Top of the World!

So I heard a rumor that the cupolla of the Duomo was going to be closed off after Easter for the next three years for restoration. This news was very disappointing to me because it was my plan to say good-bye to the city on my last couple of days in Florence by climbing the dome. I didn't want to miss my chance to climb the Duomo since I doubt I'll be able to make it back to Florence anytime soon so right before we (Marie, Madeline, myself and Ben) left for Spring Break, we decided to climb to the top! Over 400 steps later, we made it to the TOP! 

Climbing the stairs up the Duomo! Here with Marie creeping up on me! 

Giotto's campanile from the top of the Duomo. 

From L to R: Madeline, Marie, Ben, and myself.

Paris for Christmas, New Year's in London! Part II

So this is the story of how a wonderful vacation turned into a nightmare.

Originally, I had no intention of joining the rest of the group for New Year's in London. I had already been to London for my Fall Break and I didn't feel the need to go back. But being surrounded by everyone else over Christmas made me really want to be with people for my New Year's festivities. After all, it was the one holiday that my friends and I would always celebrate together back home in Hawaii. So I bought a $200 plane ticket to London during our stay in Paris and to a certain extent, I was actually looking forward to doing all the things I never got to do during my Fall Break. But within days of spending time with everyone in our apartment in Paris, everyone came to the realization that even though we all share the same/similar majors, we were all so very different. Deidre's insistence that she shouldn't have to pay her 3 euros worth for the white bread and white pasta that she didn't eat was causing much frustration amongst the people in the group. Michelle's calculations to divide the cost of groceries was getting confusing. But overall, Paris was a nice trip. Things started to go downhill with the realization that even though they were going to London via train, they still needed passports. Alexis, who had joined the rest of us two days later had left her passport in her boyfriend's pocket and he had taken it back with him to the Netherlands. So Alexis couldn't go to London. I chose to meet up with everyone two days later. 

From L to R: me, James, Dawn, Logan, Kristen, Sam, and Deidre. 

Big Ben at midnight!

Fireworks over the London Eye

Before I even set foot on British soil, I realized how big of a mistake I had made. The hotel that they had booked for London was a ways out of the city center. No one could pull out cash from the ATMs. Anna's card was eaten by the ATM machine. They couldn't afford to pay the hotel for the number of days they had booked. No one knew how much they had to pay for the hotel. The hotel was shitty. By the time I arrived, Dawn had decided to pay her share and leave. Anna and her boyfriend had booked a different hotel for the two of them. I went with Dawn to her place in Reading. Michelle had contacted James without telling anyone and had secured herself housing for her and Shannon. Logan, Kristen, and Deidre were left by themselves. To add to this mess, I discovered the day before I flew out to London that I could not transfer money into my checkings account and was limited to just 80 pounds for a week in London. And if you know London, 80 pounds will get you nowhere. 

Dawn's parents booked a hotel room for her and a friend--me--for New Year's Eve. Dawn had told me that it was cheaper than the hotel option that Michelle had (100 pounds for 3 nights). Once we get to the hotel, I find out that her parents had booked the Sheraton hotel which I would have to pay her 70 pounds for one night. 70 POUNDS FOR ONE NIGHT! 

But New Year's Eve! Everyone was hyped up for the 15-minute firework show that would overlook the London Eye. Dawn and I met up with James, who had separated from Michelle and Shannon, and we were camping out for the show (none of us wanted to). We managed to find Logan, Kristen, and Deidre amongst hundreds of people camping out for New Years festivities. It was great to catch up with them because the whole point of this trip was for all of us to be together. 

Big Ben struck midnight, fireworks blasted over the London Eye, people were cheering, New Years hugs and kisses all around us. The end. It took Dawn and I four hours to get back to our hotel (at least public transportation was free for the rest of the morning). As great as that firework show was, it was not worth the $200 plane ticket + the 80 pounds I spent on transportation + the 70 pounds on the hotel that I was barely in. New Years in London made me realize how much I missed being back home in Hawaii and my family and friends. But I can't complain because how many people can say they spent New Years Even in London--at one of the biggest New Years festivities? I am truly blessed! 

