Thanksgiving

My friend Chloe and I.
The food table, notice my baked corn in the middle.
More food including yams my friend Deanna made that were amazing, and I don't even like yams.  
Getting everything ready


  Obviously Thanksgiving is not a Holiday in Italy but we couldn't let it pass without celebrating, so the girls that  live below me hosted a Thanksgiving party for our school.  We had a turkey prepared and then everyone brought side dishes.  I made my favorite, baked corn.  It took a little improvising because they don't sell creamed corn here but it worked out pretty well considering I was mostly making it up as I went along.  

  

 The party turned out so well.  We had about 35 people come, including some of our professors and their kids.  Everyone made delicious food, one girl even made barbecue chicken which I know is not traditional Thanksgiving food but I was so happy to eat it.  We had so much food, I can't believe how much I ate.  It was a wonderful night overall, and really nice to hang out with everyone outside of school.

  

 Also a benefit of hosting the event was that me and my "roommates" got to keep all the leftovers.  Today we had to go to the designer outlet mall for a class field trip.  It wasn't crazy, there is no such thing as black Friday here.  When we all got home around 2pm we made a huge lunch of leftovers and it really felt like Thanksgiving.  The girls I live with have really become like a family to me, they are all such a blessing.  

 I also got to videochat with my family yesterday which was wonderful.  I got to see my sister and brother and even my baby niece Hazel who is the cutest thing ever.  I can't wait to see everyone for Christmas, I can't believe its only three weeks away.  

 

  Since this is the first weekend in the whole month that I'm not traveling I'm enjoying relaxing.  In between I will be working on all my homework though.  I am definitely ready for this semester to be over.  

Odds and Ends

Robin and I on top of a old monastery in Ireland

So I've been in Italy for three months now. I only have three weeks of the semester left! Then I'll be in Florida for about three weeks and then on January 9th I'll come back for Spring semester.

  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but since it is an American holiday we don't get the day off.  We are having a Thanksgiving dinner though. I'm making baked corn because its my favorite.  I'm going to be able to see my family via skype but of course I will I could be there.  Especially for the showing of Indiana to the significant others.  On Friday I will watch Muppets Christmas Carol as per my tradition since my Mom is amazing and sent it to me! Yay for getting into the Christmas spirit

A few more Dublin photos

Abby and I hanging out with some sheep.
Abby, Robin and I at the Hill of Tara.
Again the three of us in the countryside.
Casey, Alex, Mya, Yvonne and I at the Guinness factory.
Me being silly with a statue of creepy children.

Ireland part two

St. Patrick's Cathedral 
Me and my friend Alex in our matching red coats.
      The classic jumping picture in front of St. Patricks.

So continuing from where I left off about Saturday.  After our tour we went back to the hostel and then ate dinner.  That night we went out to a pub that was recommended to us by someone working at the hostel.  It was a really cool place, they had the best dj I've ever heard who played everything from Prince, the Beatles to Snoop dogg.  I tried cider which was really good but too sweet to have more than one.  

Sunday we went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, one of the few things open on Sunday.  It was a bit of a hike but it was nice to see something other than downtown.  The building was a hostipal that was built in the 17th century and is beautiful.  After the museum we took the tram back into the center and walked around and went into a few stores.  I ate lunch with a few of my friends at this cool hipster cafe that used free range eggs and fair trade coffee.  I had a breakfast burrito and black coffee as my last meal before returning to Italian food.  After that we went to the airport, fortunately our flight back was direct.  

Tomorrow is my roommate Robin's birthday which I'm very excited for.  We are going to Rome on Friday to see the Cold War Kids, one of our favorite bands, to celebrate.  We are only staying for Friday night which is nice since I've been traveling for the past two weekends.  I finally went to the landromat tonight and did laundry so at least I'm caught up on that.  

I'll post more pictures once I get them from my friends.  Most of the pictures of me are on other people's cameras so I have to get them, but then I'll post more.

...and I don't even like Guinness

Hill of Slane
Remains of Mellifont Abbey
First Celtic Cross
They drive on the opposite side of the street, don't get hit by a car!

