One word: EuroChocolate

Yeah, that’s right, a festival that unifies all of Europe for the sole purpose of celebrating chocolate---sounds like a worthy cause if you ask me!

Crowds  of people charging the chocolate tents

It goes without saying that I have been obsessed with the idea of this chocolate festival since the first time it was mentioned. Obsessed. Thus, when Elisa* mentioned EuroChocolate as a possible group trip, I freaked the hell out.

Bright and early, Saturday morning, the Holy Cross crew boarded the train to Perugia: the location of Chocolate Fest and the birthplace of Baci, a famous Italian candy that consists of chocolate and hazelnuts. (Rather a bummer for us nut-allergy kids of the world.)  Anyhow, the city of Perugia is perched up in the rolling hills of Umbria, making it quite the picturesque locale for chocolate-lovers around the world to flock.

Though this looks incredibly fake, it is my actual photo of Perugia.

The chocolate festival itself is much how you would imagine it to be: stands upon stands of vendors selling chocolate everything.  We purchased Choco Cards which earned us a little chocolate treat from every vendor.  Quite a deal indeed.

What's up, Choco Cards?!?!

Unfortunately, as most of these things go, too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.  After suffocating myself in chocolate for a few hours, I put myself over the edge with a  “Chocolate Kebab.”  This is going to sound rather disgusting in its description, but bear with me... it looked like a great idea at the time.

Good, old Italian puns.
Pericoloso: dangerous
Goloso: delicious

L'Adair and I practicing for the chocolate-filled day to come.

True kebab is a nasty, Middle-Eastern fast-food that, for some odd reason, dominates all of Europe.  (Disclaimer: I would include a photo of it, but it would ruin your appetite and the beauty of this blog post dedicated to all things chocolatey and delicious.)  A kebab is a wrap of sorts filled with meat, onions, vegetables, lettuce, spicy sauce, creamy sauce, and oftentimes french fries.  It is bizarre. To me, the worst part is the fact that the meat is not only an absolutely unknown specimen, but it is also hanging from the ceiling and spinning in circles all day long.  The person making the wrap does so by shaving the meat off of this unknown animal. Um ew. Clearly, I am not a fan and will never eat one of these ungodly creations.

Things that I will eat: Chocolate kebab.  In this case, the chocolate is the meat of the sandwich.  (In my opinion, the chocolate should always be the meat of the sandwich!)  The bread is a thick, sweet pastry that is doused in fruit syrup and stuffed with chocolate shavings--here, the chocolate spins around and the server shaves the chocolate. Nom nom nom.

Ahhh! Chocolate Kebab! I'm devastated that I don't have a close-up photo.
Sadly, this is an un-google-able item.

After a few chocolate bars, a few chocolate candies, a cup of dark-hot chocolate,** a gelato, and this chocolate kebab, I decided that I would never eat another morsel of chocolate for the rest of my life.

Obviously, this lasted all of a few hours, until I was back in Florence and reunited with my divine supply of Reese’s cups, product of Colleen’s American care package.  Oh the life of a chocoholic...

*Elisa is our adorable, little Italian friend.  In reality, she is a super-cute, cool, Italian university student that we pretend is our friend.  Let’s ignore the fact that Holy Cross pays her to hang out with us.

**In Italy, hot chocolate (or cioccolato caldo) is code for hot, chocolate pudding.  It is nearly impossible to drink the heavenly concoction because of its super-thickness thus it is generally accompanied by a spoon.  At chocolate festival, they upped the game with a wafer cookie straw and a perfect dollop of whipped cream. Pure perfection.

Just a short stroll through London

Like every American girl, I’ve dreamt of visiting London since Amanda Bynes found her long-lost father, Lindsay Lohan found her long-lost mother, and Mary-Kate and Ashley met adorable Brits while winning that Model U.N. competition.

Thus, this past week, when I leapt across the English Channel and landed in the perfectly majestic city of London, England, I was instantly reborn as an incredibly peppy and excited, little girl once again.  Of course, the fact that I was traveling with none other than Lauren (my HC Florence friend), Audrey (my HC Galway friend), and Christine (my HC friend on fall break!) certainly magnified my excitement by 1 million percent.

Me, Lauren, Audrey, & Christine in London :)

Our trip did begin with a rocky start... 

