Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  I actually had a wonderful Christmas with my friends here, and I only sound surprised because I had been dreading Christmas thinking about how much I would miss being together with my family.  While I did miss them terribly, with the help of skype and my awesome friends here I actually had a fabulous time!

On Christmas Eve Caroline and I headed over to Kate and Jess's place for Make Your Own Pizza night.  I got to see how much I've grown into liking vegetables while making the pizzas because Kate and I packed ours with mushrooms, onions, red peppers, and then of course added salami and bufala mozzarella. We also used an arrabiata sauce, which is a little spicier than normal pizza sauce.  It was delicious!!!  I am definitely doing that more when I get home since it was so simple and yummy.

After eating a ton of pizza we headed upstairs to watch Elf, a Christmas tradition for the girls, while also sipping on Prosecco.  Some of us had to have espresso since we were heading to midnight mass later that night.

We decided to go to the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) for midnight mass because Kate and her friend Brooke go there for regular mass so it's more familiar.  The history of the church is actually pretty interesting.  It was founded in 1250 by 7 original members of the Servite order.  2 years later a monk was working on a painting of the Annunciation, but abandoned it because he didn't think he could make it beautiful enough and apparently an angel came while he slept and finished the painting.  Pilgrims would visit this church to venerate the painting and would leave lifesize wax votive offerings of themselves.  Apparently by the 1700's there were over 600 of these wax figures, but they were melted down to make candles.  Today the church is known for the Florentine brides that come and leave their bouquets in front of the painting in order to have a blessed marriage.  The facade of this church was made to match Brunelleschi's facade of the Foundling Hospital (Hospital of the Innocents).

The church is to the left of the statue and the hospital is to the right

This hospital was actually an orphanage and children were often abandoned here.  There was a wheel built where a person could put their baby and a nun would turn the wheel so the baby would go into the building without seeing the parent, therefore it was anonymous.

Ok so on to midnight mass...now you should know that I would mostly identify myself as agnostic and have been to a church probably under 10 times in my life, so going to a Catholic mass, in Italian no less, was mainly just to have the experience.  I have been to midnight mass before with Alissa because I just love Christmas so much and like the feeling of everyone being together celebrating.  Everyone is just so happy and thankful, so I love that part about it.  So the service started out with a lot of singing, not holiday songs or anything, but hymns that were very soothing and well sung (unlike our experience in the church in Barcelona).  It was nice not listening to a ton of talking since it was in Italian, so I appreciated the singing.  The service was nice, but it ended up being 2 hours long and in a church from the 13th century you weren't going to find heat so it was freeeezzzzing.  At the end we did the "peace be with you" where you shake people's hands around you, and in Italian you just say "pace". That part always makes me laugh and if any of you readers have seen Dane Cook's sketch on that process ("peace off!") you will agree. :o)

So we then headed home and the walk home was bizarre!  It was 1am and there were tons of people out partying at clubs and on the streets, and then there were crazy drivers out!  I almost got run over twice, so that was beginning to take me out of my Christmas happy mood.  I just didn't understand all the hubbub going on on Christmas Eve.  Oh, and did I mention I was offered marijuana too?  And called Bella Grande whilst being offered it?  Yea...Christmas spirit was running low for sure.

We made it home without dying and I was able to call my family at their Christmas Eve dinner and that was great.  We had to wake up a little earlier that next day to get over the girl's house to have a Christmas day breakfast.  Caroline decided to wear her Santa hat and we wanted to see how many people would say "Buon Natale" to her.  Literally NO ONE said anything to her or even really looked at her.  There were a lot of people out too and no one really cared.  I feel like in the States, if you walked around with a Santa hat on Christmas day people would at least smile at you...but not here.  Weird.

