Holland Video!

Ok so I just now figured out how to add videos...so exciting! This is one of me and Brittany just hanging out by one of the main canals in Amsterdam. I think it gives you a pretty good impression of the lovely, relaxed Dutch way of life. And of Brittany.

Visitors Galore!

So I'm getting very excited because lots of my favorite people are planning on coming to visit me soon:

1. My mom! And also Tia Diane and Chris! They're actually arriving this Friday...and we're going to go to Pisa, Florence, and Venice...as well as Paris! It's going to be a great trip, or plethora of trips, rather. I can't wait to see some of my family.
   
2. Brittany! She's coming for Thanksgiving, so as to soften the blow of being without families on that special day for the both of us. We're going to eat of course. And then we'll do whatever else we want to!
3. Kristen! I am honored to say that she is making me her last European fling before returning home for Christmas. She'll be here just before the holiday, when (hopefully) we might see a little snow.

My holiday plans are still somewhat up in the air...but with any luck, I'm going to be doing a whirlwind Calabria, London, Leeds, Scotland trip!

Say Cheese!

Ciao tutti! Today I went to Parma, home of the world-famous Parmesano-Reggiano cheese, which I have come to know and love with a passion. It's one of Charlotte's and my only splurges. We ate the most wonderful lunch in a restaurant that was hidden in the back of a meat shop...the food was SO fresh and delicious! I ate the best lasagna I've ever had, which was of course generously sprinkled with lots of parmesan!

We also went to see the Duomo, the Baptisitry, and a palazzo. It was rainy today and a lot of things were closed, so we didn't have as many options available to us, but we had a good time anyway. We brought back some cheese (not that we can't get it here, it's just more fun to get it there!) and thus were quite content.

Burrrrr

Well the season has finally changed. It's SO COLD here now! Saturday was about 30 degrees colder than Friday. I feel so unprepared. I live in California. Having seasons is super exciting though! I mean, now, I wear a coat, and a scarf, and boots, and it's not just because they're cute, but because I have to! I'm kinda enjoying it at this point...but I know as the winter goes on...I won't so much. It's just about time for that hibernation I was speaking of. I'm gonna buy lots of toilet paper and pasta and not ever leave my apartment and its life-saving heating device. It's not sooo bad yet that I couldn't get a gelato today...so everything's gonna be just fine.

That time I almost got married

So this past weekend I was flying solo because Charlotte and Shawn and several of my other American friends went to Perugia for the Chocolate Festival. I decided to skip it because I needed a break from traveling after Holland, and I'd rather save the money for something bigger, like Barcelona or Prague. So there were only a few Americans around and other than that it was just me and my Italian roommates!

It was a very relaxing weekend...filled with reading, bars, movies, long baths, and many Italian conversations. On Friday night, my friend Andrew joined me on a night out with my roommates, and pretty much everyone else in Bologna that's from Calabria. They're like a cult...they all know each other! I don't even ask where people are from anymore.

On the way, while we were congregating in the street, my apartment-mate Federica pulled on my arm and told me to look at the guy with the strange glasses. He was sitting on a bench, playing a guitar, and wearing foil glasses (through which he could not see). He was surrounded by a group of friends, one of whom came up to me and asked me to sign this piece of cardboard, which I did. Come to find out, after much language confusion, that once they get 100 signatures, he can remove the glasses and get married. I had the hardest time figuring out what marriage had to do with it. Was it a bachelor party? No. Does he have a fiance? No. Well it turns out that after 100 signatures he can buy a bride. I'm pretty sure the whole thing was just a big joke, but I decided to play along. So once they asked me if I was interested, I asked, "How much?" Henceforth ensued a flurry of excitement by all his friends (during which I turned to Andrew and said, "Why did I say that?!") and they responded with 30 Euro. That's nothing! And so, offended, I explained that I'm worth more than that, and they were all defeated. They tried to lead him around to give me a kiss but I hid behind all the Calabrese, laughing with Federica and Azzurra...and finally the situation fizzled out!

Later we went to the Irish Pub and Andrew and I spent a couple hours struggling with our Italian to converse with several new people that we had met. It was really interesting...one guy was asking me what my favorite things were about Italy, and was apparently offended that Italian food came before Italian men! Haha. I told him that maybe they were number 7.

As we were leaving the bar, we ran into that same group of guys from earlier! Only this time, the main guy was no longer wearing his glasses. So of course the friends recognized us, and it was pointed out that I was the girl who turned him down. There was some laughing and such, we kissed on the cheek, and that was that!

And so that was the time I almost got married in Bologna.

Holland Highlights!

There would be SO MUCH to try to relay if I gave you guys the play by play...so I thought it might more interesting if I retold Holland this way! Warning: the pictures aren't really in any sort of order.

So here's Holland's most delightful highlights:

