Italy vs Europe integral

BirthdayBirthdayBirthday

First glass of wine on my 21st birthday

 

My wonderful roomie, Courtney, set this up for me! Nutella to go!

Going out for dinner!

 

My 21st birthday was lots of fun thanks to some amazing friends I have made out here. Much delicious food and laughter. I can't wait to continue celebrating over the next week or so since many people had to take rainchecks due to papers and other homework.

Thank you to everyone who made it special. I very much appreciate and love you!

Where the Chocolate Overflows

Yesterday Nina and I jumped on the train and head to the land of chocolate and more chocolate for the Eurochocolate festival. After 3 hours we found ourselves in Perugia, but with no idea how to find the center or the festival. Maybe we should have planned this out a little better. Luckily we met someone on the Pollino trip who is studying Perugia so we gave him a call and he guided us to correct place. It took a waiting through a 40 minute line to buy a ticket for the mini metro, a 5 minute metro ride, and 3 sets of escalators up to find the chocolate, but we made it! Also note that we did not look at the weather and were quite underdressed for the drizzly, cold weather. Characteristic Taylor behavior at it's prime. Always makes for an adventure though. It gets better at the end too.

Our first stop in this chocolate dreamland was a tent making nutella calzones (closest I can describe it in English). Mine had hazelnuts, favorite compliment to chocolate, in it too. Dream.

And then we entered the masses, with our friend in Perugia as our guide. He clued us into all the secrets. We bought a 5 euro card that made us eligible for free stuff at various booths throughout the festival. Best decision. It was fun to find the booths and maneuver our way to the front of the crowds. We received quite the little stash from the day, including the free samples and chocolate we ate there, an the chocolate pasta and strawberry chocolate bar I bought.

Other highlights include chocolate tortellini, a huge display of chocolate being made, a Milka sponsored ferris wheel, chocolate kebab, and the most chocolate in one place I have ever seen. It was nice to escape the masses and wander the other parts of town though. We all agreed that living in Italy has created a strong dislike for tourists. Why can't they all just stay home? People think strollers in masses of people are a good idea. Never.

We ended the day with the most delicious brick oven pizza and relaxing in our friend's apartment, so much so that we decided to take a later train and almost missed that one. At about 8:45 you could see two very late girls sprinting toward the train station in the rain. The first ticket machine was in Italian, but we managed to buy a ticket back to Rome. Only problem, we got a refund receipt for the change, but not the actual change. With a ticket still to buy, 3 minutes until the train was scheduled to leave, and a machine that wouldn't take our 50, we were a little panicked. Praise Jesus there was another ticket machine and trains in Italy are always delayed. Needless to say we made it home! Not without realizing Nina's ticket was for a different train and the help of our guardian angel from Oakland though. Stick with me and adventures galore. Successful day trip!

Sorrento&Pompeii

Last weekend, I traveled to Sorrento and Pompeii to see the ancient ruins left after Mt. Vesuvius erupted. Sorrento is situated right on the coast and the views are breathtaking. The water and the sky were the perfect shade of blue. If I ever move to Italy, I will live on the coast. Can't take the beach away from the California girl.

We spent Saturday walking around the quaint little town of Sorrento, looking in shops, buying a few things, and wishing to buy a lot more. There were the most beautiful handmade music boxes, but the one I loved the most was more than 60 euro, so I had to settle for looking. Afterward we checked into our hotel (couldn't open our door, again, this seems to be a pattern) and headed to dinner, which of course was delicious. First, a plate of bruschetta, fries, and suppli (various fried rice balls). Then about 4 different kinds of pizza, one with fries on top, and finally, a chocolate cake and the most wonderful pineapple and kiwi. Let's say we were more than a little full. I'm glad everywhere I've traveled embraces fries as much I do. I think we should stop considering them so American, especially since the rest of the world does them better than we do.
Sunday we drove to Pompeii and explored the city's ruins. I could have spent the whole day wandering the ancient streets and imagining the opulent houses and busy streets. I could even see the ruts in the stone from the chariots. I would have loved to live in Pompeii way back when, minus the tragic volcanic eruption. There's another eruption due any time now, so hurry over before it's buried again. Maybe stop in Rome and say hi to me too. :)

Mt. Vesuvius and the view from our hotel.

Right at home in the Pompeii ruins.

Roman House in Pompeii. They were broken up into 2 parts, the atrium in the front with the pool (pictured) in the center that collected rain water, and the peristyle in the back, which was mostly gardens. All the rooms faced inward and the roof had a hole in the middle for light and air circulation since there were no windows. 

 

Fountain in front of St. Peter's Church. Going to a service on Sunday!

Top 3 Gelato Spots: Old Bridge by the Vatican, Frigidarium by Piazza Navona, and the gelato shop across from Accademia Italiana (name unknown)

Beautiful sunset on the way back from a wonderful afternoon of losing myself in Rome.

Dinner tonight. Definitely becoming my usual.

 The time is flying by! I can hardly believe I am ending my 6th week in Rome. There is still so much to see and areas I have yet to set foot into. I want to soak everything in and then have time to soak my favorites in again and again. Yesterday I promised myself solo adventures. My first adventure consisted of a street full of vintage shops, Haight-Ashbury Roman style perhaps?, browsing Italian music, stumbling upon some of the best gelato recommended by my Italian teacher, losing myself in the most charming little backstreets, and observing, observing, observing. My favorite part of being out alone is that I can pretend to be Italian. I keep my mouth shut and no one knows any better. Just walk with confidence and NEVER pull out a map. Now to learn how to respond when spoken to in Italian and practice my accent.

Only a Bang Away...

I'm running out of creative blog titles, can you tell?
Tuesday night I was a little bored or needing some change. I'm not sure which, but either way, my impulsiveness took over and gone went my bangs. Picture me, 11 at night, roommate video taping, pair of kitchen scissors in my hand, attempting to see well enough through my bangs to cut in a straight line. And there goes months of growing my bangs out. Typical. No regrets. It was exactly what I needed to be inspired, not that inspiration does not hit every time I walk out my door. All the beautiful art and architecture is both awe inspiring and an over load to the senses. I did not think it possible to take in too much. I wish I had more time to take in the city at leisure. Once again, a sign I must be coming back. Italy has made a home in my heart. Before coming here, I hated the thought of life without APU, now I cannot wait to graduate and continue exploring the world. Secretly I miss Nepal more than the United States right now. Some friends and I helped serve food to the homeless last night and my only thoughts were of the street boys in Nepal. Every time I see someone on the streets here, I see the faces of those we met in Kathmandu. It breaks my heart.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures from Pollino as promised:

Entrance to the Angel Caves. Bats and water dripping everywhere since they are live caves and still developing. We took a boat ride inside and then walked around. It reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but without the pirates.

Gorgeous hike in the hills.

At the top of the hike. Worth all the cold and rain. I thought I might be blown off the mountain, but I just pretended I was in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day!

Exploring the town. It had so much charm I was giddy with excitement. An accidental proposal to Izzy and lots of clapping and jumping up and down were involved.

 And tomorrow we are off to Pompeii and Sorrento!