When in Rome- Day 3

Paris, Cyprus and Thessaloniki- 4 weeks of backed up blog posts I have to do. What to do first? I spend too much time thinking about that than actually writing something. Anything at all. Maybe my evening swims by the lighthouse in November? Or my time olive picking? Or my hikes up mountains. I have done so much that I am thankful for during my semester abroad. I can't believe it is almost over! 

Rome Day 3… gosh that was so long ago! What did I even do? Good thing we have to take a travel journal class. This was Day 42 of my semester abroad right now we are on Day 76! Time passes so quickly!

The first sentence in my travel journal is "Today was a rough day!" hahaha… Go figure. After having to fight over whether we took the bus or walker 2 hours to our hostel the night before anyone would call it a rough day! We were suppose to leave home at 7:30am and walk the Roman Forum towards the Colosseum. I didn't roll over in bed until 9am and then there were 3 girls rushing around all trying to get ready because we had to check out by 10am.

The first thing we did was walk to the train station to check our bags in to a locker room. The line was soooo long though we would of spent AT LEAST an hour on the line so instead we just decided to walk with our over packed bags… BAD IDEA! Within one hour I wanted the day to be over. We went to the Colosseum and I took a 2 hour break there to sketch. It was nice because tourists would walk past and look at us sitting there with our huge backpacks and sketching. There is a lot more detail I could have put in to the sketch but I think it's pretty nice considering hundreds of people kept walking in front of me.

After the Colosseum we walked through the Roman Forum… At this point we are still miserable, sleepy and aching from the night before so everything is seriously just a pile of old rocks. We have been looking at them all semester so all we wanted to do was get in and out… terrible. I know. But look at these awesome photos I somehow managed to take.

Next we moved on to find the Pantheon. One our way we made a stop at a restaurant and I had seriously the best pasta of my life. It was rigatoni with hard salami and a truffle sauce. I have to make that one day. I don't remember the name of the restaurant or where it is… I'm telling you. This day we weren't into anything so we ate our bellies full and made plans to meet up with our friend Juan, who happens to be doing his semester abroad in Rome. Good thing too because we were planning to crash at his place tonight, since we had a 6am flight the next morning. After that we made our way to an old gothic church- Santa Maria (there are a ton around, but this is the one by the Pantheon.) It contains the fresco of Jesus, depicted as a baby with a man's face, in Mary's arms. 

Finally we found the Pantheon! One of the first buildings you will ever learn as an architecture student…. To me it was pretty much an anticlimax. First of all, they wouldn't let you sit anywhere to sketch inside, so I had to take a photo and sketch from that.. pretty much not authentic. And then it was sooooo crowded. I couldn't imagine how crowded it must get in the summer. It was like Universal Studios in the summer. Crazy. Ventilation wasn't good either so I had to leave or else I was going to pass out. This huge bag weighing me down, no water left in my bottle, no bathroom near by… Everything wasn't working for me. So I rushed out and found a spot on the steps of the fountain in front. We sat there pretty long. All too exhausted to make a new plan in our head. Seriously we just sat there staring, not sketching. Until this lady came up to us and asked us to tell her a funny story about our trip abroad. (Apparently she has a blog and she worked in Missouri. She gave me her contact info but I lost it, sad because she was suppose to make a post about us and our funny stories that night.) Of course the highlight story was our post it note sketch hostel! She couldn't believe it so I showed her a photo of the post it note! (If you missed that post the bottom of the right column to my blog for Rome Day 1)

While she was talking I ended up getting distracted by a parade of soldiers. I have no die who they were, why they were there, if it was normal… but I got some pretty cool pictures of them. Do you guys know who they are or what they are for? I was too tired then to find out and I'm just too lazy now to try find out :P 

Then we moved on to our last official stop of our Rome trip- Piaza Niavano.

