Week Seven: The Beginning of Midterms

Hello Readers,

This is going to be a very short blog because this week was spent almost entirely studying for our midterms this week and next week. Jeff went out with Isaac to the Wohoo to watch Wohoos Got Talent after his French midterm.

Friday night it was raining so we got dinner and watched the whole first season of Sherlock a BBC series and Saturday it was raining again so we studied all morning then in the afternoon we watched the second season of Sherlock and ate candy and Oreos. Carly is very on edge about what is going to happen in season 3 and is eagerly awaiting the next installment. 

We are planning on going to Toulouse this Friday and we are taking a train so we will attempt to finish season 3 then. We have heard that Toulouse is an enchanting little city and we are sure it will be a great time. We will tell you about it in the next blog!

Tootles,

Carly Ward & Jeff Popek

Week Six: The Return

Bonjour Readers,

We are back in France and thus back in school. Everything has been fairly normal but we both have a small case of post-vacation blues. We both loved Italy and the people were so very friendly so coming back to France has taken some adjustment. Nothing we couldn't handle though.

Thursday was a beautifully sunny day and we went to a park sat in the sun and drank some wine with our friends Isaac and Katherine. It was relaxing and a very nice afternoon. We have decided that wine and sunshine are a very nice combination.

Saturday night we met up with Katherine and Isaac at a local Indian food restaurant and we all got big plates and shared. The food was really bland and spiceless which surprised all of us because Indian food is usually the opposite of that. We left there and started walking to a tea cave called Coco Boheme where Katherine had to meet some friends to work on a project for school. We got to the street of the tea place when Isaac realized he had forgotten his phone. Carly and Katherine went into the tea place and Isaac and Jeff ran back to get Isaac's phone. Luckily the server had recognized that Isaac left his phone on the table and it was a non-issue. Isaac and Jeff met up with Carly and Katherine at the tea place and we all lounged and had a great few hours relaxing and drinking tea. After the tea place we went to The PTT to have drinks. Isaac and Jeff both had pastis (a local favorite) which tastes exactly like black licorice; it was not Jeff's favorite. Katherine and Carly shared a gin spritz which was lemonade with a little gin in it (it was delicious). We sat and relaxed for a while until Isaac looked down and informed us all it was 3 am. We were all very surprised because we had no idea it had gotten to be that late. We decided it was time to go home and go to bed.

Sunday was spent doing homework and catching up on things that needed doing. A lazy but productive day.


That is all for this week,

Carly & Jeff

Week Five: Venice

Hello Readers,

We boarded our train in Rome and in a comfortable 3 and some hours we were in Venice. Immediately off the train we were immersed in Venice. We crossed the Grand Canal carrying all our luggage. It was the best walk to a hotel we have ever had. We got semi-lost going to the hotel but we found it and the hotel was in the beautiful Campo Margherita. Venice is a crazy mash of twisty alleys and beautiful canals and it makes finding your way very difficult. There are no straight roads and absolutely no easy directions. Anyway, we found our hotel and it was also wonderful. The owner was there and extremely helpful and friendly and he said that the very best way to see Venice is to just walk. Just wander around and experience it. He said getting lost is part of the experience and after a while you stop thinking of it as being lost and start thinking of it as being in Venice. We found that this was a very true statement. We were famished as we had been on a train for 3+ hours so we headed out to eat. We wandered like we were told and we found a bunch of great little shops and the main, touristy area. We wandered away from there in search of a meal but most places were not open yet. Only the tourists eat meals before 8pm in Venice and we didn't know this so we went to the touristy place right across from our hotel. The food was wonderful and the people were very friendly but we were the only ones there. We ate our meals and had an early night as we were both exhausted from the day.

The next two days we spent just exploring and experiencing Venice. We saw a lot of what it had to offer and did our best to experience it all and we did a good job for just 3 full days but it wasn't enough. You could spend your whole life exploring that town and still find incredible little things you didn't know were there. We saw incredible monuments, beautiful alleys, Carnival inspired masks and clothing, handmade Italian leather goods, gondolas, blown glass, and lit buildings at night shining on the canals. Venice at night is such an experience. The bars and restaurants overflow in to the streets and the people are so jovial and kind. Its the kind of place that is horribly hard to leave. We spent only four days there and truly believe that we left calmer and kinder people. It has an incredible effect.

On our last full day in Venice we took a vaporetto to two of the other islands in the Venetian Marsh. The first island we saw was Murano. Murano is known for the quality and craftsmanship of its blown glass. We walked in and out of hundreds of blown glass studios and stores until we had our fill and hopped onto the next vaporetto to Burano. Burano is an incredibly colorful and relaxed little town. It is historically known for its lace weaving and some of the best woven silks and lace still come from there. It has a deep history of hand crafts and that is still very much alive there. It was one of the most calm and lovely places we have been. The people really make these places what they are. Everyone we met and encountered were wonderful and would go well out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. We took a vaporetto back to the main island of Venice while the sun set and it was a gorgeous, picturesque ending to a beautiful experience. We both look forward to going back before it is gone.

