Hey all!!
The past two weekends I spent in Perugia after an exhausting but exhilerating ten day vacation around Europe.
The weekend of the 5-8 I was lucky enough to have two of my close friends (and future apartment mates) join me in Perugia for the weekend: Kristen and Hannah. Hannah is studying in Budapest and Kristen is studying in London, I have visited them both so it was great to be able to host them in my city.
They arrived in Roma on Thursday night where I met them and we stayed with our 4th apt mate for back at SMC, Mary. We then hopped on a train back to Perugia early Friday morning in some of the most horrible weather I've had since arriving in Italy. Rain and cold and fog aside, we had a great train ride, arrived in Perugia where we dropped the bags and I took them on a tour of the city. After a great meal at the apartment that was a joint effort by all we went out with some friends for the night.
Again waking up early on Saturday we went down to the local farmers market that comes to Perugia every Saturday at the bottom of the mini-metro. Not only did we see fresh produce and meats and cheeses, but we saw shoes, and clothes as well as a travelling carnival (not unalike from the Marshvegas Fair.. . including the crazies that frequent it haha). Then we attempted to go to a local Rugby game but had gotten the dates messed up. Treking back up to the center (with a new *to us* one piece flourescent ski suit in tow) we went to one of our favorite pizza places in the center, Pizza Mediterranea for some great food and drink before returning to the apartment for a quick nap. That night we again went out with some friends walking around, in the rain, but still enjoying Perugia to the fullest.
Sunday morning, Kristen had a train to catch back to Roma for her flight so Hannah and I brought her to the train station only to find out that the trains had gone on strike for the day. Having never experienced this at a time where I had to get somewhere I didn't know where the bus station was, but luckily we located it and dropped her off in time for her to catch her flight, but not before getting caught in a hail storm. Hannah and I had plans to go to Assisi but between the train strike and the hail storm, we decided some indoor activities were in order.
Sunday night Hannah and I went to one of the only restaurants open on Sundays for a great meal and then met up with a few of my International friends for a quiet night before watching a movie and keeping warm inside. The following morning I brought Hannah to the train station, sad to see her go but happy to have shown her Perugia and looking forward to meeting her in Amsterdam in December!
This past weekend (Nov 13-15) I had a class day-trip to Spoleto on Friday. We woke up early and got on a bus (45 min) to the sleepy town of Spoleto home of many many Churches (appropriate since we were visitng for our Christianity class). Being led by our teacher and part-time tour guide he was in his element excited to tell as all about the history of this great city (which was very similar to the size and feel of Perugia but known for it's truffels *mushrooms not chocolate*). We went on a 3-4 hour tour of the city ending at the top of the enormous dam and ancient stone bridge that dated back thousands of years but was still in perfect condition, the views were unbelievable!
After our tour he set us lose on the city to find a place for lunch. We went to an amazing restaurant with a very lively waiter who loved entertaining us, his only customers on this rainy Friday. It was an unbelievable meal that had truffels in almost every dish! After filling ourselves up we all hopped back on the bus with one more church on the outskirts of the city to visit before returning to Perugia in the early afternoon.
This weekend the majority of the Umbra students were on another overnight fieldtrip so all of the kids in my class decided to meet up that night (Friday) for some fun with our Christianity class, it was a great night!
Getting to really sleep in for the first time in a while on Saturday was a welcome surprise, however I knew I had work to do for some papers coming up, and with the family joining me this coming weekend I knew I had to get some of it out of the way so I headed up to the school where I got a bunch of work done before joining a friend for dinner at his apartment before going out with him and his roomates and his friend from his college, who happened to be from Cambridge! It was great to see a fellow Bostonian :)
Sunday again was a work day followed by a great dinner of pasta with veggies and pesto had between my two friends and I and then a movie night again keeping warm out of the rainy weather!!
All in all it was a great two weekends in Peruiga and I'm sooo looking forward to Mom, Dad, Christine, Paul, and Thomas joining me in only a matter of days!! I'll keep you all posted of our family adventures! Peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fall Break Part IV: Vienna
After a nine hour train ride full of new Bavarian friends, naps, and crazy German children running around, I finally got off in Vienna to be met by Anne (one of my friends from elementary school) and her roomate from college who are both studying in Vienna for the semester. Getting in around 9 oclock we decided to do a little bit of night time sightseeing (everything lit up is always gorgeous) on our way to dinner. Anne brought me to all the places that I would be visiting in more depth the following day and then led the way to one of the most famous restaurants in Vienna where we had the specialty of Austria, wienerschnitzel with potatoe salad. It was awesome food!
After dinner we did some more walking and then took the train/tram to her apartment which was on the outskirts of the city. After talking and catching up and then skyping with her family, we went to bed as we both had early days ahead of us (me sightseeing before my night train back to Rome and Anne's overnight trip to Prague).
We woke up early showered and left to go to the trainstation where I reserved my couchette for that night and they bought their tickets to Prague. Also, I had a great croissant at an Austrian pastry chain before leaving them and heading back to the center for some sightseeing. I started at the main church where I realized mass was about to be said so I decided that it was an opportune time to have some cultural immersion. After mass I went and got a coffee and wandered around looking at the summer palace of the Hapsburg Empire and other various sites. Around lunch time I was not only hungry but cold (as the fall weather had taken a turn towards winter) and I found myself at a local bar that looked like it was full of locals, so the food must be good. I grabbed a bite and ate in the Italian fashion (taking my time reading a book and just realxing and warming up). After this I walked around some more getting some great photos as well as some postcards to send home to friends and family. As night set in (earlier and earlier after daylight savings) I made my way back to the international train station where I hopped on my overnight train to Roma and for the last two days of my fall break!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
After dinner we did some more walking and then took the train/tram to her apartment which was on the outskirts of the city. After talking and catching up and then skyping with her family, we went to bed as we both had early days ahead of us (me sightseeing before my night train back to Rome and Anne's overnight trip to Prague).
We woke up early showered and left to go to the trainstation where I reserved my couchette for that night and they bought their tickets to Prague. Also, I had a great croissant at an Austrian pastry chain before leaving them and heading back to the center for some sightseeing. I started at the main church where I realized mass was about to be said so I decided that it was an opportune time to have some cultural immersion. After mass I went and got a coffee and wandered around looking at the summer palace of the Hapsburg Empire and other various sites. Around lunch time I was not only hungry but cold (as the fall weather had taken a turn towards winter) and I found myself at a local bar that looked like it was full of locals, so the food must be good. I grabbed a bite and ate in the Italian fashion (taking my time reading a book and just realxing and warming up). After this I walked around some more getting some great photos as well as some postcards to send home to friends and family. As night set in (earlier and earlier after daylight savings) I made my way back to the international train station where I hopped on my overnight train to Roma and for the last two days of my fall break!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
Fall Break Part II: Frankfurt and Mainz
Wednesday morning early, I departed from the Paris international train terminal and started my journey to Frankfurt where I was going to be meeting up with family friends from my Dad's side (Katharina and her family). I got in around noon-time and Katharina was there waiting for me on the platform! We started to walk around the city and she had planned a little walking tour of Frankfurt which was a suprisingly small city. After seeing some of the major sites (churches, bridges etc.) we sat down to a light lunch of bratwurst and frenchfries. We did some more touring, making sure to see the opera house and then headed home to her hometown which was a small German "village" right outside of Frankfurt.
As we walked up from the car (her dad had picked us up from the train station) her mom and brother came out to greet us and the first thing she noticed was that I "had a Guinee face". It was great to be with some great friends again for a night of great food, conversation, and great people. Her mom made us a traditional German meal that is one of Katharina's favorites of: salmon, spinache, rice, and a really great garlic cream sauce. The food was awesome and the company even better. After a great meal Katharina and I just had a relaxed night leaving only to get some "kinder chocolate" to bring home for the family.
In the morning we woke up early because Katharina was going to be driving back to school so we ate breakfast together and then her parents took me to the historical city of Mainz, home of Gutenburg and the first printing press. Although it was not the greatest of weather we walked around seeing the various churches and other sites. Additionally we ended up going to the Gutenburg musem where I got to see some of the very first Gutenburg bibles as well as some handwritten Bibles from before the printing press. After a nice lunch the VanWickerens dropped me off at the train station in Mainz and saw me off as I left for Vienna. It was a great trip to Germany, although I wish I could have stayed longer. . . but just another reason to come back!!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
As we walked up from the car (her dad had picked us up from the train station) her mom and brother came out to greet us and the first thing she noticed was that I "had a Guinee face". It was great to be with some great friends again for a night of great food, conversation, and great people. Her mom made us a traditional German meal that is one of Katharina's favorites of: salmon, spinache, rice, and a really great garlic cream sauce. The food was awesome and the company even better. After a great meal Katharina and I just had a relaxed night leaving only to get some "kinder chocolate" to bring home for the family.
