Yes, This Is A Cult: 30 Seconds to Mars Concert in Bologna, Italy!

(Meant to be published Dec.10th)

This past Wednesday, December 8th I headed off to Bologna, Italy to see my favorite band in concert for the 3rd time: 30 Seconds to Mars. Luck was on my side because December 8th is a national holiday in Italy–Feast of the Immaculate Conception–which meant no school, and no internship!

I’ve been a 30stm fan since I was 12/13 years old. I immediately loved their original sound because it was so different from the other music I had listened to. Now that I’ve been to 3 concerts, I can say that the band had this crazy, palpable energy that just makes their shows fantastic. I took every chance I could prior to this concert to see them live. What I also love about the band is their appreciation of their fans; Jared, Shannon, & Tomo have always met with fans–I just never had the chance.

So, rewind to October, right before Fall Break. I was perusing the band’s website when I looked up tour dates, thinking on the off chance they might just pass through Italy. Well, obviously they did or else I wouldn’t be blogging about this.

Bologna Italy. Two beautiful words that forever changed my life. After spazzing with joy, I immediately tweeted & facebooked about going. Now flash forward to December 8th, where the real story begins.

Dec.8th: Train & concert tickets bought, hotel for one booked, I was on my way to Bologna. The night before I had roughly designed a shirt celebrating “This is War’s” one year birthday. After a train ride to the city and a bus ride to my hotel, I checked in & prepped myself for the jouraney.

Traveling to the concert was not fun. I got lost a few times and almost no one knew where the venue, Futurshow Station, was. And because Bologna is not an international city, I had to resort to Italian which isn’t easy to do when you’re about to cry.

But I made it! Ah, sweet success.

The concert itself was great. As I mentioned before, 30stm brings this energy that I just feed off of & it makes me love the show that much more. So while blue-haired Jared Leto (I don’t care what you say, Entertainment Weekly, Jared is probably the only man alive that could make blue hair sexy)is screaming his soul out, and Shannon & Tomo are killing it on their respective instruments, I’m rocking out & moshing out like the only American there (I’m pretty sure I was).

To give you an idea of what that concert was like: 

Although this was my favorite performance (my video):

What I thought was comical was that the band was playing for a crowd of Italians: they knew the English songs, but their understanding wasn’t so strong (I had some encounters).

The best part of the night was definitely the end of the concert. As per usual, Jared pulled crowd members on stage for the last song “Kings and Queens.” I’ve yet to be up there, but that’s my goal for the February concert.

Afterwards, I bought another tour shirt (to add to my collection) and then waited outside in the Bolognese cold for autographs. So worth it–even though Jared was sick, I still got Tomo & Shannon to sign my ticket. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH FINALLY!

Successful concert? Certo!! I’m happy that I went and survived by myself; it was definitely one of my best experiences in Italy.

 

My ticket!

Fiorentina Viola: My First Football Game!

December 5th, the Sunday after my day trip to Venice, I went to my first football game! It was Florence vs, Caglieri at 3 pm, and I went with my friend Caitlin. Prior to the game, I bought a Fiorentina scarf so that I could wear it with pride and be a real Italian!

New football fans!

Our seats cost us 14 € for the side of the field. We weren’t by the rowdy fans (that’s behind the goal) but we did have two rowdy little kids behind us. Throughout the entire game, they kept yelling “Bastardo!” & “Vai fanculo!” ; to which I kept laughing, because it’s actually quite comical to listen to little kids curse in Italian.

The game was fun to watch, and I’ve witnessed enough soccer games to have a sense of what was going on. Although I wasn’t sure of what was going on 100% of the time, I did recognize a goal and cheer as loud as any true Fiorentina fan.

The match ended with Florence winning 1-0, although I think they were cheated out of a goal. It was definitely a worthwhile experience and something I had to do before leaving Italy. I mean, the players were so damn fine–who knew I was missing out?

Venezia!

With my time in Italy coming to a close soon, I decided to get in some traveling. Because of my internship schedule, I haven’t had many opportunities to take weekends to travel–but I can do day trips. So two weekends ago I booked a day trip to Venice, to go buy some masks and walk around the canal-ed city before it sinks forever. I was supposed to go on this trip with my biddie Miss Rosemary, but because London freaked out when it snowed, she was unable to fly out to Florence But I’ll be seeing her soon…

So Venice–unfortunately on the day that I went, Dec.4th, was cold. It rained early on, and with only sneakers to protect my feet, I soon felt numb and shivering. The fact that I went alone also didn’t help; I couldn’t huddle up next to anyone for warmth! After almost four hours of travel via coach bus and train, the travel group arrived in Venice. Since we were pressed for time, we took a water taxi to San Marco, the famous piazz with the famous church.

 

Quiz time: What recent movie is filmed in this exact spot?

