hello muddah, hello faddah! (ROME 8)

Ciao Ciao Ciao to all..

As I write this I should be working on multiple papers, but instead I want to write for the blog of course!

First I want to make a shout out to all the new posts! I love reading all of them and about all my friends adventures! It makes me smile to see what a good time everyone is having everywhere.

This week was spring break! My parents arrived on Saturday, and I was SO excited to see them. They got to the hotel in Rome very early and I met them as soon as they landed. It felt like FOREVER since the last time I had seen my mom and dad and re uniting was very exciting! After they slept off some jet lag, we went to one of my (new) favorite restaurants in Rome. Antico Arco! The bread there was all freshly made and they brought us two baskets of such deliciously made rolls and breadsticks!

We woke up early on Sunday morning, and had breakfast at the hotel. When I saw the buffet at breakfast, my eyes widened. AMERICAN breakfast was in front of me! This is something that is majorly difficult to find in this country! (#abroadgirlproblems)

We started the day by walking around Vatican City, going to a great outdoor lunch eatery, and then going to the coliseum. My dad was overly excited to see the coliseum (being a MAJOR history buff) and loved every minute of it.

Even though it was my forth time there, showing my parents made it extra fun! Due to the marathon, the coliseum had special hours that day, so we JUST made it in time as we ran through the roman forum to get through the gates. We walked around the coliseum slowly, and then headed back on the metro to get ready for dinner.

On Monday, we had an early morning tour of the Jewish Ghetto. I had been there before, but never with a tour guide. The tour was absolutely incredible! We learned all about the synagogue, the Jewish museum, and we even got to go into apartment houses of our tour guides relatives. They had been there for over 30 years, and hearing their stories was fascinating. During the tour, my mom had a little (too much) jet lag and almost fell asleep on the floor of the new synagogue! Due to this, we grabbed some famous kosher pastries, and headed back to rest up before the rest of the evening!

Tuesday the touring continued! We had a Jewish perspective tour of the Vatican and Vatican museum. We went through all the pieces, and the Sistine chapel with a new view on the religion aspects of the paintings. Right near the Vatican a famous gelato was recommended to me, so I obviously had to try it after our tour. We waited on line for about 20 minutes and I got my gelato. It has become my OFFICIAL favorite in Rome. I got cookies, caramel and nutella flavors and it was the BEST. That night we went to dinner with Julie and Hannah. Since they are both part of the family, it was so nice to all go out to eat while my parents were visiting our city!

Wednesday we headed to Barcelona, Spain. We woke up early to catch our flight and we were all eager to get there. My parents and I have all never been to Barcelona and we had heard great things about it. We got to the hotel, and already loved it. We had a great room overlooking the Barcelona waterfront and access to an all-you-can-eat “club” floor. They should have moved our beds in there, because that was really where we spent most of the time.

Barcelona has a ton of art work that I had never even heard about. My favorite was “Sagrada Familia” which is a famous church designed by Gaudi. The church is still not finished due to its intricate design, and the inside was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. We went to Park Guell which was designed by Guadi as well, and we got to view the inside of his house there. One of my favorite things that we did in Barcelona was our walking tour and the magic fountain show that we saw our last night there. It is a huge fountain with colors and music that plays every half an hour. Although there were a lot of tourists there, it was something you had to see! We also went to the Picasso museum and the chocolate museum the following days.

The weather in Barcelona wasn’t overly warm but it was sunny! When we saw the beach the first day, we knew what was coming. JUMPING PICTURES! NO family vacation and I mean NO vacation is complete without our jumping pictures! On our walk to the aquarium, we stopped to take these famous shots!

On Sunday, we came back to Rome for my parents last night. We went to dinner and celebrated my Dad’s birthday (which is next week!). After that, we went to the trevi fountain at night. I had never seen it at night, lit up, and it was gorgeous! We all made wishes in the fountain, and then spent the last night getting dessert and tea back at the hotel.

My parents left this morning, as I headed back to my classes. It was so sad to see them go! We had the best week together and it was so relaxing to tour and hang out with my family! Even the hotel staff was making fun of me as I dramatically waved good bye with teary eyes this morning.

