palm trees make everything better

Especially coming from a place that resembles Syracuse in its weather. Now I love Paris obviously, but it isn't exactly a tropical vacation spot, so Rome was a wonderful November weekend away. And there are more reasons than just the palm trees and 75 degree days with cloudless skies.

Rome was probably my favorite destination outside of Paris yet. Although I hate to say this (I hate to feel it even more), but being in Europe has kind of desensitized me a little to the amazingness of some of these experiences; I'll admit, I wasn't freaking out about the fact that I was spending the weekend in Rome, like I probably would have a couple months ago. Heck, I see the Eiffel Tower almost every day and walk under the shadow of Notre Dame about as often as I eat bread, which if you know me, is frequently. But I was awed by Rome, the way I was first awed by Paris when I came in September. However, Rome unfortunately is a city that lives in the massive shadow of its past, leaving the present with not much to its own name.

We had three days to wander around this city, and we had more than enough to keep us busy. One of the first things I noticed that is starkly different from Paris is the everyday coffee shop. In Paris, if you want a good cup of coffee, you go to a café or a brasserie, sit down with a friend or two, and spend an hour and a half drinking and chatting. In Rome, you go up to a bar, wave a receipt in the waiter's face, slam back the espresso and you're outta there. Kind of refreshing to be able to grab a coffee on the go, but at the same time the French version has its merits. Yet another difference I remarked is that the main part of Rome is pretty small. To my friends that are studying there, a 15 minute walk is long. The fact that I could hit all the major sights walking around for about 3 hours blew me away, coming from a city where a 40 minute metro ride is common. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not complaining, it made being a tourist that much easier.

Some of the obvious features of Rome: the many piazzas and their ornate fountains, the beautiful churches and greco-roman architecture, the ancient ruins, and the little cobblestone streets with tiny restaurants at every corner. I ate well, to say the least (including gelato at least twice a day. And they certainly are generous with their portions). In between the eating, we went inside some of the most magnificent churches I've ever seen, even in France. Another striking difference: I saw one gothic church in all of my wandering around Rome. These buildings did not look like what I would think of as a church from the outside, but the insides were the most intricately worked pieces of art, with gold everywhere, grand columns, and stunning grandeur. These churches were on a scale that rivals the gigantic naves of Notre Dame and other gothic cathedrals, but in a way I never would have imagined. Above all, there was St. Peter's Basilica, the most extensive display of embellished architecture and general artistic power. Which brings me to the other reason you go to the Vatican: the Sistine Chapel. Dark and quiet, this moderately sized room on first inspection seems no different from the many other rooms with mural paintings covering the walls (the Raphael rooms), but one closer look and you find yourself breathless. In order to share with you my experience, at great personal risk I took this picture of the ceiling, despite the signs saying no photos allowed (great, great personal risk).

Although the many churches were almost (almost) enough to make me want to convert to Catholicism, I'd have to say my favorite part of the trip to Rome were the ancient ruins. It blows my mind that these two histories could live (and still do) side by side in the culture that makes up Rome as it is today. They seem vastly different and even contradictory, yet they make up the legacy of the same city, reflecting a tumultuous and also often contradictory evolution of humanity itself (sorry, I just can't help it). The Colosseum is clearly a mind-blowing testament to an ancient time and people that remain enigmatic, yet equally memorable are the ruins in the Roman Forum, where the main part of ancient Rome once stood. The stones, columns standing alone without walls to support, and bereft shells of arches and buildings were haunting but at the same time inspiring. As obsessed with ancient Greek and Roman history/mythology that I am, I could hardly imagine the characters I've read and thought about so much living and breathing and touching this Earth. To walk among the ruins is really a humbling experience; I could not help but wonder what sort of remains we are going to leave on this earth for people to find thousands of years after.

Travels: Barcelona and Dublin

Sorry this has been a while coming, but I figure that means I am out living life instead of sitting at a computer all day every day just writing about it.

So Barcelona being my first trip out of France, it was definitely an eye-opening experience. It seemed to me like a giant tropical party compared to Paris. Although I loved visiting, it was funny to me that after a while I felt a little "homesick" for Paris (and for a language that I could understand). It was a beautiful, beautiful city, and I would say this whether there were palm trees there or not (palm trees do make things soo much better). I saw a lot of the greener aspects of the city, including Park Guell, which as a breathtaking view of the city nestled in these mountains overlooking the Mediterranean. At night, we walked along the beach next to all the clubs that attract many of the American students "studying" here (not Abby, of course). Aside from that major difference, the rest of the city was an interesting contrast to Paris, being a lot smaller and for the most part a lot newer. I had a wonderful tour guide give me the history of the older, almost claustrophobic parts of the city, which date back to the ancient Roman Empire. Apparently the Catalans were walled in by the Romans, and so couldn't expand their city for centuries. Finally, only about 200 years ago they were allowed to build outside the wall. As a result, most of the architecture is art-nouveau, aka really recent. It is kind of cool to say that I was in Barcelona during (and that I witnessed) the building of the massive cathedral Sagrada Familia (which looks a lot like a drip castle, I have to admit). I do think Gaudi must have taken a page out of Dr. Seuss's book for some of his buildings.

I was excited to go to Dublin not only because I am largely Irish but because I wanted some more stamps in my passport (everything else is in the stupid Schengen region). Dublin again was a refreshing contrast to what I've grown accustomed to in Paris: smaller, like Barcelona, but it seemed to me a lot less European. Grafton Street (the most famous tourist stretch) was just as I'd imagined / heard it would be, cute, cobblestones, little shops and bars. Temple Bar was also a picturesque Irish emblem, and I couldn't pass up trying a Guinness (very creamy, and not served warm). We also saw Trinity College, a beautiful little park that looked amazing with newly fallen leaves yet still green grass, and the Jameson Distillery. What I and all of my friends who had come with me from Paris were thrilled about especially was the fact that we could get a bagel toasted with cream cheese for breakfast! I hadn't thought much about missing bagels, with the whole "amazing baguettes/ bread" thing in Paris, but when I had one in Dublin I was reminded how much I love them. However, my favorite parts of the trip were when we took the train for a day to some of the areas on the coast just outside the city, including Dun Leary and Howth. If you picture quintessential Irish countryside with a cool, brisk breeze and cliffs overlooking stunningly blue, clear water, and then throw in a white horse or two randomly grazing in the hills, you've got it. It really takes your breath away, and reminds me why I sometimes feel a little stuffy in big cities. If there is one place I have to go back to in Europe, it is the countryside, especially in Ireland and France. But for now, I guess some famous thousands-of-years-old cities will have to do.