Munich, Germany (Oktoberfest!)

Hallo meine freunde! (Hello my friends!) This post is going to detail my trip to Germany, where I celebrated Oktoberfest in the capitol, Munich! This is the second time that I have visited Munich, but I must say this experience was MUCH different from my last. I went to Munich with my family 7 years ago, and we did actually visit the Hofbrauhaus, but the main difference was it was the middle of summer, and I was 13 and not drinking any beer. Our trip was full of historical touring and sightseeing, and we were very immersed in the culture. This trip was a look into a different kind of German culture, which was admittedly a little more fun (who knew a college kid would love a country that's culture was beer and pretzels?!). Shocking, I know 😉

We arrived in Germany, and I immediately remembered the U bahn and S bahn system from when I came with my parents. The platforms were clean, the trains ran like clockwork, and the maps were easy to understand. Germany doesn't mess around when it comes to public transportation, and that was a huge relief! In Italy, things are pretty disorganized, and no schedule is accurate, so this was a welcome change. There was a stand at the main train station right after the airport that was selling dirndls and lederhosen, and I saw one that I really liked and bought it there. Oktoberfest was already going on, so when we were riding the subway we were surrounded by people dressed up and looking like they’d enjoyed a few beers already that day. This got my friends and I tremendously excited to arrive the next morning! That night, we went to Marienplatz, where the Glockenspiel is, and found a traditional German pub for dinner. This is where I indulged in my first German beer, and I knew I was in for a good weekend the moment I had my first sip. After a satisfying dinner, I went back to my Airbnb, where I was unfortunately staying by myself for the night until my friend arrived from France the next morning. I rented a bedroom in three-person apartment for the weekend, where the price was reasonable and the woman I rented it from had outstanding reviews. Her profile picture was of a cute young brunette with a golden retriever, so I figured she would be sweet and harmless. When I spoke with her about the booking, she had good English, and I figured everything was going to work out fine. I'm hoping you are picking up on the fact that I am including these seemingly pointless background details for a reason. I have written enough blogs about things not going according to plan that you should realize this is one of those times by now. I made it to the airbnb fine, but when I tried to ring the buzzer to be let in, no one answered. After ringing the buzzer multiple times and having no response, I decided to text the Airbnb lady to let her know that I was here, and needed to be let in. She did not answer, so I went back and checked the email she sent me with contact information, and I realized she gave me a phone number I could call. A woman picked up when I dialed, and let me know her husband was on his way down to let me in. I ended up sitting on this doorstep for twenty minutes after this phone call, and called two more times, and when the woman finally answered she angrily told me her husband was coming. Either this apartment building was 1,000 floors and the man decided to take the stairs, or they clearly just did not care to let me in. Either way, the door was eventually opened by the opposite of what I was expecting. I didn’t have a particular picture in mind of what this guy was going to look like, but when I picture the adorable golden retriever lady (who I assumed was the woman I spoke to on the phone minutes earlier), it is safe to say I did not picture her with who greeted (more or less grunted to be more accurate) me at the door. It was a man in his mid-forties with long greasy hair and an unshaven face. He led me up to the room, which, was not 1,000 floors up, only 3, to be clear. The woman that was there when we got inside was still not the woman I had made the booking with, and I was starting to wonder if I had been tricked. I put my bags down in my room, and immediately called my dad. I explained the situation to him, and he asked if I felt unsafe, which I did not. I was more just surprised, but these people did not seem dangerous whatsoever. I finished the phone call by saying, “I’m going to go take a shower, if I don’t call you back in 15 minutes presume I’m dead”. Obviously, this isn’t particularly funny to a father whose 20-year-old daughter is on another continent staying in a stranger’s home by herself, but I couldn’t help myself. Luckily my dad has a good sense of humor, and he knew that if I truly felt something was wrong in my gut I would not have stayed there.

I showered, (and didn’t get abducted/murdered… yippee!) and went right to bed, since I knew how early my day needed to start in the morning.