-Lauren and I overestimating our free time until the train’s departure

-Lauren racing her zuper-cool, wheeled suitcase through Florence’s train station

-Me, downing the rest of my McDonald’s Coke while sprinting behind

-Both of us watching the final train to Pisa pulling out of the binario (New vocab word: binario means platform)

I am not sure how, but we did manage to arrive at Pisa’s Airport in time for take-off.  Granted, in order to do so, we rode a train from Florence to Lucca, a train from Lucca to Pisa, and a taxi from Pisa’s train station to its airport. Phewww. That’s what you get for buying cheap flights that don’t actually depart from Florence!

We spent all of Wednesday and Thursday hitting every touristy must-see imaginable--Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, you name it--and devouring any morsel of American food we came across--What’s up Starbucks and Chipotle?!  Let’s face it England, your food is nothing to write home about.

American food, you are amazing!

Fish N' Chips, ya' Gross.

How about a brief list of Trip Superlatives?

1. Easiest way to spend money: The Pound.  England, I’m just getting accustomed to the Euro.  Even after two months, sometimes I still forget it’s not the dollar (big mistake).  Why do you have to go on using a totally different currency? Better yet, a currency with an exchange rate of 1.6... ouch that hurts...

2. Best dressed: English School Children.  Straight out of a movie, every child in London is clad in matching, head-to-toe plaid, school uniforms.  Perfectly preppy and adorable.

It might be seen as potentially creepy that I snagged this shot on my own...

3. Most Athletic: Tottenham Hotspur.  Have you ever heard of them? Probably not.  Christine’s super-fan father booked us on a tour of the Hotspur stadium, White Hart Lane.  There, we accompanied a group of actual super-fans (middle-aged men and 10 year-old boys) on a 90-minute tour of the stadium.  We did learn some interesting and incredibly useful football facts, of course. Hilarious.

4. Greatest disappointment: The Queen’s guards at Buckingham Palace were locked behind gates.  I’m pretty certain that the Olsens and Amanda Bynes each had their turn at the guards... why not the Holy Cross crew?

5. Wildest goose chase: The hunt for Pandora charms.  My goal this year is to acquire a different Pandora charm for my charm bracelet from each place that I visit.  It was an absolute struggle to find a Pandora in London. Lauren was the best sport for trekking around the shopping district with me after I ambushed a saleswoman--wearing a Pandora bracelet--for the nearest location. 

New charm = happy ending

6. Most Likely to Succeed: Shakespeare.  Yes, we did make this trip an educational one by stopping to explore Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  Nana, I hope you are impressed.

7. Best ride:  The day-pass that we bought for the red, double-decker, tour bus was probably the greatest purchase made all week.  Pre-rain, we drove around on top, pointing like maniacs and giggling at the facts running through our headphones.  During the rain, we drove on the bottom and passed out--yes, we all literally fell asleep--to the dramatic British tunes playing between each stop. (Touristing is a tough business.)

I'm obviously a supporter of anything with Zac Efron's face on it.

Watch as my face gradually blows up as the week/my illness progresses. Real cute.

Peace out London; Hello Wizarding-World!

8. Nerdiest/Most exciting tourist stops: Anything Harry Potter.  We paced anxiously through London’s Kings Cross Station in search of Platform 9 3/4 (The Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9 3/4 in the Harry Potter book series in case you are unaware).  There were a few moments of utter desperation and upset when we passed 9 and 10 and found nothing.  However, a train station employee may have overheard our poor attempts at British accents slurring HP dialogue and led our pathetic souls in the right direction.  God bless you, Sir.

9. Most disappointing realization:  I cannot afford Harrod’s.  Everything about Harrod’s is so perfect and palatial...gold-trimmed staircases, painted ceilings, designer everything.  After a stop in the bakery section and a short glimpse at the cupcakes, I did make a Harrod’s purchase after all.  Albeit it wasn’t the one I wanted to make... 

One day, Pucci scarf, one day...

10. Worst London souvenir:  Sickness.  I’ve now been on my deathbed for about 4 days and am ready to absolutely explode.  It seems like the antibiotics are starting to work now though so I may be able to break free tomorrow!

End result of 3 pharmacy visits and a doctor's house call.  Sweet deal.

11. Best Welcome-Home surprise: A gift from Colleen Elizabeth.  Nothing could have made me happier than an American parcel with such perfect timing.

London really was an absolute blast!  Thanks for such an amazing time, friends <3

Bici and me

In high school, cold weather wasn’t that bad.  Cold weather meant snow which meant snow days which meant no school.  Cold weather was something that I, personally, only experienced in the freezing 30-second walk across the parking lot--from the heat and comfort of Black Beauty, the Jeep, to the heat (not guaranteed) and comfort (questionable) of good, old Danvers High.

