Interlaken

Last weekend I had the privilege of going to Interlaken, Switzerland! A couple friends and I did this program, called Bus2alps, that provided hostel stay and a roundtrip bus ride (12 hours each way!!) to and from Rome. The hostel was the first "real" hostel I have stayed in and it was a lot of fun! It is called Balmer's Herbage and is the most popular hostel in Interlaken. The only, and I mean only, place to go out of a night in the entire town was in our hostel! I'm all about convenience, so obviously I loved that.



So we left Thursday night from Rome, and I tried to sleep the entire way, which did not prove to be as successful as I had hoped. We arrived in Interlaken circa 6:30 am where us 5 girls checked into an 8 person room with two other random boys who were studying in Florence but were on the same trip as us. I slept for about an hour and a half before waking up to go skiing!!

I rented boots, skies, a jacket, pants, gloves, goggles, and a helmet by 9am my friend and I were on the bus up to the mountain! The mountain(s) we skied at was Kleine Scheidegg/Männlichen. We took a gondola up to the top of the Männlichen mountain, not without a couple of Ricola cough drops that the woman who worked at the ticket office gave us as we climbed on the gondola. How stereotypical Swiss is that?



The entire day provided us with awful, cloudy weather to the point where I couldn't see 1o ft in front of my face. The skiing was OK (to be honest I prefer the perfect snow and mountainous terrain of Park City, UT...not that I'm biased or anything). Every once in awhile we would catch a glimpse of what the vista could have been all day , but it would quickly disappear into the clouds. The whole point of skiing in the alps is to actually see the Alps, and since we didn't get a chance to see the Alps, the day was slightly disappointing. I had to keep slapping myself in the face and reminding myself, "Quit your whining, you're skiing in the Alps right now" which automatically put me in a better mood. All in all, its not a place I would necessarily make a point to go back for skiing, but the experience was amazing and I'm really glad I did it. After lunch, we had about 7 minutes of sunshine at the top of the mountain and it was AMAZING! I know that had it been that way the entire day it would have been the most incredible thing I've ever done. But alas, that was not in the cards.





This is the at the Tipi bar at the top of the mountain, with a bunch of Swiss-Germans who decided to jump in my picture.





So the weather continued to be like that all weekend, and the other activities such as skydiving, hang gliding, and paragliding were all canceled. It turned out to be a disappointing weekend in that sense, but it was still my favorite weekend thus far.

Friday night we got Thai food (AMAZING and such a nice break from Italian) and headed to the club at the bottom of our hostel where we hung out with some Aussie ski bums who are living in Interlaken full time...ski bums in the winter, raft guides in the summer (The aussie version of Jamie's ideal life) What a life.

Saturday we attempted to get on a trip to Zurich for the day, but not enough people signed up and we couldn't go. So then we went to try and rent ATVs to go up in the mountains, but the group before us took the last bunch. Finally, four of us reserved a fun car (2 seater, no doors) to drive up in the mountains to a glacier. We couldn't get the fun car for a couple of hours, so a few of us walked into town and got to see what Interlaken was like. It is a tiny little town, very cute and very Swiss/German. Everything in Switzerland is very expensive, so my McDonald's lunch was the most expensive McDonald's ever.

That afternoon we took the fun cars up through the mountains to the glacier, and hiked in our leather boots through the snow to get a better view of the glacier. Although the weather was bad and we could have potentially ruined our boots, it was SUCH a fun little excursion with the girls I was with. We had such a good time driving in the cars and enjoying life in the Alps that nothing else mattered. It was beautiful where we were and we couldn't have asked for anything else.







After the fun cars, three of us (Caroline, Kia, and I) signed up for hang gliding since there was a possibility that the weather would subside. Unfortunately, it did not, but the hang gliding Aussies took us up to the jumping point so we could see the view. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We would have run down a sloped hill on a mountain and jumped out over the most beautiful, turquoise colored lake to fly like a bird with the peaks of the mountains sticking out through the clouds in the distance. The pictures I have do not do this view justice. That little drive up the mountain made my weekend, it was the best part. Even though we didn't get to go, it was worth it to be able to see that incredible view. But hang gliding just wasn't meant to be.





