A Month at “Home”

A lot can happen in a month. It’s not like you already didn’t know that, if you’ve been following this blog at all, that’s one of the most apparent things. But a month, in the same place, not leaving, not traveling, but staying in the city that I temporarily call home, has actually changed my life more then when I was traveling.

Florence is a wonderful city, it’s filled with so much history and beauty that it’s hard to ever get bored. That being said, I have yet to go see everything I would like. It’s a good thing that I have two weeks left because last minute sightseeing along with essays and finals is just the stress I like to put on myself.

Just your average day... — Just your average day…

My days have been spent studying (I swear I’ve actually done this), Netflixing (some things never change), shopping (Christmas), eating (I’m in Italy…what else am I going to do), and hanging out with friends (yes, I have those).

it's that time of year — it’s that time of year

I went into a jewelry making stored was able to see a local man make high end jewelry for designers like Dior and Neiman Marcus. Naturally, I bought some. I met a local handbag designer and got to watch her hand make a super nice iPad carrying case.

Realistic photo of what m heart looks like

I’ve been eating fantastically!

Like really,

Super-duper,

amazing food.

Everything is in such large quantities and it’s such high quality. It’s just really hard not to eat a lot over here. I am surprised that my clothing still fits me.

I’ve also met a bunch of really awesome people here. (S/O to Marco who asked when he was going to be mentioned on my blog). They have made my experience unique and filled with fun. I’ve gotten to go places and do things that I never would have imagined I would do while being here. My experience really wouldn’t have bene the same without having these goons to go out with every weekend.

I also am grateful for the friendships I’ve made with my other Syracuse students. Some of them put on an extravagant Thanksgiving dinner and It’s really shown me how important it is to have good friends, especially while abroad. I’ve gotten to make incredible memories and experience all the sights of Florence with some of the best people in the world.

My November abroad experience was the best I’ve had so far. I have loved everywhere I’ve travelled and I thought November just wouldn’t live up to my first half of the semester that I spent seeing many cities. It exceeded my expectations and I have come to learn that Florence is my home away from home.

Fall Break: The Final Chapter- Glasgow

And now… for the much awaited final post of my final post of fall break. Close to a month later, I have gathered my final thoughts on my last big travel. As you could gather, I am no longer taking any trips. Fall break wiped me out, and travel in Europe now is getting harder and harder due to recent events. I just don’t have the energy to jump through more and more hoops to get to different cities. I’m truly lucky to have gotten to travel so much in the first half of the semester and now I have so much tim to take in the beautiful city of Florence. My coming posts will be about my time here- and trust me, that is more then enough…

To get to Glasgow, I was up at 4am in Dublin, hopped on a plane, and made my way to visit my friend. You know those friends that you make when you’re on vacation that you think you won’t see again, especially because you live on different continents? Those don’t exist in my life. I actually went and visited my friend that I met in Mexico, James. Well, I would like to take this time to thank James and his family. They are some of the nicest, most hospitable people. I had a really great time and I’m happy I was able to make the trip to see them. James actually has requested to write a short paragraph for this blog so…

“Meaghan was an the best guest ever. She is very sensible and responsible [in most situations].”

Thank you James for the long paragraph contribution. This gives a lot of insight to my experience on the trip. Please note that part of this was edited to make sense for all readers, but the context was not changed in the slightest (I’m actually not sarcastic right now)!

Now about what I actually did. After arriving in Glasgow, I went and got settled in the house before going to a trampoline park! At this point I had been up for 8 hours, but when you’re in a room covered head-to-toe in trampolines, you find the energy to jump around for an hour. I went to lunch, where James had his first burrito ever, and then went back home and relaxed for a little bit. That night, we went out to dinner in the center of the town and got Fish and Chips (because you can’t get more stereotypical UK), with James friend before going to the cinema and seeing the new James Bond movie. If you want to see a movie I highly recommend the new Bond film. I was up for 20+ hours that day, without a nap, so needless to say, I slept for 12 hours that night.

