Taming of the Shrew... Not Really!?

Taming of the Red Head

Setting: Padua, Italy
Author: William Shakespeare Harmony Morkve
Plot: Our TA, Rob, bought the whole house tickets to Padua! It was so much fun! We arrived at the train station and we thought we were late but we just jumped on a quick... 1 hour train ride! On the way there, all of the girls were either reading or talking! So I decided to "watch" a movie a.k.a. watch a movie in my head that i have memorized! (My film memorization repertoire: Cats Don't Dance, Little Mermaid 2, Monsters Inc., Hairspray and The Hangover) Everyone thought that seemed ridiculous but it's an easy way to watch movies if you don't have an iPod or iPad.
Once we got to Padua, we went to La Cappella degli Scrovegni. We waited in a room where we watched a video about the building... I kind of fell asleep during the video. After we entered the building! It was breath taking!

It was a beautiful building with the most amazing murals I have ever seen. It was also painted in only 2 years! It showed the stories of the Bible. We also walked through a museum with artifacts and pottery from many different centuries!

After the church, we walked through the streets of Padua! It was scary because the roads were a chaotic mix for both pedestrians, bikes, and cars! I think my life flashed before my eyes a few times. In Venice, there aren't any cars so I wasn't used to seeing motor vehicles! We found a huge fresh produce market that also had some vendors! We walked through and found some interesting clothes and exotic fruits! We ate at a unique restaurant called Brek that had really modern decor!


We ventured deeper into the city and found the beautiful Saint Anthony's Basilica! As we walked in there was a mass going on! People were sitting and then the whole congregation rose to sing in beautiful harmony! The voices bounced off the domes and walls within the basilica! It was an awkward but amazing experience. We walked around the whole basilica and even saw the preserved teeth, tongue and vocal cords of Saint Anthony. The sculptures of marble and other stones were the best decoration of the whole basilica! I am so amazed by the way artists can change a block of stone into a wonderful master piece!


Once we got home, we watched 10 Things i Hate About You in the spirit of Padua! This movie was based on Shakespeare's Taming of The Shrew! Plus ending your day with Heath Ledger and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt is always amazing! I was so tired so I fell asleep halfway through the movie.... This is what happened next! I guess if your living in a house with 15 people, something is bound to happen!!!!

Next stop: Florence, Italy

Island Hopping!

Glass and blow... I mean LACE!

Last weekend was a grand adventure of not enough clothing and colorful houses! Corynn, Victoria, Olivia, and I decided to venture to some of the islands surrounding Venezia! We went to Murano and Burano! These islands are beautiful and only a short vapporetto ride away from the house!
We woke up relatively early and ate our breakfast on the rooftop terrace! The sun was shinning and the sky was a whimsical color of blue! Since it had been raining quite a bit, I was super pumped to see the sun and absorb some vitaminD. To match the fun weather, I wore a fun blue cami and neon green cardigan! Corynn warned me that I should probably bring a jacket just in case it gets cold! I didn't take her advice and it turned out to be almost fatal!!! (*okay I might be over exaggerating about the fatal but it did turn out to be cold!)

Murano: The Wonderful World of Glass
We rode to Murano and once we got off the vapporetto, we were adventurous and walked into a really cool glass shop and demonstration. The man charged us €5 each to watch him create a really neat glass horse! It was kind of a rip off but it was still cool! (*Now, we never buy something at the first place we see!) After the demonstration, we popped our heads into another shop with beautiful animals and Christmas tree glass sculptures! Adventures continued as we searched for a bar or cafe to get a bit to eat! After a few minutes of searching we found a quaint little eatery that had pizza and panini! Olivia got a spinach quiche thing and it was not very delicious! Corynn made a hilarious face after taking a bit of it!
We walked around the island and found huge glass sculptures that were made of blue, red, green, and any other color of glass that you can think of! Some of them looked like Chihuly pieces but I'm not sure if they were! I just enjoyed strolling around and looking at the great artistry of the Italian glass!

I wasn't sure where to look at the camera!!! oops! 