In the morning we woke up early because Katharina was going to be driving back to school so we ate breakfast together and then her parents took me to the historical city of Mainz, home of Gutenburg and the first printing press. Although it was not the greatest of weather we walked around seeing the various churches and other sites. Additionally we ended up going to the Gutenburg musem where I got to see some of the very first Gutenburg bibles as well as some handwritten Bibles from before the printing press. After a nice lunch the VanWickerens dropped me off at the train station in Mainz and saw me off as I left for Vienna. It was a great trip to Germany, although I wish I could have stayed longer. . . but just another reason to come back!!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
Fall Break Part II: Paris
Arriving late on Sunday afternoon into Paris Gare du Nord Station, I started the trek to my friend Virginia's apartment where I'd be meeting her after she arrived home from a trip to Barcelona. Virginia (a friend I've known since elementary school) has been studying in a full immersion program in Paris, living with a French family and taking classes in French so this was going to be another great experience.
I arrived at 8 and met her at the train station closest to her apartment. We walked home together excited to see each other after 2 months!! We arrived at her aparment which was set up awesome, especially for being right in the city. The house was in the shape of a "U" with a courtyard in the center. To the right as you walked in was the door to the main part of the house with a kitchen/living room on the first floor and bedrooms for all the family members on top (Mother, Father, three brothers aged 17, 22, 25). To the left as you entered was Virginia's little "flat". She has her own room with a little kitchenette and her own bathroom, it was an ideal set up while still keeping the "family vibe".
Her host mother, a wonderfully gracious frenchwoman had prepared a great meal for all of us and we sat down shortly after arriving. Only one son was home (one out and the other leaving for his own fall break) but dinner was awesome. Speaking a combination of english, italian, and french we had a lively discussion about everything possible, her host mother, father, and brother so kind to share their home and meal with me, it was a great first night in Paris.
Though it was great timing for me to visit (seeing as I was on break) Virginia was in the midst of mid-terms, so I had some great sightseeing days ahead of me but unfortunately Virginia had a lot of studying to do during the day. So she helped me figure out all the sites I wanted to see and set me up with a guidebook and a map and I was off.
Day one started at the Louvre. Though I had already been inside I still wanted to see the beautiful gardens and of course the glass pyramid. Walking down the road I went in search of Notre Dame. Walking along the Seine on a beautiful fall day I couldn't believe my luck as to the weather. Aside from the day in Brighton, this trip was shaping up to be full of beautiful weather, great sites, and great people. Walking along, I grabbed a traditional baguette sandwich from a local boulangerie and continued to walk in what I thought was the direction to Notre Dame. Finally realizing that I had walked slightly in the wrong direction I readjusted my path and found myself staring up at the beautiful example of Gothic Architexture known as Notre Dame.
Notre Dame was an unbelievably serene place despite the hundreds and hundreds of tourists. After Notre Dame, I went on my way to another well-known landmark in Paris, La Tour Eiffel. Taking many photos of the Tower itself and the other sites surrounding the area (all of which should be posted on my photobucket sometime this week) I just couldn't believe how beautiful everything was.
Finishing off my day before meeting up with Virginia for dinner, I made my way over to L'arc D'Triomphe and the Champs D'Elysees. Walking down the Camps D'Elysees towards the L'arc D'Triomphe as the last rays of fall sun fell, my first day in Paris was great, but not over yet. I met up with Virginia and we went and grabbed a bite to eat at a local Creperie and we ate and then went back to her apartment where she had some studying to get done so I thought I'd take advantage of the still beautiful fall weather and go see some of the sites lit up at night, most especially the light show at the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful end to a great day.
Tuesday I got to sleep a little bit later for the first time in my travels, attempted to register for classes, and the met with Virginia for lunch at Luxembourg Gardens. Despite the fall weather, the Gardens were still in full bloom, and with the warm mid-day sun we had great weather to walk and talk and eat, especially enjoying the Medici Fountain that is a famous fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens.
I then took again my trusty map and the Paris tour book Virginia had lent me I decided to do a self-guided tour of Montmartre including Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. Virginia had just finished the last of her hard mid-terms so we met back at the apartment, cooked a nice little meal on her hot plate and then met up with some of her friends from school and two girls from my program back in Perugia who were also visitng Paris for a night out on the town Parisen style! Coming home, I packed my things up and got ready for the train ride to Frankfurt that I had to look forward to the next day.
Peace and love to you all!
xoxo aisling
I arrived at 8 and met her at the train station closest to her apartment. We walked home together excited to see each other after 2 months!! We arrived at her aparment which was set up awesome, especially for being right in the city. The house was in the shape of a "U" with a courtyard in the center. To the right as you walked in was the door to the main part of the house with a kitchen/living room on the first floor and bedrooms for all the family members on top (Mother, Father, three brothers aged 17, 22, 25). To the left as you entered was Virginia's little "flat". She has her own room with a little kitchenette and her own bathroom, it was an ideal set up while still keeping the "family vibe".
Her host mother, a wonderfully gracious frenchwoman had prepared a great meal for all of us and we sat down shortly after arriving. Only one son was home (one out and the other leaving for his own fall break) but dinner was awesome. Speaking a combination of english, italian, and french we had a lively discussion about everything possible, her host mother, father, and brother so kind to share their home and meal with me, it was a great first night in Paris.
Though it was great timing for me to visit (seeing as I was on break) Virginia was in the midst of mid-terms, so I had some great sightseeing days ahead of me but unfortunately Virginia had a lot of studying to do during the day. So she helped me figure out all the sites I wanted to see and set me up with a guidebook and a map and I was off.
Day one started at the Louvre. Though I had already been inside I still wanted to see the beautiful gardens and of course the glass pyramid. Walking down the road I went in search of Notre Dame. Walking along the Seine on a beautiful fall day I couldn't believe my luck as to the weather. Aside from the day in Brighton, this trip was shaping up to be full of beautiful weather, great sites, and great people. Walking along, I grabbed a traditional baguette sandwich from a local boulangerie and continued to walk in what I thought was the direction to Notre Dame. Finally realizing that I had walked slightly in the wrong direction I readjusted my path and found myself staring up at the beautiful example of Gothic Architexture known as Notre Dame.
Notre Dame was an unbelievably serene place despite the hundreds and hundreds of tourists. After Notre Dame, I went on my way to another well-known landmark in Paris, La Tour Eiffel. Taking many photos of the Tower itself and the other sites surrounding the area (all of which should be posted on my photobucket sometime this week) I just couldn't believe how beautiful everything was.
Finishing off my day before meeting up with Virginia for dinner, I made my way over to L'arc D'Triomphe and the Champs D'Elysees. Walking down the Camps D'Elysees towards the L'arc D'Triomphe as the last rays of fall sun fell, my first day in Paris was great, but not over yet. I met up with Virginia and we went and grabbed a bite to eat at a local Creperie and we ate and then went back to her apartment where she had some studying to get done so I thought I'd take advantage of the still beautiful fall weather and go see some of the sites lit up at night, most especially the light show at the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful end to a great day.
Tuesday I got to sleep a little bit later for the first time in my travels, attempted to register for classes, and the met with Virginia for lunch at Luxembourg Gardens. Despite the fall weather, the Gardens were still in full bloom, and with the warm mid-day sun we had great weather to walk and talk and eat, especially enjoying the Medici Fountain that is a famous fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens.
I then took again my trusty map and the Paris tour book Virginia had lent me I decided to do a self-guided tour of Montmartre including Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. Virginia had just finished the last of her hard mid-terms so we met back at the apartment, cooked a nice little meal on her hot plate and then met up with some of her friends from school and two girls from my program back in Perugia who were also visitng Paris for a night out on the town Parisen style! Coming home, I packed my things up and got ready for the train ride to Frankfurt that I had to look forward to the next day.
Peace and love to you all!
xoxo aisling
Fall Break Part I: London/Brighton
HeyEveryone!!!