It was super nice to have a house and a bed and a private bathroom in an actual house after living in hostels and apartments since August. It was a lot like being at home with my family in the suburbs, so I felt really comfortable. I didn’t realize how much I actually missed being in a neighborhood and a house until getting there.

Friday, I went into the city center and saw part of the city of Glasgow. It’s a nice and urban city, much different the Edinburgh, much like a city in the US. The people were very friendly and the sun set at about 4pm, so that was very different. That night, James and I went out with his friends and hung out. Going out with Scottish people is an experience, but in a good way. I had a lot of fun and stayed up way too late…again.

They were out of pumpkins of I carved a melon

Saturday was the Rugby World Cup Final…… and….. Halloween!! That day I chilled in the house and watched Rugby before getting dressed up as a robber for Halloween and getting to see trick-or-treaters. I was lucky to be in a place that celebrated Halloween because Italy does not celebrate. It was quite funny, when the kids came to the door they got candy, but for the parents that came in with the kids, they got to drink a beer. James’ family went all out for Halloween with activities, like bobbing for apples, for the neighborhood; it was really really fun to be a part of. After the kids left, a few adults came over and they had a small party. I got to dress up as a police officer and hang out in the house. Overall, it was a successful Halloween.

Going home was a nightmare! I had a 7 hour layover in Dublin, where I sat in an airport McDonalds and watched Netflix. The my plane got stuck on the runway for an hour and a baby cried and screamed the entire time, so sleeping was out of the question. When I finally got into Milan’s airport, around 12pm, I had an hour long bus ride to the train station. At midnight, the trains had stopped running and I took a 4 hour nap in a hostel before getting on the earliest train out of Milan to Florence to get back for 8am. Luckily, my friend picked me up from the train station and was able to bring me home to drop off my bags before making it to my 8:50am class. Needless to say, I was dead.

I really enjoyed my time in Glasgow, and in general, my Fall Break. It was an amazing trip and the UK/ Ireland, is such a welcoming place. It definitely curbed my homesickness. By the end of it, however, I was really missing Florence, and I have come to realize Florence is like my second home.

Dublin Was Great, But I Still Don’t Look Good in Green

My next stop just so happened to be the city of Dublin. I wasn’t originally planning on going to Ireland, but after thinking about it, Ireland has always been on my list of places to visit. It just didn’t make sense to skip a day or two in Dublin when I was so close! I don’t think my father will remember this, but as my family knows I remember the weirdest things. When I was 10 or 11, I told my dad that for my 20th birthday I wanted a big gift. (Actually, I told my whole family because we were driving to vacation somewhere in out White Chevy Trailblazer). Naturally, he asked me what I wanted. I told him that for my 20th birthday I wanted to go to Ireland or China. It’s a little delayed, but I’m 20 and I made it to Ireland, 10 year old Meaghan was kind of a psychic.

But did 10 year old Meaghan did not know she'd ever take a selfie at St. Patrick's Cathedral — But did 10 year old Meaghan did not know she’d ever take a selfie at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The Edinburgh to Dublin flight was quick and easy. Dublin didn’t give me a hard time at customs like London, in fact they set the tone of my trip very quickly. The Irish people I met in Dublin were amazingly helpful and friendly and very quick to crack a witty joke. The city itself felt safe and welcoming, reassuring my choice to visit Dublin.

Dublin is Pretty Freakin' Cool — Dublin is Pretty Freakin’ Cool

My first day I arrived in Dublin around 10am and was greeted by a beautiful, gray, raincloud. I decided to sit in a cafe and wait for my hostel room to be ready so I could put my bags away and get on with my day. After a few hours of journaling and watching Netflix, I was able to put my bags away and meet up with my friend (actually, my Florence roommate).

We decided to try some gourmet Irish Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches for lunch, before heading out to the Guinness Storehouse. The Storehouse was awesome! It’s a seven story building, each level walks you through the story of Guinness. From the first level, where they take you through the ingredients in the beer, to the smells and tastes of the beer, to how to pour he beer and drink the beer, and all the history and advertisements in between.

