Easter in Italy

          The last stop on our three-week vacation was to a small beach town outside of Sorrento, Italy.  The town was called Meta and it consisted of a church, two or three restaurants and a few shops.  This was a huge change from all the city traveling we had been doing.  It was a great change of pace to be in a small town; it was easy to get around and the beach was walking distance from the Villa we were staying in.  The first few days were wonderful, the weather was a hot and sunny 70 degrees and laying on the beach after a long rainy winter in Ireland was perfect!  On the fifth day, one of our last days, the mood in the Villa changed drastically.

            It was Sunday April 24, more importantly Easter Sunday.  The group I was with including myself had never been away from our families and homes for a holiday.  It was not until breakfast that Sunday did we realize how different it was being away from home on a holiday.  We planned to wake up early and make a big breakfast, everyone including something that would have been at his or her Easter breakfast at home.  As I awoke that morning I looked next to my bed and realized the Easter Bunny had not come, my parents were not around to leave the basket of candy that they had been leaving on my nightstand for the last twenty years.  Immediately a somber mood was put on the day and I could tell my four other friends felt the same way that I did.   We still made breakfast in hopes it would lift our spirits, but we ended up sitting silently eating our pancakes, hard-boiled eggs, fruit salad and other delicious breakfast foods.  The food was great, but the conversation at the table was not, we attempted to talk but soon the type of silence that you can hear a pin drop came over the table.   As the day got later our families in America were waking up sending us pictures and texts about what we were missing at home and how much they miss us.  We spent most of the day on the deck sulking about our first holiday away from home. 

            Luckily by dinner time our moods were no longer terrible.  We decided to make the best of our situation thinking about how much worse we could have it.  We were not with our families, but we were with good friends in a Villa in Italy.  We made a big Easter dinner that included salad, lasagna and even bunny shaped cookies.  It finally felt a little bit more like Easter as we had a celebratory dinner.  I came to the realization as did my friends that things change as we get older.  We are growing up which means not being able to be home every time we want to.  Instead of looking at the negatives it is a lot better to embrace the incredible experience we were having by being in Italy.  Not many people can say they backpacked across Europe for three weeks with friends.  There will be many more Easters at home with family, but the opportunity we had comes once in a life time! 

Bonjour Paris

After a few days in Prague we repacked our bags and headed to our next destination, Paris!  I was extremely excited about visiting Paris.  I have taken many French classes in high school and college in which I have learned a lot about the city of Paris.  Finally I would be able to see all the sights I so often saw on the flat pages of my textbook and maybe even test out a little of my French.  Instead of staying in the pricey hostels, my friends and I chose to rent an apartment in the city.  We were extremely happy when we arrived and our apartment was the exact chic Paris apartment that we had hoped for.  It was so nice to be in an apartment after over a week of staying in big hostel dorm rooms.  I would suggest if anyone ever travels in a group to look into staying in an apartment, it is actually more affordable and a lot more comfortable than hostels.  We were exhausted when we arrived so we went right to sleep with big plans for the morning. 

The next morning I woke up early so excited to see the sights of Paris.  The day started with a trip to the Louvre.  I had little expectations for the Louvre since many people had told me the Mona Lisa is so small and you have to wait in a huge line to enter.  Lucky for us the line was short, so after a short ten-minute wait we were in one of the most famous museums in the world.  We walked around for a while mesmerized by all the amazing artwork that surrounded us.  After I felt I had taken in a good amount of art I decided to go find the Mona Lisa.  I walked through room after room of paintings leading up to one of the most famous paintings of all.  My anticipation grew as I passed other museum patrons and followed the signs pointing me in the right direction.  When I finally saw the painting, I was surprised so many people had told me it was small because to me it actually looked big.  It was pretty amazing to see something I had seen so many times online or in books in person.  I was pretty impressed with the painting even if some people I know are not.

 After our trip to the Louvre it was time to see the most famous Paris landmark, The Eiffel Tower!!  My friends and I did not have a map so we made our way to The Eiffel Tower by looking in the sky and trying to walk closer and closer to the tower.  As we walked the tower got bigger and bigger which was fun and breathtaking all at the same time.  We walked through beautiful parks and past authentic French cafes.  Not having a map benefited us a lot allowing us to discover even more of the city.  Towards the end of our walk the tower disappeared behind a building and we were not sure which way to go.  Luckily we turned the right way and stumbled upon the giant base of The Eiffel Tower.  We laid down in the grass for what felt like minutes but was actually hours looking up at the tower.  It is amazing how big this structure actually is and how different it looks in person.  My afternoon in Paris was an incredible experience; in just one day I was able to see some of the most world famous landmarks.  All the years of looking in French texts books did not do justice to such a beautiful city!  

