Sneak Peak!

Good news is I just finished my paper! Bad news, I'm sleepy and am not going to update tonight!

No worries my last final is tomorrow and I will right after :)

Here's the Roman Forum as a little sneak peak!!

Went to Rome this past weekend for a class trip and had an amazing time! Definitely the best field trip I have ever gone on in my life :)

I had two mid-terms today, which ended up being not as bad as I thought they would! And once I finish off studying for my last exam tomorrow I will do a post all about the wonderful time that was Rome!

Vienna Boy's Choir

Amazing!

Vienna or Bust!

This past weekend I was off to Vienna, or should I say "Wienna"! It was so much fun and it was absolutely gorgeous (the buildings not the weather..not that I should complain since it has been much colder in good ole connecticut!) 

THURSDAY

What a busy day! I had class all day and didn’t get back to the apartment until around 6:30pm, only to have to pack up and head to the train station! Our train didn’t leave until 10 and it was SO COOL.

I would have flourished on the Hogwarts Express. We had second class sleeper “couchettes”-  which meant that we were too classy for a seat, but not classy enough for an actual bed. Just the right amount of class! 
Mandy and I were in the same compartment. There is a total of six “beds”. So you walk in and to the left are three beds sticking out of the  wall and to the right it is the same thing. We were on the top so UP the little ladder we went!

FRIDAY:

I woke up to a very huge German man telling me my coffee was here and that the train would be arriving in Vienna in about an hour. I was very grateful to this man, because Mandy is interesting/amusing when it comes to getting up in the morning, so it was his job not mine!

It was really weird to go to bed in Florence and wake up and be in Vienna with the whole day ahead of us. I didn’t exactly get the best of sleep on the train so it took all I had to not just crash at the hostel.

THE HOSTEL WAS GREAT! Way to go Sue Connolly for helping us find the Wombat City Hostel! It was really nice/cool atmosphere and it even came with sheets and working outlets! And the shower was IN OUR ROOM! Wahooo! 

(To all you Backyard Soccer Players- The Wombats were DEFINITELY a team on that game! I kept cheering "Go wombats!" at random intervals or doing a "WOMBATS ON 3!" chant, 

it caught on nicely!)

 We went to Cafe Demel, 
which is famousssss and has been around for QUITE some time.

The cafe used to provide amazing treats for the Royal court of Austria-Hungary!!

...so technically I am royalty since they provided me with treats.

 TREATS!

sachertorte from Demel

Sachertorte is native to Vienna, and LET ME TELL YOU- it was DELICOUS! It was chocolate and had apricot sauce there too, I can't even explain it, go to Vienna and get some and you will know what I mean! 

There are two cafe's (Demel and Sacher) that compete to see who has better sachertorte. Now see apparently it's not much of a competition and people just like Demel better.....buttttttttt I really liked Sacher! I don't know if I just like the underdog or what, but my tastebuds have yet to fail me in all things chocolate, and I'm pretty sure (seeing as I ate enough sachertorte to make myself a connoisseur) that the winner really was Cafe Sacher!
We didn't try out Cafe Sacher till Sunday, but it was worth the wait!

Sachertorte from Sacher

Once our bellies were full the group of us (there were 13 total) split up to do our own thing.

I was with Mandy, Sara, Elise, Erin and Jamie and we decided to check out the torture museum. 

People used to have to wear this mask as humiliation for being gossips!

I know what you are thinking, Torture Museum? Weird. And yes, it was weird and slightly unsettling! Definitely a miss on the hit or miss game, but c'est la vie!

After that- Me Mandy Sara and Elise decided to check out Mozart’s House while the other girls went off to a different museum.

Mozart’s house was prettttty cool! He actually lived there (duh, that’s what a house means) and we got to see things that were in his handwriting and that he wore. We got free audio-guides and got to listen all about him! There were three floors and once you got to the first you were in his actual apartment.

Mozart's clothes, looks like a death eater to me!

Just walking the same floors as Mozart, no big deal! 

(Hopefully his genius is now in me and I can amaze everyone with piano talents in the future)

We also had tickets to go to the “Haus der Musik” – which was a interactive music museum! We spent a really long time hanging out with Mozart’s stuff though and were hungry and getttttting slightly cranky afterwards. 

What’s that stomach? You want ANOTHER TREAT?!...if you insist! We got Melange- which is the most traditional kind of coffee sold in Vienna's cafes and “apfelstrudel” (apple strudel)….DELICOUS! I want one right now just thinking about it! 

From there we walked around the city, saw some interesting street performers and just soaked it all in.

It’s funny because it was about 32 degrees (farenheit) In Vienna and I thought that was cold! Clearly Florence is spoiling me!

