and i wanna keep it up. this way i always have something to look forward to and i can already feel like it will go by fast. hopefully, i fully plan on still booking and going everywhere. so far i think ill do capri/serrento or greece during spring break. and hopefully milan, barcelona, vienna and paris. im already going to tuscany and pompeii for sure, as well as venice for carnivale which will be amazing and interloken to celebrate my 21st bday freezing with my whole woredrobe layered on me in the alps!!! yayy!
either way.....florence was amazing. before i forget i saw a synogogue, the onyl one in florence go figure. apparently there are like 1000 jews but not all religious. it was bout in the 1800's and still stands originally today. its absolutly beautiful. it has a dome and some features of a church because 1 jew and 2 catholic architechs built it...so the christains put in an organ and that thing thats like where some high up person sits thats a circle with stairs...sorry i dnt know what its called, anyways the stained glass was soooo pretty and so where the walls. they wldnt let us bring anyting in so no pictures :-(. but they had a little museum from ww2 that either survived that or the flood in 1966. they had the smallest and cuttest sidors and teffilin and tallis. the nazis kinda took over for a little, but didnt destroy anything cuz they thought there were gunna be treasures and jewels and all they found was a torah and they were like ehhh, which is why everything is original and all. it also is hard to find because unlike ANY church in florence (or anywhere) its wsnt like off a nice park area or plaza, it was kinda hidden in buildings and streets. so ya, that was awesome!
so the second coolest thing in florence was the biggest lindt ball i have everrrr seen. ever, like ever. just go on facebook, its amazing.
sooo everything really was cool... when we first got there friday morning we dropped our bags at the hostel and went on the free walking tour, we went into an incredible castle and passed many. apparently florence is just so awesome and castley- i love it! also they had these wine doors, a bar wouldnt be inside, it was a little mailbox door u slipped ur money in and got wine in return. hehe
so then in the rain we walked around and saw so many amazing leather stores-not huge luck for me, i found a wonderful pair of boots that were rahter expensive but iv never felt better leather in my life- i had no time to try any on, sooo oh well. when the right time comes ill find boots.
they also have this bridge thats been there forever and has all these gold/jewlery stores on it, no other store is allowed some guy made it a rule...apparently it used to be butchers/delis and it would smell bad so ya. only jewelry.
we then hiked up a billion stairs to this park- michaelangelo park with a few of florence. the entire city. the city is actually rather small we were able to walk everywhere. it was sooo pretty. so then in the pouring rain we made our way back the hostel and ate dinner for there for free- it was pasta and sauce. it was yummy. esp for free, and a lot of pasta.
so we woke up suppper early sat morning to go see david and the ufizzi gallery which has many famous painting and of jesus and stuff, since i am in italy. david was incredible, the museum was fun too. i ran into one of my friends from class and her friends- they are the nicest girls in the world, i really hope we can hang out here!
so before ufizzi and after david, some of the girls and i walked around florence, florence is SO nice to walk around. everything looks sooo old and the castles are awesome and thats when i saw the giant lindt ball and got ferrero roche chocolate things but all dark chocolate, yummy.
so after ufizzi we walked around for a little and went back to the awesome park for nonrainy clear beautiful pictures.
thenn we went to the church croce where lots of famous dead ppl are burried, like galileo and michael diangelo annd a statue of liberty thingy. it was pretty cool.
all the churches we saw were very pretty (but the synogoue was the best, not to be biased or antyhing). it was fun to walk into one, felt comforting...i really need to go to the one here. my friend kept telling me to speak hebrew to them, which i would if it was like a rabbi but just because someone is in a synogogue dsnt mean they speak hebrew....ha maybe ill try the one in rome. i also found a koshermart, kosher restaurant and chabad near the temple. i got bamba from the koshermart. :-D
soooo also friday night (sorry this is out of order) we went to the markets where they had a ton of leather stuff and gadgets and stuff, and i got a really pretty purple scarf finally, i haggled it down...:-D my good israeli haggling skills came to use. i got my sisters something, but u know- they will have to wait and see. it was lots of fun minus all the creepy men whistling and saying things. ew.
ok so back to sat night, we went to this restuarant called Za-Za. it was sooo good, it was authentic, homemade italian restuarant where lots of famous people, like ben affleck and otherss had come. the food was incredible and the wine (house) was deliciousss. so it was overall a really good day and meal. after that we went back to the hostel kinda late, cuz we ate dinner for a while. some of my friends went to a bar, some of us got gelato and went to bed early. yes i ate way too much junk food there. but at least for breakfast i was able to order a number 5, no bacon, no cheese and just eggwhites. ha, they prob thougth i was crazy. but it was free. yayy!
