Adrenaline, booze, and the Swiss Alps.

My last and final trip was to my fourth country, Switzerland. This was possible one of the best weekends I had while in Italy (a close second to Oktoberfest). The land was beautiful and the people were some of the most generous people I have ever met. Definitely the best way to spend my Thanksgiving weekend in Europe.

Our first dat there we didn't do much because of how tired we were from getting to the hostel at 3 in the morning. So we just roamed around the town and for lunch, wait for it, we ate at Hooters. Yes, I was so excited, a bit pricey but still, it was worth it for a taste of home.

Later that night we were able to enjoy a well cooked thanksgiving meal. We had fried stuffing balls, turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables. For desert we had apple pie with a vanilla sauce. It definitely was an American day for me. After dinner we relaxed for a bit, then headed downstairs to the underground bar in the hostel. This place was definitely the place to be. It was just one giant party.

The next day the girl I went with went sky-diving, so while she was gone I rented a bike and rode around Interlaken. I did a little shopping, had lunch at a nice little sandwhich shop, and went to one of Interlakens beautiful lakes. It was a very relaxing but cold day.

That night when my friend got back we headed into town to find a fondue place. Let me tell you we found the best place. It was a typical Swiss enviornment, the owner was there and he made us feel really welcome. He kept calling me Heidi and made me play the Alphorn and I was actually really good. The cheese and chocolate fondue was delicious (definitely better than Melting Pot). We had a lot of fun talking to the owner and the other waiter who was working. Come to find out his brother has a restaurant in Orlando! It's such a small world.

After dinner, I was beat but everyone ended up talking me into going out again. Hey you can't pass up 2 for one drinks right? I didn't party to hard because I had a long day on Sunday.

My final day there I was able to go into the woods in the lower mountains of the Alps and play on a giant high ropes course. This was my wonderland and it definitely beat out anything I play on at camp. They had 7 different courses all with beginner to harder elements. My favorite was the flying fox because you got to zipline through the entire woods.

My experience in Switzerland will never be forgotten. I met some really great people and had the time of my life. I will definitely be back some day!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

It's Futbal, not Soccer....get it?

One of the things I told myself I have to do before I left was going to a live Italian soccer game. CHECK. Crossed off my list. Apparently I went to one of the most intense games of this season.

I was able to see the game of Florence vs. Milan. It was crazy. I mean the fans are crazy. The Milan section is dangerous according to sources when they are on away territory.

In this particular game someone from the Milan team got a yellow card and everyone went nuts. It is just like how you see it on TV. I could not believe that I was actually watching it. I'm sure my dad and my sister are extremely jealous that I got to see this.

The score ended up a tie, 0-0, which was a big shock because Milan is supposed to be one of the best teams in Italy. So this was a big deal for Florence. All in all I really enjoyed my first European soccer game!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

La citta d'amore....

I was very fortunate to make it to one of Italy's most famous cities, Verona. It is a beautiful small town closer to northern Italy. This city may sound familiar for it is the prominant setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The city is literally known as The City of Love.

I was able to see many different monuments in Verona. Such as (above) the love well. The story behind this was that there was a girl living in a house very close and was very picky about who she would fall in love with. So she said that whoever falls down the well really loves me. When one man actually did, she went in after him. Now you are able to make a wish on love and throw in a coin.

Of course the other special place I saw was Juliet's house. It was the actual house, but the balcony was put in around when the 1960's version of Romeo and Juliet was made. This area was booming with tourists and probably looks really familiar from the movie Letters To Juliet. Yes you are able to send letters, but you have to pay to go up the stairs to the balcony and put your letter in a box. There was no way to put it on the wall or stick it in the crack of the stones.



There was also a gate to her house covered in locks. These locks represent people's love and devotion for one another. You bought them inside the tourist shop next to the house and then locked them and threw away the key for everlasting love. There was also a statue of Juliet in the courtyard where people horded around her so that they could rub her right breast for good luck. I was kind of disappointed to say the least of how such a beautiful city turned into such a tourist trap. I am still very very glad I made it there.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

The leaning tower of what??

