A Ridiculous Thing I read Today in a Ridiculous Magazine...

I was reading a celebrity magazine and the magazine had an article about all the lavish gifts Angelina Jolie has given to Brad Pitt over the last several years.  My favorite?  The tree she had planted for him-the tree that cost over $18,000.00!

What tree costs over $18,000.00 to plant?

 

Also, they're building a house around it.  Talk about an epic tree house...

And It's FINALLY over...NATO Part II

Here are several more comments I have to make about the NATO Summit based on information I acquired from The Chicago Tribune.

1. Metra trains that ran under McCormick Place were re-routed and customers faced delays-but that's not why Metra customers were angry.  The real reason is that many Metra commuters were asked to abandon their coffee cups before boarding trains for security purposes.  THE INJUSTICE.  Chicagoans were supportive of the added safety measures but they had to draw the line somewhere. 

2. Protestors were told they could not stop outside of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home in Ravenswood, so they moved one block North. 
POOR RAHM EMAUNEL'S NEIGHBORS. 
Also, one of his neighbors was outside with his dog and was yelled at by a protestor and asked how he could live next to such a monster. 
POOR RAHM EMANUEL'S NEIGHBORS.
ALSO POOR RAHM EMANUEL'S NEIGHBOR'S BLACK LABRADOR RETRIEVER.  ( I hope all of that was gramatically correct...)

3. A group from the Occupy Movement in another state waited hours for a bus that Occupy Chicago was supposed to send.  It was supposed to take them somewhere they could stay during the summit.  The bus never came. 
SHOCKER.

4. And finally, once again, the Trib decided to be EXTRA helpful by defining basic terms/places for its readers.  This week the Trib decided to define Heathrow.  It's a pretty large international airport in London.  Thank you Chicago Tribune.

I swear I'm done.  The news and the media is done.  The NATO Summit is done.  Now we can go back to the real news!  I for one am eager to hear what the Kardashian girl decides to name her new baby. 

Until next time.
Sara

The NATO Summit

I’m secretly not so secretly excited for the NATO summit.  In the two weeks I have been home, I have heard more about this summit than anything else, and after taking a course that focused on the creation of NATO and various other international organizations my interest piqued even more.  Having read a few articles about the impending summit, I thought I’d share some fun facts and info with the readers of this blog.  (All of this information was obtained from Sunday’s Edition of the Chicago Tribune, because I read the Trib on Sundays with my cup of coffee.  Actually, two cups of coffee.)

1.      Apparently the G-8 summit and NATO summits were supposed to take place simultaneously in Chicago.  However, the G-8 summit was moved to Camp David. The leaders from the G-8 will join the NATO summit when it begins.  Why the change of plans?  The number of protesters expected for both was unprecedented.  Got to love democracy. 

2.      The Chicago Tribune reported 2,000-10,000 protesters.  Occupy is trying to round up 50,000.  Now, don’t get me wrong-I support Occupy.  I’m a member of the 99% and support exercising our constitutional rights! Let’s tell the government what we want!  Stick it to the man!  However, I also believe Occupy has no clear focus right now and is somewhat disorganized for what aims to be an organized movement.  So 50,000?  Really Occupy?

3.      The Trib also reported that a Catholic nun in Chicago is trying to organize a “family friendly” march on May 20^th.  My response to this-a family friendly march?  Really?  In Chicago?  During the NATO summit weekend?  Family-friendly protest? 

4.      Lawyers and law students will be wearing neon green hats this weekend (maybe I made that up-they might just be green) and will offer legal advice to protesters on the spot.  I love it. 

5.      The Tribune also took the time to define the term anarchist for its readers.  Thank you Chicago Tribune. 

6.      The Magnolia Bakery that opened on State Street is selling NATO cupcakes for three dollars apiece.  What constitutes a NATO cupcake?  See for yourselves:

 

Capitalizing on the NATO summit…genius.  I’m upset that I didn’t think of it first. 

Will I actually make it down there this weekend?  I’m not so sure.  It depends on whether I want to brave the 53A bus, the orange line, and then the Red line.  In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the hype and continue to comment on the coverage-the good and the bad.

Until next time.

Sara

London 2012-But this is NOT about the Olympics

Well, my friends.  Here we are.  Here is my long overdue and highly anticipated account of my weekend trip to London.  This time, however, I did not travel with one of my friends from the Rome Center.  For my final out of country trip during my semester abroad I decided to meet up with my older sister and we had an amazing weekend. 