 Burano: Lace and Colorful Houses
After our artful walk, Olivia and I were practically ice cubes! My nose was freezing and my hands were brittle! I felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz! We walked around and saw the beautiful colored houses! I felt like I was in a fantasy land full of whimsy and bright energy! If I could live there, I would in a second! I would probably live the green house!!! or maybe purple! Corynn bought a beautiful lace scarf from Burano and she let me where it to warm up my neck! As we were leaving the island, I saw some women rowing and I cheered at them! Let's just say that Italians are very stoic and do not appreciate when people cheer them on! Plus I'm super loud so it was pretty hilarious!

Going to the Islands was amazing and I had so much fun even though I was slowly freezing to death! I got home safe and sound! I put on some fuzzy PJs and eat some hot pasta! I'm loving it in Venice !
Next Stop: Padova! 

Fighting Temptation

Attack of Gelato and Frittelle

Venice has so many sweet shops and bars where you can get a cappuccino and a pastry. Since I have been in Venice, I think I have bought about 7 gelatos and maybe 5 frittelle. They are just so delicious and very addicting. The shops are only a short walk from the house, so even when it is raining, i have sadly... walked to a pastry shop to get a nice warm frittelle with cream!

Just look at the delicious golden dough and the yummy powdered sugar on top. The whole house has been converted to fritellism! If you are ever going on a diet and are coming to Venice... don't. The temptation is too great and even the strongest willed person will be taken by the hands of sugar and changed into a zombie of the sweets! Frittelle is a Venetian doughnut snack that is part of Carnevale which is a costume celebration in late January and February. There is a wonderful shop named Tonolo right around the corner and it has the best Frittelle around! They also have so many more sweets! When I go to Tonolo, I always feel like a kind in a candy store... wait, I am in a candy store!  If you would like the recipe for frittelle, here it is: http://alloggibarbaria.blogspot.it/2011/01/frittelle-veneziane.html 

Gelato is a much more delicious substitute for ice cream! As said by Ms. Ungermeyer in The Lizzie Mcguire Movie,

"Keep in mind that Italian ice cream has about twice the sugar of American ice cream. Means you're gonna want about two scoops, huh?"

Since I take all of my advice from films, I normally get a double scoop! The best two flavors are Bacio and Stracciatella. Bacio is a chocolatey cream with hazelnuts in it. The Stracciatella is a vanilla flavored cream with yummy mini chocolate chips sprinkled in to perfection.  I enjoy indulging in these wonderful sweets!

Venice Night Life

Watch out Venice! Here I Come!

When living on an island, you sometimes have to dig to find the exciting and cool things to do! Here at Casa Artom, there are a variety of people who have many different interests! Venice has everything for everyone! I personally am open to everything, normally without judgement. Here are a few fun places to explore and partake in during the notte di Venezia! 

Rialto: 
The Rialto Bridge is a huge and iconic bridge in Venice. There are many shops in the area and a plethora of bars for socializing and drinking. While wandering through Rialto at midnight, you can find an Irish Pub, Raging Pub, and bars with very exotic names such as Orange! The bars don't really have dancing but socializing is very fun. It's a perfect way to practice your Italian. Talking with people about my program and about what they are doing is quite exciting. Even if there is a slight language barrier, you can always find a way to get your point across. If you are going for a good time and to drink it up, The Italian men are very friendly and may offer to buy you a drink. The Bar Scene is exciting but in my opinion, I would much rather go to a dancing club.

Dorsoduro 265: 
(a.k.a The Underground)
My last outing was sponsored by SaLE, an art consortium on the island, and I listened to a fun Italian cover band. Here is that post: http://therosepie.blogspot.it/2013/01/venitian-arts.html I went to another art show sponsored by them and it featured NY graffiti on trains! The graffiti was not as impressive as the graffiti I have found around town. Venice has some great anonymous artists! After the art show was a DJ... lets just say he wasn't as "hawt" as he thought he was. His beats were very repetitive and it started to become boring! GirlTalk is much better then this random Venetian DJ. At every event, SaLE gives you a stamp on your hand! It's like a secret club. A lot of their events are for an alternative or "hipster" audience so Olivia and I dubbed this place: The Underground! 

House Partayzz: 
If the house is not going out then we have fun just staying in and watching movies or listening to fun music! We had a Pajama Dance party in the large hallway! We got to see everyone's dancing skillz! I got down when they played my JAM: Dont Drop That Dun Dun Dun. Vitoria brought a good variety of movies to the house so we have watched The Hunger Games, 10 Things I hate About You, Crazy Stupid Love, and The Godfather! Sometimes it's just nice to chill and laze about!

