After Barcelona, the week passed very fast–so fast in fact that as Colleen arrived Wednesday evening, it felt like that was the beginning of the weekend. It was great because it took me back to my first few weeks here as I got to be a tourist all over again. I took Colleen through the city, and though we didn’t explore too many of the sites here, we walked for hours through the city and around the Christmas markets, which had started up this weekend.
As we had all missed Thanksgiving at home, those Georgetown students who were here for the weekend got together on Friday afternoon to cook Thanksgiving dinner for us and 
the host family whose house we used. I was put in charge of the salad (artisan lettuce, arugula, pears, goat cheese, and candied walnuts) and the sweet potato casserole, which all turned out great, and I look forward to making it again for my parents when I have a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner over winter break :). In addition, the host family ordered the turkey, but we also made mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Everything was delicious, and it made me look forward to cooking again–so much so that I already started compiling a list of French foods I plan on trying to make when I’m home.
While we were waiting for some of the food to cook, we took a break to watch the lighting ceremony in Strasbourg during which they had a little concert and at the end, lit up all the lights they had been installing for the past several weeks in the city. Though the spectacle before was a little dull, and the commentator kept drawing it out, seeing the lights light up for the first time with a puff of confetti was worth it. Though it doesn’t quite feel like winter yet (we’ve had abnormally warm weather this weekend), it did get us excited for the Christmas season and got us hoping for some snow.
On Saturday, we spent the entire day walking through the Christmas markets. There are a dozen different ones set up in squares throughout the city, but they are all within a 5 minute walk from my apartment. So convenient, yet also swarming with tourists already. We heard that this weekend and the weekend after will be ok, but after that, there will be so many people coming to the Christmas markets that you can barely move. However, we were there early enough, that we got to see everything. There are several stores selling Christmas Alsatian specialties, from bredel cookies and beignets to spaetzel and choucroute (sauerkraut) and hot wine in addition to the other stalls selling 
Christmas ornaments, wooden carvings, candles, soaps, scarfs, and on and on. Of course, we were more interested in the foods (and I already started making a list of all the foods I plan on buying on my last week here so I can bring back home), and we filled our stomachs with bretzels and beignets and even a bowl of choucroute with sausage and potatoes.
After several hours of exploring each market, we made our way to Place Kleber in the evening to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree and a ballet performance put on by the host country this year, Georgia. Though there were so many people that we could barely see anything, we got to see the light show and the sudden illumination of the Christmas tree. The streets were so crowded with people, that we began to wonder where all these people had come from. Of course with the Christmas markets as the attraction, there were more people, but it was incredible that it could go from the night before when I would literally 
be the only one walking on the streets to that night when there were so many people you could only shuffle down the streets. We would have at least expected to see when all these people had arrived, or some sign of where they were staying. Regardless, I’m glad to have gotten a fill of the Christmas markets before they got too crowded, though I will have to brave the huge crowds the week before Christmas to get my goods I want to bring home. I hope my parents will be ready for lots of random French food products.
Barcelona was my last big trip for my semester abroad, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to have gone. Already travel-worn from straight traveling between Italy and London, I was ready to be done. But what I found in Barcelona was a relaxing city (and a most relaxing stay with my aunt and family) with a bit of everything for everyone. Whether you like mountains or oceans, big cities or small towns, I’m pretty sure Barcelona was meant to suit everyone…now all we have to do is learn Spanish or Catalan.
in Barcelona. After several bus transfers and a gondola ride to the top, we finally arrived at the highest point in the city from where you could see the entire city all the way to the ocean on a clear day. Unfortunately, the slightest bit of fog obscures the view a bit, so we couldn’t quite see as well as we had hoped, but the sun was shining just enough that we could see through the fog shrouding the city. It was beautiful. At the top of Tibidabo is also a large church that we went into. It looked like a rougher, more colorful stone cave-looking building was holding up the grander looking white church. We climbed up the stairs to the top 
and entered the white church. Now as you can recall, I’ve seen plenty of churches, and this one didn’t really stand out. It was dimly lit, with perfect white stone walls, but other than its impeccable cleanliness, nothing really set it apart. As we were about to walk down, my aunt suggested entering the stone building beneath to see what was inside. And we stepped into another church, but this one was much more impressive. Though the outside was more roughly constructed, the dazzling mosaics covering the four nooks at the front of the church distinguished this church from the white one above it. I stood in awe beneath each mosaic made of shimmery, colorful tiles presenting images of sailboats, the mountains in Barcelona, and religious figures.