I actually enjoy traveling places alone.  I took the Metro Line A all the way to the end where I caught an extremely cheap shuttle to Ciampino, all by myself.  (Only 1.20 in euro my friends!)  Then I flew on Ryanair for the first time EVER.  Now, let me tell you, if you’ve never flown on Ryanair before it is QUITE the experience.  I made a friend on the way to London and arrived well behind schedule.  At I was asked many detailed questions.  At first I wondered why and then I remembered-THE OLYMPICS ARE SOON.  OF COURSE THEY’RE TIGHTENING SECURITY IN THE GREAT U.K. SARA.   At any rate, after security I took a lovely shuttle to Golders Green and met the best older sister in the entire world at a semi-run down hotel!  But who cares?  I MADE IT TO LONDON.

We had three full days in London.  Andrea who had already been twice, humored me and went to all of the major sites all over again as well as a few new ones!  We also spent part of our Saturday in Oxford.  Here are a few fun notes and highlights of the trip. 

1.      Camden Lock Market

I was very set on going to the Portobello Road Market, but we did not make it to a market until Sunday and apparently Sunday is the one day that tourists are advised not to go there.  Instead, Andrea suggested that we hit up the Camden Lock Market and I am glad  we went.  Comparable to Lincoln Park in Chicago, Camden town was a trendy area of London.  The market had stalls and tables for several blocks (the better ones were further from the TUBE station).  We were both able to find some cheap and authentic gifts (for ourselves) there.  

2.      The Tate Modern

After a semester of Renaissance and Baroque art the Tate Modern was a wonderful breath of fresh air!

3.      The Rebuilt Globe Theatre

Since we were unable to see a show, Andrea and I went on a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theatre.  As a theatre major and Shakespeare nerd I could hardly contain my excitement.  Led by a snarky British man who kept making jokes about Americans, the tour was not too educational nor a waste of money.  AND Andrea correctly answered one of his pop quiz questions.  WAY TO GO ANDREA!  You made us look good…

4.      Covent Garden

Unaware of its existence until I came to London, this public area is filled with restaurants, musicians, shops, Londoners, etc.  We made this the location for our authentic tea and scones experience.  It was great.  

5.      Waterstones

I love to visit the public libraries in major cities of the U.S., and in Europe I like to visit the major bookstores in each major city.  Waterstones, while a chain, is awesome.  Five floors of overpriced books!  Overpriced?  Yes.  But so many books!

6.      CHOCOLATE

I spent a majority of the semester looking for the best chocolate.  I did not expect to find it in London.  That being said, I never made it to Belgium.   But I discovered that chocolate in the U.K. is made differently and is much sweeter.  A real Cadbury candy bar in London=perfection

Also, Smarties, the British answer to M&Ms, are out of this world. 

There is so much more to tell about my trip, but again, these are just some of the highlights.

Ultimate conclusion?

 I would live in London in a heartbeat if the USD to the GBP didn’t crush my soul. 

Until next time!

Sara

RED BULL TOTAL ZERO

My review is as follows:

ANTICLIMACTIC.  

Venice-The Sinking City

I had been very excited to travel to Venice.  As far as traveling in Rome I knew I wanted to see Florence and Venice.  Florence was one of my first trips and because the weather in Italy had been uncharacteristically atrocious for the first part of the semester, I waited and made Venice one of my last trips.  

                I will admit that I am a planner.  I love to make to-do lists, post-it notes are my friends, and I think I read more travel guide books this semester than half of my study abroad program combined.  So when I researched Venice I was surprised that there was not actually much “to do.”  After my day in Venice though I realized that that’s the beauty of Venice. 

                Many of my trips have been large group affairs, but I went to Venice with only one other person.  My friend Molly and I took the overnight train to Venice because that is what college kids on a budget do when they are studying abroad.  I was unable to get overnight train tickets coming back-but that’s a story for another day…  Anyway, unfortunately  poor Molly was very sick and I was a bit under the weather as well.  Both of us were on several intense Italian antibiotics that had been prescribed to us by a somewhat eccentric doctor.  (His name is Dr. Shoe if you translate it in Italian)  The train ride was a bit rough, but nevertheless, at 5:30 A.M. we arrived in Venice.  I know what you’re thinking-why 5:30 A.M.?  Well, I wanted to have enough time there because I was not spending the night.  Why?  Because hostels in Venice are PRICEY and I was a college student on a budget. 

