Nice and Monoco: The French Riviera!!

This weekend we finally traveled outside of the country to go to the French Riviera. Though we ended up doing nothing carnival related- it was truly an amazing time.

We rented a car from a local car rental, and because we got an automatic (which is rare around here, everyone drives stick) I was able to drive!! It was a cute 5 seater Fiat (and very roomy) with a large trunk. We left Florence around 430pm and arrived in Nice at about 1030pm because we got a little lost trying to find our hostel. The drive was mostly 2 lane highways (autostrada in Italiano) with huge bridges overlooking cliffs and the Atlantic, and a lot of tunnels through the cliffs. It was quite the eye-opening drive.

This being the 1st hostel I ever stayed in, I was surprised to see the accommodations of 2 bunks beds and a sink/shower in the room, and the public bathroom down the hall. I actually ended up sleeping very well and for only 15euro a night, I have to say I will be doing it again!

We quickly cleaned up and went out to adventure the city a little bit that night. We ended up going to a bar called THOR, but only had 1 drink and left because we were very tired and wanted to be well rested for the next morning.

We got up bright and early and were on our way. We walked along the main strip in Nice, where the electric tram runs and where we could see some things set up for carnival (2 huge floats, stadium seating, some decorations, and a big TV). On our walk we found a mall!!!! I have not been in a mall since I was in the states, so I was very excited. We shopped around, grabbing a few things in Sephora and a smoothie!! It was great to be in France because they eat with a lot more variety than in Italy. As I have said, the Italians eat JUST Italian food. But in France, they had a variety of different foods (more of what we would see in the US) and they eat a lot healthier, offering salads, smoothies, fruits, etc. 

After the mall we walked down to a little carnival that had a crepe stand, and a Ferris wheel!!! For 5euro, we got to ride this gigantic Ferris wheel overlooking all of Nice, parts of the French Riviera, and the beautiful ocean! I was a little nervous at 1st because it was very high up, but once we were up there, it was absolutely breathtaking, and it literally looked like we were in paradise. We scooted around the Ferris wheel car, each trying to take pictures from the different angles while we had seconds at the top every time we went around. It was hilarious.

Once off the Ferris wheel, we headed down to the water. We met some American guys, in the US Navy that were really nice and just visiting Nice for a few days while on a stop over on their deployment. We decided to group up and see the rest of the sites together for the day. We all headed over to the water- which was absolutely beautiful. It was about 55degrees out, but because it was sunny by the water, it felt warmer. The beach itself had clear blue water, and instead of sand, lots of rocks. They almost had the texture of river rocks, smooth and round and gray in color. Once we got closer to the water, we were able to pick up a few pieces of seas glass! I got green, yellow, and blue pieces. And once you get into the water (which none of us did) it becomes sand and there are no more rocks. We lied around the beach for a while and took some pictures.

We spotted what looked to be ancient ruins on the top of a hill from the ocean, and decided we wanted to head up there. We walked up quite a number of stairs and made it to the first lookout point. The view of the city was again, amazing and we took a load of pictures. We kept walking up and stumbled upon the ruins! They were located on a level of this mountain that had almost like a park type area with trees and benches; it was refreshing. The ruins were a set of rocks that seemed to have been a stage for a large water fountain and pond. It was no longer running most likely for preservation reasons and fear of erosion. We finally made it up to the top look out point (after seeing 1 about every 10ft up) and again, the view was unreal. There was also a cool plate, that seemed to be a sun dial at the top, but was actually a map of the French Riviera with all the coordinates of these cities on the globe.

Oh I completely forgot to mention, the French language sounds absolutely beautiful, and it is one of my new life goals when I get back to the states, to learn it. Thank goodness one of the girls we were with speaks almost fluent French, because the locals don't know much English and I don't know a word of French.

