We're on a 40+ nudist beach, well it must be SPRING BREAK

Hola amigos,

I'm back from my first trip to Spain and it was quite the adventure. I'm not even sure you could call it Spain. It was a strange combination of Africa, Mexico and the Jersey Shore, really. Hearing all of the stressful (and cold) traveling that a lot of other students endured over our 10-day break, I'm so grateful to have taken a "vacation from my vacation" to bask in the African sun and live life on island time. For those of you who are avid followers of this blog (Mom and Aunties), I'm about to disappoint you. Eight days in the islands is way too much to cover going day by day. The whole experience was too weird and crazy to even document. It's one of those things I'll just have to hold in the back of my mind forever, but here's a quick summary!

Our 24-hour Journey:

• 4 hour train from Florence to Rome
• 1 hour stop for lunch in Rome 
• 1 hour sitting on the streets of Rome because we just missed the bus
• 1 hour 30 minute bus ride to Rome FCO Airport
• 2 hour check-in time in Rome FCO
• 3 hour flight to Madrid 
• 7 hour layover in Madrid (sleeping on tile floor)
• 3 hour flight to Las Palmas 
• 30 minute cab to Beverly Park Hotel

Luckily, after all of that we were greeted with a beautiful hotel room and beautiful views! Essentially, the part of the island is split up into three diverse sections. The senior citizens resorts (where we stayed), the Jersey Shore (where the boys stayed), and the ritzy area (where no one stayed but we treated ourselves to dinner). This about sums it up:

Our Adventures:

• Hot-tubbing with a 50-year-old Irish couple
• Drinking cocktails at 11 a.m. (it's 5 o'clock somewhere?)
• Hiking to the top of a mountain 
• Showing up to dinner when it was still siesta time (we are senior citizens)
• Eating delicious Canarian shrimp
• Seeing our first glimpse of European "swimwear"
• Showing up for breakfast with the old folks at promptly 9 a.m. every morning in our PJs
• Shelling out cash to a sketchy guido named "Mo" who gave us free club entrances and two bottles of cheap vodka
• Sharing 6 pitchers of sangria and 9 plates of Spanish seafood paella with the Tiger crew
• Attending a sketchy pub crawl in mini-Cancun compliments of "Mo"
• Boarding an all-inclusive BOOZE CRUISE around the coast of the island (complete with jacuzzi, open bar, and shots delivered straight to your lounge chair)
• Swimming in the crystal-clear ocean
• Buckets of Coronas on the beach
• Witnessing an Asian Invasion karaoke dance party at dinner
• Being hassled by club promoters promising us "free drinks"
• Getting free open-bar wristbands from a club owner
• Surviving "The Circle of Death"
• Free T-Shirts that could never be worn in public
• Eating our first real American meal in months at Hooters
• Going to a nudist beach (full of people who were too old and large to be seen naked

Overall, it was a relaxing, carefree week and I'm so glad I got to visit such a unique place. There is really no where else in the world like the Canaries, and chances are that was my only time to ever visit there. That's how we justified every decision we made all week...

"You're only on a nude beach in Africa once" ... "You only eat hooters in Africa once" ... "You only take shots of tequila on a boat in Africa once" I know we were technically in Spain, but Africa sounds way cooler, and it's closer anyway.


Here are a few pictures to help you understand just how beautiful this place was

Now I'm off on my second Spanish excursion to Barcelona for 3 days!

Adios Muchachos

J'adore Paris!

Bonjour!

I got back from Paris three days ago, and have been in a complete whirlwind of midterm exams, so I apologize if this is poorly written. All of my exams have been long essay format. I never thought I'd say I miss scantrons, but I seriously miss scantrons. I also miss classes with math and multiple choice questions. This liberal arts nonsense does not fly well with me. But enough complaining, and onto my weekend in PARIS!

This was my first "big" trip, and my first time out of Italy since I've arrived! It was also super exciting because Paris is the one place in Europe I have always been dying to visit. Being my usual, over prepared self, I made a detailed itinerary for the whole weekend. My travel buddies are very "go with the flow" and I feel personally responsible for ensuring that we don't wind up stranded in some random airport or wandering the streets of foreign cities without a place to stay. Miraculously, we had a completely flawless day of traveling on Thursday. We took a train from Santa Maria Novella to Bologna, where we studied our Italian flashcards and got help from all of the nice Italian people in our section. From there we took a bus from the train station to the Bologna airport, where we were about 4 hours early for our flight (whoops! better safe than sorry?) so we sat in the cafe that overlooks the runways and studied some more for midterms. Our first RyanAir experience was a success! For a 6 euro flight to Paris I certainly can't complain. We arrived in Paris at an airport over an hour from the city center. So, from there we took a bus to a metro stop, from which we changed two metro lines to find our hostel. In case you weren't counting, that was six modes of transportation in one day. We are travel champs. We checked into our hostel, emailed our (my) paranoid parents, and went straight to bed to gear up for our touristy next day.