A Wonderful Tour of Prague!

From the moment we arrived in Ireland my good friend Trica said the one thing she needed to do while abroad was ride a segway.  I’m not exactly sure how this became a dream of hers but I began to hear about it on a regular basis.  I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m sharing my friends dream or what this has to do with my travel experience through Europe or Prague but it has to do with one of my favorite experiences.   While walking through the beautiful Easter fest in Prague, the second stop on are trip, instead of noticing the trees covered in pastels and the ornately decorated eggs Tricia spotted a sign that read SEGWAY TOUR OF PRAGUE!  At this moment I knew how I would be spending the rest of my afternoon riding through Prague on a Segway.  We went over and received information about the tour, we were told it would be a 3 hour tour and in that time we would see all of Prague and of course learn to ride a Segway.  The sales pitch was pretty convincing and while it was a little pricey  Tricia’s enthusiasm for how much fun it would be got everyone on board.  The first half hour of the tour was learning to ride a Segway.  We were given goofy looking helmets that looked similar to what a jockey wears when riding a horse.  Learning to ride the Segway was not to difficult it is based on balance if you lean forward it drives forward, if you lean backwards it drives backwards, and if you want to turn you lean the way you want to go and so on.  It was actually surprisingly similar to skiing.

After our lesson we were off driving through the streets of Prague on our Segways.  Our tour guide was a nice girl who had lived in Prague all her life and was extremely knowledgeable about everything we were seeing.  We drove around as she pointed out all of the most important parts in Prague.  She showed us the beloved clock in the center of Prague and told us about the tradition of the Easter festival that was going on below the giant clock.  We were lucky enough to be in Prague during this time otherwise we would have never known that the Easter fest existed.   She took us to the Prague castle and showed us a park that was very similar to central park in New York City.  The city was beautiful and touring it on a Segway was a very unique experience,  something I will surely always remember.  I would recommend a Segway tour to anyone who has the opportunity.  Please beware that Segway’s don’t have a break, which caused Christina to run right into our tour guide, which was a great laugh for the group but was quite embarrassing for her! 

The First Stop: London

After a late night of packing I managed to make it into the cab with my larger than life traveler’s backpack.   Five of my friends were already in the cab as I shoved my bag on top of theirs and before I knew it we were driving through Cork towards the airport.  This was the beginning of our three-week trip across Europe, a trip I will remember forever.  This was the type of trip that I plan to  tell stories to my grandchildren about.   Our flight from Cork to London went by in an instant partly because of our excitement and partly because you can’t really get a closer trip then Ireland to England.  By the time I turned on my ipod I had time to listen to less then 4 songs and then we were already landing.  I was filled with excitement to start our journey and our first stop was London.  From Heathrow we took the tube to our hostel.  From the moment I left the tube station I feel in love with London.  I loved how easy the tube was to use, how cute the cabs were black and old fashioned looking just as I had imagined.  The telephone booths looked as if Clark Kent could appear at any moment and turn into superman right inside one.  The weather did not hurt my view of this amazing place it was 70 and sunny, perfect sightseeing weather.  We dropped our bags at our hostel, which was nothing more than a place to sleep, and headed to discover everything London had to offer.  Being a group of typical hungry Loyola students our first order of business was to find Chipotle, London is the only city with a Chipotle outside of the United States, and after several months without burritos and burrito bowls our craving was uncontrollable.   After having one of the most fulfilling meals abroad we were ready to take London by storm.  We walked around Piccadilly Circus looking at all the shows London had to offer.  The bright lights and flashy signs reminded me of Time Square and Broadway in New York City.  We then headed to Buckingham Palace to check out where the royals live.  It was only a few weeks before the Royal wedding was set to take place and we were standing where thousands would stand waiting to see Kate and William on the balcony.  We took plenty of pictures of the balcony and imagined how beautiful it would be in a few short weeks.  After seeing Buckingham palace we headed to Westminster Abbey to see the famous church and the sight of William and Kate’s upcoming nuptials.  After checking out the church we took a ride on the London Eye!  From the top of this giant Ferris wheel we had a great view of London especially Big Ben which is right next door.  The ride was fun but the view was breathtaking it looked as if London went on forever!  At this point on the London Eye we realized we had walked around London all day non-stop and our feet were tired.  Usually this is when I would begin to complain, but not in London I was so in love with the city I didn’t care if my feet hurt it was well worth the temporary pain.  London was a great way to start our trip I fell in love with the city, which helped set the stage to discover new places I had never seen before.  I cannot wait till the next time I am in London, which hopefully will be for the 2012 Summer Olympics!! 