Ciao,

Jeff & Carly

Pictures of Venice: http://imgur.com/a/AFr1D

Week Five: Rome

Ciao Readers,

We landed in Rome at approximately 1:25 pm and looked for a way to get to our hotel. We had three options. We could take a cab, take a shuttle, or take public transportation. They all cost about the same so we opted for the shuttle. We got to our hotel and were informed that our room had been upgrade for free to an executive suite. This was a pleasant surprise and made for a very good start to Rome. We unpacked, relaxed a little, and then headed out into Rome. We were both starved and ready for a proper meal so we headed down the street to a little restaurant that looked fairly busy. On the way there we saw an incredibly pink Fiat that Carly thought was adorable. As soon as we got inside we felt underdressed. Everyone inside was in their Sunday best and we were wearing plane clothes, but it was too late, we had committed and we were going to eat lunch there no matter what! Carly ordered pasta carbonara and Jeff ordered a parmesan and black pepper pasta. They were by far the best pastas either of us had ever had. They were spiced and cooked to perfection and there was no possible way to make them any better. We decided that with the amount of daylight we had left we shouldn't waste it and we should go see some cool stuff. So we did! We headed out of the restaurant and went towards the Palace of Justice. It was a huge builing that was built in the late 1800s and contains the Judicial Public Library of Rome. The building had very nice fountains out front and many children were playing in its park. We continued onward and saw the Castel Sant'Angelo. This was originally the tallest building in Rome and was built for the Roman Emperor Hadrian to be used as a mausoleum in the year 123 AD. We kept walking along the Tiber River and crossed the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, heading towards the Pantheon. On our way there we passed Piazza Pasquale Paoli, the Campo de Fiori, and the Area Sacra Largo di Torre Argentina, which was the home to the Republican Roman Temples from fourth century BC to 80 AD. Now it is home to hundreds of kitties! We finally made it to the Pantheon (one of Jeff's life goals) and there we bumped into our friend Matt from school in France. It was really odd running into him in such a large city like Rome; what are the chances! The Pantheon was built in 14 AD and to this day is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It was incredible to see and to marvel at the building of such a grand place over 2000 years ago. We stayed for a while and when we left there was a Ukrainian protest going on that was meant to raise awareness for their cause. We watched that for a while until our need for gelato out weighed our need for social justice. We found a great little gelato place and Jeff had banana and Carly had mango and lemon. They were all delicious and Jeff is still trying to find an equal to that banana gelato. We left the gelato place in search of the Trevi Fountain. We passed an open church that we toured and passed many other incredible monuments. We viewed the Trevi Fountain which, unfortunately, was under construction. We were so disappointed! After seeing the fountain, we headed back towards the hotel. We walked along the main street, Corso, back towards our hotel. We went through Piazza del Popolo. It was a lively place that late at night. We heard a very loud exhaust note and Jeff was excited because he said he thought it was a v12, probably a Lamborghini and as we turned the corner there it was speeding past. Once through the Piazza we had a gentle stroll back to the hotel. We got there and went to sleep.

The next morning we woke early and got our free hotel breakfast which was much better than the previous hotel. Our plan for the day was to see the Colosseum and the surrounding monuments. We headed out and walked down Corso towards the Colosseum and stopped in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. We didn't want to pay to tour the entire place so we just viewed the beautiful courtyard of citrus trees. We continued towards the Colosseum and stopped at the Altare dela Patria (Alter of the Father Land). This was an incredible monument built for Victor Emmanuel, the king who united Italy. We toured that for about two hours. The building is incredible and houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are many great stories about the monument. We looked all around it and saw as much of it as we could see before buying tickets and taking an elevator ride to the very top of it. You could see all of Rome from the top. It was a very awe inspiring experience and we highly suggest you do it if you ever get the chance to visit Rome. From there we passed the Forums of Augustus and Triano. We went to get lunch at a small pizza place and hung out there for some time before it got really really busy. We left trying to find our way through the crowd that had amassed only to realize we had forgotten to pay. So we walked back to the restaurant and paid. Then we headed to The Colosseum. We got to the Colosseum and took a guided tour that allowed us to skip all the lines and get a more in-depth history of the building. We learned a lot more than we would have if we didn't take the tour and we were really glad that we did. From the Colosseum we toured the Ancient Roman City ruins. They were probably the most impressive part of the trip and the history of them was incredible. We spent nearly three hours wandering around learning about ancient Rome. Jeff now has a fascination with the Emperor Nero. He was an interesting fellow to say the least. It was now dark and we were famished so we headed to dinner. We had more pizza and pasta (when in Rome!). We ate our dinners and headed back to the hotel.