Jessica made an amazing breakfast called cheddar egg bake, and it reminded me a lot of my mom's famous sausage souffle without the sausage.  That was nice because I was really sad about missing her souffle on Christmas, so I got something very close!  Caroline and I then headed home so we could prepare for our big dinner at our place and so we could skype with our families.  We did a lot of chopping and prepping, and I was able to spend a lot of time talking to family, though since we were having our dinner at 5 things got pretty crazy and we were running around like madman.  Thankfully, we were pretty much all ready for the girls when they got here.

Our dinner menu was first a bruschetta bar with eggplant/feta, spinach/fontina, and the traditional with tomatoes, mozzarella and salami.  Then the girls made an amazing fettucini with ricotta and oregano cream sauce.  It was to die for.  Then I had prepared orange granitas, basically hollowing out oranges then using that freshly squeezed juice, sugar, basil and cointreau and freezing it up.  You also freeze the oranges so you can fill them with the frozen ice and it makes for great presentation.

Granita with espresso, perfect!

We had to eat so early so we wouldn't be too full heading to the opera at 8.  Of course we did eat too much so that plan didn't work out too well, but we were still very excited to roll ourselves to the opera to see La Boheme.  We went to this English church, where my parents and I also went when they visited, and they have small intimate opera performances.  It was wonderful and they have truly talented singers there.

The church

After the opera I was able to skype with my family again and watch them open gifts as if I was there.  It was awesome and it just made me so excited to get home and see them.  All in all it was a fabulous Christmas!

On Monday it was a sad day because I went to Rome to drop off Caroline for her trip home.  I came back to Florence that same day and have had the apartment to myself for the past couple of days.  It's actually been nice because I've been able to focus on some things I really wanted to work on, like what I want to do when I get home and my blog.  I should be coming home sometime in January and I couldn't be more excited to see my family and friends.  I do love it here, but I feel ready to start up my life again and hopefully go in a more exciting direction.  I am currently just packing up and will be moving into Kate and Jess's apartment on Friday!  I'm so excited :o)

Hope you all have a fabulous New Year!! xoxo

Neve in Firenze!

So it snowed a LOT in Florence on Friday.  So much so that apparently they even closed the train station and none of the fast trains could stop there.  The city was covered in probably 4-6 inches and there were broken down buses and cars everywhere...it's like what happens in MD when it snows.  Whenever I see people freak out about snow I automatically go back to my Pittsburgh days and when I finally had the realization that they do not care when it snows there.  Nothing closes, roads are still packed, and if they don't get the snow plows out for a few hours after the snow starts?  Meh.  Now that I think about it, I don't think I saw any plows in Florence - I wonder if they have them??

Well we had planned to go over to Jess and Kate's anyways to celebrate Kate's completion of her finals! Prosecco in hand, Caroline and I braved the weather for the 25 minute walk.  It was madness out there!

Here are some pics...

You can barely make out the Ponte Vecchio through the snow

the piazza right next to our apt

After we had our prosecco, while listening to Christmas tunes, we headed out to meet Giada for aperitivo.  And after that we stopped by the German Christmas market for hot cider and rum (yum!  Much better than mulled wine).  Our night then continued with us heading to a little pub near the girl's apt (soon to be my apt!) and had a variety of drinks each trying to warm ourselves up...Guiness (me), red wine, hot whiskey, irish coffee...  Having warmed ourselves up a bit we decided it would be a good idea to walk 20 minutes to another bar to see our friend Mel, and on this walk there were some spills - though Giada wins with her fall while holding a cigarette in one hand and talking on the phone in the other.  Miraculously she didn't lose either of them!  The night then escalated as it always does and we didn't get home til about 3 am.  That walk home was the worst since mixing ice + alcohol = bruised knees in the morning.  It was a very fun night out with the girls and we hadn't had one in a while so I think we deserved it!  Needless to say we celebrated Kate's freedom for a few weeks and we celebrated right! :)

Tree at the Duomo covered in snow

As for today, it is the last day of the Christmas market so we are going for one last cider and cinnamon twirl from Hungary.  I'll try to take a picture since it is one of the best things on earth!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!!  Less than a week til Christmas!! :o)

Bacelona - the final post

Finally the last post about Barcelona!  Who knew there was so much to write about on one city!  I guess this just shows you that it is a must see and if you do go, plan on a few days or more to take in all of the sights.

