sabato 10 dicembre 2011

AMSTERDAM!

Hello! So i just got back from an amazing trip to Amsterdam. Also my first trip outside of Italy so far. I have to say though, I definitely underestimated the amount of money i would spend on food. You might laugh at this but honestly, I get tired of the food in Italy. While it is all very delicious, variety is far and few between the copious amounts of pasticcheria, caffe bars, and pizzerias. Holland has all types of food and they specialize in FRIED food! I basically went between asian food and pancakes and waffles each day and it was delicious! Pictures below to prove it.
On our first day we checked in to our hostel called The Flying Pig Uptown. This was my first hostel experience and it was actually very nice. It felt like summer camp because in the mornings we would go downstairs to this big living room and you just make your own breakfast and hang out.. there were christmas decorations and a house cat and it was really great to meet all of the people because they are from all over the world and they are there travelling around Europe or studying abroad. I've never had an experience quite like it.
One of the days we went to the Van Gogh museum where I had some sort of artistic epiphany. I was so fascinated to see Van Gogh's life and career from the beginning to the end and to see how he was inspired. A true pioneer he was!
My other favorite place was the Taschinski theater. It was built in the early 1920s in the Art Nouveau style which I love. Catherine and I saw "New Years Eve" in the most beautiful theater, in amsterdam, with lots of candy... it was a pretty amazing experience i would have to say.
Aside from the cold december weather, Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful and charming cities in the world and i hope to go back in the spring when all of the flower fields start to bloom.
Anyways, its good to be home again but I miss you all and enjoy the photos!



cute little houses lined up along the canal


Wok to Walk...mmmmmmmmmm

It was supposed to rain all week but instead, there was a 5 minute blizzard and no rain the rest of the trip

Waffle with chocolate sauce. so good!


this was in front of the hostel


Van Gogh Museum

a park i can't pronounce the name of


swans in the red light district. Apparently they only hang out in this area of the canal.




bikes bikes! (their main mode of transportation)


This is the theater our movie played in. you can even get box seats like the opera!

its so cold but this waffle is so good!



this is the reality of the situation. 5 degrees celsius.




right out of a storybook


it just barely fits!




writing postcards!

domenica 4 dicembre 2011

A day in Venice



A few weekends ago my class took a trip to Venice for the Biennale art show. It takes place once every two years and to put it into perspective for you, I spent 8 hours walking through it and I probably only saw half of it. Part of it takes place in the Giardini and it is this massive garden where the world fairs used to take place so each country has its own building where an artist from that country does an exhibition. The other part is a beautiful walk through the canals in venice and all of the art is displayed in the old arsenal. This was my favorite area because there were giant airplane hangars covered in art by emerging artists from around the world. But one day is not enough. It was the most beautiful city i've ever seen so hopefully I will have a chance to go back. 
Enjoy!



Taxi!








 The other side of this is an ATM machine. It actually worked too!


 Playboy caters to all readers

 kaiya and Catherine







 glorified pomegranate



Duomo in Venice. Built in the 11th century!