Rome and Vatican City

This past weekend was a whirlwind of non stop sightseeing in Rome! We arrived in Rome around 5 PM on Friday, luckily the hostel was easy to find. We stayed in 'The Yellow', it was another great find, the rooms were clean and the staff helped us a great deal in navigating our way around the city. On Friday night we crashed earlier since we were all tired from our exam earlier in the morning.

On Saturday we got to an early start and headed to Vatican City. We decided to do a tour with "Romaround Tours" so we could actually learn more about what we were looking at. Before entering the Vatican Museum, the tour guide explained some basics of the Sistine Chapel since you're not allowed to talk when you enter. A few things I learned- Michelangelo spent 4 years painting the ceiling and one of his most spectacular paintings in the chapel is the Last Judgment. Today the chapel is used for selection of a new pope. In Vatican Museum we saw the Rafael Rooms, the Tapestry Room, and the Room of Maps, among other things. The Rafael Rooms were unbelievable. The guide told us that the Pope had first hired another artist to paint a few of the rooms, but after seeing how talented Raphael was, he commissioned Raphael to repaint the rooms. After the Vatican Museum we went straight to the Sistine Chapel, which was absolutely amazing.

 Inside of the Vatican Museum, one of the Raphael Rooms

 Again inside the Museum 

 Beautiful artwork in the Vatican Museum 

After leaving the Sistine Chapel we had the option of climbing to the top of St. Peter's Basilica, and we decided it was a must. We stopped part of the way up and you were able to see into the chapel from the inside of the dome. There was service going on inside and the organs were playing, it was the most breathtaking thing I've witnessed in my travels throughout Europe so far. It's impossible to describe the enormity and intricate beauty of the chapel. After watching the service for a few minutes, we hiked up to the very top of the Basilica and from the top we had a perfect view of the entire city. A few things I learned about the Basilica- it has the largest interior of any Catholic church in the world, it is known as the "greatest of all churches of Christendom", and it took over 100 years to build. After leaving the Basilica we went to visit the Trevi Fountain at night. It was really crowded, but when it started to rain everyone cleared out and became much calmer. Of course I didn't leave before throwing a coin into the fountain and making a wish :)

 Inside the Basilica from ground level

 View from the top of the Basilica

 View of the altar from the interior of the dome

On Sunday we started the day off at the Colosseum. The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater ever built during the Roman Empire.  A portion of it was damaged during a fire years back, they are currently trying methods to clean the stone but you could see the stark contrast between the parts that had and hadn't been subject to the fire. Over the years they have had to rebuild portions of the Colosseum due to damage it had sustained during earthquakes and natural degeneration over time, but it was still spectacular. Across from the Colosseum was Palatine Hill, which is one of the most ancient parts of the city. On one side of the hill is the Forum (ancient town with a city hall, church, houses, etc) and on the other was the Circus Maximus. The circus was used for sporting events and for the emperors' personal entertainment. 

The Colosseum

 Palatine Hill

Circus Maximus

 View from the top of Palatine Hill

Ruins from the Forum

After visiting Palatine Hill our last stop before returning to Riva with the Pantheon. It remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome to this day and it was built as a temple to all gods of Ancient Rome around 126 AD. Currently they hold church services inside the Pantheon every Sunday. 

 The Pantheon

 Open aired ceiling of the Pantheon

 Altar at the front of the Pantheon

I thoroughly enjoyed the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Pantheon, however my favorite part of Rome was undoubtedly St. Peter's Basilica. I'm still in awe at the amazing things I was fortunate enough to see in Rome- definitely one of the best weekends so far.

Venice and Verona

After a long week of class and exams, I headed to Venice and Verona for another weekend with the girls. Upon arrival in Venice, we did some shopping on the walk to the hostel and I made my first purchase- a pink Italian leather briefcase, perfect for work next summer :). It was difficult to find the hostel through the curvy back roads, but eventually we arrived. Our hostel was called the Venice Museum, it was a bit rustic but definitely a great place for meeting other young people. We went out for a nice dinner and I had delicious minestrone and salad. After wards, we went back to the hostel and the young people that worked there took the girls and I out to a popular bar with some others that were also staying in the hostel.

