Where the Romans Choose to Eat

1. the first and most important thing i have learned is in order to find good food, you have to find the locals. wherever they are eating are usually the best places in town. not the ones jammed pack with tourists and study abroad students

2. my step dad was right…freshly grated cheese is the only way to go. no more of that packaged stuff

3. Italy is so much more relaxed than the states. no one is ever in a rush. this means that dinner could last hours because no only do you have to wait forever to get your food, your bill takes almost twice as long! (kind of a blessing in disguise though. it has forced me to slow down)

4. i always thought bread here would be amazing but actually bread here doesn’t taste that great. the reason for this is because Italian’s eat bread with their dinner and they don’t want it to take away from the flavors of the meal

4. a common rule here is to have a cappuccino in the morning and then any time after noon you are supposed to only order espresso

6. the easiest meal to prepare on your own…scrambled eggs. yup. all day, everyday.

7. the best gelato isn’t stacked high. if it is then it isn’t real because real gelato would melt and not be able to hold up. therefore, when you see gelato that is flat the container then you know you have found the good stuff

P.S. I Love Dublin

{ showing off the new scarf }

thursday: within minutes of arriving at the hostel we booked for the weekend we were already calling hotels to see if they had any last minute openings. the hostel was jam packed of visitors from all over (mainly intoxicated older men) and security didn’t seem to be on the hostels priority list. the girls i was staying with and i were all uncomfortable with not only the men sleeping in our room but also the fact that there was no place to lock up our belongings. in the end it worked out though because we found an opening at a boutique hostel that was near everything. since it was so last minute we ended up getting the pent house for a really good price (score!). by the time we had our living situation figured out we were starving. we went to O’Neills pub (recommended by our cab driver) to try some authentic Irish food. i got my childhood favorite dish, shepards pie! i might be coming back to Ireland just to eat it again.

friday: we woke up early to go take a day trip to the Cliffs of Howth. we decided against the Cliffs of Moher because it would have been an all day trip and we were pressed for time. Cliffs of Howth was just a 6 euro train ride away and only took about 30-40 minutes. when we got to the seaside town we started the 90 minute hike up the cliffs. once we reached the top we had an incredible view of the Irish ocean (and lots of wind to go along with it). at the top, the wind made it really cold so when we got back down to town we stopped at a restaurant to warm up and grab some food. i opted for the fish & chips because my waiter said the fish had been caught that morning (can you get much fresher than that??). and hands down…they were the best fish & chips i have ever had. from what i can remember, they were even better than the ones i had in Hawaii a few years ago. when we returned to Dublin we took a tour of the Guinness museum and got to see how the beer was made. the tour ended with a 360-degree view of the entire city and a glass of Guinness of course. it was a great way to end the day.

saturday: we started the day with breakfast at San Lorenzo’s. it was so delicious and i highly recommend it to anyone visiting Dublin. the rest of the day was spent hanging around Temple Bar area with all the other study abroad students who were celebrating St.Patricks day. since it wasn’t actually St.Patrick’s Day, there weren’t any locals celebrating the holiday with us. however, i was told that americans actually celebrate St.Patrick’s Day wayyy more than the Irish do. so weird?

{ the hostel that never was } { shepards pie-my childhood favorite } { Temple Bar } { the hallway at our hotel } { *insert nervous mom saying here* } { side streets in the city }{ Guinness Museum } { postin’ up }  { Temple Bar at night }{ avocado toast from San Lorenzo’s }

Barcelona

{ fresh fruit and juice from La Boqueria }

thursday: we landed in Barcelona around lunchtime and were starving so we decided to go to the most raved about brunch place, Brunch & Cake. Somehow we managed to find both Cup & Cake and Travel & Cake instead. we decided to just stay at Travel & Cake because we thought it was close enough (I later learned it’s not). afterwards we went to go pick up our festival tickets. the place we got them from was next to the beach so we headed down to a beach club called Carpe Diem. we spent the rest of the afternoon/early night there lounging on beds and drinking sangria (amazing!). when it came time for dinner we went to the best Mexican place called Rosa Negra. i have been craving Mexican food for months so this really hit the spot. later that night we went to Razzmatazz for the festival/concert thingy hah.

friday: instead of breakfast we decided to wait it out and get Bo De B for an early lunch. Bo De B is famous in Barcelona for really good sandwiches that are filled with a bunch of different stuff. our next destination was Las Ramblas. there was supposed to be street vendors there but that day there wasn’t any. thankfully, we still had La Boqueria market to look forward to. La Boqueria was full of fresh juices, fruits and candies (and meats but nobody got time for that). I got a strawberry coconut juice that i will definitely be trying to remake when i get home. as if we didn’t have enough sweets at the market, we went to the Happy Pills candy store. this was a cute little place where you filled up pink and white pill bottles full of candy. our last stop of the day was Park Güell. we explored the grounds before going to see the colorful benches. from the park we were able to see a lot of Barcelona, including my favorite..the ocean!!

saturday: we skipped breakfast again and instead got an early lunch at a typical Spanish restaurant. Colleen insisted on ordering paella (rice and veggie dish), pan con tomate (bread with mashed tomatoes on too), and potatos bravas (diced potatoes with mayo and a spicy red sauce). of all three dishes I have to say the potatos braves were very yummy. after lunch we headed to the beach to hang out with everyone from abroadfest. the whole day consisted of going back and forth from beach club to beach club (and the beach itself of course). after a long day at the clubs we ended it with dinner at Wok to Walk which was a really good stir-fry chain.

{ Travel & Cake } { lounging at Carpe Diem }{ La Boqueria Market } { strawberry coconut } { Park Güell }{ la paella }

It’s the Little Things

{ normally i would agree, except when wine is 2 euro }

this post is just a random assortment of pictures i have taken over the past few weeks 🙂
{ come home to this. love it } { nothing like seeing flowers in march when i would normally see snow}{ catching some rays as we wait for the Papal Blessing }

It’s the Little Things (Food Edition) 3.9.15

{ me and this little one meet again }

one of my favorite things about being abroad and traveling is finding all the great foods. i love when you finally find your favorite meal at the restaurant you have been going to for weeks. or when you try a new place out and realize its the best meal you have eaten in your life. the greatest finds, however, are the hole-in-the-wall places that you find by chance and can’t wait to show off to all your friends.

{ chicken salad from Insalata Ricca-AMAZE }{ meatballs for one please! @ Ditta Trinchetti} { eggplant parmigiana from Grazia e Graziella }{ the biggest donut ever from a street vendor }

Friends in Firenze

{ three girls and the Ponte Vecchio }

last weekend i took the train up to Florence for a second time this semester. i have to say this city never gets old.

thursday: after Paige and i got off the train we went to Lindsey’s apartment to drop off our stuff. from there we went to her parents hotel to pick them and her sister Kelly up before lunch. luckily for me, we went back to my favorite pizza place—Gusta! it is hands down my favorite place in Italy. once lunch was over we went to visit the Boboli gardens that were located just behind the Pitti Palace. the gardens were absolutely gorgeous and i later found out that no one outside of the Medici family (famous family in Florence) was even allowed access to them. after the gardens we walked the Ponte Vecchio and picked up some gelato at Venchi on the way. Lindsey, Paige and I made one last stop at the David on the way home. it was really cool! i have always heard so much about it so it was fun to actually be able to see it! Dinner was at Trattoria Gargani (not to be confused with La Cucina Del Garga—we accidentally went here instead). Gargani had amazing food and fun decor. i would highly recommend the cacio e pepe or the citrus pasta! oh..and don’t forget to order the cheesecake for desert (it is to die for!). having dinner with Lindsey’s parents was like getting a little slice of home. i am so grateful i was in Florence the same weekend they were.

friday: we started our day with breakfast at Lindsey’s parent’s hotel (think the yummiest croissants and fresh fruit). then we decided to hike to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the skyline of the city. although it was a slight struggle to reach the top, once we got there the views were spectacular. you could see the Duomo and a view of the entire city from the top. by the time we were done with the hike it was lunchtime so we stopped at a place called Osteria Santo Spirito. the bruschetta and tortellacci were the best things I have ever tasted in my life. i would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who plan on visiting Florence. afterwards, we walked around for a little after lunch before Paige and i had to catch our train back to Rome.

{ il Duomo!!! } { making the amazingness that is Gusta Pizza } { part of the Boboli Gardens } { ill take five } { crema gelato from Venchi } { views from Piazzale Michelangelo }{ David }

Buon Appetito!

i always thought i would have to leave all the amazing food in Rome when i returned home to the U.S., but thanks to Chef Andrea from Cooking Classes in Rome i no longer have to! i went to a cooking class of his the other day and learned so many new things. for instance he told us we shouldn’t be ordering anything with pesto right now because its not in season so its most likely coming from a jar (he said only americans order it in the winter…good to know since i’m trying to fit in as MUCH as possible here). also i learned how to hand make gnocchi which is awesome and i can’t wait to re-make it when i get home. all you do is mash potatoes and add some flour and then roll the dough into these strings the size of your finger. then you cut up the pieces and drop them in a pot of boiling water for like 30 seconds and voilà! you made yourself some gnocchi.

{ before the cooking began…loved all the fresh ingredients }{ hand rolling gnocchi } { where we got to eat our culinary masterpiece } { waiting anxiously… } { gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce & basil }{ chocolate & pear soufflé }

PRAHA

something that i had always been told about Prague was that the food was really bad. i don’t think those people have ever been there because they have so many great food places that i loved (not that I actually tried any authentic Czech place or anything…hi worlds pickiest eater). but i had GREAT breakfasts and brunches, pub food, street food and even some thai food. such a great city for food.