That night, we got Thai food again! Twice in a weekend isn't too bad haha. We made it an early night to try and get as much as we could done in the morning. Sunday morning we woke up and Caroline, Kia and I tried to go paragliding but when we got up to the mountain they told us the wind wasn't right AGAIN. It was really frustrating this time, because we had expressed to them that if the wind wasn't right we had the opportunity to go canyon jumping (free-fall 300 ft in a canyon until the rope around your waist catches you and you swing in between the canyon walls!!) but they told us paragliding was definitely on, so we got our hopes up. Again, probably just not meant to be. The day was successful, however, as I bought myself a real, authentic Swiss Army knife!

Finally, at around 1 as we were getting on the bus, the sky cleared up and there was nothing but sun the entire bus ride home. For the first two hours of the bus ride, we were driving in the Alps getting the view we should have had all weekend and it was BREATHTAKING! The ride back was better than the ride there as we put our Swiss Army knives to use...



Switzerland is one of the prettiest places I have ever been, and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about going. It is absolutely worth it. I am so excited to go back with Jamie in the summer! Maybe then the weather will be nice enough for hang gliding....

Firenze + Parma

The third weekend in February (22-24), I had the pleasure of going up to Florence for a mandatory field trip for my Introduction to Renaissance Art class. We were required to be there for the afternoon on Friday and all day Saturday. Two of my roommates had to go as well, but the rest ended up coming along. Florence is my favorite city in Italy (besides Parma, but more on that) so naturally I had an amazing weekend.



Three of us went up Thursday night after class for an extra night in Florence. We stayed with my roommate Laura's friend from home who is studying there through Syracuse. She was so sweet to us and was so concerned about showing us a good time, even though she had to be on a train to Rome at 9am the next morning. That night, she took us out with her friends to their Irish pub that they go to all the time, followed by a club that was giving away free Nutella. I kid you not, this place had JUGS of Nutella on the bar with plastic spoons on the side for the bartendars to give to customers. I had two spoonfuls of course. A club in Italy giving away free Nutella? I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

The next morning, Liz, Laura, and I got up and attempted to wander the city until the rest of our friends came and Liz and I had class at 3. We walked into the center from the apartment and stopped for little pizzettas (mini pizzas) for breakfast, natrually. We walked into the center and the first thing I see is the Duomo. Even though I've seen it before, I was blown away. That church is one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen. Immediately I was pumped to be in Florence.

That afternoon, after we found our hostel to put our bags down, Liz, Laura and I went to the Uffizi Galleria. I had been there before with a private tour that BC arranged for us on the Parma program, but this time we went through with an audio tour which makes all the difference. To someone going, I suggest arranging a private tour or taking an audio tour because there is nothing cooler than being told the story behind a painting or interesting facts about it. It makes walking through an art museum that much more interesting. Our teacher had given us a sheet of paper with some paintings on it, and it was our responsibility to find the name, artist, year, and three adjectives describing the paintings. At first I was annoyed by the assignment, but as I was doing it, I found myself thinking about the paintings even more and noticing the details on the expressions of the figures and the colors. Of course, I spent the most time in Botticelli's room. My favorite painting of all time, the Primavera, is in the same room as Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and both are absolutely breathtaking. I also fell in love with another painting, Venus of Urbino, by the late Renaissance artist Vecelli. I am not much of an art museum kinda person, but after taking this class I have a whole new appreciation and love for the Renaissance.



Liz and I left the museum just in time to meet our class in front of the Duomo. Little interesting fact for you: the Duomo had no roof for 50 years because no one could figure out how to build proper scaffolding to complete the dome. Enter: Brunelleschi who invented scaffolding and machines to lift things to the top. It is considered a masterpiece of the Renaissance.

Anyway, that afternoon our teacher took us to other sites around the city. After my onsite classes, I am the best tour guide for both Rome AND Florence! She talked about the Baptista and the Bronze doors (the artist, Ghiberti, won a competition beating Brunelleschi, and Brunelleschi, the little girl that he is, was humiliated and left the city for Rome after that). We also visited Palazzo Medici (Medici palace near the Duomo), Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti (orphan hospital he designed and created this famous architectural element called the loggia, which is an outdoor porch created by perfect arches...my teacher's FAVORITE thing to talk about) and a few more churches.

