Parma Lovin' Happened So Fast

Last Italian class

Since we started our abroad adventures together in Florence, the 23 of us liked to replace lyrics in popular songs with lyrics that related to us. Hence, "Summer Lovin'" turned into "Parma Lovin'" throughout the last month of our semester. Although filled with sentimental goodbyes, my last week in Parma was wonderful. My finals went fine and studying was mostly stress-free, and my parents visited the last two nights before we met my siblings in Rome for our Mediterranean cruise (which was also amazing!). Our last night in Parma was unforgettable.

Farewell dinner

I have been so incredibly blessed to spend the last four or so months with 22 people I may not have built these kinds of friendships with at BC if it weren't for abroad. We all chose this particular
program for some similar reasons, even if we all aren't necessarily similar people. It just so happened that we all love food and are uniquely weird in ways that surprisingly meshed well together (and brought out new forms of strangeness in our group). Reflecting on how close we all became towards the end, it almost felt like a four-month long retreat with these amazing people! After our delicious 5-course farewell dinner on our last night, we exchanged affirmation letters/notes of encouragement to each person and presented "paper plate award" superlatives. This just epitomized our group's thoughtfulness and healthy sense of humor towards each other. My superlative was "Most Likely to Be Flooded with Packages," which was both a reference to the insane amount of cards and packages I received compared to everyone else (THANK YOU everyone who showed their love to me in that way) as well as the time I flooded our hostel room with my shower. Very clever.

Everyone on Ponte di Mezzo

The rest of the night, we walked around Parma with all of us. We sat on the main bridge in the city, Ponte di Mezzo and headed to Piazza Garibaldi to play ninja and reflect on our experiences. We all sat on the steps of a building in the Piazza and half of us informally got up in front of everyone to share about how much we valued each other and how pivotal this semester was for us in different ways. Some tears were flowing and hugs were offered as we said goodbye to the first person who left in her taxi at 3am. At this point, we ran through the empty streets and made our way to the "secret bakery" for the freshest pastries. At certain pasticceria's throughout the city, the bakers will crack their kitchen doors open no earlier than 2am for whoever wants a cheap, warm Nutella- and love-filled snack. This was one of the greatest ways to end my last night.

I said goodbye to everyone at 4am and prepared for my next adventure with my family. And I am so thankful to God for the experiences I've had and the relationships I've built this semester. I have no doubt that these friendships will continue to strengthen throughout this summer and next year in Boston. Ciao for now :)...

The Amalfi Coast: The Last Hurrah!

Leading up to this trip was a bit of a challenge, but it was, once again, an amazing weekend with my new spring semester friends. Seventeen of us from Parma booked this trip to the Amalfi Coast on Italy's Southwestern side through Bus2Alps. This company plans trips for college students studying abroad, but they tend to be a bit overpriced. It was a little painful for me to spend what I did for this weekend as it was, but two days before we left we were told we have to pay an extra 70-euros for our transportation, which we were not informed of when we purchased our tickets. Soooo I was emailing and calling the managers to sort this out and am still communicating with them about this unfair extra charge. At this point, I doubt I'd get any money back, but I don't want future study abroad students to have to do the same thing. Fortunately, I didn't let this setback ruin my weekend at all.

Grotta Azzura

Our bus from Parma to Sorrento took about 10 hours and also picked up kids from Florence and Rome. We watched several movies and I slept for about 3 hours, which I was very grateful for since we arrived around 3am. We slept for another 3 hours and had a very early start that morning to the island of Capri. I later regretted not getting a Caprese salad here, but I did enjoy a delicious granita, a shaved-ice drink with lemon and fresh orange juice (most popular in Sicily). We took a boat around the whole island and took a rowboat into the Grotta Azzura, or Blue Grotto. This water-filled cave is one of the natural wonders of Europe and, once inside, the water glows light blue from the way the sunlight hits it. We headed up to the town of Anacapri where I ate delicious tagliatelle with lemon and shrimp (this area is known for its lemons and seafood) and tasted Limoncello, a popular digestivo of the area. It's too sweet for me, though. Once our tastes were satisfied we took a chairlift to the top of the island for a beautiful an unforgettable panoramic. When I looked down at the cliffs and saw the birds circling beneath me, it really looked like I was in Jurassic Park.

Faraglioni rock formations ("rock of love" in center).

