"I don't understand why they can't just put a plug in it"

I haven't had much time to blog after my slightly? tipsy wine rant of 2 weeks ago, so there are many adventures that need to be covered aka Naples & Paris. I just got back from the land of bonjour, baguettes and berets (gotta love alliteration) this morning and I am le tired (end of ze world anyone?) so Naples today and then Paris tomorrow, ready set go.

So after two weekends in Rome it was time for a little getaway weekend before the big Paris trip, so we decided to head south and hit up Naples & Pompeii. Now until coming to Italy, I had always associated Naples, Italy with Naples, Florida (cute, quiet, lots of old people), but no. Home to the Mafia and birthplace of organized crime, Naples is apparently one of the most dangerous cities in Italy. We were given our fair share of warnings against spending the night there from everyone we talked to, but being the badasses we are, we decided to give it a shot. 

Highlights of the weekend:

#1- Going To The World Famous Pizza Place, L' Antica Pizzeria da Michele

standard picture of me with a large portion of food

If you are currently saying to yourself "Wow that looks like the most delicious thing ever created" I would say you are correct. It was. And if you draw your attention away from the pizza and behind my head you will see a picture of a certain actress. Yes that is Julia Roberts. For those of you who have read/seen the book/movie Eat Pray Love this was the pizza place she goes to. Upon realizing this, the eight of us got really excited and took a bajillion pictures while all of the Italians in the one room pizzeria stared at us. #americantoursits

#2- Pompeii and Our Adopted Best Friend Alex

After pizza we set off for Pompeii, an ancient Roman town buried under ash after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD (thanks wikipedia!). So we walked around and saw lots of cool stuff ....but warning some of the following material may not be suitable for young children.

I see dead people

The above picture is from the Pompeii brothel (prostitution is one of the world's oldest professions you know). It took us a while to find because it was hidden in a maze of janky narrow hidden streets, standard. But this  fresco was one of the many possible options for customers that hung above different doorways with stone beds inside. 

sooo comfy!!

One of the best parts of our visit was the new friend we made. Pompeii has some sort of program where they just have random dogs that live there and then tourists can adopt them? I don't really understand it but I definitely preferred it over all the smelly cats that live in the ruins in Rome. Gina named him Alex and he followed us around all day and showed us around his home.

Isn't he so cute!!

He was a great tour guide

Family Photo

#3- Getting Serenaded at Dinner

Since Naples was supposed to be a sketchy place we decided it was best that we didn't go out out to the bars/clubs there so instead we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. We all order personal bottles of wine and lots of food. Since Naples is on the coast they are known for their seafood so I decided to get shrimp. What I didn't realize was that they would be legit shrimp with eyes, legs, whiskers and antenna still attached, yum. Towards the end of dinner when our vino was really kicking in some man came upstairs in the restaurant and started serenading Ellen with "That's Amore" as well as some other classic Italian songs. We all sang along (obvi off key) while the rest of the restaurant stared at us...again.

Last but certainly not least....HIKING MT. VESUVIUS!!!

If you were wondering about the origin of my title for this blog, this is what it refers to. One of my roommates asked the rest of us why they couldn't just plug up active volcanos so that they wouldn't erupt...it was a serious question.
We had to take a bus partially up the mountain because there weren't trails and that car ride was 10x scarier than hiking up a steep trail on the side of a volcano. Once we got to the trails it was a solid 45 min hike up to the top up.

Such #athletes

Naples and the Bay

Once we got back down the volcano we realized that we had 45 min to make the 4:30 train back to Rome otherwise we'd have to wait a few hours later so we sprinted from the train station to our hostel to grab our stuff/check out and then sprinted back to the train station, the whole time getting stared at by all of the Italians. But we made it so win.

Long blog, sorry bout it, but stay tuned for all of my Parisian adventures from this past weekend!!

Vive il Vino

I woke up this morning to an uncharacteristically rainy day in Rome. After a solid month of consistent sun and 58 degree + weather, this morning was an unwelcome change of pace that made me want to lay in bed all day (a little dramatic I know, but hey I've been spoiled here). But being the dedicated student that I am, I braved the elements (and the packed tram full of crazies) and headed out to school for what turned out to be a great day.

After a morning of TV script writing, intense euchre games during break, and hangman in Italian class, we headed over to a restaurant in Testaccio for our first wine tasting seminar. Before coming to Italy I wasn't big into wine because I had never had much experience drinking it, and let's be honest, you can't order it at Kams. Although after only a month in Rome I am now a certified wino and will be writing Kams requesting that they create a wine cellar in the basement. 

We sampled four different wines today. Two whites, a chianti, and a delicious dessert wine. Fredrico taught us all about the different steps in the tasting process. From sight, to smell to the taste, it was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. He was whipping out very unusual smells and tastes to describe our wines such as leather, animals, fur, vegetables, etc. I couldn't taste any animals in my wine, but somehow I don't think I'm missing out. 

