The Euro-Chic: 1/31/13

Last night we decided to switch things up and went to the new club opening of Centrale. What's unique about Centrale is that it used to be an old theatre. The balcany area is now VIP, the stage now houses the DJ, and the seating area is now a dance floor. It was definitely a different night from the usual bar scene.

Today we did more exploring and finally found the Spanish Steps!

The Spanish Steps

The view of the sunset from the steps

As we were walking around the Spanish Steps we found Rome's high-end shopping area. Unfortunately we just window shopped!

The Euro-Chic: The Trevi Fountain

Today we managed to do some exploring around Rome, seeing that today was the first sunny day in a while. We finally managed to make it to the Trevi Fountain during the day when it wasn't pouring outside (a rarity here in Rome)!

Trajan's Column

Cute coffee shop

 Of course once we were at the Trevi Fountain we had to toss in a coin and make a wish!

The Pantheon at Night

Mention in the Michigan Daily

The Michigan Daily ran an article about student bloggers on the front page of today's paper. Thanks for the shout-out!

Read the full article here

The Euro-Chic: Florence

Florence is the trip that made my study abroad experience feel real to me. It was such an amazing experience to be able to see another major city in Italy that while similar to Rome, was an experience in its own unique right.

After an easy hour and a half train ride we managed to find our hostel, The Alex House, after a much longer route than necessary. The Alex House was a charming hostel with really nice staff that resembled a bed and breakfast in my opinion. We spent our first night in Florence checking out the Duomo, the Golden Doors, and then having dinner at the well-known Za Za's.

The Duomo

Pizza at Za Za's

Golden Doors

The next day we woke up early to go see The David, the leather market, and the Ponte Vecchio. I truly feel that pictures do not do any marble sculpture justice, and The David is no exception. The accuracy of the human body that is chiseled out of marble will never cease to amaze me. Later we headed to the Ponte Vecchio to see the sights of Florence from the bridge and afterwards climbed up a hill to see an amazing 360 degree view of the city.

The next day we headed over the Uffizi Gallery and saw famous works of art by Michelangelo, Rafael, and Da Vinci to name a few. After touring the rest of the museum we stumbled upon the leather market, which was a completely different experience than shopping for a leather jacket back at home! Four leather jackets later from our new best friend Massimo definitely made the day an unique experience! We had dinner at Acqua al Duo, known for their balsamic and blueberry steaks, which had a really cool atmosphere.

View from the Ponte Vecchio

Some stand out experiences food-wise in Florence was Vivoli Gelateria, argued to be the best gelato place in all of Italy and Florence's secret bakery only open from 1-4 a.m, but that's a place everyone needs to figure out how to get there on their own!

The view overlooking Florence

Liebster Blog Award

I wanted to send a warm thank you to Jade from muffinteahouse for the nomination of my blog for the Liebster Award. The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers and means "dearest" in German.

Here are the rules: 
1. You must post 11 things about yourself. 
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you. 
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate. 
4. Choose 11 new blogs & link them in your post 
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster award so I can learn more about YOU!


So, some facts about me: I've traveled to India for 3 weeks, used to have a pet turtle, took woodshop in high school, won a tennis tournament in Holland, linzer torte is my favorite dessert, I love watching the food network before going to bed, my favorite smells are right after a big rainstorm and the ocean, gone cliff diving on multiple occasions, couldn't live without my fireplace, eat way too much cereal, and learned how to ski at the age of 4. 

Questions Jade asked me:
How is your day so far?  Can't complain, would've preferred more sleep. 
Why do you blog? I thought it would be a fun and more interactive way to journal. 
Ever drunk text someone?  If so, share! This is on my resume so I'm going to refrain from answering haha
What is your passion?  Cooking
Read any good books lately? Currently in the middle of The Great Gatsby 
What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?  Jumped off of a 40 foot cliff~
Know any good jokes?  Please share.  What is a bartenders favorite book? Tequila Mockingbird
If you could live in another city, where would you live?  San Francisco 
What skill or ability do you wish you had?  Singing
Who would play you in a movie?  Sara Paxton because people have told me we look scarily alike
What did you eat today? Cereal, turkey, more cereal, chicken marsala with pasta and pesto