So the last day we were in Barcelona was the only day La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's famous unfinished church that the Pope had come to consecrate that weekend) was going to be open for us, so we headed straight over there.  Looks like a lot of people had the same idea because the line literally took up 3 full sides of the church.  It was also freezing outside and we were very under prepared since the weather had been in the 60's the day before.  There was no way we were going to miss this though so we toughed it out and after an hour wait we finally got in and it was totally worth it.  This church is probably one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen in my life.  Every part of this church, from it's exterior facades to it's breathtaking interior, feels unique and refreshing to someone who is so used to seeing church after church in Europe and not being able to pick out big differences.  There is no way I can lump this church into any other church I have seen before.

The church's construction was first under the direction of another Catalan architect who planned on it being a more traditional gothic style.  Gaudi was then put on the project the next year and he drastically changed the design.  The church's construction was taking a very long time, but Gaudi just responded to concerned people by simply stating, "My client [God] is not in a hurry."  When Gaudi died, only 15-20% of the church was complete so other architects have taken over and tried to continue creating Gaudi's vision.

Because I am trying to be thorough with my posts so I don't forget everything I have learned I'll give ya a break down on the most important parts of the church.

The Facades

There are 3 different facades on the exterior of the building: The Glory, The Passion, and The Nativity.

The Glory facade is going to be the grandest facade of the 3, but I believe there is still a lot of construction going on with it so we didn't get to see it (or I don't remember seeing it...).  The construction on it began in 2002 and apparently Gaudi knew it would be one of the last things finished so he only made a small sketch of what he wanted it to be, knowing that ultimately other architects would be finishing it and using their own style.  This facade will represent the road to God - Death, Final Judgement, then Glory (or Hell if you don't follow God's will, yikes).  

The Passion Facade is meant to portray Christ's suffering during his crucifiction and ultimately depict the sins of man.  The figures are made with very course lines and the facade itself is very simple and unadorned (unlike the Nativity facade).  Apparently Gaudi wanted the figures to be angular and dramatic  to realistically portray the brutality of Christ's sacrifice.  Once you see the Nativity facade you will really be able to tell the huge difference in the characters and the background.  

Passion Facade

The Nativity Facade is much more detailed than the Passion facade - they look, and feel, completely different.  This scene depicts the birth of Christ and the background is filled with many natural elements, Gaudi's signature.  This facade is facing the rising sun, which also is a symbol for the birth of Christ.  Gaudi originally wanted all the figures to be painted to make them look more lifelike, but that wasn't done.  This was the first facade Gaudi began work on, knowing he wouldn't be there for the completion of it.  He wanted it to embody the theme of whole church because it was, in his opinion, the most attractive an accessible facade for the public (unlike the Passion facade with it's more stark and harsh figures.)

Nativity Facade

The Spires

There are 18 spires - 12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, 1 for the Virgin Mary, and the tallest of all represents Jesus Christ.  They aren't all completed yet, but once the tallest spire is completed La Sagrada Familia will be the tallest church with the tallest spire in the world.

The Interior

My favorite part of this church is the interior.  The construction of the columns is pure Gaudi with the various geometrical shapes and natural elements making them look like large tree trunks.  The columns in combination with the bright stained glass in the ceiling make you feel like you are standing beneath a blanket of trees.  Since this is my favorite part and I'm not doing a great job explaining it I'm just going to show you through pictures...

Yes, I know I posted this already but probably one of my favorite pictures ever so enjoy it...twice.