Concert Fanatic!

I think I am addicted...
Throughout high school, I never got a chance to go to a concert. I always wanted to go to Warped Tour. Then last year, I went to my very first concert ever! I know that sounds weird coming from a 20 year old but sadly, it is true. I went to see FUN. in Raleigh, NC with my suite mates! It was such an exciting experience. There were tons of people drinking, shouting, and cheering! FUN. sounded amazing live and they did a funny Rolling Stones cover! I jumped and sang along with Nate!

Now I have decided to go to way more concerts! They are so exciting and you get to meet people who love the same music as you. In the house, I have found a few people who have similar musical taste. My friend Bryant and I decided to go see Enter Shikari in April in LONDON! They sound amazing and they have toured around everywhere. I am also super obsessed with YouTube and I watch CTFxC with Allie Speed and Charles Trippy. Charles is one of the guitarists for We The Kings and they are going to be on their EuroTour while I am in Venice. I am going to try to make it to one of their shows! If you want to check them out, go to http://www.youtube.com/ctfxc

Now that I have become addicted, I am going to try and find some more fun concerts to get to while Im in Europe. I think some girls in the house are going to try and hit up France to see The Lumineers. If you know of any good bands playing in Europe, Let me know in the comments about them! maybe I could see a show!

A Wet Residency

Wet like a dog...

This morning, The whole house had to wake up early to be at the Venice post Office at 8:10am!!! Let's just say we would rather of had class at 9! We woke up and were notified the high tide was HIGH! I put on my hot pink high heeled rain boots and ventured into the calle of Venice. Some of the calle were flooded and I got to SPLASH around in the huge puddles! Although Venice was flooded, The city is beautiful! The Piazza San Marco has many low spots so the piazza floods and makes a beautiful reflection of the buildings!

I am now officially a resident of Venice, Italy! The Post Office was quite an experience. It was like going to the DMV except I had no idea what the teller was saying! I had to fill out some paper work and then I was done! Study abroad so far has been a crazy and fun ride. Now that I have been in Venice for 2 weekends, I am ready to see more of Italy! I think I am going to jaunt over to Padua with the house on Saturday!

"What classes do you have?"

House as a classroom:

Living in a house where you go to class is sometimes tough especially when one of your professors lives with you. You have to try and separate those two parts of your life. You may live in the house but right down the hallway is your classroom! One of the best pieces of advice is to have a good schedule. Create certain times in the day that are only dedicated to studying and other times that are for relaxation and bonding with house mates.
I have class in the beginning of the day and then I have fun adventures in the afternoon when the weather permits. It is nice to have some time to get away before your start studying. After a few hours of walking around Venice or eating gelato, I make my way home for some HARDCORE STUDYING! I have actually made the best of it so far! I have done all of my homework on time and have made it to all of my classes.

The one downfall is that because your classes are in your house, you can't really "skip" or sleep in. The professors walk through the corridor every morning so they know who is awake and who is "sleeping," a.k.a. too lazy to walk down the hall.
A misconception may be that because you live there then you can go to class in pajamas... that is totally false! You must be dressed and ready to go for the day!

Living in Venice is such a fun experience! I hope everyone has a chance to experience some sort of study abroad program in their college years. If not, maybe an educational vacation may be the way to go. Maybe go visit the historical museums in your own hometown or the United States. You don't always have to go abroad to experience a new culture.

This little piggy went to market...

The Venice Fish Market

 So every week at Casa Artom, we have a family dinner with everyone, the professor, and his wife. This week, we had lentil soup, salad and caprese salad. To prepare for our wonderful dinner, we went on an adventure with Libby Lubin, the professor's wife. She knows how to get around Venice in class! She always looks so posh! As we made our way down the tight calle of Venezia, Libby led us to a cute little bakery, cheese shop, and fish market. We walked through the fish market while Libby conversed with the nice Italian market owners. Some of the owners sang in Italian loudly so that they could get the attention of tourists!

We walked past huge tables covered in ice and fish! The fish was freshly caught from the ocean! I walked past a few guys gutting some of their fish fresh. One of the coolest sights was a huge sword fish head.Family dinners are so much fun! We had some great conversation and we had a party in the kitchen while we cleaned dishes!