Thanksgiving Weekend in Budapest!

Its finals week. So what better way to procrastinate than by updating my blog? 

Spent my Thanksgiving weekend in Budapest with Kayleen and Michelle! And guess what? Our flights cost only 99 cents! I repreat, 99 cents! So add in taxes and our roundtrip flight cost 15 euros! Talk about budget traveling! 

Our excited faces when we landed in Budapest! 

Budapest!

Besides spending Thanksgiving night sleeping at the airport, Budapest was wonderful. Its the perfect place for travelers on a budget. You can buy alcohol for as cheap as 20 cents a shot! The sole most expensive thing I spent my money on was my entrance ticket into the Budapest's renowned Thermal Baths and that alone cost less than 20 euros!

Budapest is so rich in its history. Every where you go, you can see remnants from its days under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the impact of communism, and the growing capitalism of today. Architecturally, judgendstil architecture embellishes many of the buildings and creeping besides these buildings are the drastically compact and plain communist buildings.  Throughout the town, the colors of fall decorated the trees while Christmas ornaments could be seen all throughout the main piazzas of Budapest. I loved the Christmas markets! It was as if I was walking through a winter wonderland filled with all things Christmas, delicious foods, and amazing arts and crafts.

The thing about traveling that I love so much is the different people you get to meet. The people in our hostel were so friendly, especially the staff. If you ever happen to visit Budapest, stay at the Groove Hostel. The staff let us check in at 6am in the morning, gave us so many tips and pointers for where to get the most authentic Hungarian food, have a good night out, etc., arranged a taxi for us back to the airport so we wouldn't get gipped off, and let us chill in the hostel instead of having to spend another night at the airport (they even offered us the bed!) Its funny because many people say that Hungarians come off as unfriendly but I think they're one of the most friendliest people I've met so far! It shocked me to hear how as a post-communist nation, the people of Hungary still continue to think in very communistic ways. Maybe that's the reason for the unfriendly vibes?

Did I mention that we got to meet up with Julia?!?

Hummus! Gyahh! 

But when I booked my flight to Budapest, I was really looking forward to the baths so I was thrilled to have spent my Sunday night relaxing and enjoying the nice heated mineral waters of Budapest! LOVE LOVE LOVE The water was so warm and relaxing and then jumping in from the hot sauna to the ice cold water and back outside into the cold air...it was definitely the break from school that I needed. Not to mention that Kayleen and I met two Canadians who stroke up a conversation with us. We were both quite positive that they wanted to ask us out for drinks but since we were clear that we were leaving that night, I think they didn't bother (shucks!). It was nice to meet fellow North Americans...a little piece of home away from home. I can't wait for more adventures with Kayleen and Michelle! <3

Budapest bound with Kayleen and Michelle~! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fall Break: Berlin

Ohh Berlin.  This was the highlight and probably my favorite city in Europe so far.  I met up with Jimin and Mahea in Berlin and as soon as we arrived at our hostel, EastSeven Hostel, which I highly recommend, we found out that we had been upgraded from the 10-people dorm to the 3-people private room!  I've stayed at four different hostels throughout my time in Europe and EastSeven is by far my favorite.  The staff are so friendly and all the people that we met at the hostel were amazing.  The atmosphere was perfect for bonding and the hostel was very clean and tidy.
Mahea had flown into Berlin a couple hours before Jimin and I arrived and had already made new friends with these two girls, Tori from Australia and her Dutch friend Marla.  We talked with the guys from Switzerland who were flying out the next day and managed to convince one of them to go out clubbing with us!  Marla took us to an area filled with clubs and we randomly chose to walk into Cassiopeia.  Let me just say that Europeans sure know how to party.  Nothing starts until 1am and the party can go on into daylight.  We drank German beer (amazing!), danced, created a dance circle with other people in the club, pulled other people into our dance circle, and had a blast.  Afterwards, we went to the Reggae section of the club...a lot of groping (no bueno) but great music.  LOVE BERLIN!