After the ruins, we all went to an Irish Pub (yes, it was owned and run by people right out of Ireland) for a few drinks. We got to learn a little about the navy from these boy, and it was interesting to hear their stories of life under the water. They were just happy to be above the surface and with people other than each other. We all had a great time chatting in the afternoon, and around dinner time we said goodbye to them because they had to take a train back to Toulon, France to hop back on their sub in the morning.

Once we left them, we were now on our search for dinner. We had a typical French dinner in mind at a bistro...but once we saw SUBWAY!!!!! there was no turning back. It was seriously amazing and I had DORITOS!!!! If you have talked to me, you know I have been craving those here more than anything else. What a dinner :).

We headed back to the hostel for an early night in so that we could be fresh and ready for more sight seeing in the a.m.

On Saturday we drove to Ez and Monaco. Ez is just a small village in between Nice and Monaco and it was absolutely adorable. The drive between these 3 areas was a lot like what I would imagine driving along the California coast to be. The roads were tight and curvy while hugging the amazing coastline- and we were high up in the cliffs most of the time.

We went into a perfume shop in Ez, where the saleswoman gave us a little showing of all of their finest and most popular made perfumes. Everything smelled so good! But I resisted buying a bottle because I can get perfume duty free on the way home back to the states. ;)

After stopping along the roadside abut 5 times to get out and take pictures of the unbelievable views of Monaco (which is its own island I believe), we finally made it there. We parked and immediately and walked along the docks to look at all of the gigantic yachts. They were absolutely amazing and I was reminded of how much I love being on the water, and boating. Maybe not yachting, but boating haha. We drove over to the more central area of Monaco where we saw more yachts and an 'ice' skating rink by the waters edge! There were also little kiddie rides (it was set up as sort of a carnival for kids).

We sat at an outside bistro along the water and had some traditional French lunch. Though I didn't get anything, some of the girls had a typical grilled ham and swiss cheese sandwich, which seems to be very popular. They also got a sugar crepe and a chocolate crepe for dessert- which I got a little bite of, and it was yummy! While everyone was eating their sandwiches, I spotted these adorable French kids sitting next to us. They had white blonde hair and big blues eyes and they were chattering to each other about cookies in French. They were some of the most adorable kids I've ever seen!

We headed back into the car and were on the road for Florence at about 130pm. My copilot, aka Emily, drives stick at home. The car we rented had tip-tronics, or was semi-automatic. I had always tried to learn how to use it, but could never correctly master it. Well, she taught me on the way home! It was really fun and whenever I get my next car, it has to be semi-automatic because it is just so much more fun that way.

After getting lost 3 times, and paying the price for it in tolls, we finally made it back to Firenze at about 630pm.

It was truly a wonderful weekend in paradise and I am ABSOLUTELY going back to the French Riviera, no questions asked. 

SPRING BREAK starts this weekend!! We are leaving for Paris on Friday, my 21st birthday is on Saturday, we head to London on Sunday, Dublin on next Wednesday, and then I will be back in Florence on next Friday. I will miss everyone until then- hope all is well. And look out for my next huge post about spring break! (maybe I'll break it up for each country :))

xoxo

Amanda

Carnivale in Venezia!!

My first Carnivale!

We left Florence on Saturday around 130 and arrived in Venice around 430. We took an inter-city train because though it is slower than the fast train due to the added stops, it is significantly cheaper. And set up a lot different than any of the other fast trains that we have taken since we've been here. Each car has an aisle to walk in and then 'cubes' or 'boxes' that house 6 seats. And seats are assigned! Which we later found out AFTER booking the tickets. Luckily most of us sat with one other or in a nearby 'box.' It was definitely a different traveling experience.

As soon as we got off the train I was filled with excitement. There were people in costume everywhere!!! And you know I love a good themed party- themes and costumes in general are my thing.