Venitian Arts!!!

Day 6:

When I lived in Augusta, GA, I used to go to many local art galleries and to many concerts. My best friends were in a Beatles Cover band so I went to most of their shows in many different venues. I also liked to support other local bands at Sector7G! While we were walking on the Zattere, I heard the sound of a guitar being plugged into an amp! I started to get excited and followed the sounds of a sound check! I met a fun young women who is part of an organization called SaLE Docks is an art collective that hosts OPEN#5 which is a group exhibition of young artists work. OPEN#5 was hosting a band called HOMESICKSUNI which was a sort of Black Keys cover band. The concert started at 21.00 and it was filled with tons of people. I made my way to the front row and rocked out! I was dancing and head banging with all sorts of fun young Italians. They seem to really like the Dead and Alive song, You Spin Me Round. The drunk people were yelling it at the top of there lungs during the show!

Venice also displays a great array of Graffiti Art that I find very fascinating. At night when all of the shops close down, they cover there front windows with garage doors. On all of these doors are art from various artists around Venice. Some artists have only on piece others have a signature that shows up all over the city.   I like the graffiti because during the day Venice looks like a pristine town stuck in history but when the sun goes down, it turns into a gallery of modern art!

Supporting local arts in America is very important and I will continue supporting the arts even in Venice! Next week, the OPEN#5 are hosting an exhibition on Graffiti in New York and after their are some local DJs. I am so excited to start immersing myself in the young Italian culture! If you wound like to follow SaLe Docks or Open#5 and see what kinds of things I will be attending, you can look at http://www.saledocks.org/ or http://progettopen5.tumblr.com/

First Day of School

Day 5:

Hey guys! Today, was my first day of classes at my precious Casa Artom! I woke up an hour before class got all beauti-mus and went up stairs for a nutritious breakfast of nanas and toast with jelly. At 9, I made my way down stairs and into the classroom/library! My classes today were:
Italian 217: Italian Literature
Venetian Renaissance Art
Italian Cinema

*My classes were very interesting and I think that the material will be both interesting and really fun! Plus, the classroom faces the Grand Canal so I can just look out the window if I feel too tired to listen!

Of course, my favorite class was film. We watched our first movie today called Rome, Open City. This film is directed my Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Federico Fellini. Both of these men are very famous art cinema directors of Italian cinema during the Neorealist era. Fellini is also the recipient of 5 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. 

This film was based in Italy when the Germans were taking over Rome. It follow two men who are part of the resistance: One is a priest named Don Pietro and one is an engineer, Giorgio Manfredi. This film has many famous scenes like the who in the picture above. This film was very inventive because it was one of the first of its kind by using handheld camera shots.  One of my favorite shots is during a scene when the children are out after curfew. In order to show suspense, the shot cuts quickly from the mother to her children and back. The music also plays a big roll in advancing the emotion in the film.

After class, a few of the girls went out to a bar and we bought some cappuccinos and a torta di limone(since I don't drink coffee). It was so much fun ordering my sweet in Italian! We also had a meeting today about the rules of the house and I tied with my roomie, JJ, and we bought the house some awesome pizza for dinner!

Tomorrow starts a new day of classes with another art class! This weekend is going to be a blast! I have no plans but I bet whatever I end up doing will be very interesting!  

Bridges, Billa, and Boys

Day3/4:

Hey guys so these past few days have been so amazing! I have been basically running around Venezia and most of the time I have been lost. Its kind of fun trying to figure out where the heck you are going! There are tons of yellow official signs that let you know where to go but it is still really easy to get lost! 

BILLA: So Billa is the local grocery that all the Italians use and it is so cute! When you walk in you can go straight to the fruits and vegetables but you have to wear a plastic glove to grab the produce then you weight it and a machine spits out a sticker to put on the bag! I really think America should invest in these because I hate it when you go to the grocery store and the cashier doesn't know the number of the produce you bought. "Um... I can't remember the price of these apples..." We got some yummy pasta, sauce, apples, and other small things for only 24 euro!!! It was soooooo cheap! Nutella was only like 2.30 euro!!! Corynn and I decided that we didn't like red whine and so we were like "Hey, Let's try this pino grigio!" Worst idea ever! I think it may be official but I think I hate wine... but Geof wont let me back out this soon. He bought some merlot and is making me at least try a spit. My prediction: It will be GROSS!

