Berlin: the coolest city in Europe

Ciao from Berlin!
So Berlin has been named the coolest city in Europe, of which I have to agree, it is a cool city. Its very modern, but a cool modern, using angles and lots of glass. Berlin is one of the cheaper cities in Germany so it is a central point for all the artist type, which gives it a pretty cool (I’m going to use that word a lot, see if you can count how many) vibe.
So we got to Berlin around 4ish on Friday after a 6-hour train ride from Amsterdam. We got ready and went and saw the Brandenburg gate, the famous gate where Reagan gave his speech telling Gorbachev to tear down the wall. It’s where all the millions of people came in ’89 when the wall finally fell. We caught it just at sunset, which was great. Then we went to the memorial for the Jews that died in the holocaust, it was a bunch of cement blocks that are supposed to represent the tombs of those who died, they range in size, and also the ground dips and rises as you reach the center. It is a really cool memorial, quite well done, one of my favorites. Then we went to the Reichstag building, which is the parliament building. It has a cool glass dome that you can walk up with a bunch of mirrors in this cool inverted triangle sort of a thing. It would have been really cool if we weren’t so hungry, so by this time it was 9 and we really hadn’t had anything since breakfast. So after that we booked it to the nearest restaurant and impressed the waitress by how much food we ordered. It was amazing. Then we went out looking for this cool club thing our guide told us about, but on the way we went up in some building which had graffiti all over it, and was filled with different art exhibits, all the starving artist seem to come to this area of Berlin and showcase their work, a lot of which is really cool. We finally found the club thing, which is this big area of sand with club/bars surrounding it. There were bands playing and people just chilling drinking by fires having a good time. It was fun just to relax and hang out with our whole group.
Ok so today we got to sleep in (finally!) I think that was the first time this whole trip I have gotten more than 5 or so hours of sleep, no joke. Then we had a guided bus tour, which showed us all the cool places in Berlin. We saw the Hitler’s bunker where he killed himself. Then we went to this place, which has the largest remaining part of the Berlin wall. Every few years they invite these international graffiti artists to come and paint it. It’s really cool! My favorite was one with the famous picture of the kiss between East German leader Erich Honecker and his Soviet counterpart Leonid Brezhnev. Then Sora and I signed part of the wall!!!! I signed the Berlin wall; pretty cool I’d say. After that we went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum, which tells the stories of all the escape attempts across the wall to West Berlin. One story they hid this girl in the passenger seat of a car, like she was sitting inside the seat. Another family made their own airplane from getting directions by reading a book from the library. Some of the stories and pictures were quite amazing. Checkpoint Charlie for those who don’t know was the checkpoint for internationals going from the American sector in West Berlin to East Berlin. After this we took a break before we went to this street where they had huge screens of the football (soccer for all you Americans) going. We watched the USA lose a heartbreaking match to Ghana. I seemed to have inherited my father’s terrible luck for picking the sports teams, Italy being eliminated in the first round! Gah! So now I’m back in my hotel packing, we leave for Prague tomorrow! I posted pictures on facebook if you would like to see more! Ciao!
~Alyson~

Brussels/Amsterdam. Waffles/Pancakes

Ciao tutti!
Don't have a lot of time, so just a quick overview. We left paris late, so we only had about one hour in Brussels, which so wasn't enough time. We went first to a world famous Belgium chocolate place, then we got waffles (of course). There was also some sort of Army/police graduation thingy going on. we kept asking people, but nobody knew what was going on exactly. but it was in what is called the most beautiful square in Europe, which it was.
ok we got to Amsterdam that night, and we went and walked through the redlight district. Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam, so you walk through and there are these glass windows with girls just sitting waiting for guys to come in. it was an experience. apparently if you take pictures of them they will come out and chase you down in their heels for you to delete the pictures, so thankfully none of us took pictures of them.
the next day we went to the Anne Frank house. She was a young jewish girl of about 13 during WWI, living in hiding with her family, where she kept a diary: "the diary of Anne Frank". it was really interesting. we could see the secret bookcase where they would have to sneak into their annex where they were hiding. it was crazy. Then we walked around for a bit and went back to the hotel and slept before we did a pub crawl that night.
Thursday we got the world famous dutch pancakes, which were amazing! then we had a bike tour of Amsterdam. (there are bikes everywhere! worse than UCSB) it was fun, but some of our group had never ridden a bike before, so we kept having to stop because we lost people. we were an hour late and we didn't even get to some of the stops. but we did get to see the I AMsterdam sign, which was pretty cool. then we went and ate and watched Italy lose and get eliminated (I think I have inherited my dad's lousy luck with my sports teams). anyways I gotta go to dinner, but I loved Brussels and wished we could have spent more time there, and amsterdam had a really cool vibe. I liked it waaay better than Paris. ok ciao!
~Alyson~
:-)

Paris!