We went back to the hostel GO WOMBATS! After that to nap/get ready for dinner! Dinner was an wonderful adventure, where I introuduced my mouth to egg dumplings and salad. Nom. Nom. Nom.

SATURDAY

We woke up at 7am so we could have a full day of activities (we = Sara, Elise, Mandy and myself)

The game plan was to see both the Schonbrunn  Palace and the Belvedere and to actually go in and see what one had to offer. We chose to just look at and appreciate the schonbrunn and to actually go in and see the art etc in the Belvedere. The schonbrunn was very beautiful,  it was the summer palace of the Habsburgs. (Nevin family, we should get a summer palace like this for the beach?! Any takers?!)

There is a maze and a zoo and such in the summer, but it was not looking like a maze/zoo day unfortunately! 

So it was off to the Belvedere!

Belvedere

Me and Mandy

There is the Upper Belvedere and Lower. We went to Upper Belvedere where we got to see "The Kiss" by Klimt. This museum was also a "No Pictures Please" kind of place, they were a bit more hardcore here, and I'm almost positive they were following me....

BUT I MANAGED TO TAKE PICTURES ANYWAYS MUAHAHA

Klimt's "The Kiss"...I am SO STEALTH

Just some friends at the museum!

  

I really enjoyed the Belvedere, it had a lot of art that I really liked/found interesting. We spent a lot of time in there but it didnt feel like it at all!  

Afterwards we went to the open air markets and just checked out the scene. There was everything from flowers and fish and food to clothing and fruit on sale. I know if I studied in Vienna I would spend a lot of time there! (What am I saying, if I studied in Vienna I would never leave the cafes)

Timothy George, this picture was taken with you in mind…SHARKS RULE JELLYFISH DROOL! Hammer-Bryger I hope  you appreciate this!

  

After that we went to our favorite place of the weekend WEINER WURSTL!!!

 They do hot dogs much more effieciently over in Vienna. They have a roll and than they like put it on this thing and essentially they cut out the part where the weenie is going and put it in there. It was like a little home for the hotdog!
 I’m sorry if that made no sense but just believe me, GREAT WEENIES!

(And okay, we are four 20 year old kids, do you honestly believe that anyone was mature at first about all the Wienerwald signs?) 

From there we went to the HAUS DER MUSIK and it was SOOOO COOL!

 It was an interactive museum, which I learned is my type.  The first floor was like an introduction to sound, there was a room where you got to hear what it was like from inside the womb. It brought back some great mems!

Then there was a floor all about composers (like my boy Mozart). 

I got to conduct the Philharmonic Symphony in an interactive/virtual little thing. I was awful, I had them play the Can-Can, and I mean come on guys help me out here I am new at this!

We also sat with this man for a while and talked to him about his favorite things to do in Vienna..

..you think I'm joking but I'm not.

After that we explored the city and wandered around and than made our way back to the hostel. Took an hour nap and went to dinner! Dinner was a lot of fun- Sara, Mandy, Christine and I were stuffed and delirious from the day/all the good food.

SUNDAY:

Sunday we got up at 6 am.

6 AM I repeat 6 AM!

See we get up at 7 every other morning of the weekend to do things, but six was rough. 

What was I doing awake at this awful hour?

GOING TO MASS WHERE THE VIENNA BOY'S CHOIR WOULD BE SINGING!

In order to get in/standing room we had to be on-line prettttty early. 

While on line we met this man that was doing a full-bright near Vienna and had seen the boys choir in 8th grade and was coming back to see them again! He was so nice, as soon as we parted from him we started referring to him as Grandpa.

(To the Grandpa and Poppy in my life- NO ONE COULD EVER BE AS GREAT AS YOU!)

....but he was a nice substitute for 15 minutes!

The Church they sang in

After that we were EXHAUSTED. So. Tired.

Sooooooo…..we….uhmmm….WENT TO STARBUCKS!

I decided I feel zero bad about going to starbucks. At home I am there enough that they know my drink order, and since in Florence they do not have starbucks (a blessing and a curse) it is okay to pee my pants in excitement everytime I travel and find out the city I am in has one!

We spent Sunday walking around the Museum Quarter and looking at the architecture. We also hopped around to various places where amazing treats were able to be had! 


Me and Elephant-Rueben:

 And we may or may not have stopped by WEINERWURSTL for a good-bye weenie.

Then it was back to the wanna-be Hogwarts Express!

It was so refreshing to hear Italians when we got to our compartment! We were with three other women and they were really nice. We got onto the train around 7:30 and fell asleep shortly thereafter! I was back in Florence and dead tired 6 am Monday morning!

It was a really great weekend and I was glad to experience and see a place I have never been to before! 

The internet is being weird so I will post a video of the boys choir later! Love love love!

Off to Vienna for the weekend!

Paris, I'm In Love!

