Off the Deep End: Italy and Abroad

These are pictures taken in Venice. This was one of the most mysterious places I got to visit. The art history was rich here and the story is one that is very unique. Perhaps is the only place in the world where one can ride the water bus and call a water taxi?

These photos are from Ireland! The best museum I went to was the National Leprechaun Museum!

These photos were taken a few weekends ago in Barcelona, Spain. This was one of the best cities I’ve ever visited in my life. The aquarium there was awesome and the beach was beautiful.

These are photos from Rome! I feel like a lifetime spent exploring this city wouldn’t be enough time to get a grasp on things.

This weekend Nora, Stephon, and I had the chance to go to Camaiore, Italy. The Swiss Alps converge with the Ligurian Sea to create a mystical landscape. We stopped at the Inside Board shop and looked into renting surf boards for one day. The beach was practically abandoned, but the weather was quite nice. This spot costs less than 10 Euro to get to and it only around 2 hours away. We will back multiple times for sure. The restaurant was recommended by our librarian Petra from school and the food was amazing! We thought we ordered shrimp correctly, but got delicious lobster instead! There are too many wonderful places to see in Italy and not enough time.

The great thing about Italy? Meeting new people and trying new foods. These photos are taken from an evening of preparing and eating horse! You can go to local grocery stores in Firenze and buy thinly sliced horse meat or bigger cuts. This dish was horse wrapped in cheese, parsley, and a layer of bacon of course! We also had plenty of potatoes, carrots, and onions. If that wasn’t enough we also had pasta and noodles.

For the past few days here in Florence at Santa Croce there has been a huge chocolate festival going on. You can try and hide from the festival, but you won’t be successful or happy if you’re not there at least once a day. There is a photo of Jesse eating a chocolate strawberry and a cup of hot chocolate that I’m holding. Image a snack pack melted down to a thick lava state and tasting like the darkest chocolate you’ve ever eaten in your life, and you basically have a cup of hot chocolate. I might go broke thanks to this amazing festival.

These photos are from the second weekend Florence. We decided to have friends over to cook up some fried vegetables, chicken, and rabbit. There was also a fresh salad prepared with ingredients bought at various markets throughout the city. The rabbit was a success and everyone had a great time.

Going to Pompeii was an amazing experience. The ancient ruins are open to be explored and my traveling companions and I walked through them most of Saturday. Dogs roam the city and can be adopted! The weather turned out to be wonderful and we are already planning another trip to climb Mt. Vesuvius!