Chocolate Wasted in Perugia

Once upon an Oktoberfest, a man from the Umbrian city, Perugia, was inspired by the festivities and decided to replicating such an event in his own city, using a more typical Perugian product—chocolate! 

Sam, Kasey, and I decided that this was a festival we could not miss out on. So on Saturday we hoped on a bus with Florence for Fun (a student travel company) to head to the 20^th anniversary of Eurochocolate in Perugia. 

The festival itself took over much of the main part of town, which sits upon a tall hill with very scenic views. After taking in some of the views we were given a chococard, which allowed us to receive ten samples or goodies from various chocolate-venders at the festival. In pursuit of taking full advantage of the card we went to explore the streets of Perugia. 

I have never been in the presence of so much chocolate ever. You could say that I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There were so many different flavors, combinations, and forms of chocolate. There was chocolate merchandise, such as clocks, phone cases, lamps, etc., as well as an unbelievable amount of chocolate bars. The Greek gyro had taken a new form, rather than filling pita-bread with lamb, a new chocolate version was being served. That was a little too adventurous for my taste buds, so I went in search of the chocolate Baileys with the girls. 

The Chocolate Baileys was delicious

.....a perfect addition to your hot chocolate this winter!

There were so many people here to celebrate chocolate in all its wonderful forms. Sam and I got a quick chocolaty snack. Warmed Nutella covered strawberries. It was divine. 

In addition to all of the chocolate venders, we were able to see some beautiful ceramic plates, ornaments, and trinkets. We checked out the work of a local artist. I snapped a quick picture of my favorite piece. And what doesn’t go better with chocolate than cheese and wine? We sampled a couple wines from a local winery and settled on a pinot grigio (Ramona Singer would be proud) and decided to skip the cheese. 

Look! Even chocolate people...I mean, marionettes?

Had to skip the carnival due to excess consumption of chocolate 

I had such a great time in Perugia and would recommend checking out Florence for Fun for some fun weekend travel! 

A beautiful end to a chocolaty day

Beautiful Tuscany

This past weekend I decided to stay in Florence to go explore, and exploring I did.

Once the final bell rang and the weekend began I kicked it off with a tour of the Teatro Della Pergola, one of Florence’s oldest theaters. It was pretty cool!

Thursday night, some girlfriends and I decided it was about time we had some Mexican food. We checked out Tijuana, local Mexican restaurant, and grabbed some chips and salsa and margaritas. Good company definitely made the experience; the Mexican food is just not the same over here. After, we decided to check out The Lion’s Fountain Pub—it was karaoke night. We met some friendly guys from Switzerland and were able to dance the night away with some friends from school.

“3-in-1 Tuscan Tour” made up most of my day on Friday. About 40 students from Gonzaga boarded a bus on Friday morning and headed off to Monteriggioni, Siena, and San Gimignano for a day-trip lead by one of the professors from the university.

Monteriggioni was the first stop we made. It is a medieval walled town that was built by the Sienese in 1214 as a front line in their wars against Florence. Monteriggioni was quite quant and beautiful. We stopped to walk around the town and grab a quick café.

Next stop: Siena! Siena is also a medieval city, located in the north of Italy some 70 km south of Florence. It was first established as a Roman colony by Augustus, and quickly became one of the major cities of Europe during the 12^th and 13^th centuries. Today, Siena is one of the nation’s most visited tourist attractions and famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval landscape and the Palio—a horse race held twice a year where the Seventeen Contrade compete. If you have the time, it’s worth the google search. 

(Flags from some of the Contrade--neighborhoods of Siena)

We visited the Duomo, Siena’s magnificent lack and white Italian Romanesque cathedral including Libreria Piccolomini, Baptistery, and an attached Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Where the old façade of the Duomo still stands there is a small staircase that you can climb to be able to see some of the most amazing views of Siena. Of course, we just had to do it!

(This photo is not photoshop-ed, people)

San Gimignano was the last of the three towns that we visited in Tuscany. It is a classic Tuscan hill down that overlooks the scenic valley of Elsa. San Gimignano is known for its medieval architecture, which boasts a beautiful skyline made up of 14 of the original 72 tower that date back to the 14^th century. Courtney and I grabbed a quick gelato and explored the town. We saw a puppet show, a wishing well, and stumbled across Torre Grossa. Torre Grossa is the tallest tower in the city at 200 feet. Once again, we had to climb up it. The views of the valley of Elsa and the rest of the town were unreal. We were also able to catch it at sunset, which only made me fall even more in love with Italy and all its history and natural beauty.

Once we arrived back in Florence Maddie, Jenn, Mary, Courtney and I all went to check out Dante’s. Dante’s is a restaurant located across the Arno River and is pretty popular amongst the students who come to study abroad in Florence. Why? Free wine. If you are a student, Dante’s will provide you with lots of wine…free of charge! Fair to say, we had a wonderful night!