Chairlift above Capri

Leap of faith!

 On Saturday, we went to one of the favorite places I visited and one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Italy: Positano. I have only ever associated that name with a pizza place in my town, but after going cliff jumping (sorry, Mom) and cave swimming in the actual city, it's safe to say I'll think of something different when I hear the name now. The two cliffs were 20 and 40 feet...jumping off the higher one was actually scarier for me than jumping out of a plane two summers ago. The adrenaline rush was great and was only diminished by the jellyfish sting I got at the shoreline. I also ate a great focaccia sandwich from a place called Vini & Panini...so there was really only one downside to the day.

Kelley and me in Pompeii

Before heading all the way back to Parma on our last day, the group stopped in Pompeii for a guided tour of the ancient city. The volcanic ash from the nearby Mount Vesuvius preserved the ruins of the city that still stand today. There is so much to see there; we barely scratched the surface in an hour and a half! We ate at a recommended place called Pompeii Pizza, but New Jersey's Positano's might actually be better. I was very disappointed with the gelato in Pompeii, but I made up for it the following (final) week in Parma.

Parmesans take on Cinque Terre

View from the hike

Our program visit to Cinque Terre, meaning "five lands/towns," was one of my favorite days of the semester! All 23 of us Boston College Parmesans headed to Italy's Northwestern coast to explore mainly two of the five terre: Vernazza and Monterosso. I believe the other three are Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggior. I ate some delicious pesto pizza and followed my Italian professor and the rest of our group as we hiked about two hours uphill from one beach to another. I really felt like I earned my time to lay down on the rocky sand after this! (Side note: the rocks were small enough that they were still comfortable to lay on but big enough to be brushed off easily. But it would definitely be hard making a sandcastle with that terrain).

The water was so refreshing and had so much salt in it I barely had to tread water to float. The pastel-colored houses really typified what comes to mind when I think of the Italian coastline. Our professor went back to Parma once our hike ended, so we just had more bonding time and enjoyed a seafood dinner to celebrate Vanessa's birthday. The train ride home was probably the only not-so-great part of the day. The 23 of us loud Americans were terrified of this little Italian man who kept peeking into the car we were all sitting in, thinking the worst was going to happen at 11pm. Naturally, though, he was probably just curious as to who we were, why we were dancing and singing to 90s music on this train, and how we could be such a good-looking group! Just kidding...kind of.

The fun-loving group (minus 1)

Bardi Castle

So far, this is looking like the top of my choices for where I want to get married. What girl doesn't want to feel like a princess on her wedding day? And how much more possible would that feeling be if she got married in a castle? The logistics of having all my loved ones fly to Italy can be figured out later, of course.

Just to clarify, I'm not traveling around Italy searching for wedding venues. I actually went to Bardi with my History of Parma class - our last field trip of the semester! The Landi dynasty, who were vassals of the emperor, lived in Bardi Castle until 1682 when it was sold to Ranucci II Farnese. The Farnese Family had an important role in the times of Medieval Parma and lived in my wonderful city for some time.

We were told this is a "real" Medieval castle because it's set on a hill that overlooks the surrounding areas in case enemies approached. Mostly what I remember, though, is that it's beautiful. And you take very windy roads to get there.

Praga: Where you're better off not pronouncing anything

Charles Bridge

Prague, Czech Republic was one of the top cities on my list that I wanted to see when I came abroad. I was upset at first because everyone in my program was going weekends I couldn't, but it worked out and I got to see two of my best friends from BC, Casey and Ericka! This was also the weekend after the Boston Bombings, so it was a true blessing to be able to comfort each other during such a tragic and scary time. My flight there was definitely the best flight I've taken in Europe. I had all three seats to myself, so I laid down and fell right asleep, which was necessary to prepare for a full day of sightseeing after four hours of sleep!

Main Sites:

Astronomical Clock & Tyn Church

- Jewish Quarter, seven(?) synagogues and a cemetery with ~12,000 tombstones but >100,000 people buried there. There was a lot of Jewish oppression in Prague and they weren't allowed to bury their own outside of their ghetto.
- Charles Bridge
- Prague Castle, eight(?) different sites to see on the Castle's grounds. My favorite was Golden Lane, which had a showcase of Medieval armor upstairs above the row of tiny houses where some famous people used to live, including Franz Kafka.