So we flew back from Paris into Pisa at about 10 in the morning so we thought we would make it to see the Leaning Tower while we were there.

Literally, this is what you do when you go to Pisa. You stand there tilt your head, take that infamous "pushing it up" picture and then you leave. It takes all but 45 minutes.



Well our adventure was a little longer. We decided to have lunch there. Then walk around a little bit. Finally we decided to leave and ended up getting on the wrong bus and pretty much took a city bus tour of Pisa, and not the ncie parts. It was ridiculous. Needless to say I'm glad I still got to see that stupid tower.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Tre....

Our third and final day in Paris was probably one of the longest. We slept in a little bit so we could get over our food coma from the day before. As soon as we got up and ready for the day we headed to L'Arc de Triumph to actually explore the monument and take some pictures. First off let me tell you how we got to L'Arc de Triumph, this monument is in the middle of a giant round about. There are no cross walks to get there and no stop lights. So the smartest thing we did was run through traffic. We made it, then got stopped by some cops and were told about the underground passage way. Yes, true American tourists.

This monument is where the tomb of the unknown soldier is for the French. Which was extremely interesting to me because I am really into all the world wars and that boring history stuff.

After we exited the right way, we started down the Champs Elysee and noticed some street performers. It was kind of like French break dancing, but better. There dancing had actually meaning and depth to it. They were performing to promote their show for that upcoming week call Cie No Mad. It was really amazing. I talked to them afterwards and they were more than happy to take a picture with me.

After watching them for about 20 minutes we proceeded to flag down a cab and go to the Louvre. We thought we would actually find it if we took a cab. The Louvre was just what I expected, but a tiny different. To be completely honest I thought that the museum was only the triangular dome that is in the middle of the square, no, it is the entire building that surrounds it, the triangle is just the lobby.

As we went inside it was chaos. Tourists everywhere, about 10 different ticket booths, and 4 different entrances to multiple exhibits. You immediately knew where the Mona Lisa was as soon as you saw the mob of people go into that entrance. It was very overwhelming and I realized you really needed to conquer this entire museum in about two days, yes that is how big it was.

I was able to see everything that I wanted to see there, including the Mona Lisa. It was small, which is what I had been told so I didn't expect much. The Louvre didn't really have any sense of organization either. I thought you know maybe there would be a line of people to go and look at it and then pass buy but no, a giant ocean of people surrounded her like she was some artistic goddess (okay maybe she is), but still. I pushed my way through just to get a couple of pictures then immediately pushed back out. I would say it was worth it.

We left the Louvre and of course headed straight to the Eiffel Tower AGAIN. I mean we had to see it during the day. I don't think we had a sunny day the whole time we were there, which I guess was okay. The Eiffel Tower was just what I expected during the day.
People were gathered on the outskirts, sitting with their loved ones on the green patches. Children running around and playing right underneath it. It was like oh just another day at the Eiffel Tower to them. To me I wanted to cry cause this was my last time seeing it.

After the Eiffel Tower we took the boat cruise down the Siene river and were able to learn some history of Paris. Well I fell asleep. I was exhausted, the cruise was only 40 minutes but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Finally our day was almost complete. We told ourselves we were not leaving with out some macaroons in our hands. Laduree was apparently very famous in Paris. Well let me tell you, the line of people definitely proved it was, but the cookie didn't. I was not impressed with the service nor the taste. Definitely interesting and a very cute concept but not up to par for me.

After a very long day we finally went back to the hotel and packed our Paris life away. It was bittersweet, but I am glad to say I made it to the one place I have been dreaming of my entire life.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Due....

On day two of our adventure in Paris we were able to do some sightseeing.

We first stopped at this little bakery on the way to our first destination. It was so delicious. I had a croissant (possibly the best croissant I have ever had). My grandmother had this little tiramisu type pastry. It was the cutest little shop ever.

After that we caught a taxi to Notre Dame. This tour of the city by taxi was beautiful. Just something from a movie. It was a cloudy fall day and a little chilly. The leaves were falling off the trees and there were tons of clouds in the sky. All the buildings mirrored each other as we drove down the swerving roads of Paris. we drove along the Seine River which was absolutely amazing.
We finally got to Notre Dame, and yes it is as beautiful as you would think, and yet again to my astonishment I couldn't believe my eyes. Growing up watching The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I had never thought the dream of seeing this church would come true. Let alone be able to take communion during the service that was going on that day.