Ok so now that you know everything you need to know and more about La Sagrada Familia, let's move on to the rest of our time in Barcelona, shall we?  Well I mentioned before that we were freezing waiting in line for the church and since all the doors were open inside of the church our coldness never really subsided.  This led us to do something very bad once we left the church, but before you judge us, keep in mind that it was very cold and sometimes familiarity makes you feel better...ok??!?

So...our first stop was Starbucks to get a giant coffee and/or hot chocolate.  This was the first time going to a Starbucks since I've been here (well mainly because there aren't any in Florence and that would be terrible to go to a Starbucks in the land of cappucinos), but yea we gave in a went there for a nice, to-go cup of coffee.  And you know what?  It was nice and comforting.  Although I got over zealous and ordered a venti latte.  A venti???  I really did not need 20 ounces of liquid, especially one containing probably 3 or 4 shots of espresso, but I just was too excited...  Now here is where you will probably judge us, and by us you can judge me since it was mainly my idea.  We then headed to KFC for a good ole meal of chicken fingers, fries, and biscuits.  But the joke is on me though because not only did they not have potato wedges (just stupid regular fries), but they also didn't have biscuits!!  Caroline even asked the lady about them and she had no idea what we were talking about.  What kind of world do we live in where a KFC doesn't have their glorious biscuits on the menu?  I mean, I used to go there and order a 4 piece set of biscuits when I needed some comfort food at home (ok I realize I am slightly wavering on the line of obsessed and/or obesity talk, but those who know me know how I love my KFC) and I just couldn't believe they had no bread product to offer us.  It was a huge let down and I just ate my fried chicken and regulars fries while sipping on my fountain soda and my GIANT coffee and tried not to think about all that was missing...  Ha ok so that was over dramatic, moving on :)

Since the weather had turned to blue skies and a little warmer we decided to do some more exploring before taking the bus to the airport.  We headed to the Arc de Triomf, which apparently doesn't really symbolize a win in a battle or anything, but it was still pretty.  It was actually built for the Universal Exhibition in 1888.  

We continued on to the beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella.  There is a giant fountain (designed by Gaudi of course), a zoo, a lake, and a giant mammoth (not really sure the significance of that one...).  It was really beautiful and a nice way to say good bye to this fascinating city.

fountain

...mammoth

We headed to the hostel that night to sleep over in airport for an early flight in the morning.  The airport is about an hour away from downtown Barcelona so this was basically our only option since there was only one Ryan Air flight that next day.  It was an interesting night, that is for sure.  We played cards, slept, listened to music, had heart to hearts, ate copious amounts of airport food, everything you could imagine doing overnight in an airport.  Everything was going relatively smoothly until it was time to board.  Now I think I mentioned this in a prior post, but my backpack is a strange size...short and fat.  Ryan Air has some strict guidelines for bags in that they need to fit in a certain shaped container...it doesn't matter if your bag obviously would be smaller than that shape if you could make it that shape, it just matters if the bag fits, which mine doesn't.  It didn't matter on the way over since no one checked, but at this airport they made everyone test their bag before boarding the plane.  So while I'm freaking out, on 2 hours of sleep no less, Caroline being the fast thinker she is, ran and bought this 1 euro bag that is the exact shape of what is allotted.  I guess people can buy them when they are in the same situation as me, and luckily she had seen someone carrying it on our first flight.  So I scrambled and took everything out of my backpack and shoved it in this bag and thank god they let me on without too much of a fuss.  Crisis averted.  The flight was fine and I got to see a beautiful sunrise (the other girls had passed out) and we made our way back home.

Yay Barcelona posts are done and I can move on to our other trips!  It is the first snow in Florence and we are heading out for a fun night with the girls (and a hair cut for me from Jess...it pays to have a friend who can cut hair!!).  

Here is the view from our window:

BarTHelona part Dos

Ok so it has been a whirlwind month with trips, sending Courtney off, parents coming to visit and in 2 short weeks I will be saying goodbye to Caroline so it is hard to get to this blog thang!  I will really try to update my posts though, I promise!

