Interlaken, Switzerland

I finished my chores for the day earlier than expected yesterday and finished all my homework earlier today as well, so might as well sit down to write about this past weekend's trip to Interlaken, Switzerland! :o)
I booked the trip with Brittany and Taylor through Bus2Alps, which in hindsight wasn't much of a good idea when we later found out it was a bit of a ripoff due to the high cost. But either way, we made the trip worth it in the end.

Around 7:30 PM, us three got to the meeting spot inside Termini with a Bus2Alp guide named King (what an odd name! he was cool though). There was about 15 others too. We all walked to the bus that was parked 5 minutes from the station and it turned out to be a freaking double decker.

We claimed top of course. And found that the seats reclined REALLY far back - which will and have helped us endure the 12+ hour bus ride to Switzerland! So Taylor and I were seat buddies and we reclined our seats back all the way as much as possible to make sure no one sat behind us so we could sleep until we arrived in Interlaken around 7 AM. Bus ride was pretty nice. Taylor and I watched the new Oscar-winning Italian movie "La Grande Bellezza", on his laptop, which was a really weird but somewhat interesting film about a man's third-quarter-life crisis... putting it simply.

I slept on and off. And I should've bought more waterbottles - I was SO thirsty by the time 12 AM rolled around and we still had to pick up kids in Florence who were also coming along for the trip. We finally made a rest stop around 2 AM. We headed out by 3 AM and I fell asleep for good.

I woke up earlier than I intended to around 5:30 AM and I was greeted by this sight:

The Alps! I knew we were in Switzerland right then and I got a little overwhelmed by the fact that I'm seeing this mountain range in person. We were driving along really windy roads and a lot of tunnels, and we also passed by lots of tiny little villages with houses miles apart and goats on the hills. We finally entered Interlaken around 7 and dropped off the first group at their designated hostel and then dropped us off at ours (which we selected during booking): Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof. It's a really contemporary and quiet hostel compared to the other one which was more for partiers.

After a quick breakfast provided by the hostel (the usual cereal bread and jam and cappuccino), Taylor, Brittany and I decided to tour Interlaken while the 3 other girls we were roomed with slept in. We walked around for a while, getting to know the town.

We wanted to hike a mountain but trains are really expensive, so we opted out and walked around even more then stopped for lunch at a place that our hostel recommended. We got cheese fondue for appetizer. And then for the main meal, rosti was really big on the menu so I got paprika rosti (our waitress explained that it's a kind of hashbrown potato). It was pretty good!

We walked past this place that booked rentals and we saw that they were offering bike rentals for really cheap at 15 CHF (almost 17 or 18 USD). So we did it! We rented the bikes and went off. After wobbling on the bikes (more Brittany and Taylor who haven't ridden a bike in years), we set off for Brienzersee (Lake Brienz), which was one of the lakes sandwiching Interlaken. We had a map with no street names so we kinda mostly winged it. We biked across Matten and Interlaken, and got to the highway and figured out a better route mid-way and went down under the highway. It was so exhilarating riding a bike without knowing where to go but figuring it out by winging it is SO rewarding. We crossed over train tracks and parks and down construction hills. Through muddy paths and under the bridges. I got really good at taking pictures while riding the bike. Also, shout out to Pop; thanks for teaching me how to ride a bike way back then! :)

After handing our bikes in at 5:30, we walked around and eventually found a place to eat dinner at. We ate at a place called Cafe Paris. It's expensive but then again, everything in Switzerland is expensive. No meal is under 25 CHF (well, I got a wrap lunch the next day for a miraculous 9.50 CHF).

The next day was paragliding day! Since it was at 12:45, we got up for breakfast then hung around in our room all morning until it was time to go. We went to the meeting spot and got picked up by the paragliding company in a van. There were three other girls along with me, Brittany and Taylor. In the van, we met all the professional paragliders and we went to their stand to get boots on and put our stuff away (not that I had do but the other girls who were there brought giant bags of purses......really?) The van took us up on a mountain, and at first I didn't think we'd go that high- but then the van went higher, and higher, and soon we were above Interlaken.

I was given a "backpack" with a seat and we walked to this muddy cliff edge. My paraglider's name was Kusi and he understood I was deaf and made sure we had signals and stuff so I was pretty glad about that.

On 3, we ran off the cliff and then I was flying!

What an unforgettable experience.

