Spring Break 2011 - Venice

March 7 – March 9

After checking out of our B&B, we walked to the train station and took the train to Venice. Taking the train through Italy was such a great decision because it gave us a chance to see the country side, although on the way to Venice we saw snow on the ground and that was a little disheartening, but when we arrived in Venice it was cold, but sunny! When we arrived we took a water taxi to our hostel and checked in before heading back out into the city. It was so refreshing to walk around and not have to worry about getting hit by cars or busses and crossing all the little bridges was so much fun! We walked to St. Marks Plaza which had been transformed into a huge stage for Carnival! Carnival in Venice is absolute madness. People of all ages are dressed up in elaborate costumes to celebrate and at night, St. Marks turned into one big disco! It was so much fun to walk around women and men in 19^th Century dresses and suits, while people my age are dressed up in the equivalent of Halloween costumes. We walked past St. Marks and saw the Bridge of Sighs before stopping for dinner and then went back to St. Marks to listen to the music and see everyone’s costumes.

Our next day in Venice was Marti Gras! We got our faces painted which was so much fun, although after a while it started to itch and I would forget that half my face was covered in glitter and paint and it would startle me. After getting our faces painted, we walked to a point across from San Marco and looked at the bay and saw Venice from another perspective. We spent the rest of the day just walking around and taking in the mass craziness that Venice turned into. Every street was jam-packed and it was like one big party. We stopped in San Marco to watch the crowning of “The Maria of Carnival” the only way to describe what it was is to compare it to a Miss America pageant except that the winner was waiting backstage to be brought out. After dinner, the streets of Venice we packed with people around my age and the music was blasting as Venice turned into an even bigger party. At midnight, there is a silent regatta of gondolas to welcome in Lent. It was an amazing sight to see so many gondolas coming down the Grand Canal and they were all lead by a trumpet at the front.

Wednesday we went to mass at the San Marco Basilica where we learned that in Italy, they do not put a cross of ashes on your forehead. Instead the priest takes a pile of ashes and dumps it on the top of your head and then spreads them in your hair/on your head. It was a very interesting cultural shock, something I was not expecting. After mass, we had lunch and then went on a gondola ride!! Although it was so expensive, it was totally worth it! We started in the Grand Canal and then went under the Bridge of Sighs and passed by Casanova’s house and Marco Polo’s house as well. The entire gondola ride was about 45 minutes. After that, we went and sat by the Grand Canal and walked to the Rialto. It was amazing how depopulated the city of Venice was when carnival was over. We definitely went to Venice at the right time, because I think if we went any other time, there would not be a lot going on. That night we went back to the hostel and packed and got ready for London. 

Spring Break 2011 - Florence

March 5 – March 6

We checked out of our hostel in the morning and walked to the trains station where I had my first nervous fit of the trip. Our train was not showing up on the departure board, the only train at the time our tickets said was for Milan, luckily we found a board and realized that Florence is one of the stops on the way to Milan, so we were able to board and get on our train, but not without a moment of panic. When we arrived in Florence, the owner of the B&B we stayed in, Leonardo, was waiting for us and walked us to where we were staying. After we unpacked we went to the lobby where he got a map and planned out what we should do for the afternoon. Florence is not as big of a city as I expected and we were able to cover the city in the afternoon. We walked to the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Veccho and walked by the Medici House (Plazzo Pitta) and the Basilica di Santa Croce. While were walking around I found a store named Edison, appropriately enough it was a bookstore (for all the reading my mom and sister do). We had dinner and went out for delicious Tiramisu!

The next morning we woke up to sun and warm weather and enjoyed a nice lunch outside before walking to the Plaza de Michelangelo. The plaza is at the top of a hill and we had to walk up a bunch of stairs before reaching the top, but the view was totally worth it. A common theme for this trip is that in every city thus far I have climbed to the top of a building or in this case a hill and had a spectacular view of the city. After climbing back down, we went and saw the original David statue which in reality is not life size like I thought it would be, but actually really big. Since it was Sunday, we went to mass inside the Duomo, it was all in Italian and I was not really able to understand anything except for a few words here and there, but it was such a unique experience. After mass, we went back to dinner and then back to our room to pack for Venice!   

Spring Break 2011 - Rome

March 1- March 5

If I had to describe our time in Rome in one word it would be: Rain! Every day we were in Rome with the exception of the last day, it rained, but that did not stop us from making the most of our time in Rome. After we flew into Rome and checked into our hostel, we ventured out into the pouring rain and walked to the Santa Maria Maggiore, Teatro deli Opera, Plazza della Republica, and the Maria degli Angeli (a beautiful basillica). We even went to the Trevi Fountain in the pouring rain, but it was totally worth it because it is by far my favorite spot in Rome. After walking around the city for a while, we met up with other girls from Aquinas who were staying in the same hostel as us and all went out for dinner. The food in Italy is delicious (but by the end of a week in Italy I was tired of pasta, pizza and gelato).

The next morning we woke up and went to Vatican City hoping that we would see the pope, but unfortunately our source was faulty and the pope was not making an appearance that day. Not wanting to waste a trip to the Vatican, we all climbed to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica and had an amazing view of the city. As you climb to the top, you are literally walking at the angle of the dome so the stairs are slanted and you are walking sideways. I felt like I was in a fun house for the majority of the climb up. After spending some time at the top, we climbed back down and spent some time walking around St. Peters. I was so overwhelmed by all that is inside, I feel like I could have spent every day I was in Rome inside St. Peters and still not seen everything. As a group, we also went down into the catacombs and saw Pope John Paul II’s tomb. We stopped for lunch and then made our way to the Coliseum. At the Coliseum, we had a guided tour by a woman who was craazy! She was explaining how the gladiators walked into the Coliseum and told us “Look here, now imagine this, 35 Russell Crowes walk in here...” The tour was so worth it because I learned a lot I would not have known otherwise.