sooo sat morning we woke up and my friend and i went to the synogogue since we cldnt go in sat night- which i was tryin to catch havdalah for. not like i go to services all the time, but its been 3 weeks without stepping in one, not being fully surrounded by jews and not going near a hillel. so i have a huge urge to go. maybe in munich? haha
soo after that we walked around for a while. oh we also passed the duemo so many times, we never went up cuz all there is is a view, which we got from the park. so we saved money. but ya, that was florence. :-D
it was def lots of fun!
i dnt think much happened before i left, thurs i stayed up all night. on wed i had my other art class and we went to the capital museums which had amazing statues and stuff. too much info to even try to tell you guys anything, but it was cool. im liking the mythodogy stuff w/ g-ds, very intersing. jesus, no offense, not so much. esp since here all the pictures of jesus show details of him bleeding. just not my cup of tea. i rather see g-ds looking happy or something. or the cupid psyche statue where they are going to kiss. thats cute, yay love!
so glad i dnt have classes monday, but i have lots of hw, need to go food shopping and meet up with one group for a group project.
next weekend im going to munich, it was thea cheapest and easiest thing to book last minute. who knew vienna and like madrid or berlin are a billion bucks?
im just so excited i have something every weekend and i wanna keep it up. this way i always have something to look forward to and i can already feel like it will go by fast. hopefully, i fully plan on still booking and going everywhere. so far i think ill do capri/serrento or greece during spring break. and hopefully milan, barcelona, vienna and paris. im already going to tuscany and pompeii for sure, as well as venice for carnivale which will be amazing and interloken to celebrate my 21st bday freezing with my whole woredrobe layered on me in the alps!!! yayy!
Monday, February 2, 2009
the g-d of supermarkets
just because im procrastinating, i thought i would add just a little but about my day so far.
so i went to the school and they didnt have my package :-(. i already bug them enough but im going to call them soon and ask.
second on my way home we stopped of at the supermarket for food and so i can buy skim milk (soy is like nonrefridgerated weird crap here) since i apparently decided to buy whole milk. yup thats right, i have had 2 gelati with no cholestral pill, a pizza today with no cholestral pill, eating yogurt which i can only hope is somewhat fat free and on top of that have been drinking whole milk the past few days.
so we get some stuff and i decide i need fruit, so i go check out this other supermarket which is never open except for now and i walk in and i am pretty sure i hit heaven. there already is this special foods supermarket called margarita which is expensive but sells honey nut cheerios and m&ms and other delicious american foods plus american brand hair/body products. tho over priced. this new supermarket has all that times 10. it was like a giant in italy, but better. i was so overwhelmed i actually bought real raw chicken, turkey slices for sandwhiches and a few other necessary items. oh and mushrooms, yay! i cant wait to run out of shampoo, loose my deotorant or need something or maybe decide i hate my weird laundry detergent and try to get tide and other amazing american brands.
k thats all. now i must do hw and attempt working out. yay for NO classes on mondays!!!
so i went to the school and they didnt have my package :-(. i already bug them enough but im going to call them soon and ask.
second on my way home we stopped of at the supermarket for food and so i can buy skim milk (soy is like nonrefridgerated weird crap here) since i apparently decided to buy whole milk. yup thats right, i have had 2 gelati with no cholestral pill, a pizza today with no cholestral pill, eating yogurt which i can only hope is somewhat fat free and on top of that have been drinking whole milk the past few days.
so we get some stuff and i decide i need fruit, so i go check out this other supermarket which is never open except for now and i walk in and i am pretty sure i hit heaven. there already is this special foods supermarket called margarita which is expensive but sells honey nut cheerios and m&ms and other delicious american foods plus american brand hair/body products. tho over priced. this new supermarket has all that times 10. it was like a giant in italy, but better. i was so overwhelmed i actually bought real raw chicken, turkey slices for sandwhiches and a few other necessary items. oh and mushrooms, yay! i cant wait to run out of shampoo, loose my deotorant or need something or maybe decide i hate my weird laundry detergent and try to get tide and other amazing american brands.
k thats all. now i must do hw and attempt working out. yay for NO classes on mondays!!!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
shaloooooom, manishma?
pps i found a synogogue today! they really do have jews in rome. u think they speak hebrew? this way i can get by and understand what ppl are saying more then the italians! yayy. i really want to check it out soon. it looked big. :-)
patatine
btw just thought this was a necessary after thought. mcdonalds is everywhere here. their menu is healthier and less and they have a euro menu (dollar menu cept really dollar 40 cuz of dumb exchange rate). they also have curly fries! iv only gone twice but no matter what they refuse to give them to me whether i order in enlish or italian. they just say ok and give me the regular ones. maybe there is a secret code? sighhh. they do look good, esp for mcyd's.
my sashy weekend!
saturday night. colloseum bar crawl. before i say anything else, i think it was the coolest to be just going out on a sat night and walking past the colloseum and other things like it was just another building. to just be on your way to another bar and oh look, there is the colloseum has to be one of the coolest feelings iv felt here. thats why i came to rome.