Ciao tutti!
Ok here is the rundown of Paris. We got in Saturday afternoon, and then checked into the hotel then all went out to see the Notre Dame. It was a good style of a gothic church, but I have liked other churches better. Then we all got our first crepes, and then went back to the hotel to rest before dinner. That night we had a 4-course meal (with unlimited wine). We even tried snails there, it wasn’t that bad. Cover anything with butter and garlic and you will be fine. Hahah.
So then Sunday was my favorite day. We had a bus tour in the morning, and then we went to Versailles. The Palace wasn’t the coolest thing I’ve seen but the gardens are worth the trip in itself. There are so many beautiful gardens and every time you turn a corner you find something new. I could have spent hours in there! My favorite place in Paris hands down. Then we met up with sora who finally got to Paris. Apparently the cops saw a video of the guy steeling her purse while for a second we were all looking away. But he dumped it (without her camera) across town but it still had the passport in it! She was so lucky. The cop that found her actually contacted her through MYSPACE!!! Isn’t that nuts! The police force! It took her a while also because the cops put it in some high tech special safe that only one person in the whole city has a key to, so it took them a while to track the guy down, but she finally got here!!!! That night we went to the church on the hill with a lookout over the city, and also the Moulin Rouge! We just saw the outside of it, shows are really expensive, but it was cool to see!
Monday we did the Louvre in the morning. All there really to see there is the Mona Lisa, which is way smaller than I thought it was going to be. Then we got lost for a bit and saw the concords. Then we all met up and went to the top of the Eiffel tower!!! The view was amazing. It was super high, some people got freaked out. Then since it’s the solstice there was a huge music festival playing all over Paris! It was super cool, all these really good bands playing on every street corner. It reminded me of Scotland last year during the fringe festival.
So that was pretty much Paris. It wasn’t my favorite city, but it was cool to see and some parts were amazingly pretty!!! All right now off to Brussels/Amsterdam!!! Arrivederci!
~Alyson~
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Everything sounds nicer in a British accent.

Ciao tutti! (I know this is a few days old, sorry I haven't had time to upload it)
Ok so quick update on the last 3 days in London. Wednesday I met up with my EF group. There are 41 people and still I know about 5 people’s names. But they are all super nice! We checked into our hotel and then had welcome drinks. Then some friends and me went to platform 9 ¾ in kings cross-station, because we are that cool.
Thursday we got up and went on a walking tour around London and then took a hop-on-hop-off tour. Then we walked around London for a bit. We went out to a club that night, but London definitely doesn’t stay out as late as other cities I have been to. But it was still fun.
Today (Friday) we went to Bath and Stonehenge. Unfortunately we spent more time on the bus going there then actually there. But it was nice to see bath again. And Stonehenge is really impressive. They were all there getting ready for the summer solstice where people camp out waiting to see the famous sunrise in Stonehenge, because I guess Stonehenge works sort of as an ancient sundial. We got back from Stonehenge and then some of us did a Jack the Ripper tour. This tour guide walked us all around London showing us the murder spots of Jack the ripper, the first serial killer. The guide made it fun, and he really knew his stuff. He’s even taken Johnny depp on a private tour before.
I loved London this time around. Last year I didn’t really feel like I got a grasp on the city, but this time I knew it better and I was able to sit back and enjoy it without having to take crazy pictures everywhere. I will miss London.
Ok so Saturday morning we were at the train station where my friend Sora who is doing this trip with me got her walled stolen. We were all sitting by the bags and suddenly it wasn’t there. She had to stay In London while the rest of us went on the train to Paris. I tried to stay with her, but the tour guide wouldn’t let me. Anyways, so that is London, Ill post one of Paris soon. Arrivederci!!!
~Alyson~
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London with my mamma :-)