Although, I know that I have the most exciting six weeks ahead of me. (YES, that’s all!?) I am traveling every single weekend except for the weekend before I leave to head back to the United States! There are so many places I want to see, and I could not be happier to have the change to go!

Tomorrow I have a cooking class again, which I am super pumped about. I really have to improve my cooking skills so I can cook up some fresh Italian cuisine for my friends when we are back to our Thursday night apartment dinners in the fall :)

On Friday I am going to Paris! I have been there before, but it is one of the greatest cities. We are celebrating one of our friends birthdays there and it will be a lot of fun! Carly (my best friend from home) will also be going there to visit her friend! She is taking the plane back with me to Rome, and from there continue her spring break from Israel and see Italy!

Today marks 50 days till I go home to New York. How is that even possible? It honestly still feels like I just got here.

I’ll be writing again soon!

Ali

Terri Gross Does España

           Having my mom come visit me in Madrid is something that I have been looking forward to for a while now. My mom is of course the person who listened to my neurotic worries the night before I left for Madrid and any complaints I had within the first few days of being here. I quickly got over my nerves and have come to love and feel at home in Madrid, communicating in Spanish more and more easily. I was very excited to show my mom around my favorite spots and give her a taste for what my study abroad experience is like.

            Luckily, I have become pretty good at Spanish because many people in Spain don’t speak English well or at all. My mom does not speak a lick of Spanish and is actually rather language-deficient. I got to play the role of #1 translator during her stay in Madrid. I know how much my mom likes structure and organization, so I planned out an itinerary. Some of the highlights included going to synagogue and dinner with the Appels, rowing my mom around at Retiro, seeing the famous works at the Prado, enjoying lunch at Mercado San Miguel, and relaxing at the Hammam Arab bathhouse (see pictures below).

            After a great week in Madrid, my mom and I went to San Sebastian for a relaxing weekend getaway. San Sebastian is a city along the coast in the northern part of Spain, very close to France. Although the national language of Spain is Spanish, a special Basque language is spoken in this region. The Basque language was completely different than Spanish and impossible for me to understand. San Sebastian is on the Bay of Biscay and is a precious town. Our hotel looked out at a beach called, La Concha. Listening to the waves at night and watching the sunset from our balcony were truly highlights. The ornate architecture, trees without branches nor leaves, and lush vegetation make its physical appeal unique (see pictures below).

 

            San Sebastian is well known for its food, having more restaurants with Michelin stars than any other city in the world. They have a lot of pinxto (the Basque word for tapas) bars as well as many gourmet multi-course tasting menus (see picture below). Maybe my pallet is not sophisticated enough, but I found much of the food to be too gourmet. There was not a single Mediterranean restaurant and only one Italian one in all of San Sebastian. Most places were seafood restaurants, and I am not a big fan of the fish in Europe. 

            Our first day we went to a nearby town called Getaria and saw the Balenciaga (a famous Spanish designer) museum and got a tour in a wine vineyard that has been in the same family since the 1600’s. The museum showed off many outrageous designs that were part of Balenciaga’s trend-setting collection. The tour of the vineyard was an authentic experience, and we got to see exactly how the grapes are hand picked and converted into wine (see picture below).

            The second day we hiked on the Camino de Santiago, a famous trail that is a religious pilgrimage for many. We hiked from San Sebastian, up a mountain and along the coast all the way to the town of Paisaje San Juan for lunch (about a 3-hr hike). The views were spectacular, and it was extremely rewarding to arrive at such a colorful fishing town. We went to a restaurant on the water for lunch that had great fresh seafood (see picture below).

            The last day we woke up early to walk on the beach. The sand is very fine and soft, and there were no rocks on the beach. The water is a gorgeous shade of aqua blue and is very clear. We ate at an outdoor café along the beach called La Concha Café. We then took the funicular up a mountain after lunch for some post-card-worthy views of San Sebastian. It was great to spend time with my mom and travel with her. Now I am on my way back to Madrid to get ready for two days of work and then I am off to the Canary Islands and Barcelona for my spring break!

