Adventure continues, Lacoste

Weekend 1 March 28th-30th 2014

Hello, so Dana and I are officially with our own kind, all students are age, and we are in a small town in southern france called Lacoste. What an experience. We had a wonderful time in our budget hotel, we literally laid in bed for hours because we had a 6:45 am flight to Marseille so we had to get up around 3:30 am to make it to the flight. Getting to the airport was a breeze and we walk in to the burger king and all of our friends are at the meeting point. Swiftly we are taken to Lacoste. Lacoste is beautiful and SO HILLY. Everyone is going to come back with buns of steel, no lie. So like all of my posts I like to let my reader gain some knowledge, Lacoste is in southern france in the region of Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur region. It’s a old mountain village overlooking the village of Bonnieux and the Grand Luberon Mountains to the east and the mountain Mont Ventoux. The oldest building in the little town is called Maison Forte, which dates back to the 9th century and the place we just visited today for a picnic Pont Julien remains one of the oldest standing examples of working Roman architecture as a bridge from 1st century BC. Getting to picnic there was a dream, the weather is still pretty chilly and very windy, but it beats being there during winter and you can feel the sun warm up your skin during the day. Back to the history, the town is medieval village. The ruins on top of the chateau on the top of the village date back to the 16-17th centuries, yet the walls go back to the 12th century. The Chateau-de-sade which has a sinister history is being renovated and that’s the area where I will be attending a bonfire tonight. Look up the Marquis de Sade, I’m not going to until I leave lacoste because I heard it’s not good history. So that’s some history, it’s adorable, tiny, hilly, full of cobblestones, the wifi is shifty because of the limestone walls, and utterly beautiful. I live in Murier upper and our dorms are part of the village and the mountain. There are five of us in Murier upper, I came into the dorms not knowing my roommates and it’s worked out great and a lot fun getting to know different people. We all had our orientation today and then relaxed for dinner because later that night we had a big bonfire/party in the old quarry that is straight up the mountain and then some.

Inside of the massive quarry ( and if you don’t know what a quarry is it’s a place where they got the rocks to make the village) it was surreal because how clean and smooth they cut the rock, along with the graffiti inside of the cave and the amount of students just hanging out. Someone set up a speaker on the side of the rock quarry and it was a party. The next morning we had our brunch with all the students in the upper village, and then decided to take a hike all the way to Bonnieux which is about an hour hike and then some all the way up like lacoste is on top of the mountain. Well worth the hike and the view, for we were able to wander through fields of wine orchards, cross streams, see the cherry trees and gain a sense of adventure. In Bonnieux it’s a littler bigger than Lacoste we made it all the way to the top with the old church into the foret de cedres (cedar forest) and the eglise neuve which is considered new because it was built in 1870. We were thinking of taking the spine trail all the way around and back to Lacoste but decided to save for another day, found a cafe had some good ice cream, and the owner helped me with my french. We were walking down when we wandered into a cafe and found a very nice couple from the UK, we chatted for a bit, and then they bought us two bottles of nice expensive red wine, which we will drink later tonight. It was such a wonderful and gracious gift that the group was all speechless. With our bags full of nice red wine we trekked back and up to Lacoste for a 5 hour hike, not to bad. That’s all for now.\\ pictures are coming soon, the wifi blows so it’s taken an hour to not upload anything

Votre Sante!

Au Revoir Amanda

No Capisco Milan Day 1 & 2

Day 1

We left our little town of verona, and made our way to the big city Milan. Our little train was a nice ride, we made a couple of friends, who helped us with our baggage, and after the third time around made it off the train and straight into a cab for a cheap ride to our hotel. We are staying at a hotel in a great location, literally a 5 minute walk to metro. After unloading our stuff we started right out into exploring the city by foot and getting our bearing. Milan is very beautiful, and also very big, you would need a couple of days to get around and see everything as well as to shop. So we walked down the main street and found some cute shops. Our favorite was called Mango, it had a lot of stuff that Zara would have but a little cheaper. We mainly just window shopped, there were some really big name stores like Prada, and Gucci. Not as many people were dressed up as we thought, and I think that by our 8th day in Italy we finally fit in, people would come up and ask us directions or ask what we were looking for in the shop in italian. I also had the best crepe ever. It was my lunch, no regrets. Nutella and Fragola (strawberry) in happiness. My face was covered in chocolate after. Go hard or go home.

