markie takes florence

prague x2

i am SO jealous of everyone that got to spend their semester in prague, and especially of my friend taylor who will be there next semester.  our second day in prague was even better than the first!  we started out with a trip to bohemia bagels and got american breakfast sandwiches which was so necessary.  after an amazing brunch we went to prague castle.  the castle was more like a compound with gorgeous buildings and views of the city.

once we explored the castle we went to see the john lennon wall.  i was literally like a five year old going to get her dream toy on the way to the wall.  it was all i could talk about and i was just so excited.  when we got there it wasn’t exactly what i had been picturing, but i still absolutely loved it.  the lyrics all made me smile and i just loved the whole idea of it.  charlotte thankfully beared with me as i took an absurd amount of pictures.  this one by far one of the highlights of my trip and i’m so glad that we got to visit.

we walked over the charles bridge after seeing the lennon wall and it was such a great experience.  the bridge is pedestrian only and has great views.  it was awesome not to deal with cars there and really get a feel for the city.  we crossed the bridge over to old town square and tried some of the food at the christmas markets.

by the time we were done at the markets it was almost time for our train to vienna!  we just got in and have a packed day planned for tomorrow since we only have 24 hours here.  i’m looking forward to all of it and then to getting back to florence!

prague prague prague

our first day in prague was amazing.  i have completely fallen in love with this city and agree with some of our other friends that if i hadn’t studied in florence, prague would’ve been a great option.  first we went to see the astronomical clock.  we entered old town square and it didn’t even seem like a real place.  the buildings were all gorgeous and colorful, there was a huge and amazing christmas tree, and the christmas market was adorable.  it looked like something out of an old time movie or book.

we went up to the top of the tower and saw amazing views of the city.  with the exception of insanely rude asian tourists actually pushing us out of the way to get their pictures, this was such a cool experience.  it was a great way to get introduced to the city.

after we spent some time wandering around the market and old town square, we went to the jewish quarter.  rick steve’s told us that it was one of the most incredible jewish collections in europe and i have to agree.  each place that we went was really moving and informative.  after having been to israel this year and experiencing the holocaust museum i didn’t really think that this collection could live up to that.  i was wrong though and i am so glad that we went to see everything.  the jewish cemetery really hit charlotte and i (charlotte actually gasped when we walked outside).  it was full of tombstones right on top of one another because there was such a lack of space when the tombs were placed.  the thing that got me the most though was an exhibit of artwork done by children that were in the concentration camps.  it was so sad to see children’s depictions of fear and darkness.  the most shocking and sad picture that i saw was a child’s depiction of an execution.  it is terrible that that child even knew what that was, let alone had seen it in person.  in that same synagogue there were walls with the names of every jewish person in prague that died in the holocaust, it was something near 77,000 people.  besides the really sad remembrances of the holocaust, there were also interesting exhibits on jewish ritual and culture.  overall i would recommend a visit to the jewish museum to anyone that visits prague, it was something that i definitely will never forget.

on the way to dinner we stopped to see the dancing house.  it was very cool and different than anything i have seen in prague so far.

it was a great day and tomorrow we are visiting prague castle, FINALLY going to the john lennon wall (with my beatles obsession i am so excited for this) and seeing the charles bridge.  i love prague already and i can’t wait for the day to come.

not real life

the past few months have seemed like a dream, and the past few days have really just not felt like real life.  it was absolutely surreal to leave our apartment on alfani and all of the amazing friends that i have made this semester.  i know that everyone says that abroad is the most amazing experience of their life, but for me it really was.  it was incredible to get away from the life that i am used to and branch out to something completely new.  meeting new people, getting to know a new city, seeing so much of europe and really living on my own made this experience better than anything else.  the friends that i have made in florence are some of the best, most down to earth people i have ever met and i know that our friendships won’t end now that the semester is over.  while i am so sad to see this part of my life become part of the past, i am also looking forward to the next few weeks to come.

for the next week i’ll be travelling through eastern europe with charlotte and then at the end of the week i finally get to see my family after four months. right now i’m in prague and had such a great time the past few days in budapest.  we started out our first day in budapest by visiting the opera house.  it was beautiful and we loved that there was a christmas tree in front of it.  the colder weather in budapest finally made it seem like the holidays are actually coming soon.

after exploring the opera house we went to st. stephen’s basilica.  to say it was amazing is an understatement, and that’s coming from someone who has seen a LOT of churches these past few months.  weirdly in this church is the mummified hand of st. stephen (who was the first king of hungary) which is kept as a relic—didn’t check that one out.  outside of the basilica was the cutest christmas market.  there was music playing everywhere that made it seem like it was straight out of a movie, an ice rink in the middle and tons of great hungarian made products to look at. 

