Paphos: The Birthplace of Aphrodite

 This weekend we made a had a trip to Paphos, which is supposedly the birthplace of the Greek goodness Aphrodite. Since Aphrodite was said to be the goodness of love and beauty it is said that the water around her sparkles. I must say the rumors were true because this water was absolutely beautiful. With its bright blue turquoise colors and beautiful surrounding rocks, I definitely think this was my favorite part in Cyprus that I have seen so far. Paphos just had such beautiful Mediterranean water, green grass for miles and the cutest little port with boats, restaurants and bars, the whole time I was only wishing we were studying there over Nicosia.

The whole weekend was very enjoyable; we went to a few landmarks of ancient ruins, laid on the beach and ate on the harbor. The weather was awesome as well! However, I did manage to get my first real burn of the year, which was no very fun. I have now learned my lesson for the rest of this trip, that the Mediterranean sun is STRONG. Hopefully when we are back in Cyprus in May we can return to Paphos to do some fun water activities. I will be leaving tonight for a sixteen day trip all over Europe, so this weekend was just a great way to relax before the craziness begins. 

 

αντίο xo,

Lindsey

Mykonos: Under The Weather

So this post is going to be brief just like my visit to Mykonos (and to not put a damper on my spirits). To make a long story short we got to Mykonos and it was literally a hurricane and pouring rain leaving us with NOTHING to do besides go to the internet café and find the next flight out ASAP.  Despite the extremely large sums of money we spent of flights and hotels I could not describe this trip as anything but miserable. Therefore, what was another $100 to come back to Cyprus? (Who knew I would actually be so excited to go there)

However the few hours of just mist we did manage to walk around and give it a shot. The port is beautiful as well as the windy brightly colored alleyways, but overall  it was a ghost town. Definitely a place I would love to come back to years from now in the summer, but for now I will be making this spring break a distance memory. At least it was 75 in Cyprus and we went to the beach the rest of the weekend to make up for it!

 αντίο xo,

Lindsey 

Seville: Good News First

 When I had my first trip to Europe back in high school, Seville was by far my favorite city. To be honest if I never decided to do this “global semesters” program I would have studied there for the semester in a heartbeat. With its colorful buildings, quaint atmosphere, sunshine and an authentic Spanish feel flowing through every street, the second time around was even better than the first. Seville is still my favorite city and I think it is going to be even after my Europe trip. I don’t know how to explain it but something about it just makes you feel relaxed and happy. With horse and buggies all throughout the streets beautiful gardens and a cathedral in the middle of the square you almost feel as if you stepped into a miniature Spanish Disney World.  

 

 Caitlin’s best friend was studying there for the semester, so she took us all around the two days we were there. Not only did we hit all the famous landmarks, but she still left us time to just sit on the river have some drinks, eat ice cream and relax. The river in Seville is beautiful and I could have probably stayed there for days if possible. Although Seville is the third largest city in Spain, it does not have the congestion of a “Big City” like Barcelona, in fact I barley felt like I was in a city at all which is why I think I love it so much. 

 Our last night there we made our way down to a flamenco show, which was in an authentic little tavern packed with people all waiting to watch. The show was absolutely awesome, with two flamingo dancers, musicians and singers all dressed up in traditional Spanish outfits. After the show, we decided to head back, but stop at the river which is beautiful at night. It was not late maybe like 10:30 p.m. and quite dead if you ask me. As we stood at the river taking pictures I felt someone bang into me and I instantly felt my bag lighter. Right away I knew my camera had been taken, so I ran over to the ONLY couple around and started yelling at them. I began to rip her bag out of her hands and search in her pockets, but when she soon opened her mouth and I saw she had no teeth. At this point I was 100 percent convinced they had taken my camera. Caitlin at this point ran back to make sure I did not drop it but I knew right away it was gone. As this was going on I notice them start to run down an alleyway, where I almost proceeded to follow but thought it just might not be worth it. I did what I could and perhaps they had just hid it deeper and I was in no position to pat down random strangers in unfamiliar areas. So of course I cried, screamed and was extremely anger. Mostly because I have 900 pictures with ALL my best friends from the entire week and on top of it I had carefully survived Athens. Rome and Barcelona the top pick pocket cities in Europe. Yet in one of the safest cities where I was still being aware of my surroundings something went wrong. 