We made our way back to the apartment afterwards just in time to pick up Gavin. We then headed to the city center near Catalunya Place to meet Pieter and Molly for some tapas and wine. We wandered down Las Ramblas, which reminded me of the Champs-Elysee in Paris, so we avoided the tourist traps down the main street and turned onto a small alley and found a small restaurant. Gavin and I ordered a few tapas to 
share, including grilled asparagus a croquette, and grilled provolone with “fruits of the forest,” meaning berries. It was all delicious and went perfectly with a Spanish red wine. After our dinner, we wandered down the main street again, catching up while also admiring the Christmas lights that were hung but not yet lit as we anticipated the start of the advent and for it to feel like the holidays.
The next day, Gavin and I set off to the center of the city again to explore and see a few of the well-known sites. We started at Las Ramblas again and passed through the markets, much like the ones seen throughout Europe with various fresh vegetables, fruits, and seafood. The fruit in Barcelona looked particularly enticing, but as we had just finished breakfast, we decided to hold off. Afterwards, we made our way towards the beach, and after getting lost in the marina, we eventually found the right path and made our way to the Mediterranean.
it’s such a historic looking city, but there are also palm trees everywhere, which remind me of tropical resorts in America. Afterward, we washed off our feet and set out to find a restaurant. Though paella isn’t a Barcelona specialty, I figured I should have it since it is a Spanish specialty, and this would be the only city I visit in Spain. Gavin had his heart set on Fideua, which is like Paella, but with short noodles instead. So we stopped 
at every restaurant to look for these two dishes that weren’t too expensive. We walked down several blocks and even turned around to go back to one that had both but was a little pricey when we saw a small restaurant sitting in what probably was a tourist trap, but it had a great view of the ocean, so we decided we wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for the view. Luckily, the price was cheaper than the other place, the restaurant had both our dishes and a great view over the ocean. The Spanish bread isn’t 
nearly as good as the French, but it is nice that they give you free baskets of bread–something I wasn’t accustomed to in Europe. Then our dishes came, and we each took half of each, and the waiter piled both dishes on our plates. We squirt lemon over our paella (which is a Spanish rice dish mixed with pork and seafood) and mixed in a garlic mayonnaise sauce with our fideua. It was delicious, but it was so much food, that I actually some on my plate (which if you know me, is unusual. I’m usually a member of the clean plate club…so clean that I usually scrape every bit of food and sauce with my fork so that it looks like I had licked the plate).
After lunch (the Spanish have lunch from 2-4pm and dinner from 8-10pm), we made our way to the Sagrada Familia. I wasn’t too excited to see yet another church, and didn’t really understand much about the history or importance of the giant cathedral built by Gaudi. My first impression was a tall spiny building that looked like it had gotten wax poured over it. But as we walked in the gates and saw the statues adorning the entrance that were so different from any I had seen in all of Europe, I began anticipating an exciting visit. Which is exactly what I got, as we walked in and I was taken aback by the strange architecture and magnificence of the church. It was unlike anything I had ever seen or could even imagine. 
The Cathedral was started over 100 years ago, and is still under construction, but the fact that Gaudi had imagined this architecture so long ago, yet it still remains very modernist and avant-garde astounded me. Everything was very angular, and I felt like I had walked into a geometrical forest. I was reminded of Alice in Wonderland or even the candy fields and trees in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We admired the cubic designs of the building, combined with the spiral theme in the stairs, as well as the several other geometric shapes. We went through a room describing Gaudi’s style and inspiration from nature, explaining how he was able to develop new column styles, his obsession 
with hexagons, and his inspiration from shapes of nature. As we walked back into the cathedral, I saw it with fresh eyes and saw everything as a modernist interpretation of a giant stone forest. It was hard to tear myself away and leave, but finally we realized we had seen every corner of the church and admired every column and had no reason to stay longer.