Backpacking Across Europe

     Classes have officially finished in Cork and only two finals separate me from summer on Cape Cod, but finals don't begin until May!  With a month long spring break the option was clear for me and four of my friends.  We would spend April backpacking Europe! 
      Tomorrow we leave for London, our first stop,  followed by Prague, Paris, Verona, Sorrento, and anywhere else the wind takes us along our travels.  My excitement for this trip is indescribable. A trip like this is a once in a life time opportunity.  The only problem is packing; I didn't think anything could be harder than packing for Cork!  This tops it, fitting 3 weeks of clothes in a carry on is a whole new experience. 
    As much as possible, I will try to keep updating you about my travels, but for now, happy April!!

I Amsterdam

      A 4 am wake-up call began the three most interesting days in Europe so far.  My early morning flight had myself and friends in Amsterdam for a full day to start discovering.  To my surprise the use of English was a lot less prevalent than I had assumed.  As we tried to find our hostel we struggled to find someone who understood us,  and all the signs were in Dutch, confusing us even more. So far I have yet to travel somewhere that did not provide an English translation for everything, making me feel even further away form home as we wandered around looking for directions.
     The first thing I noticed about Amsterdam was the significant amount of bikes! Everyone rode bicycles; it was strange to see more bikes than cars!  When people are not riding bicycles they use the tram to get around.  We used the tram to get everywhere; it was fairly easy to figure out and only cost 7 Euros for three days.
     The second thing that surprised me about Amsterdam was how low key the smoking of Marijuana way.  Going to Amsterdam I knew it was legal, so I assumed it would be everywhere,  but it's actually only a small part of their culture.  It is only allowed in designated coffee shops,  not out on the streets like I thought.
      The third thing that amazed me about Amsterdam was the Red Light District.  This area is unlike anything I have ever seen.  In this area women stand in windows selling their bodies to anyone interested who walks by.  Walking down this street I wondered how these girls could do this night after night.  It made me sad that so many girls find this as a career.  Amsterdam was a very interesting city to visit.  Their flag with XXX across it couldn't be more fitting for this risky city.

Coming Attraction

When I first arrived in Cork I noticed that on the same road as our apartment building was a movie theater. My first thought was I'm studying abroad; I won't have time or won't want to go to the movies.  My thoughts have definitely changed about that since I have now seen 3 movies in the time I've been in Cork. The movies are the perfect dose of American culture when being in a place very different than home.  When a group of us decide to walk to the movies, it's like we're instantly brought to America.  The familiar smell of buttery popcorn, lots of candy and big comfortable movie chairs, even the snacks bring us back to home.  Sweet factory candy and fountain diet coke is a treat since most places don't have fountain soda.  When we sit down to the newest American blockbuster it's like we never left home.  Watching "Country Strong" brings us to Texas, "Limitless" brings us back to NYC, and "Just Go With It" takes us on a tropical Hawaiian vacation.  Going to the movies seems to be the instant cure for homesickness while in Cork!

16 Miles in the Rain

All semester our program director has been talking about how beautiful the hiking in Ireland is and that it is one of her favorite hobbies.  As one of the many activities she planned for us, she planned a 16 mile walk through Kerry.  When we heard that the walk was 16 miles, we first thought there would be no possible way to finish it, but Mary convinced us with all the walking we do in Cork we would be fine.  Our walk to class is a half hour at least, which is definitely a change from the 5 minutes it takes to get from the dorms at Loyola to the Quad.  The morning of the walk seemed to be a beautiful day to spend outside, the temperature was cool but refreshing, like a spring morning.  We began the hike into the Irish countryside.  The mountains were beautiful; it looked like a postcard you would mail home from a trip to Ireland.  After about a half hour it began to pour, but the difference between Ireland and America became apparent to all of us.  Instead of postponing the walk for a more beautiful day, the Irish don’t let the rain affect anything they do, so instead we marched on for another 14 miles in the rain.  It wasn’t just a light rain, the rain was coming down so hard that soon even with a rain jacket on, it felt like I had just got out of the shower and my sneakers had two puddles in them.  The nice walk we were supposed to have had turned into a blur of rain.  Even though it rained we made the best of it, and we were able to see scenery of Ireland that wouldn’t have been accessible in a car.