So I finally got my act together to write about my ten day Fall break. I started on Thursday afternoon the 22 of October taking the train to Rome and then to the Fiumicino Aeroporto where I got on my flight (easyjet) to England. Flying into London late Thursday night I was meeting my friend Kristen who also goes to SMC and is studying abroad in London for the semester. I met her at her tube stop (Olde Street) and we went back to her flat that she shares with other British students that attend her University. The following morning we got up early had breakfast and left to do some sightseeing. We started the day over near Notting Hill and the Portobello Road Market. Starting at one end and walking all the way to the opposite end, we walked up and down looking at the myriad of things being sold from old door knockers to tea sets to clothes and everything in between. After Portobello Market, we found a pub and sat down to a late lunch. Following lunch, we made our way over to Trafalgar Square. We both tried to climb onto the backs of the Lions in the center of Trafalgar Square but found that we weren't quite as limber as the little kids doing that, so we climbed up the front of the Lion (with some help from some nice British folk) and took a few pictures before climbing down in search of a coffee. Finding outselves at a starbucks, I had my first "American Size" coffee since arriving in Italy and it was great. Re-energized we did some more searching and found some nice Red Telephone Booths to take some pictures in, and then meandered over to Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace/Princess Diana Monument. After a long day of sightseeing we made dinner together at her flat and then went to Picadilly Circus on the tube for a night out in London.
After my first day in London, we had planned a day trip to Brighton (a small sea-side town a 2 hr bus ride away) leaving at 6:30 in the morning from the bus station that was 45 minutes from her flat. . . needless to say we slept the whole way to Brighton. Waking up in this sleepy village, we realized that the weather was working against us as it was extremely foggy and rainy and cold, but we were going to make the best of it! We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe which was an experience in and of itself. What we thought would be a nice breakfast sandwich and coffee (advertised as the 'breakfast sandwich deal') ended up being two pieces of bread with sausage in the middle. . . not my idea of a breakfast of champions, but still we ventured onwards. Going to the tourist office near the Palace, we looked around at all of the sites in the immediate area and then sought shelter from the rain in the free museum of Brighton. The museum had some great exhibits and was really interesting.
After the museum, we attempted to walk down to the waterfront just to see the old boardwalks, but the rain ended that plan and we went to the local Brighton Pub and grabbed a nice hot lunch and again sought shelter inside. After a filling lunch of fish and chips (perfect choice in the seaside town) we finally saw some sun peaking out from behind the clouds and we walked down towards the seaside and took some pictures with the stormy ocean (being careful not to get hit by the waves that threatened to soak us every 20 seconds!!) Finally we made our way back to the bus station and started our journey home.
My final day in London, I packed up my backpack (my sole piece of luggage for the ten day trip) and went to the London Bridge/Tower of London area on the River. A beautiful day we walked around before heading to King's Cross Station (site of Platform 9 3/4 for those Harry Potter fans out there) and I said my goodbyes as I went through customs to get on my train headed for Paris ! A great trip in the UK and I was on my way to the second leg of my trip!!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
So I finally got my act together to write about my ten day Fall break. I started on Thursday afternoon the 22 of October taking the train to Rome and then to the Fiumicino Aeroporto where I got on my flight (easyjet) to England. Flying into London late Thursday night I was meeting my friend Kristen who also goes to SMC and is studying abroad in London for the semester. I met her at her tube stop (Olde Street) and we went back to her flat that she shares with other British students that attend her University. The following morning we got up early had breakfast and left to do some sightseeing. We started the day over near Notting Hill and the Portobello Road Market. Starting at one end and walking all the way to the opposite end, we walked up and down looking at the myriad of things being sold from old door knockers to tea sets to clothes and everything in between. After Portobello Market, we found a pub and sat down to a late lunch. Following lunch, we made our way over to Trafalgar Square. We both tried to climb onto the backs of the Lions in the center of Trafalgar Square but found that we weren't quite as limber as the little kids doing that, so we climbed up the front of the Lion (with some help from some nice British folk) and took a few pictures before climbing down in search of a coffee. Finding outselves at a starbucks, I had my first "American Size" coffee since arriving in Italy and it was great. Re-energized we did some more searching and found some nice Red Telephone Booths to take some pictures in, and then meandered over to Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace/Princess Diana Monument. After a long day of sightseeing we made dinner together at her flat and then went to Picadilly Circus on the tube for a night out in London.
After my first day in London, we had planned a day trip to Brighton (a small sea-side town a 2 hr bus ride away) leaving at 6:30 in the morning from the bus station that was 45 minutes from her flat. . . needless to say we slept the whole way to Brighton. Waking up in this sleepy village, we realized that the weather was working against us as it was extremely foggy and rainy and cold, but we were going to make the best of it! We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe which was an experience in and of itself. What we thought would be a nice breakfast sandwich and coffee (advertised as the 'breakfast sandwich deal') ended up being two pieces of bread with sausage in the middle. . . not my idea of a breakfast of champions, but still we ventured onwards. Going to the tourist office near the Palace, we looked around at all of the sites in the immediate area and then sought shelter from the rain in the free museum of Brighton. The museum had some great exhibits and was really interesting.
After the museum, we attempted to walk down to the waterfront just to see the old boardwalks, but the rain ended that plan and we went to the local Brighton Pub and grabbed a nice hot lunch and again sought shelter inside. After a filling lunch of fish and chips (perfect choice in the seaside town) we finally saw some sun peaking out from behind the clouds and we walked down towards the seaside and took some pictures with the stormy ocean (being careful not to get hit by the waves that threatened to soak us every 20 seconds!!) Finally we made our way back to the bus station and started our journey home.
My final day in London, I packed up my backpack (my sole piece of luggage for the ten day trip) and went to the London Bridge/Tower of London area on the River. A beautiful day we walked around before heading to King's Cross Station (site of Platform 9 3/4 for those Harry Potter fans out there) and I said my goodbyes as I went through customs to get on my train headed for Paris ! A great trip in the UK and I was on my way to the second leg of my trip!!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Mid-terms/Fall Break
Hey Everyone!!!
Hope everyone is keeping warm in this frigid weather. This weekend was the start of the Eurochocolate festival and it's just been absolutely crazy. Not once in my whole time in Perugia have I seen this many people. . . however the chocolate makes it worth it. If you think you've had chocolate before. . . you haven't unti you've had some of this chocolate! It's been amazing, and having some SMC friends come in for Sat/Sun made the weekend even more special.
This week is mid-terms. I took Italian last week, but this week I've had the rest of my finals culminating with my last one tommorow. . . Christianity. Taking a break from studying to write this blog entry and to start thinking about packing for my ten-day backpacking trip that starts on Th afternoon, I'm starting to realize that it'll be weird to be away from Perugia for this long. Perugia has become my home away from home, and it'll be weird not to see the locals and just be in this beautiful city for longer than a few days.
The break will begin on Th afternoon when I take the train into Rome to then get myself over to the airport to hop on a flight to London, where my friend Kristen from school will meet me for a few days in London and a day trip to Brighton! Then I'll day trip to Brussels on Sunday before heading to Paris for a few days with my friend Virginia from Cohasset. After Paris, I'll head to Munich to visit some family friends (Katharina). Munich will lead into a quick stop in Salzburg for the day followed by two days in Vienna. The trip will end with Halloween in Rome with some friends from home! It'll be a great way to end such an amazing week of travelling :) Can't wait to share the pictures and more of my adventures upon my return!
Peace and Love to you all :)
xoxo Aisling
Hope everyone is keeping warm in this frigid weather. This weekend was the start of the Eurochocolate festival and it's just been absolutely crazy. Not once in my whole time in Perugia have I seen this many people. . . however the chocolate makes it worth it. If you think you've had chocolate before. . . you haven't unti you've had some of this chocolate! It's been amazing, and having some SMC friends come in for Sat/Sun made the weekend even more special.
This week is mid-terms. I took Italian last week, but this week I've had the rest of my finals culminating with my last one tommorow. . . Christianity. Taking a break from studying to write this blog entry and to start thinking about packing for my ten-day backpacking trip that starts on Th afternoon, I'm starting to realize that it'll be weird to be away from Perugia for this long. Perugia has become my home away from home, and it'll be weird not to see the locals and just be in this beautiful city for longer than a few days.