On the way back to the hostal however, as I am crying that all my pictures with my specific three best friends: Ali, Min and Gianna were gone, I hear my name in the distance and three familiar body-shapes ahead. What do you know it was them! They tend to do things last minute and needed to stay in Seville for the night before heading to Portugal but never booked a hostal. I figured ours was booked and we were just not going to run into them. Therefore, it certainly brightened my mood for the time begin and I was more that happy to share my FAVORITE city with my three best friends even if it was just for an hour or so!

 Adios xo,

Lindsey 

 

Barcelona: Take Two!

So when it came time to decide where to go for my spring break, I knew that I wanted to go back to Spain, which I had the privilege of visiting my senior year of high school. Since this is the one place that we don’t go to with the program we figured the warm weather and beaches would be a great way to spend spring break. Also, all my friends who are studying around Europe all had the same break so we decided to book the trip together!

So since there was a good amount of us from Quinnipiac all meeting up, we decided to rent apartments that were right off the Las Ramblas, which is the main area in Barcelona. However, little did we know that we would be staying in probably one of the WORSE areas. Now don’t get me wrong I was not expecting a 5 star hotel, were college students on a budget I get it. But it would have been nice to not be down a creepy alleyway where you has to walk a good 10 minutes to the apartment because the cab driver refuses to drop you off any closer. Although we had a few close 6:30 am shady encounters, I am happy to say we survived the four nights there without getting robbed (however the second I stepped on the street my purse went right under my stomach-look pregnant or get robbed? – you pick!)

Overall the entire weekend was awesome, drinking sangria on the beach in perfect 70 degrees while stuffing my face with paella and tapas was relaxing and needed. Since we were doing the trip on our own it was nice to not have to wake up at the crack of dawn and attend museums all day long. As great as that is, it is nice to just decide what you want to do on your own. Between the La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the harbor, parks and beaches there was tons to keep us occupied. Not to mention the nightlife in Barcelona was awesome, not just the clubs but the bars aw well. Before going out we would head to bars like the Dow Jows, where the price system is based off of Wall Street with the drinks going up and down in price every few minutes. However my favorite part was the main market off the Las Ramblas. With miles of brightly colors fruit and vegetables, hams and meats, nuts and seafood so fresh it’s still moving I could have literally just spent a day here roaming around. Espana as a whole is still one of my favorite places and although I am not sure if I could have pictured myself studying there, I had a blast. However, I was soon off to my next adventure in southern Spain to my favorite place ever: SEVILLE!  

Adios xo,

Lindsey

 

 

A Roads Lead To ROME!

 From the second the bus pulled up to Rome I was beyond overwhelmed and impressed with the city’s buildings and architecture. In fact, there is so much to do in Rome that we didn’t even check into the hotel, but went straight to the smallest country known: Vatican City! I was really not sure what to except from the Vatican, but I must say each room we were brought into was more beautiful than the next. With freshly cut grass and ancient paintings and sculptures it was easy to see how this was and continues to be the center of catholic faith. At our last stop on the tour we arrived at the famous Sistine Chapel, where Michael Angelo’s famous Last Judgment painting was located along with the creation of Eve. I could probably have sat there for over 12 hours and still not have taken in this massive piece of art. I 100% see how Michael Angelo practically went blind after he was finished due to the fact that the details, colors and size are just incredible!   