The service was in French but it was beautiful. My mom was the one to notice when they started doing communion and the three of us then preceeded down towards the altar and all took communion peacfully. I don't think we were allowed to do this, but I now get to say I have taken communion is a very historically famous church.

After Notre Dame we finally encountered our first angry Parisian. We bought a couple of sandwhiches and crepes outside of a restaurant from this stand (which by the way, looked like it was connected to the restaurant) and then thought we would sit outside and people watch from the tables outside the restaurant. The waiter told us we could not sit there because we weren't eating there food, so my mom told him we would order drinks and then he got us menus. To our knowledge that indicated that we were okay to sit there. Then all of a sudden, the manager came out and started yelling at us in French and shooed us away from his restaurant. Very embarassed be walked away and gave someone else our money for drinks. Needless to say, I'm not very fond of the Parisians.

Our next adventure was to find the Louvre, which was a total fail. We searched everywhere, and we ended up finding the contemporary art museum which was huge and we decided not to go in because we had to get back to get ready for our great night ahead of us.

This night was the highlight of our trip. We took the leap of eating at the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. To be completely honest I was not that impressed with the food, but it was still a great experience. we met there very lovely couple from England and they were so much to hang out with at dinner. We were dressed in our best and was able to go all the way to the top of the tower and see Paris from an amazing view. It was wonderful.

By the end of the night I was exhausted from the day. I was very happy to have a crepe at the end of the night and just go to bed. The next day was going to be very eventful and I needed a lot of sleep for it!




Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Uno....

So to end the lovely trip with my mother and grandmother we ventured out way to Paris for three days.

Let me tell you, what an adventure.

I will post this in day incraments because literally we did that much.

Our first day there we flew in early in the morning so that we could have a full day there after flying.

Our first obstacle was getting to our hotel. We wanted to take a taxi but thought it would be expensive and hoping there was a shuttle or something, but then ended up taking a taxi anyways. This is where the fun starts.

Around the time we arrived was Paris's rush hour. So the highway was backed up like crazy. I showed the driver the address to the hotel I booked and he looked at me funny and then said okay. As we truck along, and along, and along, I start to realise that there is something funny about where we are going, it just seemed to be taking way to long. So I asked our driver how much longer and he said another 45 minutes. I of course said that is not happening.

He ended up taking us to the Champs-Elyse to find a place with wifi so that I could book a different hotel closer to the center of Paris.

Thank god for the internet. So we fixed our situation and were able to find a hotel right down the street from the L'Arc De Triumph. It was amazing.

We then had our first FANTASTIC meal in Paris. I had French Onion soup, tons of bread and a crepe nutella. It was delicious.

After lunch we checked into our quaint little hotel and took a nap.

Later we got Paris fast food from this place called Quick and it was so good and cheap compared to what our meal was earlier that day.

After dinner we took a stroll leading us all the way to the Eiffel Tower. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so surreal and beautiful lit up at night!

And of course, to top off such an eventful day, I relaxed with my mom and grandma and ate my SECOND crepe for the day :].

First view of Paris!

OMG DELICIOUS!

Eiffel Tower by Night!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

To the top we go....

So I challenged my mother and grandmother to a climb tp the top of the Duomo...

In case you didn't know thats an over 460 stair challenge.

And they did it.

This was my second time climbing to the top, and let me tell you it is so much easier the second time.

I remember the first time I went with a group of students from my school and we were all dying. It was crazy. I couldn't believe I did it. Now I can't believe I conquered it twice, and now have done it a third time with a friend of mine!

I'm going to photocred my mom with the pictures I am posting, because to be honest...they were better than mine.

So Proud! Almost to the top!!

The View :]

Hanging out for a while.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Venezia!!

Instead of talking about my entire trip with my mom I am just going to go over the little trips we went on and the adventures we had in Florence....