I spent most of Thursday traveling.  Train to Pisa, flight to Edinburgh then flight to Dublin.  Good news is that I got three passport stamps from this weekend so thats awesome.  

 Thursday night we got to our hostel around 1am and while my 7 friends that I was traveling with went out I went to sleep because I was really tired.

Friday morning we walked around the city, stopping by Trinity College (the oxford of Ireland) and St. Patrick's Cathedral where my friend Abby got to say the Lord's prayer and a really cute old guy gave us an informal tour.  In the afternoon we went to the Guinness factory which was really cool.  It is a self guided museum that explains about the history of the company and how the beer is made.  I especially enjoyed the section on their advertising campaign where I watched a bunch of their old commercials that were hilarious.  The building is shaped like a giant pint glass and at the top there is a 360 bar where you get a free beer.  It is suppose to be the best Guinness in the world because it comes directly from the brewery.  I did try my beer but I already knew that I didn't like Guinness so I gave it to one of my friends.  

Friday night I went to Hard Rock Cafe with two of my friends.  I know its touristy and american but I don't care!  It was amazing to have buffalo wings and they were playing old music videos that were very entertaining.  I also got a pin to add to my collection. 

Saturday I went on a tour of Celtic landmarks outside of the city including Fourknocks which is a megalithic passage tomb that is 5000 years old, the Hill of Slane where St. Patrick lit a fire to proclaim Christianity to Ireland, Mellifont Abbey which used to be a monastery before Henry VIII destroyed it.  We also saw the first Celtic cross and the tallest one.  The countryside was beautiful, even in November and most of the ruins we were able to climb on which was fun.  We stopped for lunch is a little village pub where we had turkey, mashed potatoes and veggies.  It was delicious and reminded me of a my Grandma.  In the afternoon we went to the Hill of Tara which was the first capital of Dublin.  We chased sheep around and then had hot chocolate from a little cafe.  Our tour guide was excellent, he made all the history really interesting and I learned a lot.  

more later!

I couldn't resist to share...

Chocolates that are suppose to look like chestnuts

Strudel!

Shaggy cows that resemble ewoks

Me on the wooden bridge in Lucerne

Here are a few more pictures from Switzerland for your enjoyment.  

I'm off to Dublin tomorrow!

Switzerland continued

Casey and I at the top of Grossmunster.
On the ferry boat
At the top of Grossmunster
Being silly on a modern art sculpture.
Holding the beer shaped menus.

 So from where I left off- Friday afternoon.  After the tour we got dinner at a pub where I got chicken wings, although they aren't served with hot sauce here which was a little bit of a let down.  Then we went to this bar that is at the top of an observatory.  It is a 360 view of the city which was all lit up.  I ordered an apple martini and thought of many scrubs quotes that I would have said aloud if anyone I was with would have known what I was talking about.  

  

 Saturday we went to Lucerne which is a small town in central Switzerland about an hour from Zurich.  There was a farmers market going on which is where we bought homemade strudel and fresh apple cider which were both delicious.  Then we went to an art museum which was awesome.  They had a wonderful collection of modern art including Picasso, Chagall, Renoir, and many others.  The museum was very peaceful and the perfect amount of art that I got my moneys worth but didn't get overwhelmed.  For lunch we ate soft pretzels and sat by the river.  Then we walked to the edge of the city where the old wall that went around the city is still intact.  It is connected by 5 giant towers.  We also saw some amazing shaggy cows.  

Then we went back to Zurich and met some hilarious Swiss people at a bar.  They felt the need to shout "Yes we can" intermittently throughout the evening and bought us drinks, one being a "traditional Swiss drink" according to them.  I guess it could be true but it was so disgusting that I'm surprised that they wanted to take credit it for it being from their country.  

Sunday was the day I had been waiting for and the main reason I wanted to go to Switzerland this weekend in particular.  Weegie is finishing up his two month around the world trip in Europe so I got to meet up with him and his girlfriend Lana.  It was so amazing to see them.  First it was weird to be meeting up with family members in a foreign country but it was so comforting to see them.  Mostly we walked around the city which was pretty dead since it was Sunday morning.  Then we went to a famous cafe to get hot chocolate.  I was very sad that I only had a few hours with them until Lana reminded me that I will be seeing them in Florida in about six weeks.  I was totally taken by surprise by how fast the semester is going.  