By the end of it, I poured a beer and enjoyed it in a posh panoramic bar overlooking all of Dublin. The entire floor of the storehouse is a bar/lounge with ceiling to floor windows. Somehow, Guinness tastes that much better in the Storehouse Skylounge.

That night Carrie and I met up with her friends in a pub and had a huge Irish meal. By that I mean I had corned beef, two types of potatoes, and some carrots and beer. Later in the night, there was live music and Irish step dancers. I actually got to dance a little Irish jig, bringing back some childhood memories.

The next day I went on a “free walking tour” offered by the hostel (fun fact: it’s not really free). It was an awesome tour and I got to see all of the city and learn most of the history of not only Dublin, but of Ireland itself. After I walked around some of the shops and saw the main strip of the city. It was beautiful and a jam-packed day.

I had to end my night early, as I was up at 4am for my flight to Glasgow, but I loved Dublin. I really wish that I could’ve seen way more of Ireland. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time, but now it just gives me an excuse to go back. I will definitely be back to Ireland and I really enjoyed my time. Dublin was my second to last stop, so keep your eyes out to hear about Glasgow soon!

Fall Break Part 2: Edinburgh

The amount of time you had to wait for this post is the amount of time it felt like I was on a train from London to Edinburgh. The train ride was scenic and beautiful and full of rolling hills with grazing sheep. (Mainly, I saw a lot of sheep on my train ride). The ride was something like 5-6 hours, I forget actually. I left from Kings Cross in London, and for you Harry Potter fans, that is where platform 9 3/4 is And I got into Edinburgh late in the afternoon, the city where J.K Rowling wrote the famous Harry Potter.

Before I continue to tell you about Edinburgh I would like to take this time to apologize for my last post. I was informed that my last post was lacking in proper grammar and spelling. Therefore, this post from here on out, will be impeccably written. Please excuse the atrocity that was my grammar in the last post.

Moving on, Edinburgh was beautiful! One of my friends from home studies at a university in Edinburgh and was kind enough to let me stay with her for a few days. The first day she met me at the train station and gave me a small tour of the city. The streets and buildings in the city center transport you to a different world. They’re old and grandiose and decorated with such fine detail, it is absolutely mind-blowing.

We went up to Edinburgh Castle and I rightfully claimed my throne. We walked part of the Royal Mile, which is exactly what it sounds like. A mile long strip lined with shops and old buildings that starts at the Parliament and ends at the Castle. For most of the time it had already gotten dark because by 4pm the sun doesn’t exist in Scotland.

The next morning was the start of a long day. My friend took me on an early morning hike up to Arthur’s seat, a large cliff like hill that over looks the entire city. It was an incredible panoramic view. On one side you have the sea and on the other you have the city center and you can see green for miles. Proving once again that Scotland is a beautiful place.

The view from Arthur's Seat — The view from Arthur’s Seat

After the hike, I walked around the city for 7 hours. I went through various different parks, made my way in and out of shops, explored the little side roads of the city, saw the elementary school that Hogwarts was modeled after, saw the university, and even napped in the national museum (because the entrance was free, it was large and easy to hide in, it was warm, and I was tired).

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time in Edinburgh, I only had those two days. I stuffed almost everything that could be done in the city into such a short amount of time. But, I loved the city! It was one of the coolest little cities I’ve visited. For such a small city, it has so many different elements.

Stop two of my break was successful, as is post two of my break. I reely feal liek my spelling, and grammer ws very good; 4 this post. i think my dad wuld probably agree wit me! I alredy have my dublin post almost, finshed. So the wait wont be long!

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me during the incidents in Paris. I was not in Paris this weekend, but thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I would like. The recent tragedy in Paris has given all of us an opportunity to reflect on how fragile life is. What happened is terrible and I am thankful that my friends and family are safe. I am thankful for the incredible experience my parents have given me to study abroad. I am keeping Paris and anyone affected by this tragedy in my prayers.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Prince Harry

I think I’m finally caught up from my fall break, sleep wise that is. Blog wise- I have a lot of work to do. I’ve thought about the many ways to do this, but I figure that instead of waiting for one supermegaextralong blog post about each city that I went to all in one post, 4 normal length blog posts will suffice. It’s easier for you, it’s easier for me, so let’s get started.