so ya- i love sashas friends from milan! they are all so much fun and we had a really good time. i got to dance and have fun and party it up in rome with sasha!! yayyyy. cant wait to see her again.
i also was very independent today for the first time since iv been here (minus wed). today i met sasha at the trevi fountain then we walked around and got my first gelato of the day. i walked her to the train station and said by to her at the platform. :-( i was so glad she came- had lots of fun!! then i came home all by myself! i tried to buy a bus ticket but on sundays nothin is open so that failed. sundays and siestas are so annoying. on the bus back from the station some extremley drunk guy with a bloody face decided it would be just so cool if he fell on me. so he did. yuck!! it was wonderful. so this nice italian man switched spots with me so he wldnt fall on me again. itlaian men can be so creepy and gross, but im so glad i found a nice one!
today i also went to wash my sheets. so i put them in our small 2 in washer, barely fitting, put in some soap (accideltny more then i wanted) and uhhh let it go. the thing is you set it for a 35 min wash- it goes for almost 2 hrs. so it did. but since it was still soapy i put it on a quick rinse. which took an hour. during so sasha called so i had to run out. so i came home around 530 and put it on another "quick" rinse and an hour later put it on the spin and drain. and hour later i took them out and layed out as many of the sheets as i can on the radiators (because NOTHING dries outside). the radiators go on from 6-1o pm. my sheets were scattered around the apt. suppppper. i currently am sittin in almost dried except for the corners sheets. AND here is the best part- the sheets they provided us (the only decent set) does not fit on the matress. u would think they would want a sheet to do that. but noooooo, apparently when your in rome you dont get sheets to fit your bed. dumb people.
so tonight we went to a bar that a steelers player owns to watch the superbowl. on the way there i got my second gelato. and i CRAVE pizza. oy. my cholestral is screwed, esp since these spontatnious purchases do not allot me the time to take my pill. either way we met some random fun americans and then left early cuz my roomies have class early. i dont. que lastima (what a shame- and that is my only spanish i know besides aquafiesta which means party pooper). so tom i must do all the hw i should have been doing this weekend. i took a lonnng siesta for sasha.
hopefully tom ill plan the rest of my trips here!!! my roommates who did make it to naples came back with 2 pairs of boots. im jealous! they just dnt have any simple cute ones here. sigh. maybe in florence?
sorry this is long, hope it wasnt too boring :-)
so ya- i love sashas friends from milan! they are all so much fun and we had a really good time. i got to dance and have fun and party it up in rome with sasha!! yayyyy. cant wait to see her again.
i also was very independent today for the first time since iv been here (minus wed). today i met sasha at the trevi fountain then we walked around and got my first gelato of the day. i walked her to the train station and said by to her at the platform. :-( i was so glad she came- had lots of fun!! then i came home all by myself! i tried to buy a bus ticket but on sundays nothin is open so that failed. sundays and siestas are so annoying. on the bus back from the station some extremley drunk guy with a bloody face decided it would be just so cool if he fell on me. so he did. yuck!! it was wonderful. so this nice italian man switched spots with me so he wldnt fall on me again. itlaian men can be so creepy and gross, but im so glad i found a nice one!
today i also went to wash my sheets. so i put them in our small 2 in washer, barely fitting, put in some soap (accideltny more then i wanted) and uhhh let it go. the thing is you set it for a 35 min wash- it goes for almost 2 hrs. so it did. but since it was still soapy i put it on a quick rinse. which took an hour. during so sasha called so i had to run out. so i came home around 530 and put it on another "quick" rinse and an hour later put it on the spin and drain. and hour later i took them out and layed out as many of the sheets as i can on the radiators (because NOTHING dries outside). the radiators go on from 6-1o pm. my sheets were scattered around the apt. suppppper. i currently am sittin in almost dried except for the corners sheets. AND here is the best part- the sheets they provided us (the only decent set) does not fit on the matress. u would think they would want a sheet to do that. but noooooo, apparently when your in rome you dont get sheets to fit your bed. dumb people.
so tonight we went to a bar that a steelers player owns to watch the superbowl. on the way there i got my second gelato. and i CRAVE pizza. oy. my cholestral is screwed, esp since these spontatnious purchases do not allot me the time to take my pill. either way we met some random fun americans and then left early cuz my roomies have class early. i dont. que lastima (what a shame- and that is my only spanish i know besides aquafiesta which means party pooper). so tom i must do all the hw i should have been doing this weekend. i took a lonnng siesta for sasha.
hopefully tom ill plan the rest of my trips here!!! my roommates who did make it to naples came back with 2 pairs of boots. im jealous! they just dnt have any simple cute ones here. sigh. maybe in florence?
sorry this is long, hope it wasnt too boring :-)
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