Saturday, November 5, 2011

Milan!

FOUR DAYS OFF...a responsible student would make good use of this time to catch up on studies and get a head start on projects. Yes, a good student would do that but I had to get out of dodge and quick. After two months of living and breathing school, the break was my time to remind myself about living. What better way than to run away and  meet a good friend in Milan. 

My first time in Italy, Milan was a strange and therefore wonderful place to explore.Milan is the second largest city in Italy, it's financial heart and the fashion capital. You would think this city would be incredibly svelte. Although the people were dressed well, I found a city large and gritty and I fell a little bit in love with its delicious treats and its beating pulse. We wandered on the streets, eating chestnuts and looking an hard to fathom Gothic cathedrals and finding delicious places to eat Italian snacks.We holed up in libraries doing work (ok still too nerdy to totally take time off) and see incredible art exhibits including a special show of the art of Artesima Gentileschi. What a babe.

Here is a few glimpses into my trip.


Our hotel room which was sweet and had a little balcony.



So many people on bikes!

Alexis and I at the Royal!








In trying to find the public library to work in you some times just find pretty churches.


Duomo!


Creepy yet important relics on display.






We made our way on an  epic walking tour to the  Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
Sadly, that is just when my camera died (ha) 



But I was able to take these last few photos.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Fall Treats

A few weeks ago, sitting in the library I got a hankering to get up and go. My friend Jonathon, who is from Chicago, came with me. We decided to make our way to Buda.Budapest has only been a united city for a relatively short time since the mid -19th Century. Pest  is the flat, more expansive, part of Budapest where the CEU is located. Buda  is the hilly side of Budapest and the Danube winds between these two areas keeping them separate.  Winding up its streets was a great way to leave behind readings, essays, presentations, ambitions, and worries. The streets were narrow and steep but at the top laid endless treats.

Paprika!


 When your stomach rumbles like mine does, you can suddenly find yourself having an  incredibly fancy lunch for no other reason then because its a beautiful day and nothing seems so bad in forint. Although my wallet was lighter, I have to say it was a perfect beginning of Fall. It was a treat to sit high above Pest and fill my stomach with the delights that you can see below.

                                                     
Sometimes the chef just gives you little treats.
Best soup ever.
                                                     
 Moving back down to our real lives at the Central European University, we managed to cram in a few more sites like St. Mathias church with its Gothic spires and zig-zagged roof.


                                                                     


  
Perhaps because I am so foreign to this land and there is so much to adjust to but now more than ever, I realize that it's important to pull out and see what is around me. It is easy to walk your eyes straight head, making your way to the next step up and up. But I find when I can stop myself even a little bit and take my self on an adventure, even if it is just walking down another street to the metro, I feel brand new.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A day in the life


I decided to make a little photo collage of a normal day for me. You can find  me skyping Patrick, take a peek at my favorite coffee shop  right around the corner of CEU and my usual paths to and from school. You can walk through the park with beautiful fountains made of stone women  who sit and silently watching the people go by. See the CEU in all its glory and my metro trips home in the relics of communist transport. Enjoy...I most always do.

































Monday, October 3, 2011

These shoes where made for walking



I look at the forecast and I finally see some much desired grey clouds on the horizon. School has been quite the revelation. I didn't think it would be easy but I didn't know it could be this hard. The week had been a really test to stay grounded which I failed. However, you have to fall to learn to walk and so that is what I am doing, falling on my face an learning how to stand. To shake myself out of these blues I tried to get myself into the woods. Sat and Sunday where trips to the wooded parts of Budapest. On Saturday I went solo on the number 22 to bus to the second to the last stop, on the edge of the city. I found a whole trail system and so did some investigating.
Good omens for my first hike in the city


Dried out river bed



Treefitti


Its important to fancy up nature


I love adds on the Bus stop

On Sunday Denis, a new friend from Italy who is getting his PhD in cognitive science, and I went on trip to Margret Island which is a small island in the Danube filled with parks, petting zoos, and ruins. We wandered around and saw all kinds of new angles on the city as well as infinite joggers and bikers flowing past. It was a good way to warm up and enjoy the sun before heading into the library to cocoon for hours.

Deer, deer everywhere!

Denis got really excited about the deer and squirrels...don't ask me why 

Storks! 



The edge  of the island
So all this walking put me in a better state of mind and I am looking forward to another week of falling and rising.