This past weekend I went to Paris, and I can truly say it was one of the best/most interesting weekends of my life!

THURSDAY:

We left Florence at 3. From Florence we took a train to Pisa, where we got on a plane to Paris. The airport we landed in was an hour outside of Paris, so we took a bus. It was a very long journey, though it did not feel like that! The cast and crew for this weekend = Brigid (that's me guys), Mandy, Sara and Jessie. Upon arriving in Paris we got on the metro and made our way to the hostel. Lucky for everyone I wrote down the metro stop to get off, or we would never have made it!  (Ya hear that Liz?  I'm responsible you would be amazed!)

We got to the hostel thinking we were late for check- in. 

OH NO!!

We're a whole day early! Jessie accidently booked us for Friday to Sunday, not Thursday to Saturday. So after handling that little mix up we got ourselves settled in our room. The staff was very nice and accommodating which I was thankful for!

"You ain't seen hostile till you put me up in one"

The hostel was painted a beautiful lime green/dirt purple combination that looks good no where. That was lovely! As far as hostels go though I was pleasantly surprised! The first night we were in a room with a stranger-man because of the mess up, but the rest of the weekend we were in a 4 person room! The "Stranger man" we were with was actually named Sammy and he was studying to be a pilot.

He had more hair product with him than any girl I have ever encountered in my life, including myself.

DOWNSIDES:

1. The outlets for camera charging/hair products did not work in the room, which meant having to charge downstairs in the common area which was frightening...what if there were thieves!?

2. You need to bring a sheet or pay for one. I brought a sheet, if anyone even thought for a second I would pay to use a USED sheet, you are joking!

UPSIDES:

1. Breakfast was delicious

2. FREE CREPES! Do you hear me?! THE CREPES....WERE....FREEEEE!

Did I have a total of 5 crepes in three days? I'll never tell!

3. Everyone was really friendly, there was free wi-fi and the staff was nice

4. FREEEEEEEE CREPES!!!!!!!!!!

Common Area/Front Desk

FRIDAY:

We woke up verrrrrry early (8 am) and hit the ground running! First things first was Musee d'Orsay. Students (with ID cards and visas) got in for free! That was nice. 

FUN FACT:  The museum used to be a train station!

The museum was really cool, it has mainly french art and is known for its collections of impressionist work. Painters like Monet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh are hanging out in there!

THIS WAS A NO PICTURES PLEASE MUSEUM! 

THE PICTURES BELOW ARE NOT MEANT TO BE SEEN! 

NEVER TELL!

Renoir: Le Moulin de la Galette

Seeing some of these pictures made me feel like I missed my time period! I wanted to jump into this one and dance and hang out with everyone!

Degas' paintings of ballerinas made me nostalgic for my dance years!

Degas

Rodin

I really like this sculpture. When I went to Paris in high school (gosh what a snob I am!) we went to the Rodin museum and it was unreal. We didn't go there this trip but it was still cool to see one of his works!

Dad, you can definitely MAKE THIS! So I took a picture/thought of you :D

After that we walked down the street along the river and saw the little vendors. Our destination was Notre Dame. 

Mandy and I

It was supposed to rain on Friday and instead I was comfortable in my sweater, I felt so lucky!

Notre Dame was beautiful. We went inside and a mass was going on which  I thought was really cool. I felt a little bad taking pictures during it, butttttttt not bad enough!

I lit a candle and said a little prayer inside:

After Notre Dame our goal was Centre Pompidou- a modern art museum/ really cool area. On our way we saw some shops...

I may or may not have strongly considered getting this apron....

Decided against it, it had holes in it and they were still gonna charge me!

After that we got baguettes! They were DELICOUS!

Me, Sara and baguettes!

STORY TIME- 
After getting food, we sat on a bridge to soak up the sun and breathe in all that is Paris. We are sitting facing the river and someone taps me on the shoulder. SURPRISE, there is a man wearing an old man mask and he was right in my face. I jumped and screamed off the bench cause it was so startling. 
Well at first it was funny, it could have gone the whole "remember the time Brig got scared in Paris" route.
OH NO, this man proceeded to follow us down the bridge, across the street, and into a restuarant. It was not right. Mandy, smart girl that she is, decided we should be around a lot of people and if they react like it is weird we should go to the po-po. Well we sat down next to the lovely French and he kept his distance. HOWEVER, he did point and make the motion of slitting his throat at us. We were pee-your-pants nervous.
Some people came up to him and he started interacting with them and we RAN AWAY AS FAST AS OUR FEET WOULD CARRY US!

It was icky and we hated it, it was literally the only bad thing about my trip to Paris.

Freaks got you down??? TRY OUR CREPES! Filled with nutella and banana they lift your mood in an instant!