The break will begin on Th afternoon when I take the train into Rome to then get myself over to the airport to hop on a flight to London, where my friend Kristen from school will meet me for a few days in London and a day trip to Brighton! Then I'll day trip to Brussels on Sunday before heading to Paris for a few days with my friend Virginia from Cohasset. After Paris, I'll head to Munich to visit some family friends (Katharina). Munich will lead into a quick stop in Salzburg for the day followed by two days in Vienna. The trip will end with Halloween in Rome with some friends from home! It'll be a great way to end such an amazing week of travelling :) Can't wait to share the pictures and more of my adventures upon my return!
Peace and Love to you all :)
xoxo Aisling
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Eurochocolate!
Hey all!
This weekend eurochocolate hits Perugia! Starting on Friday and going for the following 10 days, there will be 100s of booths set up in the three main piazzas in Perugia selling some of the best chocolate not only from Italy but from all of Europe. Needless to say, with the stress of mid-terms coming this week, the chocolate festival is going to be a safehaven for almsot all the U mbra students!
For the start of the festival I have some friends from SMC who are studying in Rome joining me in celebrating chocolate, but also I hope to fit in a day trip to either Florence, Assisi, or Gubbio. We're thinking Florence because the weather lately has been frigid! Whoever said Italy didn't get that cold was clearly mistaken. The wind from Russia apprently has a straight shot down into Perugia making for some very cold afternoons, and some freezing slumbers seeing as the heat isn't allowed to be turned on in Italy until Nov 1st!!!! Here's to hoping that the weather gets a little nicer (although with forecasts of snow for the weekend it is doubtful!) Peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
This weekend eurochocolate hits Perugia! Starting on Friday and going for the following 10 days, there will be 100s of booths set up in the three main piazzas in Perugia selling some of the best chocolate not only from Italy but from all of Europe. Needless to say, with the stress of mid-terms coming this week, the chocolate festival is going to be a safehaven for almsot all the U mbra students!
For the start of the festival I have some friends from SMC who are studying in Rome joining me in celebrating chocolate, but also I hope to fit in a day trip to either Florence, Assisi, or Gubbio. We're thinking Florence because the weather lately has been frigid! Whoever said Italy didn't get that cold was clearly mistaken. The wind from Russia apprently has a straight shot down into Perugia making for some very cold afternoons, and some freezing slumbers seeing as the heat isn't allowed to be turned on in Italy until Nov 1st!!!! Here's to hoping that the weather gets a little nicer (although with forecasts of snow for the weekend it is doubtful!) Peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Budapest!
Hey all,
Hope your weeks treated you well. Although I'm sitting here severly disapointed in my beloved red sox for their loss today, I can't help but be happy after an amazing weekend spent in Budapest. As most of you know junior year is the year to study abroad, so a lot of my friends from both college and high school are abroad right now, so it is the perfect situation for visiting lots of different places while getting the chance to see friends,
This Thursday, I took the train to Rome and met my friend Mary (from St. Mike's) and one of her friends, Jamie at the Fiumucino Airport in Rome. From there, we took the wonderful Wizzair discount airlines to Budapest, Hungary where Hannah another friend from college met us at the airport and whisked us away to her apartment right in downtown Budapest (actually in downtown Pest). Her apartment is situated only a few blocks from the main Basilica in Budapest and right near a lot of the major historical sites, as well as extremely close to the Danube, the River that runs straight through Budapest dividing it into the Buda and the Pest sides.
After arriving at her aparment we went to a local bar down the street to meet up with some of her friends, who are just as diverse in regards to their nationality as my friends in perugia are. She has friends from France, US, Germany, Hungary and many other countires. It's a great experience to hang out and talk to people from so many different places with so many backgrounds and it was also great to be back with Hannah !
We went to bed and woke up the next morning ready to go. Craving an iced coffee that is bigger than a shot (which is legitamately impossible to find in Italy!) Hannah, her roomate Claire, Mary, Jamie and I all went to California Coffee House right down the street from her house and had an iced coffee as we got ready for a day of sightseeing.
We started the day off at St. Stephen's Basilica right near her house. It is one of the oldest in all of Budapest and aside from the Parliament building is the tallest building on the Pest side of the river. The Basilica is very different from any of the churches that I've visited so far in Italy, especially in regards to architexture, but also because the whole Basilica was made in honor of St. Stephen and was given special dispensation from the Papacy to have a statue of St. Stephen at the front of the Church instead of Christ. St. Stephen was so important because he was the first Christian King of the area and the Patron Saint of the Church. The Basilica was beautiful, but before leaving we had to view the "holy right". Hannah said it was a must see and as we made our way to the back of the Church, I was really intrigued by what this "holy right" could be. As we entered a small room at the back of the Basilica, I saw a group of tourists crowded around a glass box that held. . . the right hand of St. Stephen and is considered Hungarian Catholocism's most holy relic.
After the Basilica we had to go get what we needed to make Hungarian goulash that night, so we went to the marketplace. It is similar to the size of Fanueil Hall in Boston but is just all open stands that sell fresh fruit, vegetables, homemade baked goods, preserves, meat, cheeses, and most imporantly paprika. We gathered meat, potatoes, goulash paste, carrots, parsnip, peppers, onions, and paprika and a fresh loaf of bread and brought everything back to the apartment for our cooking adventure later that evening.
We then got the awesome opportunity to join Hannah on one of her program's guided tours (there are only seven kids on her program and three were travelling this weekend so we were allowed to hop on the tour for free!). It was an unbelievable 3 1/2 hour walking tour of the 8th district in Budapest. The 8th District Hannah had described as one of the places that wasn't recommended for tourists to go to, but since we had a local guide that it was going to be a really interesting tour, and suprisingly beautiful and full of historical value! I have a bunch of new photos from this posted on my photobucket so check it out!
After going on the tour we went back to the apartment to start the goulash! We slow cooked the goulash and in the meantime went on a night time boat cruise on the Danube. It was fantastic, although the actual guided part of it was a little strange (the narrator was the Danube. . . ) it was still great and Hannah supplemented where we needed it. Later after eating the delicious homemade goulash, we went to a local club where we danced the night away with some of her friends from the program as well as her many international friends!
We woke up early the next morning with big plans for the day. We went first for breakfast at the local pastry chain called Princess. . . it was amazing. We then walked around Budapest for a little bit waiting for Hannah's roomates and friends to meet us before we hit up the thermal baths. We got to the thermal baths, but not before walking through the World Fair Grounds which were a perfect example of every type of Hungarian architexture, it was great to see. We fianlly made it to the baths and spent two hours in heaven. Every temperature and every style bath ever was available along with various steam rooms. It was sooo relaxing after weeks of travel, intense school work and just day-to-day stress! My favorite was the pool that was a pool inside of a pool where they alternately either were a jacuzzi in the middle or a whirlpool on the outside that spun you around faster than you could imagine it was great!
After the baths we went to hit up one of the local specialties at the Castle grounds . . palinka and sausage! We went to the palinka festival where we were given a free tasting glass as well as a few free tickets to purchase food and drink! Along with gypsy music and great food it was a great end to our trip to Budapest! We had great food, great people, great drinks, and great music. . . I couldn't have asked for anything more!
Now that I'm back in Perugia with the cold weather and rain it is great to think back to our great weekend in Budapest and look forward to enjoying the EuroChocolate festival (10 days of chocolate heaven) that will be hitting Perugia on Friday along with many SMC girls from Rome :) Look foward to my pictures from next week!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling <3
Hope your weeks treated you well. Although I'm sitting here severly disapointed in my beloved red sox for their loss today, I can't help but be happy after an amazing weekend spent in Budapest. As most of you know junior year is the year to study abroad, so a lot of my friends from both college and high school are abroad right now, so it is the perfect situation for visiting lots of different places while getting the chance to see friends,
This Thursday, I took the train to Rome and met my friend Mary (from St. Mike's) and one of her friends, Jamie at the Fiumucino Airport in Rome. From there, we took the wonderful Wizzair discount airlines to Budapest, Hungary where Hannah another friend from college met us at the airport and whisked us away to her apartment right in downtown Budapest (actually in downtown Pest). Her apartment is situated only a few blocks from the main Basilica in Budapest and right near a lot of the major historical sites, as well as extremely close to the Danube, the River that runs straight through Budapest dividing it into the Buda and the Pest sides.
After arriving at her aparment we went to a local bar down the street to meet up with some of her friends, who are just as diverse in regards to their nationality as my friends in perugia are. She has friends from France, US, Germany, Hungary and many other countires. It's a great experience to hang out and talk to people from so many different places with so many backgrounds and it was also great to be back with Hannah !