Upon exiting the train station we were thrown right into the crowds of people and the gorgeous view of the canal that runs through the city. After walking around and snapping pictures left and right of all the gondolas (and lovers in gondolas because it was Valentine's day) and people dressed in full on period costumes (like Marie Antoinette and Louis XIII) we picked up an unlimited 24hr pass that worked for both the water taxis and buses on the mainland. We made our way over and caught a bus to the mainland to go the our hostel.

Needless to say, we never made it there. After riding the bus around for 2hrs, 4 exhausting and expensive phone conversations with the woman at the reception desk, and 5 confused looks from the Italians we asked for directions (including 2 bus drivers) we gave up in fear that the buses were going to stop running and that we would be stranded. So we headed back to the main island and luckily were able to leave our things at a friend's (Molly!) hotel from school who is studying in Ascoli Piaceno, Italy, but was in Venice for the weekend with her program. We took a water taxi to her hotel and got a wonderful little tour of the city via water!! Thankfully, Molly, Spencer, other Molly and Danielle (all Uconn girls that I took Italian with back home and who are also studying in Ascoli Piaceno) let the 6! of us sleep in the floor of their hotel- life savers. Catastrophe solved.

We all got our masks on and headed out. We found a little outdoor pizza place and ordered a yummy Margarita pie each- with some of the thinnest crust I have ever seen; it was scrumptous. I also got a Bellini in a bottle! A great traditional Italian cocktail.

We then made our way to get some desserts (tirimisu- :)) And then went to find the Piazza San Marco. Venice is a funny island because it seems to be a series of tight alley ways that all lead to bridges that cross over smaller sections of the canal. The real transportation traffic is on the canal with the water taxis and gondolas. But because it was carnival, and there were a lot of American students on the island, it seemed as if everyone was just following the crowd. Like the party was somewhere, we just weren't sure where so we followed everyone without real choice because the streets are like a tight maze! It was very neat. 

Piazza San marco had an outdoor show with actors reciting on stage, but we didn't really get to see much of it because it was so crowded. Everyone was dressed up! Most people just had funky masks on with glitter and all different colors and feathers. Masks that derived from the traditional Italian theater have very long droopy noses and are funny looking! Other people had their faces painted, and then as I said earlier, some people were in full on costume- of all members of the court. For small children, carnival is more like Halloween in America, because there were children dressed in a variety of costumes- from scooby doo to a pirate! We even saw a group of guys dressed as typical 'crazies' of the time period- it was funny!

We made our way over to another square, again aimlessly following everyone- which just seems like the right thing to do. Of course we did not make it there without first stopping at a gigantic outdoor candy stand- where we got everything from sour worms and candy raspberries, to a Mal-o-mar!! (for those of you that don't know, and please get a box at the supermarket tomorrow if you don't because your life has not yet been completed- it is a marshmellow placed on top of a gram cracker and then dipped in chocolate- basically a portable s'more- and God's gift to earth). We made it to the other square where there was little outdoor concert and it was great! 

Because it was the first night, things rounded up around 12 and we headed back to Molly's hotel room for an attempt at rest- at least we weren't sleeping on the benches in the piazza!

We woke up bright and early this morning, got a quick breakfast and headed out. We shopped around the island for Murano glass; famous glass that is made right around the island of Venice and is absolutely beautiful. We made it to a gorgeous piazza by the water where there was a parade of characters dressed up. After taking pictures with some of the characters, we went and sat by the waters edge near the gondola docks and took some more pictures/enjoyed some fresh fruit. The sun was reflecting off of the water and beating down on us, making it seem so warm and summery. It was absolute bliss to sit on the docks, and losing track of reality, I accidently put my feet in too low and got my sneakers wet with a little wave that came in! It was totally worth it. 

We hopped back on a water taxi around noon headed towards the train station. I really did not want to leave but it was the only train we could book home today because all of the others were sold out!

It was truly a magical weekend, and as we all agreed, I felt like I was in Disney land for adults, except the natives aren't fluent in English.

Even though we spent under 24hrs there, we had a fabulous time- and gives me all the more excuse to go back, which I have to.