Crepes, to cure your stalker blues

We got food after that incident AND WE FOUND A STARBUCKS! Ahhh starbucks, how I've missed you! Not saying the cappucino in Italy is not amazing, it just does not come in something likeeeee say A GRANDE! And there are no mocha-fraps here. Why am I even bothering, I JUST LOVE STARBUCKS OKAY?!

Centre Pompidou is a modern art museum. We did not go inside but we did see a lot of weird/cool stuff in a fountain outside. 

When we were sitting around the fountain I saw a school of kids signing! They had cochlear implants so they could also hear, but I went up to their teacher and told her  I was learning American Sign Language. She obviously didn't know AMERICAN sign language, but she did understand English and it was pretty cool to get to sign!

From there, we had San Chappelle in mind as our goal. HOWEVER we ended up walking along the river again, checking out the vendors, and making our way to "jardin des tuileries" in front of the Lourve. It was so beautiful outside and the grass/gardens were incredibly gorgeous! There were tons of people out which was pretty cool.

So happy I could cartwheel?

Me, Mandy and Sara sitting in the gardens!

We made our way down the Champs Elysees which was filled with tempting shops! And then we climbed ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL the way up the Arc de Triomphe for a view of Paris at Sunset!

Coordinating my scarf with the sunset, no big deal!

After that our dogs were barking and we needed to rest up! We went back to the hostel for a little cat nap, and then hit up Montmartre for some place to eat. Montmartre is where The Moulin Rouge resides! No one had 170 euro to spend on dinner and a show there (thank goodness!)

Mandy, Me and Jessie!

We had a very wonderful dinner! In France they don't call it "French Onion Soup" it is just Onion Soup! CAUSE YOU ARE IN FRANCE SO OF COURSE IT IS FRENCH! 

....I got it just because of this, it was great!

Sara's Salad!

My dinner, FRENCH fries?!

Sean, this dessert was on par with the greatness of the Godiva Sundae we had! Come over so we can go to Paris and get them?!

Dessert!

SATURDAY:

Woke up around 8 with a big day ahead of us- Versailles! 

First things first though,

Jessie was super pumped about Versailles because she had been there before and could not wait to show us. So, being the hilarrrrrrioooouuussssss (hilarious) person that I am, I thought that the 3 of us should act like we were wondering where the actual Palace was, and like we were unimpressed.

We are walking towards this BEAUTIFUL palace and we're asking Jessie where the rest of it is and if "that was it"- the look on her face was priceless!

This is a music box OF Marie Antoinette made for her! So cool!

This is a fireplace in "The Hercules Room" which was a ballroom! Also am in love with the green wallpaper below, Mom we should really redecorate the kitchen!

We were seeing BEAUTIFUL rooms and amazing things and surrounded by so much history. It was incredible really. But since any good joke must be followed through on, we got to a  blank red wall and I had Mandy and Sara take a picture like it was the best thing they had ever seen!

The Hall of Mirrors:

This room connected the Kings and Queen's rooms. It is beautiful. The King would walk through this room everyday, someone is modest!

(Future house decoration: CHECK!)

Just a girl in the Hall of Mirrors!

Sigh, Jessie where is the rest of the palace?

The King's bedroom was RIDICULOUSLY decorated. It was created by Louis XIV in 1701. It looked like a carpet all over the place. It was really cool however I am not a fan of so much pattern! The King had royal rising and going to sleep ceremonies.

The Queen's bedroom was a lot prettier, I loved all the floral! Marie Antoinette actually fled from this room to the Kings through the door on the left (not pictured) when the riots were going down!

The gardens outside were gorgeous, unfortunately it was starting to rain so we didn't get to frolic outside as much as I had hoped! Still got some good pictures though, it was an incredible place to be!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned the crepes....BUT CREPES WERE SO GOOD! 

We stopped at a creperie for lunch, I got one with almonds, nutella and whip cream

...sigh  I miss it already

We got back into Paris and headed straight to the Louvre. Now, being the classy cultured lady that I am, I have been there already. (snob snob snob)- and because I am SOOOOO nice (modest modest modest) I let Mandy and Sara lead the way because they had never been.

Heyyyyyy Mona Lisa heyyyyyyy!

After that we were toast! So we headed back to the hostel....got a free crepe....and took an hour nap!

Woke up and were women on a mission- EIFFEL TOWER!

After that we went out to eat and .....got more crepes!

SUNDAY:

Last day...womp womp! We were saving our trip to the top of the eiffel tower for last, you know go out of Paris on a high note.

WELL that would have been nice, however I will let this picture speak for itself:

We ended up shopping for an hour and the fog cleared so we did get to go to the top! Yayyyy Paris!

It was a truly memorable and incredible weekend.

I was definitely glad to be back in Florence though, it is so much smaller than Paris and it felt great to feel "at home" once back in Florence!