One of the trips we went on was Venice (Italy) for the day.

It rained the ENTIRE TIME. Which of course doesn't help for Venice because it is sinking anyways.

Venice is made entirely of islands on the east coast of Italy, the main island of course being Venice and various other islands such as Murano.

Murano was the first place we ended up in while in Venice.

The only way to get around Venice is either walking or taking a boat down the grand canal. So we took a water taxi to Murano.

Murano is one of the most famous places for glass blowing. We got to see a demonstration, which was absolutely amazing. The guy made a glass horse within minutes right before our eyes.

After that we stayed on the island of Murano to eat some lunch. Venice is known for it's seafood so we had very delicious shrimp scampi in a quaint little restaurant.

I have never seen so much glass in my life, or bought that much! I loved it all, it was extremely beautiful.

After Murano, we headed back to the main island and took an adventure to find the gondolas in the Rialto.

Because of the rain it was not possible for us to take a ride in one. We were a little disappointed, but I think all we really wanted were pictures of them! So at least one wish was granted.

On the way back to the train station we got to pick up the famous masks of Venice. In the spring time Venice has a celebration called Carnivale and it is a giant festival where everyone wears the most magnificant masks. I bought two and they were absolutely beautiful.

To end our trip it was a nice train ride back to Florence. We took the fast train there and back and it was possibly the easiest thing I have ever done (transportation wise) in my entire life.

Glass Blowing Demonstration (thi inventually popped!)

The town of Venice

Hand Made Glass Chandelier

Soooo Yummy!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Chocolate Anyone?

A couple weeks ago I was able to experience the Chocolate Festival in Perugia (sound familiar, yes that is where Amanda Knox was studying).

I went with a couple of my roommates and I think we were drooling the whole time.

Let's just say, as a woman, I absolutely love chocolate.

We arrived in Perugia mid morning and headed straight the the festival. Once we got there we got our "choco cards" so that we would be able to have free tastings at different chocolate tents.

With our card, we got to try hot chocolate (which was more like hot pudding that is how thick it was), a chocolate yogurt milk that had a fruit flavoring (this was really interesting), different generic chocolates and were able to receive a picture frame made of chocolate (unfortunately it was dark chocolate so I gave it to my roommate who wasn't able to attend).

I have never bought so much chocolate in my entire life at one time. Let's just say it is almost all gone. I had the most delicious chocolate covered banana when I first got there.

While in Perugia we had a nice lunch at a hidden restaurant. It was a little pizzeria and it was so good. We all order pizza (of course) and realized when we got them we probably could have shared between the three of us. It was gigantic.

After that I went on a chocolate binge and bought tons of chocolate. My favorite was these little bars of milk chocolate with different dried fruits in them. I got banana, orange and strawberry (banana, arancia and fragola for translation). I liked the orange the best. I also got a giant bar of mint chocolate, and yes it is the color of mint you would think of. It is a beautiful green and I kind of don't want to eat it, but it is delicious :].

After being in a chocolate coma we headed back to Florence taking a nice long nap on the bus. Everyone was sleeping, out cold. So asleep that one of the guys had a great time taking pictures of everyone sleeping. Fun Times.

Yummmmy!

"Hot Chocolate"

LOADS AND LOADS OF CHOCOLATE!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Life on the Farm....

A couple of weeks ago I went on a field trip for my Food History class. We were taking to a "slow food" farm out in the country side.

This farm was absolutely organic. They made wine, honey, various breads, meats and different fruits and vegetables.

While at the farm we learned about all the animals that were raised there. They believe that the animal should live a great life and not have to suffer in order to be eaten. These animals had a luxurious way of living. They were able to run around in the fields of Tuscany and live with their families until it was time for them to go. The animals included pigs and cows.

Touring the farm and the wine cellars we were able to taste the experience we just had. We had a tasting of 4 different wines. Their fine olive oil, pancetta (bacon), salami, tomatoes and honey, all on their fresh made bread. It was absolutely delicious.

After going to the farm we were taken to a typical "slow food" restaurant.

