We had a field trip to Rome not this past weekend but the weekend before that. We stayed just from Saturday to Sunday. It sure was nothing like any other field trip I have ever been on in my life! It was just Alyssa, Nate, Chris and I because we are the only ones in this particular class. As soon as we got there we went to the Roman Forum. It was amazing to know that everything I was looking at was created and placed there tons of years ago. The entire time I tried to picture it the way it was all the way back then. At one point we even got to see an entire view over the city which, was beautiful. My favorite part of the Roman Forum was seeing the place where they believe Julius Caesar was buried. It still had flowers placed all around it. We stopped for lunch afterwards and I got a pizza. Of course we managed to save some room for gelato afterwards too. Once everyone met back up we headed to the Colosseum which, was the part I was the most excited about. As soon as we got inside and I got a full view I was shocked with how amazing it was. It is difficult to put it into words because it is the type of thing that you need to go and see yourself to truly understand. We spent an entire hour just roaming around it and exploring. I didn't want to leave! From that point on we were all free to do as we wished for the rest of the day. The four of us decided to head back to our hotel rooms for a little while first. By the time we relaxed a little bit and got ready it was dark outside. We headed straight to the Spanish Steps. They were packed with people. We chose to eat at one of the many restaurants nearby. Once we were done we went to this area called Trastevere which, is apparently a very popular spot with a whole strip of bars. We picked one and just hangout and had a few drinks for a while.

Unfortunately, it was pouring the next morning. On top of that, the Roman marathon (which only happens twice a year) just so happened to fall on this day. This made the plans that our teacher had made a little difficult. While we waited for the mass at the Pantheon to end we all went into a nearby cafe to get some coffee to wake us up. It was adorable and my cappuccino was excellent! After we were finally able to go inside the Pantheon we headed to see the ara pacis. We had learned about this in class multiple times. It was cool to actually get to see it in person. I was glad we got to see it because this is something that I normally wouldn't have made time for if our teacher didn't have it in our itinerary. We didn't have the entire day to spend so we had to leave after that. We passed the Spanish Steps on our way to the train station and I was happy I got to see them in the daylight as well. 

Overall, I was very impressed with Rome. The city is much bigger than I had imagined. As a result, we didn't have enough time to make it over to the Vatican. I was only able to see it from a distance. This was the only thing that makes me upset looking back at the weekend. Yet, I guess it is the perfect excuse to go back to visit again!!! 

Finally, the day I felt like I had been counting down to for ages: the day Brian got here to visit me!! After he dropped his stuff off at my apartment and got the full tour we spent the rest of the day just walking around exploring. I couldn't wait to show him everything! One of our very first stops was the Ponte Vecchio. At night he had his first gelato experiences at one of my favorite places: GROM. The next day we went straight to the best place on earth for lunch: Gusta Pizza. We made sure to stick to the tradition and sign the slip that our order number was on and stick it under the our table. I am pretty sure he fell in love with the very first bite. I was just a little disappointed that he didn't want to get his made in the shape of a heart like I did. Once we were full I figured we would take a trip to the Boboli Gardens because they are literally right around the corner. Unfortunately, they ended up being closed for the day but we quickly made a better plan. We decided to rent segways! I had never done this before and was a little nervous. After we both got the hang of it though we were racing through the entire city. It was soo much fun!! We met up with Alyssa and her boyfriend Andy for happy hour at Tijuana which, is a Mexican Grill. We each ordered one of their huge, famous margaritas. Afterwards we went to Osteria II Gatto E la Volpe so he could try the best fresh mozzarella and penne alla vodka everrr. Once it was late enough we all went to two of the American bars that we go to pretty much every week. Our first stop was Uncle Jimmy's which, has a long list of different type of bombs you can order. After that we went to Lion's Fountain.

Monday I decided to skip my first two classes and bring him to Pino's for lunch which, in my opinion, has the best paninis out of the millions of places here. It didn't take long for him to agree. Afterwards we walked through both the outside and the inside of the central market. On our way out he bought two soccer jerseys for himself. Unfortunately, I had to go to Italian class then because I couldn't miss it. That night we went to Zaza for dinner with Jaclyn and Natalie. Zaza is known for their truffle sauce which, I knew he had never had before in his life. I brought him there so he could try something new that is extremely rare to find in the United States. Once the night time came around we went to this bar called Naima with all of my friends. We shared a pitcher of Sangria. After that we went to this club called YAB.