 

 Our next day in Rome we would venture on a three hour walking tour (not the greatest for my feet) however we would see the main highlights such as the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and more! Of course I ran around the Coliseum, saw the massive dome whole inside of the Pantheon (if only it was raining) and threw a coin while making a wish in the fountain. With each landmark I saw I felt more and more like I was stepping out of a movie. I will say thought Rome is PACKED, like beyond packed. At night we were on the Spanish Steps alone the next day there were massive amounts of people with everything from a wedding taking place to signing groups. That next night we would run into more crowds, when we went to a local part of Rome recommended to us by our hotel. But of course the food was fantastic; three courses of pastas and chicken along with endless amounts bread and desert. 

 Despite running on four hours of sleep in three days (thanks Florence) the good little catholic inside me woke up in order to head on down to Saint Peters Church, next to Vatican City. We would then proceed to climb about 300 flights of steps so narrow that you had to hold a rope in order to keep yourself up. However, once at the top the sight was amazing, in fact I finally understood where the phrase “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day” came from. You could see the square, coliseum, Vatican City and colorful buildings that went on for miles. After this we would proceeded inside the church which was absolutely beautiful. Not to mentions our timing was impeccable, due to the fact we just caught the 10:30 mass! Although the entire thing was in Latin (maybe Italian – who knows) it was an experience I was blessed to have. Our timing would then become even better, due to the fact we got out of church just in time for the pope’s blessing! Thousands of people gathered in the square in order to gaze up into a little window where the pope would bless every culture for ten minutes or so. I would say it was the perfect way to end our Italy trip to say the least! 

 

 Ciao xo,

Lindsey

Not Where You Are, But Who Your With!

 I will first explain to you that I have literally been counting down the days to Florence since I got here. With some of my best girlfriends studying there and half of my other friends coming to visit on there QU spring break, actually all being together at the same time seemed to good to be true. Now of course you could put me anywhere on the planet with these amazing people and I would be happy, but put us in the center of art and the capital of the Tuscany and it's  beyond anything I could have imagined. With my girlfriends apartment looking straight over the Duemo, situated next to the leather market and the most delicious food in the world, it only made scene not to sleep for the next 48 hours and soak up every second.   

 I must say our friends gave us the royal treatment by taking us to there favorite restaurants, bars and clubs. I had the most amazing pasta, lasagna, bread and wine of my life and since were all such good friends I had about 20 plates to pick off from! We of course then made our way to bar after bar and club after club until the sun was rising over the Duemo (literally). I will say one of my favorite parts of our two nights together was going to the “secret” bakery. Now this bakery dose not open till around 3am and is located in a tiny little ally way that was almost impossible to find. However, once there all we had to do was say what we wanted (12 donuts I believe) and each one came out of the wall through a tiny opening. 

Now besides stuffing my face and partying like were back at Quinnipiac (but 10x better) I did manage to shop at the leather market, roam the streets to see the highlights of the city and of course be taken to Guro, the BEST gelada I had on my trip so far. I really never wanted these two days to end, except I had to snap back and realize I was studying abroad to NOT be with a million American students and my friends, but to see the world on my own. However, I will be seeing some of them throughout my travels and just being able to share this experience was too good to be true! I don’t know how I made the bus, but I somehow brought myself to come back in time to head to the country’s capital: ROMA!    

Ciao xo,

Lindsey  

Pisa: For A Hot Second

 On our way to Florence, we of course stopped over at the city of Pisa so we could have the typical “pushing the leaning tower of pisa” photo. However, with the rain coming down and so many canal-street wannabes trying to sell me fake Raybans and Louis Vitiation bags all I wanted to do was take my picture and leave. Of course it was something you just have to do in Italy, however, besides the tower there is virtually nothing going on Pisa. I was able to secure some photos of myself kicking the tower and holding it up, which we were able to fit in the short time we had along with getting to eat our first Italian pizza, which was delicious!  So of course the history and tradition around the Leading Tower of Pisa was much appreciated, but I was ready to get on the road to Florence! 

 Ciao xo,

Lindsey