Pajama Party

            My host sister, Elsa, turned 14 about a month ago. She had a birthday party, but Fiona and I couldn’t be there because we were on a field trip to Toledo. With Isabel home again and Fiona and I around, Elsa decided to have a 2^nd birthday party…a “pijama” (in Spanish) party! Fiona and I really had no idea what we signed ourselves up for when we agreed to it. Fiona was on hair duty, I was on make-up, and our friend Lauren painted the girl’s nails in a sort of assembly-line rotation of adolescent girls. The girls were naive, adorable, and mesmerized by the whole beautification process. Elsa outfitted all of them and then did a full-fledged fashion show. Fiona, Lauren, and I were the judges. It was so obvious that Elsa should be the winner, with her confident model walk that schooled all of her slightly awkward friends; but, Elsa had told us in advance that she couldn’t win because it would seem biased. We chose a winner and broke the news to the girls pretending to be a panel of judges from America’s Next Top Model. The party was a really feel-good moment for me. All of the girls were so appreciative and didn’t want Fiona, Lauren, or I to leave. It’s funny how they instantly became sort of obsessed with us simply because we were older than them and knew how to do hair, makeup, and nails. It’s also interesting that a pajama party in Spain is the exact same as one in the US and probably a lot of countries. All little girls have crushes on boys that they probably have never spoken to, like to gossip about other girls, and love to stay up late even though they aren’t supposed to.

The Coveted Abono

         The “abono” is the name of the monthly pass that you can buy at the beginning of the month and then ride the metro as much as you want. I tried to fight the majority and didn’t buy one at the start of the semester because I thought I wouldn’t take the metro much since I live close to school and work. As much as I do not like to admit it, I was VERY WRONG! The metro system in Madrid is wonderful, and I often take it during the week to meet up with friends after dinner and a lot during the weekend…way more than 30 times each month. Because I am a student, I had to apply for a discounted price, so even once I realized I had messed up I still had to wait for my application to be processed. Finally receiving my abono was a magical moment!!

            I am getting to do more interesting tasks at work these days. This week I got to help one of the stylist’s assistant’s, Alba, with shopping for a plastic shoe trend photo shoot that one of the stylists was working on. I got to look through all of the look books of designers that carry shoes and mark the pages where the plastic shoe trend appeared. I found some really cool ones, and Alba told me that she thinks some of the ones I picked will end up being in the photo shoot. I also got to help her with a lingerie and bathing suit photo shoot with just the silhouettes. We went to the photo studio in the basement and pinned the lingerie and bathing suits to Styrofoam boards in perfect alignment and symmetry, so as to not leave any wrinkles. Working along side Alba, I learned that she does not get paid! I was really outraged to find out just how bad the economic crisis is in Spain. I can’t imagine how stressful it must be to be 26 and working as a volunteer in hopes of advancement. She is certainly determined though to find her place in the fashion industry, hopefully as a stylist, which I found admirable.

            I decided to exercise for the first time since being in Madrid (woops! I do not belong to a gym). I have been walking a decent amount, but I met up with a friend Emily to go on a legit run. There is an outdoor track near her house, where Madrileños of all ages walk, jog, and run. It surrounds a large shooting range, which my dad would absolutely love. There are different rest areas around the loop of the track, so we stopped to do abs, arms, and some yoga sen salutations. It was very relaxing and felt good to work up a sweat right before dinner. Marta laughed at me (I mean pointed and hysterically laughed) because I literally never wear work out clothes, and I guess it was a shocker.

            That Sunday Fiona and I had promised to go shopping with Elsa (our host sister). Isabel (our host mother) returned home (thank goodness) after being gone for 5 weeks. I had never seen Elsa outside of our house, so it was fun to go on an outing with her. She is the most sophisticated, witty 14-year-old that I have ever met. While I can tell that she really looks up to Fiona and I, she carries conversations and makes jokes with us that are on par with those of my peers. She enjoys trying to pry into our love lives and telling us about her crush, Cosme, who has recently starting dating a younger girl. She also talked to us about some drama amongst her girl friends that she is caught in the middle of. It’s funny how no matter what age you are, many of the same tricky situations reoccur.                       