Everyone got up around 6 o’clock in the morning to get dressed in our dirndls, do our hair, and so on and so forth. It wasn’t too difficult to get up so bright and early, because we were all so excited to start the day! After getting off the subway at the Oktoberfest stop, we were immediately surrounded by masses of college students dressed in dirndls and lederhosen. People start lining up hours before the gates actually open, because it is critical to get a table inside the Hofbrauhaus tent. I waited in line with my PC friends, and had an unexpected reunion with my friend Phil, who literally flew from Providence to Germany just to go to Oktoberfest for the weekend. Shoutout to you Phil, best surprise ever, and you’re a champion for making the trip over. Okay, moving on. As we are all waiting in line, people are super excited and large group chants are going on, and the whole atmosphere is very lively. Once the clock finally hits 9 the gates are opened, and it is like the opening scene of the Hunger Games. Or any scene from The Purge. Everyone is running and pushing and there is some mild trampling going on, but it doesn’t even matter because your adrenaline is flowing and all you can think about is how nice it will be to have a table to rest your massive beer stein on. My friends and I were running with our arms linked so as not to lose each other, and we rounded the corner into the Hofbrauhaus tent. Girls were already laying spread-eagled on tables to claim them for their friends, and people were standing on top of benches to try and scout out if their fallen comrades were coming. I am not painting this picture of madness to be dramatic, this is exactly what was going on. The people who work the event were filming the whole thing, so I’m sure I am now featured somewhere on YouTube in a video titled, “Girls Gone Wild: American College Students at Oktoberfest”. Or you know, something along those lines, but probably catchier. You get my point!

My friends and I were able to snag a standing table, and the waitress immediately took our orders for beers. While we waited for her to return we bought massive pretzels to share, because reality hit that it was 9 a.m. and we were about to start drinking copious amounts of beer for the next 5-6 hours, so getting some breakfast in was critical. The waitress came back with the beers, and they were truly massive. These steins require two hands, (or maybe I am weak, you might have to consult someone of average strength on this one), but either way, I’m telling you, they were HUGE! Good news though, they were also delicious, and it wasn’t long before we were all ordering another round. The entire hall is lively, with a Bavarian band playing local German folk music on the main stage. Every so often the whole hall erupts in cheers and pounding on the table, because some brave soul stands up on a table and decides to chug the entire stein. This can result in being kicked out of the hall, but hey, no guts no glory! There were some really petite girls that I watched absolutely crush the stein, and it was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in my life. I think I loved Oktoberfest so much because it’s about eating food, drinking beer, and people watching. Another trend I noticed during the people watching was that a lot of men grew some impressive beards for this occasion. I’m talking yearlong commitment beards. It was very fitting for the setting though, and made them look all the more authentic. Moving through the tables and socializing with my friends was really cool, because every table had people from different parts of the world. I met people from all over Europe, all different states in the U.S., and even some people from South America. All in all, this was one of the coolest days of my life so far, and a memory I will never forget. I think everyone should add Oktoberfest to their bucket list, because it is truly a one of a kind experience!

**Some picture credit goes to Victoria Cicinelli, who had amazing photos from the trip!**

Cooking Class!

Florence University of the Arts (my school here in Italy) offered a free cooking class for their students, and I just wanted to share some photos and recipes with you all from this experience! The entire class was so fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed such an authentic Italian experience. Anyone who knows me well knows cooking is my true passion, so this was just the event for me! The recipes for the homemade pasta and sauce, chicken cacciatore, and cake are listed below.😊

Tagliatelle al Pomodoro

Ingredients: (serves 4)

-200 gr semolina (durum wheat flour)

-2 eggs

-2 gr salt

Directions: Arrange the flour in a mold on a flat surface, creating a crater in the middle. Break the eggs in the middle and sprinkle with salt. Mix them together rigorously until you obtain a smooth texture. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes, wrapped in plastic film. Then, roll the pasta dough and cut it through the pasta machine to form tagliatelle. Optionally, stretch it out using a rolling pin. Sprinkle the layer surface with flour and roll it up in a spiral. Cut the spiral using a knife into strips, trying to make them as uniform in length and width as possible. Unwind them, and keep them separated and floured to prevent them from sticking together.

Salsa di Pomodoro
Ingredients:
-2 lb ripe tomatoes
-3 garlic gloves
-1.5 oz extra virgin olive oil
-4 fresh basil leaves
-salt to taste

Directions: Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Put them in cold water to stop the cooking. Peel them, cut in wedges, remove the seeds and puree them. In a saucepan, sauté the garlic cloves in oil until golden. Add the pureed tomatoes, salt, and cook for about ten minutes, depending on variety and ripeness. Add the basil at the end of cooking, off from the heat.