On Thursday, I left straight from class and hopped on train to Milan, then a bus to the airport, then a flight to London. All of the places I had ben to, up to that point, the customs process was relatively easy. it’s nothing like the USA, maybe they look at the passport, maybe they do nothing, it’s all pretty relaxed. London was the complete opposite. Customs, especially not being an EU citizen, gave me such a hard time. After waiting in line for 45 minutes and then being grilled with questions about traveling alone for 10 minutes, they finally let me into the country. Getting to my friend’s flat in London was one of the most tiring travel moments I have had. After Two trains, one subway, a bus, a plane, a cranky customs officer, and an Italian man giving me his email address, all in 10 hours, I was finally ready to enjoy London.

It wouldn't be a post until you saw a selfie — It wouldn’t be a post until you saw a selfie

Friday, I spent my day seeing all the attractions along the river, as well as absorbing the fact that people could actually understand me when I spoke. London is filled with endless hidden gems and cultural sights: from the Big Ben, to the London Eye, to the Shrek Adventure, and Starbucks and Chipotle; there was so much to do. I was able to experience autumn, which is a foreign concept in Italy. The leaves were different colors, the air was brisk, the Pumpkin Spice Lattes were warm, and the North Face Fleeces were abundant.

I started at Tower Bridge, which was very pretty and nice to see and walk over. It was a bridge. Once I saw how grandiose Tower bridge was, I was excited to see the famous London Bridge. It has a song named after it, so it must be this big spectacle, right? Wrong. I walked through cute markets and stores, and felt strangely at home, to come to the one, the only London Bridge.

After that let down, I continued down the Thames. Shakespeare’s Globe, all the stores, the sights across the river, outdoor book stands, and beautiful old streets led me to the wonderful London Eye. The London Eye was marvelous to see, and after seeing the queue to get on the ferris wheel, I made my way to Big Ben.

Big Ben and the Parliament building were beautiful! Being able to see the tower in person was magnificent. From there, I made my way to the center, went into the national gallery, and finished my day with some Chipotle. Because the most important part of this story is that I got to eat Chipotle.

It's not a trip to London without a picture in a phone booth filled with R-rated ads — It’s not a trip to London without a picture in a phone booth filled with R-rated ads

That night, my friend took me to meet some of her friends. I always love getting to see how university is different in every country. London isn’t much different, but just like Italy, the students don’t live on campus, they commute to school everyday.

The next day, my friend took me to see Buckingham Palace, which honestly looks like a building I drive by in DC. I got to see the royal guard and a bunch of Parks. I went to Twinings tea shop and got some Christmas tea. And ended the day by going to Harrod’s. Harrod’s is basically just a huge, expensive, shopping plaza. In theory, the content of the entire store probably costs more than most countries in the world. It’s like they created the store with me in mind. I loved it.

Overall, I really enjoyed London. It was easy to navigate, friendly, and fun. There is always something to do or see, I would love to go back. The only downside was the pound. Not only is London expensive in general, you have to convert your money to pounds, which is insanely expensive coming from the USA (1.5 USD for every pound). You think you’re getting a good deal when your water is 1.5 pounds but in reality, it’s just a huge ripoff. Next stop, Edinburgh.

Greek Holiday feat. Melissa and Denise

Patience is key and so is Procrastination in writing this blog post. I’m gonna throw it back to mid-October and catch you all up to speed on not only my trip to Greece, but my mom and grandma’s visit to Italy. I’m currently sitting in the Dublin airport with a 7 hour layover to get back to Milan, so I should have plenty of time to get this post done.

I’d really like to thank my Mom and Grandma for coming to visit me. Unfortunately, the came at a very stressful time so I wasn’t able to hang out with them as much as I would have liked, but seeing them was really nice. I know it took a lot for them to come out and see me and I really appreciate it. It was a nice halfway visit right as I started to get a little homesick.