                Two important things to note about Venice are that it is literally underwater and that there is not much of a population.  The bottoms of several buildings are underwater and we joked around that the city would soon become the next Atlantis.  (EXCEPT IT’S NOT A JOKE.)  Perhaps this is part of the reason why there is not much a population… In reality this is only a small part of the explanation.  Basically, Venice is a tourist city.  The people who live there run the tourist trade, so it does lack the authenticity and charm of many other Italian towns and cities. 

                When we arrived, Molly and I wandered the streets of Venice all by ourselves, save for one man who wanted a picture with us.  Clearly, we were looking quite lovely at five-thirty in the morning.  We watched the sun rise over the Rialto Bridge and wandered the empty streets and piazzas.  Later on when places opened for the day we went to St. Mark’s basilica, a music museum, and then proceeded to  get lost ALL day.  It is incredibly easy to get lost in Venice, but is also incredibly fun.  A map will not help you there.  Molly humored me and rode a traghetto, the cheap fifty euro cent alternative to the gondola!  (It literally takes you across the canal in a gondola.  The catch?  It only lasts thirty seconds.)  Molly and I ate some new Italian foods and tried the Bellini fresco, supposedly the famous drink of Venice.  This information was obtained from a peer of mine so I’m not sure how accurate it is, but it sounded accurate so I HAD to try it.  I then found out that it is actually served many places in Italy, but for the sake of this blog entry we will pretend it was an integral part of the Venice experience, because it was an integral part of my  Venice experience and probably (silly, I know) one of the best parts of the day. 

                At the end of the day Molly and I parted.  Venice had been one of the main reasons Molly wanted to study in Italy so she stayed the weekend and visited some of the surrounding islands.  I took the train back to Rome and slept for most of the journey.  The crazy Italian antibiotics were hard on me, and I don’t think the Italian train conductor had ever seen someone sprawled across the hard plastic chairs in such a manner.  I didn’t even  hear the screaming baby behind me until the last half hour of my journey.   Though, I did hear two American parents berating their child for drinking the tap water in Italy.  (Ridiculous)

All in all, the day was wonderful and I’m glad I was able to see the city before it literally disappears. 

Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Naples

I came to Rome to study abroad this semester, but what excited me most about my semester abroad was the opportunity to travel.  For the most part I travelled outside of Italy; however, one of the places I was excited to see in Italy was the ancient city of Pompeii.  My friends and I took an EXTREMELY early train to Naples.  Once we arrived we had to “caffeinate.”  (Always my favorite part of the day.)  Then we took a train and a bus to Mount Vesuvius.  We were driven part of the way up and then we spend the next hour climbing to the summit.  This was one of the best decisions I made all semester.  Long, hot, and somewhat steep it was definitely worth it.  The views were amazing and I had to follow my cardinal rule to climb to the top of everything everywhere-why not a mountain/still active volcano?  Afterwards we headed to the ruins of Pompeii.  Two of my friends split off and travelled to Herculaneum because the ruins there were more well preserved.  I can only imagine how well preserved they were, because the Pompeii ruins were very intact.  We saw old houses, gardens, theatres, etc.  My friend taught me that if you spill water onto the surfaces you can really enhance the colors of the ancient tiles and stones.  So word to the wise-if you go to Pompeii spill water on everything.  I’m serious now.  I know how often the average person just takes a weekend trip to Pompeii when they’re sitting at home reading my blog…

The site is massive and the two hours we ended up having there weren’t enough. But it was okay.  Why?  Well, afterwards we HAD to get pizza in Naples-the supposed birthplace of pizza.  One doesn’t actually have to venture out of the train station to catch the trains for the many sites, so when we did leave we were able to walk through Naples for a bit.  In all honesty, Naples was dirty and there was not a lot to see.  A few weeks beforehand there had been a garbage strike and the city is not the most exhilarating place to be.  That being said, I really didn’t spend much time there, this was just an initial impression,  But going back to the main point-THE PIZZA.  Hands down, this was the best pizza I had all semester.  FOR SEVEN EURO.  After pizza we took a late night train ride back to Rome, and all in all it was one of my best day trips this semester.