It last about 15-20 minutes and involved some spirals. But I really liked the view the most.

After paragliding, we walked around and shopped. I got surprises for my family and also an authentic Swiss knife for myself - I gave in and got the more expensive one of two choices I got stuck between simply because it had both a scissor and cork-screw! But it was worth it. We ate dinner at an Irish pub which turned out to be a really good idea. I asked our waitress what was considered a good Swiss beer and I got it (sorry, I forgot what it was called. Started with an "fre"...). It was good! For dinner I got risotto cakes. We watched Scotland pulverize France in rugby on TV.

Sunday we checked out at noon, I got to meet Taylor's uncles who were vacationing in Switzerland (his uncle's husband was Swiss) and they both lived and worked in China. Taylor hadn't seen them in 5 years and I felt honored to meet them briefly. And then we left Switzerland for the 12+ hour ride home. I arrived in Rome by 11 PM (earlier than expected, yay!) and took the bus back to close to my apartment.

I am really glad I got the chance to go to Switzerland!

Tonight I went to a cooking class with Brittany and Christina. We were picked up by a chef at school named Andrea. He took us to his place "Cooking Classes in Rome" to teach us to cook. The meal we cooked Roman style gnocchi, stracceta, cauliflower and nutella pie! It was so interesting and Andrea was REALLY friendly with me especially, he was very touchy-feeling and goofy and kissed my cheeks a lot - he epitomized Italian! An API acquaintance named Robert joked by asking if Andrea gave me his number even though he was married (by the looks of the ring on his ring finger). But I had a GREAT time and the food was so yummy. Andrea will email us the recipe of the stuff we made and I can't wait to make it for my family when I get home!

The menu for tonight - we made everything!

Andrea, our chef!

Christina, Brittany and I's jobs: making the sauce! I also helped cook the gnocchi.

Andrea put the parsley in my hair and kissed my cheek as if I was a flower girl. Christina took a normal picture of me, but then Andrea noticed and gave me these two huge knives out of nowhere. Perfect.

Tomorrow starts my spring break! This weekend I'll be going to Brussels and Amsterdam with Christina. :) I'll be going to Belgium to go to Musée Hergé, in a town outside Brussels, since I'm a huge fan of Tintin! And then Amsterdam to see the Heineken Experience and Van Gogh Museum. And maybe the Anne Frank House. I am so very excited to start my next adventure!

The Two Ancients: Pompeii and Athens

I'm alive! It was a stressful week last week full of midterms and after that, I took a field trip with my art history class on Friday to Pompeii on February 28th, then jettisoned off the next day to Athens for an overnight with Taylor! Both trips are memorable in their own ways, with both the ups and downs of it.

POMPEII

I left Rome with my class at 7 AM on a bus to Naples/Pompeii. It was cloudy and gross out and by the time we arrived around 11, it poured. It poured all day, and I didn't have an umbrella since mine went missing few days before that day (talk about bad luck!). The rain stopped briefly at one point but came back in full force. My teacher, Professor Corrado, and our class stopped at this cafe that she wanted to show us that had a tasty pastry with ricotta cheese inside of it (no, not a cannolo). We then went and toured around Pompeii whilst Prof. Corrado continued teaching as normal; she explained Pompeii's history, culture and its architectures and their uses.

Bunch of old guys who were standing there when I wanted to take a picture of the alley. I snapped one of them too because they were goofy and insisted. I think they're either tourists or excavation workers.

Last photo is a view of Naples, which by the way, isn't that pretty or nice at all. It's run down and has a bad scene. It's more of a stop-over city rather than "sight-seeing". Just some tidbits for you all to know in case you wanted to come here. Don't go to Naples! Anyway, we arrived back in Rome by 7 PM and it was still raining. I needed to find boots because the weather forecast said it would rain in Athens. I couldn't find boots because shops were quickly closing up. Oh well - off to Athens!

ATHENS

I left my apartment earlier than planned because Taylor's roommates came home "early" and he couldn't sleep. So he eventually texted me which woke me up before my alarm could and we met up at a cafe. Unfortunately, it was pouring. Rain. Again. Even with my raincoat, I got completely soaked. Because it was early, the rain made me quite a bit grumpy. I got over it though once we got to the tram and went to Trastevere train station to take a express train to Fiumicino Airport so I stayed dry! Soon, we found ourselves going to Athens! It was our first time out of Italy and by ourselves without a guide, so we were both very excited.