While they were here, they got a nice 11 mile walk in around the city of Florence, my host family had a huge dinner for them, they saw the David and the Duomo, and they went shopping. Our last dinner we went to a restaurant to get Bistecca Fiorentina. It was one of the nicest restaurants I’ve ever been in (and I know I will never live it down). They gave us some Prosecco ‘on the house’ along with some limoncello and antipasto platter. Needless to say, I had absolutely no say, whatsoever, in choosing the restaurant. I would never choose a restaurant that was so fancy. (Showing up in jeans with my backpack on added a classy touch to the whole experience).

this was one of the best meals of my life

They also went to Greece! (Hence the name of the post). My mom had a friend right outside of Athens, so she took me to visit them. We stayed at a very nice hotel on the beach, which was a nice change up from the typical hostel. I personally didn’t go swimming, but you easily could have. It was a nice change for the month of October.

When we arrived we ate delicious seafood and explored the beach and small town we were in. The sea was brilliant and so was the food. I’m not quite sure what my mother did, but I napped for about 3 hours after eating because I was running on 3 hours of sleep from the night before and we had been traveling for a nice chunk of the day.

Saturday, we ventured up to Cape Sounion to meet my father at the Temple of Poseidon. The views of the sea were breathtaking, the entire landscape was amazing. Seeing the temple was really cool and I think my dad agreed. Honestly, he didn’t say much the whole trip, he just liked to pose for pictures.

We then went into the city of Athens, which different then any city I had been to. I wasn’t expecting it, but the city center was crazy busy. We went up to the Acropolis, and it was stunning.

It is amazing that after all that time, there were still structures in good shape. It was a fantastic view and the history behind it was outstanding. Being up at the Acropolis was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.

For lunch, we went to this awesome Greek restaurant. Right?! Greek food?! in Greece?! It’s like a foreign concept. The food was really good, a nice change up from Italian food. We then went shopping in the city center. All the stores were selling Greek products, like olive oil, and olive soaps, and olive lotions, and olives. Later we had a huge dinner at a local restaurant with amazing tzatziki sauce and live music.

Overall, I’m really happy that I went to Greece, it was jam-packed with things to do and see, but It was also a nice beach holiday. I was even more excited to get to spend the time with my mom and grandma. I know I’m really behind on my posts, but I blame them. Because they were here, I spent time with them and not writing blog posts. Now that they’re back home, I’ll have plenty of free time to write about my Fall break.

Barcelona: The city of 1000 Selfies

Hola! Mis Amigos! I am oh so sorry for the slight break in postings. It has come to my attention that many people have been waiting for a post, so I’m going to try and crank one out. The past few weeks I’ve had almost no free time, but I promise in November I will come back with more and more posts. For now I will leave you with my posting on Barcelona:

It's not really a trip to Barcelona without the Gaudi bench pic — It’s not really a trip to Barcelona without the Gaudi bench pic

Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona and I absolutely loved it. It is, by far, my absolute favorite city I’ve been to. Not to worry some of my family that might be reading this, but I was 100% alone on this trip. I went there alone, knowing nobody, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I literally took 100 selfies on this trip because I had nobody to take pictures of me

Traveling alone was an experience in itself and it’s something I would love to do again. I met so many students from so many different countries. I was actually the only American, I met people from all over the globe and surprisingly enough, no American students. I was free to do what I wanted, stay places as long as I wanted, see things at my own schedule, eat what I wanted, and experience the culture the way I wanted to. Traveling alone is one of the best decisions I ever made.

The city of Barcelona is stunning. I’ll say it again, but it is my favorite place I’ve travelled thus far (if my words don’t get the point across I’m sure the insane amounts of pictures do). The city is like a nice mix of NYC with a little bit of Miami and Paris thrown in there. Obviously it’s its own unique city, but to describe in words….

There was so much for me to do, I couldn’t possibly find time to do everything. That being said, in the 2 1/2 days I had, I was determined and I saw everything except the soccer stadium. (Which is a real bummer, but it does give me an excuse to go back now).