Pictures from Rome: http://imgur.com/a/M3KRK

The next day we took a four hour guided tour of the Vatican. It was appalling how much wealth that nation has acquired over its existence. The Vatican museums were incredibly decadent and impressive. There were many stories of Popes doing incredible things with their power and wealth. The history of Rome is stored in those buildings. It is said that it would take over four years to view all of the art in the Vatican if you only view each piece for a minute. So our experience was only puddle deep but we had a good time and learned a lot of history. Carly's favorite parts were the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica and its catacombs and Jeff's were seeing all the statues depicting the Roman Emperors and seeing Nero's bathtub that he liked to fill with wine and ladies.
We left the Vatican that evening and got to see the changing of the Swiss Guards, purely by luck, as it only happens every 24 hours at 5pm. We did not know this and we were pleasantly surprised. From there we went to an incredible authentic Italian restaurant and had the experience of a life time. There was lots of yelling and happiness and wine and food; more food than you should ever eat in one sitting. We left the restaurant and tried to get on the main road, Corso, to get home but there were cops everywhere blocking the road. We heard a couple of crazy loud exhausts fly past and Jeff thought one might have been the new Aston Martin. Anyway we asked a nice police officer how to get back to our hotel using our incredibly broken Italian and he showed us on a map. We made it home and Carly googled what was going on in Rome and why the street was blocked and we found out that they were filming the new James Bond movie, Spectre! After that neat discovery, we both had begun complaining that our bellies hurt after that huge, giant, ridiculous meal and so we were just lounging about. Carly decided she was going to start throw up in the bedroom and then ran to the bathroom and threw up more. Jeff thought "hey that seems like a good plan" and he sprinted to the bathroom and pushed Carly out of the way to share in the vomiting fun. We both emptied our stomachs, much to our delight. We believe we had food poisoning because once the food was gone from our stomachs we felt much better but it also could have just been too much food. Regardless, we both felt much better afterwards and decided it was time to rest since we had a long day of travel ahead of us the next day.

Pictures from the Vatican: http://imgur.com/a/Iv8hS

We had an absolutely incredible time in Rome and we cannot wait to go back someday. We highly suggest you go if you can.

The third morning in Rome we headed to the train station and caught our train to Venice!

Week Five: Palermo, Sicily

Buongiorno Readers,

We are in Italy! We were picked up by Carly's host mother, Amira, and brought to the airport in Marseille where we checked in without a problem. We got through security and waited for our plane. We had never flown out of Marseille or on Ryanair so we didn't know what to expect. There was only one gate in our section of the airport and when they called the airline people went and lined up nicely at the entrance, but when the Ryanair flight was called there was a mad dash to the gate. Ryanair flights are like Southwest Airlines if you remove all the rules and boarding sections. Carly and I calmly walked to the end of the line. We had previously reserved seats so we weren't going to be apart of the chicken run. 

Our plane landed in Palermo at 6:30 and took about an hour to get into Palermo proper. It was 9 by the time we were all checked in and situated so we called it an early night and went to sleep. We were up early the next morning and headed out to see Palermo. We wandered for about half an hour until we found a beautiful, huge fountain in a square with two old churches. We toured one of the churches then continued on our walk. We saw some of the sights of Palermo but were amazed at the number of cheesy stores targeted at tourists. There were definitely some incredible sights to be seen in Palermo but you have to sift through the tourist targeted garbage before finding it. We saw an incredible cathedral where a huge funeral was taking place. The bells were ringing the entire time and it was quite the sight. We walked from the cathedral through a neat little park and ended up at the Sicilian Parliament buildings. We walked past those and ended up in another park where a large group of Italian men were playing chess and card games and were very animated. It was a very exciting sight and was exactly what we expected when we thought of stereotypical Italy. We continued our adventure in Palermo by walking through what looked like an open air-market. As we walked through the market it turned more into furniture stores and a flea market. There was a lot of nice handmade furniture but we didn't really have a need for it nor did we have a way to get it home so we moved on. We were famished after all of our exploring so we headed in search of food. We were really rather uninterested in tourist targeted food so we went off the beaten path to find somewhere the locals were eating. We came across a bread store, pastry store, and market combo where the locals were stopping in and getting food. We ordered two slices of pizza and a fresh squeezed lemonade. The lemonade was very sour but quenched our thirst nicely and the pizza was deep dish delicious! From there we went to get gelato and then sat in a park and watched a group of dogs playing. That night we went to dinner at a highly recommended restaurant that was known for its large selection of vegetarian dishes. We ordered from the special menu and got three courses. Carly had a couscous with ratatouille and Jeff had fried eggplant and cheese in balls soaked in tomato basil sauce for our first course. For our second course Carly had fried chicken dumplings and potatoes and Jeff had potatoes au gratin. For our third course, desert, Carly had apple pudding and Jeff had a chocolate amaretto pudding. All of the food was phenomenal and we were sad when it was gone. We left the restaurant and walked back to the hotel in the rain and went to bed.

The next day we woke up super early and headed to the airport, again in the rain. We boarded the plane on our way to Rome!

Pictures from Palermo: http://imgur.com/a/VdVRL