From L to R: Tori, Marla, me, Jimin, Switzerland, and Mahea c:

We didn't go to sleep until 5am but we somehow were up and about by 9am!  That's the European lifestyle for ya!  We went on this alternative tour of Berlin done by a very alternative guy who lives with his alternative girlfriend in their alternative house with their alternative pets.  Very alternative.  It wasn't the best tour but we saw some of the sickest graffiti in the world, including Finbarr <3.  Deciding to go to Berlin on a whim was the best decision I ever made.  So much street art!

Sending some love to one of my favorite street artists!

After the tour, we grabbed some noms at YAAM where we ate the most delicious Jamaican food c: We walked the East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall), went back to our hostel, drank the best apple liquor, enjoyed German sausages, made friends with the hostel people, smoked a cigarette for the first time, took a puff or two of a joint from Amsterdam, learned how to dance from the Brazilians at our hostel, made a bunch of plans to go out and do hookah and go to another club, but in the end, all three of us ended up crashing out on our beds.  It wasn't the most exciting thing to do but it was all worth it in the end.

EastSeven Hostel! The BEST hostel I've ever stayed at. c:

Fall Break: Edinburgh

The land of kilts and Nessie c: hehe

Edinburgh had a charm that London didn't possess.  The Scots are overly friendly and it was just another reminder of the aloha spirit back home.  I had such a hard time understanding their accent though!  But I enjoyed hearing them talk c: hehe

The best part, I WAS REUNITED WITH KAYLEEN~! <3
She cooked me the best and healthy foods (yummm!) and showed me around Edinburgh.  We met up with Julia, who Kayleen met on her trip to Dublin and just happened to be passing through Edinburgh. The three of us went to the National Museum of Scotland, took pictures at Greyfriars Bobby, went to the Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, took pictures with a cute guy wearing a kilt, visited the Scottish Parliament, visited the Queen's Palace (she wasn't home), went shopping for a wee Scottish jumper, and cooked a scrumpcious dinner at Kayleen's house c:

Reunited with this cutie~! <3

Men in kilts c: ohh myy~! (;

Lovely time spent with these two ladies c:

Fall Break: London

British accents.  That is all.

I loved London.  It felt refreshingly nice to be able to use English again, although I had the constant urge to constantly say grazie and ciao to everyone.  What started off as the worst beginning to our Fall Break adventures ended as the best start.  My roommate Sierra couldn't fly out to London with us on the same day.  Lets just say that Ryanair is not the best for customer service.  Our first night in London was drab.  Jimin, Amanda, and I eventually found our way to our hostel, ate delicious Chinese food, faced some credit card problems, dealt with the pouring rain, tried our best to ignore our creepy hostel roomie...
The second day, we went on a FREE tour of London (the Royal tour).  Our tour guide, Jo, was amazing.  She had so much enthusiasm and passion for her job that all of us just had to tip her!  London looks very much like the English version of New York City.  But I think London has just a little bit more charm...but it could just be the accent that makes me weak in the knees.  After the tour, Jo took us to a little pub where we ate FISH & CHIPS!