I flew in on Thursday and had a good portion of the night left. Apparently the Spanish are a completely different species because I’m pretty positive that they don’t sleep. From 2pm-5pm all stores are closed for their ‘siesta’ and they eat dinner around 10pm. If you arrive to the party (aka club) before 2am, you’re like that one nerd in high school who has never heard of being fashionably late, ringing the bell to a party with a vegetable platter, to share, as their party snack. And god forbid you try to go home before 5am, you might as well just stay home.

After a long night Thursday, my brilliant self decided to make reservations at Sagrada Familia for 10am. I’m sure you could imagine how awake and ready I was when my alarm went off at 9am! But in all honesty, the Sagrada Familia was beautiful!

The architect, Gaudi, who designed the church designed most of the city buildings as well. It is mind-blowing to see. The church has been under construction for maybe 100 years and it still has a ways to go.

That day I also went to the famous Park Guell. I walked around the entirety of the park and it was amazing. It’s on top of a hill and it overlooks the whole city, the view is priceless. The nice thing about Barcelona is that not only is there a beach and a city, but it’s lined with mountains as well.

And I thought I was ridiculous with the selfies

After Park Guell I walked back to my hostel. Being a college student, on a college budget, paying for transportation when I have feet is like the enemy. In total, for sightseeing (and only sightseeing, not going to clubs or bars), my milage was 9.2 miles. I don’t even want to know how much the real total was because my feet hurt just writing 9.2 miles.

I promise I did more then just take selfies

The next day I decided to relax on the whole structured sightseeing norm. I slept in until noon and still managed to only get 6 hours of sleep. I then walked the southern part of the city, and by that I mean the beach. I started on Passeig Gracia (I think that’s right). Basically, the entire street was designed by Gaudi and it is gorgeous! It’s like 5th avenue, every designer and big name has a store there.

I then walked to the beach and Barceloneta. Barceloneta is just the boardwalk neighborhood area, and it was amazing. There was some sort of lifeguarding/ surfing competition happening on the beach, so I laid out in my jeans and soaked up the sun and the sights.

I then went and walked around the gothic district. Its a bunch of little roads that make no sense and it’s filled with cute local shops and I loved it. It was my favorite place in the city. I walked around at sunset and took everything in. I ended that day with only a sad 7.7miles of sightseeing.

Just so you can get an Idea of how pretty the gothic district was.... — Just so you can get an Idea of how pretty the gothic district was….

That night I decided to sleep after my 10pm dinner because I had to catch a bus back to the airport at the reasonable hour of 3am. Overall, my Barcelona experience was amazing. It was definitely the break I needed from the hectic life of Florence to catch up on my sleep. My advice for anyone planning on going to Barcelona: hopefully you can buy a syringe of caffeine or you’re really good at sleeping in airports at 4am or else you should allow yourself more then 2 days to see everything. That or make use of their wonderful subway system!

In all seriousness, I really loved Barcelona. I want to thank everyone who made my trip to Barcelona possible. It was one of the best experience of my life and I wish I could have stayed longer. I’m off to London, but I’ll catch you up on Greece and the UK in my spare time 😉

Actually Studying Abroad

Last week, someone commented that it didn’t look like I was actually studying. I would like to use this time to clear up any confusion. I am actually studying while over here. The reason I came to Italy was to study the Mediterranean Diet, so far, it’s going successfully. But, for further confirmation that I truly am studying, I would like to dedicate this weeks post to my academics.

This week I decided to stay in Florence, because we all need some down time every once in awhile. This down time was actually very productive, for each one of my classes. I think you’ll see why as I discuss the work I’m doing for each class.

Marketing- Thursday was a rainy day, unfortunately. In Marketing, though, I have to do market research on the Italian consumer. Now, what better way to learn about the Italian consumer then to become the consumer. So, on a rainy Thursday, I brought myself to a smaller local market and went shopping. I needed some sweaters and the market was a really cheap flea market! You could buy everything from fresh food for dinner, to underwear, to heavy coats. It was quite an experience. I really enjoyed learning about the consumer through this market.