(NOT MY PHOTO)

Looks great doesn't it?! I was so excited to see this plaza. Especially as the sun was setting… One again though I was let down. This part of Rome is just over crowded with tourists!!! I am glad I experienced this now instead of on my honey moon or something. It is just crazy packed here! I couldn't take a step without someone getting in my photo.. I gave up. It was time to find a bed, for all of our sakes. So we called up our friend again and planned to meet at Trastevere…. THIS PLACE IS THE HARDEST LITTLE TOWN TO FIND! We got on a bus going the wrong way… OF COURSE. Good thing this little boy was on the bus and helped us. Poor guy didn't speak a piece of English though so communication was tough. He did set us in another little Piazza though: Campo de' Fiori. During the day this plaza is a flee market and at night it turns into an active square with restaurants and shops. We called Juan again and told him we were lost and to meet us here for a beer. While Julia and Pema had a drink and some snacks I went shopping. Nothing helps to release stress than a new pair of shoes! I got an awesome pair of grey leather boots and a sweater. Just in time too because Paris was FREEZING! By the time i got back Juan was there and we went to Trastevere… Did we walk? Catch a bus? Train?…. I have noooo idea. All I know is it felt like forever before we sat down and had a meal, and went back to his place. We passed out on the floor within minutes and Juan scheduled us a morning taxi at 3:30am to start our trip to Paris. 

HELP! Photo contest entry options

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO SEE THEM AT A LARGER SCALE.

I need everyone's help!
My school has a photo contest every year for the study abroad applicants and like always I am a procrastinator and they are due today at 5! We have to enter 3 photos that match categories given to us. Some how I have managed to narrow my entry choices but my eye is of course going to be more attracted to those images that give the best memories. So please take a few seconds and post below what are your favourites. If you don't know how to post them message me on FB! Thanks a lot!

Here are the categories (dont forget I need 3 TOTAL so just post your top 3 or  4):

1.CULTURE: Photos should express defining moments or interaction with host culture ( I don't have anything for this one)

2. PEOPLE: Photos should capture images of students interacting with local populations and should portray the essence of the entrant's study abroad experience

1

 2

3. PLACE: Photos should be of a landmark or landscape that is clearly identifiable as an international location

3

4

5

6

 7

Not sure how I feel about this one but my teacher really likes it so I thought I'd see what you guys think.

8

9

Love that you can see the windmills in this one. Love this one, but should I brighten it a bit?

10

 11

The Crane in this is what I love. It shows the development.

 12

This one is the pulley for the Eiffel tower. My teacher loves it. But is it "clearly identifiable as an international location"?

So please let me know ASAP your votes! Thanks a lot! And expect a Paris post this weekend! Only 3 more weeks left and one of them is going to spent in Thessaloniki. We leave bright and early on Monday.

When in Rome- Day 2

Day 2 began pretty early. We got up at 7:30 and headed down for breakfast at 8:00,  (of course not without making a quick pit stop on the first step of the hostel to send messages to our loved ones…. considering we have no internet in our sketchy rooms). Breakfast was pretty cozy… NOT. 

The bar was clustered, stuffy and reminded me of the dingy pub, Hog's Head Inn, from Harry Potter . We were promised, a full breakfast, and yet got a stale croissant with some weird icing that coated the top of my mouth like a layer of furry wax, and no I am NOT just being dramatic!

Our first stop was that the Borghese Gardens. I had been so excited about getting in the museum but after trying for 2 days to find the number we were told that it was booked out until the following week. Persistent as I am though, and still caught on the idea of possibly getting in the museum, I insisted that we still go just to look at the gardens. It was well worth it! I convinced my friends that we should rent a bike for an hour to ride around the large garden. 

BEST IDEA EVER! It was so nice to relax and take some time riding around Rome, rather than speed walking through it all. We made stops when we felt like it; if we saw a nice monument or a friendly dog. It was awesome to see the Italians walking their dogs around this huge gorgeous garden! I would kill to be that posh one day!

We had to be at the Vatican at 12pm, so around 10:30 we left to begin finding our way. We were bound to get lost after all! We stopped at a pizza place for lunch which was the BOMB! Buuuuttt took more time than we planned! By the time we paid our bill it was 12pm and we still didn't know exactlllyy where the Vatican was.. Luckily we met up for a tour guide and they told us where and told us to hurry… I guess they close the line if it is after your entering time?! Well…. there we were 4 girls sprinting down the street with our huge backpacks and a coke in hand… When we finally made it there was no line, so we went straight through security and up the stairs to claim our tickets. We weren't the only ones late for our scheduled time though because after us another 3 groups entered, but just as we were got to the front of the line to claim our tickets they said no one else could join the line at the time. That would of SUCKED if we hadn't made it! Who goes to Rome and doesn't go to the Vatican?! It would of been a sin! 