After finishing class at 6, Katie, Liz and I met up with the rest of our roommates and headed to Tijiuana, a Mexican restaurant in Florence. I know I know, are you kidding Caitlin? A mexican restaurant in Italy? Some would say a new low, but I disagree. As amazing and incredible the food I have been eating is, there is nothing like some beans and rice, tacos, and a pitcher of margaritas to remind you of home. And we all know my love for Mexican is right up there with my love for Italian food. Anyway, at dinner I was dared with the promise of gelato from the best gelato place in Rome to eat a chili pepper, and I never back down from a chance of free gelato. So I did it. I ate half a chili pepper. It was SO painful! Nothing I did stopped the pain, and we didn't have any bread, only tortilla, to mask the taste, and that wasn't strong enough. It actually reminded me of when I got stung by a Jelly fish. The pain wasn't the worst pain I've ever felt, but it was constant and seemingly never-ending, thus more annoying than painful. Now I can say that I've eaten a chili pepper...another thing to add to my lists of accomplishments in life. We all had a really good time and enjoyed the food, but Katie Flynn had a weird allergic reaction to something in her food and started breaking out in hives and her skin was turning bright red all over her body. She and I left to find a Farmacia to buy some Benadryl, but no such luck. Finally, Laura called us telling us she had some in her purse so all was well again. The night ended up being a perfect night, as we went to bed at 11 and got an amazing night of sleep. Katie even said that she was happy she went to the mexican restaurant because it was so good. I need to find one in Rome.



On Saturday morning, we met our class at 10 and went to the Borgello Museum to see scuptures of Donatello and Michelangelo. We saw Donatello's David which was cool to compare to Michelangelo's David. From there we went to Santa Croce, a medieval and renaissance church, where Machiavelli, Dante, and Galileo are all buried. After that, at around 1, it was lunch time. The BC students in the class, Jack, Andrew, Liz, Katie and I all grabbed lunch together and climbed to the top of the Duomo. Just like last time I was there, it was again one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Its one of those sights where no matter how many times you've seen it, it gets better and better every time. The cool thing is last time I was up there, about a year and a half ago, I asked my friends "I wonder when the next time I'll be up here is". I remembered asking that when I was up there, and it was pretty cool to think about my life then and my life now, with so much in between.






Anyway, that afternoon we went to see Michelangelo's David. Just like last time, I snuck a picture or two, but this time got caught. As I was going to take a picture, the woman saw me and I ran back to where my teacher was talking to the class, and the woman came over and yelled at me in front of the entire class and the teacher, saying things like I didn't need to be there and I could be out shopping instead of in the museum. Needless to say, it was one of the most offending and embarrassing experiences in my entire life. It might be awhile until I try and sneak pictures again.



So after we finished class, I met up with my roommates Laura and Suzy, and the three of us bought a bottle of wine and hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo, one of the best views of Rome. Its high up on a hill across the river, a semi hike to get to, but absolutely worth it. We were there just in time to see the sun set over the city "skyline", of which comprises only the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio, the palace next to the Uffizi. It was beautiful and I am so glad we got up there. Apparently I can't get enough of aerial views of Florence and its surrounding Tuscan hills.





So the story gets better. The next day, Laura and I left Florence early to go to Parma to visit our host family, Anna and Aldo Bonomi. As soon as we got to Parma, the memories came rushing back. We went to the place where we got our first pizza (I forgot how good/different pizza is in the north compared to the south...don't ask me which is my favorite), walked from the train station all the way to their house which took us along the same road we walked every single day and right by our apartment. So many things that I had forgotten about I remembered that day. Parma is and forever will be my home in Italy.

Our family had us over for lunch, and they cooked us an unbelievable meal, as per usual, and entertained us with great conversation. Laura and I were both surprised how much Italian we understood and spoke during that lunch, as we both have problems here in Rome. Aldo even played us the harmonica while Anna sang, which was one of our favorite memories! Anna had the postcard I sent her from Sydney on the fridge, and the picture book I made her on the coffee table. They are truly the most amazing family in the world, and will always have a special place in my heart. When we left, Laura and I both talked about how part of us regretted not going back to Parma, and we know that it would have been an amazing experience, maybe even better than Rome, but both of us know it would have been different than the last time we were there, and we would never want anything to ruin that month that to this day is the most amazing month of our lives.



We plan on going back sometime in late April...I can't wait.

Under the Tuscan Sun

So my roommates and I decided the weekend of the February 16th and 17th that we were going to go to Tuscany for the weekend. We looked online and found an agriturismo (bed and breakfast type place) in a small town called Cetona. It was a beautiful weekend! Unfortunately it was one of the colder weekends they have had this winter, but it was still perfect.