Mediterranean Diet- My Nutrition class is arguably the most exciting class I’ve ever taken, and the most relevant. I came over to study the Mediterranean diet, therefore my main class should be about the Mediterranean diet.

Difficult classwork, you must really focus to ace the assignment

For class on Friday, My professor took us to Chianti. Chianti is known for olive oil and wine, but mainly wine. For class we saw an olive grove and vineyard, then learned how to taste wine and did an actual wine tasting, (with high quality, not cheap wine). We then went to a fancy restaurant and ate traditional Tuscan foods. One of the dishes was a red onion flan with truffles and truffle sauce. We had steak, cheese (yes, I ate the cheese), fresh vegetables, pastries, and wine. This was an actual class trip, so I don’t think I need to elaborate on the educational value. As a nutrition student, being able to eat the foods that I learn about is an invaluable experience.

Sometimes, the best way to learn is a hands-on approach

Political Science- As I write this blog post, I am also studying for a Political Science quiz that I have. Saturday, I sat down and rewrote my notes for my PSC class. I realized, while rewriting about the public sphere, I would learn more by actually immersing myself in the public sphere. The public sphere, for those who don’t know, is where people talk openly about politics (for lack of a better explanation). So, what better way to study this then hanging out with some friends in the central market and talking about life over pizza?!

Not only am I studying PSC, but I'm studying the Mediterranean diet — Not only am I studying PSC, but I’m studying the Mediterranean diet

Italian- Now, one could argue that I’m studying Italian at most points of the day, but reading labels and signs and ordering sandwiches gets a bit boring after awhile. Sunday, I took my studying to a new level by learning fight songs and cheers for the Fiorentina Soccer team, at a ‘calcio’ game. Fiorentina is ranked number one in Italian League A, so the stadium was packed, and the crowd was going crazy! There wasn’t a moment where people weren’t making insane amounts of noise. The energy in the stadium was unreal, a great way to end the weekend.

Overall, it was a productive weekend home. This upcoming week I get to brush up on my Spanish, as I will be in Barcelona (even though I’m pretty sure they speak Catalonian or some other derivative of Spanish). Hopefully the air is ready up and it’s evident that I really am studying while abroad.

A Beer Lover’s Disneyland

One week later and I’ve already been to another country and back. This weekend it was Germany, specifically for the not-so-well known festival happening in Munich. For those unaware of what I’m talking about, I went to Oktoberfest this past weekend.

I got into Munich (after a 9 hour bus ride) around 8am. I decided to forego all of the luxuries of a student hostel and go camping instead; surprisingly, I’m quite happy with the decision. The campsite was massive with hundreds of tents covering the space. Camping included breakfast and dinner everyday in a communal bar area, and in the night the bar area turned into a huge camping party.

The food at the campsite tastes exactly like what you would expect a camp to serve to 100’s of college students attending a beer festival aka not great, but edible. Now, I would like to preface this with saying that I don’t mind the cold weather, when I’m dressed the part I really don’t mind it. But, the campsite was absolutely freezing. At night the temperature reached 4 Degrees Celsius (39 Degrees Fahrenheit). I didn’t bring many heavy clothes, so I wore two sweaters, jeans, and multiple socks to bed every night. The day temperature wasn’t much nicer around 15 Degrees Celsius (58 Degrees Fahrenheit). It was fine with a sweater, but as it turns out, you don’t wear a sweater to Oktoberfest, you wear a Dirndl.

My first day, I spent in the actual city of Munich. I saw the downtown, got a Dirndl, went to the BMW museum, took a tour of the Munich Olympic Park, and then went to the festival. The city itself is very easy to navigate and very pretty, it felt oddly like being back home at times (minus the whole German Language barrier).

If we're being honest, I'm not sure what these are called but they were EVERYWHERE — If we’re being honest, I’m not sure what these are called but they were EVERYWHERE

So happy because I was really starting to crave a hamburger

The best way to describe the actual Oktoberfest I overheard from someone else: “This is like Disney, but for Beer”. It’s a bunch of huge beer tents surrounded by rides, like swings and roller coasters, beer carousels, and a lot of food stands. Everything from candied nuts, to schnitzel, to sausages, to all kinds of meats, to pretzels and crepes.