Day 2

So some history on Milan, Milan has a lot of history behind it, but here is a brief story of it. Milan’s origin goes back to 400 b.c. when the Gauls settled and defeated the Etruscans against the celts who were about to overrun the city. Then in 222 B.C. the city was conquered by the Romans, getting the name Mediolanum. As well as being a very important center for early Christian religion. Under the tolerance of Constatine the Great, many churches were built around 313 AD. Under the rule of Visconti and Sforza family during 1277-1447 the Milan Empire rose and coincided with the renaissance. Under this rule came the Dumo in 1386 (which is the symbol of the city) and the castle Porta Giovia, or Sforza Castle. Afterwards Milan was conquered under the Spanish and Austrian rule. Fastforward through Napolenonic Era, the Kingdom of Italy, Fascism, Postwar, and now it’s a major center for commerce, finance, design and FASHION. Wow that was not a brief history, but there is so much more to this layered city. We got a metro card and voyaged into Milan. The subway system is awesome and super easy to navigate. We headed to the Duomo which is SO BEAUTIFUL and ventured inside. Unfortuantely you had to pay to take pictures inside the Duomo, but it made the experience very clear with no abstractions. The Duomo of Milan, was HUGE, massive posts and it was dark with so much decoration. If I lived during the time of the construction and the most usage I would feel terrified, there are statues of all the saints staring down at you, a massive room that can fit 40,000 people and Jesus hanging from a cross in the middle suspended in the air. As well as how ornate the building was you can really see how much power was in the church. After leaving the Duomo we tried to see the last supper which we knew was a lost cause, because you have to make a booking months in advance, but we tried and failed. I will have to go back to see this last supper, which was housed in a humble church. Next time, Milan. We asked our front desk hostel worker where a good place to shop but not break a budget was and he pointed us in a farther direction. Fiera Di Sengiallia was the area we headed to and it was a lot like Brooklyn is in New York, very young, graffiti everywhere, and super trendy. We noticed a lot more asian influence on this side as well. Shopping is the major thing to do in Milan, and one day it will be a lot of fun if you bring a good amount of money, but for now all we could do was window shop. We walked a good amount before we attempted to find the most obvious street in Milan, the rectangle of gold, we literally walked all around it before later that night we realized it was right in front of us. The rectangle of gold is a massive square and literally a rectangle of gold underneath an arch with crazy stores expensive stores like Prada, Gucci, and all the works. Very ornate and fun to watch the people who walk around the area. Oh and word of advice don’t take the flowers from the guys selling roses in the squares, even they’re free, they’re not and they will get mad and ask for more money. Just don’t take the rose. Leaving tomorrow for Marseille at 3:30 am, that’s going to be fun….not. But starting my adventures in Lacoste!

 

Thanks for reading! Amanda

Letters to Giulietta Verona Day 2

March 24, 2014

Another whole day down, this trip has been go, go, go, and going by at an even faster rate. We were able to get up a little later and relax and have a nice breakfast! I was able to have EGGS, good protein, our bed and breakfast is self serve and very relaxing. We walked about ten minutes and made it into the city town, it was perfect. Today we got to visit Juliet’s house, or in italian casa de giulietta, giulietta’s tomb, and the museum. Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet was set in Verona. The house was owned by the Capello family (kinda close to Capulet right) and the house dates back to the 13th century. You make your way into the archway crowded with people and in the middle there is a statue of Juliet, and you have to rub Juliet’s right boob to give you good luck in your love life. Letters to Juliet with Amanda Seyfried totally did not show Juliet’s house correctly, they took down the wall with the love letters in it a while ago, so now there is a big board with graffiti of people declaring their love aka (rob + sarah 4eva) everywhere, as well as gum or tissue glued to the walls with more (rob’s and sarah’s 4eva) everywhere. Juliet’s right boob was so worn down to from the amount of visitors that have rubbed it for good luck! Another surprising thing, the boys really got in to the picture’s, they all took selfles with Juliet which was funny to watch. We also paid 5 euro and were able to go up in to the “museum” and then off to the tomb of juliet which also included a pass into the museum of fresco’s. The Fresco’s were all veronese of descent and were from the 16th-18th century and very detailed and delicate. What was really sad was the amount of defacing even in the tomb of juliet, people had scrawled sharpie and mindless love declarations but not tastefully all over the walls of the tomb. What rich history though, this town has many layers. Like the main Piazza del Erbe was built on top of the roman forum and the large basilica of s. anastasia was built over an existing church in the 14th and 15th century. There is also a large arena, Verona was once nicknamed “little rome” and in the middle of the town there is a roman arena that is in better shape than the Colosseum in Rome. The building itself was built in 30 AD and could host more than 30,000 people in ancient times. Did a little shopping and a lot of good eating.After wandering in the rain and getting four different super nice italians help us find Al Duca we finally found it, and it was worth it.  For dinner I decided to go out and be a little adventurous, horse is a really big delicacy here so I ate some horse, it was not bad  at all, I’m just not a massive fan of seasoning your meat with cinnamon, but it tasted like beef and looked like beef. We had some great wine, and a MASSive meal, I don’t know how italians eat so much, you have a first plate of pasta and then a second plate, of your actual meal. It was a lot of food, but so good that you can’t help but to clear your plate or attempt to.