The flight was pretty short (2 hrs), and they served Greek lunch on board, the sky and seas were so blue, and it made me sad once we dipped below the clouds because then everything was gray and full of drab.

Taylor and I hit the ground running - almost literally. We only had 24 hours in Athens so we wanted to make the most of it. This is our "24 hours in Athens" trip.

As soon as we landed, we quickly figured out where the metro was and deciphered the Greek language on all the signs to get to where we need to go. It went pretty smoothly and we found our inn, Pella Inn, quickly as well. We checked in, found the desk-person gave us one double bed rather than a two singles. We shrugged it off because we were only there for one night, didn't want to cause any trouble, and plus we've been friends for 3 years so we were comfortable enough with each other (we both sleep like bricks anyway), so we just took it in stride. Our room had a view of the Acropolis too so it was a cool bonus.

And so, literally as soon as we threw our bags on the bed, we left and headed to the Acropolis which was about a 10-15 minute walk from our inn. I was sharing Taylor's umbrella which didn't really help. But we climbed up to the based of the Acropolis and literally as soon as we got to the gates, the gates CLOSED. Just in front of us! Talk about bad timing.

It was still raining. We walked to a cafe that was near the gates and the man there spoke pretty good English (and Italian), so we held conversations in both. There was a cat there named Mario who hangs around there a lot. Afterwards we walked to the Temple of Zeus, which we also found was closed. Everything seemed to close by 5 PM in Athens, except for walking around.

So we walked around and we found the first modern Olympic stadium (built in the 1890s, I think). There was a group of English speaking college students (who probably are there on a trip) hanging around the prize stands and I really wanted to take a photo there. Taylor and I got this brilliant idea, without telling each other somehow - we're brain-linked I tell ya! - after one of them noticed I really wanted to take a picture. Taylor and I proceeded to speak in Italian, pretending we're Italian tourist-students. It was so funny see them all flail and push one kid forward who presumably knew the 'most' Italian of them. ;) It went fairly well and Taylor and I had a good laugh afterwards.

We walked a little more after and stopped by the Parliament building. Soon, night fell and the rain hit harder. Suddenly, I tripped on my shoes and the WHOLE bottom sole came off! It was flopping and it was hard to walk. So I was miserable throughout the next few hours. We stopped at a fancy coffee bar/restaurant that had a few middle-aged Greek men smoking cigars and drinking coffee. I tried my first Greek coffee here and I LOVED it. Taylor didn't like it because it was so dark and thick (Greek coffee is in between Italian and Turkish coffee). Afterwards, Taylor and I headed to the shopping streets to get a pair of boots once and for all. I walked between several stores comparing shoes and as soon as I was notified that a store I was in was closing, I just bought the pair of shoes - for 40 euros. It was the only boot with the smallest heels that looks like it was walkable and that it could stand rain. So annoying. Europe can't seem to understand the concept of combat boots.

Taylor and I celebrated my purchase of working shoes by going to a restaurant for dinner and ate outside. In Europe, outside tables are popular and they almost always have those gas lighter stands that are really tall and keeps you warm. And guess what we ordered? Gyros! It was delicious and probably so fattening but it was so good and worth it.

We headed back to the inn and decided we'd get up super early to make see all the monuments we came here to see. We goofed around, messaged friends back home, and eventually fell asleep.

Day One photos - Click here!

At 3 AM we woke up because of a festival going on (which we didn't realize until a few days later). We woke up again at 7 and Taylor got tea and I ordered Greek coffee again. We knew it would be a decent day Saturday, but what we didn't expect when we stepped out of the inn was the blue skies on the horizon as the sun rose.

We headed to the Temple of Zeus and its ticket office. We were happy to learn that entrance was free. The sun was still rising and we were the only ones at the complex where the Temple of Zeus still stands. We walked all around it and saw the Acropolis in the distance. I pointed to it, and said to Taylor, "Well, that's where we're going next!" And so we went. On the way to the Acropolis, we passed by a (probably Greek Orthodox) church but stopped because we heard choir singing coming from it so we stopped for a moment to listen.

