Milan

This past weekend marked my first solo excursion while abroad. While some of the other AIFS students paid the extra program fee to travel to Florence for the weekend my fellow fashionista, Steph, and I made our way to Milan.

Our trip began Friday morning thanks to the generosity of the college director, giving all AIFS students the day off for travel. Given that it was raining (and I had an oversized backpack) we opted out of walking to the train station and took the local bus for the very first time while in Cannes, which was much cleaner than any bus I have taken in the US. Once at the train station we hopped on our first train, which would take us to Ventimille (Ventimiglia the Italian way of writing it) on the Italian boarder. Again the train was much cleaner and nicer than any train I have taken in the US and the trip to the boarder was quite enjoyable. Upon our arrival on the boarder we ran into a little bit of trouble. Our first train was delayed pulling into the station, which gave us less than 10 minutes to get to our next train throwing us into a bit of a panic. On top of that the train we were supposed to be on was not at its designated platform making us think we missed it. Thankfully, after we got ourselves all panicked we discovered our train to Milan was delayed and was sitting at another platform. Luckily this was the last of our issues and we made it to Milan after traveling for 6 hours.

Once in Milan I used 3 of the 5 Italian words I know to ask for help finding the road that would take us to our hotel. From that moment on I knew Italy was going to be tough given neither Steph nor I knew any Italian and it didn’t take long before we both wined about missing France. However, we both stayed strong and made an executive decision to purchase an Italian phrase book before our Spring Break trip to Rome and Florence. From the train station I was successful at navigating us to our hotel (that is once I realized the street signs were in small print on the sides of buildings). The Hotel San Tomaso was very simple, only one floor, and reminded me of my dorm room in France (which was a good thing). Steph and I being the divas that we are paid a little extra to stay in a private double room, which came equipped with a sink and shower (and no the sink and shower were not in a bathroom attached to our room but in the middle of the room, c’est bizarre). The hotel/hostel had its downfalls, but was safe and served its purpose, which was cheap travel.

Following a good nights rest, Steph and I woke up early to begin our jam-packed day of sightseeing. We began our morning by visiting Milan’s Duomo (Cathedral). The Duomo in Milan is the third largest Cathedral in the world, taking around 500 years to construct beginning in 1386. It was absolutely magnificent with its many spires and intricate statutes. As with every tourist attraction in Europe we climbed to the top, giving us an amazing view of the city and the Alps. Following our climb to the top, we made our way to the ground level and walked around the inside. The inside was even more stunning than the exterior. The detail was amazing and it was no surprise that it took 500 years to construct. It also made me sad to think that the craftsmanship and attention to detail put into this cathedral scarcely exists in modern times.

Duomo

Top of the Duomo

Alter inside the Duomo

Given that the Duomo is adjacent to Galleria Vittorio Emanele II, a fantastic outdoor mall, shopping was soon to follow. Unfortunately, given that I am a poor college student, shops like Luis Vuitton and Gucci were unrealistic, but I still had fun spending my money in a huge H&M and a 4 story Zara. It was also exciting because Saturday was the first day French designer Sonia Rykiel’ s line for H&M was available, which is amazing and super European. I was in shopping heaven! (Note to Mom: I can assure you I need clothes and all purchases were practical) After giving too much of my money to Milan, Steph and I stopped for lunch at a close by outdoor café where we dined on real Italian pizza and pasta, while sipping Mimosa’s made with fresh squeezed orange juice. No longer was I in shopper’s heaven but in a diner’s paradise.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Interesting side note, in the Galleria there is a tile picture of a bull on the ground and it is supposed to be good luck if you spin your heel around the bull’s balls. I tried it and so far I don’t feel lucky but I will keep everyone posted if some luck comes my way.

Trying to get lucky

To walk off such a heavy meal we wandered over to Castello Sforzesco a huge 14^th century castle. This castle was built in 1368 as a defense against Venice and now serves as an art museum. Given time restraints and our developing exhaustion we quickly toured the castle and it’s grounds and made our way to the church, Santa Maria Della Grazie. At the Vinciano Refectory adjacent to the church one can find da Vinci’s Last Supper. Unfortunately we did not realize you needed a reservation to see this masterpiece and later discovered they were booked through the rest of February. This was a little disappointing but definitely did not ruin our trip, just something to remember if I ever return to Milan. The rest of our weekend was then spent admiring gorgeous fashions we could not afford and stuffing ourselves with Italian dishes and gelato. Over all I think or first solo excursion was a real success and I’m excited to book Spring Break Italy.....but first I must learn some Italian. More Pictures

Castello Sforzesco

Le Carnaval de Nice

King of the Blue Planet

Friday, February 12 marked the start of the celebrated Nice Carnival. This carnival, which dates back hundreds of years is recognized as one of, if not the first carnivals and runs for two weeks long in the month of February. On Sunday, which happened to be Valentine’s Day, I had the opportunity to go see one of the carnival’s afternoon parades, which happened to be a parade unlike any other I have seen before.