Right outside of the main train station

The girls at dinner

New friends from the hostel

The next morning we went to a cafe for breakfast and then spent the whole day shopping. Venice is known for it's beautiful Murano glass, so of course I had to get some for myself and friends. We found a shop selling genuine Italian leather gloves and I got a pair for mom and I.  Even corner you turned had a shop selling Venetian masks in any color or design you could possibly want. Let's just say I went a little over budget on this trip because I couldn't pass up the fantastic shopping opportunities.

The next morning we headed to Verona for a few hours before returning to Riva. Verona was much more built up than I thought it would be, the streets were filled with stores and street vendors. We visited The House of Juliet, it was really neat but the overcrowding of tourists took away from it a little bit. It reminded me a bit of the Via Dell'Amore in Cinque Terre was the graffiti on the walls of the tunnel leading to the house.

We arrived in Riva later that night and it was back to work already. We began our international management unit and had an exam just a few days later. We had a research project that required us to choose either an industry or a institution in the EU. Our group decided to look at EU-Turkey relations and debate whether or not Turkey should become a member of the EU. Today we have our presentation and turn in the final paper, then I'm officially done with 3 out of the 6 business classes, YAY!

Ich Liebe Basel!

After discovering that there were no trains available for the trip we had planned to go to Paris, we needed to form a quick plan B within 2 days. I did some research on interesting cities in Switzerland and we ended up choosing Basel as our destination, and we sure were glad we did. Our train ride was only 4 hours away, quite an easy journey compared to the experiences we've had in prior weekends. Our hostel was only a 5 minute walk from the train station and it was by far the nicest hostel I've ever seen. It was a YMCA hostel, they had a daily maid service to change the sheets, computers for guest use, the concierge was incredibly helpful, and it was impeccably clean. After unpacking and relaxing for a bit, we went exploring around town (also to get some coffee after staying up late to get work done the night before). We talked with some young people that worked at a cafe in hopes of getting insight into the nightlife in Basel. We bought a bottle of a local specialty wine made with honey, it wasn't bad. We started off the evening at a place called Cafe Atlantis, it ended up being a waste of our time, the people were snobby, no one was dancing, and drinks were way too over priced. We knew we weren't in the right place and left shortly there after. After a long walk we finally reached a club called Fame. There was a 15 franc cover charge but it was worth every penny. We danced on stage all night long and met people from numerous European countries.

 Inside our hostel room at the YMCA Hostel, Basel

The next morning we woke up and went to the markets to get fresh fruit. After we walked downtown and the first place we visited was the Kuntsmuseum. We saw paintings by Picasso and other famous artists, but my favorite exhibit by far was the Andy Warhol exhibit. It was interesting to see his blueprints and get some insight into the though processes behind his work. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures, so instead I bought some souvenirs to remember it :) After wards we walked around town and did some shopping. I finally got a new camera so expect even more awesome pictures in the future. We went to lunch at a restaurant with a variety of foods, I got Thai vegetable curry. It was the best meal I've had since I've been abroad. Don't get me wrong I like Italian food, but without spice there's always something missing. (Also I forget to mention that during our shopping I was able to find my favorite Sriracha spicy sauce to bring back to Riva and put in all my food hehe). We walked along the Rhine River promenade for a few miles and then arrived at the Jean Tinguely museum. It's difficult to describe the uniqueness and eccentricity of this museum. Jean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor (actually from Basel), and he is best known for his sculptural machines and kinetic art. A portion of the museum was devoted to robotics and there was an especially striking exhibit that depicted scenarios from war in which GI Joe dolls were protagonists. It was sobering, but fascinating to imagine how someone could come up the idea.