So where was I?  Ah yes, Barcelona...

On Sunday morning we awoke to a crowd of people outside of our hostel waiting for the Pope to fly by in his Pope mobile on his way to consecrate the Sagrada Familia.  Luckily for us, our room had a balcony so we were able to hang out there for his quick drive by.  Getting into the hype of seeing il Papa, even though I've seen him before and I'm not even a huge fan of him, I had my camera ready to take a video of his passing by.  Well, that was my intent, but I didn't want to just look through my camera so I mistakenly looked up when he came by and my camera followed my eyes...so I actually didn't catch him so well.  Here is the video so you can see for yourself:

Ah well, it was a good attempt!   After the excitement we were looking forward to exploring the city, figuring most people would be swarming the Pope.  We headed to Montjuic, a hill overlooking the downtown area.  It is the site of a fortress, the olympic stadium, and many interesting museums (our main reason to go up).  Courtney really wanted to go to the Joan Miro museum and for those of you who don't know him, he was a Catalan artist whose "work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride." (I liked that description the best).  I wanted to describe his work as modern art, though I'm not sure if that is fully accurate.  All I know is that I am not a fan of most modern art and unfortunately his work wasn't an exception...  However, the area where the museum was located was gorgeous!  There were gardens and cats everywhere so Caroline was in heaven.

After the museum we walked to the Catalan art museum, but it was closed.  The building the museum is housed in is amazing though - it was a Palace built for the World Fair in 1929.  

That night Courtney opted to stay in while Caroline and I headed out to explore some of the areas we hadn't seen yet.  There are so many because Barcelona is HUGE!  We started with the gothic church Santa Maria del Mar (Saint Mary of the sea), which was built in the 14th century at the height of Catalonia's maritime and mercantile successes.  The church got it's name because of the naval successes, as well as it's closeness to sea and because of it's use by sailors and merchants of medieval Barcelona.  It has a beautiful interior and, while I was researching information about it, I found out that Gaudi used some of the column designs in the interior as inspiration for his Sagrada Familia.  

We ended up getting there at a great time because evening mass was just starting so we stayed for a little bit.  I was so lost because I don't even really know Spanish well and even Caroline couldn't understand much since they weren't even speaking normal Spanish.  Oh well, the experience was nice!  

By this point we were both hungry so we headed somewhere to get some paella!  We headed towards the coast since we hadn't been there yet and found a cute little bar/restaurant where we could also watch Barcelona playing on tv.  I was nervous about getting the paella marisco (with seafood) since Courtney wasn't there and since I had never had prawns before I didn't know how to deal with them - and I KNEW Caroline hadn't ever had them before.  But Caroline talked me into and I'm ultimately happy I had it just to say I did, though it wasn't my favorite.  We had sangria though and that was yummy!

After dinner we went to explore the coast, even though it was freeeeeezing.  It was beautiful out there though and what was supposed to be just a nice stroll along along the coast turned into an hour trek across the city.  Caroline was dead set on finding this skyscraper that is completely lit up at night with florescent blue and red.  Surprisingly enough you couldn't see it from far away...I guess it wasn't as big as we thought, so we had to walk to it (I honestly think it was like 2 or more miles away from where we were at that point).  So as we were walking we passed the Olympic Village with all the clubs and restaurants and it was a very impressive area, but of course we still had our mission to find that building. Fast forward 30 minutes later and walking through some sketchy areas and finally we found it.  My feet hurt and I was exhausted, but Caroline's excitement at finding it made me feel like we accomplished something...even though it was just finding a glowing building that we didn't even know what the significance of it was.

And that's it for my post today!  I thought I'd be able to wrap up Barcelona in this post, but alas I can't and I really want to make an onion omelet since I'm hungry.  I have been starving myself until I finished this post since I have been slacking! :o)

Barcelona part tres will come soon and then I can move on to Malta, parent's visit, and daily life...man, writing a blog is tough! :)