Bridges: Yesterday, We visited Rialto Bridge and it was so big! While we were there a big boat full of Asians started waving at us! I think they may have thought we were Italians.... I'm not sure! Once we got off the bridge, our guides ditched us and said we had to find our way home on our own. It was an adventure because we got super lost and there were 10 of us. After about 30 minutes, we finally found our way home in the dark! 

Today, Corynn, Victoria, and I decided that after lunch we were going to visit San Marco! We made our way by following the yellow signs and we found it relatively easy! The funniest part was that while we were there we also saw some Asians doing the Asian face (a huge smile, squinted eyes and two peace signs on their cheeks) in front of the San Marco's Basilica! While we ventured we made our way back to the Rialto bridge and then we got lost trying to get home again! We walked for two hours straight today but where lost for probably 1.5 of those hours! In the end, it all went well. Victoria led us home and we got some yummy gelato at this place called GROME!! It was molto delizioso! 

Boys: So this time of year, there is Carnevale Di Venezia. http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/ There are huge Masquerade Balls that you must be invited to! The masks are like the ones in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut! There is even a display window that says that in Italian!!!! The only way you can get invited is if an Italian invites you! So here is my master plan: One night I'm going to dress up in heels and my gold dress, stand on one of the bridges and attempt to look super attractive and desperate at the same time! Watch me! Ill have an invite in the next week! Also, our TA is a guy and it's super fun to mess with him so this is going to be an interesting semester!

My New Home

Day 1/ Day 2:
Traveling and Beating the BEAST

I have finally arrived at my new home for 4 months: CASA ARTOM in VENICE!!! While I write this blog, I can hear the dull noises of speed boat motors. This is definitely going to be an interesting experience!

I started out my journey  in Portland, Maine on January 12 (My 20th Birthday)! I traveled from there to Washington, D.C. to Heathrow Airport in London to Marco Polo Airport in Venice (Jan 13). I even met up with some girls from the house: Olivia, Devon, and Emily. These flights were brutal and the beast of motion sickness almost got a hold of me but I fought him off with my sword wielding powers and made it to Casa Artom without a hitch! These flights turned out to be quite interesting! On the flight to Washington, D.C., I sat by a Newlywed couple who were all over each other and then on the flight to London, I met a handsome man who was visiting the U.S. from Beirut to find a doctor's residency (He wants to be a cardiologist)! I also watched Perks of being a Wallflower and I thought I was going to explode into massive tears but I kept it to a soft sniffle!

We got to ride a water taxi from the airport to the front porch of the house! It was so cool. I felt like I was in the Geico commercial with Christopher Columbus and speed boats! While we wet through the city we saw all kinds of people on the streets and others rowing in packs! I was not sure if they were learning how to become gondoliers or if they were racing somewhere! I'm hoping it was the latter and that the boat full of old ladies won! I felt so fancy getting dropped off right in front of the house but in order to do that... I had to stop the driver! The driver was going to drop us off on some random street and we were going to have to find a way to the house so instead, I was picked to go and tell him where to go.

Me: Yeah.. Um.. I think we can get dropped off in from of the house.
Driver: Oh no, no, no, you get out here. Go to hotel.
Me: Um... the house is right around the corner... you can drop us off there.
Driver: No you walk from here.
Olivia (in background): BE POLITE!
Emily: Yeah, we live beside the guggenheim...
Driver: Ohhhhhh... gli studenti?
Both of Us: Siiiiiii
Driver: Ohhhh, Okay...

Once we got home, I unpacked the s#!% out of my luggage and cleaned up my room in less than 30 minutes! I am a pro! My room is cute and sweet and my YouTube calendar makes it the best room in the house! ;) The house decided to venture into the city to get a bite to eat and we stopped at this cute little pizzeria called Pizza Al Volo! This pizza was gigantic and amazing! It could have also been delicious because none of us had eaten in a few hours! We were also attacked by a swarm of obese pigeons! They are literally the size of a small dog! On of my house mates, Hannah,  was eating a slice and a small brown bird flew up and took a huge bite out of the slice!  It was the most hilarious thing I have ever witnessed in regards to birds!

Everyone in the house is awesome! We all have very unique personalities and there are a few in the bunch who really get me laughing! This is going to be so much fun! I can't seem to hold in my excitement!

