London Calling...

Ahhhhh London.....!
I just had a fabulous week in London, and I did it ALL BY MYSELF! This was my first time vacationing alone, and let me tell you, it was a very pleasant experience.
So I had to hop on a bus from Florence to Pisa at 3am on Sunday morning. Had to do a passport check etc, but overall I had no problems. I flew Ryanair to Stansted, and had to take to bus from there to London. 75 minutes to Victoria Station, where I was planning on taking The Underground to Swiss Cottage, a north west area of London.

Wellllll, things never can go they way you planned. A few days before my trip, i went online to the London Underground website to see if there was any problems or closures i would have to deal with. They were all scheduled for dates that didn't conflict with my trip.... or so I thought. Got to London, and lookie here, they decided to have the whole Jubilee Line ( the only one stopping by my hostel) closed that day! Ha. So I had to ask about the bus. The woman at the transportation office place was very helpful, and told me where the stop was, and what bus to take. I also got my Oyster Card, the magnetic card you wave to get on all subways and buses to get on. I charged it up for a week (28 pounds) and I was good to go.

I was scared to take the bus, as here in Florence the time schedules are confusing and you never know what stop you are at. But lucky for me, the London schedules are crystal clear, the buses are clean, and they have a voice and text on a screen that says the next stop. It was sooooo easy. Found my hostel after asking around a bit, it was up a curving hill with beautiful fall trees. I had to lock up my backpack outside, as the room wasn't ready till later.

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I decided to explore the area around the hostel, and found a semi-interesting modern art gallery, saw some cool home stores, and just enjoyed the weather. Then I checked in, and took a nice little nap.

When I woke up it was dark out, and I decided to see if the subway was open again. It was!! So I just hopped on the first one that came in. it ended up going to London Bridge, so there I went!

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I walked to the river, and found a French restaurant called Cote. This was the first time I had really gone to dinner by myself, and I wanted to enjoy it. I had Coq Au Vin, served with a mashed potatoes with fresh chives... it was sooooo delicious. I also had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc that was flavored with gooseberry, lime and a hint of grass. It was the best wine I have had yet!!

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From London

The next morning I went to breakfast at Palmers Lodge, and I met a really cool guy, Jacob. We decided to go explore the city together, and our first stop was Buckingham Palace.

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we wanted to see the changing of the guard, but so did 1000 or our nearest and dearest friends.

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So we headed off in search of the nearest Starbucks.( which we don't have in Italy, but there are TONS of in London). So we had delicious coffee in real mugs, as London Starbucks is wayyyy better than anywhere in America, and we headed off to Big Ben, and I tried out the red telephone booth.

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Then we headed over towards the London Eye.

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Then, over to Harrods!

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After Jacob left back to the train to the airport, I went exploring... and found the most amazing store called Topshop. There are a few of them around the city, and the one i went to had 4 stories of adorable clothes. Many things were affordable, and there were tons of sales. They even have a whole section of vintage clothing in the store! It was reallllllly cool. There was even a cafe inside....

I visited the Tate Modern Museum, where there were many pieces by Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. There was an exhibit called "Pop Life" and the main piece was by Jeff Koons... It is a blow up rabbit. The picture of it was on tons of local buses:

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I also went to the British Museum, where there is the Rosetta Stone, and lots of mummy stuff. It is all very interesting!

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My other hostels were nice, not too bad.
St. Christophers Shepherds Bush, right next to the subway:

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and Astor Victoria, a 12 min walk to the subway.... that i had to do at 3am the day i left...

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I also went to Hyde Park, which is huge! I got quite a few pretty pics of flowers and such.....

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Oh, and this squirrel tried to eat me. Luckily I escaped. hahaha

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So I met some local girls, and they told me I had to do 2 things-- go to Primark, and go to the Camden Markets. So Primark is a 3 story store that had SUPER cheap, fashionable clothes. Even after converting pounds to dollars, it was still cheap. I got some super cute shoes for less than $6, and a couple cute tops.... And tights for less than $2. Such a bargain! The the Camden Markets. OMG. soooo awesome! Half the people are dressed in punk clothes and have crazy hair, and they sell EVERYTHING, and it is all pretty cheap. There are Indian stores with cheap, beautiful pashminas and jewelery. There was food from ANY country you could ever want, and I had delicious crepes. It was sooo cool!

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the Camden Locke...

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I did a bunch of other thing on my trip, and I could write all day.... London has sooo much to do and to see!

So when I left Florence, my suitcase weighed 7 kg. The weight limit was 10kg, so no problem. Ryanair has a one bag limit, so no purse, either. Well on my way back, I weighed my back quickly at the airport, and it weighed 13 kg.... without my purse inside it!!! So I popped that silly backpack on my back, and had to act like it wasn't heavy.. haha and I got away with it. And had two bags, no problem. To top it off, my plane was not full, and I had 3 seats to stretch out. I mean that's better than 1st class! haha Thank goodness they didn't make me check my bag... that would have been 30 euro....

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So I got back to Florence on Halloween, and had the cutest little devil costume. I got cute horns and even a tail, and a really pretty taffeta dress that was red and black. Everyone loved it!

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Now I just got though another week of school, and its hard to get back in the swing of things. I really loved London, and I hope to visit again! Maybe I will try to study there next year? There are endless possibilities..

