Had my last class today. I leave the 17th of December and just got finals before heading home. It’s definitely gonna be weird going back to people speaking English, but it’ll be nice to see everyone too. Time flew by here and I am grateful to have studied abroad and met such awesome people out here. I might do another day trip in Italy and I am going to try to put up a couple more posts. I’m hoping finals go well and one of my buddies, T.J., from Bryant just stayed here a few days and it was awesome to see some people from back in the states. Florence has Christmas lights strung up all over the city, which is reminding me that this four month vacation really is coming to an end.

After an eight hour bus ride, I made it to Interlaken early Friday morning. Interlaken is surrounded by the snow-capped alps, has a crystal clear lake surrounding it, and all of the houses seem almost not real. Friday morning we woke up and ate breakfast at the hostel, which consisted of a slice of bread and jelly. All of the owners of the hostel were Australian and we all quickly noticed the 185 lb Saint Bernard lounging around in the lobby (later we found out it was a girl dog named ‘Spliff’). The lobby played reggae music and it became apparent that anyone who lived in this city was an adrenaline junkie. That morning you were able to sign up for a bunch of activities (paragliding, bungee jumping, canyon jumping, ziplining, skiing, skydiving, etc.) and my friends and I were set on skiing the Alps. After talking with one of the workers we found a company that would drive you to and from the mountain, provide rentals, and any other equipment we needed. Considering these factors the fairly steep price was well worth it.

After booking the trip and getting our Equipment for Saturday, we decided to hike up one of the surrounding mountains with a look-out point at the top. The hike was fairly difficult and we ended up being lazy and turning back close to the peak. On the mountain we saw a group of children and their teacher singing and dancing, which really showed us how relaxed life is out in Switzerland. After hiking back down, we did what every other American guy here would do and hit up the Hooters (shockingly they had one in the town). I got buffalo wings and a caesar salad (which are non-existant in Italy) which was a nice change of pace from the pasta in Italy. That night we ended up going to bed early because we had to wake up for skiing at 6:30. 

Saturday morning we were stoked to finally ski the alps at Saas Fee. We got on the bus and were surprised when about halfway to the mountain, our bus was driven onto a train and driven into the Swiss mountains. It was such a different form of transportation then any of us were used to, but it was really cool. Once we got on the Alps, we took two gondolas up the mountain and then a train that went through the mountain and took you to the top. When we stepped out of the train it was a lot harder to breathe (11,000 feet at the top), but it didn’t bother me much. The snow was very good for how early it was and I still can’t describe what it was like to ski above the clouds. Even today it feels like this whole day was just a dream. The guy who I rented my skis from told me I would’ve been fine without goggles, so I wore aviators, which I realized early on was a mistake. Surprisingly, the top was the clearest part of the mountain so it was only difficult when we ventured back down at the end of the day. Skiing through the clouds was very interesting and kinda scary because you can’t see five feet in front of you and don’t know if there’s going to be a cliff right in front of you. I would consider Interlaken one of my favorite (if not best) trip abroad, primarily because of the skiing and overall scenery of Switzerland. That night we ended up discovering that our hostel had a lively Swiss club in the basement (with no Americans) which definitely ended up making up for staying in the previous night.

The last day, one of my friends went Canyon Jumping (350 ft. free fall into a canyon attached to a rope) so I went to the Christmas markets in the city center. The stands all sold various trinkets and we had the opportunity to try a variety of Swiss chocolates, cheeses, teas, and wines. We browsed for a while and took pictures around the city. By the end of the weekend, no one wanted to leave (dreading finals) and I wish I had another day to ski, but I know I will return in the near future.

Our Hostel

Interlaken

                          View from our hike

behind our hostel

stepping off the train @ the top of Saas-Fee

livin the dream

So my program organized an event for us to go see an Italian opera at one of the major theater’s in Florence. Other than the brutally long and cold walk it was pretty interesting. The Opera wasn’t in English (obviously) so it was fairly hard to follow. The Opera was called ll Barbiere di Siviglia and I still have a vague idea about what it was about. Plays aren’t usually my thing and I can’t say I loved it, but I felt like I couldn’t turn it down since it was free. The Opera had that ‘Figaro Figaro Figaro’ song in it, which almost made me burst out laughing during the applause. I’m glad I saw the Opera, but I can’t say I plan on buying tickets to any future shows. 

I’m going to Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend and planning on skiing the alps, hopefully Sass Fee (which is a glacier up in the mountains). They also offer Canyon (Bungee) jumping, Paragliding, Skydiving, and several other crazy activities so who knows what’ll happen, it’s definitely gonna be an experience. Ciao

After a connecting flight from Zurich, I made it to Amsterdam around 2 pm. Brenden did not end up getting a flight in until around 7 pm so I ended up exploring the airport and surprisingly reading a book until he got there. After guessing on what train ticket to buy we eventually made it into the city. I stupidly only brought a sweatshirt and didn’t expect the thirty degree weather, but I didn’t let it bother me. One thing that really stood out to me was the amount of canals in the city, it really reminded me of Venice. Also everyone spoke English, they had American food, and I never thought twice about there being a language barrier, which was really surprising. We tried looking for a map, but were unsuccessful, which led to us strolling around for a couple hours trying to find our hostel. We walked through the Red Light District, the coffeeshop area, and the more upscale parts of the city. The architecture was a lot different and the actual city was very nice. After finding our hostel we immediately realized that it was a catholic hostel and our room had signs saying “god will forgive you for your sins” and various quotes from the bible. We had about sixteen random other guys in the room so we tried to avoid it throughout the weekend, but this also made us explore and see all Amsterdam had to offer. That night we ended up walking around the Red Light district, exploring various shops and calling it a fairly early night.