Description of the Army exhibit

Example of just one of the GI Joe figures

One of Tinguely's sculptures

Walking down the Rhine River Promenade

For dinner that evening we found another Thai restaurant, we figured we needed to enjoy the spice as much as possible before going back to pizza, pasta, and french bread. I got a pad Thai dish, it was good but didn't compare to the curry for lunch. We went back to the hostel and called it an early night since two of us were running the the Rock the Beat Basel half marathon the next morning. 

Angie and I woke up early the next morning and left to find the race packet pickup location. After about an hour and a half of walking around the city, taking different buses and trams, and asking numerous employees working the event, we finally found the check in. The event was incredibly well organized, it rivaled similar events in the States, which is especially incredible considering it was the first year they were holding it. The run was absolutely amazing, we started off running along the Rhine, it was definitely a bit hot since the race didn't start till 11, but after several kilometers in, we veered off into a park where the majority of the race path continued. I finished in 1 hour and 46 minutes (8:10 splits), and cut 4 minutes off my previous time. The route was much easier than the Marine Corp half, flat ground almost the whole time. After the run we met up with the rest of the group and took a tram to a nearby town to see the ancient Roman Ruins, Augusta Raurica. The ruins are the oldest in Switzerland. The theater was incredible and when you climbed to the top there was an amazing view of the town and the mountains. We spent a few hours exploring the ruins before heading back to Riva. 

The Amphitheater, Augusta Raurica

View from the top of the theater

About to cross the finish line at Rock to the Beat Basel Half Marathon :)

Now back in Riva, we are nearly finished with our second course. We had our second exam this morning, we'll see if it went as well as the first, and we also have a research paper due tomorrow so lots of work to do before Venice and Verona this weekend! :)

Cinque Terre, Italy

The weekend after Nice, almost the entire group decided to go to Cinque Terre, Italy for the weekend. We booked an eight person room at the Affitacamere Patrizia in Riomaggiore (the first of the five towns). The journey to Cinque Terre was hectic, we missed one of our connections and were forced to squeeze onto the only available train and sit on the floor for about 4 hours. We finally got to Cinque Terre around 8 PM, it was about a 10 minute walk uphill to our hostel but once we arrived it was completely worth the hike. The sun was setting and we had a perfect view of the Mediterranean from our balcony. We got ready for the evening and walked to the center of the town. We met up with all 30 members of our group and hung out at the local bars for the evening.Of course we got some gelato, homemade banana is my new fav :)

View of the sunset from our balcony, doesn't get much better than this!

The next morning we woke up early to go on the hike that takes you across the 5 towns. We passed the Via Dell'Amore on the hike, or "The Love Walk". The walls were covered with couples' signatures and professions of love. Couples bring locks and hook them onto the ropes they had lining the rocks and then throw the keys into the ocean. It was incredible to see how any locks there were lining the path, really sweet even though I definitely don't have a lock to place there haha.

Some of the locks hanging from the rope

After walking for about an hour, my roommate Yvonne and I decided to split off from the group and lay on the rocky beach for a bit. The stones on the beach were unbelievable, all different colors and designs. We collected some to bring home as souvenirs, and I sent some home to mom and dad so they can see :). After relaxing on the beach, we kept hiking and shortly after ran into some local vendors. I bought a bracelet with turquoise stones and some really unique rings from one vendor. The second vendor was making bracelets from the local beach stones and was nice enough to show us how he did it. 

The man who made jewelry out of local beach stones

After buying some souvenirs and presents for sis, we kept walking to the next town. We got to the fifth town and found an amazing restaurant up in the cliff with a perfect view of the ocean. Yvonne got linguine and clams and veal and I got delicious, authentic Italian spaghetti. I tried to use some of my new Italian words with the waiter, but it was a failure since he only spoke German, French and English. After lunch we walked back to meet up with our friends. For dinner we went to a restaurant in the center of the town. We ordered a bottle of house wine and it was amazing, this coming from someone who isn't really a huge fan of wine. After dinner we went to watch the sunset at a bar overlooking the ocean. We stayed out with our friends till late soaking up the incredible beauty of Cinque Terre.