Kiss Me I'm Irish!

Experiencing St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin seemed to a group of us to be the only way to spend such a big holiday while in Ireland.  Nowhere else in the world is there a bigger celebration for this Irish holiday than the capital of Ireland!  Six of my friends and I packed overnight bags and headed to Dublin dressed in green.  When we arrived to the city centre it was the calm before the storm.  It was only around 10:30 and the parade did not start till 12.  The Garda was in full force setting up for the event.  The streets were blocked off and they were putting up metal gates that you would see for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, to hold back the huge crowd that would appear in just hours.  Even though it was very early we knew it was St. Patrick’s Day, so our first goal was to get our first beer of the day and something to eat.  We went to the most famous part of Dublin, Temple Bar, to look for a place to start.  As we walked, the crowd around us started to multiply with every passing minute.  After stopping at a few restaurants we found out quickly that until 12 nobody was allowed to serve alcohol, which changed our plan slightly.   We found a place to eat and waited patiently with all the others dressed in green waiting for their first drink also.   After eating it was a few minutes away from noon so we walked to the pub that we wanted to have our first drink at.  Outside the bar were groups of people waiting just like us.  It felt like New Years Eve in Time Square, everyone counting down until 12 so we could start to celebrate!  Finally we were inside with our first pint on St. Patrick’s Day and we knew it was going to be a great day.  Looking around the pub I realized I was in a sea of green; everyone was happy to be celebrating.  We spent the rest of the day going from pub to pub and watching the parade.  The whole city was in good spirits and it was sunny and warm making the day great.  March 17, 2011 will definitely be the best St. Patrick’s Day I’ll ever celebrate!! 

Iron Chef Ireland

I have a passion for cooking and baking and love watching the Food Network and Top Chef.  This is why my most recent experience in Cork is my favorite to date and worthy of its own blog post.  Our program director here at UCC planned a private cookery class for our group at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. The school is located on a huge organic farm in Cork County. The school gets just about all of its ingredients from the farms fruit and vegetable gardens and many animals.  The recipe to our trip goes as follows:

Ingredients:

1 reservation at Ballymaloe Cookery School

10-20 food-loving friends

Many good attitudes ready to get their hands dirty

Step One:

The groundwork before we began learning how to cook was to learn where the food came from.  We took a tour of the gardens and saw where the ingredients we would be working with came from.  The Gardens were beautiful; we passed apple and olive trees and gardens full off fresh herbs.  After the gardens we saw the pigs and chickens they keep for eggs and poultry.  Don’t worry, they didn’t show us the slaughterhouse, but it was clear that these animals would eventually be the days fresh dinner!

Step Two:

The preparation before getting in the kitchen involved an instructional session from the well-known Irish chef Rory O’Connell.  Rory showed us a variety of different recipes with a number of different difficulty levels.  He also taught us the very basics all chefs should know such as how to dice onions, mince garlic, and cook rice.  During this session the room filled with an aroma that could make anyone instantly hungry!  The combination of fresh bread baking, homemade sauce bubbling on the stove, and rhubarb pie in the oven made me more and more excited to get in the kitchen and start cooking!

Step Three:

Finally cooking! The kitchen was the combination of a restaurant kitchen and classroom.  The tables were combinations of desks and stove tops giving plenty of room to cook.  We spent the next two and half hours cooking delicious chicken, homemade bread, rice, and homemade pie.  Working with the food was fun and very hands on.  The teachers were only there to assist, other than that we were in charge of everything that went into our food. 

Step Four:

Finally it was time to eat the fruits of our labors.  A dining room was lavishly set up and we dined on a delicious homemade menu.

Loyola Cookery School Menu:

Appetizer:

Potato Leek Soup

Homemade Soda Bread

Main Dish:

Chicken & Mushroom

Tomato Fondue & Pasta

Sides:

Salad

Baked Potato

Rice

Dessert:

Rhubarb Pie

Apple Pie

Homemade cream

Drinks:

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice 

If you love cooking and find yourself in Cork, plan a day at Ballymaloe Cookery School!

