too much to do, too little time: paris

5 of 5

Thursday we drove to Paris, and that night we saw the Hunger Games! Then we went to a couple bars in the Moulin Rouge district, which was a cool area.

Friday morning we went to the Lourve at 8:30am, when it opened at 9. And the line was already long! So we rannnn through the Lourve and saw the major sights in like an hour. It is the BIGGEST art museum I've ever seen. It goes on and on and on. Said hi to Mona and left. Then we did a walking tour of Paris, which was only okay. We didn't really go to any big sites. Then we walked through Champs Elysee to get to the Arc du Triomphe. We took the metro to the eiffel tower and took a couple pictures (got a crepe on the way). Then got on the metro again and went to Notre Dame, but the line was INSANE, like hundreds of people. So we snapped a couple pics and walked down the street to Sainte Chapelle. This was the number one thing that I wanted to do because it's a gorgeous chapel that I've loved forever and always have wanted to go to, so we got on line and OBVIOUSLY they cut off the line right in front of the people in front of us. like we were the second group to be cut off. great. that sucked. so i was upset. but whatever, guess I have to go back!

we went to Sacre Coeur where we sat on the steps and saw a gorgeous view of Paris and watched the sunset with wine and baguettes. Of course I said a prayer over them for Passover! That area has some cute restaurants so we went in one and I had GREAT french onion soup and a girl we were with had escargot.

Saturday (the last day) we went to Versailles, which was HUGE and gorgeous. There were a lot of people there, so we rented bikes and rode around and saw the sheep and Marie Antoinette's cottage. It was so pretty.

Then we flew home that night!

Anyways, I'm SUPER SUPER exhausted, and now sick. Paris was by far my least favorite, but the other three were unreal. Paris was just too much to do and too little time. How do you do Paris in 2 days, with the crowds of Easter weekend? Impossible. I loved this trip, and I could have never done it myself. It was all the cities I wanted to go to, but didn't have the time for. Now time for some sleep!!

If it ain't much, it ain't dutch: amsterdam

4 of 5

on tuesday we arrived to Amsterdam, which was such an amazing city! They're all about sex and drugs and peace, and anti violence (opposite of America). We did a walking tour of Amsterdam, where we got to try Gouda cheese and see the red light district, and sit by canals. Then we went to the Anne Franke House, which was so moving. You actually got to stand in the rooms where they stayed, and the museum was so well put together.

We then tried to find the Iamsterdam sign, and we first found the wrong one and had to take a boat over to it. It was nice cause no one was there. But there are 3 of the signs in Amsterdam and so we found all three!

Then we took a tour of the Red Light District, which was super interesting. I thought that it was just one street with a couple girls, but little did I know that it was blocks and blocks full of girls in windows with different types of girls. It was craaaazy.

The next day (wednesday) we took the tram to the Van Gogh Museum, which was awesome. And then we went to the REAL Iamsterdam sign. We were first in line for the Bols Museum (Bols is genever and liquer, all different flavored alcohol) and went through this really cool experience where you learn about taste and smell (you smell all the different flavors and guess what they are)...and then you make a custom drink based on your preferences. It was so cool.

Then we went to the Heineken experience, which was cool. There was this video where you stand on this platform that moves and it is like you're being turned into beer and bubbles come from the ceiling and it's so cool. We went to this pancake house called Carousel after that and it's built around a carousel and i got a bacon and apple pancake YUM YUM.

That's pretty much it for Amsterdam, it was pretty chill. I love love love the city, it's so cool that it's built all around canals and it's such a laid-back, liberal city. I DEFINITELY want to go back and I think everyone needs to go!!

the street art of berlin

3 of 5

So after Prague, on Sunday we drove to Berlin. Berlin is amazing. I had no idea what to expect, but it's literally an artist's (my) paradise. If only it weren't in Germany...