We ended up sleeping in later than I was hoping to on Tuesday so as soon as we were ready and out we got lunch at All'Antico Vinaio. This place always has a line down the street so I knew it was a must. Once again I had to leave to go to Italian class which, sucked. As it was getting time for the sun to set we went to climb the Duomo with Alyssa and Andy. This was the first time that I had gotten to do it too which, was exciting. Once we reached the top about 460 steps later I was amazed by the view. I know for a fact that I will definitely be doing that again plenty of times before I leave.  For dinner my friends made a reservation at this restaurant called Santo Spirito. We are all obsessed with their ham and cheese appetizer and Brian immediately was too. All nine of us ended up ordering the same exact pasta dish which, was pretty funny. Later on we went to this bar called Kikuya to so that Brian could try his very first dragon beer. We literally went right next door after the Red Garter where we danced all night long. We had a blast!! By the end of the week he still said that Red Garter was his  favorite place out of them all.

We took the train to Venice wednesday morning. Once we arrived we had to take a water bus to the stop where our hotel was. It drove us through a decent amount of canals which, was great because we got to see a lot of the city. It was gorgeous and nothing like anything I had ever seen before. We spent our entire time there trying to figure out how the people live like that. There were zero cars. Every form of transportation is done through water. Peoples front doors literally opened up to a set of stairs leading down to the water too. Each individual definitely needed to own his/her own boat to do anything at all! Our hotel was very vintage and just a block outside of San Marco Square (the center of the city). We literally turned the corner and walked straight into the Basilica Di San Marco. We aimlessly walked up and down random streets because neither of us had ever been there before. Next we took a gondola ride which, I had been dying to do for forever! It was so calm and relaxing. Although the weather could have been better, it was still cool to get to see the city from a different point of view. The guy steering our gondola was extremely nice too and answered whatever questions we had. We ate dinner outside at this cute restaurant right on the water. It was all lit up and had vines and flowers everywhere. We shared a bottle of red wine which was, by far, the best red wine I had ever had. The whole thing was perfect!

After arriving back in Florence Brian insisted that we went back to Pino's so we did just that. At that point it was already time for me to go to Italian class again. As soon as I was done he insisted that we then go back to Tijuana. It was easy to see what places were at the top of his list. The two of us went back each ordering different margaritas this time of course to try something new. Afterwards I brought him to his very first aperitivo this night. Aperitivo is when you go to a bar/restaurant a little earlier than you would for a normal dinner. You order and pay for a single drink and then it is an all you can eat appetizer buffet. Aperitivo is an Italian tradition to go before dinner. However, me and Brian did it the way that me and my friends always do it and stuffed our faces so that we got a cheap dinner out of it. Later on I brought him to shot cafe. Here we split their two specialties with my friend Taylor: the huge pitcher with the super long neon straws and the ten shots lit on fire. When we left there we went to the bar Old Stove which, is one of the only Italian bars that we actually go to here.

On our last day we got Gusta Pizza for the second time for lunch. We decided to give Boboli Gardens a second try after that. Luckily, it was open this time. I had never been there before either. I was amazed with how beautiful it was. It was nice to see some nature and greenery for once because the streets of Florence have not even a patch of grass to be found. We went exploring around the entire place pretty much. I picked a mini bouquet of flowers because they were so pretty. I am 100% going back there as it gets even warmer out. It would be the perfect study spot for finals. As soon as we left we headed straight to Piazzale Michelangelo for the sunset. We sat on the huge staircase looking over the entire city with our bottle of wine as it slowly became dark out. It was the perfect ending to the week. For dinner we went to this very local Italian restaurant called Trattoria Anita. We decided to treat ourselves and each order both a first and second dish. He tried risotto for the first time when I told him theirs was to die for. We stayed there for almost two hours just finishing our bottle of wine and talking. For dessert we went to Gelateria Dei Neri. We had to fit it in before he left because this place is rated the best gelato in the city. He got a nutella crepe with gelato on top and I got a nutella waffle with gelato on top. They were both delicious. Once we got home we both passed out from a food coma after that entire week of nonstop eating.

I was so happy that Brian got to visit me. We were both so lucky to have been given that opportunity. We had the perfect week together and had a ton of fun. It was definitely hard to have to say goodbye to him again. Florence definitely won't be the same without him anymore.