 

 

 

Off to Milan tomorrow, this trip is almost over which is so odd!

buonanotte,

Amanda

 

Big doors and Leather Boots Verona day 1

March 23rd 2013

Officially left Venice, and like pro’s Dana and I got on our train to Verona. Not going to lie trying to figure out how to get the right train was stressful including the massssiive 50lb bag and book bag we have. Yet we did it, got on the train which was super quick and arrived in Verona around 12 pm.

Our hotel is wonderful, we are staying at a very quaint little bed and breakfast, a step up from Venice, but I liked the last one as well. We have a sweet little balcony, free breakfast, a big tv (which we haven’t even turned on) and a million kagillion different doors to even get in to the place…oh and like 9 flights of stairs that we somehow managed to get up with our luggage, we found out there is a tiny elevator at the top…but it’s kinda scary…

 

Verona is beautiful, and so quaint. Not like I pictured in Letters to Juliet though, but I love the town. Much safer because of how small this little place is. Our B&B is literally a ten minute walk to all the main sites which is really nice to not have to hop on the bus, ect. So some history on Verona, although the actual origins are unclear Verona had an alliance with Rome, so there are ties of roman architecture all throughout the city. Verona became a roman colony in 89 bc, The former ford was replaced by two bridges, one of which, the Pothumius Bridge, also functioned as an aqueduct, as well as a dam for setting naval battles in the Theater. The city also had a forum, not far from the current Piazza delle erbe and, outside the walls, the famous arena.  It particularly flourished under the rule of the Scaliger family in the 13th and 14th centuries and as part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to 18th centuries. Verona has preserved a remarkable number of monuments from antiquity, the medieval and Renaissance periods, and represents an outstanding example of a military stronghold.

We decided to leave the main attractions until tomorrow, like visiting Juliet and the Arena, Verona is pretty little so we wouldn’t get stuck with, “well what do we do now”? Instead we got a really nice lunch at this wonderful place tucked around the corner in the main center called Caffe Monte Baldo, we enjoyed good wine, bread, and pasta all for under 12 euro. The caffe was filled with italians, and also a dog, did I mention the italians love their dogs. It’s so comforting to see dogs everywhere, and they literally are brought with them into the restaurants. After that we got some wonderful gelato, I got hazelnut with cone and happiness and then wandered around the main shopping streets on Via Mazzini and Corso Portoni Borsari. Verona has adorable shops, with very high fashion and nice quality clothes, window shopping was fun. Of course we had done really well in Venice with being practical and today we found some exquisite italian leather boots. We had to get them, love at first sight.

 

 

Walking around in our new italian leather boots, it was getting dark and some of the stores had given us a headache (literally sprayed every scent in a perfume shop) so we came back to our little bed and breakfast (after trying to open the 4th lock on the door for 15 minutes) got ready and went out for our nice dinner. Our dinner was pretty hilarious, we went to a place called Trattoria Papa E Cicia, which literally just opened with new management 3 days and it is a Sunday, so we were naturally the only ones in the restaurant. But this came to our advantage the waiter was so nice, we got a glass of bubbly and attempted to get some food. Dana and I ate some really good chicken..that was probably the fun parts like the livers ect with polenta, but whatever the part of the chicken, it was actually pretty good. We somehow ended up getting both of the portions of our main meal split (which is actually a really good idea) so I had some of Dana’s gnocchi with truffle and ricotta cheese and she had some of my pasta with white asparagus (didn’t know it could be white) and then we were given a shot some cherry flavored liquor, which I could not get down, (too much like cherry flavored medicine) and we were off for MORE GELATO. You can’t have more than one gelato.