Anyways, we got there and went to the Jewish Museum (yet AGAIN being a jew!). It actually was really really cool. It was more of a history of Jews instead of just focusing on the Holocaust, so it was a new perspective. It also was a very interactive museum, which was interesting, too. The building is like zig-zagged and super big. There was this room you walk in where there are bronze faces that you walk on called the memory room. You walk on them and they make loud noises and it's like you're walking on the dead people. It was so creepy, I had to leave. And then there's this Holocaust Tower that was so moving. You stand in this room that's pitch black and really cold, and there's a tiny opening at the top of it that lets in the only light. And there's a ladder but you can't reach the bottom of it. And this woman closes the door, and you're not sure if it's locked or not. Super creepy, but really effective. I also ran into some girls from my sorority there! Small world.

It was freezing and windy, so after the museum, we went and got AMAZING burritos near our hostel. It made me miss Anna's Taqueria and Tango Mango!! We went on a bar crawl that night, but I was so tired that it kind of sucked.

Monday we did the walking tour of Berlin, where we had a really cool guide. I learned so much about the history of Berlin and the Berlin wall. We saw the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and Museums Island, plus more. We also stood where Hitler committed suicide, which was really creepy. I just couldn't imagine that we were standing right there. Right before that we walked through the Holocaust memorial there, which was so abstract but so moving. It reminded me of the buildings they lived in at the concentration camps, or graves, or how there was so much below the surface (because it looks flat, but the middle goes down so the blocks are towering above your head).

Right after that we did an alternative tour of the street art and artists of Berlin, which was the best tour I've ever taken in my life. We walked all around and learned about the techniques of street art and the street artists of Berlin. We also went to this house called Tacheles, which is a building covered in graffiti where artists live and have studios and sell their work. It's about to be taken over by the government because they don't have any money, so I could have been one of the last people in there. It's really sad because the artists built up the area and they don't have anywhere to go, so there's a big fight to save it. We then went to the East Side Gallery, which is part of the Berlin wall where they brought in artists to paint it, and it's so long and AMAZING. omg i loved it.

On the tour we also saw this house that this man built because he wanted to live somewhere but people wouldn't let him, so he built himself a house on a piece of land and now people visit it all the time. Such a cute story. Oh, and I ran into the girls from my sorority AGAIN!

We had burritos for dinner again..oops...and then got on the overnight bus to go to Amsterdam!!

berlin was such a surprise to me. I had no idea how cool of a city it is,...it's so underrated. I really want to go back and learn more about the street art and artists of Berlin!

mm mm prague

2 of 5

So after I met up with Kathy, we got on a bus for 13 hours to Prague. There were like 14 of us on the bus (41 on the trip total), but we didn't know about the option of flying straight to Prague. Good one becca. I definitely could NOT sleep on the bus. There is no comfortable position of lying down on a coach bus. I woke up like every hour. Also, our trip was full of Boston people, it was crazy! There was Needham (me, duh), Concord, Littleton, Framingham, Lexington, and Franklin. MA represent. At our rest stop on the way there, a couple of girls and I made a realization that if anyone from outside of MA knew one town in Mass, it would be Newton. Just everyone in the world knows of Newton. Craziness.

So we get to Prague after 13 hours of on and off sleep and our leader tells us that we have 10 minutes to get ready. Not cool. So then we went on our 3 hour walking tour. There were a couple characters on our trip. First of all, this youtube celebrity, Dom Mazzetti was on our trip, who was being paid to be there. Work? And this kid who literally is an alcoholic who carried a bottle of alcohol in a paper bag with him at all times. So great start. Our tour guide in Prague was this crazy man who was hyperactive and super strange. He looked like a leprechaun and called himself the Swedish ninja and leaped everywhere and fought people with waterbottles as swords. Dude, this guy was not okay. He also made really awkward jokes that weren't funny and like hugged people and made them uncomfortable. I'd say it might have been the most uncomfortable 3 hours of my life. We walked through the Old Town, the New Town, and the Jewish Quarter. After the tour we went to the Jewish Museum (look mom! i'm jewish!), which was really really interesting. The walls had every person's name who died from the Holocaust from Prague, including which area they lived in. The museum also had a room of drawings that children did during the Holocaust and this woman saved them all and hid them. It was amazing to see the Holocaust from the perspective of a child. Behind the museum was the jewish cemetery. There were piles and piles of gravestones packed on top of each other. And the cemetery was 11 rows deep of people because they didn't have a lot of room so they built on top of it. So sad.