The next morning we woke up really early, planning on going to the Van Gogh museum. After eating a fairly good and included breakfast at the hostel we attempted to make our way to the museum. Roughly two hours later we arrived and explored the various exhibits throughout the museum. The story of Van Gogh was actually really interesting and his artwork is really cool. After leaving the museum we went to a cafe and had some milkshakes before venturing off to a restaurant recommended to me; the Pancake Bakery. We ended up finding the place fairly easily and I can hands down say it was the best pancake I have ever eaten. Dutch pancakes are different their much thinner than American Pancakes, but thicker than a crepe. The Bakery’s pancakes were 14 inches wide and I got one with bananas, caramel, and powdered sugar on it. We ended up exploring more of the city and got a fresh caramelized sugar waffle to finish the night off.

The last day we planned on going to the Heineken Experience. This was kind of like a museum and the main brewery for Heineken, but we both didn’t really know what to expect. I was actually very impressed and would recommend any visitor to visit this place. After learning about the production of beer, they give you a fresh Heineken from the tap and quickly teach you the proper way to drink beer. Following the tasting, you have the opportunity to create various animated videos or humorous pictures of yourself or taste the various ingredients that go into their beer. My favorite part of the exhibit was at the end. The last part of the exhibit ends with you entering this huge bar where you receive two free beers and get to interact with other travelers in the bar. The beers were delicious and the atmosphere of the bar was really cool. For lunch we ate at this place called Wok to Wok, which allowed you to create your own box of lo mein noodles, it was insane. That night we ended up getting some more Chinese food for dinner and finished off the night with some drinks from a bar recommended by my friend. 

so much American food                  looking out on the city

the best pancake

Heineken Experience                    religious sign in the hostel

red light district                       the famous van gogh self-portrait

                                     Amsterdam

being a tourist ain’t always easy

Today in my Pairing Food & Wine class we took a trip to a Chianti wine maker in a Tuscan town fairly close to Florence. Having already been to a vineyard before, a lot of the info about making wine was basically a repeat. The guy who owned the vineyard was really nice and let us try FOUR different wines; 1 white, 2 reds, and 1 sweet wine. We also got to try some fresh olive oil that had just been made which was unlike any olive oil I have tasted before. After tasting different wines, we were given multiple breads with various spreads (such as artichoke, tomato/pepper, black/green olive, blackberry jam, etc.) that were made on the farm. I left stuffed, buzzed, and satisfied to say the least…a very successful trip, Ciao!   

Saw this at the Vatican Museum, looked cool

Rome was awesome! After a four hour bus ride we took a walking tour of the city. The first tour we did was of the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps and a few other sights. The sights were really cool and the Pantheon was really cool to look at. After the tour, I ventured around roam with a few people and visited the Venetian Palace, Giacolo (area overlooking Rome), and ate a delicious dinner. The Venetian Palace was really nice and the restaurant we ate at was awesome…these people we met recommended it to us and I ended up eating paper-cooked salmon with vegetables. That night we went to a pub called Scholar’s and saw a local live band play. The hotel we stayed in was really nice because this trip was through my program and their complimentary breakfast was nice after a long night at the bars.

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Navona Square                                 Venetian Palace

Venetian Palace

The next day we had our second tour which focused primarily on Vatican city. The tour started off at this old fortress that I can’t remember the name to, but it had sweet views of the city. We then went to Saint Peter’s Basilica, which I have to admit was one of the most unbelievable structures I have ever seen. The interior was literally mind blowing and it is one of the biggest basilicas in the world. After touring the Basilica, I ended up going to the Vatican museum and visiting the Sistine Chapel with a few people in my program. The architecture and artwork in the museum and chapel was insane. I thought architecture and artwork in Florence was unbelievable, but the chapel was literally mindblowing. We got these delicious paninis made for us before the tour that made me realize how much I’m gonna miss the food here when I come back. That night we went to this place called the Drunken Ship and lets just say it was a night that I will not remember…

overlooking the city

Vatican City (Saint Peter’s in the background)

                            inside the Basilica

altar in the Basilica

                              Inside Vatican Museum

Sistine Chapel                           Sunset in Rome

Our last day we ended up going to the Colleseum. It was a lot bigger than I expected and learning about the Gladiators was really cool. A little under a month left and I leave for Amsterdam Thursday morning, which I expect to be a fairly memorable experience. Ciao!

in the Colleseum

i saw this ‘duck’ sitting over a moat in Lucca

*EDIT* I guess its a ‘Muscovy’ Duck, never

           seen one before