Spring Break 2013: American Messes

Commence introduction paragraph! And potentially the longest post my blog will see.

One week ago, the GLS crew embarked on our ten day spring break between Statistics and Management courses. There were about three different groups set for various destinations, other than the few who stayed in London and Speed who set out for Iceland on his own (GLS initiative right there). I sought out Venice, Rome, and Budapest, Hungary for my break and had the best time with the best people! Here's a little more detail about each place and some photos :) Sorry I can't include all of them.. 588 uploads may be a little excessive. Oops.

Venezia, Italia

Friday morning was the start for most of our adventures! I left the flats with Sydney early to ride the Tube and catch our bus to the London Stansted airport. We cut it a little close, but made it through security and into the boarding line just in time! Another group headed for Venice was there as well, so we all boarded for Italy with giddiness. (Thankfully our excitement was enough to overcome the fact that they never turned the lights off in the cabin. Don't worry, I didn't want a nap or anything.....) Andrew navigated us after we got off the plane and caught a bus to our hostel areas. Sydney and I stayed in "Nice Hotel," which was only a block or two from the rest of the group's! We didn't all plan to go to Venice together, but it worked out nicely anyhow. After a little confusion and directional help from locals to find our hostel, we all bought bus tickets and headed to the Venice city center for dinner and our first Italian excursion.

The city really is on water, y'all.... So. Freaking. Gorgeous. And this was only at night! I was overwhelmed with the gondolas, water taxis, and Italian speakers. We arrived in Venice during Carnivale, which is a European celebration similar to Mardi Gras. Confetti, masks, and costumes pulsed from all directions. Gorgeous. One glass of wine, authentic lasagna, and cup of gelato later, we set out to see more of the city on water. The rain couldn't keep us down! Sarah and I led the group...getting us a little lost in an attempt to find San Marco...but we got some good pictures out of it. And obviously returned the next day for some sunshine and touristy things.

Our hostel was in a very residential area, so when we set out the next morning, a Saturday morning street market was waiting for us. So many adorable crafts and so much fresh produce up for sale. We grabbed breakfast at a cafe along the way and proceeded to the island of Venice for the day. We bought water taxi tickets and rode around to San Marco (me snapping photos of literally every building in our wake). The Carnivale celebrations were at peak with renaissance style outfits, couples, and venetian masks EVERYWHERE. Amazing. I took more photos, obv, and we rode out to Murano where some others in the group already were. Now I'm a sucker for cheesy souvenirs (and jewelry.......), so Murano glass creations were almost painful for my wallet to pass up. Syd and I got a couple items and I had the best pesto ever created on this Earth. We tried some Italian baked goods; one in particular included a cream and alcohol mixture? I'm not sure. It was awful though.

More pictures... more food... more masks. A couple postcards and cheesy Venezia merchandise graced my purse over time. I spoke with a British boy on our bus back to the hostel. Bro was very intoxicated, and provided a nice bit of comedy to end our tiring and cold evening. It was "thundersnowing" outside, so that was new for sure! We all headed home for warm showers and preparation for the next early morning flight to Romaaaaaa.

Nice Hotel (and Syd searching for a restaurant)

Venice by night

Mask vendor

Seriously... Italy has more little dogs than I've ever seen

Gelato lovin'!

Murano!

Obtained a mask at last

Murano glass. All the glass.

Selfie with Syd. Waiting for the group to buy souvenirs!

Rickey, Dania, and I bussin' it

Five things I learned in Venice:

1. I don't know any Italian. And Spanish is not a good substitute.
2. Venice has a pretty early bedtime.
3. The water must be treated or something. It has far too much boat traffic to come by that gorgeous blue naturally.
4. Even small children participate in Carnivale... ADORABLE
5. Don't eat anywhere with their menu displayed outside. Tourist traps are ..meeeh.

Roma, Italia

The early morning flight delivered us to the beautiful Rome (once again keeping the cabin lights on the whole time......). Sydney and I bought Roma passes which gave us unlimited access to the underground metro system, an amenity I've come to love in London. Our hostel was called Hotel Colors, right next to Vatican City. Undoubtedly the best hostel choice we could have made, with really cute decorations and our own private room/bedroom. And TOWELS! Bless it. After setting our backpacks down, Syd and I went out into the beautiful sunny day to get gelato and see some Roman sights before Liza and Heidi arrived in the evening. I had the best gelato I think exists at a small shop next to Vatican City called Old Bridge. The staff was very nice and we got three flavors for 1.50 euro. Nutella, strawberry, and cookies for this girl. Absolute heaven.

We caught glimpses of the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, ancient Roman ruins, and danced along with a parade on the Forum walkway. It seemed to be some sort of Italian or Spanish heritage festival celebration. Either way, it was adorable and the cobblestone streets were covered in confetti. My favorite. We Rome-d (roamed...HA! see what I did there?!) a little more and found a nice cafe for coffee to recharge. It was nice to stroll around without an agenda or time table. After too many Italian pasta meals in a row, I was craving a nice salad so Syd and I found a restaurant near our hostel that looked simple. Amazingly, they were famous for salads and had about three full pages of them. Jackpot. We chatted over bruschetta, wine, salads, and tiramisu until it was time to meet Heidi and Liza so they could join us for the rest of spring break! Everyone got settled, and the next day was filled with landmarks (many of which Syd and I had just seen. I'll go back to the Colosseum any time you want, though!) and a little bit of rain. We met up with some of our GLS peers also in Rome and went out for dinner, telling the stories of where all we'd been so far and where we'd be bound the next day. We discussed the Pope's resignation, and deemed it was obviously our fault because our group of boys went to see his last public speech the day before. It was refreshing to see those faces again. We had so much fun staying out with them and after running through the rain trying to catch the very last bus to our hostel, we finally made it home. Amazing day.

