When in Rome...

I arrived in Rome late in the evening on Thursday March 20, and stayed with my cousin Sam. As you may remember, I ran into him in Paris. I woke up early on Friday morning to explore the Vatican City. First stop was the Vatican Museum, where I met up with Nick, CJ, and RH. The museum was massive and held some of the most beautiful and elaborate works of art I have ever seen. From sculptures to rugs to paintings, the museum had it all. We spent about three hours in the museum before making it to the Sistine Chapel. The interior of the chapel is incredibly detailed. I am so glad I got a chance to visit the Vatican Museum.

We then made our way to St. Peter's Basilica. The St. Peter's Square, the plaza in front of the church was massive and chairs were set up to host thousands of people for Mass on Sunday. The church itself was absolutely breath taking. The interior appeared to be made entirely of gold and marble. At this point, I have been to a lot of churches in Europe. None lay a finger on St. Peter's Basilica. We easily spent an hour admiring the beauty of the church before venturing to the top. We climbed over 500 steps to the interior of the dome and had a view of the entire church from the inside. After climbing through a very narrow spiral staircase, we reached the outside. The view from atop the most powerful church in the world was inspiring. The world's smallest sovereign state, is also one if the most influential.

Following a great day at the Vatican City, I met Nick, Audris, Carmen, Kristina, Kyle, Morgan, and Ashley at our apartment. We struck gold with AirB&B yet again. The apartment was lavishly decorated, perfectly located, and very spacious. It was easily within walking distance of both the Vatican and the Colosseum.

Once we were all settled went around town for an early dinner. I enjoyed a delicious Penne Arrabiatta. Later in the evening we made a stop for gelato at Della Palma - home to over 150 flavors of gelato. I enjoyed a large cone of Chocolate Strawberry, Banana Mango, and a soy chocolate gelato. Delicious is an understatement.

After our sweet treat we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. I tossed a coin into the fountain, as per tradition, to ensure a return trip to Rome someday. An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day, and are used to subsidize a supermarket for the needy in Rome. We all took our obligatory photos with the fountain, and Kyle decided to take a swim.

On Saturday, my final day in the ancient city, we rushed to the Colosseum. We got a full tour of the facility, which was home to gladiator fights way back when Rome was an empire. We also got a tour of the Roman Forum and the ancient ruins.

Following the tour, I explored the ruins a bit before heading to the Pantheon. I only stopped in briefly, as I had a train to catch, but the Pantheon can't be missed. Unlike most of Rome's ancient architectural wonders, the Pantheon remains very well maintained.

While Rome wasn't built in a day, I saw a good bit of it in just over a day. A beautiful city indeed, I can't wait until I return. Ciao!

A Postcard for you, from Genoa, Italy

I can't send postcards to all of you. Honestly, I've bought postcards from almost every city I've been in, but haven't sent any. Hopefully I'll get around to sending them all before I leave Europe. However, if I could send a postcard to each and every one of you, it would look like this:

The back of the postcard would read something along the lines of:

Disclaimer: If you happen to receive a postcard from me, the handwriting will not be as nice as the one above.

I spent the weekend with seven lovely ladies. Dana, Marin, Megan, Ashley, Annie, Justine, Jenny and I booked a trip three hours south of Lugano, in Genoa, Italy. Genoa is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. We stopped by his former residence on Friday evening.

The eight of us stayed in the penthouse of an apartment overlooking Porto Antico. This was my first time booking through AirBNB and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. We stayed in a very spacious apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and exclusive access to the rooftop balcony. This was a major upgrade from the hostels we've been staying in, at almost half the cost.

We settled in and made our way out for an early dinner around 5:30. It wasn't until we arrived at the restaurant that had been recommended to us that we realized most restaurants do not open until seven each evening. We explored the city a bit, before finding the Hofbräuhaus Genova, a smaller version of the original we visited in Munich. We spent about an hour there, before heading to dinner.

Pesto was invented in Genoa. While pesto usually contains pine nuts, I was hoping to find a restaurant that served a nut-free pesto, and I did. Unlike most restaurants, Tratoria Ugo did not have a menu. They serve different dishes each night. The options were simply listed out by the waiter. Marin and I enjoyed a delicious, nut-free pesto ravioli while the others had the traditional pesto.

On Saturday we made our way to Portofino, about forty minutes from Genoa by train. We spent the day in the sun and enjoyed lunch on the water at a restaurant frequented by George Clooney and Andrea Bocelli called Jolly. It was there that I had life-changing gelato. The chocolate gelato was the most amazing frozen dessert I have ever had. I couldn't help but stop at almost every other gelateria in Portofino that day.

Following a relaxing lunch we made our way to the beach. Unlike in the United States, the beaches in Italy are primarily rocky. While the temperature was in the mid-sixties, all of the locals were wearing heavy jackets. The girls and I however, did not hesitate to sport bathing suits and enjoy the weather while we could. We certainly stood out, and I got a few strange looks for jumping in the frigid water of the Ligurian Sea, but it was well worth it.