Because of the order in which they poured everyone's wine, I ended up being the last to be served every time. So the server always just poured whatever remained in the bottle in my glass, resulting in significantly larger glasses than everyone else, but I'm not complaining. Every wine we tasted was delicious and will probably make the one euro wine I've been drinking taste like natty light (apologies to Mary Beard if she reads this) when compared to a blue moon. 

Throughout the tasting, those who owned cameras wanted to document our experience so many a pictures were taken. At one point Fredrico wanted our attention and said "Stop taking pictures like you are giaponesse" Lolz, like I've said before, Europeans aren't to concerned with political correctness. 

It was a simple day, but it was a good day. That's definitely something I've been learning here. It's been amazing and I'm so grateful to be able to do all of this traveling and see parts of the world most people only read about. But some of the best days I've had have just been spent in Rome doing the simple things like bike riding, having a picnic, or drinking good wine with good friends (i'm cheezing hardcore right now and I apologize).

So I just decided that I'm going to close every post from now on with a piece of advice, whether it be practical, cheesy, funny or even totally unapplicable to any situation. Today I'll go with cheesy.

No matter where you are in life, enjoy the simple things. The day to day moments that perhaps on their own don't mean much, but when added together can create something more meaningful than any of your big plans that bring with them big expectations. Learn to love the little moments and life might just seem a little fuller.

And to those who were wondering where the mushiness found in this blog came from...I blame it on 4 glasses of vino. Sorry.

The Almost Perfect Weekend

     This was an amazing weekend in Rome. The only thing that stopped it from being a perfect weekend was that I lost my camera. Those of you who know my camera history probably aren't too surprised, or maybe you are, because honestly how could I lose another camera? Well you're gonna have to stay tuned in order to find out!

     Friday night we had some lovely visitors from Granada come and stay with us so we obviously had to show them what Roman nightlife is like. We decided that the club district of Testaccio was a great place to start. After a very successful pregame we ventured over there. One of the clubs we really like, Coyote was only letting dudes in, (which was very strange because the drag queen bar is right next door) so that was a no go. I'm starting to think Testaccio is like the Boyz Town of Rome. Luckily we were not lacking in clubs to visit and finally made it to Akab where we proceeded to break it down on the dance floor. Most of you, especially those who know me would guess that it was at this point that I lost my camera, but no, it survived the clubs.

   Saturday we went to a limited time Vincent Van Gogh exhibit ( I'm really artsy) which was very cool. 

Entrance to the Exhibit

And honestly what's more Italian than a Dutch painter whose paintings include depictions of the expanding Parisian suburbs and peasant life? <-----Obviously I learned a lot, mostly due to the little headset tour things we rented. Pictures weren't allowed in the exhibit, so once again my camera survived.


   That night was Roma vs. Napoli futbol game, which is a huge rivalry, I think mostly due to the fact that Naples fans are crazy. They stab people from what we've heard so we made sure to get tickets in the heart of the Roma crowd. Since it was a futbol game, it was necessary that we have a futbol block before hand. So after a solid game of Edward Peroni-hands we headed out to the game.

   The security at the game was more intense than the TSA but after a few id checks and several pat downs we made it into the game which was so insane and fun.

they gonna fight!!

     The Rome fans had so many chants, songs, and profanities that they constantly hurled at the Naples fans. Unfortunately we lost, but that will hopefully be the first of many games for me. Especially since its only 10 euro for a woman's ticket? (Our guy friends paid 28...lolz) I don't really understand that but hey, I'm not complaining. After a rowdy block and a rowdy game we headed out to 420 bar in Trastevere....with camera. 

      Today rounded out the almost perfect weekend with an adorable bike ride down the oldest road in Rome, the Appain way which was built in like 300 BC. One time after a slave uprising, they crucified like 6000 slaves and lined the road with their bodies as a warning to others not to mess. I'm sure that was a great tourism booster. Luckily the bodies are gone and now its just pretty trees, ruins, and ritzy Italian villas.

Most random part of the day was when we stopped at an Italian "garage sale". We saw the sign and thought hey why not, so we rode our bikes down a big stone driveway to this swanky Italian villa. Their version of a garage sale reminded us of a fancy graduation party, it wasn't even in a garage. They had music playing, a table full of h'orderves and pastries and a seemly drunk older woman singing piano bar tunes. They were selling their fancy Fendi purses and leather jackets and we realized this garage sale was a little out of our price range. 

As we neared the bike return I realized I lost my camera. Pretty sure it was at the fancy garage sale but when we returned it was nowhere to be found. So yes, I lost camera number 6 at a fancy garage sale, win. At least it's a better story than losing it at Kams...

So that basically covers my almost perfect weekend. You may be wondering right now how this blog is filled with photos if my camera died today. Well I'd like to thank Facebook for that. As long as that exists, I'm convinced I should never again own a camera (and honestly probably not even a phone).