We went to bed and woke up the next morning ready to go. Craving an iced coffee that is bigger than a shot (which is legitamately impossible to find in Italy!) Hannah, her roomate Claire, Mary, Jamie and I all went to California Coffee House right down the street from her house and had an iced coffee as we got ready for a day of sightseeing.
We started the day off at St. Stephen's Basilica right near her house. It is one of the oldest in all of Budapest and aside from the Parliament building is the tallest building on the Pest side of the river. The Basilica is very different from any of the churches that I've visited so far in Italy, especially in regards to architexture, but also because the whole Basilica was made in honor of St. Stephen and was given special dispensation from the Papacy to have a statue of St. Stephen at the front of the Church instead of Christ. St. Stephen was so important because he was the first Christian King of the area and the Patron Saint of the Church. The Basilica was beautiful, but before leaving we had to view the "holy right". Hannah said it was a must see and as we made our way to the back of the Church, I was really intrigued by what this "holy right" could be. As we entered a small room at the back of the Basilica, I saw a group of tourists crowded around a glass box that held. . . the right hand of St. Stephen and is considered Hungarian Catholocism's most holy relic.
After the Basilica we had to go get what we needed to make Hungarian goulash that night, so we went to the marketplace. It is similar to the size of Fanueil Hall in Boston but is just all open stands that sell fresh fruit, vegetables, homemade baked goods, preserves, meat, cheeses, and most imporantly paprika. We gathered meat, potatoes, goulash paste, carrots, parsnip, peppers, onions, and paprika and a fresh loaf of bread and brought everything back to the apartment for our cooking adventure later that evening.
We then got the awesome opportunity to join Hannah on one of her program's guided tours (there are only seven kids on her program and three were travelling this weekend so we were allowed to hop on the tour for free!). It was an unbelievable 3 1/2 hour walking tour of the 8th district in Budapest. The 8th District Hannah had described as one of the places that wasn't recommended for tourists to go to, but since we had a local guide that it was going to be a really interesting tour, and suprisingly beautiful and full of historical value! I have a bunch of new photos from this posted on my photobucket so check it out!
After going on the tour we went back to the apartment to start the goulash! We slow cooked the goulash and in the meantime went on a night time boat cruise on the Danube. It was fantastic, although the actual guided part of it was a little strange (the narrator was the Danube. . . ) it was still great and Hannah supplemented where we needed it. Later after eating the delicious homemade goulash, we went to a local club where we danced the night away with some of her friends from the program as well as her many international friends!
We woke up early the next morning with big plans for the day. We went first for breakfast at the local pastry chain called Princess. . . it was amazing. We then walked around Budapest for a little bit waiting for Hannah's roomates and friends to meet us before we hit up the thermal baths. We got to the thermal baths, but not before walking through the World Fair Grounds which were a perfect example of every type of Hungarian architexture, it was great to see. We fianlly made it to the baths and spent two hours in heaven. Every temperature and every style bath ever was available along with various steam rooms. It was sooo relaxing after weeks of travel, intense school work and just day-to-day stress! My favorite was the pool that was a pool inside of a pool where they alternately either were a jacuzzi in the middle or a whirlpool on the outside that spun you around faster than you could imagine it was great!
After the baths we went to hit up one of the local specialties at the Castle grounds . . palinka and sausage! We went to the palinka festival where we were given a free tasting glass as well as a few free tickets to purchase food and drink! Along with gypsy music and great food it was a great end to our trip to Budapest! We had great food, great people, great drinks, and great music. . . I couldn't have asked for anything more!
Now that I'm back in Perugia with the cold weather and rain it is great to think back to our great weekend in Budapest and look forward to enjoying the EuroChocolate festival (10 days of chocolate heaven) that will be hitting Perugia on Friday along with many SMC girls from Rome :) Look foward to my pictures from next week!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling <3
Monday, October 5, 2009
Weekend in Roma
I spent this past weekend visitng my friend Mary from St. Michael's in Rome. Even though I saw her just last weekend, it was great to see her for a couple of days. I arrived in Rome on Thursday afternoon and waited for Mary to get out of class at her apartment. That night we were going to have a homemade pizza meal by some guy friends we had made the previous week when I was visitng Rome. However, the flu got the better of our chef for the evening, and he had to call in sick, so our other friends joined us for some take out pizza. Eating outside on the deck with good food, people, and atmosphere we had a great night.
We awoke early the following day to go to a small countryside town called Tarquinia. It was a great day of sun, historical tours of the city, tour of a local vinyard, and a full course meal put on by the vinyard's restaurant. We arrived in Tarquinina and were given the option to either do the tour on bike or on foot. Due to my ankle, I opted for the foot tour, which actually ended up being the better option as I was able to get much more pictures taken of this beautiful historical town. It reminded me of Perugia but even more historically beautiful. Full of churches, old buildings that boasted full-wall frescoes and murals as well as beautiful fountains it was almost like we were in a town preserved from hundreds of years ago.
After the tour we were given some free time to roam the city. The weather was beautiful (as it has been since we arrived) and it was great just to sit in the sun and take in the beautiful weather.
After our free time, the bike riders still had a little bit of a ride left so the walkers departed for the agriturismo which is a combination of a farm/vinyard/hotel/spa/restaurant. It's really just a one-stop shop for everything you could need on vacation.
We were given tour of the vinyards where we got to taste the various grapes and find out which types of wines go along with them. Additionally we were allowed to taste them and learn how to pick them and how they are used to make the wine. After they took us on the tour, we had some free time to sit by the poolside and relax until it was time for the unbelievable dinner.
They provided us with a full meal provided solely by food and drink made on the farm. We had bruschetta, homemade antipasto platter, vegetable lasagna, potatoes, salad, chicken, and an interesting dessert that i'm still not sure what it's called. All in all it was a fantastic day out in the Tuscan countryside.
That night we went out and hung out with some of Mary's roomates and other people in her program. It was great to hang out with some other American's, since in Perugia even finding people in our program on a weekend night is impossible with the number of kids out in the piazza. They were so welcoming and it was great to meet all the people Mary has been living with.
The next day we spent a day just hanging out. We went food shopping for a big group dinner we were going to have that night. Walked around trastevere (the area where she lives in Rome). Hung out and did a little homework and just relaxed on her porch in the beautiful weather talking and listening to great music. We started making the dinner around 6 and ate at 7:30 with a bunch of the other SMC girls that are studying with her through John Cabot University. It was a great meal again (how can it not be great being in Italy) and then went out dancing. Kebabs were in order on our way home from the dance club. . . and I'm pretty sure we succeeded in finding the best kebab place in all of Rome!
Sunday was to be my last day in Rome so Mary and I walked around and did some sightseeing. We saw Dante's house and a few beautiful churches and ruins. We then went to a place that served real american breakfast!! Eating a bacon egg and cheese (even if it was actually pancetta and served on focaccia) was a great end to the weekend. As I packed up to leave I was sad to leave mary, but excited to get back to perugia where things are cheaper and life is just slower. As I walked to the bus stop, I heard some fireworks being set off, and I was extremely confused. Little did I know I was going to experience my first horrible public transportation experience since I'd been in Italy.
As I sat down to wait for the bus (which shouldn't have been more than 15 minutes at any point in the day) all of a sudden more fireworks were set off and i could hear a band off in the distance. Next, some police officers rolled up and began directing traffic away from one of the streets that was perpendicular to the one I was on. All of a sudden, an enormous parade of people started coming down the street, and at this point, traffic came to a complete stop! At this point I was panicked there were only two viable options and I wasn't sure I'd make either of them. The bus finally showed up after an hour and 20 minutes of waiting and as I made my way to the train station, there was only one train left on my schedule that could work. I made it to the train station and had an hour to spare so I went to McDonalds to get some free wifi to let mary know I made it ok. Little did I know, that the train i thought was scheduled to be free with my eurail had changed times and had changed to a eurostar train making it an extra 30 euro, which I did not have. This mademy option easy, I was staying another night in Rome and taking the earliest train back to perugia on monday.
A great weekend in Rome with an interesting end and now I'm off and running on another busy week of school, that will culminate in a weekend in Budapest!! Can't wait to upload some more picutres and let you guys know about Budapest!
peace and love to you all
xoxo
aisling
We awoke early the following day to go to a small countryside town called Tarquinia. It was a great day of sun, historical tours of the city, tour of a local vinyard, and a full course meal put on by the vinyard's restaurant. We arrived in Tarquinina and were given the option to either do the tour on bike or on foot. Due to my ankle, I opted for the foot tour, which actually ended up being the better option as I was able to get much more pictures taken of this beautiful historical town. It reminded me of Perugia but even more historically beautiful. Full of churches, old buildings that boasted full-wall frescoes and murals as well as beautiful fountains it was almost like we were in a town preserved from hundreds of years ago.