A Much Needed Descanso

         “Descanso” means “rest,” and after traveling three weekends in a row, I definitely needed a break and was excited about being in Madrid for the next three weekends. A friend on my program, Noah Simon, knows the current US ambassador of Spain and his wife and is family friends with them from their hometown in Boston. Noah invited 6 of us to get a private tour of the residence. The ambassador’s wife greeted us warmly, showed us to her living room, and served us wine and a huge board filled with tapas. She was very curious to hear about our opinions on cultural differences between the US and Spain, and we agreed with her on many points that I have written about previously. Although everything was very fancy, she made us feel comfortable and encouraged us to share our thoughts with her and was adamant about not giving us a lecture. She spoke to us about her role in the embassy, working with different philanthropic organizations in Spain, especially in regards to education. Next, she showed us the artwork in her home that she had hand-selected. It was a very unique opportunity to have such an intimate tour of the embassy (see picture below).

            That week Cristina and I met up on a Wednesday around dinnertime to do a self-guided tapas tour of a neighborhood in Madrid that is known for its tapas, La Latina. I had written down a couple of recommendations, but we also spontaneously tried a few wild cards that looked good. My favorite tapa that we had was at Almendro: fried potatoes (like chips) with salmorejo (a puree of tomatoes that is like gazpacho but creamier) and pieces of ham and cheese. I also loved the precious rooftop at El Viajero, with a great view of La Latina and the cathedral.

            Thursday afternoon is always a great time of the week for me because I finish class at 2:30, come home to a delicious lunch, and then have the afternoon free to meet up with friends. It is my only free afternoon during the school week, so I always take advantage of it, especially since it marks the beginning of my weekend. I love going to Retiro (the central park of Madrid), and decided to take a rowboat out with friends. It was a beautiful, sunny, perfect day (see picture below)!

            Friday Ali arrived in Madrid! I met her and Isamar at Plaza Mayor and walked around Mercado San Miguel and Palacio Real. We then had lunch at a Burger Joint that was highly recommended in Ali’s “Jap Guide to Madrid,” which she claims never fails. It was a refreshing change to have an all-American lunch, and Ali was thrilled to not be eating pizza nor pasta (she is studying in Rome). We did a little shopping, took our respective siestas, and met up for dinner at the chic hour of 11pm at a tapas place called El Tigre. It was so hot there that Ali’s glasses steamed up, jaja. The place is known for their giant drinks (mojitos and sangria are their specialties) that come with a huge plate of tapas, including patatas bravas and croquetas. I also snagged us an extra plate of tapas with tortilla española (see picture below).

We went to a club called Independance, which played alternative music and had a hipster crowd. Saturday I went to dinner with Ali, Isamar, and Ali’s camp friend at a Mexican restaurant that was fabulous, especially the free tequila shots I somehow convinced the waiter we deserved. We then went to a very New York City-like club called Moma 56. The crowd was a little older, but everything else about it was tre chic: the music, the pink lights, the celeb photo shoot area, and the Kim-Kardashian look-alike friend we made in the bathroom (see picture below).

            After a fun weekend of exploring and partying, Sunday is always my least favorite day of the weekend. Sunday, Fiona and I had to write a paper for our Spanish film class. We decided to camp out at the kitchen table because we would definitely fall asleep if we tried to do it in our rooms. We couldn’t have been interrupted more times. The oldest sister of our host family, Marina, was home that weekend. The three kids had a family cuddle session all day long in the living room laughing and giggling. Marta couldn’t have been more proud of us for doing schoolwork, something we don’t do often. She kept ranting about how we needed quiet so that we could focus. Fiona and I were cracking up because of just how ironic her rant was.                                   

Spring Break!!

Hello blog world!! I am happy to report that a a little less than a week after returning from spring break I am back in the swing of things! SB is amazing for so many reasons- one of them being it gives you a huge break from school and responsibilities, but unfortunately all the homework and studying and things to do are just patiently waiting for when break is over...

Now that I am fully caught up, I am so excited to report back on my AMAZING time in LA!!! The flight to California was so easy, and once I landed, my cousin DJ and I quickly began a great week of eating out, seeing all the different touristy and non touristy spots in LA, and just having the best time spending the week together!!