Background: Slow Food is an organization promoting the production of a slower way to eat. It is the total opposite of fast food. They want to promote the way of cooking at a slow pace and from all organic and healthy raised animals, fruits and vegetables.

This food was amazing. I have never tasted anything like it. We first had an antipasti (appetizer) of various meats and pates to put on bread, for the primi piatti (first plate) we had penne with a meat sauce, and for dolce (dessert) we had apple crumble made with fresh apples, raisins and pie crust.

Little Piggy's

Yummy Pancetta and Salami

Red Wine All Around!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Oktoberfest: Betcha can't have just one beer....

This past weekend I ventured north to Germany for the one and only Oktoberfest. It was held in Munich and it was absolutely amazing.

The adventure went a little like this....

Thursday night we started off with some predeparture cocktails, which was possibly the best idea ever because we had a 9 hour bus ride a head of us. So we leave Florence around 11:30 p.m. I slept the ENTIRE way to Munich.

After arriving in Germany around 9 in the morning we went and settled in at our hostel and got ready for what was a head of us that day.

I don't think any of us really knew what we had gotten ourselves into. We finally got to Oktoberfest and the first thing we did was go to a beer tent, possibly the biggest one called Hofbrauhaus (HB). This one, according to our tour guide, is known to be the one where all the foreigners go for beer and a good time.

Each tent (a total of 10) has only one type of beer, being their own beer because each tent represents famous breweries in Germany.

In the HB tent we quickly found a table. We were there from about 10:30 till 2:00 hanging out and drinking beer. I am usually not a beer drinker but since I was there I had to try it. You were able to get a half beer and half lemonade which was actually quite good. I ended up drinking two beers each being one liter. After two beers I was definitely in my happy place. The beers themselves were 10 euro, but so worth it.

In the tent it was absolute craziness. Beer mugs clinking everywhere, a million different languages being spoken, drinking songs being sung, people standing on the tables and chugging while everyone would cheer them on, and of course there was not a soul who was having a bad time.

I really wish I could have bought an outfit to wear there. Everyone was dressed up. The girls would wear a Dirndl which is a dress that the German girls wear, the guys would wear lederhosen which are leather trousers, and everyone would have a Gingerbread hanging around their neck (also called a Lebkuchen) shaped like a heart with different sayings on them. I did buy a Gingerbread that said Oktoberfest and wore it around for a while.

I also had some of the best food there. I was able to have a bratwurst which they usually put on a hoagie roll, corn on the cob, crepes with nutella, and their potatoes were delicious. I was amazed at how good the food was. Definitely different than Italy, but reminded me more of home.

After our first day there we were extremely tired and ended up sleeping in the next day and then going back to Oktoberfest at night. This was the last weekend of Beerfest and so Saturday and Sunday are generally a lot busier. We were not able to get into a tent again, especially in the evening because people have reservations for lunch and dinner. At night it was beautiful. It is basically a huge carnival with rides and game booths and lights. I felt like a little kid. I was able to ride the Farris wheel and look down on the thousands of people that were attending Oktoberfest that evening. We ended up later being able to get into one of the beer gardens (which is like an outside tent) of the HB tent and met up with some people we had met from the day before. That is where I ended up getting my most prized souvenir, an HB beer mug. Let's just say I'm glad I brought my backpack :]

On our last day there, we got up early and headed to Dachau where the first concentration camp of Germany was. This camp was the first of all of the camps in Europe. It started as a prisoner camp for people who threatened the government when Hitler became chancellor.

This day had to have been the most eery day. When we got off the train in Dachau it was very foggy and dreary. We arrived at the camp and started walking around and it was just very creepy. I have been to a holocaust museum and it really doesn't compare to seeing some of the real things that went on there. We were able to go into a barrack where they slept, walk through a gas chamber and see the brick crematories where the dead bodies were burned. It was a very moving experience and definitely one of the things I have always wanted to do in my life. I have always been interest in the Holocaust and just trying to understand how anything like that could happen and this by far taught me a lot more than I had ever known.

So my trip to Germany was a complete success. I really did love it there and hope to go back again some day!

BEERS ALL AROUND!

Me with my cookie :]

Best Picture Ever

Great weekend!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn