crepes, some great art, falaffel, dutch pancakes, canals...

So many AMAZING things about this spring break! I could go on and on and on....but i will hit the highlights to accompany some of these pictures! :)
First was Paris...
We went to the Louvre twice! Especially because I am taking an art history class here, I have a huge appreciation for the pre-Renaissance and Renaissance art. So cool! Mona is kinda cool, too :)
Also Musee D'orsay (spelling??) which has a huge collection of very famous pieces from Van Gogh and lots of Impressionist pieces, statues...
We spent a lot of time in the Moray (??) district which is the Jewish quarter--the best restaurants and shops. I atae my first falaffel sandwich! It was soo yummy! it was apparently from the most famous falaffel in the world! we also went to some fun restaurants there..one with an Asian flair which was very interesting. We also of course went to the Champs-Elysee and Arc de Triumph, and on one of the nights we grabbed food to go and ate it under the Eiffel Tower! We got there in perfect timing because it lights up every hour on the hour for about 5 minutes...so beautiful! Also, even though I have been eating ALL Italian food, which is HEAVEN, it was pretty nice to have a huge stack of chocolate chip pancakes. We went to this place on the Rue di Rivoli called "An American Breakfast" which had chocolate chip pancakes, fried eggs, and watered down, good ol' American coffee (with free refills which is such an American thing)! it tasted so good! We also had time to walk around Montmarte area and Sacre Coure, and also through Ile San Louis which is a cute little island behind the little island Notre Dame is on. Oh and duh--Notre Dame as well! We ended up wakling by there quite a bit and got to go inside. Also we definitely all had our share of crepes with Nutella! :) it wouldn't be Paris without it! And my FAVORITE afternoon of all Paris afternoons was when I got to do a little picnic in the park with ALEXINE!!! She didn't have class till late on Tuesday so she met me in the city and we got wine, a baguette, and cheese, and sat in a park looking at Notre Dame! We went to this fabulous cheese shop where we found heart-shaped chevre cheese (which is just aged goat cheese) and also a sliver of brie--we had to get brie in France! It was so fun to catch up with her and chat, like we would if we saw each other every day...it was so nice :) It is so amazing to see such an amazing, close, and old friend in Europe! really a cool experience..i feel so fortunate to be able to do that. Miss you already love!! but i think she is coming to visit me over Easter weekend so i cannot WAIT for that!!!
speaking of other great friends...i stayed with ALLISON Long in AMSTERDAM! Note to all of you reading this...Allison should be recognized for her incredibely generous and accommodating hostess ability. During your stay, you will be pampered by Allison's mad skills in the kitchen, wine-bottle opening skills, picture-taking abilities, and itinerary-planning that should be published! (forget Rick Steves--all you need to see Amsterdam in 4 days is Allison Long! there is a future there...) When I got there on Wednesday, she had this entire list of things to do while we were together! And amizingly, we got almost all of them done! While Allison was in class Thursday, I went to the Anne Frank house, Van Gogh Museum, and just wandered around the cuty enjoying the beautiful canals and buildings. The first night we went to a T-Pain concert--yes TPAIN--ha soo fun! We also got to go to two different open-air markets which are some of my favorite things to do in cities--that is where we had the amazing Stroopwaffel and wonderful dried fruit and pesto cheese. Yes. Then we also on Friday, had the whole day open and went to the Reiks Museum, got French fries from a store that ONLY sells fries to go on Dam Street (I forget the Dutch?) ha Then on Saturday--after missing one train, and getting two more, then missing a bus, then getting the right one, then walking a bit--we arrived at the former palace of the royal family in another part of the Netherlands! it was so beautiful...and also very fun to see another part of the country. the countryside is so beautiful...and the people are so nice!
SO...I hope you can see that spring break was packed full of fun, cultural, and relaxing moments--filled with new friends and old friends (Alexine and Allison :) ... and it could not have been more perfect!

Amsterdam with Allison!!!

The Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. This was incredible to see. I only had to wait about 10 minutes in the line, while I had heard to prepare to wait for hours. So I got very lucky! It was very moving the way it was set up...some quotes from her diary were on the walls...she had incredible insight for a girl of 14 years old. It was amazing to actually go through the bookcase that she went through to go up to the "annex". It was a very memorable experience especially after reading her diary years ago.
i thought this building was awesome! just one of many on a main street....
love the shutters on this one...there are several buildings like this. I really felt as I walked around the city that is was so beautiful it almost didn't feel real. I loved it that way though! Such a beuatiful and colorful city.
Allison and I near Dam square...the main square in the city. So fun! :)
A beautiful canal. I loved the canals because I never saw a modern boat--they all looked so antique. And they made the city feel so fresh and open--and I miss the water so it was nice to be near that, too! :)
Loved the architecture on these buildings--especially the red one!
If you look closely...I am in the "M"!
Allison and me on near a canal! The canals are SO beautiful in this city. I really felt like everything was not real, it was so beautiful and colorful. I LOVED this city! And Allison was the MOST amazing hostess! We cooked dinner two out of the four nights and went to an AMAZING Thai food place and another pub with really good hamburgers and fries. Oh my gosh...another amazing dessert--the Stroopwaffel--basically it is two very thin waffles with a thin layer of caramel in the middle...amazing! We got one at an open air market called "Dappermark" which also had the best dried fruit I have ever had. At that same market, we also bought some pesto cheese--the guy explained to us that it was a type of cheese that was mixed with pesto sauce and stored for 6 months before being sold. We had it for lunch on sandwiches the next day! We actually went to two open air markets which were SO beautiful and fun to stroll around in.
Beautiful buildings....I loved how they were all so different and colorful

even more!!!

more....

One of my favorite memories of Spring break... :) Alexine and I got to have a little picnic in a park directly across from Notre Dame! We found heart shaped "chevre" cheese (which is aged goat cheese...my FAV) and a little sliver of brie, a baguette, and a bottle of lovely wine! We got to catch up and hang out...it was SO AMAZING to see her! A perfect afternoon!
The Britannique!
on Monday night, my friends and I got dinner and sat under the Eiffel Tower. Every hour on the hour it sparkles for about 5 minutes so I caught that moment! :) Laura and I missed Italian food so much, we actually got pizza and ate it under the Eiffel Tower! so yummy....
This wall is by Montmarte in Paris. It says "I love you" in every language. It is soo beautiful. It reminds us that the world is so small...LOVE :)
A view on the way up to Montmarte....so beautiful!

more paris....

I thought this statue was AWESOME. On my life list: go to Easter Island and see these huge faces in real life! Can you see the resemblance? ha
I thought this was so cute and they were all over the city... "Marley and Moi" :)
Laura and me in the most famous bookstore in Paris...It is the Shakespeare bookshop. A lot of famous writers frequented this place...it was cute :)
umm...thats the Eiffel Tower! :)
Beautiful picture from the Louvre courtyard!

PARIS and AMSTERDAM!

Notre Dame!
Angelina's: This little cafe is right by the Louvre and supposedly has the BEST hot chocolate in the city. It is good...but not necessarily worth the 7 Euro! But its really fun to people watch there!
Katharine, me, and Laura in front of Notre Dame.
Beautiful Paris! This is the Rue di Rivoli...a main street in the city. It parallels the Siene. This was taken right after we ate at this place called "An American Breakfast" where we had fried eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, and lovely watered-down "american" coffee :) it was fabulous!
Laura and I outside of our cute hotel window in Paris! We had out own balcony!

BEST SPRING BREAK EVER!!! I just got back from Paris and Amsterdam on Sunday and let me tell you...it was the most amazing 10 days! I could go on and on about all my adventures but i think i will tell you through pictures....there are soo many so get ready!!!

spring break in 2 days... :)

Midterms! yay! so this is why i haven't updated in a while...and our internet has been bad :( but just two more left tomorrow, then off to my internship, then dinner with nonna, then i leave for PARIS on friday! I REALLY hope i get to see Alexine there! she is staying outside the city so i hope i get to see her! then amsterdam the next wednesday where i am staying with allison long! ah so excited for this week! almost there! i can't believe its almost spring break...its going by wayy too quickly.

A little update...last Friday i went to dinner at Kelly Nelson's apartment with her and her roomies which was SO fun! we had Kelly's LOVELY baked ziti and drank wine and it was so fun! and i am planning on meeting them all in Monaco a couple weekends after spring break so that will be amazing! Then on Saturday my friend Kelsey Conklin visited and it was SOOO good to see her! she is studying in Rome and we went to a place called Kitsch on Saturday. It is in a very Italian area and it is a bar that serves "aperativi" from about 7 to 10 at night...basically what it is, is you buy a drink (usually for about 7 or 8 Euro) then you can have all you can eat at the buffet! this was the first aperativi place i have been to but apparently it is the BEST. literally the food was amazing--pasta, couscus, veggies, fried stuff, dessert, and the BEST fruit drink i have ever had! literally...the BEST deal in Florence! and it was a good study break with Kels! :)

so the weekend was great...have a couple more tests to study for and then off to spring break where i will come back with tons of fun stories and pictures! :) Ciao! (or should i say, "au revoir"!) :)

Also...I want to say happy, happy birthday to all the people who have had birthdays since i have been gone and i SO wish i could have been there to celebrate!!! Happy Birthday to...Teeny, Rach, Amy, and Tay...and soon to come Julie and Jenny!!! I love you ALL so much and we are celebrating this summer!! xoxo