Boo construction

After admiring the cathedral for a few seconds, the group headed off through some windey alleways to a Murano glass factory in Venice. Here they gave a free demonstration as one of the workers made beautiful glass figures within a matter of minutes, and showed us the new collection from the factory. We couldn’t take pictures of the new glass, but I did cave in and buy a purple tumbler inlaid with gold. Ahhh consumerism.

insert video later

 

I'm on a horse

After the glassblowing exhibition, we had some free time to tour Venice. My mission: to buy masks. I wanted one to wear for the upcoming Masquerade Ball, and one to hang on my wall. After walking down a main shopping street, I decided to buy two masks made of resin; one is a giant face with an equally giant green hat and accompanying feathers–it has painted on roses on the face and Venezia on it. The other one is a simple eye mask, painted gold and white with golden feathers sprouting out from the top. I was really happy with my purchases until I turned the corner and found the legit mask shops. Whoops. These were the beautifully handcrafted paper-mache, metal and leather masks that are sought after. However, since I already dropped 50 euro on my Venetian glass, there was no way I could afford these beauties. A lesson well learned. *Sigh* Until next time…

The rest of the day was spent walking around Venice trying to fit all the sights in–the Rialto Bridge, Giacomo Casanova’s House, old wells throughout the city. All throughout Venice I kept seeing masks, masks, masks, and it made me wish I could go back in the Spring and participate in Carnivale. It must be a wonderful festival. I also saw tons of other neat artisan items: animal puppets, dolls, more Venetian glass and figurines. It’s safe to say Venice is a city of art.

With the setting sun (we stayed until well past sunset) Venice looked absolutely gorgeous. The way the sun hit the water was stunning, and I was just awed by the beauty of it all. I tried to take as many pictures as possible of the canals, bridges and water before there was no natural light left for quality photos.

 

Rialto Bridge at Night

Soon it was nighttime which meant it was time to go home. So back we headed towards the train station. Although I didn’t get to ride a gondola around Venice like I did two years ago, I did ride one across the canal–like a gondola taxi! From there it was walking, train, and a long bus ride home back to Florence.

 

Next time...

Overall, it was a good trip. I’m glad I was able to get in some traveling on my own. Although I would’ve liked to walk around Venice at my own leisurely pace, and would’ve appreciated some warmer weather, it was an enjoyable time. I’m definitely going to go back one of these days, this time with a lover or a friend.

Christmastime in Florence!

Today is December 2nd. Which means there are 16 days left until I go home! and 23 days before Christmas! (But who’s counting? “Not I,” said the fly…)

Christmas in Florence reminds me of Christmas in New York, except the decorations are all throughout the city instead of centralized on 5th Avenue. There hasn’t been a tree-lighting yet, but a green tree IS being decorated right outside my apartment. God I lucked out on my location

So to celebrate Christmas and the start of December, my friends living a few blocks away from me threw a Christmas Party! Since it was a theme party, and a Christmas theme party at that, I (along with another friend, unknowingly at the time) went dressed as a snowflake.

Snowflake Twins!

We had quite the assortment of costumes: reindeer, christmas trees, elves, candy canes, toy soldiers & stars… It was a cute little shindig with food (cannoli bites! pannetone! wine! eggnog! hot chocolate!) and games such as Pin the Nose on the Reindeer; gift exchanges and silly mistletoe photos made it an enjoyable party.

 

Pro at this game

While Christmas was used as an excuse to party, it reminded me a lot of home. Christmas is a great holiday, and I don’t think Christmas in Europe could ever compare (although all the little Christmas fairs are adorable!!).I can’t wait to walk around Central Park in the snow; there’s nothing like gazing up at the Rockefeller Tree and watching the lights sparkle on 5th Avenue; ice-skating in Bryant Park and drinking hot chocolate, impromptu snowball fights and movie snuggle days… The best part about Xmas is spreading holiday cheer and being around company you enjoy!! Although I love the fact that we brought Christmas cheer to Florence for ourselves, I can’t wait to be home and spend a month with my beloved friends and family.

Here’s a little bit of Ol’ Blue Eyes to get you excited for the wonderful winter holidays!

Tutinos in Florence

Putting off the traveling posts just to get everybody up to speed on what has been happening in Florence. Of course, the contents of this post will be a little outdated, but such is life. (Sorry for the lack of photos.)

The rest of my family came to visit me! My mom and two brothers were here from November 20th until the 22nd. As a way of showing my gratitude and love, I treated them to V.I.P at the discoteca Space Electronica. Classy! My family is really good to me and I wanted them to have fun while they were visiting. I think they all enjoyed it

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Although the time we spent together was short, it was really nice. Eating dinner together, touring Florence together–we spent half a day walking around the Uffizi Gallery, which is a work of art on its own and then the other half walking around window shopping. We always ate somewhere delicious and had many good laughs.

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I’m sad my time was so limited with them; I was supposed to go to Rome this past Thanksgiving weekend, but I had too much schoolwork and not enough time. Ah well. I know my family loved Italy and enjoyed their time here. Only 16 more days until I’m home and get to be with them again!! And maybe in the future, we’ll travel around the world together.

Thanksgiving in Italy

Taken from longislandnews.com

Just because I’m not in my native country, the wonderful U.S of A, doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate Thanksgiving! The whole point of the holiday–or at least what is has evolved to–is about being thankful, and celebrating that thankfulness with those closest to you. Unfortunately, my family is an ocean away, so I will not be able to eat our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and brothers are in Rome right now, but I won’t be able to see them until this Friday.