*side note: Czech people do not tend to like Americans because we are too loud. no joke. so in every restaurant we went to we had to be cautious of this.

thursday:
after arriving at our airbnb we decided to just hang out until dinner and catch up with my friend Amanda Martina who is studying there. for dinner we went to a thai place called Lemon Leaf. We ordered fried spring rolls, fried rice, pad thai, anndd of course prosecco. after dinner we went to an Ed Sheeran concert. the workers there weren’t strict so even though we bought nose-bleed seats we got to be on the floor (score). we spent most of the concert dancing with each other and the crazy lady next to us. this woman was throwing her limbs around and she did not care who was watching…even though her son CLEARLY did. haha. it was nearly impossible to leave the concert because every cab was taken so we had to use the public buses. i turned on an Ed Sheeran song on my phone just to play while we were driving and the whole bus erupted into song. it was hilarious because Czech people aren’t loud in the first place and secondly they don’t talk on public transportation. so our mini concert was pretty epic. we headed to Mosaic (hostel with a bar underneath) for a bit to meet up with more friends and then we made our way to Karlovy. Karlovy is this really cool club that is five stories tall and each floor is a different theme!

friday:
we started our day at Cafe Savoy for breakfast. i was super excited to finally be at a restaurant that serves breakfast because they are really hard to come by in Italy. which for me is an issue because i LOVE brunch. after brunch we walked around the city in search of the John Lennon Wall. it was cool to hear the history behind the wall and see all the graffiti that had been painted on it over the years. we were there for a while taking a billion pictures before we eventually made our way across the Charles Bridge to the Astronomical Clock. walking around Old Town was really cool. everything reminded me of a village and it was actually how i pictured all of Prague to be. but it is so much bigger than that. for dinner we went to a sushi place called Yami where I had the best teriyaki salmon of.my.life. that night we went to a club called Lucerna (after visiting Mosaic again). this was my FAVORITE club in Prague. they had these big screens everywhere that played 80s music videos the entire time. so fun to dance to.

saturday:
saturday started off my favorite way. with brunch! we went to a place called Radost fx. it doubles as a club at night and it is actually where Rihanna filmed her “Don’t Stop the Music” music video. since it was Valentine’s Day it was only fitting that Lindsey Wirht and i ordered the honeymooners meal. we’re talking waffles, eggs, potatoes, fruit, chai tea, and mimosas. our mission that day was to explore the Prague Castle. it was on the top of a huge hill so it was definitely a hike! but the views were worth it. the rest of the day we walked around Old Town And Wenceslas Square. we went shopping (sorry mom) and tried some street food. we got hot dogs served in a baguette and fried cheese in a bun. the fried cheese was basically just a big cheese curd. i’m surprised no one has brought this to Wisconsin yet…after a much need nap we went to dinner at The Pub. at each table there was a tap in the middle and there was a huge screen on the wall that showed all the tables tallies. the boys were really set on getting to first place and since each beer was only like a dollar that wasn’t really a problem. we started the night at our usual place, Mosaic. then we went to a club called Retro (I liked Lucerna better).

sunday:
before we headed to the airport we made one more last stop at Bohemian Bagels. bagels are also very hard to find in Italy which is becoming a problem.

 

{ a Valentine’s day balloon and Maleficent’s castle from Sleeping Beauty } { Trdelník } { “honeymooners” breakfast to start of Valentine’s Day }{ pretty buildings }{ view from Charles Bridge }{ John Lennon Wall }

 

It’s the Little Things 2.16.15

{ colosseum during the day } { hi. }{ big picture window } { panoramic views }{ fresh orange tree in the Roman Forum }

Tuscany, Florence, Rome 2.9.15

This weekend we decided to stay local since we were still pretty tired from the last two weekends of traveling. It was nice not having to pack a weekend bag for once!

friday: we took a morning train to Tuscany and did a wine tour in the Chianti region. We got to see the vineyards, the wine cellar and even wine from 1904! After the tour we got to sample lots and lots of wine.

saturday: we spent the day shopping in florence and spending way to much money….oops. for lunch we went to a pizza place called Gusta Pizza. omg. literally the best pizza I have had in Italy so far. I also got to see the Duomo for a little bit but I plan to climb it when I go back in a few weeks.

sunday: although we had a slow-moving morning, we managed to make it to the Jewish Ghetto and find the best tasting doughnut of my life. almost bought ten.

{ the Chianti region } { this wine bottle was calling to me } { eat. drink. love. } { friends do wine tasting } { found this wall in Florence covered in dollar bills }{ Gusta Pizza. omg. so doughy } { i think this was a doughnut? either way so yummy! }