Fish&Chips

So our original plan was to hit the London clubs and dance the night away.  But the cover charge to get into a club in London is roughly 20 pounds, which equals about 35 U.S. dollars.  No thank you.  Instead, we went on the alternative pub crawl hosted by the same tour company c:  We reunited with Sierra at our second hostel and went out to experience the London nightlife.  Turns out, we were the only ones on the pub crawl.  But what started off as the biggest FAIL and boring night turned into the best night ever.  We managed to convince our tour guides, Damien and Manuel to take us to the clubs in east London.  Only problem is that on Sunday night, no one rarely goes out because of their early Monday workday.  ):  We hopped from one club to the next, hopped on and off the metro and the bus, walked all over London, and eventually ended up at Manuel's flat.  His cousin, Simon, was hands down the funniest person I have ever met.  He had so many Asian jokes but for the first time, he was in a room surrounded by Asians (his cousin Manuel is a quarter Chinese, Jimin, Sierra, and I are all Korean).  Just picture a Portuguese man downing five cans of beer, saying "I'm a very, very thirsty man," singing Call Me Maybe, and cracking Asian jokes all night.  Funny thing, he was the same guy who served us our Fish&Chips.  Simon was the sweetest.  He walked us over to the train station when we left.  Thanks to Manuel, Simon, and Damien for the best night in London~!

Girls night out! From L to R: Jimin, Amanda, Sierra, and yours truly c:

Perugia Chocolate Fesitval

Welcome to Chocolate Heaven! and the pathway to get Chocolate wasted.

"Posso assaggio per favore?"
All of us were given a Chococard which gave us access to sample all of the chocolate from the vendors.  Literally heaven for me c:

Cioccolato fondente, con nocciola, con arancia, con caffe, cioccolato birra...ahhhh...I just want to go back to my chocolate heaven.  And the best part?  Cute Italian guys giving you all these chocolate samples c:

My favorite: Kebab al cioccolato con lampone sciroppo. :B noms

Italian style hot chocolate with white chocolate shavings c:

The chocolate lovers crew! 

Yours truly with a YELLOW flower balloon c: 

I went to the Perugia Chocolate festival with the intention of only sampling and only buying one or two of my favorite chocolates.  In the end, I spent a total of 50 euros on JUST CHOCOLATE.

SPONTANEOUSLY BOOKED A FLIGHT TO BUDAPEST WITH LA MIEI AMICI~!

You guys, Kayleen and I found a flight to Budapest, Hungary for 99 cents.  I AM SO EXCITED!!  And since we're flying out from Milan, we convinced Michelle to join us!  Its going to be the most AMAZING adventure everrrrrrrrr! c: November 22nd, come sooner!

Some things are just meant to be...

Today, I was supposed to go to Cinque Terre, the one place on my Italy to-do bucket list that I've been itching to do.  But the night before the big day, I just wasn't feeling it.  Italy has brought out this inner free-spirited character that I never knew existed.  I guess the fast-paced and hectic lifestyle of America weighed down my inner flowy view of life.  It didn't help that Cinque Terre was on Sunday, also known as the only day that God asks me to devote some time to Him.  With all the blessings and greatness he's sent my way, I just had that gut feeling that I shouldn't go to Cinque Terre, but go to Church instead.  Most people will think I'm crazy that I threw the 40 euros that I paid for my Cinque Terre tour down the drain, just because I felt that Cinque Terre wasn't happening at the right time.  But gut feelings are gut feelings and they're usually right.  And I was totally right to go with my gut feelings today.  So much amazingness happened in Firenze.  I got to enjoy the beauty of street performers playing on their viola, bass, and guitar; marvel at the 50 years of alternative energy being celebrated in Firenze; run into my ITALIAN FAMIGLIA again!; and go on a random photo adventure through Fiesole.  So much amazingness!  Yes, I blew off 40 euros but there are some things that money can't buy.  What good is visiting Cinque Terre if you can't even hike the infamous five trails?!?  I can't help but be content with my decision to stay in Firenze today.  Some things are just meant to be...

Reunited with our Italian famiglia~!

Siena and San Gimignano

Sorry its been awhile since I last updated this blog.  I never realized how hard it was to keep the world posted with your life until I started this blog...hehe.  But I'll try my best to post every weekend at the least!