Pollo alla Cacciatora
Ingredients: (serves 4)
-1 medium size chicken
-17 oz pureed tomatoes
-1/2 cup dry red wine
-1 big red sliced red onion
-2 crushed cloves of garlic
-1/3 fennel seeds
-4 oz black olives
-2 oz extra virgin olive oil
-freshly ground black pepper and salt

Directions: Wash and clean the chicken and cut it up into little pieces. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and gently cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and fennel seeds. Add the chicken and brown it. Pour in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add the tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook, covered, on low heat for about 1/2 hour, then add the olives. Cook for 20 minutes further. Serve immediately.

Schiacciata alla Fiorentina
Ingredients: (serves 8-10)
-4 1/2 oz sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup milk
-3 oz flour
-2 tbsp baking powder
-grated zest of 1 orange
-4 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp orange juice

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Beat the eggs and the sugar until they turn white and form a ribbon. Add the olive oil. Mix well. Sift the baking powder with the flour. Alternate adding flour, milk, orange zest, and orange juice. Mix well. Pour into a rectangular pan (greased) and place in the oven, and bake at 350℉ for 30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out dry).

My First Visitor (London comes to Italy)

Ciao! Finally, I am able to tell about my first visitor here in Florence, none other than Lee Jarrold! I am so thankful and lucky to have a friend over here in Europe to visit me and make me feel a little more at home! Seeing a familiar face makes a huge difference when being so far away from most friends and family, and I cannot thank Lee enough for coming!
We began Lee's time here by simply doing a walking tour around Florence, visiting Piazza della Signoria, which is full of outdoor sculptures, Santa Croce, and also walking along the Ponte Vecchio. The main event of the night was that I took Lee out to dinner with all of my friends here abroad, and we picked a restaurant that supposedly had free wine for study abroad students. Well, it turns out the rumor was true, and the restaurant continuously poured FREE WINE for the 13 of us at the table. Dreams really do come true people 🍷. I am willing to admit that the food was okay, not necessarily award winning, but I repeat... FREE WINE! (Don't worry, I took Lee out for good meals later in the weekend). After dinner, my friends and I took Lee to La Carraia, our favorite gelateria. This was Lee and I's second gelato of the day, and trust me when I say we have no regrets. After gelato, we wandered back to our side of the river to show Lee our favorite bars. While some girls went back to their apartments to get changed, I took Lee to a popular bar for study abroad students that has a custom shot for every American university. So, naturally, I ordered Lee and myself the Providence College shot. This bar has an entire ceiling covered in tshirts of every college, and each shirt is filled with layers of signatures of study abroad students. We spent time looking for the PC shirt, but to no avail. Once our friends were finished getting ready, we went to the bar that is across the street from my apartment, the Red Garter. This is a karaoke bar, and my favorite place to go on the weekends. One half is simply the bar side with dance/club music playing and people standing all squished together, and the other half has wooden tables and benches with rafter seating, all in view of a small stage for the karaoke performers. Most people are terrible, but some are amazing, (shoutout to my friend Molly Powers who always ends her performances with a standing ovation). All night long Lee and I kept joking that someone needed to sing the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis, and eventually my friends and I convinced Lee he should go up and do it himself! With the help of some encouragement from my friends and I, the promise of Molly singing with him, and a little bit of liquid courage, he did it!! It was amazing and hilarious and the crowd was very into it; the whole place was belting it out right along with Lee and Molly. And now, Lee can say he sang at the Red Garter, a signature stop on the Julia Miller Florence Tour.
The next day, the weather was great, so Lee and I decided to take a hike through the Tuscan countryside together. The views were absolutely stunning, and it was great to get some fresh air and out of the city for awhile. The hike ended with the beautiful Castello Vincigliata, which Lee and I did not at the time know was private property...oops! Once we made it to the entrance of the castle at the end of the hike, we realized that people looked to be setting up for a wedding. A woman who saw us peeking in the door told us we could come inside if we were quick, but that the wedding started in an hour. Lee and I couldn't help ourselves, and after walking around the courtyard we decided to try and sneak past the people setting up the dining room for the wedding to get to the stairs that led to the top of the castle. We made it past them discreetly, and were able to look out at the most beautiful view of Florence I had seen yet. We ended up overstaying our welcome a bit, and when we finally realized how long we had stayed and headed downstairs, we were caught by one of the wedding planners. He began yelling at us in rapid Italian, so we just hustled past him right out the door and left. Now, I can check wedding crashing off my bucket list! As we made our way back down the hike, the actual vans filled with the bridal party and guests drove past, and we realized how truly close we were to legitimately crashing a wedding. All's well that ends well though, and now we have a memorable story to tell.
The last day that Lee was here we climbed to the top of the bell tower, which is right next to the Duomo. Initially we were going to go to the top of the dome, but it was sold out, so we bought tickets to do the bell tower instead. This ended up being fine, because by doing the bell tower we were able to get a gorgeous eye level view of the Duomo, and a look over the city of Florence. The stairs were exhausting, steep, and narrow, but the view was completely worth it. Also, on a mostly unrelated note, I completely understand why Italians can eat pasta and pizza and gelato while remaining rail thin... are you not connecting the dots by now how much walking and stair climbing goes on around here?! Lee and I checked our steps at the end of every day and it was always almost in the 20,000s! It works for me just fine though, because you better believe my answer is always yes when it comes to Italian food. Speaking of food, to end Lee's trip, we went out to a great dinner right next to the Duomo. A man sat near the restaurant playing violin the whole time, and it was an awesome way to end what was an amazing weekend. Now, I just owe Lee a trip over to London!  

