Rome: August and September 2010

This whole life in Rome of mine started on Thursday, August 26. We raced to Piazza Navona that morning in order to claim the best room/roommate. Danielle and I were lucky enough to get double together but not lucky enough to be on the piazza side. That weekend was followed by orientations and tours and then.... Surprise: you guys are going to be doing a project in Tivoli for the next to weeks with Italian students from Milan. Shortly after finding this out we were put on a bus and taken to Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli where there was a champagne appetizer party for us to meet the Italians.
The next two weeks we took turns working in Rome and in Tivoli designing a museum on the site of Hadrian's Villa. The groups consisted of five Italians and one PSU Arch and one PSU Larch. Our group, aside from not letting us do any of the design work, was really nice. They even invited us to their house one day and cooked us a real Italian pasta lunch. At the end there was an award ceremony in which my team sadly did not win anything. Then there was another champagne party for us on a rooftop terrace in center Rome. Overall it was a good experience to work with Italian students and get special treatment at archeological sites, but I am glad it is over now!

So basically I live in Piazza Navona, the largest and most famous one in all of Rome. Our residents are on the third floor of a church designed by Bernini, a famous architect. There are three sides of hallways surrounding an inner courtyard. Two hallways have bathrooms, kitchens, and rooms, while the third is the entrance, common room, and what we call the internet cafe (aka the hallway everyone sits in order to get a good wireless signal). Danielle and I live together across the hall from some Larch boys we met. They are awesome and so is the one boys girlfriend. It is pretty much the six of us doing everything together. We cook meals a lot for the whole group and also have "family" dinners on Sunday nights where we dress up and go out to eat. We shop at really small grocery stores that have the basics, including 87 euro cent boxed wine! We eat mostly pasta and sometimes salad or chicken. We recently discovered tortillas so our next mission is quesadillas! We have also been to the beach in Ostia which was really nice. The water was beautiful, clear, and warm but the sand, as soft as it was, was black as night because it came from lava. Another thing that isn't too far off from home: there is a bar a few doors down from our house that is an American bar and shows all of the football games. The owner is from Pennsylvania so PSU is actually a priority there. All of the students from past semesters have signed flags that are hanging on the wall.

As far as classes go, I am taking four. Studio of course is the major class that takes up most of time. This semester we are designing a piazza that is to be combined with an open air market and commercial front residential buildings. The site is really close to the Colosseum so I am there at least twice a week. The next class is basic Italian for beginners. Our teacher does not really speak English that well so as to be imagined the class is very slow as she tries to explain things in English. Then I have cartography which is awful. The teacher is really scary and he yells a lot about random things. Once a week we have a lecture and the second meeting of the week consists of four hour walking tours across Rome. We are graded on maps we draw of the routes we take each week! My last class is just a basic history on Rome and the different styles and types of architecture that can be found here.

Other than that it is still pretty much like normal life. Some changes to get used to but overall it has been great. I feel like I already forget what it is like to live in America. The other day I heard a police siren and it is so different from the ones at home. I then tried to picture an American siren in my head and I still can't figure it out!! That's fine though I guess soon enough I will hear it again. For now I will just enjoy the time I have to listen to European sirens!

Cinque Terre

After Grandma and Grandpa left on Friday night, Danielle and I began out adventure to meet up with our friends at Cinque Terre, a five-town hiking adventure in the mountains along the beach on the northwest coast of Italy. The overnight train- well let's just say it was an experience we would rather not try again. We arrived to a very lovely apartment though which made our night better. Our apartment was in the first (Southern most) of the five towns. The next morning we started out on the trail along the water to the next town. This trail was very easy and short. After arriving Manarola we started on a vineyard walk I had read about in my Italy book. It was fun and we got to steal some grapes which we very delicious. The vineyard was on the side of the mountain so the view was of the entire town below us as well as all of the ocean beyond that. The trail to the next town was closed so we had to take the train. This town had a massive staircase consisting of 300+ stairs just to get from the train station to the town. And of course the town was so small and had a few places to eat and that was it. So we left quickly only to be hit with the two hour walk through the mountain to the next town. Although this walk was ridiculously hard the ten of us made jokes and had a good time anyway. We then got to the fourth town, Vernazza which was definitely my favorite. We were welcomed by a street band playing songs that reminded us of the football games at school that we would be missing that day. Then we had the best pizza in the world. I had a pesto slice, regular pizza topped with pesto, and then one with salami that was the closest to pepperoni I have seen since I got to Italy.

After that we walked around that town for a bit while the weather turned on us. The sea was also getting rough at this time so it was fun to watch the stupid tourists climb the rocks in the harbor and then get smashed by unexpected waves! Then we took the train back to our town and got all fancied up for a nice dinner on the water where I enjoyed more pesto! After dinner we all went to buy Cinque Terre wine from a local store and hung out at the apartment.

