prague

Our second stop on our trip was Prague. I had heard amazing things about the city, the beauty, and especially the nightlife so I was excited to finally experience the hype. Even so, though, after a 14 hour overnight train ride I would've been pleased with anything...

After arriving early in the morning, and not being able to check into our hostel quite yet, we decided to hit up an "American, very touristy" place for brunch (according to the hostel workers..). An omelet, hasbrowns, and 2 piece of toast later we were feeling ready for a shower and an actual start to our day. We took advantage of the free walking tour that our hostel provided and saw the highlughts of the neighborhood where we were staying before heading to an authentic Czech meal...(last time you'll hear those words come out of my mouth...). Meat, meat, and more meat. The only thing I enjoyed was the unlimited beer that went along with the food.

View from outside our hostel

#nonewfriends

Sunset over Prague

 The next morning we wanted to make sure to hit all the hot spots so we woke early, got a quick Starbucks (thank the lord for the green goddess) and hit the ground running. We saw the astronomical clock turn at the hour, tried some traditional Czech pastries from the Easter Market in Old Town Square, and then spent the afternoon exploring Prague castle and the micro-breweries (cant't go a day without beer..) on the hill overlooking the city. 

Astronomical Clock

Easter Market in Old Town Square

The BEST Donut-thing ever

Cathedral at Prague Castle

View from the top

Beer and a bread bowl...need I say more?

On our last day we made a trip to the John Lennon Peace Wall, and it was so cool. All the bright, vibrant colors and words of peace, love, and respect was truly a site to see. We then ended our trip with, are you ready for it....a ghost tour of Prague. **Cue scary music** It was, ummm, funny, to say the least... 

Peace n' Love

Rainbow just in time to start the Ghost Tour

The most haunted window in Prague...

Our trusty (and brave) guide...LOL

Beautiful sunset

We Survived! No haunted houses ate us up!

 Prague was truly so beautiful, and I feel like every place I go I am more and more blown away. I can't wait to hopefully return one day...after all, our guide did tell us it is a playground for celebs so I guess I should keep coming back until I meet one and we fall in love...

Until then, I guess Munich for Springfest and drinking beers the size of my head will do.

Stay posted, more to come,

M

amsterdam

We started our second (yes, you heard that right) spring break in Amsterdam, and I think that I now may have a new favorite European city; Amsterdam. The canals and the scenery, its all so beautiful, and even despite the presence of the Red Light District, there is just such an interesting contrast in the city that made me really think it was cool.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and immediately started out to see the city. We walked around a bit, and being tired of traveling we ended the night early after dinner and Geisha, an amazing Asian fusion restaurant.

Friday we got up early to try and make it to see the Anne Frank house before the crowd, but little did we know that getting to the museum at opening time was considered being late. The line was already 3 hours long so we decided to give it a try later and instead go an try the famous pancakes from Pancake Corner, and I have to admit I was not impressed. I think our Mickey Mouse pancake maker at home can whip up a better one...

Banana Nutella Pancake

After brunch we headed to the Heineken factory and the I am Amsterdam sign to check some more "must-dos" off the list. 

Casual Cow-uch (get it?) at the ticket office

The tiniest Heineken ever

Damn.Dam.Amsterdam.

Peace y'all 

 We then ended the day with visiting the Anne Frank House, and I was completely moved and given chills the entire time walking through the house just thinking about the courage and fear and pain that Anne and her family endured. It was truly amazing to be able to walk the same halls that she did and see the infamous attic where her family hid. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the house, but this is a wonderful quote by Anne Frank that I love.

Saturday we took advantage of the sun and walked around the markets and got lunch outside before heading to the zoo (Lizzie insisted it's one of the best so we thought we'd give it a try...). As soon as we walked in the zoo I knew that it was quite different from any zoo I've ever visited in that there are no gates or walls really separating us between the animals. Either they are more well trained or Europeans can run faster, but it was a little nerve wracking... 

 Welcome to the Jungle.

Just for you, Mom.

Nemo

Perfect way to end the trip

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Saturday night we hopped on a train and got snuggled into our tiny bunk beds to head to Prague; 14 hours on a train with no internet...

More on spring break to come!

Ciao, for now,

M

nice is just a place in france

The French Riviera, or as I would more properly describe it, The Land of the Beautiful People (and cars, and houses, and beaches, and even crepes...). Needless to say, it was a gorgeous weekend in France. We visited Nice, Eze, Monte Carlo, and Antibes, and I loved every minute (the cherry on top would be to travel between them by yacht not bus but maybe next time...). 

Nice.

We began our weekend in Nice by waking up early Friday morning (after an all night bus ride) and going on a walking tour and then, we hiked to the top of the town to a beautiful waterfall and also beautiful views of the beaches, water, and city. I could not believe how breathtakingly beautiful these views were; they are only things I've seen out of a postcard.

Nice city centre

Awkward solo shot

After our hike we took advantage of the afternoon by visiting the flower and fruit market in town, and just strolled along the beach front stopping along the way to enjoy the amazing brie and crackers we got at the market. 

That night we got the best sushi we've yet to have abroad, and they even had Nutella and banana dessert sushi to top it off. After dinner we headed over to Wayne's Bar which is probably one of my favorite bars ever. A live band playing the best of the 80s/90s and endless Coronas resulted in the entire bar on the tables dancing and singing on the top of their lungs.

Enough sushi to feed a small country...

 

Our only picture from Wayne's

Eze.

Although our time in Eze was short it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. Upon arriving we took a tour of the Fragonard perfumery and learned about the intense process of making perfume. Did you know? To become a perfume maker there are only 2 schools in the world (both in France) and you have to go for 7-10 years in order to graduate, and after graduation you can only work 2 hours a day because that is all your nose can handle to do and you still make almost six figures! It was so interesting to learn all about this process, and in the end we were even able to purchase custom perfume right from the factory. 

The chemistry behind perfume making

Duck shaped soaps...each one is painted by hand

The Fragonard Factory

After our tour we headed up to the top of Eze to the Exotic Gardens which were probably the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. Who knew cacti could be so pretty? We enjoyed the gorgeous views (and sun) and then headed down to have lunch.

Monte Carlo.

Holy, holy, holy. I have no words for the insanity that was Monte Carlo, but lets just say it is a rich peoples world that we are just living in, I'll tell you that much... It was the craziest sight I have ever seen. The shopping, the clothes, the CARS! It was an amazing afternoon of people watching and day dreaming of what we would do if we had access to their credit cards for just one day ;)

Le Casino

Hotel Paris

The only thing we could afford in this town...

Antibes.

The last stop on our Riviera adventure was the beach town, Antibes. Known for its 48 beaches, Antibes was a quaint, relaxing town, but with beaches come boats and with boats come yachts (so day dreaming once again kept us busy). We relaxed on the beach and tried to finally get some sun before heading back to Florence. 

Sums up my day in Antibes...#whitegirlproblems

Can't wait for the day I make it big and head back to the French Riviera, but I guess its "Ciao for Now", France,

M