By the time we left, the sun was setting, and we decided to just wander around the city. We stopped to get gelato as well as Catalan pastries and at a cafe for some tea, but otherwise just admired the charm of the city and the relaxed  way the Spaniards enjoyed their Saturday.
The next day, Gavin left in the morning, so I spent the day with my aunt and cousin, once again walking around the city. After stopping for lunch, we walked around the city and wandered through large beautiful parks until we decided to go to the Picasso Museum, as they said they had always seen the line and not gone inside, so I figured it would be a good
excursion for all of us. Though most of Picasso’s better known artwork is in Paris, this museum was largely a collection of his early works which showed his transition from typical artist to eccentric abstract artist. It was fascinating to see a museum displaying the artwork of one artist and how his art changed and was effected by various events in his life and people he met. That was the end of my Barcelona site-seeing, as a lot of my weekend was also just spent relaxing at my aunt’s apartment. It got me looking forward to going home, which is in about a month!
In my mind, I often associate several alternative lives I would have like to live with England—the indie music scene, the 19th century countryside lifestyle, being a wizard like Harry Potter, and the list goes on. During my weekend in London, I was able to see glimpses of what these scenes spun by my imagination would have actually looked like in real life. What I was not prepared for was the feeling of familiarity and comfort I found in London, despite having the stomach flu the whole time.
I got on the bus from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden Airport in Germany at 12:50pm and arrived at the airport an hour later. Though my flight wasn’t until 6:15pm, this was the only bus that would have gotten me there on time. So I was prepared with a bottle of water, several bland Melba toast crackers, and a book to wait for 5 hours. Remember throughout this whole ordeal, my stomach is still churning and my body is still sore 
from being sick. At 6pm as we are in line to board the plane, they announce that our flight is delayed indefinitely. About 30 minutes later, I receive a text saying our new expected departure time was 9:55pm. To make it up to us, RyanAir gave everyone vouchers for 5 euros to buy food at the airport. Of course we get free food when I am unable to eat food. So I sit in the airport for about 9 hours and wait. Luckily, our flight goes 
smoothly, and we land in Stansted. I had looked up on the internet how to get to the hostel from there, and it said I could take the tube to the hostel, and the tube was directly under the airport. I even asked at customs, and the officer directed me to 2 floors down to find the tube. Of course, 2 floors down, I arrive at the train station, where they inform me we are 40 miles out of London, and of course the tube does not run out this 
far. I have to buy a bus ticket from the airport to a station in central London from where I can take the tube. The bus ride takes over an hour, and by the time we arrive at the station, the tube has closed (what big city’s metro system closes at midnight?!). I had been texting Colleen and got instructions to take the city bus from the station to the hostel, and after paying the ridiculously high price for public transportation (it must be the 
most expensive in the world—about the equivalent of $3.70 for a one way bus ticket and $6.90 for a metro ticket compared even to the Paris metro of about $2.20 for the metro), finally made my way to the right bus station close to my hostel. Even then, it took walking up and down the streets a few times before I found the hostel, where, exhausted from my travel struggles, I fell asleep without any difficulty.