The next morning we went back to the same beach we had discovered the day before, except this time we brought some friends to this hidden treasure. Since it was almost time to catch the train, we headed back towards the train station but before leaving I got homemade spaghetti pesto from a local restaurant. The train ride home went smoothly thank goodness, I met a couple traveling from Chicago and a woman from Canada on the train ride. She told me her favorite place she had visited was Ascici, so I may have to look into that for a future weekend. Cinque Terre was by far my favorite weekend so far, there was something so special and tranquil about the town, its hard not to smile when you're surrounded by the clear blue ocean and you can hear the waves crash against the beach stones.

View of Riomaggiore on the hiking trail

After returning to the villa, we began our Management theory and leadership practice course. It's fast paced and definitely requires a lot of work during the week, but the travel I have to look forward to on the weekends is quite the motivator :) Last weekend a few girls and I went to Basel, Switzerland, so next will be more about that trip! But for now, time to do a research project on Switzerland, ciao!

The French Riviera (Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Monaco) and Genova, Italy

For our first long weekend break Neil, Michael, Kevin, Chris, Charlie and I decided to go to a few places in the French Riviera and then to Genova, Italy for one night. The journey there was interesting to say the least. We walked on the first train and I asked the boys if they smelt anything weird, turns out a little boy had just puked on the train and of course we were the lucky ones that got to sit right next to it. On our last train connection there was a grumpy and slightly delusional old man sitting behind us who ranted on in the middle of the isle for 20 minutes about how he had been ripped off. Luckily there was a young couple on the train in front of us that spoke English and could translate his rant for us (at first we were afraid he was yelling at us for some reason). We thought we were almost there when we learned that there had been a problem with the trains and we had in fact passed our destination. We got off at a random train station that looked like a site from a scary movie, fortunately there were 2 middle aged men who spoke English that also got off. We were then approached by two security guards who were visibly plastered out of there minds (at 8 PM, mind you). After an interesting train journey we finally arrived in Nice-Ville and had an easy time finding the hotel, only about a 15 minute walk from the train station.

The hostel was great- clean, safe, and in the perfect location. We unpacked and got changed and went down to the bar to wait for the rest of our group and meet some other people staying in the hostel. There were a lot of Americans and English speakers. After the other 3 in our group arrived we went to check out the local nightlife recommended by the young guy at the front desk. We went to an Irish pub and a bar named Wayne's. Per usual, I was the only one to get carded upon entry into Wayne's since I can't even pass as an 18 year old. I had to spent a few minutes trying to communicate that he had just let all my friends into the bar before I was allowed. The bar was alright, a little too crowded and expensive for my taste. We headed back to the hostel relatively early after a long day of traveling.

The next morning (8/28) we hopped on a train to go to Monaco. The receptionist at the hostel had told us that there was a great beach there...which we were never able to find. We walked along the cliff side next to the water for a mile or so before giving up on finding this supposed beach and deciding to claim our solitary spot on the rocks. All the guys jumped in, at first I was freaked out by the waves that were crashing into the rocks but eventually I gave in. It was an absolutely gorgeous view and it was really cool to have our own little spot instead of being at a crowded beach. We got back to Nice late afternoon and went to check out the local beaches. I've never been on a rocky beach before and definitely wasn't accustomed to how painful it is to walk on. I had to admit I definitely prefer sandy beaches, even though the water was gorgeous. We went back to the hostel to get cleaned up for the night. While waiting downstairs I met a girl named Jessica from Canada who had been working abroad and was doing some traveling before heading home. She came out to dinner with us that evening, and it was handy having someone with us that spoke French. After dinner we went to a bar to meet up with the girls from Riva that had also gone to Nice but were staying in a different hostel. We tried to get into a club but decided not to go after we learned about the pricey entrance fee (and I got carded there as well). We ended up going to a sport bar and then sitting out on the beach until late.