We returned to Genoa for dinner, where we stumbled upon a lovely restaurant called Cibaria. Our dinner was the perfect end to a perfect day. The food was some of the best I have ever had. My meal started with a artichoke and pepper bruschetta, followed by a spinach ravioli, and a fruit fondue that challenged the gelato for best dessert of the weekend. Champagne and wine made a few appearances in my glass throughout the night as well. The owner, Luca, was very passionate about his restaurant. If you're ever in Genoa, you can't pass up a meal at Cibaria.

On Sunday, we made the most of our last day in Genoa by going to the beach, again. Just a few minutes from our apartment, we were able to relax completely. The weather could not have been better. In case this blog post hasn't made you hungry already, I'll let you know that the margarita pizza crêpe I had with strawberry, banana, and chocolate gelato went well with the gorgeous scenery.

The fun didn't stop in Genoa. On Monday night, a few of us decided to take advantage of the perfect weather that followed us back to Lugano. We made our way to Stadio Cornaredo to cheer on our home team FC Lugano. We've been playing soccer with the locals a few times a week, but it was nice to sit back and watch with the hardcore fans of Lugano. The crowd chanted LU-GA-NO after the home team scored, what would be the game winner, late in the second half. We're hoping to make it to a few more games this season.

I've had the song "Another Postcard" stuck in my head since I started writing this post, and since I rocked a Barenaked Ladies shirt in Genoa, I can't help but end this blog with a video:

Next weekend I'll be venturing to Brussels, Belgium for a waffle-filled adventure. Ciao!

Solo Inter

Have you ever spent a Friday afternoon relaxing by Lake Como, Italy with George Clooney at his Italian Villa? Neither have I. I did, however, spend Friday afternoon by Lake Como exploring its surroundings. Nine of us ventured to the small town Friday afternoon prior to our weekend adventures. While we had no particular itinerary on this day trip, we made sure to have our first Italian pizza. Needless to say, it was delicious. While in Como, we saw the Volta Temple, honoring Alessandro Volta, the creator of the battery and visited a beautiful church, the Cattedrale di Como. Our visit was brief, but very enjoyable. I plan to return again later this semester, as the weather warms up.

 

On Saturday, Nick Carr and I woke up before sunrise to catch a train to Milan, Italy. After about thirty minutes of wandering through the streets of Milan, we found CioccolatItaliani, home of the greatest breakfast I have ever had. I thoroughly enjoyed a fresh waffle covered in 61% dark chocolate. The heavenly chocolate shop was located in the center of Milan's extravagant shopping district. 

Name any expensive brand, you'll find it in Milan. Armani, Gucci, Prada, the list goes on and on. While I couldn't afford anything in the famous shops, as simple t-shirts cost upwards of 90 euros, it was certainly fun to check out the famous Milanese fashion. 

The Duomo in Milan is one of the most incredible architectural wonders I have ever seen. On Friday, I was impressed by the Cattedrale di Como. The Cattedrale di Como is to the Duomo di Milan as a matchbox car is to a Hummer. Nick and I spent about an hour inside admiring the building's intricate detail and the beautiful stained glass windows. Outside the cathedral hundreds of people gathered to take pictures of the colossal structure and small children were grinning ear to ear as they fed the pigeons. 

I tried fried pizza for the first time at lunch. It was essentially a deep fried calzone, which sounds like a meal invented in the United States. It was spectacular. After lunch we explored the grounds of the Castello Sforzesco. 

As we left the castle, we came across a large crowd gathered in one of the piazzas. The crowd had gathered for a free concert by one of Italy's most beloved superstars, Biagio Antonacci. While neither Nick nor I were familiar with his music, we stayed to watch his concert. People of all ages crowded into the area to enjoy the show. Everybody in the audience seemed to know the lyrics to each of the superstar's songs. The concert was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far. 

We woke up early again on Sunday to return to Italy for the Inter Milan game. Molly Rose and I left early to explore Milan a bit more before Nick, Kyle and Ashley joined us. We returned to CioccolatItaliani for breakfast, where I had another heavenly chocolate covered waffle and finally had my gelato. The cone was filled with melted dark chocolate before scoops of strawberry and mandarin orange gelato were added on top. Words cannot describe how delicious it was. The rest of the group joined us soon after breakfast, and we made our way to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza to see Inter Milan take on Catania. We took the metro to the stadium and walked the final mile, where extremely elaborate graffiti lined the walls from the metro stop to the stadium.

Our seats were incredible, only twelve rows back behind the goal. This was the first time I had ever watched soccer from behind the net, which gave me a completely new perspective of my favorite sport. Despite the game ending as a scoreless draw (an American's worst nightmare) it was a thrill to see an Italian Serie A game in person. It is evident that the fans are incredibly passionate about their team, and the players intend to join Italy's dive team for the 2016 summer olympics. 

Next weekend's plans are still up in the air, though Munich seems to be calling my name. Ciao!