The one and only thing I really wanted to do in LA was hike up to the Hollywood sign! So it was the first thing DJ and I did on Saturday and it was amazing! The weather was fantastic and the view the whole way up was absolutely beautiful! It was one of my favorite things that we did!

DJ and I at the beginning of the hike! Seems so far away!!

From behind the Hollywood sign!

We made it!!!

Saturday night I got to experience the LA nightlife, and go out! One of the places we went to was very trendy and exactly what I pictured an LA bar to be like, but the second place we went was so fun and definitely somewhere I could see my friends and I loving!! An added treat- my friend Matt from school came to meet us and spent the night out with us and friends!

Tolchin!!

DJ and me! Matching of course...woops!

The rest of the week was spent seeing lots of different parts of LA, and trying restaurants in every single one of them! Venice, Malibu, Beverly Hills... so many cool places to see!

My best friend Brooke from high school is studying in LA for the semester so I got to spend time with her!! It was so cool to see her apartment and where she lives, and then spend the night with her catching up! When I was in the car with her driving to her apartment, I truly forgot for a few minutes that we were in LA, and it just felt completely normal being with her as if we were in NJ!

Brooke!!!

Later on in the week, I was SO lucky to get to spend some time with Ellen's mom! She brought me to where Ellen lives, and I got to see her house, her neighborhood, and meet her dogs!! Ellen's town is absolutely beautiful, and it was amazing to finally see the place that I have heard so much about for three years! It is a beautiful town, and Ellen's street is right up from the beach! Definitely one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been in! Being with Ellen's mom was so nice, but only made me miss Ellen more!! Can't wait until we are all reunited!!

The street leading down to the beach! 

Beautiful!!!

One of the coolest things we did while I was in LA was see the whole Modern Family cast in a Q&A session! DJ and I got there a little late due to traffic (very typical LA as I had learned)! The cast is just as hysterical in person as on the show...and it seems as if they are so similar in real life to who they play on TV! It was such a fun thing to be at! I'm not a huge TV person, but I do love Modern Family!! We are so lucky Matt got us tickets, and my friend Alexia came too! We had a great time. After the show we went to a restaurant near the theater...which was WAY too fancy for my picky eating, so I ended up just eating rice! But the coolest part of the night was when we realized we were sitting at the table next to Natalie Portman!!

Modern Family!!

Alexia and me at Red Medicine!

I had the absolute best time in LA! The greatest part really was just getting to spend so much time with DJ! We all really miss him on the east coast!! I cannot wait to go back and visit again!!

XOX
Jenna

Cádiz Carnaval

           Since we arrived in Madrid, a company called European Vibes has been advertising trips and open bars to us study abroad kids. Although sort of turned off by their beer pong competitions at Orange Café every Wednesday (only because it feels like an American frat party and there is nothing Spanish about it), we decided that Cádiz Carnaval would be the perfect trip go on with European Vibes. Some how one of my friend’s Gabe, became a promoter for the company and the infamous Sam Lee, and got a huge group of people in the BU program to sign up for the pre-organized trip. About 20 of us went, joined by 400 other study abroad students in various programs in Madrid. Cádiz is also located in the southern region of Spain, called Andalucía, and is on the coast.

            The weekend started out right going to Kapital (the infamously insane 7-story club in Madrid) for Ladies Night on Thursday night (aka free entrance and a drink!). We danced and lounged (the 7^th floor has bed-like couches) until about 6 AM, ate pizza and crepes at the one-and-only 24-hour spot in Sol, went home to shower, and were on the bus at 8 AM ready to pass out for the 8-hour bus ride ahead. We arrived at our hotel outside of Cádiz at around 4 PM and were pleasantly surprised with our cool villas looking out at the water. I shared a villa with 4 of my girl friends and the very lucky, Dimitri Belkin, who was unquestionably outnumbered. I’m pretty sure we scarred poor Dimitri that weekend with our incessant girl talk, although he did get to a unique perspective into the true thoughts of women (kind of like the movie What Women Want). Our villa was big with two stories, a big living room, and a kitchen. We immediately went to the Carrefour grocery store and stocked up on tortilla española, baguettes, cheese, chips, and guacamole (the essentials). We had a family dinner and then hosted a pregame in our villa, inviting over all of our BU program amigos and new friends. Because we all live in host families, we never get to have pregames (an American tradition we all miss). It was fun to hang out and drink, not in a bar or club, and it was the best part of the night. That night European Vibes brought us to a lame bar in a shopping mall. It was nothing special but still a fun time.