Ciao tutti!
So my mom just left for the airport! (sad) so I am just sitting here in the hotel waiting to go to my next hotel for my next 20 day tour through EF college Breaks. This tour will go from London to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, and Munich. I am super excited but for now I will tell you all (because I know you all care) about my time here in London with my mommy.
We flew in Saturday night and got to our hotel, which is right by Victoria station.
Sunday we got up and went to St. Paul’s cathedral for the Sung Eucharist. It was great to go to church in such a beautiful location. Then we went on a hop-on-hop-off bus tour around London. It was nice because we didn’t really take pictures since we had been here last year, so we could really focus on hearing all the information and enjoying the sites. We didn’t get back to the hotel until 7, so we just stayed in and relaxed.
Monday we got up and were going to go look for this house that my mom read a book about, but the tube was so backed up it took us 1.5 hours just to get to Leister Square where we had to go to get half price theatre tickets. Then we waited 30 min for another hop on bus to come and take us to Kensington palace, but it didn’t tell us where to get off so we ended up having to take the tube anyways. Finally after we got there we toured the palace. Which was interesting. They have this “enchanted palace” theme with stories of princesses who lived there. If you go, make sure you talk to the guides because without them telling you the stories it really isn’t worth it. Then we got back to central London and saw the national portrait gallery, which was great because my mom knows everything about English monarchs so she could tell me cool facts about everyone. Monday night we went to see Sweet Charity. It wasn’t the best musical in the world, but I guess it was entertaining. But it wasn’t Wicked or Billy Eliot for sure. But it was fun.
Tuesday we had all around better luck. We went first to Hampton court where King Henry VIII held court for most of his life. And that was cool; they had a mini demonstration with actors playing Henry VIII and Katharine Parr getting ready for their wedding. Then we saw the beautiful gardens there. We went back to London and saw the British Library again, which has the most amazing stuff. From the Gutenberg Bible, to the Magna Carta, to the original Alice in Wonderland given to Alice to original Shakespeare and even some original Beatles stuff. Quite amazing. Then we went to a movie and saw Prince of Persia, which was fun. Then we just came back to the room and packed and went to bed.
Alright I gotta go, time to start Europe: part 3!
Arrivederci!
~Alyson~
☺

Cruise!