A group of 6 of us went up early Saturday morning where the owner, Maurellio (a little old Italian man who spoke no English), came and picked us up at the train station and took us back to the place, called Atelier Cetona. His wife is German but spoke perfect English, and the two of them welcomed us into their home right away. They even made room for us at the lunch table where they had the cook include us in his AMAZING homemade gnocchi and rosemary potatoes and chicken lunch!

The place has about 7 rooms off to the side of the main house, all double rooms. Katie Flynn and I got the matrimonial suite as we like to call it! This particular agriturismo offers weekend art classes, as well as week-long cooking classes and art classes in the spring and into the summer if anyone is interested! Even though it is winter and nothing is in bloom, it is one of the most beautiful little places I have ever seen and I can only imagine what it is like in the spring! Irma, the German lady, was telling us how beautiful and colorful the flowers are on the hillsides by their home.



The agriturismo itself is situated right next to the Vigneti Gentili, the vineyard in the area that provides all the wine to the restaurants in the town. Before lunch, Mauriello took us into town where we went wine tasting at the cellar of the Vigneti Gentili! We tried two red and two white as well as a dessert wine, and naturallyI bought a bottle of each kind. The whole experience reminded me of when Jamie, Dad and I went wine tasting in Australia, but i guess wine tasting is a universal thing.







That afternoon after lunch, four of us had a nice long siesta in Fly and my matrimonial bed for body warmth. Even though the sun was out it was so cold!! After our wonderful nap, Maurellio drove us into the BEAUTIFUL medieval town of Cetona where we walked around for about an hour and a half up on the hillside through the residential part of town. I could live there in a heartbeat. We were on the top of the hill right at sunset and it was gorgeous. Being in the small town made me semi-regret that I did not give small town Italy a second thought, and part of me wishes that I had gone to a smaller town than Rome. It made me miss Parma. Oh well, no regrets.







That night we went out to dinner and they served us the same wine we tasted that afternoon!! In bed by 10 after taking a BATH in the bathtub...I couldn't ask for a better night.

The next morning we woke up and went horseback riding in the Tuscan hills. Even though it was colder than I would have liked, it was AMAZING!! My horse's name was Luna (Moon) and we rode in the hills for about an hour through vineyards and the countryside. I wish you all could have been with me for this experience. What is better than horseback riding through the Tuscan hills?


It was a lovely weekend and I wish you all could have been a part of it.

Pools, Popes, and Fashion Shows

Hi everyone!

Ok so a couple of weeks ago (Feb 8th and 9th) my roommate had her friend visiting who is studying at Oxford for the year. Caroline (my roommate) wanted to make sure Ally (her friend) had the best weekend, so naturally we took her to our favorite club, Art Cafe, where we proceeded to dance the night away, sneak into the VIP section where we found a POOL inside the club (yes, a pool. This place is ridiculous) and turn of the lights for bed at 6:17am. You know its a successful night when the bedtime is at 6am.

Saturday night we went out to dinner at this little restaurant called Dino e Tonys where they have no menu and serve whatever they please. We had about 7 different types of antipasto followed by two types of pasta, homemade Tiramisu, cappucinos. It was unbelievable! They kept bringing out plate after plate of heavenly food and obviously I enjoyed that. Its right by the Vatican and if it wasn't slightly more expensive than I would have liked, I would be back there every weekend. We took it easy that night on account of us having a crazy night before, and having food coma, so we decided to walk home. It turned into being one of my most favorite nights ever. There were five of us casually strolling home, stopping to see the Vatican lit up at night, and just walking and talking on a beautiful Italian night. It was a nice change of pace from the previous night.


The next day, we took Ally to the Vatican to see the pope speak. It was pretty cool, he spoke in all different languages to the people in the square. It was an awesome experience to be able to see him speak from his window, and this time actually see him not just get a glimpse of his arm.


After hearing him speak, we decided to climb St. Peter's cupola! I forget every time how hard it is to climb hundreds of stairs at once. It was a beautiful day and really cool to do it after being in Rome for a long time, as I could recognize where everything was in the city.



Sunday night, I went to a fashion show for my photography class! We had backstage passes and just walked around taking photos the entire night. The lighting was dark so I used my digital camera for a lot, thus the quality of the photos isn't quite what I would like. It honestly was one of the cooler experiences here! I felt so official with my backstage pass and my camera around my neck. I was able to bring my friends too, which was awesome. My photography teacher is big here in Rome, and I think that is really cool that he invited us to something like that to watch him work and to teach us at the same time.