For the past two years, I have found the winters at Holy Cross to be a bit less tolerable.  I cannot stand it when the lovely, granite, library steps are encased beneath chunky, wooden plates from October until April.  The walk from my dorm room in Mulledy to the classrooms in Stein--probably an 8-minute walk, mind you--pains me to think about, even now.

Ice-covered trees and slippery hills Brrrrrr...

Yes, I am a complainer.  However, I will be the first one to admit to you that I am not meant to live in Massachusetts.  I never have been.  It is a widely known fact that my fingers and toes turn bluish-white when the temperature drops below sixty-five.

About here you should assume that I’m going to jump into a nice song-and-dance-routine about Tuscany’s perfect climate--and how nice it will be not risking my life through slush and ice en route to class this year.  If that's what you are assuming, you are wrong...that's not where I’m going with this.  

Instead, I’d like to take a brief interlude to describe to you my gorgeous walk to school this year.  Here in Florence, I live in the Oltrarno district.  Oltrarno literally means "the other side of the river." (“Altro” translates to “other” and the “Arno” is the river.) Thus, as I walk to school, I see the river on my right and typical, Italian buildings on my left.  Since arriving, I have been going to school each day on foot.  At this time of year, the weather is still mostly sunny and the temperatures are in the seventies--making my thirty-minute jaunt to class delightful, to say the least.

My daily walk to school.  No, really.

Unfortunately, as picturesque as my walk may be, it certainly exceeds the walk from one side of Holy Cross’ tiny, hilled campus, to the other  Thus, herein lies my dilemma:  What happens when Italy’s weather takes a turn for the worse?  

No matter the number of wooly sweaters, pashmina scarves, and weatherproof jackets that I don, there is simply no way that I will survive the outside walk from point A to point B during the dreaded winter months. No way.

Transportation options in Florence:

A) Foot

B) Car

C) Moped scooter

D) Bus

E) Bicycle

As long as option (A) remains a thirty minute walk, it is simply not an option for this wimpy, study abroad student during the frigid, Florentine winter.  

Honestly, Girlfriend? You're 5-years-old.

Though I’m pretty sure my mom promised me a bubble-gum pink Smart Car, I’m still waiting on it.  As for the Moped, I’m seriously envious of all of the fourteen-year-olds bopping around town on them. (Yes, the driving age for mopeds is actually fourteen.)  They tote their helmets around under their arms in order to exude their super-coolness even when separated from their scooters.  It’s just not giusto/fair.  Draw a big, red “X” through transportation options (B) and (C).

 A lot of Florentines utilize the public bus system as their main means of transportation.  I’ve tried the bus and when I’m lazy I still take it despite the fact that it disappoints me each time...without fail. How do people use the bus-system daily? I honestly could not tell you.  Cross option (D) of my list, baby.  Meanwhile, allow me to throw a little shout-out to the MBTA:

Dearest Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority,

After a solid, four months together this summer, we’ve been through some rocky times.  In fact, there were many late nights and early mornings when I cursed your existence.  For example, that time you decided not to run because it was raining, that time you decided not to run because it was too hot, that time you decided not to run because you just didn’t feeling like running, etc.

Obviously you are far from perfect. However, I’d like to praise the few things you have working in your favor:

1. You allow people to enter and exit in whichever door they so choose
2. You have somewhat of a schedule that you tend to loosely follow
3. Your passengers are Bostonians that generally wear deodorant

Keep up the...um...good (?) work.

xoxo

Jenna

Clearly, (E) Bicycle, the only remaining answer, must be the correct one.

After two solid weeks spent lusting over the idea of a bicycle, I finally broke down and hit up the second-hand store across the street from me.  As a result, I am now the proud owner of a lovely, old-fashioned, white bike equipped with basket and bell.

The only thing missing now is Pearl in my bike basket!

The idea of riding a bike to school may sound molto elementary school to an American, but here my bici makes me (at least look like) more of a Florentine.  Not only do the majority of people ride recreationally, but they also ride their bikes to work.  Parents actually drop their children off at school on bike--I’m fairly certain that Italian toddlers frequent bicycle seats more often than car seats.

Sure, I have had a few minor incidents--initially forgetting how to ride, nearly running over mindless tourists, popping a tire on cobblestoned piazze.  And yes, Italian bike-riding has proven a lot more dangerous than I imagined.  (Bicyclists are literally left to fend for themselves on the streets alongside frightening Italian motorists.)  But altogether, I am quite pleased with my purchase.  My bici decreases my commute to school significantly, making my time outside drastically shorter. 

Now, as the seasons change and the cool, fall air hits Florence, I will be ready.  Bring it on, winter, bring it on.