Monaco, France

On 8/29, we went to Cannes with the other girls. We started the day off with a tour of Museo de le Castle, it was a fortress back in the day. We climbed to the top of the tower where we had an amazing view of all of Cannes. The rest of the museum was filled with neat artifacts from the Mayans and other groups. My favorite portion of the museum were the weapons and musical instruments displays, it was interesting to see how they've evolved over time. After walking around the museum and taking some fabulous pictures from the tower, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant. Everyone enjoyed their food and the prices weren't bad. Later we went to the beach, it was great to go to a sandy beach after laying out on rocks the day before. The group split up and three of us stayed behind to enjoy the beach in Cannes a little longer while the rest headed to Antibes. After a few more hours on the beach, we headed to Antibes as well. It was impossible to meet up since the town is pretty big, and also very confusing to navigate. We had the most difficult time trying to find the water and eventually gave up. We walked up and down narrow streets lined on either side by old fashioned, tall apartment buildings. The bright colors of the buildings made it such a pretty sight. We walked around not really sure where we were going and stumbled upon a bunch of cute shops with homemade trinkets. After exploring we were hungry again. We found the most amazing, hole in the wall restaurant buried away. We walked down the stairs and the inside stone walls made it look like a cave. About half an hour after we arrived, about a dozen French families and couples arrived. We've learned in class about European customs regarding meal times, but it was interesting to see for my self. Plus, after the locals arrived we knew we had picked a great restaurant. It was pitch black after we left and it took us quite a while to find the train station. The guys went out but I was exhausted after such a long day that I decided to call it a night.

We got up early the next morning (8/30) to catch our train to Genova. We missed our first train after struggling to get out of the hostel on time. We arrived in the city around 3 PM and checked into our hotel before walking around some. The hotel wasn't near as nice as the first one, it was a small family owned hotel with only a few rooms and it didn't appear to have any other guests at the time. We went to the dock and walked around to see what there was to do. The city seemed almost deserted, a lot of the shops had bars covering the windows and the city just seemed dead. The dock by the water was really pretty, we got dinner there but it wasn't much to speak off. The guys had some sort of mystery meat and I had a veggie sandwich that the man prepared with his bare hands...kind of grossed me out. We went back to the hotel, all exhausted from our trip so far, and tried to brainstorm what to do. We contemplated walking to bars where Americans supposedly went, but after our initial assessment of the city, it didn't seem like a safe idea. We tried to find a bar close to the hotel and failed, instead we sat outside of a kabob shop and got a snack. We all went to bed early so we'd be rested for more touring of the city the next day.

 City Center in Genova, Italy

On our last day in Genova, we decided we must check out the aquarium. It was definitely my favorite part of Genova. They had sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, sting rays, manatees, etc...I was glad we went. After spending a few hours at the aquarium we went to lunch at a little cafe and got gelato. We finally found the main shopping area we had missed the day before, they had a few good stores but nothing fantastic. We tried to find a park that was listed on the map. We found the park, but not what we expected, the fountain was empty and there were several homeless people sleeping on the benches. We kept walking to try to find something worth seeing in the city. After walking around for hours and exploring almost every inch of the city, there was still nothing that took our breath away. I had to be honest and admit that I will never return to Genova. The city was scary and dirty, where I used to live in Manila, Philippines put Genova to shame. Exhausted, we caught our train back to Riva at night. It was such a fun weekend, but I was definitely glad to get a good night's sleep.

 Piranhas at the aquarium in Genova

In Nice we stayed in Hotel Saint Exupery Beach- absolutely amazing location, about a 15 minute walk from the train station and close to the beach, bars, and tram. I would highly recommend it.