Ciao tutti!
Ok so I know I have been bad and not updated this in a while. BUT my mom and I just finished our cruise and it was fabulous!!! We started the cruise on Saturday and then Sunday we arrived in Split, Croatia. Unfortunately we didn’t have a very good map and no tour so we walked around Split but didn’t really know what we were seeing, which was disappointing. But we did walk around Diocletian’s palace, which is this big market-like place with shops and things like that, which was cool.
Monday we arrived in Corfu, Greece. Corfu was my favorite place on the cruise. We took a shuttle into town and then walked around the old fort that the Venetians had built in around the 1500s (I think). It was a gorgeous hot day and the water there was crystal clear blue. After that we walked around the town, which was filled with cool little side streets with shops and vendors. We saw some gorgeous churches and even a Synagogue. We also stepped our feet in the Ionian Sea, which was the clearest water I have ever seen. Corfu is also the greenest Island of Greece, so it was perfectly picturesque. I loved it.
Ok so then Tuesday we went to Athens. There we took a tour that took us to the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It was truly amazing, a wonder of the world. Unfortunately our guide talked FOREVER so we only had 45 min to walk around the acropolis and be back down the hill in time for the bus to leave ☹ It really didn’t give us enough time to stand and appreciate where we were. Oh well, then we went and stopped by the Olympic stadium in Athens, which was cool. But by that time we were so tired we then just went back to the boat and slept till dinner.
Wednesday was Mykonos. We had signed up for a trip to the beach that morning (the Aegean), but unfortunately that was the one overcast and cold day!!! What rotten luck! But we went in the cold water, and can now say we swam in the Aegean. We went back to town, which is filled with gorgeous white houses with blue lining, one of the typical pictures when you think of Greece. We had traditional Greek food at a local restaurant and shopped a little, but since we went to the beach earlier we didn’t have time to really explore the town before we had to get back to our boat. Also, since it was overcast, the whole town looked more grey then white. If the day had been like it was in Corfu, I think I would have liked it more.
Thursday we saw the ancient site of Olympia. That was cool. We took a shuttle there, but didn’t get a guided tour so it gave us a chance to really explore it on our own which was nice. We read the little signs and mom remembered some stuff she had read in her guidebook (which she conveniently left at home). But then we rand into some friends from our table at dinner who had taken a tour so they gave us some snapshots of the interesting stuff their tour guide gave them, so we lucked out there. We saw where they light the Olympic torch before every Olympic games. And also the ancient stadium and even ran a little bit of the way there. Haha. Then we saw the archeological museum, which has some cool ancient Greek mythological statues, which I loved. Finally we just found some shady grass and ate some Baklava and enjoyed our final time in Greece.
Friday was just a day at sea, so I packed my large suitcase while mom relaxed and tanned by the side of the pool. ☺ For our first cruise it was really fun. Mom and I played mini golf one day (she won of course) and we read by the pool some other afternoons. We saw some of the shows, there was a Beatles group and then some singers and dancers one night. Mom’s favorite was this Motown group who was really good, but I didn’t know many of the songs which mom thought was a travesty. Oh and there was also a magician the last night, who was really good. One really nice thing about our cruise was that our table was really fun. Really fun talkative people, some of which were my age, which was great. ☺ And of course the food was amazing. We had 2 teenage boys at our table and by the end of the cruise our waiter just brought them basically the whole menu, so we always had tons of different foods at our table.
The cruise came into Venice early Saturday morning, and mom and I dragged our suitcases up a bunch of stairs to the train station to leave them there while we went and explored Venice. I loved Venice. I have wanted to see Venice ever since I was little and it was just as cool and mysterious as I expected it to be. We got lost for a bit before we found St. Marcs square and then toured the Doge’s palace, which was cool. Then we sat and had a coffee and cornetto in the square watching people feed the birds with the Basilica in the background. It was quite a lovely experience. The line was too long to see the Basilica, but honestly I had seen enough churches in Italy to last me a lifetime. Then we took a Vaporetto (the local water taxi system) to a small park and then found a nice restaurant where I had one last pizza in Italy. It was a fun place and the owner even came out and sang a couple of silly Italian songs while we ate. A good find. Then we went and got lost a bit more in Venice before we got our bags and took a bus to the airport. Our flight was a bit rocky but mom (who doesn’t do well on planes) did really well! We got into London late last night. Our hotel is in the Victoria area.
Today we got up and went to St. Paul’s Cathedral for the Sung Eucharist service. It was cool to go to church in such a gorgeous setting. The Cathedral is really magnificent, much prettier I thought then San Paulo church in Rome were St. Paul is actually buried. Then we ate lunch and went on a hop on hop off tour. Being Sunday nothing much is open after 6, so now we are just relaxing in our hotel room planning what we are going to do the next two days. We are loving London! I do miss Italy and my host family a lot (I can tell my Italian is slipping badly), but London is such an amazingly beautiful city, it’s hard to be sad about anything. Alright, if you are still reading this I applaud you and check facebook for all my pictures of Greece, and I will try to upload some London ones tomorrow or the next day.
Arrivederci!
~Alyson~
☺

Last week in Rogliano! plus meeting my mom!

