Hej, Halo, Ciao!

Don't hurry, don't worry.  You're only here for a short visit so be sure 

to smell the flowers along the way.

Walter Hager

view near our hostel in Rome

Hello! So Michelle and I have been in Europe for 4 days, and already explored 3 cities! The adventure began as soon as our wheels touched down in Copenhagen- we were met with what would seem like a blizzard in the U.S.  Snow swirled around our huge plane, and we could barely see outside our windows. After retrieving our bags, we took the metro and I learned (and retained) my first danish word: naeste - it means next! naeste station: Nørreport.  Thats the station closest to DIS. 

City Square in Base

We attempted to drag our suitcases through the snow...very much a fail!  We finally got a taxi to DIS, stored our bags, and, headed out to our hostel- Sleep in Heaven (I DEFINITELY recommend it if you're ever in Copenhagen!) There we met some incredible people, a girl from London and a girl from Japan, and two guys from Germany.  Together we aimlessly explored the snowy streets of Copenhagen- it was completely wonderful :)  We had our first danish in Denmark too! A small chocolate croissant, yum yum yum!

view of Rhine River in Basel

The next morning, we headed to Basel, Switzerland, where we were in for much more than we anticipated.   The city of Basel is absolutely gorgeous- everything was still decorated with Christmas lights and shining.  Our hostel was another winner too.  A side note- from our arrival to Copenhagen through our stay in Basel, we were being incredibly stingy with money- everyone has warned us of the slippery slope of spending money while abroad, so we basically were eating small rolls of bread and drinking water for each meal to conserve funds.  Our one splurge: a fantastic dark chocolate truffle- after all, it is Swiss :)  After going back to our hostel, we met more awesome people!  Please check out the artwork on this website www.allthecolors.net - the artist stayed at our hostel and actually painted all the murals there, pretty cool!  He and his girlfriend live a life of "nomads", traveling from city to city all around the world, staying long enough to make money and buy their next plane ticket.  Stop before Basel: India. Next stop: Central America.  So so cool!
By far my favorite aspect of my semester abroad so far, (you know, my whole 4 days of it), is having the opportunity to meet people from all over the world.  But on this topic, I'll say more in a bit...just trying to give a rundown of all our activity first!

daisies in Piazza di Campo

So the next morning, after just under 20 hours in Basel, Michelle and I headed for Rome, Italy!  We left our hostel at 450am, which was very difficult to do.  Also, while traveling is amazing, a big side aspect is lack of sleep...oh well, the price to pay for trying to experience the most of each new place!  When we arrived in Rome, we hit the ground running. 

vegetables in Piazza di Campo

square in front of Pantheon

THE POPE !!

We went to an amazing outdoor market in Piazza di Campo, where there were tons of fresh vegetables and fruits and tomatoes for making sauce and spices...it smelled similar to what heaven probably smells like!  Michelle and I picked up some dried mango- probably the best I've ever had!  We went to the Pantheon and also grabbed lunch at a little place where we had wonderful gnocchi and tomato and mozzarella!  Next stop- Vatican Museums.  The sculptures and artwork here were incredible, and St. Peter's Basilica- breathtaking.  We walked a ton and after little sleep the night before, were completely exhausted and called it a night. 

in the Vatican

Today, we visited Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Coliseum in the morning, and at noon, we revisited Vatican City to hear the Pope speak to the crowd! That was such an amazing experience...to have St. Peter's Square full of people of all nationalities, hearing our Pope speak in 6 or 7 different languages, addressing the crowd... ah sigh :)  Next to me was a woman who has lived in Rome for 50 years, and never been there to hear the Pope speak. 

you can drink out of any fountain in Rome!

She spoke a little English and helped Michelle and I understand when the Pope was speaking in Italian.  It was really cool to share a first time experience like that with a woman from a completely different generation, language, and part of the world. 

We truly are all more connected to each other than we choose to realize, but I think that is one of the coolest parts of humanity!  In the afternoon we visited Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, and watched the sunset from Villa Borghese park.  Dinner was in a fantastic pizza place, followed by Carmel with Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Gelato. yum :) Okay, so my thoughts on all of this...it feels like a dream!  It is unbelievable to pause and realize that yes, in fact, I am in Rome, Italy, that I am traveling Europe, experiencing a new culture and yet I was in my home in NJ one week ago.  Craziness.

Rome is so "photogenic" :)

The best part of my travels have been the people I've had the chance to meet.  I am so amazed by people, EVERYWHERE.  they are so thoughtful and helpful and kind!  I've been thinking more and more about why I may be noticing this more, and I think its because i am vulnerable, and in a state of not being "fully prepared" for what I will face in each situation.  I don't know these cities, i dont know these languages, i dont know any people- I am a small fish in a whole new pond!  and the COOLEST thing about that is, people are SO WILLING to reach out and lend a hand, attempt to give directions despite language barriers, help us find a taxi, excuse our poor attempts at speaking, and always, always share a smile! It's so cool! when we allow ourselves to be reached by others, to put down our proud walls, we allow ourselves to be a part of humanity and realize that we are not alone, but are all experiencing this incredible world together!

throwing a penny is the Trevi Fountain

The college-aged kids from Copenhagen from everywhere- USA (us) to London to Germany to Japan!  The wonderful free-spirited artist Norman and his girlfriend from Bulgaria.  The incredibly thoughtful and kindhearted hostel owner in Rome who offered to book our taxi tickets and gave us an extensive description of where to go in this ancient city.  The cool italian guy who now lives in LA and is a musician, but started a friendly conversation with us when he heard us speak and could obviously tell we were from America.  All of the people in every city who have pointed us in the right direction as we interpret our foreign maps.  Right back to the good ol' US of A Newark airport where the TSA officer was engaging in conversation with all of the people waiting on line for security, just to put a smile on our faces.  If we're open to it, people everywhere are willing to give us these small, priceless gifts from their heart.  Maybe this sounds incredibly cliche or idealistic of me, but try it!  Coming to Europe and being very real with myself about the facts that I don't know these cities, I don't know these languages, and I really don't know how to get from point A to point B, made it evident that I did not have everything under control and could not be self-sufficient... but it turns out, not being self sufficient is what has made this experience so far better than I ever could expect!  It's not just the beautiful places and delicious foods that make a visit somewhere great I've learned, it's the people you  are changed a little by as you meet them along the way :)

Michelle and I in front of the Coliseum

So, that's all for now, stay tuned for another update after Michelle and I have some more, exciting and unpredictable adventures!