Stay tuned for some more awesome stories in Venezia! 

Birthday Bash!

It's My Party and I'll Fly If I Want To

20 years ago today, I was born! I'm officially two centuries old. It has been a crazy 20 years! I have graduated 10th in my class in high school, got accepted to Wake Forest University, and now I'm going abroad to study art and film in Venice, Italy!
I still can't believe how much someone can accomplish in 20 years! I am no famous singer like J. Biebs or T. Swift but I feel like I have done pretty well for myself!

I have finally finished packing! It was such a hassle. The airlines have a weight limit on suitcases, 50 lbs. So my mother and I (mostly my mother) packed all my clothes and of course, my shoes! My mother was in the ARMY so she knows how to pack a suitcase to the brim! I didn't want to bring a carry-on so my mom fit everything in two suitcases but then we weighed them! I was standing on the scale and my mother handed me the super heavy bags! As I tried to not drop them, I stood steady on the scale while my mom looked at the number! Unfortunately my mom packed 76 lbs. of clothing and shoes in one suitcase! Now I have a carry-on but it's not too big of a deal! I think I have everything I need! If not, then "que sera, sera!" I can probably get what I forgot in an Italian super market.

So since my actual birthday is tomorrow, January 12, and I am going to be traveling practically the whole day, We celebrated today! We had a small family get together with some yummy lemon cake and chocolate bunt cake! The funniest part of the night was that it took me 4 times to blow out my candles! I don't now what happened... normally I have a good lung capacity! I am blaming it on all the luggage weighing!

I hope tomorrow goes well! The thing I am thinking about most is: What movie are they going to play on the plane to England??? Next time I write, I will be in ITALY!

Packing and Preparing

Tons of Traveling

In the first 12 day after Christmas, I traveled to Rockland, Maine and San Francisco, California. This has been a whirlwind of a ride! After all of these trips, I have finally gotten into the swing of traveling and flying. 

I am now packing for my next trip to Venice, Italy. I am attending Uni at Wake Forest University. I am studying abroad at Casa Artom. Here is the link for my program: http://www.wakeforestvenice.com/ I am so excited to experience a new country and be fully immersed in the Italian language. 

I have been packing and preparing for the past few days! I have bought all of the essentials: passport/visa holder, international plug converter, international cell phone, two suitcases, and the ever powerful toothbrush! Now, I wait for Saturday! As I wait, I keep remembering things I have to do. There are random little things that I may find important or i might think I need. Yesterday, I bought two journals so I can record all of my experiences and some stickers to make the pages "girly, cute, and fun!" Venice is going to be so exciting! I can't wait to ride on a water taxi and eat some authentic pizza.

Buon Viaggio! 

Flight Fiasco

Day 12:
Crazy Connections and Loopy Layovers

My final night in San Francisco consisted of many lines and ticket complications.

Here is the traveling PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Jan 4, 9:30pm (Pacific Standard Time): Arrived at The San Fran Airport
Jan 4, 9:45pm (PST): Stood in the United Airlines line to make sure we had tickets on the plane because remember the Nor'easter changed all of our plans. Apparently since we changed our flights to arrive in San Francisco, The flights coming home were either changed or cancelled. As my mother became more and more nervous, she was getting upset. The United lady needed my brother (Zach) and my photo I.D. In order to catch my attention from across the airport, My mother yelled HARMONYYYYYYY! then all of a sudden the whole airport was quite for about a minute. My father was surprised that no one ducked or  screamed. It was pretty hilarious. After about an hour of waiting, we finally got tickets to fly, accepted wait one minute.... my brother and I didn't have seats on the plane! We were put on stand by. So I devised a plan, If the airlines would not give the seats to my brother and I then I was going to start crying (I've acted before... I'm pretty good at crying on cue). Thankfully, We got seats.
Jan 4, 11:15pm (PST): So the plane was a huge 9 seater! My poor dad got put in the middle seat! On the other hand, Zach and I got seated together and even though we were so tired... we stayed up to watch Pitch Perfect! I love that movie. I had already seen it but the second time was so much better.
Jan 5, 5:45am (Central Standard Time): We arrive at Chicago for our connection but the first plane departed late! The plane out of Chicago was leaving at 6:00am!!! So we bolted out of the airplane... well, we tried. We had to wait for first class to get off first. Then we ran to the screens found our terminal and ran to the right gate! It was pretty exciting!
Jan 5, 6:00am (CST): We made it on the flight just in time! I honestly can't remember what happened on this flight. I have a feeling that I fell right to sleep. I had some motion sickness medicine that I took before the flights and it make me pretty drowsy!
Jan 5, 9:00am (Eastern Standard Time): We are finally back on the east coast! Home Sweet Home! We arrived in Newark but we had a 3 hour layover!!
Jan 5, Newark Airport: So while we waited we had some breakfast/lunch at a cute little dinner that had Betty Boop welcome us in! I really miss the Pit Omelets (The Pit is my cafeteria at Wake Forest!) so I got a mexico city omelet with salsa! I was so delicious!
For the rest of the time I pretty much just sat, listened to other peoples conversations, watched the news or bothered my brother!
Jan 5, 12:45pm (EST): We left Newark and were on our way to Maine! I wanted to listen to my iPod but I fell asleep with it in my hand! About an hour later, we were in Maine!