Ciao Tutti!!!
So I think I left off with Tropea, I’m sorry I’ve waited so long to write this, I have been soooooo busy with my family!!!! The last week I just tried to spend as much time with my family as possible. Friday night we got a tour of all the chiese (churches) in Rogliano. It was pretty sweet. But after we saw the churches it was about midnight and some of us decided to go sneak into the cemetery at night. We walked up the hill and luckily the door was open. So we sat and hung out in the cemetery for a bit. It was kind of spooky not gonna lie. Ahah our families were shocked we went up there, they thought we would have been terrified. But it was super cool since it was almost a full moon. Haha then Sunday me and Michelle’s family (the sisters and mom and dad of Vanessa) and also the family of Andrea (the aunt and uncle of Vanessa) all went up to the Sila Mountains for the day. We had lunch in the forest of the squirrels (scoiattoli), then drove up to the highest point, which had a gorgeous view.
Monday was our last day teaching the bambini (kids) at the schools. Shayna and I had gotten all their work they had done with us and made little packets with their name on it tied with ribbon. But the kids had a surprise for us, they had organized a party for us! The kids organized it! And it was only our class (which totally means our class is the best). Haha but it was sweet, the kids had their parents make cakes and other sweets for us. I was really sad we had to leave them ☹
Oh Monday night we stood waiting in the rain for 3 hours waiting for Mauro Fiori to arrive. Mauro Fiori is from Marzi (the town next door where some of the people in my program live) and he just won an Oscar for Best Cinemetography for Avatar. It was a huge deal because I guess this is Italy’s 3rd Oscar. So we all waited in the pouring rain for him to arrive. He came and said thanks, but didn’t stay long because his big party was on Tuesday.
Allora, Tuesday was nuts to say the least. My family got to Marzi at 330 because Aldo had to be in some show thingy for Mauro. It turns out that their “spetacolo” was just wearing shirts with Mauro’s face on it and holding balloons so it looks like the Italian flag. Except that they kind of waited too long and the kids got anzie so all the kids eventually dispersed. Then a bunch of important people gave super long speeches in Italian, which I kind of ignored. Then Mauro came out and talked for a bit and they gave him the keys to the city. Then that night Miss Italia came because she is from about 20 min away from Rogliano and is the first person from Calabria to win Miss Italia. I didn’t get to see her shoes but they must have been high because she was suuuuuuuper tall! There was some bands playing later that night along with everybody and their mother from Calabria. Haha it was nuts. They also had a gorgeous firework display. It was so much fun! I was there from 3:30 in the afternoon till about 2:30 at night. It was a white night in Marzi so everything was open super late. I even got to talk and get a picture with Mauro!!! My Italian aunt Emilia knows him and she introduced me and I talked with him for a bit in English saying how much I love rogliano and a tad about my program. He was super nice! Then again everyone from rogliano and marzi are super nice! But apparently his wife doesn’t like italy or Marzi and doesn’t like coming. She said bomino instead of bellissimo when she was thanking Marzi. Hahah
Ok so Wednesday was a national holiday in Italy so my family and Cesare’s brother and his wife and another couple all went to the beach for the day. We were there from 10:30 in the morning to about 5:30 at night. Unfortunately I had a final exam the next day so I had to study while I was there cioè (therefore) my back is burnt!!! I never get burned, and I realize now I don’t like it! But it was fun, and at least I got a little tanner. But apparently there was supposed to be a concert/music lesson by a local rogliano band, but when it came time for the concert they couldn’t find the band members. Haha so typical southern italy. Haha apparently the band members thought it was the next day.
Thursday we took our final exam, which I don’t think went tooo badly haha. But at least it’s done and it’s SUMMER!!! Then Vanessa made my favorite for lunch. Pasta alla Milanese (pasta with saffron) and her specialty zucchini!!!! It was amazing! As much as I wont miss being forced to eat way to much every meal, I will miss vanessa’s cooking because it is fantastic. Then the afternoon after my family went to work me and Michelle and Emily went out with some good Italian friends to the beach. Its cool to have made good friends here that we can keep in touch with and hopefully see when we come back (yes when). Then Thursday night we had a goodbye diner with all the families. It was fun to hang out and take pictures with everybody, but really really really really sad too because we will never again be all together at this wonderful place! Then my family and michelle’s took me to the bus station where I had to say goodbye to everybody and take the midnight bus from Calabria to Rome. I didn’t start crying till the bus pulled away and then I lost it. Im getting sad just thinking about it. I couldn’t have asked for the most generous kindest family! I will miss them forever and I am already thinking about when I can come back. It surprised me so much that I loved rogliano way more than rome. Rogliano just seemed perfect to me. Everyone was so kind and generous and loving, it really made me feel a part of the town and the family. Michelle and I have decided that we will always be Tucci’s for life! TUTTI SONO TUCCI TUTTI SONO PAZZI (Cioti in dialect).
I got into rome at 6 am at the bus station, then took the metro to the train station and sat and waited and tried to avoid all the creepers in the station for about 6 hours until my MOMMY CAME!!! Yes my mom made it safely to rome and we took a eurostar (first class!!!) up to Venice. It was nice and relaxing. We are now in our hotel and we leave for our cruise around 12 tomorrow. Its so weird that my program is over and I do miss everyone terribly but I am excited to start the next part of my adventure! Arrivederci! Ci vediamo!
~Alyson~
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p.s we are now on the ship on our way to croatia!!!

Ciao rogliano!

Ah this is my last day in Rogliano! Sorry i haven't had a chance to update this, but I will write a last up date soonish (maybe) haha but I had a fabulous time with my family and I will miss everybody here. I am taking a midnight bus to rome and meeting up with my mom tomorrow morning where we will go to venice to start our cruise! ah I am having such torn emotions! but i have to go pack now. Ciao tutti!!!
~Alyson~
:-)