Ciao Ciao 

Amanda

 

Burano, murano, milano, buerno….Day 2

March 22nd, 2014

Today has been relaxing and I can still feel the waves rocking back and forth, because I rode a vaporetto around Venice for about four hours…by accident. Total is probably six, we were on the boat more than we were on the land. Funny how we steer through Venice the first day and do the public transportation perfectly, well today was a little more confusing. I feel like to be clear, we made it to Venice around 11:45 give or take after grabbing a quick breakfast at the wonderfully located market straight across from our hostel, which I would most definitely recommend, it’s Hotel Giovannina, and in a great location.

So we make it Venice, (Oh and people don’t call vaporetto a vaporetto, they all call it the water bus) on vaporetto 2 and make our way all the way to st. marks square and the stop we need to take the next vaperetto to burano..WRONG. You have to get off at Murano to even get to Burano. confusing right, so we took a little joy ride for about 2 1/2 hours all around venice, and I mean who can complain we were sailing the sea, wind was blowing, sun was out, a little chilly, but the sights were fantastic, and allowed for us to see the city in a different perspective.

So we finally make our way back the first stop that we took initially and get on 4.1 to Murano, what a beautiful town, even though it was overcast and rainy it made for prime pictures and the reflections from rain gave way to some lovely colors. By this time it was around 4:00 and we were starving, we had a good cappuccino (real italians don’t have cappuccino after breakfast) but we aren’t real italians, a sandwich, and a tasty treat. Murano is known for beautiful glass as well.

So from Murano we made our way in the mist and ventured even farther to Burano, which is known as the city of color, a little history, Burano was settled by the Romans and in the 6th century the people of Altino, and rose to importance when the women of the 16th century began making lace by hand. Burano is also known for its small, brightly painted houses, popular with artists. The colours of the houses follow a specific system originating from the golden age of its development; if someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot. We arrived around dusk, so the pictures developed in to something a little different then the traditional Burano photographs. It was very rainy, which resulted in stunning mirror like effects from the water and the stone underneath. Another note about Burano and Murano, do not go there after dark, everything closes down, it is a city for tourists and closes once everyone starts to leave, and we tried to go there for a nice  dinner…no luck.

fino a domani,

Amanda

Parla Inglese? Venice Day 1

March 21st, 2014

DAY 1

Spent the entire day in Venice. IT IS A MASSIVE CITY. We were like true locals, ate a good breakfast of an amazing muffin with a plum and some yogurt drink. Hopped on a city bus and made it to the city within 15 minutes. After we got on the bus we pulled out our handy map and started to get lost. This city is beautiful and like a maze, with winding small roads that run in to dead ins and canals. I didn’t realize how intricate the canal system worked here as well, everywhere you walk you will be lead near the water, a canal, or bridge. So today we walked a lot, which is good because we have to consume the amount of delicious food we have eaten. First we walked, and got lost the right way, just wandering and getting a gist of the city. We didn’t realize how massive and maze like it was. Someone could get lost here being a local. Wandering through the canals and all the little different places was probably the highlight. This city is a place to get lost, bring a map but put it away every now and then. 

Our main goal was to find Piazza San Marco, so after some wandering we started making our way towards that area. Instead we found the Canale della giudecca, which was pretty awesome and a beautiful church. What’s also really interesting about Venice is the fact that it’s literally sinking and also tilting about a millimeter each year. Not that we everyone has to go and book a ticket and go see Venice before it sinks, but it is intriguing to see steps coming out of the water and seaweed flowing from the bottom of houses. Piazza San Marco is pretty cool, but I actually liked to just wander a little bit more, the quaintness of the alleys and the hole in the wall shops were the hidden gems in Venice. Piazza San Marco was the obvious tourist spot, and once there I felt as if I was herded. Especially inside the Basilica di San Marco, but there was a reason St. Mark’s square was the hot spot, and it was truly gorgeous. 