We got up bright and early on Friday, ate (free!) breakfast at our hostel, and took the metro to Place St. Michel for our free tour of Paris. We were pretty early so we found a Starbucks (the first one we've ever seen in Europe) and Meg & Alana had coffee. I've been in Italy for almost two months and I still really don't like coffee. Then we met our tour guide and started off on our walking tour of Paris. Our tour guide was this crazy energetic American guy who is doing his masters at the Sorbonne. He was so knowledgable about Paris and Parisian history. I wish I could have recorded everything he told us because I don't even think I am capable of retaining that much information. On the tour we visited Notre Dame, Il-de-la-Cite, Pont Neuf, The Opera, The Louvre, and the Tuileries Gardens. At the gardens we decided to break away from the tour group because we were running short on time and were sick of looking at the Eiffel tower from a distance. We made our way to la Tour Eiffel and took our necessary tourist snapshots. Unfortunately it was cloudy out, but the tower was still so cool to finally see in person. Fun Fact: There is a woman who is legally MARRIED to the Eiffel Tower. Her last name is now Eiffel. Google it.

After visiting la Tour Eiffel, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and got some more pictures. Then we walked down the Champs Elysees in a cloud of toursits. I can't even imagine what Paris is like during peek season! We ventured off of the main street to find the Longchamp store (AKA PURSE HEAVEN). Each of us bought a new bag since they are SO much cheaper in Paris, even with the exchange rates! Then we went inside of the Louvre for a few hours. Since we didn't do any type of guided audio tour, we mainly wandered the place with absolutely no knowledge of what anything was, besides of course, the Mona Lisa. She is just as small as everyone says, but it was still exciting to see something so famous! We wandered the Louvre until we hit museum overload and then headed out to find dinner. We had the address of a restaurant that the magazine on RyanAir recommended, but when we found it it looked pretty questionable. Tired of walking and starving, we settled for a Chinese restaurant across the street. Yep, Chinese food in Paris. We are the quintessential poor college students traveling Europe. Luckily, we stumbled into the right place because there were only Asians in there and the food was soo good. Another refreshing break from pasta and panini. We had a few glasses of wine which helped us go straight to sleep when we got back to the hostel.

Saturday morning we got up early to go to the Palace of Versailles. We had to make a few metro changes and then get on a train, but it was definitely worth it. Versailles is so incredible. It puts the Pitti Palace and the Louvre and basically any other palace in the world to shame. You can't even capture the entire palace in a picture unless you're in an airplane.

We toured the grand apartments and got to see a lot of cool rooms like the King's chamber and the famous Hall of Mirrors. We had to keep reminding ourselves that this was once someones house. That is so unreal to think about. After touring the inside, we headed out to the "jardin." These are not simply gardens. This place is a full blown national park. There were locals riding bikes and jogging everywhere we turned walking along the huge Grand Canal. We walked for a while out to Marie Antoinette's Estate and got to see some more fancy shmancy royal bedrooms. Being around so much blue sky and green trees made me miss Clemson. After touring the gardens we got on a train back to Paris and got lunch at an authentic Creperie, which was pretty much a one man show. The same guy took orders, cooked the crepes, and rang you up while there was a huge line forming at his stand. The crepes were even better than I expected! We all got egg, chicken, and cheese. Yet another delicious meal that deviated from our pizza and pasta routine. After taking the metro back to our area, we explored the Montmartre district. That was where our hostel was, and it was definitely my favorite part of Paris. It is a lot more authentic and a little less posh than the touristy city center. Everywhere you look you see tiny adorable French places filled with tiny adorable French people. Barets, baguettes, the whole deal. We walked to the Basillica de Sacre Coeur, which has the most amazing view of Paris! Unfortunately, it was rainy and cloudy, but it was still really fun to stand above the whole city. It reminded me a lot of Florence's Piazza Michelangelo. The church was beautiful as well, and after being up to our ears in Italian Basilicas for the past month it was really cool to see a different kind of building.

After visiting the Sacre Coeur we were very cold and very tired, so we went back to the hostel for a power nap. After napping we drank a bottle of wine and headed out to find someplace for dinner. We were wandering down our street and didn't see many options, when we saw this very cute French man carrying (you guessed it) baguettes into his building. He spoke decent English and told us exactly which street to go to for the "trendy places to eat." Good thing he was wearing a wedding band or the three of us might have gotten in a brawl over him. We found the street he was talking about and it was so lively! There weren't too many tourists, and the restaurant we chose was a tiny place full of mostly Parisians. We got wine, split a big salad, and each got a bowl of french onion soup (how French!) It was a delicious meal, and from there we were able to navigate our way towards the Moulin Rouge.