We continued on to the Acropolis and arrived just as it opened. Imagine our surprise when we went to the ticket office when they said it was also free! Sunday, you are treating us well. We trekked up the Acropolis where the view just kept getting better and better and the skies kept getting bluer and bluer, and there were hardly anybody, even tourists, when we went. We reached the top, and boy - my breath was taken away! You could see all of Athens (one of the biggest cities I've ever seen), the Mediterranean and the mountains. It was a view to remember.

After relaxing by the Temple of Athena for a while, we trekked back down after we saw a large group heading towards the entrance at the bottom of the Acropolis. We didn't want to deal with them so we left. We headed towards the Agora and the Roman Agora and toured inside there.

We walked around a little more and passed through what seemed like, the Sunday outdoor markets! It was a wild and loud scene. Taylor and I went to an area we didn't pass by before and partook lunch outside at a table that faced the market scene. We had delicious fried feta cheese and some bacon-covered chicken kebab! We had a few more minutes after eating so we walked around the market a bit and headed straight back to the inn to check out and head back to Rome. We didn't want to leave but we felt we accomplished all that we wanted to do, see and experience in these 24 hours. I wouldn't trade these memories for anything. Even if my toothpaste got confiscated in Athens on the way back to Rome.
Day Two photos - Click here!

I recently came back from a weekend trip in Interlaken, Switzerland! I don't have a lot of time these days between classes and traveling to update this blog but I will eventually catch up. So I'll update about Switzerland next weekend. Some hints: bicycle, lake, paragliding, Alps, and cheese fondue.

This weekend I'm starting my spring break! Hurray! I can't wait to relax. This weekend I'll be going to Brussels and Amsterdam until Monday with Christina and I'll be back in Rome for a day where I plan to tour the city on my own. Then I'll spend a day in Venice with my roommate and her mom. And then after that, during that next weekend, I'll be going to Stromboli and Catania in Sicily with Taylor!

As for my midterms, I got a B+ on my management midterm. Hurray! I'm not sure how I did on the others. I don't think I did too hot on the financial accounting midterm, and I know I got a lot wrong on my art history midterm despite being 75% confident and I think I did decent on my philosophy midterm. Fingers crossed.

Brittany and I signed up for a cooking class a few weeks ago and it's this Wednesday! We'll be learning to cook a meal from a chef at a restaurant! I wonder what we'll make. :)

Tuscany: Arezzo and Siena

Ciao a tutti!

I've been hearing some people wanted to see photos or see if I'm alive. As for the latter part, well, here I am! I actually meant to update as soon as I got back from Tuscany last week but the midterms hit... and the spring break planning got me carried away... and then even more midterms... and some other personal stuff on top of that. yeah. It's been a really stressful week.

BUT I have persevered and by next week, I'll be able to relax 100% because by then, I'd be entering SPRING BREAK! How about that?! But first things first: Tuscany.

So from February 21st through the 23rd, the API group went to Tuscany. Tuscany is a region, NOT a city. The region is named after a city called Toscana for those wondering. We visited the beautiful towns of Arezzo and Siena, spending one night in each.

We first went to Arezzo to see a farm that grew olives for olive oil and a bit of wine. But it focused on olive oil. We did an olive oil "tasting", that was interesting in the way that the historian showed us how to warm the little cup of olive oil we were given in our hands and by doing so, we were able to smell every single spice that was in it. We were given a tour of the place and background history. Afterwards we had a "light" lunch but everyone else and me were starving so we piled up like two plates each, haha. It was full of cheeses, crackers drizzled with olive oil, pasta with pesto, prosciutto, and salami... and of course wine. They also had a spa inside this place that had reasonable prices. We didn't go though because we had a special treat in Siena the next day!

We toured the actual town of Arezzo afterwards. Arezzo is the town where "La Vita e Bella" or "Life is Beautiful" directed by Roberto Begnini is partly filmed! It was my favorite Italian movie and I was so ecstatic to be there. PS: now that you've heard of this movie, you have no excuse but to WATCH IT. It's so good - it even won the Academy award! The Piazza Grande is where the some scenes in the movie was filmed. Seeing it in person was so surreal because Piazza Grande was so beautiful and different since the whole town was built on a hill so everything is like... tilted.

Arezzo was really pretty and I didn't really want to leave. My last views from the town was over the edge of the hill to overlook the wide plains of another part of Arezzo. But then it was time to go. We checked in a highway hotel Park Hotel - Arezzo.