Our last day, we spent most of our time in Vatican City. We didn't go inside the museum or the Sistine Chapel, but us four girls climbed ALL 551 STEPS to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. Undoubtedly the best decision yet, as we got to see a skyline view of Rome and experience the art and beauty of the domes along the way. The inside of the church was spectacular, but climbing (sweating) through the walls was an experience I can't forget. We then sought out the Pantheon, one more cone of gelato, and headed to catch our late night flight to Hungary.

Memphis?

Heidi, Sydney, Liza and I in the Colosseum

Il Colosseo!

Pantheon

Harold in the ancient ruins! Probably not allowed.. oops

Hotel Colors

Vatican City

Mosaic beauty

Inside St. Peter's

Gorgeous view

Five things I learned in Rome:

1. The city wasn't built in a day, but you can kind of see all you need to see in that time. Oops.
2. Gelato is amazzzzzing in Rome. Even more so than we had in Venice!
3. The police are not very kind... (we asked for directions)
4. I really, really like architecture and have a newfound appreciation for all the historic structures
5. I may have been a cheesy tourist upon entry, but I think I'm over that now. Yeah, def.

Budapest, Hungary

Okay... now I know I've typed a lot of words and posted a lot of photos from Italy, but I can honestly say Hungary was my absolute favorite part of spring break. I travelled there with Liza, Heidi, and Sydney late Tuesday evening for one full day and most of another. In the small time we spent there, it was fantastic and relaxing and ... ah. I recommend it for anyone.

Budapest had the nicest people, the best food, and the most enlightening history of all three cities. The hostel receptionist greeted us with open (English-speaking) arms and a "welcome shot" of traditional Hungarian plum liquor. We later found out it was called Palinka, and I don't suggest anyone ever buy it. All part of the adventure, though, right? We made blissful plans for our first day, checking out one of the famous spa baths and seeing the historical Parliament building. Our Parliament tour was delayed a little so we walked along the Danube, seeing sights and taking photos. Heidi has been to Budapest before, so she was a nice resource and guide for all we were seeing and doing. The tour lasted about an hour and it was really interesting to see and hear about the Hungarian government system, past and present. We then proceeded to the Szechenyi Spa Bath. Yes. I had my first massage ever (now and forever comparing all future massages to that...yep) and soaked in the thermal mineral bath for what seemed like hours. Liza, Sydney, Heidi and I had our girl chats and decided that we "won" spring break. Amazing food, a relaxing Hungarian experience, and the most generous conversion rate of all European countries. It was a very nice choice, Budapest.

I had the best (and only) goulash I've ever tasted for dinner and we all continued to the grocery store for Hungarian chocolate and treats. Heidi introduced me to some fantastic cookies, of which I wanted to buy up five rolls and ship them to the US. We went back to the hostel fairly early and prepared for the last day of our trip. Heidi departed early the next morning to spend a few days with some local friends, leaving Syd, Liza, and I to explore on our own! (with maps). We took a tour of the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to the historic communistic strifes of Hungary. It was very enlightening and eye-opening. I suppose I never studied Hungary in school; the Soviet and Nazi invasion stories took me by surprise. I suddenly had a new appreciation for the city I'd been enjoying, and realized how small-town minded I might actually be. The museum was well put-together and very touching. It holds a special meaning to me now, though, for I was inspired to pursue more knowledge and awareness of the world. Not just around me, but beyond walls I may never see. This may actually be the reason I liked Hungary so much. Though the goulash and chocolate were pretty fantastic....

We had lunch at a local restaurant our hostel recommended. It being Valentine's Day, they gave us small sweet chocolate truffle gifts. We grabbed coffee and deemed it a good "Gal-entine's" Day after all. After lunch, Liz had to catch an earlier flight so Sydney and I moseyed across the Chain Bridge to the top of Buda (Buda and Pest are different areas of Budapest...who knew?). We saw yet another fantastic view of a beautiful city and, of course, took more photos. We offended a Canadian person who took our photo by suggesting they had an American accent. Oops. We walked through Gresham Palace and across the Green Bridge (Szabadsag Hid) that Heidi highly recommended seeing at night. She was right. So beautiful. Our flight left out of Budapest around 9:00 pm, so although I was loving the city and spring break, I was glad to be returning to London in a few short hours.

Parliament

Crown Jewels

Parliament grand staircase

Heroes' Square at night

SPA BATH! Check out the steam

Goulash. Nom.

Valentine's Day and farewell coffees!

Sydney and I

Snuck this picture in the House of Terror... oops.

Gresham Palace

Gresham Palace

Green Bridge 

Night view from the Green Bridge. Glad to follow Hoodie's advice.

Five things I learned in Budapest:

1. Most people there speak English, nicely enough.
2. I complain about the US Dollar's worth against the Great British Pound, but users of the Hungarian Forint would do anything to obtain Euros instead.
3. Nutella is literally everywhere in Europe. Literally.
4. Groups of boys like to hang out at the spa. It's the ultimate bro-time, apparently.
5. I am so, so lucky to live in a free society where I'm never challenged by my government, forced to submission, or pulsated with fear. I'm blessed.

I know this post has been incredibly long, and if you made it all the way to the bottom.. High five for sure. I hope one day to look back on this blog and see my thoughts throughout this study abroad journey. Spring break was only a small part of it, and I hope to post more frequently about London and random daily activities. Travelling to Europe has definitely made me appreciate London more, particularly in the language barrier concept. I can't wait to take advantage of the city more and use every opportunity to see and experience it! Only three months left, ya'll!

Cheerio!! xoxo

Really, thanks for reading...