EUROPE ADVENTURES

Okay time for UPDATES on my life in Europe!!

Thursday- class and had calamari and amazing zucchini/potato/onion mixture of veggies, packed and did hmwk

FRIDAY-

Class…which typically flies…went on for days. DAYS. I was so antsy I couldn’t stand it. And we had a test that everyone bombed horribly, including me. oh well. After class, my two friends and I flew out of the room and we stopped by leclerc to grab a bagette and get some serious bank money. Then off we flew! Took a 2pm train to Bordeaux and thought we’d just chill and take an easygoing taxi to the airport from the train station but turns out there was some huge traffic issue and we had to take backroads to the airport which took about 40 minutes…I was having panic attacks that we would miss our flight all the way to the airport. We made it to the airport about 5 30 for a 6 10 flight. We ran upstairs, waited in line for security but we asked the guy if he thought we’d be fine making our flight or if we could go through early, he said no worries. So we waited, then we got up front and found out we were in the WRONG airport for Ryanair and then we all panicked and ran around the airport till I asked the same guy we’d asked earlier for security and he told us to go next to the airport. So we ran. It was 5 50, I was having almost a literal asthma attack and the airport security was sort of giggling at the incredibleness of our timing. A flight attendant walked over to us and showed us where the boarding was and we got on, sweat, near tears and all. We had MADE IT.

So yes. The flight. Ears were a popping and strangers sitting next to me were grumpy and airplane food was expensive but we got to bologna on time. 98% of all ryanair flights land…on time. We thought they might say safely but it was on time haha.

Got to bologna, had some issues figuring out what to do and where to find a friends bf that studies in Italy that we met up with but we wound up taking a taxi to our 1st beautiful hostel and by then it was 10ish and we needed grub. The hostel man, who clearly loved me, recommended a nearby place and we went. OH MON DIEU I had mussels and noodles…it was called spaghetti (Italian word) mussels and we all split a sausage pizza and vino. It was amazing! I was in heaven. Then after dinner the waiter gave us free melon cello and biscuit lemon cookies b/c I was charming I guess  Delicious and a treat!

Quickly, we started out on my goal list which was : scarves, see David and eat gelato every hour on the hour (didn’t happen every hour but we did eat a lot). But my 1st flavor, we stopped after dinner, was nutella and I was in heaven, dear lordy lord. I never tried nutella until france on a crepe but as a aGELATOO flavor gahhhh I died.

SATURDAY-

Okay! So, we went to sleep, woke up early, early for coffee and a pastry chocolate croissant yummm and then hit the train station for Florence. WHAT a city. So gorgeous, so much history, so much gelato. Don’t judge me for how much food I ate, I honestly kept saying im only in Italy for two days so I must try everything my stomach can hold haha.

Okay so we started off the day just me and my friend laura cuz my other friend wanted to spend the day alone with her bf. So I bought my 1st scarf right away and then laura and I hit the 1st gelatorium we saw- my 1st was tiramisu yummmmm. Then we walked to our hostel to drop off our bags and walked in the town and my jaw never was closed, so gorgeous! Hazenut and chocolate gelato was next and then we stood in line the Accademia museum to see michelangelo’s david…we walked inside and I cried when I saw it…honestly it was so perfect and beautiful and out of a dream, my dreams. I took 3 illegal pictures, oh well. It was so beautiful and perfectly sculpted and flawless.

After the david, laura and I shopped a LOT, seeing the giant lines of shops in the big market and scarves and scarves..I wound up with 4 total for myself total of $20, a splurge but it was necessary I LOVE THEM! Anyway, we munched on nutella/whipped cream fried waffles, zucchini pizza, fanta (it doesn’t have artificial sweetener here!! tastes amazing), raspberry and pineapple gelato. Yum galore. My taste buds were pleased, not so much my belt…oh well. We walked the whole day!

Saw everything in Florence, we walked along the river and it was a dream with men playing guitars and Italian sultry music on the streets and funny-dressed people. We wound up napping for a bit and then met up with my friend and her bf for dinner, I had spaghetti alla carbonara OH GOODNESS MIO I loved it soooo. It was like…creamy sauce made with eggs, some pork strips and deliciousness noodles yum. I was so happy with our meal.

Laura and I went back to our hostel to get ready and then went out with our friends dancing, it was very different from in the states and we all have stories of funny men in the bars now. On the streets walking places, men were always shouting ciao, bella to us everywhere! I guess we are all just so bella they cannot resist! On our way home from the bars, laura and I had another gelato, pistachio for me! my favorite! I dread the day that I go into a usa ice cream shop and I don’t see pistachio, it never happens in Europe!

SUNDAY-

Went to bed about 4am and slept till 8am, had a shower that felt amazing and we bought authentic Italian breakfast pastries and water. Met up with our other friends and had fresh cherries and then hopped a train to bologna, then aerobused to the airport in bologna. In bologna airport, we ate at the food court, pesto risotto for me with artichoke hearts and a coffee, then we went through the long ordeal of waiting in lines to get things validated, etc. relaxed, drank a fanta and hopped a plane ride to Bordeaux that I slept on for the full hour and a half.

In Bordeaux, we took an expensive taxi ride to the train station and grabbed sandwiches made with French fries? So delicious and a fanta! We did our hmwk on the train….mine still isn’t all the way done and it is midnight…I’m off to work on stuff now!

Overall, amazing, I achieved my goals of buying scarves, seeing david and eating gelato and I LOVE LOVE LOVED Italy and am so thrilled I can say I have been there! It was unreal, surreal and beyond my wildest expectations.

It is my 4th week in pau, only 9 more days of class before I leave for my 2nd program in paris!