After the tour we were given some free time to roam the city. The weather was beautiful (as it has been since we arrived) and it was great just to sit in the sun and take in the beautiful weather.
After our free time, the bike riders still had a little bit of a ride left so the walkers departed for the agriturismo which is a combination of a farm/vinyard/hotel/spa/restaurant. It's really just a one-stop shop for everything you could need on vacation.
We were given tour of the vinyards where we got to taste the various grapes and find out which types of wines go along with them. Additionally we were allowed to taste them and learn how to pick them and how they are used to make the wine. After they took us on the tour, we had some free time to sit by the poolside and relax until it was time for the unbelievable dinner.
They provided us with a full meal provided solely by food and drink made on the farm. We had bruschetta, homemade antipasto platter, vegetable lasagna, potatoes, salad, chicken, and an interesting dessert that i'm still not sure what it's called. All in all it was a fantastic day out in the Tuscan countryside.
That night we went out and hung out with some of Mary's roomates and other people in her program. It was great to hang out with some other American's, since in Perugia even finding people in our program on a weekend night is impossible with the number of kids out in the piazza. They were so welcoming and it was great to meet all the people Mary has been living with.
The next day we spent a day just hanging out. We went food shopping for a big group dinner we were going to have that night. Walked around trastevere (the area where she lives in Rome). Hung out and did a little homework and just relaxed on her porch in the beautiful weather talking and listening to great music. We started making the dinner around 6 and ate at 7:30 with a bunch of the other SMC girls that are studying with her through John Cabot University. It was a great meal again (how can it not be great being in Italy) and then went out dancing. Kebabs were in order on our way home from the dance club. . . and I'm pretty sure we succeeded in finding the best kebab place in all of Rome!
Sunday was to be my last day in Rome so Mary and I walked around and did some sightseeing. We saw Dante's house and a few beautiful churches and ruins. We then went to a place that served real american breakfast!! Eating a bacon egg and cheese (even if it was actually pancetta and served on focaccia) was a great end to the weekend. As I packed up to leave I was sad to leave mary, but excited to get back to perugia where things are cheaper and life is just slower. As I walked to the bus stop, I heard some fireworks being set off, and I was extremely confused. Little did I know I was going to experience my first horrible public transportation experience since I'd been in Italy.
As I sat down to wait for the bus (which shouldn't have been more than 15 minutes at any point in the day) all of a sudden more fireworks were set off and i could hear a band off in the distance. Next, some police officers rolled up and began directing traffic away from one of the streets that was perpendicular to the one I was on. All of a sudden, an enormous parade of people started coming down the street, and at this point, traffic came to a complete stop! At this point I was panicked there were only two viable options and I wasn't sure I'd make either of them. The bus finally showed up after an hour and 20 minutes of waiting and as I made my way to the train station, there was only one train left on my schedule that could work. I made it to the train station and had an hour to spare so I went to McDonalds to get some free wifi to let mary know I made it ok. Little did I know, that the train i thought was scheduled to be free with my eurail had changed times and had changed to a eurostar train making it an extra 30 euro, which I did not have. This mademy option easy, I was staying another night in Rome and taking the earliest train back to perugia on monday.
A great weekend in Rome with an interesting end and now I'm off and running on another busy week of school, that will culminate in a weekend in Budapest!! Can't wait to upload some more picutres and let you guys know about Budapest!
peace and love to you all
xoxo
aisling
Friday, October 2, 2009
Weekend in Perugia
This past weekend after the excitement of the Amalfi Coast, I decided to stay in Perugia, however my friend Mary from SMC is studying in Rome and has been dying to get me to come so to test out the Eurail pass, I decided to go there for the night on Thursday. I left immediately after my 11 AM class ended and arrived in Rome around 4:30. The train ride was beautiful all throughout the Umbrian countryside.
Upon arriving in Rome I was hit with the reality that in contrast to Perugia, I was now in a real city, a very big city, where the people are not quite as friendly. I wasn't sure how to exactly get to Mary's appartment but I knew I could figure it out. After a train, a bus, and a tram ride I somehow found my way and got let into the appartment by her roomates as she was in class until 8.
Mary had planned a dinner party for that night with all the SMC girls that are in her program (there are 5 of them including Mary). She made us an unbelievably delicious meal and with great food and drinks we were having a blast. We then got ready to go out to il discotheque. Although Perugia is a college town with it's own charm, Rome was a completely new experience. I stayed only the night and left the following morning but it was a great time and it was awesome to see a familiar face in a foreign country. Only the minor glitch of spraining my ankle hindered a great day in Rome!
I had to get home quickly because we had an italian cooking lesson with a professional chef who splits her time between Italy and New Mexico. It was an awesome experience to have had. We made tiramisu, homemade pasta, homemade meat sauce, italian style salad, and bruschetta. Learning the pasta making was one of my favorite parts. As I was telling a friend recently, there are recipes for pasta, but to make really great homemade pasta it really comes down to feel. When making the dough you want it to be soft but not too squishy, moist but not too wet, it all comes down to feel, so learning from an expert was really great !
After our night of pasta making, the rest of the weekend laid ahead of us. I had orginally planned on exploring more of perugia this weekend, but with the sprained ankle, I found myself doing some fun things around the apartment. We cleaned, bought more groceries and did some laundry. It was a beautiful day and sitting out on the balcony of our apartament really made me appreciate what a wonderful opportunity I've been given in coming to Perugia for four months, and this is an experience I'm never going to forget!
Sunday was homework day. With lots of assignments to get done for Monday (my longest day of the week) I rested the leg again and did some homework, taking a break in the afternoon to go get a manicure at a really cheap salon a friend and I found in Perugia center. Overall, this weekend, though not turning out exactly as planned, was a great relaxing weekend in Perugia !
peace and love
xoxo
aisling
Upon arriving in Rome I was hit with the reality that in contrast to Perugia, I was now in a real city, a very big city, where the people are not quite as friendly. I wasn't sure how to exactly get to Mary's appartment but I knew I could figure it out. After a train, a bus, and a tram ride I somehow found my way and got let into the appartment by her roomates as she was in class until 8.
Mary had planned a dinner party for that night with all the SMC girls that are in her program (there are 5 of them including Mary). She made us an unbelievably delicious meal and with great food and drinks we were having a blast. We then got ready to go out to il discotheque. Although Perugia is a college town with it's own charm, Rome was a completely new experience. I stayed only the night and left the following morning but it was a great time and it was awesome to see a familiar face in a foreign country. Only the minor glitch of spraining my ankle hindered a great day in Rome!
I had to get home quickly because we had an italian cooking lesson with a professional chef who splits her time between Italy and New Mexico. It was an awesome experience to have had. We made tiramisu, homemade pasta, homemade meat sauce, italian style salad, and bruschetta. Learning the pasta making was one of my favorite parts. As I was telling a friend recently, there are recipes for pasta, but to make really great homemade pasta it really comes down to feel. When making the dough you want it to be soft but not too squishy, moist but not too wet, it all comes down to feel, so learning from an expert was really great !
After our night of pasta making, the rest of the weekend laid ahead of us. I had orginally planned on exploring more of perugia this weekend, but with the sprained ankle, I found myself doing some fun things around the apartment. We cleaned, bought more groceries and did some laundry. It was a beautiful day and sitting out on the balcony of our apartament really made me appreciate what a wonderful opportunity I've been given in coming to Perugia for four months, and this is an experience I'm never going to forget!
Sunday was homework day. With lots of assignments to get done for Monday (my longest day of the week) I rested the leg again and did some homework, taking a break in the afternoon to go get a manicure at a really cheap salon a friend and I found in Perugia center. Overall, this weekend, though not turning out exactly as planned, was a great relaxing weekend in Perugia !
peace and love
xoxo
aisling
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Amalfi Coast: Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, and Naples
This weekend I went on a trip with the program to the Amalfi Coast: Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, and Naples. It was an unbelievable weekend with great weather, food, people, and once in a lifetime experiences. We started the weekend wicked early on Friday morning, having to meet at the buses by 6AM. After a 5 hour drive to Pompeii, we were dropped off at the ancient city to have a guided tour with one of the funniest tour guides to date. He was a dead ringer for Professor Lupin from the harry Potter movies which only added to his hilariousness. We walked through Pompeii and got a real sense of the history of this ancient city. Although I've been to Pompeii before, it was like seeing it for the first time again and it was interesting to gaine a new perspective on what occurred and what went on in this beautiful city. The amphitheater was one of my favorite stops (there are pictures on my photobucket page the link to that is at the bottom of this entry) and I can only imagine what performing on that stage must have been like.