The theme for the parade was “Blue Planet”. Given the theme the floats were based around mother earth and saving our planet. The floats were extremely colorful and often bizarre, utilizing tons of symbolism, many of which I still do not understand. Some of the floats worth mentioning include: An adorable tropical frog that represented the King of the Blue Planet, which they burn on the beach during the closing ceremonies....how sad. A man in a loin cloth holding up the pregnant belly of a woman that resembled an Avatar......yea probably something you wouldn’t typically see in the states. And of course no parade would be complete without the guest appearance of Super Obama. Yes exactly Super Obama.

Not sure what this is about

Super Obama

Not only were the floats not typical to those found in the states neither was the parade set up and traditions. (Mardi Gras in New Orleans probably being the only parade worth comparing) Along the parade route there were no barriers or barricades so the crowd closed in tightly around the floats sometimes even joining in on the precession. From my perspective this could be dangerous, but I of course threw caution to the wind and pushed up close with everyone else. Fortunately, I made it out alive and to my knowledge there were no casualties. In regards to tradition if you are really in the parade spirit you either wear a mask, where a costume or if you are really in the spirit wear both. It is also custom for children and adults alike to throw confetti and shoot silly string at the floats, people marching in the parade, each other and anyone in sight. I think I will be finding confetti in my room for weeks to come. This tradition of course was quite entertaining to watch, but not always fun being at the receiving end. The carnival ended up being quite an experience, one that I will probably consider taking part in again! More Pictures

Steph after being hit with confetti and silly string

Rocking our masks!

A gift from home!

Going back in time to 2 Sundays ago, my first full day in France, it snowed in Cannes for the first time in 15years (I have also been told 10years, but I’m going to go with 15 cause it sounds more dramatic). At the sight of this I was completely heartbroken because I left Pennsylvania in search of a warmer climate and NO SNOW! Fortunately that day it quickly melted and by mid-afternoon it appeared as if it never happened. However, Mother Nature was not finished playing tricks on the sunny coastal town.

After receiving news and pictures from home of the 2010 blizzard for days, many of us students were being thankful (and maybe bragging) that instead of suffering the storm we were on the beach in the South of France. Of course this did not please Mother Nature and she felt that we needed a little bit of home. So while in class this morning students and teachers watched out the window as the courtyard turned white. Receiving about 2 inches of the white, fluffy stuff. I have to say a snow covered palm tree is very bizarre! If you believe in karma we probably got what we deserved, but I am still perturbed that the snow (that hadn’t fallen in 15years) had to stop by while I am living here. C’est la vie!

Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze

Since my arrival abroad I think yesterday’s excursion trumps everything I have done so far.

Yesterday, my fellow AIFS travelers and I went on an excursion to visit the tiny Principality of Monaco. Monaco, which is the name of the country and the city (the only city), is located on the coast of the Mediterranean about an hour drive from Cannes. The city is gorgeous and very quiet, which I guess is expected when you only have around 30,000 residents. The area surrounding the palace is made up of beautiful gardens, featuring both modern and classic sculptures, quaint shops and wonderful cliff side views of the sea. Upon our arrival in Monaco we made our way to Monaco Cathedral. From within the Cathedral’s brilliant ivory walls one could find stunning works of art and alters dedicated to various Saints such as Saint Nicholas. Monaco Cathedral also serves as the final resting place of the beautiful Princess Grace Kelly (who happened to be a Philadelphia native). From the Cathedral we traveled Monaco’s beautiful streets to get to the Palace. Having only ever pictured what the Palace may have looked like I was quite surprised by what stood before me. The Palace was very large but was very plain and resembled more of a fortress than a renaissance palace that would have been the more popular design at the time of its erection. Though nonetheless it was quite beautiful and made for a nice backdrop to take pictures. Along with walking the palace grounds we were entertained with the time old tradition of the changing of the guards. In comparison to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace the version featured at Monaco was a little anti-climatic, but made for an interesting show regardless. Following the changing of the guards we made our way to the Institut Oceanographique where we got to get up close and personal with Mediterranean marine life and learned more of the oceanic studies and travels of Prince Albert.