Top of Clock Tower

- Lennon Wall, which is a wall filled with graffiti dedicated to John Lennon and the Beatles but also has other graffiti on it now. It literally took us TWO HOURS to find where this was. We asked six different people who pointed us in six different directions, so we ended up
circling the area for two hours until we finally stumbled across it. We weren't about to give up at that point, even though we were exhausted and Ericka's poor knees were probably killing her. BC students were there earlier in the week after the Boston Bombings and spray-painted a huge "For here all are one" section of the wall (BC's fight song). I got chills and started tearing up when I saw this. I'm so thankful to them for doing that.
- Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock Tower, which was hands down the most efficient
tower I've climbed while abroad. For the last part of the stairs, they have a stoplight that tells the people on the bottom and top when they can go.

Beef goulash

Some Restaurants and Food:
- Lokal (beef goulash with dumplings, Pilsner Urquell "creme" beer)
- Konvict (pork and mashed potatoes)
- U Medcidku (toast with whipped beer cheese, Caesar salad, duck, 1466 unfiltered light lager)
- Trdelnik - a delicious spiral of heated dough in cinnamon, sugar, and almonds

Trdelnik

Overall, it was amazing to see my friends and so great to see my first Eastern European city. If anyone reading this wants to find the Lennon Wall, it's on a street called Velkoprevorske Namesti. Just try to say it!

Boston Strong

During the tragic event on Marathon Monday, it was difficult being away from my friends and sister in Boston. I felt like my heart was thousands of miles away from me. All of us in Parma were barely able to communicate with our loved ones there and were intermittently following the news we attempted to live stream. We all had friends running the marathon, and many of us had siblings or family members spectating. I was so relieved when I found out everyone I knew was safe, but my heart was breaking for all the victims and their families.

In the wake of the Boston Bombings, I kept thinking of how much Chris Tomlin's song "God of this City" related to Boston when he sings: "You're the God of this city, you're the King of these people, you're the Lord of this nation...you're the Light in this darkness, you're the Hope to the hopeless, you're the Peace to the restless...greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city." My prayers for all of my loved ones and all those I don't know in Boston has been for Him to be their God and for us to trust that greater things will be done there. I am also reminded that despite the horrific acts of the perpetrators, Jesus tells us we also need grace like they do, for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." In my human nature, I want "an eye for an eye;" but in my Spirit, I want everyone's heart to turn to Christ. It is events like this showing the depravity in the world that I think point to our need for a Savior to redeem it. Thank God He has.

I may hate its sports teams, but I love Boston's community, strength, and endurance. God willing, Bostonians won't let this incident keep them down, but they'll use it as a way to see that when they are weak in themselves, they can be STRONG in the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Vino in Torino

Hazelnut chocolate is a must!

Our two days in Torino as a whole group were so much fun! This was one of my favorite cities in Italy and I would definitely love to go back. It also seems like it would be a great city to study in! When walking down the main streets of Torino you can see rolling green hills on one side and the Alps on the other. It's a comfortable enough size that it seems like I could learn my way around pretty quickly but still have areas to explore, similar to Parma.

View of Torino

The group and I visited the Cinema Museum, which was very interactive and had a bunch of
paraphernalia from various popular movies. We also rode a glass elevator to the top to see a panoramic view of Torino (not recommended for those with claustrophobia or a fear of heights...but two people from our group did still it). Torino also apparently has the third (they claim second) largest Egyptian museum in the world. The ancient artifacts were really interesting; the mummified bodies weren't my favorite (they still had their hair!). We also saw an old palace that now has, among other things, a lot of knights' armor and taxidermied horses.

Medieval Borgo

We took a boat along the Po River, the longest river in Italy, to a

Wine cellar tour

Medieval borgo (borough/castle area) next to a beautiful public park. Water, castle, green spaces: I obviously loved all of this. On Saturday, we made our way to Monforte d'Alba where we went wine tasting at Fontanafredda. I fell asleep on the bus ride and woke up to the most picturesque view of grasslands and flowers near a stream with the Alps as the backdrop. I felt like I was in a fairy tale, like I have for many of my trips around Italy. We tasted Alta Langa, Mirafiore, and Barolo, the latter of which is supposedly one of the best types of wines in Italy. I'm no wine connoisseur, but I thought it was pretty darn good!

Nice "family" in Monforte