The next day went to the last town, Monterosso, and went straight to the beach. It was cold and cloudy but the water was so clear and I couldn't resist so I went in anyway. Then we walked around the town a little bit and took the train back to our town. After getting pizza there the skies opened and down poured on our 20 minute walk uphill to the car. We left Cinque Terre and on the way home stopped by Pisa to get our famous pictures in front of the leaning tower. It was weird because it was really shaddy town that seemed to only exist because of this architectural mistake. And the tower itself is just randomly inside the town, you can see it from the road. Then we continued the journey home, and after getting lost in Rome for an hour we were home sweet home!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Being as lucky as I am, my wonderful grandparents finished a cruise in Rome and decided to stay an extra two nights to visit me. They arrived Thursday afternoon and immediately upon meeting with them we ate all the infamous Tre Scalini! I had rigatoni amatriciana, grandma had due tre scalini (lasagna & tortellini) and grandpa had spaghetti and clams.. delicious meal! Then I took them to the Pantheon and to the Trevi Fountain. Next we stopped at studio and headed back for Piazza Navona. After my class we met up again and walked across the river to see St. Peter's and Castel Sant Angelo all lit up at night! Then finished the night with pizza in Piazza Navona.

Friday we went straight to St. Peter's and got online to enter. Grandma really wanted to climb the to the roof so we waited on a long line only to find out that we had paid to go to the top of the dome and the roof was a small stop along the way! So the three of us climbed all 320 steps from the roof to the top of the dome. It was really tight and pretty scary. The last part was a spiral staircase with a rope hanging down so you could pull yourself up! The view at the top was absolutely amazing though. It was totally worth the struggle to climb to the top. After going back down we stopped at restaurant for lunch right outside the church.. I had lasagna and so did grandma, grandpa has ziti.

After St. Peter's we walked to the subway to get over to the Spanish steps. We walked around there for a few minutes and then got back on the subway to go to the Colosseum. That trip was a little less pleasant as it was rush hour but we made it there nonetheless. We walked around there for a little and then came back to Piazza Navona. After taking a break for a little, they came back to my apartment where we had homemade bruschetta and wine while looking at pictures from all of my trips! It was a really great visit and I had a lot of fun sharing all I know about Rome with people I know!

Oktoberfest

Luckily upon arrival in Rome, Danielle and I became very good friends with a group of people here with the landscape program from Penn State. They had planned a trip to Munich for Oktoberfest back in May and booked rooms for ten people thinking they would get a group together when they got here.. Danielle and I being the lucky ones got in on the trip. So after much discussion and concerns we decided the cheapest way to get there was to rent a van, and so Friday morning at 5 am, we trekked off to the train station to get to the airport in which the rental car was held. We had a nine person stick shift van that only one boy was capable of driving and it was a 10 hour drive to Munich from Rome. Let the fun begin. First off we couldn't even get out of the garage with the boys having to push the car backwards because we couldn't figure out the reverse. After figuring that out we drove 10 km in the wrong direction, but after that it was smooth sailing through the beautiful Alps and into Munich by 8 that night. We had dinner at a small German bar and hit the sack early.

The next day we took the half walk from our hotel to the grounds of Oktoberfest. It was enormously huge, probably the size of Six Flags, rides and all. After scoping out what tents we could go into and where there were still seats left we settled at an outdoor table at Hofbrauhaus. We then waited three hours until the actual event started since this was the first day of the entire festival. So there was huge parade and we heard over the load speaker the mayor of Munich tapping the first keg inside the tent. Then the beer came out and everyone had a great time!

Later that day we took a break and walked into downtown Munich. At this point it had gotten cloudy and very cold and there wasn't much to see/ do in Munich so we headed back to the festival grounds. We did some shopping and had some sausage sandwiches and then tried to get into a tent. We finally found one with seats and then enjoyed the rest of the night dancing on the table with the very happy German people. (If you stayed seats you either got dirty looks or got stepped on by drunk people doing a train across the tables.) We also learned some hilarious German drinking songs that they played every hour on the hour.

The next day we went back in the morning to buy souvenirs and then it was back in the car for the 10 hour drive home. Overall it was an amazing experience and I am soo glad I went. It was by far the best time I have had in Europe thus far, and no not because of the beer, it was really just great to be at this place where these people were so happy and welcoming, and just to spend time with our good new friends! Prost!

Paris

Paris was very different from the first two cities we visited. Not only were we in shock when it was the first non-English speaking country we visited but the whole journey from the airport to the hostel was different than the others. The first thing we did after checking into our hostel was go the Eiffel Tower. We had banquet sandwiches while waiting on the huge line. The elevator takes you to the main level which is the biggest, then you wait on another line to go all the way to the top. It was cool because we got there at about 7 at night so it was still light when we got to the first level, then by 9 when we got to the top it was dark, and by 10 when we got down and sat on the lawn in front of it a light shows started which was pretty cool to watch. The whole experience was amazing and it was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done. It was soooooo high!

The next day in Paris we went to the Louvre of course to see Mona Lisa! And buzzed around there for a couple of hours since it most be the most crowded museum in the world on any given day. Then we went to Notre Dame and made in just in time for another downpour! We had lunch and then went to the Pompidou, a modern art museum that has all of its structures and mechanical things on the outside (we learned about it in class). Then we went to the Triumphal arch that is at the end of Champs de Lise (the fifth ave of Paris). This place was crazy as it is in the middle of a traffic circle that is pretty much the scariest intersection I have ever seen. Im not sure how hundreds of people do not die there a day!