direction of the main sites. It happened to be the day of the Lord Mayor’s parade, and we stopped at several intersections to watch the procession. We walked along the Thames River to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and that area of big London sites, though we did not enter yet. We did however go into the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone. We then took our time passing through several 
exhibits randomly. Much of the day was just spent talking with Colleen about our study abroad experiences, reminiscing about Georgetown, as well as talking excitedly about our upcoming semesters back in the states. We also wandered to the Picadilly Circus, which is almost the Times Square of London with major shopping. That night, my stomach was feeling much better, and it had been my desire to eat Indian food. We 
went to a restaurant, Dishoom, near the Soho area that was all decked out in Christmas decorations (already!). I picked the Chicken Ruby in hopes that it wasn’t too spicy. We also ordered cheese and garlic na’an to eat with it. It was all delicious (but unfortunately for me the next morning, did not settle too well with my stomach and now seems to have killed any desire in me for Indian food :/)
explored the history of England in the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, I was struck by how differently the British presented their history. Whereas in Italy and France, all the museums have a large feeling of historical importance behind every statue and painting, the British took their historical site and put actors in it to reenact scenes of fake dialogues between historical figures, and used flashing lights on historical artifacts. It 
all seemed gaudy and unnecessary and diminished the historical importance of what we were seeing. Maybe they had wanted to make it more appealing for children, but whatever it was, it held less appeal for me. Luckily, that was never what really interested me about London, so I wasn’t too disappointed, but my advice for others (dad..)—the historical sites are not really worth it. Maybe it is a must see, but I would never pay the high entrance fees to go through it again. London is great as a city, and that is what I appreciated about it, but its tourists sites as compared to the rest of Europe (or maybe even the U.S.) leave something to be desired. My 
conclusion: London would be great to live in, but I didn’t feel like I was missing too much when I was distracted by my stomach from the tourist sites. However, I will say this—the sites along the Thames River, like the bridges and the Eye are beautiful at night all lit up. This is the only city I would say that I’ve seen light up the monuments like this.
Abbey. We walked across the Millennium Bridge, which is featured in the 6th Harry Potter movie! (the only movie site we visited) to the main part of the city again. We happened to be in London during Veteran’s Day, and the entire city was promoting the poppy appeal, so everyone was sporting poppies in support of their troops. Furthermore, the outside of the Abbey was filled with memorials for fallen soldiers not just from England, but from all over the world, and the lawn was filled with crosses and poppies. It was very touching to see everyone admiring these and the entire city giving so much thought to the fallen veterans.
After the Abbey, we walked to Hyde Park to have an afternoon tea time, without realizing just how far away it was. As we finally got to the Park, I was already dragging my feet, having no energy from food and not sleeping enough for being sick. Especially in the dreary weather, it was hard to be cheerful, but even in that state, I could appreciate the tranquility and beauty of the Park. I felt like I was transported back in time to a Jane Austen novel or to the English countryside. As we finally made our way all the way across the park, which let me tell you, is HUGE, we found Kensington Palace, and next to it, the Orangery where we took an afternoon tea, complete with Earl Grey tea, little sandwiches, scones, and assorted pastries. Being the first meal I’d had in over a day, the traditional tea time restored my spirits and left me with a feeling of contentment with London.
Though I was inhibited and distracted much of the weekend with my stomach pain, I don’t feel like I missed too much, as London’s sites and food aren’t the main attraction. Instead, I felt the appeal of living in this city, and hope to return in the near future (either if my parents end up living there or if I end up living there post-graduation—I can only hope!)
The next morning, everyone’s excitement was gone when we realized that the streets 
were all flooded with around 10 inches of water. We heard that in St. Marco’s Square, the water reached up to people’s mid thighs. This was the day that I was so thankful I paid the fee to check a bag and take my rain boots to Italy. Emma woke up early to explore, so I let her borrow my rain boots. When she returned while I was eating breakfast (which was included at the hostel, bonus!), she squelched into the room wearing cheap rain boots she had bought at a store. Mine were dry luckily, but her’s were wet because the water level was higher than her newly purchased boots. I put on my rain 
boots, but everyone else had to go barefoot to find new rain boots. In fact, it was quite the adventure to watch them find ways to navigate the water, while I was able to slosh through the flood securely wearing my rain boots. Everyone’s shoes got soaked before they went barefoot, but it’s not safe to be barefoot for too long (the unclean water can cause fever), so they also resorted to tying plastic bags around their shoes, which didn’t work too well. However, once we all got rain boots, our collective excitement picked up again, and it was actually a lot of fun making our way through the flood waters to see the sites. Also, considering that Venice is sinking, how many times in my life will I be able to say I was in Venice when it was flooded?