Last but not least, Barcelona! I had been dying to visit this city because I know soo many people studying abroad from Penn State there including two of my best friends, Nicole and Allie. It felt so good to see them, like usual. I got to their apartment really late on Tuesday night so we literally just hung around and talked for hours. When I finally got to see the city in daylight the next morning I realized just how big it was. It was probably the biggest city I had been to yet. It reminded me a lot of New York City. Our first stop was "La Boqueria" which is their outdoor markets. There were tons of flowers, fresh fruits, veggies, and more. It reminded me a lot of my central market back in Florence. We walked all the way to the arc de triomf next. I loved this spot because there were palm trees lined up all along it. After that we went to the Citadel Park which, was not even a two minute walk away. Nicole went to show me this mini pond where people will usually rent paddle boats. It was hysterical when we reached it and realized that it had been drained for some reason. After that disappointment we went to see this large fountain also inside of the park. Nicole told me that they had a zoo right there that she had never been to before so we decided to try to find the entrance to it. Of course at this point it started to DOWNPOUR and the two of us were stuck sharing just one umbrella because mine had flipped inside out and broke from all of the wind. Needless to say we were both soaking wet. We didn't know what else to do but die laughing. We decided to give up on the zoo. She had class soon so we started heading back to that building. Once we got there she left me with Sal who, within just one hour, brought me to this bar that they all love and got the two of us drunk off of sangria. That night Nicole cooked me dinner which was excellent, as always. We went back that night to the same bar I was at earlier with Sal to pregame. Nicole and I split this drink platter called "The Blackout" to start off the night...Afterwards we went to this club called Sutton Club. It was insane!!!! I had the best time ever. We made it into the VIP section which, she said was rare. I was upset that I only had that one night to go out because I would have loved to see what other bars and clubs there were there. Even though we had a rough start to the day, it ended up being awesome!!

On my last day in Barcelona Jaclyn, Natalie, Alyssa, Emily and I all went to Park Guell. It was so steep to climb to the entrance of it that the city put in outdoor escalators for people to take to the top. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined. I was obsessed with all of the colors of the tiles on the wall that overlooked the city. On our way back down we stopped at this small shop to get churros and warm, melted chocolate. We heard that this city was known for them so we felt the need to try them before we left. They were a great snack before Alyssa and I had to catch our flight to head back to Florence to get Brian and Andy!!!!! Barcelona was by far the perfect end to a perfect spring break! Now we were ready to go get our boys!

Finally, our first warm location: Nice (the French Riviera). We got there on Sunday afternoon and headed straight to the beach. It felt so good to see water again! The beach was right off of a promenade that ran from one end of the coast to the other. We walked up and down it just to explore a little and see the town. It was Nice's final day of their Carnival so the promenade was filled with confetti, streamers and balloons. At dinner that night we got lucky enough to be seated at a table that faced the fireworks celebration. It was perfect!

As soon as we woke up the next morning we rented bikes for an hour. It was cool to get to ride further to places we otherwise wouldn't walk to. Once we were done we changed into our bathing suits and laid out for the rest of the day on the beach. The beach was made up of all rocks but we managed. I even got a tan!! We stayed long enough to catch the sunset which, was gorgeous. Later on that night we stopped into the casino for a little while.

On our third and last day we took a train to Monte-Carlo, Monaco (another city along the French Riviera). I didn't really know what to expect but I knew if it was anything like Nice then I was going to love it! We wandered around for a while and first ended up walking through the docks of the yacht club. After going a little further we hit the beach which, in my opinion, was even nicer than Nice's. I felt like I was in Jamaica or Aruba or some other tropical island. From that point on we literally did not move. We laid down in the rocks again but this time around they were smaller and resembled sand more. We soaked in the sun until we were ready for lunch. We ate at this restaurant that looked over the beach with the perfect view. Once we finished we headed back for the train station because we needed to leave that night for our next stop: Barcelona!!!!

We started our spring break off in my favorite city yet, Paris! I loved everything about it!! The first thing we did was go straight to the eiffel tower. After waiting in line for a decent amount of time we were finally able to climb to the top of it. The view was absolutely amazing. I was shocked when I realized that they even had bathrooms, a convenience store and a restaurant all the way up there. If you walked toward the center of it they made the floor out of only glass which, was really cool. Once we were on the ground again we were starving from all of those stairs. I ordered a ham and cheese croque for lunch which, was delicious. Next we went to see the Avenue of Champs Elysees. This is a long strip with all high end shops along it. It felt comparable to the Beverly Hills from the United States. While walking down the street we stopped into the biggest Louie Vuitton store that exists in the world. Right next to it was a Laduree (macaroon store). We each left with our own personal stacks of eight colorful cookies. My favorite one was the plain vanilla. At the very end of this street we found the Arc di Triomphe. For our last stop of the day we climbed to the top of this building to watch the sunset from its roof. It was gorgeous with the outline of the eiffel tower in the background. With our first dinner we all split a side of french fries, of course.

For our second and last day we decided to first go see the Notre Dame. After we got baguettes with ham and cheese and then headed toward the Louvre. We walked all around this maze of a museum before finally finding what we truly went there to see: the Mona Lisa. It was a lot smaller than I had expected. Luckily for us our next stop, the love lock bridge, was right outside of this huge museum. It was upsetting when we saw that the whole thing was pretty much boarded up. Apparently it was getting too heavy and they were worried that it was going to break. We still managed to find a good spot to put our locks though! There was no way I was leaving there without doing so! We were each obsessed with our dinner this night: chicken cutlets with green beans and arugula salad. Once it was dark enough we headed back to the eiffel tower for a second time to see it all lit up. It was even more beautiful at night, if possible!! We even got to see its light show which is when it flashes lights for a few minutes straight as if it were sparkling. I didn't want to leave.