Blogs I'm nominating:
http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2011/2/19/a-bakers-dozen-sweet-tips-for-baking-in-college.html
http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.it/
http://violetsage.wordpress.com/tag/lazy-girl-fitness/
http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/
http://thepreppyprincess.wordpress.com/tag/preppy-fashion-blog/
http://www.abeautifulmess.com/diy/
http://www.beautybloggingjunkie.com/
http://www.honeywhatscooking.com/
http://sweetapolita.com/blog/
http://matterofstyle.blogspot.it/



Now here are my questions:
What is your favorite book of all time?
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where?
If you could speak another language what would it be?
Favorite movie?
Favorite food?
Why do you blog?
Favorite musician currently?
The ultimate dessert?
If you could only read 1 magazine subscription for the rest of your life what would it be?
Best holiday experience?
Best gift you ever received?

The Euro-Chic: Excursion in Roma

Today has been our busiest day in a while (and considering all we've done so far thats saying something!). I started out the day with my Roman Renaissance Art History course and then following with my Roman sketchbook class, which I am extremely excited for. Both courses are on-site meaning that we meet at a different location for each class throughout Rome, definitely a great way to get more sightseeing done.

After class Aly and I headed deeper into Trastevere to find an art store to buy our sketchbooks and other materials. We ended up stumbling into a cute part of town filled with shops, restaurants, and gourmet food shops. 

 Our biggest excursion of the day started when we decided to go shopping for our course books at the english book shop about a half an hour walk away from our apartment. We saw a whole part of Campo that we didn't realize existed and got a little camera-happy.

Meringues at a local bakery

On the way to the book store we conveniently ran into the Pantheon and then later made our way over to the trevi fountain.

In front of the Fontana del Pantheon

The Pantheon

The Euro-Chic Day: 5

Yesterday was a filled day with last minute errands and orientation tours around campus. After a busy and somewhat monotonous day we decided to treat ourselves to our first gelato. We got recommendations for the best gelateria in Trastevere and didn't exactly make friends with the owner after each asking for a sample. My mix of pistachio and chocolate hazelnut were superb and nobody left that shop unhappy. (Travelers tip: when it comes to gelato make sure not to get the fluffy, picture perfect gelato such as the gelato from Blue Ice-its a tourist trap and not the real deal)

Later that night we caught the Ravens Broncos game at the local American bar, Drunken Ship and then was forced next door to Sloppy Sam's when they insisted on shutting their tv off at 2am to make us leave. The game was great, and it was an interesting experience having to explain the significance of this game to the Italians.

Today was our first day free from orientation activities, but our last day before classes start. We decided to try and sightsee what we can of Rome before heading off to Florence the following weekend. Unfortunately the weather called for thunderstorms and heavy showers all day (common for Rome's winter) which ruined our plans of touring the Colosseum and Pantheon. Instead we decided to make due with the weather and head to a local museum. We ended up at the Museo Nazionale Romano Crypta Balbi

This museum features the destruction of ancient Rome from the various fires and earthquakes and has a sizable collection of artifacts and ruins. The Museo Nazionale Romano highlights the crypts of ancient Rome in the basement of the museum.

 

The Euro-Chic: Day 3

Yesterday was a day of recovery and an attempt to overcome jetlag. After taking a sufficient 4 hour nap, we made our way out into Trastevere for dinner. After a few minutes searching, we stumbled upon this little Italian restaurant, which ended up having amazing gnocchi and potatoes.

My potato scalloped seabass

Later from dinner we headed out for the night, stopping at Sloppy Sams, Almalu, and Mood.

Grasshopper shots from Amalo

Considering we went to sleep at 5am last night, we slept in fairly late this morning to wake up for the walking tour of Trastevere and Campo de Fiori. We surprisingly found out that the Colosseum is an easy 15 minute walk from our apartment!

The Colosseum 

The first of many cappuccinos

Melon and Prosciutto