The Prince's Palace

The guards during the ceremony

After a lovely morning exploring Monaco’s Palace area we ventured onto the world famous Monte Carlo. Once at Monte Carlo we were given the opportunity to explore the main casino, Casino Monte Carlo. Once in the casino we were restricted to the area designated for slot machines because the facility charged 10euro to enter the table area. Feeling daring my roommate Steph and I decided to split 5euro and play a 20cent slot machine called Lobster Mania. Having no clue how to play we blindly pushed buttons and hoped for the best. Not to our surprise that resulted in us losing credits rapidly. With only 10 credits left we decided to go all in and hope for the best, at the very least we could tell people we gambled at The Monte Carlo. To our surprise........we WON! That final spin resulted in us winning a grand total of 200euro! I can’t even explain the rush of finding out we won; it was fantastic! Quickly after winning we acquired a crowd, so as not to be swept up in the moment and blow our big win we quickly cashed out and divided our winnings. Though much of our high came from winning some extra cash to fund our upcoming trip to Milan, I think an even greater part came from knowing that we could forever tell the story of how we won at The Monte Carlo.

The back of The Casino Monte Carlo where I won!

Me showing off my big win

Though the remainder of the trip, which was spent exploring Eze, was lovely it definitely failed in comparison to our exciting exploration of Monte Carlo. Eze is an amazing medieval village, next to Nice, that was built on the cliff side along the Mediterranean. The best part of Eze is the magnificent view you get from following the narrow cobblestone streets up to the exotic garden to finally reach the ruins at the top. From there you can see all along the coast, including the runway for the Nice airport that was about a 40 minute drive from there. It was breath taking! I actually became a little jealous of the people who lived there until I remembered how much my calves hurt from the climb. Eze definitely created a feeling of calm and serenity, which was a wonderful way to end our day.

Me taking in the view

The narrow streets of Eze

To see more pictures from my trip click here

Week 1

It has been officially one week since I have left the states to begin my adventures abroad. I cannot believe that it has only been one week since my arrival in Europe, I guess because it has been such a full week.

To recap, on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, along with my friend Erin from Pitt and my soon to be roommate, Stephanie we boarded British Airways to begin our journey from the Philadelphia Airport across the pond to London, England. The plane was rather comfortable and the staff was very kind and attentive, which made for a rather easy 7-hour flight. The only disturbance we experienced was caused by the lovely drunken Scotsman who sat in the row adjacent to us. Grounds Keeper Willie, as we playfully nicknamed him, spent a large portion of the trip telling us of the grounds he tends to for the Queen, his undying love for an American woman who lives in New Jersey and singing us love songs. Except for the sleep I lost as a result of his singing he provided me with continuous entertainment. Once arriving in Heathrow Airport Thursday morning, I met the rest of my fellow AIFS (my study abroad program) travelers for our program orientation and site seeing. Orientation was short and was soon followed by an intensive and quick exploration of the city of London, given we had only 2 days to do so. During my time in London I had the opportunity to explore the famous Harrods Department store, briefly visit Buckingham Palace, St. Pauls Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and of course Platform 9 ¾. London was a blast and I would have liked to have more time to see the sights but ultimately it reminded me of New York City only with British accents. (For More Pictures of London click here)

From London I continued onto Nice, France, Cannes’ neighboring city. The flight from London was a quick 2 hours and in Nice I was welcomed by sunshine, palms trees and the glistening Mediterranean Sea. After a short bus ride to Cannes, my final destination offered an identical welcoming. The small College International de Cannes, where I am studying for the next 4 months, is situated across the road from the beach, which makes for a very “serious” study environment. The college itself is situated about 15 minutes from town, which makes for a lovely walk a long the beach. The town is gorgeous and is considered the “Beverly Hills” of France. Along the Croisette you can find all your luxury designers such as Chanel as well as the Palais de Festival where the famous Cannes Film Festival is held. For more affordable French shopping one must venture away from the beach on la rue d’Antibes, where during this time of year one can find terrific sales or “soldes” as translated in French. As for my French I do not want to bore you, but for now I am getting by quite well. As a result of Cannes being a tourist destination many of the locals speak at least some English though I am studying hard so I may improve my French. For the first month I have 3 hours of French class a day and so far I believe I am doing quite well in the level that I was placed. Along with wonderful French professors to teach me, I live and attend school with some French students as well as many international students in which to practice with. (For More Pictures of Cannes click here)

La Croisette

View from my room :)

As for my first entry I apologize for the rant, this is probably the first free time I have gotten all week. From now on I hope to make time to update often so as to keep those who are interested updated on my travels. If you have any questions or suggestions on topics for me to cover I would greatly appreciate it and you can leave a comment or e-mail me at ras102@pitt.edu.

Au revoir for now!