Although the twelve hour bus ride to Prague gave us a rough start, I ended up liking the city a lot more than I expected to. The hostile that we stayed in here was by far the nicest one yet. My friend Chris from home who is studying abroad in Rome was actually staying in the same one so I ran into him a few times throughout the weekend. We didn't arrive until 9am on Friday morning so there was no time for sleep. Right away we took this tour that showed us around the entire city. One of my favorite parts was the Old Town Square and the astronomical clock. We learned that Prague is split up into sections each labeled with a number. For example, there is Praha 1, Praha 2, Praha 3, etc. We met up with Ashley who is studying abroad there for lunch. It felt so good to finally get to see her again! She brought us to this traditional Czech restaurant. I was glad that I tried something new. At night we went to this 80's/90's club. It was SO much fun! We all had the best time dancing to the songs that we grew up with.

On our second day there we went straight to the John Lennon Wall. I signed it in both sharpie and spray paint. We were there for about an hour or two all taking tons of pictures. Afterwards we walked through these outdoor markets. We got hot red wine and potatoes with ham in a cream sauce for lunch. For dessert we got this bread that was covered in cinnamon, sugar and nuts. It is kind of hard to explain but it was to die for. I even dipped it in my hot wine. After we were warmed up, we climbed these steps leading us to an awesome view of the city and the entrance to this beautiful castle. Prague was filled with extremely old castles that soared higher than the rest of the normal buildings. After exploring the inside of this one in particular, we made our way back down and picked up some fried potato chips on a stick on the way. Although they were filled with oil I couldn't resist. For our last night we all signed up to go on a pub crawl. I was excited because I had never been on one before. Now I can't wait to do another one!!!

I could tell from the start that Switzerland was going to be beautiful even in the middle of the night as our bus slowing zigzagged up through the dark mountains. It is impossible to compare Switzerland to any other country that we had already visited because it was mostly just nature. Not going to lie, it was definitely nice for a change. We stayed at this famous hostile called Balmer's. Alyssa, Danielle and I ended up getting squeezed into a small room with a total of ten girls. The place was extremely old and felt like a log cabin. 

On our first day there we wanted to go see Lake Brienz. After walking completely in the wrong direction for a while and then getting lost, we gave up and payed for bus tickets. When we finally made it my jaw dropped as I saw in front of me a body of water that was legit the color of blue gatorade. It seemed like a mixture between the water I am used to at home and a tropical island. I had never seen anything like it before. Although it was FREEZING my mind was quickly distracted. We spent the next hour or two enjoying the view and taking tons of pictures. The nightlife was extremely easy to figure out because everyone just walked out the front door to the hostile's very own club. I was relieved to not have to walk through the cold. My friend Elyssa turned 21 this night so we all had a ton of fun. 

We woke up early the next day because we had gotten day passes to go skiing! I was super nervous because I hadn't recently been skiing and I had been told several times that these mountains were much harder than the ones at home. The train ride up to the top of the mountain, Jungfrau, was spectacular. It just kept getting better the higher and higher we went up. It was cool to see the small villages plopped in the middle of no where and covered in snow. When we came to a stop and I got off I was shocked to see that we were above the clouds. They were like a layer below us. It made it feel as if you were in this secret, nonexistent world for the time. These mountains were ten times the size of any of those I had ever seen before in Vermont, upstate New York or Pennsylvania. As we made our way to the first and easiest slope I quickly realized that I had every right to be nervous. In the United States the order of difficulty for the slopes goes green, blue, black diamond and then double black diamond. In Switzerland it goes green, blue, red and then black. Little did I know that as I started down a green slope in Switzerland it would be like an intense blue slope at home. I wiped out just a few times to say the least. Even their "bunny hill" was far from a beginners slope. No actual bunny hill that I have ever seen before even existed here. I felt embarrassed as I watched tiny kids flying past me looking as if they were professionals. I was still proud of myself for at least putting in the effort and trying. On one part of the mountain there was this large teepee where everyone seemed to hangout at when they needed a break. There was a bar on the inside of it and places to order food. I got this delicious hot chocolate. After returning back to ground level the three of us went out for dinner. We each got warm cider beer which, I had never had before along with this pasta that had been recommended to us by tons of people. It had melted cheese all over it with bacon and potato pieces mixed in. Apparently it was a traditional Swiss meal. 

We didn't leave until later on Sunday so we spent our last hours at a chocolate making workshop. It was a very personal lesson with only a few people. We each got to make and then decorate three of our very own chocolate bars. I now understand why they say that Swiss chocolate is the best in the world! By the time we left I had a stomach ache from eating so many sweets!!