I can tell you one thing, if you ever got to the Vatican make sure plan at least 3 hours. And that is for normal people who don't like to look at everything. If you love art like we do you will need more time! IT IS HUGE!!

We made our way through the parts of the museum we wanted to see the most. Mostly it was just a shuffling of feet because it was soooo crowded. 

After roughly 2 hours we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel, which is where the Creation of Adam is! Once again we were the last 4 to enter! Luck was on our side because if not we would of had to take a trip down a part of the museum we did not care about, and by this time we were ready to leave!

The guards to the Sistine were really strict men in uniform that kept coming on the microphone to shout at everyone to be quiet and not take photos... Of course we didn't listen. I got one of my friends to sneak a shot on her phone. Here it is:

.... I bet you can't really see it haha so here is a photo of it incase you have no idea what I am talking about.

So after the grand finale we took a small break by a beautiful outdoor fountain. Eventually after regaining the feeling in our feet we left for St Peter's square, where time was on our side again!

We got here around 4 or 5 and went through security (which by the way: never take a butter knife with you.... LOL One of our fellow classmates warned us because he was stupid enough to do this and had to go through a long process of explanation with the Italian security to explain to them that he was not planning on attacking the pope hahaha. He is very comical so the story is a lot funny coming from him!) When we got to the line of Security a guard shouted "Stop that's enough!"... I had no idea what he was talking about but we made sure squeeze ourselves into the line. 

Inside we found a good spot on the stairs and began to sketch. Check out my Instagram for the sketch I did! (Link at the bottom right hand column)

We knew we got there on a special day, but what day exactly I had no clue. Im not catholic so all I heard were sad chants to Ava Maria like every 10 minutes! 

Just as I was finishing up my sketch though I heard cries and screams.. seriously it felt like a concert. I got up to see what the huge commotion was and it was the POPE!!! In all of his white glory. I throw my journal in my bag and raced for a good spot to take his photos. Lucky for one of friends, she was trapped in the front with a pack of nuns all crying and calling out "father"! For me, however, I was stuck in the back where he blended in with the wall because he was a mere speck in my lens. I did take a video of it all though and got a souvenir book with the hymns that were sung...all in Latin I believe. I also found out that the day was Preghiera Mariana, at least that's what I thought it was since that was on the book I got... Idk though, and I didn't look it up so take that with a grain of salt. 

It was pretty cool. First thing my mom asked me was if I kissed his ring... not really sure what that means.. Was I suppose to?! After about 30 minutes though he looked pretty bored and so were we so we decided to do as girls do and go SHOPPING! What better place than Rome?! The strip of shops by the Vatican is really nice, so make sure bring your cards with you if you ever go!

As for the rest of the day? We finally made it to Trastevere! We met a lady that was going on a bus in the direction and she showed us what all we had to do. The stop we got off at was a little sketchy and deserted but like any blog on Italy you will read, as soon as we turned a corner it was a packed cozy neighborhood! College students were everywhere! (We havn't seen kids our age in what seems like forever!!) 

The streets were really cozy and there were a ton of restaurants to choose from. The one we chose was good! But boy was the service crappy. It took forever for the waiters to serve us and bring the food, and give us our check. I had to ask for it 3 times! And then they charged us double and acted like it was huge deal when I told them! RUDE!

Anyways after that encounter I needed to unwind so we went for Gelato... I made it a point to eat gelato everyday for the 3 days we were there. Why wouldn't I?! Mmmm it was sooo good! Which is sad though because "gelato" in Greece is just a fancy word for pretty crappy ice cream & in Springfield, Gelato Mio- my piece of heaven on earth- closed down about a year ago :( Thinking about it now makes me cry. One good thing is that having really yummy gelato has stopped me from eating icecream as much so it is all a win win I guess.

Anyways so Natalie and I got gelato and Julia and Pema got mojitos (alcoholics I swear lol). It made the night a little interesting though because it was around 12am and super crowded but we had to find our way home which was about an hour walk. I stopped for a few minutes on the bridge to journal and take a quick photo. 