Florintine SECRET BAKERIES...

A delicious coffee I had the other day...

Ok. So every street corner in America has a Starbucks, we are addicted to coffee... yada yada yada. Well Italians are worse. (or is it better?? :] )Every street has multiple coffee bars, and at all hours of the day you see Italian' s standing at the bar to get their espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos. These coffees are drunk IN THE RESTAURANT (*americans gasp*) and are very rarely taken to go. The coffee is served in real cups and saucers, too. In the morning the basic treat to accompany the hot coffee is a" pasta" or pastry. There are crossaints, donuts, and other assorted pastries with creams, fruits, and chocolate.
These pastries are made fresh daily, but it is not convenient for all the shops to make these baked goods. This is where the secret bakery comes in. Every night aroung 1 am these bakeries open up to make the pasteries for all the smaller shops, and then deliver them. Through the brisk, cool air you can smell the tantalizing pasteries... their deliciousness wafting through the night. You just follow your nose to the unmarked door, and knock. Shady, yes, but sooo worth it. There is a sign on the door saying to be quiet, as it is usually boisterous, drunk, young adults visiting this hot spot.

The man opens the door, and asks what you want. They have fresh pizza by the slice, these chocolate covered bar things, crossonts, and donuts, some of which are dipped in chocolate. Let me tell you, this chocolate is not the same kind they use at home on donuts. It is hot, gooey, and perfect for the chilly night. One night, my hands were so cold, it hardened on my fingertips... (Toto, we aren't in California anymore :] )

It's fun to go to the bakery, as you ususally see people you know there, or walking away with white pastery bags... Once you know where the secret bakery is, you are pretty much addicted. I know a kid who goes pretty much every night, and I asked him about how much he has spent there. "ummmm.... well... probably around 60 euro??" he said, a little sheepishly. Thats pretty much $90. Yep. The secret bakery is delicious.

Other late night food in the area is the Kabob. Doner Kabobs to be exact. This is a wrap, made with a comination of lamb, pork and chicken usually that is roasted on a rotating spit. In the wrap is french fries, cabbage, onions, tomatos, and a couple sauces, one of them being a spiced yogurt, and also a spicy pepper sauce. There are a few kebab places that are open after midnight, but that is usually on the weekends. These wraps are pretty darn good, kind of reminds me of Freebirds, the burrito place in Santa Barbara.

Pretty much the best part of these foods is the availablity late at night, and the trek to find them in the wee hours of the night. The empty but very well lit streets of Florence at night have a wonderful feel, as you know they are full of the hustle and bustle of business all day long.

Ahhh Florence. Delisiozo...

Croatia!

So last weekend my group went on a trip for 3 days to the country of Croatia. Across the Adriatic sea from Italy, Croatia is known for its great beaches, clear water, and the national parks. We stayed in the coastal city of Opatjia, at the Grand Kvarner Hotel, which was the first hotel built in the area.
We left Florence at 7am, and got to Croatia around 2pm. The 7 hours in the bus were full of laughs, and zzzzz's... haha. We had the afternoon to explore the city, and it was a cool, cloudy day, which isn't the norm, which we were not too happy about, but it was still pleasant, as it made for perfect lighting for my pictures.

this was on our little exploration of the city

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An incredibly peaceful church on the top of the hill

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From Croatia

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Our hotel:

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out on my balcony:

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Then we took the bus again, for an hour to a traditional Croatian dinner. This started with brandy, of course, and then a delicious bean soup, fresh soft bread, then prosciutto, cheese and pickles, then the main course of fried potato things(haha) a type of schnitzel-turkey, a spinach garlic side dish, and sliced pork roast. All of it was sooo yummy! Then there was a salad (at the end, we are in Europe, you know) that had brandy dressing (Croatians love their brandy) cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Then there was little sugared donuts for dessert. Oh, and in between each course, the waiters and waitresses did traditional dancing to traditional music. Their music is quite awkward, let me tell you. Overall it was interesting, and very tasty.

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donuts!

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Ok, so on the way to the national park, we drove through a bunch of towns... and this was a typical sight. Those are BULLET holes in the side of a house in the countryside.... Croatia wasn't always a pleasant place. It actually only became an independent country in 1991.

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Then we went to the national park, the Plavice Lakes.... The pictures tell it all

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Check out all my pics from Croatia!

Vineyard!

So my first week of class is done(on thursday!!), and right now all of us freshies are cooking together. Chicken soup and burgers... all with fresh ingredients.

So last week, we went on a vineyard wine tasting trip, and did a photo scavenger hunt around the city. The vineyard. OMG it was beautiful. It was called Verrazzano, and was the home of the European explorer who found parts of America. After a tour, we had a meal with a sampling of 4 different wines that they make. We learned how to sniff, swirl, test color, and sample... Now im a pro :] The food was amazingly fresh and delicious..... So we started with a white wine, and then a red, then an olive oil they make, with freshly baked bread. Next they served a PERFECT pasta sauce, after that was fresh prosciutto, salami, and eggplant with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and capers. DELIZIOSO! Everything was SOOOO FRESH and amazing... Then we had a different red wine, and cheese. Last we had biscotti, with a dessert wine... sweet and very strong. We dipped the cookies in the wine, which was served in a shot glass type of glass. We left with our tummies full, and very happy.