Carnivale round 2 in the French Riviera next weekend. I can't wait!!

Until then...

xoxo

- Amanda

Field Trip Friday!!

This past friday, February 13th (Friday the 13th!!) I had a field trip with my villa and the garden class. We took a bus from Florence to one of the surrounding areas outside the city. The first place we visited was called the The Medici Villa Castello and was a beautiful villa with ornate gardens and a wonderful view of the entire city. We got a chance to walk through the villa which had an interior courtyard, or foyer, that was decorated a lot different than most that we had seen. Unlike most courtyards that are based on the architectural structure of the space (columns, pillars, symmetric lines) this one had beautiful paintings from ceiling to floor. These painting reflected the members of the families that had once lived in the villa, and most scenes portrayed street festivals or political celebrations. Much of the interior of this villa was influenced by French designs of the time; with many paintings outlined in gold paint and many of the rooms with busy wallpapers and velvet tapestries and bedding. 

The second place we visited was the Medici Villa of La Patraia. We didn't go into any sort of villa here, but rather focused on its garden. This garden was a lot more symmetrical than the and focused a lot around the mathematics of planning the placement for each hedge. Unfortunately, flowers are not traditional in Florentine villas (and as I may have said in previous posts, are more typical of English romantic gardens), so there was a lot of green to be seen. The fountain in the center was under construction because some of the statues were being repositioned. 

But we did get to see a former fountain, that no longer runs the water due to erosion problems. It was located directly in the center of the back of the garden and was made partially out of sea shells! It had statues of animals, such as goats, lions, and horses. It was pretty impressive!

After this school field trip business was over, a small group of us decided to hop back on the bus and go for a hike in Fiesole; a small rural area outside of the Florence city walls. It was a beautiful (but chilly day) and we just wondered around the area. We saw a cute little church and found the lookout point where you can see all of Florence; it was beautiful! We also ran into a group of American students sitting at the lookout point and they brought a picnic of cheese, wine and bread with them and they were organizing a small game of soccer! I took that as notes for our next visit up there!

Then we walked along a dirt/rock trail, stumbled upon a villa turned hotel and kept hiking around the perimeter of the town- it was refreshing and so nice to just be in the fresh air. I of course had to try out the local gelato and got a hazelnut flavor- it was amazing, typical. :)

We all decided that we would stay in and rest that evening for Venice the next day. We stumbled upon a little Mexican restaurant in our sweatpants and sweatshirts and shared some chips, salsa, guacamole, and Sangria. It was a great relaxing night, just sitting and talking in this restaurant- and I have to say that I have truly made some great new friends here!

xo,

Amanda

A very tilted weekend!