As we were getting extremely hungry, we passed a restaurant selling special toast, which was essentially a small personal pizza which was a bit overpriced, but worth it for the delicious flavors of Italian meats, vegetables, and herbs piled on a crunchy crust. We had no map, and Venice is a bit difficult to navigate, as there are no direct routes because of the canals, so we wandered through 
the city, getting lost, taking pictures at just about every bridge, and marveling at the beauty of the old buildings. We eventually made our way to the Rialto Bridge and then St. Marco’s Square (luckily the flood waters had receded a lot). My camera died before we made it to the Square, which I was very bummed about. We went up the bell tower to see the view over Venice, which was breathtaking. We 
could see all the islands and the expanse of the city. I managed to squeeze a bit more life out of my camera and got a couple photos from the top of the bell tower. As we descended the bell tower and walked around St. Marco’s Square, I was struck again by the realization of how different each city in Italy is, and how much history and elaborate architecture can exist in any one of these cities. I had never thought before exactly how much is in Italy.
As we decided to make our way back to our hostel (which ended up taking 2 hours 
because we kept turning onto random streets accidentally), we passed countless pastry shops, and we got bad cravings for cannoli. We stopped into a dessert shop to get cannoli, but then a tiramisu caught my eye, which I decided to get instead. It was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. It was so creamy, thick, and chocolatey. The cake was soaked in coffee liqueur that made is so flavorful.
to have Venetian seafood, and for seafood, this restaurant was quite modestly priced. The wait didn’t seem to long, so we went in, but after, the line expanded to 15 or 20 people. We were excited because it seemed like the restaurant was quite popular, and we realized that almost everyone else there was Italian. We knew we had found a more local restaurant that was more hidden from the tourists. 
By the door was a 3 shelf seafood display with lobsters, raw clams, crabs, squid, crab shells with shredded meat, all on beds of lettuce. The waiters were rotating through piling up plates with different seafoods to take to the kitchen. Across the aisle was a tiered table with assorted vegetables, like artichokes, squash, and carrots, as well as other sauces, including the 
squid ink sauce they were pouring over spaghetti (which I contemplated getting, but in the end, chickened out). We waited for quite a while, but in the end, got a table and a great meal. I split a calamari with Emma. The calamari was lightly breaded and less chewy than it is in the U.S.; it had a consistency more like scallops. My second course was the clam spaghetti. It was filled with full clam shells. I slowly worked to scrape each clam out of the shell, and we soon piled up a plate with clam shells. I took this as a good sign that there was a lot of seafood in the dish. The spaghetti was just a simple spicy tomato sauce, but each fork I spun had about 2 or 3 clams in it. This dinner was quite the splurge on seafood, but a nice dinner seemed worth it to eat fresh seafood in Venice.
Our second day in Venice could not have been more different from the first. The weather completely cleared, the water retrieved back several feet into the canal, and the sun and blue sky came out. Our first stop of the day was at the fish market to see all the freshly caught seafood. I was surprised to find skinned sharks, recognizable only by their heads. We also saw all the same seafood that was on display at the restaurant, so we knew that we must’ve had fresh seafood the night before. We then made our way to the fruit and veggie markets before getting on a water bus to Murano, driving through the canal into the open water to the island.
We walked through the island, looking for the smaller factories for free demonstrations and cheaper glass. We ended up seeing 2 demonstrations: the first, we saw the master blow the glass to form a vase, and then he used simple tools to create a horse, and the second master demonstrated how he rolled pieces of glass onto the larger hot glass to form the color patterns. We spent several hours at the island, browsing the shops and admiring the artwork before heading back to the mainland. I also spent quite the sum of money on Murano (not to mention all my previous Italy expenses), so we ended up buying pasta, beans, and sauce in a store to cook in our hostel. It was the second cheapest meal we had in Italy (thank you A Casamia), but equally satisfying.
After Venice, we trained to Bologna where we spent the night before taking our plane back to France. I’m back in Strasbourg, feeling glad to be back, yet finding that I suddenly don’t seem to have enough time between sorting my pictures and keeping with the blog, doing my schoolwork, keeping up with Georgetown registration, internship searches, and other travel plans. Before I know it, my adventures in Europe will be over. That is, depending on how the election turns out, maybe I’ll stay in France, or learn Italian and stay in Italy.