We were planning on going on a pub crawl with the tour company that we did our walking tour with the day before. When we got there we realized that it was twelve euro and didn't even include drinks, only drink specials. Rip off. In our typical cheap American fashion, we neglected to buy a twelve euro wristband from the leaders and followed the large group of American students anyway. The bartenders never asked to see our wristbands, so we drank the discounted drinks without paying to follow people around all night. Sorry about it, New Europe Tours. Once the pub crawl leaders started to look at our bare wrists suspiciously, we decided to go off and do our own thing. We found ourselves in a trendy bar where the bouncer IDed us because you have to be 20 to get in. That was very strange for Europe. I am going to be confused when people start IDing me in the U.S. this summer. Inside of that club we met a few people, including the likes of Disney Land Paris's very own Tigger (not in costume). Oh, the people you meet in the Red Light District of Paris. After that bar, we found a really great place that was full of drunk Parisians singing French karaoke. We had made friends with the bartender, and then with two Parisian guys who let us drink from the giant beer tower they ordered. The rest of the night consisted of Alana and I trying to brush up on our French conversation (and French karaoke) skills. They also played a little Bon Jovi for us, and the French people knew every word. It still always surprises me how popular American music is over here.

Paris was everything I expected it to be. Posh, grand, and full of class. Surprisingly, besides a really rude security guard at Versailles and some crazy immigrants we saw get in an incomprehensible screaming match on the metro, everyone one met was so nice. All of the information desk workers in the metro gave us very clear directions on how to work the system (which is so easy by the way, we felt so city-savvy by the end!), all of our waiters loved us, and so many people were willing to give us directions when we got lost. The weirdest part about it was trying to speak French. I can't even count how many times I said "Grazie! AH. Wait. I mean Merci. What country am I in?" to the front desk guy at our hostel. American friends beware: I'm going to say "Ciao" and "Grazie" for at least a month until I get used to saying "Hey" again.

We got home (using approximately six different modes of transportation again) very quickly and safely, without any major travel blunders! We were all pretty proud of ourselves. Now I'm in the middle of finals week, slacking off in a way I didn't know I was capable of. Being focused in Italy is absolutely impossible, but I've finally convinced myself that it's okay to live a little while I'm young and get some B's in my fake classes that don't count towards my GPA. After all, I only have two (eek!) months left here, why not live la dolce vita. 


Off to the Canary Islands I go for eight days!


Ciao :)

Disney world has got some competition...

Best. Carnevale. Ever.

I stayed in Florence this weekend for one last mellow weekend before my crazy two months of traveling takes off. Thursday night was Tiger Dinner, naturally, and the boys made us some delicious chicken fettucine alfredo. We drank our favorite frizzante wine and headed out fun-filled night of shots and karaoke. Friday I was very productive. I cleaned the apartment and did all of my homework (a concept I've been unfamiliar with since arriving here for "study" abroad!) I also decided to stay in and get a full 12-hour nights sleep for once. I'm really trying to keep myself healthy while I'm over here.

Saturday morning I went to Santa Maria Novella to meet up with Danielle (one of my sorority sisters), Tricia (my partner in crime from Orientation last summer) and their roommate Laura. They're all studying in Brussels at Clemson's satellite campus and are backpacking through Italy for their spring break. I was so happy to see some familiar, friendly faces in Europe! This was also the perfect opportunity for me to do touristy things in Florence. I spend so much money on our weekend trips that I never want to spend money here. I walked them to the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazze de la Republica, Marcato Centrale, and the Ponte Vecchio. I actually surprised myself with how much I knew about Florence. I really feel like I live here :) We crossed the famous bridge and went to Gusta Pizza, known as the "best pizza in Florence" by virtually every study abroad student. It was a little hole-in-the-wall type of place and absolutely delicious. Afterwards, we toured the Pitti Palace. Luckily, my roommates came and Jacqueline was there with her art history knowledge to tell us about the Medici family and what all of the paintings mean. The outside of the palace isn't incredibly spectacular, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the inside, but it was so over the top and ritzy. I still can't believe that people LIVED in there. Having overloaded ourselves with artwork for the day we got gelato at Perche No (if you're ever in Florence, I HIGHLY recommend this. It's a tad pricier than our gelato boyfriend, but definitely worth it). Next I took them back to San Lorenzo so they could browse the dozens of leather stands and grab some souvenirs. We had dinner at Palle d'Oro, the first place I had dinner in Florence and still one of my favorite restaurants. Definitely the most authentic one I've ever been to here. That night, we went out as a huge group with my roommates and some other friends, and ended up at a new (to us) bar named Rex that was entirely full of Italians. From there we went to a small club that was also exclusively Italian, but one of Jacqueline's friends from class knew someone who knew someone who let us in. Soo fancy. Cocktails there were TEN EURO and I am the cheapest person on the face of the earth so we eventually decided to call it a night.