from the christmas markets we made our way to the danube river and saw the chain bridge.  i didn’t realize that budapest used to be two separate cities—buda and pest—and this bridge connected the two.  from this side of the river we saw buda castle and some other gorgeous buildings.

we made it to see the parliament building when it started to downpour.  we decided to cut our losses and since we had already had a great day and seen so much we went back to our hotel.  we got to spend the night watching movies in our room and going swimming in the pool in our hotel.  after months of not stopping or relaxing, this was much needed and was amazing. 

this morning we got up, grabbed breakfast and made our way to the Budapest airport to catch our flight to prague!  prague was one of the places i wanted to visit most while abroad, so i’m so excited that we’re finally here!!  we just got in and are settling into our hotel.  from what i’ve seen just on the walk here i’m already loving the city, it’s adorable and has so much going on.  i can’t wait for the next few days here!

thanksgiving abroad

one of my favorite holidays is thanksgiving, so missing it this year was definitely one of the saddest parts of the semester.  i’ve never been away for thanksgiving, so i knew that i wanted to make thanksgiving here special.  my friends from cea decided to do a potluck style dinner for thanksgiving and each make something.  our friend tony’s mom was visiting and even volunteered to make turkey!  my plans changed when charlotte’s family came and i ended up having dinner at il latini with them on thanksgiving night!  dinner was amazing and it was great to spend time with her family.  the dinner was unlike anything i had ever had before.  it was family style but had more food than i had ever seen at a table.  each course was more delicious than the last and i loved the experience there.  it’s definitely a must visit in florence for when you’re insanely hungry

since i had originally planned to go my apartment’s thanksgiving dinner i made garlic mashed potatoes and delivered them before i left.  i stopped by when i got back from il latini and the food that they had was delicious.  it was so nice to sit around the table with my friends and feel like i was having a true thanksgiving.  i am so thankful for all of the amazing people that i met here and it made being here for thanksgiving much easier (even though i definitely did miss my family).

another reason why the weekend was great was because casey and katherine came to visit florence!  i got to explore the city with them and it’s always nice spending time with my friends from colgate.  one of the highlights from their visit was going to the gucci museum.  it is right in the piazza signoria and it was gorgeous.  it just opened and i had been wanting to go there so it was a great opportunity and i highly recommend it!  the other major highlight was i found an italian leather jacket!  i went to massimo who was highly recommended by everyone who has studied in florence and i absolutely love it!!

even though thanksgiving was not exactly how it is at home, it made me appreciate everything that i love about florence even more.  i am so lucky to have found amazing people in florence who i can’t even imagine leaving in a few days.

london x2 

at the end of november i went to london to visit katherine and casey again.  it was great to go back to one of my favorite cities in the world just to see my friends.  the trip had a completely different vibe than all of my other trips since i had seen the important sights already.  i now knew how to get around, where some cool places were and really was just excited to hang out with my friends.  it was even better because my friends from florence also went!  it was natalie’s birthday, so eva, natalie, beth, lauren and paula were celebrating in london.

i got to london on thursday night and had a nice relaxing night hanging out at casey and katherine’s flat.  we slept in until it was time to go to tea for natalie’s birthday.  we had a slight snafu when we went to bea’s of bloomsbury in bloomsbury instead of near st. pauls cathedral, but after a few stops on the tube we found our way.  it was a really cute place and the experience was great.  we were all excited to celebrate natalie’s birthday and it was fun to do something authentically english (although it was definitely a modern twist on tea).

that night we went to the ice bar! it was a really cool experience and the inside was insane.  by the time we got there we only had around 20 minutes in the actual ice bar, but it was more than enough because it was legitimately freezing (even with the eskimo outfits). 

after that we took a quick trip to home house, a really cool private members club in marylebone.  it was really upscale and such a fun night.  the next few days we had a lot of rest and relaxation, with a few very british highlights.  katherine, casey and i FINALLY went to platform 9 and 3/4 (harry potter reference of course) since i missed it last time i was in london.  katherine took us in the maze of king’s cross station and we found out that it was actually outside.  not only was it outside the station but it was also in this weird little construction area in a hut.  not exactly what i was expecting but i’m still so glad i got to see it!

casey and i took the typical london phone booth picture. and i visited the british museum.  the museum was amazing with tons of egyptian remnants and the rosetta stone!  the best part about the museum was that it was free, unlike florence.  besides missing my flight back to florence (thanks again casey and katherine for letting me stay another night) my second trip to london this semester was great.  i absolutely love london, it’s the only city for me that has rivaled new york and i can’t wait to go back again.