We arrived in Florence on Monday night, and after a bit of confusion finding our bus and then walking to the hostel as well as the discovery that Whitney could use her french to communicate in Italian, we arrived at our hostel located at the base of the Pitti Palace behind which sits the renowned Boboli Gardens. We were quite excited to find that we had a private room and bathroom with a fresco painted on the ceiling, warm coral walls, and faux Monet paintings hanging on the walls. As we had friends who studied abroad in Florence before, we had a list of suggested places to visit, eat, and explore.
After we made our way through the whole market, we began searching the city for what was recommended to us as “the pasta of our dreams.” Unfortunately, after walking in many circles and asking several Italians, we couldn’t find it. Instead, we settled for “the best pizza” at Toto’s. The three of us each bought 2 slices and sampled bites of each others. My first one was a potato and rosemary, which was delicious and had a delicious parmesan crust and the second was a prosciutto and mushroom which was savory and flavorful. Afterwards, while wandering around the center of the city, we decided we felt in the mood for some dessert to wash down our pizza. We found an artisan gelato and dessert shop, and each bought a cup of gelato. I got blueberry, wine, and coffee mousse, which I enjoyed while watching the rain falling outside. Florence was a bit of a culinary tour as well, in case you can’t already tell.
In the afternoon, we made our way to Santa Croce, a church near the famous Duomo which houses the tombs of several famous Renaissance actors, including Galileo, Michelangelo and Dante Alighieri. The Santa Croce, along with the other big buildings in the city center are crafted in a different architectural style from what we’ve seen throughout Europe (and we’ve seen a lot of churches). The roofs are a bright, earthy red tone while the walls are composed of white and pink marble with dark green granite tiles. However, the back of the Santa Croce is perfectly lined up earthy brown brick. Everything within the building was colorful, from the paintings on the walls and ceilings to the geometrically tiled floor. At different points in the church stood monuments dedicated to famous Renaissance characters, which we stopped to admire and revel at the presence of such brilliance and skill.
In the later end of the afternoon, we made our way to Piazza del Michelangelo, but not before passing another tempting gelato store. At first, only Emma was going to get some, since the rest of us already had some earlier. However, we went into the store with her, and the store owner gave us samples. I only sampled one flavor–the apple pie. As soon as I saw him scoop up one scoop for Emma for a cheap price, I threw away all willpower and got a cone of apple pie gelato. It was so creamy and tasted so good; it was also refreshing, and I slowly ate it as we walked up the steep hill to the Piazza. Good thing I was eating the gelato, because I realized on the way down that the road up to the Piazza was much steeper and longer than I remember on the way up. That gelato did the trick in distracting me and cooling me down, though the benefits of climbing 
a hill were mitigated by my eating the gelato. We reached the vista just as dusk fell, and we saw the city in a deep blue hue as the city lights began to turn on. It was beautiful to see the dark clouds and blue mountains in the background with the city that is so colorful even in the coming darkness in the foreground. We then walked around the piazza and stopped by the statue atop the piazza that was created by Michelangelo–it was a bronze copy of his statue David. Though it’s not the original, it was still crafted by the Renaissance artist. Looking upon the beautiful city beside this important piece of artwork really felt like I was in a city of enlightenment.