The second day, I woke up at 5am to go wait in line at a beer tent at 7am, to get let in at 9am. The way Oktoberfest works is organized chaos. Once the doors open, everyone tries to stampede into the tent to get a table. The second you find a table you stay and the second all the tables are full, the tent is closed until people leave. I was pushed in about every direction and squeezed to the point where breathing was not an easy task. I made it in a tent and was able to get steins of beer easily enough.

Being a beer maid is a lot harder then it looks, those steins are heavy

In the tent, they had giant pretzels, which were amazing and live music. Every 5 minutes the band would play a short song, it lasted about 20 seconds, and basically it was everyone’s cue to hold up their beer and then drink. A group of German students tried to teach me the words, but learning Italian is hard enough, picking up German was not in the books for this weekend. The entire day ended up being a blast! I’m really glad I was able to go.

Overall, the experience was unforgettable. This week I’m laying low and I’m gonna explore Florence a little more. Hopefully everything goes well! Until next time.

Croatia Trip

Bok (this means hi in Croatian in case this ever comes in handy for you),

I was in Croatia this weekend (I can also say I’ve been to Slovenia, but that was not significant, I just got my passport stamped)! I left Thursday night at 9pm from Florence and arrived in Split, Croatia at 9am. From what I heard, it was a terribly boring and long bus ride, but I wouldn’t know- I slept the entire time.

Split was a pretty little beach town, and surprisingly a main port for many cruise ships. All Friday I spent lounging on the beach, swimming in the Adriatic Sea, and jumping off huge rocks/ cliff like structures. I managed to get a nice little tan, much like I would probably get from Syracuse at this time of the year.

Split, and most of Croatia that I saw, was surrounded by beautiful white mountain ranges. The city its self was beautiful with white stone roads in the city center. I was able to see Diocletian’s Palace while I was there. It was unsuspecting from the port entrance, as it looked like just a market place, but once you walked through there were ruins of the ancient Roman Emperor’s white marble palace. It was breathtaking. I went at night and in the main palace there was a live musician and everyone was just sitting around taking in the atmosphere.

Diocletian's Palace — Diocletian’s Palace

Saturday, I went on an Island tour to some of the larger islands right off he Split coast. The first stop was the island of Brač. It was very pretty and very quiet. We jumped off the dock and went swimming for a little. The mainland and mountain ranges were gorgeous from the island. The water was also some of the most blue I had ever seen. It was so clear, that even 15ft out you could see the bottom of the sea perfectly. It was so blue, I could even see the little fish swimming under me and even felt one nibble on my toe (@Casey, found our next family vacation spot).

The roomie and I on the Island boat tour

The next island, I’m not quite sure what the name was, (Maybe Hvar?) but it had an inflatable water obstacle course. Now imagine 160 college aged students raiding an inflatable obstacle course in the middle of the water. It is as ridiculous as it sounds, but also equally as amazingly fun.

Now if you know me really well, you’d know I’m probably one of the strongest people you’ll ever meet in the upper body strength department. And by that I mean, I woke up the next day incredibly sore from the water inflatables. Nonetheless, I was able to successfully complete every obstacle (with some help from time to time).

Sunday we had a long journey ahead of us. Luckily, we got to stop at Krka National Park before leaving Croatia. Krka is home to some of the most beautiful sights and waterfalls. I even got to go swimming in the pool under the waterfall. It was a surreal experience and something that I will never forget.

Pre-swim picture with a casual waterfall in the background

We got home around midnight and I already really miss it! It was definitely an amazing trip and I would recommend visiting Croatia one day. It was unique and something completely new and exciting! This weekend is Oktoberfest, so I still need to go get my Dirndl (that funny Bavarian costume everyone wears), and get ready for another fun adventure!

Meaghan in Florence

…and many other places