The traveling craziness because on Thursday me and my 7 "roommates" are all going to Dublin.  I use the word roommate loosely, technically Robin is my only roommate but the 6 girls that live one floor below us I include in that because I'm always with them too.  

So overall Switzerland was amazingly beautiful.  It was a stress free trip, its so nice to travel in a small group of three people who are all incredibly easy going.  It definitely wins the award for having the nicest people of any country I've been to.  It was so wonderful to see my brother, I can't wait until Christmas when I get to spend more that a few hours with him. 5 weeks from Friday I'll be flying home!

"I think Santa lives here"

Me, Casey and Karina with Grossmunster in the background

The ferry boat ride
View of the city from the top of Grossmunster.  The clock face you see is the biggest in all of Europe.
Grossmunster at night

  This weekend I went to Zurich!  I left Thursday morning and spent 61/2 hours on a train.  It really wasn't that bad, the scenery was beautiful and time flew by.  I went with three of my friends, Casey, Chloe and Karina.  We got there around 4pm and we were so hungry that we immediately went  to find food.  We stumbled across a beerhall that had surprisingly good food...and american coffee!  I had hash browns and eggs, and the waiter was confused when we asked if we could still order breakfast because they don't consider that breakfast.  I snagged a newspaper with Barack Obama on the front and the German headline.  

  

After we dropped our stuff of at the hostel we walked around the city and stumbled upon a outdoor market.  Everyone is so nice in Switzerland and we got some recommendations on where to go from some locals.  We hit up a cool hipster bar that night that had a dj playing an eclectic mix of music. 

  Friday we walked around more, wandering around the main shopping area and finding some great vintage stores.  Then we went to the top of Grossmunster, the main church of Zurich.  The weather was beautiful, although it was cold the sky was clear.  For lunch we went to a famous grill and got delicious bratwurst.  

  

  - A side note: many people have commented about how many times I mention food.  Let me explain, I know that everyone, including myself, loves Italian food.  However there is a difference once you start eating something constantly for two months.  So we I get to eat different food it is amazing and half the fun of traveling.  So that is why I always talk about the food I eat.  

  Friday afternoon we went on a city tour where we went to Framunster, the other big church, and saw the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall, who is one of my favorite artists.  Then we took a cable car up to the top of a mountain where we could see the whole city and lake.  Then we took a ferry boat ride across the lake and drove along the gold  coast where all the rich people live.  

More info and pictures later...I have to go to class.

So much happiness!

 Perhaps I should amend the title.  Overall, I am very happy with my life.  Today though I am euphoric.  This morning I got up and raced to the computer clicking on my New  York Times bookmark to see OBAMA in huge letters.  I've haven't talked about my political views in my blog before because I didn't want to turn this into a platform for my opinions.  Today however I am just going to say that I have been a huge Obama fan ever since I read his book The Audacity of Hope last summer.  I am very pleased that he won, especially about the fact that he won Pennsylvania.  I'm very much looking forward to the next four years.

 Last Thursday one of my best friends from high school, Amelia, came to Florence to stay with me for the weekend.  She is studying in Spain for the semester.  It was so fun to hang out with her.  We walked around a lot, went to a wine bar, ate pizza, went to San Michealanglo where there is a beautiful view of the city.  It was fun to be a tourist in my own city and we did several things that I've never done.  She left Monday night and I was sad to see her go.  It was a great weekend and I'm so glad that it worked out that we could see each other.  

 Tomorrow I am heading to Zurich with three of my friends.  On Sunday I will be meeting up with Weegie and his lovely girlfriend Lana.  I know Lana very well, she is like a sister to me and I'm so excited to see both of them.  Weeg has been traveling for almost two months now and its been hard to keep in touch so I can't wait to hear about everything he has seen and done so far.  

  So back to the original point, Obama won, I'm going to Switzerland tomorrow where I get to see two of my favorite people= my being VERY happy!