We also went to Galleria Dell’Accademia, which is a beautiful museum a stop before st. mark’s square over a big beautiful bridge, and inside it is housed in a building that was the Scuola della Carita, which used to be one of the first schools to study art restorations starting in 1777, the gallery houses paintings from Venice up to the 18th century, which include Bellini, Tintoretto, and so many more. The building itself dates back to 1334!

And of course the FOOD, Dana is adorable and is taking a picture of every meal she eats ( I want her to blog it, I know I would follow) sort of like a food diary, but we have eaten some amazing and also not too expensive food. Coming here with a budget, we knew some meals would be nice and some would be just fast, but even the fast meals have been amazing. We found one hidden gem that was packed with locals, all eating lunch with a glass of vino, and then we saw the pastries. So many delicious options, and Dana even made a friend and apparently had the best creme puff of her life, our new friend had even said that her choice was very good. I got orange peels covered in dark chocolate and I thought that was pretty good too. For dinner we decided to find this place we found on a blog post about great eats in Venice and we found Arte della pizza, and oh my gosh it was good, but SO hard to find. Dana got a greek pizza that they made in front of us and then placed in a VERY hot hot oven and cooked so quickly, and I got the Ratatouille pizza, I was trying to get some vegetables, and it was delicious. 

Grazie!

Amanda

Hitting the ground running

March 20th 2014,

Well I’ve been up for officially a whole day and then some, which isn’t that bad. Made it through a major setback. aka little miss Dana forgot her passport. We were making our way through Atlanta on the eve of rush hour and Dana asks me if I have my passport…I check all good. We get dropped off around 4:45 pm everything is looking good, we go to check in and behold Dana’s passport is in the scanner from the day before. I frantically call my parents, they have to then battle upstream rush hour traffic to get us the passport before 6:30 or we were going to be SOL.

Luckily they somehow drove back and forth in Atlanta traffic on 75 in less than two hours. So a raise a glass for them. We made it on to the flight without a time to spare and in seven hours made it to Paris where we caught a connecting flight to Venice. I’m hoping the passport delay was our one hiccup, because from the Venice airport to our hostel it was wonderfully easy and calm then we nabbed some wifi and we are trying to stay awake. Our hostel is not too bad, working hot shower, two nice beds, and a place to call home for a couple of days while we explore. So we checked in our hostel, and then to battle the drowsiness wandered around the Venice Mestre area.The real heart of Venice, is a bus ride away.  We found the train station, a couple little shops, and also that most people in this area do not speak as much english as we thought, so we’ve gotten pretty good at the point and nod method. We found a nice little grocery store, bought dinner for €3,80 and now just relaxing and getting ready for the exciting venture into the heart of Venice.

fino alla prossima volta,

Amanda

Packing….it’s complicated.

Away we go

Hello!

 

This is a blog I have set up so friends and family can follow through my voyage through Italy and France for the next months. We are starting in Venice, making our way to Verona, Milan, Marseille, and finally making it to Lacoste for our study abroad!

In Lacoste I will be studying:

Experimental bookmaking (Fibers)

Travel Portfolio (Drawing)

Treasures of Provence (History)

Leaving in 5 days and counting to Venice, Italy. Could not be more excited, a little anxious, and really ready to explore Italy and ride an overpriced gondola, because I mean, why not, we are in Venice.

I have been making a list of the things I have to see and do in Venice:

Go to the Basilica di San Marco, A little history…For its opulent design, gold ground mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power, from the 11th century on the building has been known by the nickname Chiesa d’Oro (Church of gold)

Doge’s Palace, right next to Basilica di San Marco, established in 1340, it housed the Doge of Venice (sometimes called Duke) which was the supreme authority of the republic of Venice

 Ride the elevator up inside the Campanile di San Marco for stupendous city panoramas. The bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica.

Tour the Ca’ d’Oro, a private palace on the grand canal

See some beautiful paintings by  Tintoretto at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco

See as much art as possible at the Accademia Gallery

More to come but hope you enjoy following my adventures into Europe.

Oh and did I mention I am staying in 1 star hostels, I’m sure I’ll post pictures of the beautiful accommodations I will be sleeping in!

Until the next post!

Amanda