Today was my first trip outside of Firenze, unless you count Fiesole.  My roommate Sierra and I adventured through the breathtakingly beautiful towns of Siena and San Gimignano with Bus2Alps.  It was a pricey ticket for what we did (50 euros to get a basic tour) but our three course meal and wine-tasting for lunch at a Tuscan villa was probably what made the entire trip worth every cent.  Imagine Tuscany.  Beautiful rolling hills of green and fresh, crisp air.  Yup, that's where I ate my lunch today.  Carlos, our host, gave us pointers on how to properly drink vino (wine).  From how to hold your glass, the number of times you have to swoosh the wine, and how to smell and drink.  We probably tasted about five different types of wine.  I have to say that my favorite was the Chianti DOCG, a light wine usually drunk with the first course.  The lightness is probably why I loved it so much.  Since I just recently started drinking, I'm not as strong a drinker as everyone else and I could definitely feel the throbbing of the wine after my third glass or so.  The three course meal was delicious!  It was your typical Italian lunch, starting with a small appetizer consisting of fresh greens drenched in olive oil, a slice of bread, salami, and some cheese.  I'm definitely used to much more spices overflowing in my mouth so this was a bit bland for my taste.  But I did have a bite or two of salami, which is surprising considering the fact that I haven't eaten meat in roughly six years or so.  The second course, which was my favorite, was a hearty soup made with the freshest vegetables.  According to Carlos, it took a total of seven hours for the soup to cook!!  SEVEN!  The soup wasn't too rich or too watery, but just right.  I loved the burst of vegetables in every spoonful.  And when I dipped some bread, mmmmm.  Soooo good!  The third and last course was lasagna drenched with truffle oil.  I'm not the biggest fan of lasagna (because of all the cheese and beef in it) but you could just taste all the heart and care they put into making this lasagna.  I couldn't finish it because of all the wine I drank, but this meal will probably be one of the best meals I'll ever have in Italy.

First course: salad with olive oil, toast, salami, and cheese.

Vernanccia di San Gimignano (LEFT) and Chianti (RIGHT)

Second course: soup!

Third course: Lasagna with truffle oil!

Siena.  Everyone that has been to Italy has told me to visit Siena.  Now I can see why.  Its a much smaller town in comparison to Firenze but it possesses things that even Firenze does not have.  The views of the rolling Tuscan hillside, the greenery surrounding the city limits, and the fresh, crisp air!  Ohh, how I would love to live in Siena.  The medieval and renaissance architecture is present in almost every corner.  The Duomo is so much more outstanding compared to Firenze's Il Duomo, despite its stark black and white colors.  Something about the fine details just screams for your attention.  But my favorite part would probably have to be the circularly shaped Piazza Il Palio.  This is the famous square where Siena's horse races are held biannually.  The square was much smaller than I expected it to be but there's something about it that just commands for attention.

In front of the Duomo with the roomie!

San Gimignano.  I have to admit, I've never even heard of this town.  But honestly, besides the lunch, this little town would probably be my favorite part of the trip.  The drive up to San Gimignano is enough to fall in love.  There's so much greenery--its literally the epitome of Tuscany!  Its what I imagine when I think of Tuscany.  And to make things even better, this town is home to the world's best gelateria.  Yes, you read it...THE BEST!  I tried the kiwi and lampone (raspberry) flavors this time and mmmmm mmmm mmmmmmm...soooo goooood!

Eating gelato from the best gelateria in the world! Flavors: kiwi and lampone (raspberry)!

If I have the chance, both Siena and San Gimignano are places that I want to visit again.  One day is never enough to see an entire city, no matter how small!

Fiesole

I finally made it out to Fiesole.  As soon as I stepped off of the bus, I felt as if I had jumped into the scenery of a painting.  It was breathtaking.  The air was so crisp and fresh.  The trees danced subtly with the wind.  The streets were clean and waiting to be explored.  I must say that I am more in love with Fiesole than I am with Firenze.  Something about the serene atmosphere of the entire place had--in the best words possible to describe it--almost a spiritual epiphany-like quality.  Its a place where I just want to sit, breath in everything surrounding me, and just come to appreciate the beauty.  I feel so blessed to be living in Italia.  I'm living a life that many others can only dream about.