As we descended the piazza, we contemplated the idea of dinner. None of us were too hungry, so we walked between 5 restaurants, glancing at the menus, unable to make a decision. We talked about the psychological study that having too many choices actually makes people unhappy. When you have fewer choices, there is less that you think you’re 
missing out on. That being said, some of my friends really wanted the pear ravioli at the expensive restaurant, whereas the rest of us really wanted a cheaper meal. In the end, we decided the first restaurant was too expensive, the second had too long of a wait, and ended up going to the third, one that I had found online, called Gusta Osteria. We originally had wanted to share dishes, but in the end, we all ended up ordering our own plates. I opted for the original spaghetti with pomodoro sauce (a simple tomato sauce) and basil that I had been wanting to eat since I got there. After all, you can’t really go to Italy and not have the classics right? It was another culinary success of the day (and I was no longer sure what meal I was on at that point…)
The next day, we woke up bright and early to climb the Duomo, the famous red Dome visible throughout the whole city. As we climbed up, we were able to stop halfway up and go onto the interior balcony of the church. Looking up, we were able to see the amazing painting on the inside of the dome, depicting different layers, with hell at the bottom, earth in the middle, and heaven up top. We craned our necks and stared and analyzed the painting for several minutes. We marveled at the details of the painting, and mused over the difficulty of painting such a huge mural this high up. After 463 steps, we reached the top to find very few other tourists and an astounding view over the city. We were shocked to see how far it extended, as we had conceived the notion that Florence was a bit of a Strasbourg-size city. I simply stood there and took in the view of red roofs contrasted against the blue hills in the distance and the clouds rolling off of them. I walked around the whole balcony and took multiple pictures from every angle. I can only imagine how beautiful and warm it must be in the summer. Even though it was a bit cold, the warm colors of the city reminded us of how bright of a country Italy is, even with winter approaching.
Afterwards, we retraced a few steps from the day before and went back to Toto’s for pizza (this time I had a pesto and tomato slice followed by a spicy sausage slice), back to the open air markets to buy some scarves, and walked down random streets, entering 
churches that were free and looking around. Towards the end of the afternoon, we entered a modern cafe just as it started to rain again. We ordered a hot chocolate, and were surprised to find what was basically a cup of molten chocolate too thick to drink directly, and had to use a spoon to eat it. It tasted like hot chocolate pudding, and I enjoyed every mouthful. After, we finally found the A Casamia restaurant which 
supposedly had the “pasta of our dreams.” Not only was it delicious, but it was insanely cheap. I got tortellini in a meat and tomato sauce, water (which remember, usually costs extra), and an espresso for what was listed on the menu as 3.90 euros. However, when we paid, the cashier only took half of the money we tried to give her, so I ended up getting 2.50 euros back. Meaning, I only paid 1.40 for this meal. I guess in my dreams, delicious pasta is also incredibly cheap.
Even as the rain picked up, we continued through the gardens. On the bright side, we were actually alone in the huge gardens that were so green it looked like spring. It was decorated with statues and fountains, patches of flowerbeds, and stone mosaics. On the down side, the rain had picked up so much that it had actually soaked through my rain coat. Afterwards, when I stopped into a grocery store, I actually wrung water out of my coat. We got on our train in that disheveled, soaking state, smelling like wet dogs, but we were still content because we were on our way to Venice.
always assured that we were on the right bus and on-time, and couldn’t work up the energy to be as stressed–which turned out to be a good thing as we had a very smooth ride to Rome. The second realization is that RyanAir is a cheap airline…that may not necessarily be worth it. Our ticket there was more expensive than usual, plus all the extra administrative and bag fees, not to mention the non-stop advertising as soon as we stepped aboard the plane. The speakers were constantly informing us of a new product to buy and the flight attendants were less flight attendants than salespeople trying to get us to buy everything from lottery tickets to smokeless cigarettes. It was an hour and a half of annoying commercials, but luckily I slept through most of it with my headphones in. On the bright side, we did have quite the 
As we landed in Rome, it started to rain, but the temperature was still perfect. It was nice being south when it had started snowing in Strasbourg. After we settled in the hostel, we went out to get our first taste of Italian food. Now, you’ll have to excuse all the photos of food I will post in these blogs (I’m getting hungry just thinking about it). As I ate my first dinner of pesto linguine, which was so fresh and creamy with large basil pieces and flavorful sauce that I could’ve had 2 more plates, I also reflected on the differences in Italian eating.
As we faced our first full day in Rome, we had it all mapped out. Our first stop was the Trevi fountain. We stopped here to toss 3 coins over our left shoulder into the fountain. Luckily I had some 1 cent pieces in my wallet. The first coin is for luck, the second for love, and the last is to return to Rome. I flicked them off my finger, and my third one bounced off the edge of the fountain. I’m 90% sure it landed in the fountain, but I hope I didn’t jinx it, because I would love to go back to Rome. Even when I was in Venice looking through my pictures from Rome, I began to feel a sense of nostalgia.