Positano

Ciao everyone! I am happy that I get to write the fun post to go along with this weekend now, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much I have enjoyed remembering it while writing this!
For this trip I was with a guided tour,  so on that Friday morning they loaded us all on the bus and drove from our hostel to Positano. The views getting there were amazing, and we all knew we were in for a treat. The bus was barely squeezing through the winding roads, and it felt like we were teetering on the edge of a cliff the entire time. Positano bus drivers, I do not want your job! Once the bus ride was over, we walked down to the beach section, and the view was just as amazing from down there as it was from up above. The houses go up and up the face of the cliffs, in a terraced, pyramid type shape. My friends and I immediately went to one of the stands set up for booking boat rides, because we had heard from friends who had visited last week that it was a very fun activity and a good way to see the coast from the water. We were able to book a small dingy type boat for 7 people, and it included a 2 hour trip around the coast, with stops along the way for swimming in caves, cliff jumping, and beautiful views. For the cliff jumping, we just swam out on to whatever shore was closest, and walked up the sides of the terrain until we were as high as we liked. In a very uncharacteristic move, perhaps due to the delirium caused by my fever (refer to Trip Fail post), I was the first one of the group to take the plunge! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and felt pretty brave, until of course when back on the boat the elderly captain let me know he was disappointed and has jumped from double the height. The good news is, I was still on such an adrenaline high of being in such a picturesque place jumping into clear blue water that my experience was not soured by an unimpressed old boat driver. There were also two stops where we were able to jump into the water, and swim into the sides of the cliffs where there were caves carved out. The way that the light comes in to the gives and reflects off the bottom of the ocean floor made the water an intense, glowing shade of blue, and swimming through it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. While we were swimming inside one of the bigger caves, where we were completely alone and looking up at the enormous cavern above us, listening to the sound of the waves lapping against the walls, we couldn't help but be awestruck that this is what our lives are like right now. While most PC students are at school going to the library and maybe enjoying a day trip to Boston or Newport, I was swimming in a cave off the coast of Italy. It was in that moment that all of us realized how monumental what we were getting to do was. Studying abroad has plenty of hardships that come with being in a foreign country away from friends and family, but I will never regret my decision to come here. What I live every day is truly a once in a lifetime experience, and I work not to take that for granted. None of this experience felt real, and it really is amazing to see what natural beauty the world has to offer.
 After the boat ride, we went to a stand that sells granita, which is an icy slush that is typically a flavored with fruit. I had a lemon granita, and it was so refreshing after being in the sun all day. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach and soaking up the sun, and were all exhausted by the time we boarded the buses that afternoon. I may have missed the following trips to Capri and Pompeii due to being sick, but the experiences I had in Positano have given me plenty of memories to look back on.