Livin' la dolce vita!: Spring break

Buona Pasqua tutti!

Sorry I have been so absent from ye olde blog lately. This past week was spring break, so I have been out of the country (although I suppose I'm always out of the country now). Last Friday after class, I walked the hour long walk to the train station with my luggage because the transportation service was having a strike. How convenient. But it was a gorgeous day, so I didn't mind the walk. I took a train to Verona, where I met up with my friends Asha and Luca for our train to Munich!

It was a little delayed right before the Austrian border, though, because of a "human accident". We assumed this meant that someone had not turned the right switch and they had somehow messed up the engine, and that's why we had to wait an hour for them to switch out the engine. Later, we learned that was the code word for someone jumping in front of the train and they probably had to change the engine because of the "shotgun effect" that sometimes happens. Not quite a good start to the trip...

When we got to Munich I was amazed at how pristinely CLEAN the U-bahn and all the streets of Munich are. It looks very orderly. We navigated our way to Corrine's apartment where Asha and I would be staying and found the hidden keys since Corrine was on a ski trip for work but still letting us stay there because UM, she's amazing. (Thanks, Corrine!) Then we went to meet Luca's friend at Man Fat, the Chinese restaurant where he works, where we had some delicious dinner and our first Deutsches Bier. Soo delicious. And the tempting gummy bear bowl which Asha made best friends with.

This Spring Break was a blast, I traveled to Munich, watched a friend get us free shots of jager by 'donating' her bra, went on a self-led bicycle tour of the English Garden, saw people surfing while it snowed, toured the Residenz, ate German pretzels, Spezi (Germans drink Coke with Fanta and it's surprisingly good), Schnitzel, Bier Bier Bier, made new friends, caught up with old neighbors, laughed, got caught up in a dinner party birthday celebration with some Germans wearing traditional Bavarian outfits, tried Bavarian snuff, spoke German, decided that some travel is best left for next time (such as visiting a concentration camp with a friend for a shoulder to cry on), visited Neuschwanstein, drank a beer in the most famous beer hall in the world, pretended to speak French, almost missed my flight, ran through airports, saw a magnificent view of Paris at night, got a lot of sweet vintage clothes, ate crepes under the Eiffel Tower, saw the crowds in front of the Mona Lisa, waited in lots of lines, rode lots of trains, saw lots of golden fancy rooms in Chateau Fontainbleu, lived my Nancy Drew dream of visiting the Catacombs in Paris, visited the most unusual museum in the red-light district of Paris, bought a book at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore, took a jumping picture by the Eiffel Tower, attended a night Easter mass at Notre Dame, encountered some really mean French people (and a few really nice ones), drank a flaming blue drink, saw lots of lovers and their signs of love in Paris, and spent a lot of time in airports and buses.

I would say it was an unforgettable break, and I can't wait to share all my stories and pictures with you all! But for now it is time to sleep. Although I can't be with my friends and family for Easter, I am excited for my adventures to come as well as to see everyone again in five short weeks! Time is flying by now. :)