After walking around the Pantheon, we made our way to the Vatican (after grabbing a cheap pizza lunch, and even though it was cheap, we could still taste the freshness of the vegetables). We started at the Musei Vaticani, then went to the Sistine Chapel, then ended at St. Peter’s Basilica. Every room we went in, I had to pause to take it all in (as well take several photos)–the detailed, bright paintings on the walls, the elaborate chiseled and painted ceilings plated in gold, and the stunning view out the windows. My immediate thought was “how did they do all this?” It is incredible to think this much art and beauty is contained within one tiny city. I also wondered about the value of the Vatican and how much effort is put into the upkeep of every painting and sculpture. It was incredible to see these renowned, priceless paintings not hanging in a frame, but rather painted directly on the walls of the Vatican, like the world’s most valuable wallpaper. It is impossible to capture the stunning beauty of the Vatican, and I clearly remember actually having my breath taken away several times as I walked through the room of the Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel and Basilica. My pictures do a poor job of capturing the stunning colors and perfectly detailed sculpture and paintings that lined the hallways of the Vatican.
The next day, we went to the Colosseum; I was intending on spending maybe an hour or so, but a walk through the Forum turned into a 4 hour visit to the ancient ruins. We were struck by the history of the Colosseum when we saw a carving into the wall with someone’s name and the year 1944. We pictured someone from the WWII era doing the same thing we were doing then, and we reflected on just how long this structure had been here. We walked through every layer and took pictures out of almost every archway. We wondered if anything in the United States would ever be this historically symbolic and able to withstand time. After, we started to walk to through the ancient ruins next to the Colosseum, looking for the forum, until we realized that the entire ancient city was in fact the forum. Though there wasn’t too much to look at, we marveled at the ancient ruins and tried to imagine what it would have been like to live in the city when it was built. We picked olives 
and oranges from trees hanging in the garden (the olives weren’t ripe and tasted like leaves, and the oranges were still green, but we shared one–it tasted sour like a lime). I think we explored every path of the city, and as the sun was sinking lower in the sky while we sat on the wall of of the crumbling stadium, we realized that we were still in Rome. Our little tour through the ancient city felt like we had taken a day trip to another place, another country even, but we were still in the city I associate with delicious pasta 🙂
That night, we found a a bar in a hipper neigorhood of Rome that served chocolate shots. The drinks were served in small chocolate cups, filled with various liqueurs, and topped with real whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I got two–the first one was a coffee liqueur, and the second was a chocolate liqueur. You’re supposed to take the whole cup and drop it into your mouth, bottom first. At first you can’t taste anything, but then you crunch down on the chocolate cup and the liqueur and whipped cream fill your mouth. The first one was too strong and luckily I was able to wash it down after swallowing the chocolate cup, but the second one was so delicious, I was tempted to get another. My deflating wallet restrained me.
terrace. We saw the amazing view overlooking Rome, including the Colosseum not too far away. Once again, we were struck by how these ancient structures fit in so well to the modern city. I admire how instead of rebuilding the city with the passage of time, they continued to add to it, thus preserving the rich history. We found a café atop the building, and were pleasantly surprised that the 
After, we made our way to the Campo di Fiori market where we found many vendors selling all kinds of goods, from olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pasta to vegetable shapers and fresh fruit. I picked up a few culinary goods at the market and even got a fruit cup with sweet grapes, melon, and an Italian fruit at a discounted price while the markets were 
shutting down. We then made our way to the Spanish steps and climbed to the top. We then walked down the hill, the whole time with a view of Rome with huge storm clouds juxtaposed with the blue sky with a low afternoon sun. We marveled at the colorful houses and how warm the city felt, despite the rain shower that had just passed. Unfortunately, the sun obstructed any good pictures I tried to take, but I didn’t stop trying. As a result, I have several pictures in which you can see the dim outline of the city with a bright light from the sun.
As we walked down the hill, I reflcted on how much detail the Romans put into everything. Every seemingly insignificant fountain, corner of a church, carved flower, painting on a wall, etc. is so exquisite and detailed that nothing in the U.S. can even compare.
Jane Strasbourging 