On another note, the trip to Fiesole was an interesting one to say the least.  I had originally planned to just go with a new friend I had made in class, a fellow "Hawaiian" named Mahea, but my roommates and I had all planned to go to Fiesole together eventually so I invited them along c:  After finally arriving at San Marco, we almost got ripped off trying to buy our bus tickets.  We only needed a ticket to and back from Fiesole but the old man at the bus stop kept trying to tell me that I needed four bus tickets to go to and back.  #touristproblems.  But all my bitterness towards the old man went away as soon as I stepped onto the bus.  I've never seen such a cute bus.  The colors were bright yellow and orange (the main reason why I liked it so much!) and you can't not be happy when you see such bright colors like those!

Fiesole!

To give a little background on the quaint town of Fiesole, it existed even before Firenze was built.  Firenze was all wet lands back when Fiesole was thriving!  You can still see some of the leftover Greco-Roman art here and there throughout the town!  Today, Fiesole is a tourist attraction for those visiting Firenze and want to take a break from all the artwork.  They can come to Fiesole   Mahea pointed this out today but I guess I never really realized it until she said it: Being in Italy is like living in my textbooks.  All those monuments and artworks that I've read so much about, written countless papers on, its all here right before my eyes.  I was a little disappointed because the amphitheater had an entrance fee that all of us were too broke to pay for.  Maybe next time!

Greco-Roman Art!

After exploring the town for a little bit longer, we found a mini park and decided to have our lunch, picnic style.  If it was just a little bit warmer, it would have been the best picnic ever!  We stopped by a pastry shop on our way back to the town center to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a pastry!  Mmmm...Fiesole is definitely my kind of town.

Picnic time!

Yours truly enjoying her shot of espresso!

Top 5 reasons why I have to visit Venice!

I'm sure there's way more than 5 reasons but here's my list:

1.  FOOOOOD
Need I say more?  Ever since I watched Anthony Bourdain eat the streets of Venice, I told myself I was going there.  Yeah yeah the mask parties and the beautiful scenery of Venice is to die for but honestly, I just wanna chow down on some Seafood Risotto (YUM!).

How can you resist eating this??! 

2.  Vaporetto Grand Canal Tour

Okay okay.  I know this is really touristy but come on, how often do you get to see Venice??!?  And you never know, the boat driver? might be really cute. :3 hehe 

3.  Watch a Glass-Blowing Demonstration

From what I've heard, Venice offers some amazing glass-blowing demonstrations.  I've never seen one before so why not take the opportunity to do so while I'm in another country.  Even though its one of my reasons to visit Venice, I'm hoping to make this one more of a sporadic adventure--something that I magically stumble upon rather than something that I plan into my Venice itinerary.

4.  Underwater Train

Need I say more?

5.  To Get Lost...

Venice would be an amazing city to get lost in.  Its one of those cities where its touristy enough to feel comfortable to explore and still be able to make it back in time to catch the next train.  The city is breathtakingly beautiful and although you probably can't swim in the water, its still water and probably one of the closest things I can get to a beach.

My Bucket List for my Italian Adventure~!

Cinque Terra, Italy

Located just a couple hours north of Florence, Cinque Terra (literally translating into Five Lands) is where I want to begin my European Adventure.  Consisting of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, Cinque Terra captures the essence of simplistic Italian beauty.  The village is only accessible via trains and boats, thus making it one of the few Italian cities without prominent corporate development.  But it is a giant tourist destination so it won't be the same as visiting a pure Italian village.  

Cinque Terra would be the perfect weekend adventure.  The brightly painted houses, the scenic ocean view, and the Italian charm... <3 ooh la la...