Once I got home, I hit the hay! I was so pooped out that I had no desire to write anything! Now I'm pretty much on a roll! I hope everyone's holidays have been fantastic! Many colleges and unis are back in session! Have a great Spring semester!

TRAVELED TO: Chicago, Newark, and Portland Airports

GAINED SUPPLIES: Airport food and a magazine

GAINED KNOWLEDGE: Every time I fly, I always get the longest layover in Newark! 

NEXT STOP: Venice, Italy! 

Foothills of Sierra Nevadas

Day 10-11:
A Relaxation in Nature

It's only January 3 and I've already traveled quite a bit in this new year. My grandmother lives in Mountain Ranch, CA also known as El Dorado! It used to be a gold mining community during the California Gold Rush! You have to make sure you don't blink while driving through downtown because you might miss it! hehehe! It is a Historical Landmark and home of the California Caverns!

While I was in the Foothills I walked around and admired the fresh nature! It was a great way to get away from the smoggy hustle and bustle of San Fransisco.
In this new calm environment I was able to destress and get my body prepared for a whole semester in Venice, Italy! I am excited but nervous at the same time! In order to truly relax, I took some pictures around the unique home of my grandmother. Her house is a cute little ranch with two bedrooms and a sun porch that was turned into a crafting area!

It was a great few days but then we had to make our way back to Hayward, CA so that we can start our airplane flight back to MAINE!

As I said earlier, I get bad motion sickness and driving through the winding roads of the mountains did not help if you get my drift.

INTERESTING STORY: WARNING- this story is kinda gross but still hilarious! So the winding road went up and down then side to side. I tried to concentrate on the road but I knew my tummy was working against me! It was like a warrior fighting a mighty hydra! The warrior fought hard and cut off the mighty hydras heads... I made my knoble carriage stop because I knew I was going to blow but I had a false sense of security. The hydra's heads grew back two fold and lets just say the warrior lost the battle against the might hydra of car sickness! My carriage pulled over again and the hydra left my tummy with a horrible roar!  I took some medicine that knocked me out until we got back home and then we made our way to the airport. 

TRAVELED TO: Mountain Ranch, CA

GAINED SUPPLIES: FRESH AIR!

GAINED KNOWLEDGE: Everyone needs to have some time to relax and reflect!

NEXT STOP: Back Home! Buxton, Maine

A Golden Day

Day 9:
Adventures in San Fransisco and Fisherman's Warf

An exciting day, indeed. We started out our morning eating a luxury lunch at The Palace Hotel in downtown San Fransisco! It is actually the site of one of the final scenes in The Game starring Micheal Douglas and Sean Penn! We had a leisurely lunch that consisted of wonderful sourdough bread, exquisite entrees, and a cute mini dessert plate that anyone would enjoy! We also got an exclusive look at some award winning gingerbread houses that were huge and very well crafted with many of them totally edible!
Once we finished visiting, we made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge! It was beautiful I loved seeing the bridge that close. I watched the sunset over the Pacific as I posed in front of the Golden Lady. I felt like I was on cloud nine!
Then, we made our way to Fisherman's Warf where we moseyed around some gift shops with specialty San Fransisco garb and we found some unique shops that sold items from enormous candies to interesting t-shirts! I found some cute espresso cups that I wish I would have picked up but unfortunately I don't drink coffee or very much caffeine at that.