OMG...Another Blog???

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I love food. I'm all up in the food scene in Chambana from Geos, to Antonios, to Silvermine and even the occasional Fat Sandwich. I even ate 10 hot dogs once. So obviously the description for the Food & Culture program sold me on coming to Roma. Now for my Food & Media class I'm required create and maintain a food blog documenting my thoughts & experiences with food in Italy and in my travels.

I decided to create a separate blog for my class, because honestly I don't think Ricardo cares to read about my adventures getting kicked out of clubs, nor do I think I'd want him to. So I'll put the link here and in the sidebar of this blog for those of you want to watch me gain weight via the internet.

Here ya go...Ciao Down!!
http://gwensfoodblog.tumblr.com/

Hey Yo Beef Cheeks--Prague, Czech Republic

So I hope that the delayed nature of this post will only further increase your desire to read it. For it was over one week ago that I departed for Prague and you probably thought that my trip was in the works to become the plot line for Hostel 3 Hostel 4 (to insure accuracy I googled to see how many Hostel movies were made and apparently number 3 slipped by me).  But fear not, I'm alive and wish to share some of my Praguian experiences.

Our Hostel
      Surprisingly not super sketch, although the check-in office did reek of b.o (but honestly what doesn't in Europe). It was actually an apartment/hostel, so we met some kids who were doing a film study abroad program in Prague for the semester and lived at our hostel. They were even kind enough to invite us to their pregame one night complete with a dj and turntables. Oh and about the amenities I mentioned in my previous post, we did not bother to inquire about the topless bar, but the free beer was real and we took advantage of that.

    
The Sights
     On Friday we decided to do a free three hour walking tour which was the best decision ever. We had an amazing tour guide named Remo from Australia who took us all over the city and taught us so much about the different buildings and their history. Then on Saturday we did the Prague Castle tour with Filip, a Czech college student who was one of the funniest people I've met so far in Europe. I'll try and keep this part quick and just give you some highlights and pictures.



Astronomical Clock Tower- Not only does it tell regular time but also old prague time, zodiac time, unequal hours, and shows position of the sun and moon. It even predicted an eclipse last year, not bad for a 600 year old clock. Legend has it that the man who created the clock had his eyes poked out and tongue cut off by the commissioners of the clock so that nowhere else in Europe would have clock this baller.

Clock Tower

Close-Up of Clock Face

John Lennon Wall

Prague Castle from St. Charles Bridge

I have to write a journal entry about this trip still for my Layers of Rome class, so if you want to read more about the tours and the history (mom and dad), I'll put a link up for that because it's such an interesting city. But moving on...

The Food

Since my study abroad program is titled Food & Culture, I have decided it is my duty as an eager academic to immerse myself in every culture I visit by eating copious amounts of their local cuisines (rough life I know).  Prague was a great place to start. The food was completely different than the Mediterranean food of Rome, but delicious nonetheless. For a detailed description of my food critiques I will put up the link to my new food blog I had to make for class.

Night #1:Chicken Beefsteak w/a creamy spinach cheese sauce & fries

Apple Pie Dessert

Night #2: Beefcheeks and potatoes

Pancake & Fruit Dessert

Note the Pilsner beer that accompanies every meal. Beer is cheaper than water and I'm obviously on a budget.

The Nightlife

   Last but surely not least. Prague has a crazy nightlife scene that wore me out after three nights. The first night we went to a typical tourist place called Beer Factory. There was a tap in the middle of the table that kept track of how much your table drank. 

Wall w/each tables tally. Obviously my table was winning

We even made some Euro friends that night and had a dance party with them!

Corinne & I with our new friends

Friday night we went to a sweet underground Czech bar. For all of you Lord of the Ring fans out there just think of the dwarf mines of moria and that's basically what it felt like walking down into this bar. But it was a great chill night. Some of our group went to a somewhat sketch Euro club after and the rest of us headed to another bar.

For our last night we decided to go big or go home, which meant it was finally time for the 5 story club. If you plan on going to Prague, go there!! It was soooo much fun. Each floor had a different theme, layout and music. First floor was "Radio Hits", second floor was "Dancefloor"(euro techno beats), third floor was "Oldies" (where I spent majority of my night), and the fourth floor was "Black Music" (rap and hip-hop. they aren't really concerned with political correctness in the Czech Republic). The fifth floor was sadly rented out for a private party which I obviously tried to sneak into but failed (I'm 0 for 2 now trying to sneak in places in Europe, I'm really losing my game). There was also a trippy room filled with lights and mirrors.

Soooo Euro

So that was basically it for my weekend in Prague, sorry this was super long! But word to the wise if you plan on traveling here. It was soooo cold so wait until it's warmer to go otherwise make sure you bundle up, or you'll end up looking like this super flattering picture of me....

Forced to turn my scarf into a babushka

Ciao for now!!!