Then we went to the center of the Old Town and went to the market and got a Czech sausage and this spiral pastry called a Trdelnik. The whole center was full of easter decorations because of the week and there were handmade easter eggs everywhere that were beautifullllly decorated. Then we went and climbed to the top of the clock tower and saw an amazing view from the top. At the top of every hour, the clock comes to life and little figures start moving and a man plays a trumpet from the top.

We took the metro home and went up the longest escalator in Europe...the things we see. On the way home, we happened to get on the prague news from a window (like the today show) and a little girl followed us for a couple blocks (scary cause we thought she was going to pickpocket us). We stayed in a really nice hostel with great showers. That night we went on a REALLY fun pub crawl and met up with my friend Emily from WashU who is also living in Madrid. One of the bars had like random ruins in it...what's going on in Prague?

The next day (Saturday) we went to the Prague Castle, so so cool. It was a whole little town and the cathedral there was GORGEOUS. The most amazing stained glass I've ever seen. Then we walked to the Lennon wall, which was also superrrrr cool. People are just allowed to do whatever they want to do to it, so people spray painted on it and wrote on it. My name is on it! We then walked over the Charles Bridge. We had lunch with our tour group at this Czech restaurant where two men played the accordion and tuba while we ate. I had a typical Czech lunch: beer, vegetable soup, goulash, and apple strudel. I felt like such a native. It actually was pretty good too.

After lunch I met up with Pavla (my old au pair from when I was 5), her daughter Christina, her boyfriend, and her sister Petra. So crazy to see them after so long and they look exactly the same. It was so good to see them! Then we were in a rush for dinner so we went to this Chinese restaurant right next to our hostel, which was the funniest place I've ever been to. The woman didn't speak english and we had to correspond pictures of the food to a menu with numbers on it. They had items like chicken with strange taste, chicken with mysterious taste, and eight treasures with spicy sauce)...ummmm? I had no idea what I was ordering. And Kathy, trying to communicate with this woman, thanked her with a bow...and wild hand motions. It was so hilarious, but the food was actually okay.

that night we went to an 80s and 90s club where they showed they music videos on a huge screen. it was all older people, but it was fun to listen to older music for a change.

Overall I love love Prague and want to go back ASAP.

SpRiNg BrEaKkKkkk 2012: Firenze

1 of 5

so this is where you START. i'm separating my 5 cities on spring break into 5 posts so it's easier to read, but it's backwards because it's in chronological order. so deal with it.

here we gooooo:

so the past 12 days was SPRING BREAK YEAH BABY!!! But it was the most tiring 12 days of my life. honestly. i'm dead and sick. first stop was Florence. Wednesday morning I flew through Barcelona (the biggest and cleanest and nicest airport ever) to Florence. This is the tiniest, oldest airport ever. I stumbled around with some other confused Americans to the bus and hopped on. I got to know some Italian people real well, up close and personal. Finally when I arrived to the Santa Maria Novella train station, I walked outside and it was 75 and sunny. And I was in a sweater and a scarf and boots. great. so now I'm sweating like crazy and waiting for my friend to come pick me up. Thank god she found me because I was going to get a heat rash.

I stayed with the sophomore art school washu students (mostly pi phi). We put my stuff in their apartment and then I followed Julie around while she did her errands. I also walked by Rachel's apartment from when she studied abroad! When everyone got out of class, we cooked dinner. Yes, cooked. Pesto pasta and spinach and herb chicken and red wine. Homemade pasta. Unreal. Then we went out that night to a club called 21. I ran into a boy from my Musiker trip to Spain! Small world.

Thursday, the girls had class again so I waited until they had their lunch break and we got paninis and sat outside the church and ate on the steps. When they went back to class, I walked around alone taking pictures. I had already been there so it felt very repetitive so I did a quick sweep of florence. Then I wandered through the market and found a bag I loved, and desperately needed of course, and bargained with the man. We then all had dinner at a pizza restaurant and I went to the bus station to meet up with Kathy for the bus trip. Sarah and Sofia came with me and it felt like they were my parents bringing me to camp.