When in Rome....

After spending only a weekend in Rome, Italy, I am a strong believer that everyone should at some point make a trip to Rome!  The combination of food, sights, shopping and weather should not be missed.  I could go on and on describing everything I loved about Rome, but it would be hard for me to do it justice.  Instead I will try to bring you as close as I can to my favorite sights with pictures from my wonderful weekend.

The Coliseum would be hard to miss when in Rome due to how large and spectacular it is.  I suggest taking a tour, the history behind this famous landmark is incredible!

The Spanish Steps are a great place to people watch or to grab a quick bite to eat.  The steps are beautiful in themselves and when walking to the top it’s nice to look out at the city.

The Trevi fountain is the most beautiful fountain you will ever see.  Throw 3 coins into the fountain for good luck and you’ll return to Rome!

The Vatican- If you’re interested in art take a tour of the Vatican, if arts are not your thing walking around on your own will do the trick. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica are breathtaking. 

The food in Rome is absolutely delicious.  My favorite restaurant of the weekend was L’archetto, a restaurant near the Trevi fountain; it’s off the beaten path but has the best pasta you will ever eat!

If you haven't been to Rome yet put it on the top of your list of places to travel!! 

and i lost my heart to a Galway girl...

After a few weeks spent in Cork, our group decided it was time to discover another part of Ireland and try our hand at traveling using public transportation.  The decision was unanimous; a trip to Galway would be the perfect weekend getaway.  We left Cork Thursday night right after class.  All 25 of us piled onto a bus giddy with excitement to see one of the most beautiful places in Ireland.  Galway may sound familiar to some, the movie P.S. I Love You and the song Galway Girl, has made it famous to many Americans, at least those who love a good love story.  We arrived at our hostel (sleep zone) late.  I was one of eight girls staying in a room together.  When we opened the door we all agreed that it looked similar to an orphanage, but would do for the weekend!  The next morning we woke up early and took a ferry out to the Island Inis Mor.  This small island is beautiful!  We took a bus tour since it was cold, but the Island is known for bike tours during the warmer months.  In the middle of the Island there was a path to hike up to the highest point on the Island.  We took the 15 minute hike and it was well worth it.  From the top you could see the entire Island and look miles and miles out into the ocean.  We spent quite some time on the top taking in the beauty.  It felt like I was finally in Ireland; this was the view I was waiting for!  The next day we went to the Cliffs of Moher which are some of the biggest cliffs in the world and a famous tourist attraction.  The cliffs were huge and definitely a sight to see, but it was nothing like the day before.  The Cliffs of Moher were too touristy with big gates that took the feel of being in nature away.  Overall it was a wonderful weekend and we all made it safe back to Cork.  We survived our first weekend of travel!!

A Tour of Cork and a Whiskey Distillery

After being in Ireland for a week we had our first group trip!  The day started with a walking tour of Cork.  A man named Liam led our tour explaining the history of Cork City.  On this tour we learned that Cork had previously been one of the largest butter producers in Europe.  Farmers from all over Ireland would bring their milk to Cork City to be made into butter and sold.  After our informative tour of Cork City we took a bus and headed to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery.  Jameson Whiskey is one of the most well known Irish whiskeys and a big part of Irish culture.  We took a tour of the old distillery learning how whiskey is made and how much work is put into just one bottle.  We toured the old distillery; the new distillery is closed to the public, but the process has changed very little in order to keep the recipe as good as it was when John Jameson made it himself.  At the end of the tour we had a whiskey tasting, comparing Jameson to Johnny Walker (scotch) and Jack Daniels (Bourbon).  We all agreed that Jameson was our favorite!! 

Six Months, Two Suitcases and Procrastination

Bringing myself to start packing was one of the more difficult things I’ve had to do recently.  Wrapping my mind around the fact I would have to fit six months of clothes into two suitcases was the first task.  I thought the perfect time to start would be the day before leaving around 3 P.M. I figured the pressure from my procrastination would help get a semester worth of outfits into two enormous red suitcases.  Now that I’m finally packed I’ve realized it wasn’t that bad and if I forgot anything it gives me a great excuse to go shopping.  With Irelands economy on the rocks my last minute packing might be just the thing to help pick it back up.