If you would like to read some more, because all of this didn't put you to bed yet then check out one of my travel buddy's blog: http://natalieingreece.blogspot.gr/
Her writing style is completely different. A.K.A she writes like a professional author. Check it out.

When in Rome- Day 1

Ok... soooo I have a lot to catch you guys up on. Two weeks ago I left for Fall Break without even an update on my studio project or anything! Midterms were crazy! This was probably the least complete I have ever been, and not because of procrastination but simply because I am not use to traveling one week and working two and then traveling, while also trying to book and plan my fall break... Now that it's over I am so relieved! If you check out the Sketches tab above you can see some of my work from this semester ;)

My fall break was just a little too hectic and crazy to fit in all one Blog post. So I am going to break it up into pieces. I spent 3 days in Rome, 1 day in Paris (more like 16 hours) and then 5 days in Antibes, France. After Fall Break my class and I went to Cyprus for 5 days so that will also be another post.... eventually.

Back to this blogpost though! When in Rome:

Day 1:

So we left Aegina around 10 am on October 11th and arrived in Italy around 5:30. If you have never flown on Aegean Airline I suggest you do! It is the most comfortable airline I have ever been on, with cushion chairs, awesome leg room and the best meals! For a flight that is just a little over one hour we got Coffee/Tea twice, once before our meal and once after. Our meal going to Rome was a sandwich and greek yogurt with honey. Returning to Athens we got Pasta with meat sauce, bread, and a biscuit. I forgot to mention that at the start of the plane ride they hand out candies!

Anywho, so we make it to Rome and have to find our super cute and cozy hostel, Rose Santa Maria B&B... this is where the fun starts.. We take the easy route and get a bus to drop us off at the exact location.. Can't get any easier than that right? WRONG! So we hop out the bus and the driver hands us our bags and looks around saying well I hope you find it. THERE WAS NOTHING ON THAT STREET! Everything was closed down/ boarded up... Where too next? We didn't know and our driver hopped back in and drove off like nothing happened. We decided to walk up one block and ask a shop owner if he ever heard of the hostel. Of course he hadn't. Then we decided to look at the building numbers. We needed 146-147.... We walked down the hill, up the hill, back down... the building numbers jumped from 145 to 148... I kind of felt like I was in a Harry Potter scene at this point because when we decided to walk back up the hill to the shop owner I spotted a yellow sticky note. It was so small compared to everything else in Rome which seemed like it was built for giants. Here is what it said:

So I do as it says and down comes this girl around our age, in her pj's and who seems very pessimistic. We ask her what we should do at night, someplace to party, shop etc... Her response? "I have no life, sitting here answering the calls is my life".... great right? So she stays with us for 5 minutes and then this guy comes and tells us "Ok follow me!" We oblige, naturally and end up following him around the corner into a back alley (It is dark by this point) and into a deserted bar where he proceeds to ask us for our passports, signature (on a document fully written in Italian) and 50 euros for the 2 nights we are there. Once again we oblige, and are then told to return to the bar for breakfast at 8 and are given this enormous key and showed to our room. Where is the super cute breakfast nook decorated in white and baby pink? What about the colourful rooms? FREE WIFI?! ... wifi only worked on the first step of the entrance to all of the rooms... not even in my room. My bed... good thing the sheets where white enough for me to inspect it for bed bugs. The shower you ask?! I have no idea what you would call it because there was a sort of stool part you sit on (But honestly who is going to sit in a shower in a nasty ass hostel?) My big foot could not even fit in the one square you are suppose to stand in when you shower... I wish I got a picture of that for you guys!

Anyways we freshen up as quickly as possible and then get the hell out of that sketchy place!

Our first idea was to try to find Trastevere, a super cute neighborhood in Rome that supposibly maintains the atmosphere of an old Roman town.... that was a fail.

Rome false advertises everything... We're just going to go with that. Because we got a metro ticket that was suppose to be good for 100 minutes, however, we rode it for 10 minutes, got off to check something and then had to get another ticket! Not to mention the metro advertises that it can get you to Trastevere but if you ever figure that out then let me know because 4 smart girls could not, and it didn't seem like anyone else in Rome knew how to either. So that idea was ditched quickly.

Instead we went to the Trevi fountain which was BEAUTIFUL! Of course it was super crowded at that time. But I am pretty good at pushing my way to the front. 