If I take a step back and think, I have a lot to be thankful for. It still blows my mind that I’m here studying abroad in Italy. Every now and then a moment will pass and I’ll ask myself, “Is this real life?” (in a serious manner, mind you). It is phenomenal that I’ve been here for 3 and 1/2 months: eating gelato, speaking and learning Italian, having the opportunity to travel within and outside of the country. I’m only 20 years old! I never would’ve imagined this happening to me at such a young age. Maybe in my mid-20s.

So, I’m thankful for this opportunity. I’m thankful for being here; for my parents and family for supporting me, and my friends back home for making me not feel so homesick. I’m thankful to myself that I got myself this far and survived. I’m thankful for my ridiculously amazing bedroom window view of the Duomo, and for my roommate that puts up with my mess. I’m thankful for my family visiting me in Italy <3. I’m thankful for delicious Italian food and beautiful Italian fashion. I’m thankful for this chance to grow as a human being.

This has probably been my most reflective Thanksgiving. And although I’m away from my family and their turkey day traditions, I was still able to celebrate! I skyped on and off with my relatives while they were serving food–it looked absolutely delicious. But I think my dinner topped theirs: pumpkin soup with cornbread, TURKEY!!!, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, cranberries and apple strudel. Absolutely delicious. I’ve never had a bad meal in Italy–but who knew they would do Thanksgiving so well!!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Weekend with Dad!

This past weekend, my dad visited me in Florence! He arrived last Thursday and left Monday morning. It was a lovely change from my routine, and I had such a great time with him. I didn’t necessarily plan out what we were going to do, due to my work schedule, but I think I managed to introduce him to the parts of Florence I love.

There are many benefits to having parents visit, and the two I’m about to list will make me sound spoiled…but I’m not! 1) More money in the bank & 2) Delicious dinners out in the city. See, I don’t eat out often because my friends usually cook or I usually cook, but a visit is a special occasion. Therefore I had to take my dad to some places that I like to eat (and vice versa). The food we had was absolutely delicious: fresh pasta, creamy risotto, juicy steak fillet, wine, gelato…it was insane. All I did was eat that week.

Because I have classes and my internship during the day, I met up with my dad in the late evenings, around 5 or 6 o’clock. Here in Florence, that’s still too early to eat, so we would just walk around for a bit. Thursday I made him go grocery shopping with me (another perk–refilled fridge!), Friday we walked around, and Saturday we came across an international concert of sorts in Santa Croce; Enrico Ruggeri was playing, and I think the music was to honor the Italian Navy/Unification of Italy (I wasn’t exactly sure). But it was really neat, because it was a free concert, and we were able to get kind of close. I also took some awesome photos.

But Sunday was the best day. I had Dad all to myself–no interrupted time. So we went on a wine tasting trip in Chianti. The ride was only an hour long (by coach bus) to this castle winery named Castello di Querceto. The weather was nice enough for the tour; our guide pointed out the three main vineyards used by this Chianti wine group.

 

Wine bottle shaped vineyard

We then went inside where we looked at the HUGE barrels the wine was stored in. It was a small cellar, smaller than what I had thought storage cellars would be, but then I saw the racks of wine as the guide explained that this area was the family’s personal stash of vino. Lucky. My dad and I tried to be artsy with our photos at this point–the videographer failed, and his daughter succeeded.

Then it was time for my first wine-tasting (awe). We sat at a table with three other women, two from New Mexico & one older lady from Minnesota.  The plate consisted of three pieces of bread–two soaked in olive oil and one smothered in tomato sauce–and there was a little dish of cheese squares being passed around. We had three different types of wine, and each one was absolutely delicious. The best part is that you can buy which one you liked! I bought a bottle of Chianti Riserva (it gets better with age baby) and a bottle of dessert wine (it was like drinking honey, delish).

My dad and I bonded with these New Mexican women and spent the rest of the trip (visiting a town called Greve) with them. They were super nice and friendly and told great stories about New Mexico, and now I want to travel there.

But alas, like all good things, my dad’s trip had to end. Since Sunday was our last day, we went out to dinner after we returned to Florence. He wanted  pizza, so I took him to Gusta Pizza across the Arno River. Their slices are so filling, but I saved room for dessert. We parted ways when it was bedtime, and the next time I’ll see him is when I return home for a month long Christmas break.

A lot of friends and family have been visiting Florence lately, and a few of my friends were saying how it was stressful having their mom or their friend be there. I would have to disagree. Although I didn’t spend as much time as I could with my dad, I really enjoyed the hours we hung out together during those four days. It was a reminder of home, something I’ve been missing alot. I miss my parents alot, and the comfort and ease of home, even if I don’t show it–so it was super super appreciated when my Dad came to visit (which is no easy feat for him).

As much as I like being away from home, mostly independent, and on my own, every now and then, I think it’s ok to touch back with your roots. And so, it’s time to start preparing for when my Mom & brothers arive!!