The next day we went to the Palace of Versailles. A huge palace outside of Paris known for its enormous grounds and famous Hall of Mirrors. We got in for free with proof of being architecture students so that was cool. Then we went into the gardens that are seriously the biggest grounds I had ever seen, they continued to the horizon! Then we went back to Paris and stopped by their version of the Pantheon and another palace called Luxemborg. And or course finished our night with a prelude to Rome by having pizza and wine at a French cafe'.

Then it was finally off to Rome, my home for the next four months!

Dublin

Dublin by far was my favorite city I visited. The people, the town, and especially the food were the most interesting on the whole Eurotrip! We got to Dublin super late the first night so we went straight to bed. The next day we started off at the Guinness factory of course! The weather there was even more unpredictable than London. We left the hostel with sunny skies and we were sweating then by the time we walked 20 minutes to the storehouse the skies opened and it was pouring right as we walked in! The factory itself was really cool in an architecture sense. The section of the building turns out to be a beer pint complete with the foam on top as a clear glass 360 view bar. After the tour you end up in this bar which is where you get your free pint! And well that was the first and last time I drink Guinness! Apparently the hops or some ingredient of beer is roasted and seriously the beer tasted like chilled coffee, I guess from the roasting! It was gross but of course I finished it just to say I finished my pint at Guinness.

Next, in the sun, we walked to Kilmainham jail. It was a really old jail most famous for its control of the British and its use during the fight for Irish independence in the early 1900's. We learned the stories of the 7 famous men that lead a revolt against the British and how they were all hung. We had a tour of the main gen-pop room which is currently used in movies and shows such as HBO's The Tutors. That night we met up with three girls from architecture that happened to be in Dublin the same time as us. This is the night I had the best meal of my life!!!!! It was called Beef and Guinness Pie! Basically like a beef stew but I guess in this case the Guinness actually makes the meal! And to top it off I had a glass of Irish cider which is tasted like Champagne and Beer mixed.

The next day we took a tour of Dublin Castle, which was pretty but not half as impressive as Windsor Castle. There had been Gala there the night before with a bunch of famous politicians so that seemed interesting. Then we did a speed walking tour of the rest of Dublin which included St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Green, and Trinity College. Of course after walking around Trinity campus we hang out in the main quad watching a wedding and then randomly a group of architecture friends, that we had no idea were in London, just casually walk up to us! Small world! Then of course we finished the day with more Beef and Guinness Pie and hung out at the famous Temple Bar area which is where our hostel was.

Then it was off to Paris, France the next morning!

London

So our European adventures began after an overnight flight on which none of us slept a wink! After dropping our bags off at our hostel we got a our first English lunch which consisted of a beef wrap and salad, very delicious, best meal in London! That night we went to the river and started a walk by Big Ben and went all the way to Tate Modern, a modern art museum we had learned about in classes, which is at the base of the Millenium Bridge (the one in the last Harry Potter that the death eaters destroy haha).

The second day in London we rushed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. The streets kind of looking like it was the Macy's day parade so needless to say we did not get very close to the Palace but got to see a lot of action in streets. We stood there for over an hour watching them close the street to let guards and horses down, then re-open it for cars, and then do that all over again.. After the hour when we left it still was going on! We then walked to Westminster Abbey, the Prime Minister’s house, and through Trafalger square. We then walked across the Millenium bridge again and walked through Tate Modern. It was as cool as a modern art museum can be I guess. Then we walked to the Globe theater and across the Southwark bridge. We then made the treck out to Abbey Road which took about an hr with metro and walking. We took our pictures and made our way back to the metro to hed to SoHo. We then had dinner at an American diner- yuck, but it was all that wasn’t jam-packed.

The third day was my favorite in London. We scheduled a tour from London to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and the Roman town Bath. Windsor Castle was first and it was awesome!! The British flag was flying so that meant that the Queen was at Buckingham (if she was there the Royal flag would have been flying). We got to take a picture with the guard, against his will of course, but he just stood there and ignored us! Then we went to Stonehenge, which is the ancient stone works made mysteriously by a culture that should not have had the means to move those stones, so it is a mystery how they got there and what they mean. I was a little disappointed only because the pictures in class made it seem as this huge complex in the middle of nowhere but it ends up that its in the middle of a field which looks like Pennsylvania and the highway runs 20 feet from the thing!! It was still awesome to see it in person though. Then we went to Bath which is an awesome little town. It reminded my of a European Smithville almost. We took our tour of the Roman baths and then walked around the town and along its river for a few hours. 

Our last day in London the flight didn't leave until late afternoon so we spent the morning going to the free museums of London.. Natural History and Queen Victoria and Albert Museum to be exact.. Then we ventured over to Harrod's, the worlds largest department store, and was it!??! We got lost in the 5 or 7 stories that continued on forever.. There was an entire gourmet grocery store, golf carts for sale, as well as an employee in a suit playing Lady Gaga on a million dollar piano, very cool store!


Then it was off to the airport of the one hour flight to Dublin, Ireland!!