We spent a half hour there and then decided to get dinner. On our quest for food we stumbled on a famous gelato bar, San Crispino.

(not my photo)

(not my photo)

It was SOOOO good!!! I got Fig (of course) and Honey and although it was the most expensive gelato I have bought, racking up to 3,50euros for a small cup, it was welllll worth it!

Oh wait back to the food! So we found the gelato place and decided to eat at the restaurant right next door just to make sure we wouldn't lose it! So we ended up at Nana, Vini e cucina.

(not my photo)

Here, we stuffed ourselves with delicious Italian pizza. Our waitress was amazing and the Hostess HILARIOUS! I ordered a limoncello shot for Julia, because her birthday was the day before and they brought out two so that I could take it with her (unfortunate for me because I hate limoncello).

So, tipsy from the wine and shot, and gratified by our food choice we went to fill the tiny space next to our hearts with gelato and headed to Piazza Di Spagna (Spanish Steps). I wish I could go back in the spring! At 11 o'clock at night it was pretty empty, and plain. It is definitely much more beautiful in the Spring.

(Not my photo)

After a pretty long stay at the Spanish Steps we decided to walk home instead of take the metro. It was so worth it!

It took us about an hour and half to get home because we made stops at other fountains and monuments along the way. By the end of the trip we made it to our hostel around 1:45! The next day would be just as hectic/ crazy! An early start at 7am will prove to be well worth it. 

A photo I took of a rose petal at the top of the Spanish Steps. Until next time- Ciao :)

Homemade Shrimp Pasta

Every Thursday we end class at 1pm which allows us to explore the island or travel if we would like. For me it means that I get to practice my cooking skills. Today I decided to embrace my European heritage and make one of my favorite meals- Shrimp Linguine with homemade red sauce! It was DELICIOUS!

Julia and I headed to our favourite vegetable lady on the water front. 

(I still haven't gotten her name, even though we faire la bise and hug every time we see each other) 

There, we got 6 ripe tomatoes and a head of garlic. 

From there we went to the bakery for a fresh loaf of white bread and headed home. Within 30 minutes Julia had made fresh tzatziki dip, and I had the spaghetti sauce on for its long simmer.

For lunch I ate a slice of break with slices of fresh tomatoes and salt, and watched Magic Mike. YUM! .... to both the food and Channing Tatum!!

So here is what I did in under 30 minutes so that you can follow if you like:

Dice 5 ripe tomatoes

Chop 2 cloves of garlic

Dice half of a large red onion

Other items you will need:

Rinsed and defrosted 100grams of shrimp

Olive Oil

Sea salt

Black Pepper

Oregano
2 more gloves of garlic (cracked)

Add the garlic and onion to 1 table spoon of hot olive oil, simmer down for about a minute (just to get the flavours flowing). Add the tomatoes, salt & BP to taste. Simmer on LOW heat, covered, for about 3 hours. (YES 3 hours!)

Now this sauce is very thin, but flavorful. If you would like it thicker you can always add a tablespoon of tomatoe paste, or I have even heard from another girl on my study abroad that you can add some flour. Let me know if you do!

While your doing this you should rinse your shrimp well. I left the shell and head on mine because I wasn't about to peel all of those for everyone. They can peel their own. Plus I feel like it adds to authenticity. Don't you?

After three hours add the Shrimp, Oregano to taste, and 2 cloves of garlic cracked but still whole. 

Begin to boil your linguine to your preference. ALWAYS add salt to you pasta when boiling. I feel like I have to add that note for every non Bahamian reading this haha. Another tip is to ALWAYS add sauce to pasta after you strain it. If you don't they stick together! 

Let the shrimp cook for 15-20 minutes in the sauce, stir and let cool slightly. After about 5 minutes of drooling serve over your pasta IN A BOWL and dig in!!

Like my recipe blog? Let me know and I will do more. So far I have made tzatziki, mussels, some sort of small fish that starts with an M (Ill get that name and update this), and an eggplant, potato, green pepper Chinese dish that Jamie taught me (she is Chinese so it's legit)!
 I also have to make a note that it has been 1 month exactly that I have been in Greece.... That means that I am 1/3 of the way and depression is settling in.. I don't want to leave! This month went way to quickly. Why can't every other semester be like this?