Friday:
For my food and culture class we had a field trip this Friday to a dairy farm outside the Florence city walls. I slept through the entire bus ride due to my precautionary Dramamine and woke up in the country!
We exited the bus and went into what looked like an organic supermarket- I got very excited. The owner of the land (hundreds of acres), gave us a little talk about his supermarket and land. He only spoke Italian so our teacher had to translate what he was saying. His farm is a large international cheese exporter and has a wide variety of all different cheeses that are made on site. We went outside to the 'barn' where we saw cows! There was a gigantic one with a ring through it's nose, so silly, and there were also little calves running around! It was sad to see many of these cow's head's were looked into the fence that was housing them so that they would eat the hay. These cows are used strictly for production- a.k.a. they were going to produce milk, or become a cheeseburger :(. After that, we went up to the horse barn. I was also a little nervous about that because apparently there are a number of people here who eat horse meat! ah, not ok by me. Thankfully these horses are just for leisure, not for consumption. They were all very pretty and we even saw a Clydesdale. I tried to talk to the animals to get their attention, but then I remembered that they don't speak English! I tried my Italian on them, but no such luck. After that, we went back into the grocery store and had a tasting! We got to try 3 different cheese, I think 1 was Parmesan, 1 was mozzerlla, and I'm not sure what the 3rd was. We also got to try the local focaccia- very tasty, thinner than the one in Florence, with oil and salts on top. There was also 1 type of salami and another type of meat that tasted like sopresetta. And we got to try some desserts! One was an apple crisp type pastry and the other was a nutty bread.
After the tasting (which our teacher told us not to fill up on because we had a big lunch coming up?), we got a chance to shop around the supermarket and make any purchases we needed to. I found kamut organic rice crackers!- and quickly bought them.
After that we got back on the bus and made out way over to the monestary we were going to have our typical Tuscan lunch in. The monestary was beautiful, and we learned that there are rooms avaliable to rent overnight. Apparently some people like to come there and reflect because it is a very peaceful place, and you can see the city from its position up on the hill. Staying in a monestary- not my first choice, I think I would feel like God was watching me the whole time, not that he isn't always- well you get the point!
We went into the dining room- it was a large rectangular room with big cement benches with cushions and grand wooden tables rooted into the floor. There was also a large replica of the last supper painting on the wall. When my teacher said typical Tuscan lunch, I stand to correct him because it was a freaking feast!! It included the following:
Bottled wine, sparkling, and natural water on each table
Appetizers: cheeses, bruschetta, proscuitto, olive patte, bread
First Plate: Artichoke risotto (my absolute favorite) & Lemon pasta (it was actually yellow colored!- not so yummy)
Second Plate: Pork chops & Baked seasoned potato slices
After meal: Biscotti, meant to be dipped in some sort of after dinner liquor (I ate all of the cookies and my friends did shots of the liquor) & Espresso
It was an insane meal! I love this class :)

Saturday:
Me and my friend Alex got up early and got on the train to Pisa by 10:37am. We were there no more than an hour later and arrived to beautiful 57degree weather, with sun. We saw a few other American girls (you quickly become friends with anyone speaking English here) and learned how to get on the bus from the train station to get to the leaning tower. After missing the stop and riding the bus back around we finally found out stop. There leaning tower, along with the Duomo and a few other historical buildings, are 'gated' in by these huge brick walls surrouding on all sides. The Duomo and other historical buildings were beautiful and the tower really was leaning! I must admit that it was a lot smaller than I had expected but still fun to see. After attempting to taking "holding the leaning tower up" picture for about 20mins and quickly giving up, we ate a little lunch on the side of the Duomo. After buying a leaning shot glass (come on, I had to), Alex and I decided we could easly walk back to the train station. Wrong- we got quite lost, but I had to say I was happy we got lost because the weather was sooo beautiful and we stumbled upon a lot of different ruins adn got to explore the adorable city of Pisa. As soon as we fianlly found the train station- it started raining! Luck was on our side :)
It was a nice relaxing weekend; a lot differnt from what next weekend should be like...

Gregg- keep your eyes peeled for one of my next posts- I AM GOING TO VENICE NEXT WEEKEND FOR CARNIVAL!!
Missing everyone xoxo
- Amanda

Weekend in Milano (1/30-2/1)

