Spring Break Italy

So because there is so much to say and you probably don't want to spend a lot of time reading this I will just do highlights for each city.

Milan.



Appertivo
Balconies in hotel rooms
Having the same gellato guy recognise us (our first and last gellato in italy)
sun bathing on top of the Cathedral and the really awesome architecture of the cathedral
people watching-seeing the fashionable Italians


Lake Como

Spending 2 and a half hours on a ferry
Enjoying the beautiful views of the Alp
Good lunch and good wine
Taking a nap


Verona


View from the top of the hill!!
Mexican food
My wonderful hostel. It felt like I had an apartment in the city.
Meeting tons of old Italian men trying to figure out how to get to my hostel
Traveling by myself. It could be quite rewarding and quite frustrating at times.

Bologna



Laughing from all the comments I got from old people regarding my clothing (Isnt it a little cold to be wearing a tank top) It almost reminded my of California when the weather goes below 50, people break out their winter coats.
An Italian man asking me to cafe

Rome



Getting into Rome at 10 and being told our hostel has water problems so attempting to find our new hostel at 11pm in Rome.
Meeting loud Irish people on the way to find the new hostel. Also meeting some fun people at Texas and all just chilling.
The hotel people moving in a new bed at 1am to accomodate a couple who found themselves sharing a room with 3 girls.
Getting a blessing from the Pope


Florence



Piazza Michelangelo at sunset with a beautiful view of the city
Haggling over a poster of Venice.
Delicious food/wine. Tuscany bread soup
Our hostel with an amazing shower!!
Ponte Vecchio at night with the flowers lining the pathway and live music plus a gorgeous full moon!

San Gimngagno (not hyped up enough, but probably a good thing because its so peaceful)



View of Tuscany
Excellent Bruschetta
Relaxing afternoon

Siena


Cute old Italian men hanging out and chatting and then moving out of the way so I could take a picture of their neighborhood Elephant statue
Lowlight: Getting fined because we couldn't figure out where to buy tickets.

Cinque Terre: I loved everything!!



Watching the sun set (even though it wasnt a very good one) on some rocks by the water.
Hiking through all five towns. Going up and down thousands of stairs.
Getting to the horribly uncomfortable beach with rocks.
Our cute and very pink hostel room.
Seeing all the cats!

Dublin!!

One day in February I was randomly searching travel websites (I do this from time to time when I have the urge to travel somewhere) and I came across incredibly cheap travel to Ireland (yahh Ryanair). I quickly asked everyone in the house if they wanted to come and Emily immediately jumped in with me. We bought our tickets within minutes of finding the cheap, tax free fare. Eventually Judith would come to realize that Dublin sounded kinda cool and also bought her tickets to come.

We woke up incredibly early (are you sensing a pattern) and proceeded to the train station so we could take the Charloi bus to the airport that's about an hour outside of town. We checked in, making sure our ONE carry on bag could fit into the TINY lugguge restrictions and we were off.

Our first interaction with the Irish people was at border control in Ireland. Originally I was nervous because the people in Brussels told me I wouldn't be able to get back in the country if I left, but I thought I would chance it anyway. The Irish man stamped my passport and wished me well on my weekend.

Because we were all hungry, I immediately suggested we find an Irish breakfast. Best decision of my life. Most Europeans don't eat breakfast. The Italians have an expresso, the French a croissant, and so on. The English have a good breakfast, but I3m sorry but Ireland just wins best breakfast of the year for European countries.

The Irish breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatos, toast, beans and black pudding. (Note* I just found out that black pudding is made with animal blood. Everything in the Irish Breakfast is good except for that...oh man..I cant believe I ate dried up pig's blood) I had it all and wiped the grease off with my bread it was that delicious. The others don't seem to know how I did it, but I think it might have something to so with my dad's delicious breakfasts of bacon, eggs, and fried potatos. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and the most important. I get hungry just picturing it in my mind.

Moving on from food...Friday we walked around Dublin a little bit. Saw St. Patrick's, Christ Church, the Guiness Factory, and Temple Bar.

Saturday however was my favorite day!! We decided to book a tour of Wicklow and Glendough. It was reallly funn and super beautiful! Our bus driver was super nice and funny and very informative. We got to see the place where they filmed PS I Love You where she meets her future husband. We also heard about these two snowboarders who got stuck in a snow storm on the top of the hills and the Irish government rescued them for free. We also learned about their community housing that puts low income housing and regular housing in the same communities (novel idea eh?).

With recommendations from our driver, we also went to Howth which is in Dublin but its right on the water because its a yacht club and fishing port. We had fish and chips, went to a local bar to watch Bulgaria v Ireland, and met the captain of a boat. He was such a cute old man and from the moment he walked in the door he looked like he could be a captain. He was wearing a navy blue peacoat, a cute little hat, and a scarf. He had his pint of Guiness, talked to us and some of his other friends, and then went home to his wife.

Other excitement of the day included being almost flashed by a 12 year old drunk boy, learning to put Black Currant into Guiness, finding the best cider ever...Bulmers, and just having good conversation and good fun with people who speak english as their first language!!

Getting back into Brussels was actually no problem. I think the border patrol just wanted to scare me. I am glad I took the chance because Ireland was a blast!!

Strasbourg

A very short excerpt. The European Parliament has their plenary session once a month in Strasbourg, France. You might be wondering why the parliament would waste tax payers money (they spend hundreds of millions on transporting everything), and waste their time (it takes about 4 hours to drive and 5 hours on the train), but there is only one reason: the French. the French are definitely one of the dominant players in the EU. It brings business for the Strasbourg area and France as a whole. However, the rooms are much smaller (there is only one room), and it wastes money and time of people who don't have a lot to spare of either.

While I was there I watched a little bit of the plenary session-they were talking about the upcoming G20 Summit. I also went to lunch with Anneli and her friend from home who is now a successful businessman in Russia. They were talking about the upcoming elections and how best to deal with the economic crisis when talking during the election season.

To pay for our expenses the program gave us some money, but to maximize that money I tried to get a ride from someone who was driving. I ended up with this nice French woman who works for an English MEP in the unattached. She has been working in the EU for over 20 years so she had many stories to tell me. It was nice to get a different persepctive on the EU. I feel like I'm missing out on that aspect in my office because my superviser is usually "too busy" to tell me about how the EU works. I guess that just makes me more self-sufficient in the end, but for now I wish I could learn a little more.

I was in Strasbourg for 3 days total and I spent an afternoon just exploring the town. Strasbourg is very pretty. There is a river running through it and all the buildings look like they could be from Shakespeare's time. I was a little sick and it was actually kinda cold so I didn`'t stay out for too long.