Courtney and I designated Saturday to be tourists in Florence. In the morning we toured Santa Croce Basilica, which is now the burial place for some of Italy’s well-known names. Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and many others are buried and paid tribute to here. It is definitely worth the visit if you are ever in Florence. We also visited our favorite bus tour company, which we discovered in London, once again. We were taken around the outside of the city, up to the Piazza Michelangelo, and even up to Fiesole. Although it was an excellent way to become better oriented with the city, I’m not sure I would recommend it while visiting Florence. Florence must be discovered on foot, where buses just cannot manage to go. We had a blast nonetheless!

I spent most of Sunday studying, but I was able to get out Sunday night to head to church at the Duomo. The Archbishop actually led the mass, so that was a rad way to end the weekend!

I ♥ Ireland

Through GIF’s Travel Learning Program, I was able to go to Dublin, Ireland! The program included accommodation at All Hallows College, a half-day guided tour of Dublin, and a full-day tour to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.

After arriving in Dublin, all 12 of the students on the trip met up at All Hallows. We quickly checked in and decided to go out as a group for pints and pizza, since we were eating dinner pretty late at night we didn’t have very many options.

 

Myself, Nicole, Patron, Shannon, and Zach

Friday we woke up and hopped on the Pattywagon (our main mode of transportation for the weekend) to go explore the City Center. During our bus tour we stopped off at St. Audoen’s Church. The church is located just south of the River Liffey and is bordered at one end by the original city wall. Once inside the church, I was able to give the legendary Lucky Stone a quick slap and a rub in hopes luck would come my way.

 

A slap for good luck!

We made our way to Marsh’s library, the oldest library in Ireland. I love libraries and I love visiting libraries from all over the world. Dorky…I know, but it’s true. The library holds over 25,000 books from the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries, in addition to around 300 manuscripts, and about 80 books from before 1501. Today, the library is still serving its original purpose, with students from all over the world coming to study from its original texts.

Fun Fact: During the Age of Enlightenment, libraries were encouraged to provide educational resources to anyone who pursued such knowledge, in hopes that these students would become the next generation of great thinkers. This idea, although admirable, was flawed. Since books were accessible by the public, it was no surprise that many began to go missing. To alleviate the disappearance of books, Marsh’s library installed cages. If an individual wanted to study from one of the books, the keeper or librarian would lock you in a cage, give you the book, and would not release you until after the book was returned. I found this quite funny!

Ireland's Best Kept Secret: Marsh's Library

We visited some of the squares that were scattered around the city—I even found Oscar Wilde in one!

Also, we were able to see many of the places surrounding the renowned author, James Joyce, who is known best for his books, Ulysses, Dubliners, and Finnegans Wake.

After we were able to go to Phoenix Park, which happens to be one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. Both the home of the President of Ireland and the U.S. Ambassador reside there, as well as one of the world’s oldest zoos, multiple sports fields, and many monuments.  

Where the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, lives

In 1979, Pope John Paul II came to Ireland. In preparation for his visit the Papal Cross was erected as his stage where the Pope would address crowds of people. We were able to get out and walk around a little bit here and enjoy the sunshine, blue skies, and cool breeze. 

Lauren and I

After the tour and becoming more familiar with Dublin, the 12 of us went to The Brazen Head, Ireland’s oldest pub for lunch. I enjoyed one of the best salads I’ve had since arriving in Europe—it was divine.

Once we had a little food on our stomachs, some of us went to the Guinness Factory to learn a little more about this popular Irish dry stout. Arthur Guinness founded Guinness Brewery in 1759, meaning his brewery is older than the United States (although, most things are).

We learned about the harvesting, brewing, and tasting process, all which were very interesting. However, my favorite part of the tour was learning to pour the perfect pint. There is a science to it. Promise.

We can official pour a perfect pint of Guinness!

Once we had poured our perfect pints we were able to go enjoy them upstairs to the Gravity Bar, where are some of the most picturesque views of Dublin.

360° View of Dublin City Center at the Gravity Bar

Having some time left in the day, we walked around the city center where we saw Trinity College and visited the main shopping street, Grafton Street. After we headed back for a group dinner.

Saturday we went to go visit the Cliffs of Moher. On our way there we stopped in Galway for lunch. Galway is known for its beautiful crystal, but also the claddagh ring. The ring itself is made up if a heart held by two hands and topped with a crown, symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty.

Blue skies in Galway

I couldn't resist not getting one!

The Cliffs of Moher were unreal! The pictures do not do them justice. The cliffs are located on Ireland’s western coast and rise anywhere from 390-702 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

The cliffs have become even more popular over the years thanks to pop culture. They have appeared in films such as The Princess Bride, Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince, and P.S. I Love You. We could not have asked for a better day to visit, the weather was absolutely perfect, which only aided in the natural beauty of the Cliffs of Moher.

Cutest Couple Ever

On our way home we stopped by Bunratty Castle.

Mattie and I

Sean, Grace, Lauren, and I ended our weekend in Ireland at The Temple Bar where we watched a live band play some traditional Irish tunes, and watched as some locals danced.

Ireland has to be one of the friendliest places I have ever been to. I cannot wait till I am able to go back!