This past weekend we took a wonderful trip to Milan. I had heard, from one of my Italian teachers at Uconn, that if the cities had to be compared- Florence was more like Boston and Milan was more like New York City. Well let me tell you; he couldn't have been more correct. NYC is of course still my number one, but Milano has become a very close second.
We took a Eurostar train from the Florence train station a little bit after 2pm. The train was fabulous to say the least, with comfy soft seats, a little eating table in the middle of the 4 seats, and an electronic window shade. We felt like we were riding in style. We arrived in Milano about 2.5 hours later and the train station was massive. All of the trains pull into this huge terminal that almost looks like a large tent. Then the interior of the station has extremely high ceilings with typical Italian architectual design. We got to our hotel, which was only a 10min walk from the train station- very convinient, but our digs weren't as great as we thought they would be.
We got freshened up and walked over to an area that the gentleman at the reception desk in our hotel suggested for great restaurants. We walked around this area for quite sometime, unable to find anything.
A little while later we just so happened to stumble upon a Mexican restaurant called Sante Fe- I mean really, I have been craving Mexican here like no one's business and there it was right in front of us! And to top it off, the owner, who opened the door to tell us the restaruant was opening in 5mins- spoke English and was from American!!- We were all quite pleased.
Of course the food was amazing. Here I go again but I had: a margarita, which I am not usually a fan of but it was very tasty, we had a plate of nachos for an appetizer, and then I got chicken/cheese enchiladas will the works- unreal. For dessert, the 4 of us split 2 choco tacos- which are made quite different here. It consisted of a warm quesadilla wrap with metled nutella inside, a warm banana on top, and whip cream to make it complete- again, scrumptious.
We quickly walked that meal off, seeing as we got pretty lost on our way back home, and luckily stumbled into the new Beckham couple Armani lingerie ad- which was gigantic, and amazing.
We went out for a few drinks at bar called WISH and then tried out the Milano disco scene at a dance club called IL CLUB- creative, I know.
It was a great first night in Milano!
We got up early the next morning to see the 'sites.' The complimentary breakfast was very below par, something we have yet to experience at any of these hotels- so let's just move on.
Something that I love about Milano, much like I do about NYC, is their use of the metro. It was very convinient, and even easy to use for us visitors. It also had about the same rates as the NYC subway- 1euro. We took the metro over to the famous Milan shopping district and let's just say I was blown away.
We saw all of the amazing store fronts; from Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Juicy Couture and Dior, to Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli, and Armani. Just to see the window displays and the forms was amazing.
After buying absolutely nothing, because clearly all items are currently out of my budget- we stopped at a little piazza that had a large statue of Leonardo in the middle and a seating area around where we sat and had a few oranges. After that, we made our way over to Il Duomo (cathedral or very large church). Il Duomo in Milano is hugeeeee and a truly unbelievable site to see. With its repetative Gothic style architecture, we needed more than just a few minutes to stare at it. And it was almost too big to fit in the view finder of my camera! And we didn't go inside or climb it because we sure if we had to pay and it was very crowded at the time. When we were taking pictures (and getting attacked by Italian pigeons) these African men came over and tied these bracelets around our wrists and kept saying 'peace Africa.' On the wrist that the man tied mine onto, I just so happened to be wearing a bracelet my friend gave me from Senegal, Africa she got when she studied there for 6 weeks over the summer (they are traditional worn around the waist of African women to ward off bad spirits that might make them less fertile). Well of course, these men were from Senegal too, which was pretty cool. Until of course they started asking for money, at which point we b-lined it to the nearest McDonalds. :) (none of us got anything to eat though!)
We also walked through a gigantic open air mall that, as Emily said, had great 'frescos, ' and was definitely older than many of the other sites in Milano.
We made a quick stop at the huge H&M down the street (more in our budget) and got a few great items on sale!
After that, we had dinner on the streets in an open air shopping area that sits adjacent to the duomo. We sat outside under tents that had heat lamps standing and a few hanging from the top of the tent. It is about 10 degrees colder in Milan than in Florence, so it was pretty cool to feel warm yet still be able to be outside and see all the action. Me and one of the girls split a small cheese pizza (yummy) and a panini with proscuitto, mozzerella, and tomato- tasty.
Later on we had a drink at Sante Fe and called it an early night because we were pretty tired from all of the site seeing.
The next morning we got up to check-out and catch our 1130am train back to Firenze. We got a little morning surprise- it was snowing in Milan! We immediately dressed and packed quickly and went outside to 'play' in the snow- which of course just involved taking about 20 pictures each on the walk over to the train station.
It was truly another wonderful weekend, and not to cheat on any of the other cities I have visited on this trip- but this was by far my favorite thus far :)
xoxo
Amanda