            The next day we took a short train ride to the beach in Cádiz. It was so warm that we wore bathing suits and even dipped in the water, although it was freezing. The locals once again thought we were nuts wearing bathing suits, and they stared curiously at us in their sweaters. I hadn’t seen a beach since winter break at home in Florida, so it was great to be there. One girl on my program, Ana, is from California and lives for the beach. She was so happy to be there that she was rolling in the sand and frolicking around in the water. She was so graceful that I deemed her, “a water nymph.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t nearly as graceful, and thought it was a good idea to squat a little too soon (before being submerged in the ocean) since the water was so cold. Rookie move and also embarrassing since everyone saw me, making me “the anti-water nymph.” 

            Later that afternoon we went into the center plaza of Cádiz, all decked out in costumes (see pictures below) and went to the Carnival. Everyone’s costumes were elaborate, and I made sure to take pictures with some of the better group costumes. I got a lot of attention with my hair done up. The Spaniards were pretty fascinated and only wanted to know my secret (an empty water bottle). It was a wild day and night including quite a lot of partying.  

Sevilla and Granada

            BU has planned 4 field trips for us throughout the semester, the 2^nd of which was a 2-day trip to Sevilla. Some friends and I decide to stay an extra day and take a bus to Granada. Both cities are located in the region of Spain called Andalucía, which is located in the southern part of Spain and is known for Moorish architecture, flamenco, and gazpacho/salmorejo (a tomato purée). We had beautiful weather (about 60°F and sunny), the warmest we had yet experienced in Spain.

            Sevilla is a colorful city filled with cathedrals, cobble stone, palm trees, palaces, and of course plazas. I loved getting lost in the small streets full of boutiques, shops, and cafés. My favorite spot was Plaza de España (see pictures below).

            Sevilla is far less modern than Madrid, but also pleasantly authentic. While in Madrid, American study abroad students are the norm, the locals in Sevilla were rather fascinated by us foreigners (especially because we were wearing dresses in what they still considered winter). No joke women were wearing fur coats! We went to an authentic tapas spot for dinner, so packed with locals that we had to stand. We then made our way to one of the few clubs in Sevilla, called Buda. Navigating through the small streets in a place we weren’t familiar with and without the metro system wasn’t simple. When we left the club at 3 AM, nothing was open! There was no such thing as late night pizza, which is why I could never study abroad there. It was great for the weekend, but I much prefer Madrid’s modern feel and vibrant nightlife for my semester abroad. We also almost got arrested because my friend walked on top of a car or two…woops!

            We took a 3-hour bus from Sevilla to Granada and upgraded to Super Economy for 5 euro…so worth it. We got snacks, water, pull-out trays, foot rests, and free wifi! Arriving at our hostel in Granada after staying in a pretty nice hotel in Sevilla paid for by BU was not pretty. We walked in to a lobby with a toilet in the center and the owner, who was expecting 5 of us, although we were a group of 13. He gave us a discount for his mistake and made up a room for the 8 of us he had not accounted for in the basement (fancy schmancy). We also bribed us with hot coffee, tea, and hookah. If we were staying for more than a night, I could not have dealed, but I went with the flow and didn’t worry about it. He left out that the heat in the basement didn’t work, but luckily I conned Asa into swapping beds with me, and I moved the room with heat and triple-decker-stacked bunk beds. That night we hiked to a club with glass windows, looking out at the Alhambra. It was an incredible sight, especially lit up at night.

            The next day we saw the Alhambra in the daylight. The Alhambra is a palace that was constructed in the mid 14^th century by the Moors (see pictures below). I enjoyed seeing the southern region of Spain, but realized that no city beats my city and my home in Madrid.