The next morning we woke up and there was sun shine so in taking full advantage of the nice weather we went to: The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (again :-)), Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Camp di Fiori. They all were so beautiful and the nice weather made it all the better. After our whirlwind tour of Rome in the morning, we went back to the Coliseum and went to the Roman Forum for the second part of our tour. The Roman Forum was very interesting and at one point, we were walking on the original floor of the palace that was built there! After our tour our group split up and I went shopping with a couple of the girls and we ended up getting cannolis and eating them in St. Peter’s Square.   After dinner we did something that was long overdue: laundry. When you are living out of a backpack for two and a half weeks, you run out of clothes pretty fast!

The next day, we went to the Piazza del Popolo and went up to Villa Borghese and rode segways around the park. It was so much fun, but kind of scary at first because it is all about balance, but once you get the hang of it, it is amazing! After our segway excursion, we went to the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel which is absolutely gorgeous and also The School of Athens. Since we purchased a Roma Pass, we had free entrance into  two museums and after using one of the passes at the Coliseum, we decided to use our last pass and go to the Castel Sant’ Angelo. It has papal apartments and was used as a fortress during times of conflict. After dinner we went back to the Trevi Fountain one last time and enjoyed gelato before heading home to pack for Florence! 

I did not fall into the Trevi Fountain..even though that is what it looks like.

Spring Break 2011 - Athens

February 26-28

After waking up early to catch our flight, we arrived in Athens at 7:30pm took an hour bus ride into the city and then walked to our hostel. Our hostel was located in a part of Athens which is called the Plaka. It is a pedestrian area packed with little shops and restaurants. Once we checked in, we walked around the Plaka and stopped for dinner and gelato. 

The next morning we woke up and had Greek yogurt before heading out for a day of sightseeing. Since we were in Athens on the last Sunday of the month, everything was FREE! We went to the Acropolis first and hiked up to the top stopping along the way to look out at the city and take in the ruins which surround the Acropolis. Once we got to the top we were able to look out at the entire city, which was breathtaking. When we took the bus into the city it was dark so I did not get a chance to see how big the city of Athens is! 

After the Acropolis, we walked to the Temple of Zeus and walked through the ruins which surround the temple. From there, we walked to the original Olympic Stadium and had an audio guide as we walked around. I ran around the track and climbed to the top of the stands and was able to look down at the entire stadium and see the city as well. It was such a surreal experience  to be in a city with so much history and to think about everything that has happened in the city. 

After the Olympic Stadium, I had my first gyro before walking to the government building where we watched the changing of the guard. The guards where dressed in these white dresses with tights and had big fluff balls on the top of their shoes. 

The next morning we woke up and walked to the Agora which again was free because we had international student ID cards which waved the fee. The most fascinating thing about the Agora is that all the buildings are reduced to just a stone foundation, but there are no other stones, everything has deteriorated over time. 

After walking around the Agora, we took the bus to the beach. While we were waiting though, these dogs were basically circling us and then started to fight each other and when cars would drive by, they would jump out into the street and chase after the cars. They even chased a boy into oncoming traffic, luckily he was not hit by a car. It was a very frightening experience and something I would be fine never experiencing again. 

The beach was fun, but when you are there on a cold, overcast day, there is not much to do, so we just sat down and were fascinated by the few people that were actually swimming in the ocean. After the beach, we took the bus back into downtown Athens, went shopping for a little and then grabbed dinner before packing and getting ready for Roma! 

Greek Yogurt

Acropolis/Parthenon

Zesus Temple

Olympic Stadium

View from our balcony at the hostel

Agora

The Beach 

Spring Break 2011-Dublin

Dublin

Newgrange

Spring break started for us when we left for Dublin on February 23. On our way we stopped at Newgrange, a stone age passage tomb. We were able to walk inside and look around, but for such a large tomb, the passage ways were very small!

The next morning we all went to see the Book of Kells and the library at Trinity College. We had hop on hop off passes for our two days so after the college we hopped on the bus and went to the Kilmainham Gaol and took a guided tour around the Gaol. It was very powerful to be at the gaol because it is where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Uprising were executed and as a class we spent a great deal of time at the beginning of the semester learning about the uprising.   

The west wing

Sign at the Zoo 

After the goal, we decided to go to the Dublin Zoo and enjoy the nice afternoon. The zoo was pretty small but it was still fun to walk around and see the animals. After the zoo we went out to dinner and then went to the Temple Bar.

Gravity Bar 

The next day we went and saw Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral and then walked to the Guinness Brewery. After our tour around the building which including floors about the ingredients, the history of the company, advertising over the years and marketing, we went and had a pint in Gravity Bar. From the bar you could see the entire city of Dublin and the surrounding area, it was an amazing view. After the brewery we went to the Natural History museum but promptly left when we walked into the main room and realized that the entire museum was stuffed animals...yuck! So instead I went to the Archeology Museum and saw bog bodies (bodies which had been preserved in the bogs of Ireland) and other artifacts from around Ireland. After the visit to the museum, we went to the Abbey Theater and saw a play called No Romance, it was the second night it had even been showed to an audience and I thought it was very enjoyable. After the play it was time to pack and get ready for the next two weeks...