The next morning we departed to Siena. We received a guided tour of the town and then had about 30 minutes to ourselves. I got pizza and this amazing delectation called frittelle sevilli that was basically a fried rice ball with orange inside of it. Initially it didn't sound too good but I decided to give it a try. I was so surprised because it was mind-bogglingly good! I wish I had more and I miss it now. I would go back just for those.

We departed Siena for the baths. That's right, baths. We were all looking forwards to this part of the trip! We had the amazing opportunity to visit a spa/mineral-thermal bath outside Siena. It was a really nice treat especially to be able to relax before what would be for me a really stressful week!

I didn't really take pictures since I was busy the entire time! We only had three hours at the bath so I tried to use my time wisely. I booked a massage (€40 extra) for 30 minutes and then ducked in the thermal bath! The massage was way too short for my liking but it worked even though I wished the masseuse focused more on my shoulders. Once entering the baths room (there's an indoor and outdoor one) I was bombarded by the stench of sulfur. The smell of sulfur was so overpowering - it's like being a room full of eggs. But it was really nice and I am so glad I got a last-minute bathing suit the day before I left on this trip.

Speaking of, did you know that bathing suits are only found in lingerie stores? I was lucky enough to find one out of season and get help from a nice employee (Italian shop workers are usually known for rudeness but that wasn't the case for me).

I smelled like sulfur after leaving the baths. Not even a quick rinse in the locker room helped. It lingered until the next day! So then we all left the baths and headed back to Rome and watched the sun sink behind the hills of Tuscany.

As I said before, the week was really stressful for me. Classes were harder. My professor for financial accounting had to take a leave for pregnancy (she was pregnant??? I didn't see a bump! she's so thin! I guess it's Italian culture to take long leaves.) and another professor stepped in. He was nice but he had a different approach to teaching and was really hard. But he's pretty cool because he's like a hard-rock biker and not your stereotypical financial accounting professor. He had tattoos all up his arms and was clearly a member of the Hell's Angels (Italia Chapter) since he wore leather jacket with it and had other sweatshirts too. 


And then midterms hit and I struggled during reviews because it was hard to keep up and know what's going on. But I finished management midterm exam on Thursday and I feel good about it! I'll be concerned about financial accounting and art history that's upcoming. And philosophy but we'll see how that goes. Drawing midterm should be alright - we might be drawing something particular for that midterm.


And then I tried to plan spring break! I found a person to go with and we planned everything right down to the budget. We were going to go to 4 countries in 9 days. Unfortunately, because of a student that died the previous weekend in Rome, their parents could not let them go. Which is understandable but really, the student died because of alcohol. He was drinking at the bar and his friends left him there. He ended up inside of a train tunnel and probably got run over. It was alcohol related and at the cause of irresponsible friends. Not travel related! It is fact that 99% of the problems that occur while abroad are alcohol related.


I was really upset and struggled to find someone - anyone but I realized how many people I knew (a lot) and how many I really knew (not very much). But eventually I figured out a new plan! And its with the best person in the world: Taylor. :) We decided to go on weekends to places. I will talk about my spring break plans in a later post! 


Today is the last day of February: February 28th. It's another reminder how quickly time is flying. I miss home and all the people I know but I know I will miss being here the moment I step on the plane back to Boston. I really want to love every single minute. I realized how important it is to make the most of my time being here. Even so, I feel incredibly guilty for traveling to so many places (in March, I am going somewhere every weekend!). But my amazing parents insist on making the best of it. I couldn't do this without them and I appreciate them so much for letting me have this opportunity.


Today, I had a mandatory field trip for my art history class. Where you ask? Pompeii! I'll post about that next week along with the upcoming trip this week which is...


Athens! Tomorrow morning Taylor and I are leaving for an overnight in Athens, Greece! Initially it was for two nights but I forgot about the Pompeii trip so I had to change flights and cancel a night for the hostel. No big deal! If anything, everything is cheaper now. I have been dubbing this trip "24 Hours in Athens" because we're literally gonna be there from 2pm Saturday and 2pm Sunday.


Next weekend is the weekend trip to Interlaken, Switzerland where I'll be jumping off cliffs paragliding! The bus is a 9 hour drive and we'd arrive in Switzerland at 4 AM. Hope I didn't give you people who are reading this heart attacks! :)

I'm exhausted and I need to pack for Athens! So buonanotte. :)