Sunday we had a few more things in Florence to see, but realizing that we saw almost every free sight there is, we decided to meet up with my roommates in Viareggio for the afternoon. We got up early and walked up to Piazza Michelangelo, easily my favorite spot in the entire city. It was a beautiful, surprisingly warm day!

After the girls got enough necessary tourist shots, we went to lunch at a place called Gusto Leo that Danielle's friend from home recommended. He told us it was "the best calzone he's ever had in his life" and he was right. Mine was spinach and ricotta, and sooo delicious. It's dangerous that I know where this place is now. I'm trying to block it out of my memory. Italy is one giant carb overload. We stopped back at the San Lorenzo market so they could buy masks for Carnevale, and stopped at the grocery store to buy diet cokes, waters, and a big bottle of Frizzante wine. Then we boarded a train to a place that literally puts disney world to shame.

Viareggio is a small beach town on the west coast of Italy, famous with locals for having the biggest and best Carnevale in the country. Venice is the touristy Carnival, but this is the real deal. I didn't know about this reputation, so I expected to find a tiny festival that could never live up to what I experienced last week in Venice. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We were in our own little corner on the train, so we never even noticed the hundreds of people dressed in outrageous costumes on the train with us. When we got to Viareggio, the entire train emptied into a mob of masked and costumed people on the binario. It took us almost ten minutes just to get out of the train station! We also realized we were the only geniuses wearing "Carnival masks." Everyone else was dressed in borderline-halloween fashion. It seemed to be a "wear anything really, really weird" theme. We followed the crowds of Italians until we hit the beach and came across the most outrageous parade I've ever seen.

It costed 15 euros to get in, so we were skeptical, but having come all this way we figured it was worth a try. If I could go back tomorrow, I would pay 30 euros, if not more to experience it again. It was basically a long street with tons of huge floats circling around, and streets filled with people partying, singing and dancing. There were infants and there were ninety year olds, and every single one of them was smiling and throwing confetti. The floats were mind blowing. Most of them were so strange we couldn't even figure out the meaning of them. Each float that came by was filled with people dressed in crazy costumes singing, dancing, and throwing confetti at you. Between each float we were able to stand in the middle of the street and basically dance with the street dancers. In the U.S. there would have been huge barriers and security guards everywhere. In true Italian style, there would be one guy telling you to back up approximately 20 seconds before you were at risk of getting run over by a gigantic float. I'm honestly struggling to even write about this right now, because it is one of those experiences that is indescribable. Maybe a few pictures will help:

I still don't feel like these pictures can fully describe it. Just imagine this live, with loud Italian music (and sometimes American jams like YMCA and Let's Get Loud by J.Lo?), tons of Italians dressed like psychopaths surrounding you, and a bottle of bubbly wine in your hand. It was literally the perfect day, and all we could keep saying was "I'm SO happy right now." The floats only continued to get weirder. As we were walking and dancing and throwing confetti, I saw this GIANT float with a fairly familiar face coming towards us. I had to do a double-take, and then a tripple take, and then about five more takes until I said "Guys, is that Obama?" There he was. The president of the United States dressed in a bright yellow magician's outfit with an entire circus, complete with Hillary Clinton to his right. 

 Don't worry, it gets better. As we're standing there in complete shock yelling to each other "is that really Obama dressed as a magician?" clearly pegging ourselves as the only Americans at the festival, we noticed one more minor detail to his ensemble. Drum roll please: There is a terrorist in his hat.

Apparently Italians aren't Obama's biggest fan. I'm hoping this fun fact will put my father more at ease about me living in Europe. After staring in awe at Obama for a solid fifteen minutes, and after being pulled into the American street dancers in front of him as soon as they realized we were American, we decided to go see the beach. This was my first sight of the Mediterranean! It was the perfect temperature outside, and you could see snowcapped mountains so close by. Just another reason why it was the perfect day. 

I have a very busy week ahead of me in Florence: planning my entire itinerary for Paris (thank God my Mom trained me in how to be a mini travel agent), applying to five or six summer internships, and oh yeah, preparing for midterms. I'll be back after my first big trip to Paris! 

Au Revoir