1. STROOPWAFELS-This was pretty much my favorite thing about the Dutch culture. For those of you who haven't experienced the scrumptiousness of a stroopwafel, I will try to explain its goodness to you: it's a thin round waffle...and another thin waffle...connected by gooey caramel. It tastes like a crispy churro dipped in carmel...omg...I want them always. I made sure to bring a package of them home with me!
2. Reunited at last-it was SO nice to see the girls! I felt like I was at home right away, able to let my hair down and just be myself. It was rejuvenating. Kristen was so sweet to put everything together for us...meeting us at the airport..."securing" mattresses, blankets and towels...hanging out even though she had midterms to study for...it was all so appreciated. Brittany was as crazy as ever...I couldn't have been more happy to see her.
3. Wrong side of the tracks-the first night, on the way back from the airport, our train stopped randomly and then there was an explanation on Dutch. In response to my confused look, a Dutch grad student came over and explained that it had run out of electricity or something and we'd have to change trains. So the 7 of us on the train at 1:30 in the morning all got off with the conductor and the sweet helper man. The two of them put on reflector vests and told us that since the train would be on Track Two and the station was closed, that we would have to cross the tracks! So we jump into the four foot pit, cross the tracks, and have to be pulled up on the other side. Britt was wearing a dress, so the conductor man said, "Don't worry! I won't look!" Man it was ridiculous...a great introduction to Holland!
4. Canals-these are everywhere. They refect the sky, the buildings, and the trees and they look beautiful. Sometimes they're covered in this nasty green goop though. Those canals aren't as cute. Hehe.
5. Rum hot chocolate-so I saw this on the menu when we had lunch in Utrecht and so that night I wanted to try it because it sounded interesting. It wasn't on the menu but the waiter said he'd see what he could do. I wrote the words in the order I did for a reason- it was rum hot chocolate! like half and half...SO STRONG! Hehe...fun experience. Definitely warmed me up for the walk home.
6. Bikes- Everyone, i mean, everyone rides bikes in Holland. It's CRAZY. Kristen had explained to us that at some point we would ride on the back of one, which we did. It was so exhilarating! There's a small platform for someone to sit, so Britt and I made our way to the club riding side-saddle on the back of two of Kristen's friend's bikes! Oh, it was so much fun!
7. Kristen's new coat-we finally found Kristen a possible coat, which she bought, and then left somewhere...only to discover this while we're on the bus home. So we jump off and begin running to try to find it. This was quite the adventure with Brittany and I in flats, with shopping bags, trying to keep up with her, and having only a vague idea of where we were. In the end she was victorious...and it was at this point that we made our way to a cafe for that chocolate rum.
8. Grey's Anatomy- we watched the first two episodes of the season together online! It was very laid back and made me feel at home, or at least like I was back at UCSD. It's the sort of thing we would always do together...and there we were doing it in Holland!
9. Utrecht-we had the best time exploring Utrecht. We went shopping, ate Dutch pancakes, went to this really neat automated musical instrument museum, went out clubbing, had a picnic in the park...it was just an all around good time! Everyone is so cute. The windows are very open so you can look in and see everyone doing their business, which are things like reading the paper, playing with grandchildren, you know, all the usual cute things. It was lovely.
10. Delft-we went here on a day trip on Saturday. It was smaller than Utrecht or Amsterdam, and we did some shopping, some eating, and some church-going (they both had amazing stained glass -->). I bought a really pretty necklace there with a perfume charm on it. I've decided that it's love potion. Now I just need to find a non-creepy, non-mama's-boy, non-cheating Italian boyfriend. Good luck, Kelly.

How's this for a corny tourist picture, eh?

Stroopwafel

ok guys i'm gonna write this one later...but just so you know...we're having an amazingly cute and relaxing visit with Kristen in Utrecht!

The Read Lights are blinding me, PART 2

Amsterdam was so much fun! It was just Brittany and me because Kristen had class, not to mention she's been to Amsterdam several times before. We started off with a canal cruise which was beautiful...all the buildings are so charming and quaint. Then we made our way to the Anne Frank House. It was very interesting and also very moving to actually BE in the place where all that sadness took place. I'm really glad we were able to experience it.

After, we wandered around Dam Square and the Southern Canal district and found a little place for lunch. We ate toasties, which is pretty much grilled cheese, and delicious! Britt and I were still pretty exhausted from our journey the night before because we hadn't gotten to Kristen's place until 2 due to a train malfunction (we had to switch trains in the middle of the night by jumping into the pit and crossing the tracks. Brittany was wearing a dress and it was REALLY funny). Soooo...basically we weren't up for running from museum to museum and were more interested in taking in the character of the city...so we just walked the canals and people watched. Here's Brittany and me Dutch kissing.

For dinner we went to a place called Dante, which isn't AS italian as it sounds. I had chicken and potatoes in gravy, and Brittany had lasagna. Our waiter was kind of a jerk...I don't think he likes Americans. When Britt was ordering, she first said she wanted lasagna and then said we'd like to order bread to share. Then he responded curtly, "Ok. Let's do this in some kind of order," because she hadn't said bread first! Needless to say, no extra tip for chip-on-his-shoulder man. But the food was really good, so all's well that end's well!

<-- That crooked brick building in the middle is my new house.

After dinner and before heading to the train station we wandered the Red Light District. I had no idea it would be quite like it was...first I was like, "Britt! Red lights! Red lights!" And then she was like, "Oh my God, Live Porn shows!" And then I said, "What? They can DO that?" And soon after I said, "Ahh! There's practically naked girls in the windows!" It was amazing.

The Red Lights are blinding me...

Today I'm leaving for my first big trip. I'm going to Amsterdam/Utrecht to visit Kristen! And Brittany's meeting us there as well! I could not be more excited to see two of my favorite people...and I'm also getting to experience another country! I can't wait to see Kristen's set up and understand how she's living her semester abroad! From what I've been reading, Amsterdam and Utrecht sound like lovely places. Amsterdam is such a famous city and tourist attraction, and yet I hear it's relatively small, pretty safe, and still holds small city charm.

It'll also be nice to get a break from Bologna...from not understanding what's going on...from seeing the same people all the time...from gelato...no just kidding! That last one will actually be dearly missed!

My travel itinerary is pretty intense...I hope it all goes alright. I have to take a few trains, a plane, a bus, and maybe a taxi until I get to my final destination...all by myself. But I have amazing motivation to get there in one piece. I can't wait!

Ok I better finish packing so I can get to the train station on time!