After the tour ob Pompeii we were loaded back up on teh bus and taken to the hotel in Sorrento which took us about 45 minutes. How the bust was able to navigate these extremely narrow twisty-turn cliff-side roads I will never know, but the driver should get an award for not killing us on the way lol. Upon arriving in Sorrento we had the afternoon to explore and then dinner at the hotel at 7:30. It turned out that I was rooming with a new friend, Hannah and so we brought our stuff upstairs and then met up with a few other kids to decide what to do for the afternoon.
Hannah ended up going in search of a bathing suit for one of the other girls, while I headed down to take a swim in the sea with some of the guys on our trip! Walking down the amazing cliff I couldn't help but stop every few feet to take a picture of the views that got more and more spectacular with each step. The beach was so white and the water so clear blue and with gorgeous skies, it was hard to look away but we finally got our bathing sutis on and ran to the ocean. The water was so warm it was like bathwater (a nice change from marshvegas's numbingly cold waters) and we swam for a few hours before dinner.
We were staying at a 4 star hotel and so we all met back at the room before dinner to shower and get changed. The rooms were really nice and it was fun to get kind of dressed up for dinner. We had a great meal and then went to explore the surrounding area with some kids from the trip. We went to an outdoor patio bar and just hung out for the rest of the night with snacks and such, a great way to end the first day of our first vacation since arriving in Italy.
Saturday we woke up wicked early, ate breakfast, and boarded the awaiting buses to head down to the docks to get on the ferry to Capri. As we looked out on the harbor, I couldn't believe that in a few short hours we would be able to swim again in this clear blue water that is so beautiful it looks fake. When we got to Capri we went on a boat tour that took us to all the sites although the infamous blue grotto was closed due to the choppiness of the water and the high tide. The tour was nice and we headed to lunch immediately after the tour. The afternoon plans were up in the air, but we decided after much thought, to rent our own boat so we could go swimming. Our friend John commandeerd a boat and we headed out to the ocean again. Hitting up all the good spots that we had seen earlier we swam and hung out and ate good food and it was amaszing! Hannah has a camera that takes underwater pictures so as soon as she loads those online I'll post them on the blog.
We got back to the hotel and had another great meal, after which we all went dancing at a few of the local clubs before heading to bed to get up for a day in Naples!
Naples greeted us in the morning as a very sleepy city, reminiscent of Boston or New York. There were some extremely beautiful old palaces and castles but for the most part Naples is completely urbanized. We had a great bus tour of the city with many chnaces to get out and take pictures. Around lunch time we drove not the main piazza and were given free time for the rest of the afternoon but not before being given a few suggestions of great pizzerias and a fmous coffee shop (although how you could have a bad pizza ni teh city where pizza was invented I will never know). Our group decided that we wanted to go in serach of the pizza place that is in the book Eat, Pray, Love which is also the site of recent filming for the movie version starring Julia Roberts. Unfortunatley after 45 minutes of searching, we found it, and it was closed, but lucky for us we found a great pizzeria right next door. We each ate a whole pizza then headed back to the main piazza and had a coffee at a famous cafe followed by the obligatory gelato. Overall this weekend was fantastic, but it was great to get back to our little city of Perugia!
peace and love to you all!
xoxo aisling
p.s The link to my photobucket is :
http://s775.photobucket.com/albums/yy40/aislingguinee/
After the tour ob Pompeii we were loaded back up on teh bus and taken to the hotel in Sorrento which took us about 45 minutes. How the bust was able to navigate these extremely narrow twisty-turn cliff-side roads I will never know, but the driver should get an award for not killing us on the way lol. Upon arriving in Sorrento we had the afternoon to explore and then dinner at the hotel at 7:30. It turned out that I was rooming with a new friend, Hannah and so we brought our stuff upstairs and then met up with a few other kids to decide what to do for the afternoon.
Hannah ended up going in search of a bathing suit for one of the other girls, while I headed down to take a swim in the sea with some of the guys on our trip! Walking down the amazing cliff I couldn't help but stop every few feet to take a picture of the views that got more and more spectacular with each step. The beach was so white and the water so clear blue and with gorgeous skies, it was hard to look away but we finally got our bathing sutis on and ran to the ocean. The water was so warm it was like bathwater (a nice change from marshvegas's numbingly cold waters) and we swam for a few hours before dinner.
We were staying at a 4 star hotel and so we all met back at the room before dinner to shower and get changed. The rooms were really nice and it was fun to get kind of dressed up for dinner. We had a great meal and then went to explore the surrounding area with some kids from the trip. We went to an outdoor patio bar and just hung out for the rest of the night with snacks and such, a great way to end the first day of our first vacation since arriving in Italy.
Saturday we woke up wicked early, ate breakfast, and boarded the awaiting buses to head down to the docks to get on the ferry to Capri. As we looked out on the harbor, I couldn't believe that in a few short hours we would be able to swim again in this clear blue water that is so beautiful it looks fake. When we got to Capri we went on a boat tour that took us to all the sites although the infamous blue grotto was closed due to the choppiness of the water and the high tide. The tour was nice and we headed to lunch immediately after the tour. The afternoon plans were up in the air, but we decided after much thought, to rent our own boat so we could go swimming. Our friend John commandeerd a boat and we headed out to the ocean again. Hitting up all the good spots that we had seen earlier we swam and hung out and ate good food and it was amaszing! Hannah has a camera that takes underwater pictures so as soon as she loads those online I'll post them on the blog.
We got back to the hotel and had another great meal, after which we all went dancing at a few of the local clubs before heading to bed to get up for a day in Naples!
Naples greeted us in the morning as a very sleepy city, reminiscent of Boston or New York. There were some extremely beautiful old palaces and castles but for the most part Naples is completely urbanized. We had a great bus tour of the city with many chnaces to get out and take pictures. Around lunch time we drove not the main piazza and were given free time for the rest of the afternoon but not before being given a few suggestions of great pizzerias and a fmous coffee shop (although how you could have a bad pizza ni teh city where pizza was invented I will never know). Our group decided that we wanted to go in serach of the pizza place that is in the book Eat, Pray, Love which is also the site of recent filming for the movie version starring Julia Roberts. Unfortunatley after 45 minutes of searching, we found it, and it was closed, but lucky for us we found a great pizzeria right next door. We each ate a whole pizza then headed back to the main piazza and had a coffee at a famous cafe followed by the obligatory gelato. Overall this weekend was fantastic, but it was great to get back to our little city of Perugia!
peace and love to you all!
xoxo aisling
p.s The link to my photobucket is :
http://s775.photobucket.com/albums/yy40/aislingguinee/
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Hey guys! So after yesterday. . . my most hectic day of the week with 4 classes from 11-5 with only one fifteen minute yesterday I was poooped, but it was karaoke night at one of the local places so almost everyone from the program showed up it was wicked fun and my roomates and I put on quite the performance of Shania Twain, Man I feel Like a Woman. It was awesome.
Went to the gym for the first time and it was quite the experience but I'm super glad that I joined and theres a good group of people who have also joined which I hope will keep me motivated to go, plus they seem to have some pretty sweet classes which is great.
In other news, we're having a free gelato night at a local gelatteria hosted by the Umbra Institute so seeing as I've only had it once since I've been here (which is shocking even to me) I'm extremely excited to taste some bizarre flavors . . . I'll let you know how it goes tommorow!
peace and love to you all
xoxo Aisling <3
Went to the gym for the first time and it was quite the experience but I'm super glad that I joined and theres a good group of people who have also joined which I hope will keep me motivated to go, plus they seem to have some pretty sweet classes which is great.
In other news, we're having a free gelato night at a local gelatteria hosted by the Umbra Institute so seeing as I've only had it once since I've been here (which is shocking even to me) I'm extremely excited to taste some bizarre flavors . . . I'll let you know how it goes tommorow!
peace and love to you all
xoxo Aisling <3
Monday, September 14, 2009
Pictures from the First week in Perugia !