Going to Florence again made me realize that I could not study abroad there or live there. I like living in a big city like Madrid, and Florence is just too small for me. Also, walking around, I realized that there are SO SO many Americans there. Students and tourists everywhere. I like living in Madrid where there are people who don't know a word of English and I have to speak Spanish in order to survive. Usually I don't see other American students unless I'm at a bar or club. So being in Florence definitely reassured my decision to come here!!

romantic weekend with danielle

This weekend, I had a class trip to Granada and Córdoba in the south of Spain. Basically our entire class ignored me and Danielle, and therefore we had a romantic weekend together.

We had a 8 hour bus ride down to Granada from Madrid and when we got there, Danielle and I had lunch at a cafe. Then we had this long long tour of La Capilla Real (the royal chapel), which was kinda boring. Our tour guide spoke half in spanish and half in english and when she spoke in english, she exaggerated the last syllable of every word, which got really really annoying. Then we watched the disney channel in spanish in our room while we "got ready" and we hopped on the bus. They brought us to a restaurant where Danielle thought that "piscina" meant fish and she doesn't like fish...but piscina means pool...BUT we had fish so she was actually correct. We had a 4 course meal with a bottle of wine (thanks SLU!) including some salad with a shrimp on it with eyes staring at me, mystery meat, mystery fish, and ice cream. Then we went to a flamenco show, which was really really cool. The dancing is incredible and it's really emotional. The dancers can move their feet so fast and they get SO into it.

Saturday we went to La Alhambra, a city on top of a hill, and walked around for hours. It was raining, which kind of sucked, but it was cool to see a place that I've studied in art history this semester. The Muslim influence in the architecture is really cool to see there. Then we had lunch, where I swear the cook took a microwavable pizza and stuck it in the microwave for a couple minutes and served it to me. We had a two hour bus ride to Córdoba, where we drove around in circles for so so long. But really. We had free time for the rest of the day (5pm on...great) with no knowledge of the area at all. So we walked in a general direction and followed the people...and thank the lord found some restaurants. And by we, I mean me and Danielle again...because our class hates us and chose not to be nice to us. That's okay...we had a nice romantic weekend. Anywaysssss...we had dinner outside in this shopping area and had free tapas with a beer. And ice cream. Oops. Then we watched Jimmy Fallon, a documentary of marijuana, and a reenactment of the killing of Bin laden in our room because that's the only english channel there was...well the Bin Laden show was in German.

Sunday we got up super duper early and had a tour of la catedral de córdoba (which is actually a mosque) with a tour guide that only spoke spanish. That was really really cool...the architecture is amazing. And we walked to the baths of cordoba...which was underground and dark and old. It's where the men bathed in cold, lukewarm, and hot rooms. Interesting. Then we had two hours for lunch...and we had lunch outside next to some orange trees. Yum. Finally we went back home (6 hour drive).

Granada and Córdoba were really cool cities, and I'm glad I went but I probably won't go back. The people on our trip weren't so great...whatever. Thank god Danielle was there.

Orange trees!

Catedral de Córdoba

the decorations in La Alhambra were amazing

Palacio de Comares...La Alhambra

Flamenco show!!

mona lisa smile

so today in my art history class, we were talking about velázquez and his self-portrait. he painted himself in one of his paintings, La Rendición de Breda, and our teacher told us about how they had another painting by him and they thought it was just of a random man, but once they actually cleaned it well, they compared it to the Breda painting and it was actually a self-portrait, therefore making the painting increase substantially in value. I thought this was so cool because for years people walked by it, thinking it was nothing, until one day they cleaned it and it was so much more.

This is exactly like the Mona Lisa painting in the Prado here! You can read the story here but basically they had a regular painting up in the Prado for years, until they actually cleaned it recently and realized that it was a painting of the Mona Lisa, but done at the same time as Leonardo da Vinci. It shows that one of da Vinci's pupils must have painted it but someone in the 18th century painted the background black because that's what was in style at the time. No one knew what was underneath until now! It was really cool to see it at the Prado (twice!) and I was really excited to show my family when they came, but they just moved it this past week to the Louvre in Paris to compare them side by side (where the real Mona Lisa is). So now I'm really upset because I can't show them! But just wanted to share a little art history with you!