Tomorrow will be filled with traveling but will totally be worth it because we are making our way up the coast to the Calaveras Big Trees!!!

TRAVELED TO: The Golden Gate Bridge and The Palace Hotel

GAINED SUPPLIES: some fun souvenirs

GAINED KNOWLEDGE: Even Olympic Divers couldn't dive off The Golden Gate Bridge and survive!  

NEXT STOP: Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Buon anno

Day 8:
A Journey into the Unknown

Happy New Year!  2012 has had some ups and downs but every year brings a new adventure. This year my family moved to Maine and I started my second year of university. I helped volunteer for two film/music festivals: RiverRun International Film Festival and KaBang Music/Art/Film Festival! I applied and was accepted to go to Casa Artom in Venice, Italy!!! Let me know in the comments below what you did this last year! 

New Year's Celebration:

To celebrate the New Year, we ventured to Pillar Point! We walked along the beach and encountered tons of cute doggies! Labs, gray hounds, and much much more! The waves were so gnarly and there were so many people surfin' it up! There was a dude with a neon board and my brother and I followed him.... He got into the water and paddled away. So in order to see him, we climbed some sea rocks and found a ledge that led to a huge ledge that over looked the Pacific Ocean. Because the tide was higher we had to go barefoot and it was like we were on a hobbit trek! We found a little cave were Gollum would live. It was an exciting day! We got sandwiches from Lucky's and ate a little picnic on the beach while we watched an awesome football game: 3 parents against 7 kids! The parents cheated because at one point the dads picked up the kids and ran with the ball!!! I almost died laughing!

Also at Pillar Point, I decided what I will name my first doggie: MezzaNotte!!!! That means MIDNIGHT in Italian. "Come here Mezza! Come here girl!" Doesn't that sound cute!

I hope you all had a wonderful first day of twenty-thirteen!

TRAVELED TO: Pillar Point in San Mateo

GAINED SUPPLIES: yummy seafood sandy-'wich! 

GAINED KNOWLEDGE: Mavrick Surfing is super dangerous! 

NEXT STOP: Palace Hotel, San Fransisco

Good EVE-ning!

Day 7:
New Year's Eve

SFMoMA: I wish I could live in the modern museum of art! There were so many great exhibits and some cool interactive art (that you couldn't touch!?!?)! My favorite had to be Jasper Johns! I love his work! There were also some really great works but running through 4 floors of awesome, my mind could not remember them all! They had a wonderfully fun interactive piece where your shadow reflected on a wall and the height of your shadow corresponding to a radio frequency in SanFran! At one point my shadow was playing We Are Young by FUN. and I started dancing!  As I made my way through the museum, I was intrigued by the people around me as well as the art! Here are some of my favorite captures!

The Man in Black looks as though he is part of the piece! His gray backpack and black trench coat were perfectly parallel to the piece! I actually got in trouble for taking this picture because cameras where not allowed on the fourth floor! I think it came out beautifully anyways!

The Woman in Red: She was staring intently at one of the pieces and I found her calm and content nature toward the art was one that should be mimicked in the people of my generation and younger. The final photograph is of a college-aged girl whose black and white outfit blended into the white walls and black frames of the museum. She is a speck compared to the famous art that hangs on these walls. But one day her art my be featured on these walls!


Ghirardelli Factory (Downtown SanFran): Imagine the best heaven you can think of! Probably fluffy white clouds with luxury items and food. This place was just like anything you could imagine! The walls where covered in packages of little square chocolates! They also had ice cream! If you have been reading then you probably already know my favorite ice cream flavor: Butter Pecan! While I was there I got a Butter Pecan Sundae with butterscotch syrup! It was a sweet delight with just a little crunch from the pecans!

TRAVELED TO: Downtown San Fransisco

GAINED SUPPLIES: Educational Fun and a Butter Pecan Sugar High!!!!!!

GAINED KNOWLEDGE: A New Year's Eve celebration doesn't have to be extravagant... It can just be a quiet night with the ones you love most! 

NEXT STOP: A Wonderful and Great New Year! I welcome 2013 with open arms! 

Let me know how you spent your New Years Eve and New Years Day  in the comments!!!