Me in our kitchen before going out to dinner!
My roomate Chrissy and I with Perugia in the background. 
My roomate Ariel and I again with Perugia in the background!
The great group of girlies. . . Back row. . L-R Katie, Mattie (roomate) Chrissy (roomate) Ariel (roomate) Alexandra (roomate) Amy and myself
The obligatory Roomate picture
Kitchen
My Bed
Bedroom prior to really unpacking. . .
City built on a hill = pretty windy but gorgeous views!
The great group of girlies. . . Back row. . L-R Katie, Mattie (roomate) Chrissy (roomate) Ariel (roomate) Alexandra (roomate) Amy and myself
The obligatory Roomate picture
Kitchen
My Bed
Bedroom prior to really unpacking. . .
City built on a hill = pretty windy but gorgeous views!
First view of Perugia. . . unbelievably gorgeous ancient city built on a hill!
Bella Perugia !
Hey guys! So I've finally taken a few moments to get the blog up and running and post a short little entry with some pictures from my first week and a half in Perugia. So far the adventure has been unbelievable. Upon arriving in Rome, our program directors picked us up and brought us to the outskirts of Perugia (our new hometown for the next four months) and we all promptly passed out from the lack of sleep over the previous 24 hours of travel. After a much needed nap all of the program participants had a great first italian dinner and slept again anxiously awaiting the next day when we would be brought to our italian apartments with our new flatmates.
The next morning myself and my four roomates (Chrissy (SanFrancisco/Boulder), Ariel (New York/Northeastern), Mattie (New Hampshire/Northeastern) and Alexandra (LA/UCLA)) were all taken in a taxi to our new apartment where we're going to be based for the next four months. The apartment is great (some pictures are located below), small but functions exactly as we need it to. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and deck. After moving in we had a short orientation meeting and then had the night to ourselves. As Perugia is a city of students the main Piazza (Piazza IV Novembre) is flooded with students and Perugian natives every night of the week. . . sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's a weekend or a weekday :) The following day we had a practical tour of Perugia (pharmacia, supermercato, scuola etc.) followed by a three hour orientation meeting in the duomo (main church of Perugia). We then headed home to get ready for our first day of classes.
The first week of classes (last Mon-Th) was dedicated solely to getting our italian good enough to get around Perugia as the vast majority of all the inhabitants speak little to no english and italian is necessary to get around and function, therefore we had three hours of italian lecture in the morning and two hours of practical italian in the afternoon. My italian professor Francesco is awesome, he lives just outside the city and has a great sense of humor that made these long classes seem hours shorter. During the day we took class and at night my roomates and myself along with other Umbra students travelled throughout Perugia exploring and checking out the sights, learning our way around the city. At the end of the week Umbra held the first of many Umbra nights at a local Steakhouse (Argentina Steakhouse) where we all met for apertivos (a sort of italian tapas) which was great not only for the food and the spectacular view but also for the great food! After dinner one of my roomates and I met up with a few of our new friends from the Universita di Stranieri (University for foreigners) for dinner at a great Pizzeria (Pizza e Musica) which was jazz themed and had some of the best pizza we've had since we've arrived. One great thing about this city is not only are we getting to really know many italians but the number of internationals is awesome. . . just at this dinner alone we had an australian, german, greek, norweigian, and polish girl along with ourselves! It was great.
Finally the week of intensive italian was over and we had a great weekend of more explorations ahead of us. . .
Friday (yes my weekends start on Thursday night :) we woke up and together explored Perugia figuring out what we wanted to do for the rest of the weekend as well as where things were located in relation to our apartamento. Saturday we again explored, joining a local gym this day. This was an experience in it of itself seeing as the woman registering us spoke no english at all which forced me to use my little italian to help my roomate Chrissy and I figure out what was going on but the gym is great full of locals and just big enough to serve it's purpose.
Sunday we had an Umbra outing to a local farming town called Passignano. This town was amazing, it was all self-sufficient. They are known everywhere for their award winning olive oil, but are also known for being a part of the slow-food movement. This movement is all about keeping the traditions of Italian food and culture alive by not being commercialized and industrialized in the sense that they have full-course meals that last hours, which we were lucky enough to have prepared for us later in the afternoon. We were taken on a tour of the farm by the owner and patriarch of the family running the farm and he showed us the olive trees etc. . . even inviting us back in October/November to partake in the harvesting (which I might have to take him up on). After that we were invited in to learn how the process of making the olive oil occurs and then we were given a lesson in making homemade pasta. . . I was one of the few participants and loved it! A few of the older italian women from the area taught us and it was awesome to later eat the fruits of our labor ! Returning to the main building we were served a four course meal made completely from food found on the farm. After the meal we were stuffed and went outside to work off some of that food while we waited for the bus.
This first week in Perugia has been amazing but I'll try to post shorter and more frequent posts along with picturse as time goes on! Love and peace to you all !!!
<3 Aisling Ciao!!!
The next morning myself and my four roomates (Chrissy (SanFrancisco/Boulder), Ariel (New York/Northeastern), Mattie (New Hampshire/Northeastern) and Alexandra (LA/UCLA)) were all taken in a taxi to our new apartment where we're going to be based for the next four months. The apartment is great (some pictures are located below), small but functions exactly as we need it to. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and deck. After moving in we had a short orientation meeting and then had the night to ourselves. As Perugia is a city of students the main Piazza (Piazza IV Novembre) is flooded with students and Perugian natives every night of the week. . . sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's a weekend or a weekday :) The following day we had a practical tour of Perugia (pharmacia, supermercato, scuola etc.) followed by a three hour orientation meeting in the duomo (main church of Perugia). We then headed home to get ready for our first day of classes.
The first week of classes (last Mon-Th) was dedicated solely to getting our italian good enough to get around Perugia as the vast majority of all the inhabitants speak little to no english and italian is necessary to get around and function, therefore we had three hours of italian lecture in the morning and two hours of practical italian in the afternoon. My italian professor Francesco is awesome, he lives just outside the city and has a great sense of humor that made these long classes seem hours shorter. During the day we took class and at night my roomates and myself along with other Umbra students travelled throughout Perugia exploring and checking out the sights, learning our way around the city. At the end of the week Umbra held the first of many Umbra nights at a local Steakhouse (Argentina Steakhouse) where we all met for apertivos (a sort of italian tapas) which was great not only for the food and the spectacular view but also for the great food! After dinner one of my roomates and I met up with a few of our new friends from the Universita di Stranieri (University for foreigners) for dinner at a great Pizzeria (Pizza e Musica) which was jazz themed and had some of the best pizza we've had since we've arrived. One great thing about this city is not only are we getting to really know many italians but the number of internationals is awesome. . . just at this dinner alone we had an australian, german, greek, norweigian, and polish girl along with ourselves! It was great.
Finally the week of intensive italian was over and we had a great weekend of more explorations ahead of us. . .
Friday (yes my weekends start on Thursday night :) we woke up and together explored Perugia figuring out what we wanted to do for the rest of the weekend as well as where things were located in relation to our apartamento. Saturday we again explored, joining a local gym this day. This was an experience in it of itself seeing as the woman registering us spoke no english at all which forced me to use my little italian to help my roomate Chrissy and I figure out what was going on but the gym is great full of locals and just big enough to serve it's purpose.
Sunday we had an Umbra outing to a local farming town called Passignano. This town was amazing, it was all self-sufficient. They are known everywhere for their award winning olive oil, but are also known for being a part of the slow-food movement. This movement is all about keeping the traditions of Italian food and culture alive by not being commercialized and industrialized in the sense that they have full-course meals that last hours, which we were lucky enough to have prepared for us later in the afternoon. We were taken on a tour of the farm by the owner and patriarch of the family running the farm and he showed us the olive trees etc. . . even inviting us back in October/November to partake in the harvesting (which I might have to take him up on). After that we were invited in to learn how the process of making the olive oil occurs and then we were given a lesson in making homemade pasta. . . I was one of the few participants and loved it! A few of the older italian women from the area taught us and it was awesome to later eat the fruits of our labor ! Returning to the main building we were served a four course meal made completely from food found on the farm. After the meal we were stuffed and went outside to work off some of that food while we waited for the bus.
This first week in Perugia has been amazing but I'll try to post shorter and more frequent posts along with picturse as time goes on! Love and peace to you all !!!
<3 Aisling Ciao!!!
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