Birthday Festivities!

As a young girl I always imagined the day when I would turn 21 and miraculously become this wise and knowledgeable adult. Did I ever imagine myself celebrating it in Rome?...never. Minus the fact that I was not with my boyfriend and my family it really was the most amazing birthday ever! Deanna and Katherine surprised me at 12:00 by popping a bottle of Prozeca champagne (my new favorite!) My roomates, Addie and Allie, bought me beautiful daisies from the flower shop down the street and my friends even made me a shot book! That night we headed to the restaurant La Cisterna. I have never received such "birthday treatment" in my life. Our waiters Massimo and Dino wined and dined all of us till we were so full we needed to be rolled out of the restaurant. They showered us in roses, champagne, a 3 course meal, wine, and dessert. I couldn't tell you what it was, but on my 21st birthday I had such a huge realization of how fortunate I really am to have such amazing and special people in my life. Now, I am counting down the days until my family and boyfriend come ( 20 more days!) 

All of us at La Cisterna

All the gifts from my friends!

Dino preparing our antipasta

Delicious sea bass, yummy :) 

Cooking Therapy

As the weeks in Rome fly by I have been increasingly interested in learning how to cook. Being roommates with Deanna, our main chef in the apartment, and tasting all this amazing food has inspired me to become more hands on. And not to mention, I find cooking somewhat therapeutic... if that's what you would call it?? I have even scheduled a five hour cooking and wine tasting class in Rome for when Dylan comes to visit me! Just last week my roommates and Kelly and Jenny came over and we had so much fun and so many laughs making these delicious meatballs!

Kelly and Deanna hard at work :) 

Chicken noodle soup for sick Kat

Reunited in Amsterdam!

If someone asked me a week ago to list two words to describe Amsterdam i would have to say sex and drugs. But, after my long weekend there I could not have been more misconceived. The swans swimming in the canals, the colored bikes leaning against the bridges, the amazing food and the dutch people are all things that would make me return to Amsterdam in a heartbeat. I was so excited when us Roma girls reunited with the Madrid girls in the beautiful city. Together all of us traveled around the city and created our first overseas memories together. We saw the Anne Frank house, which was so surreal to me. Standing in her room and seeing her original diary was something I never imagined myself doing. After the Anne Frank Museum we headed over to the Heineken Factory. Who would of known that an anti-beer drinker like would miraculously turn into a Heineken lover. We learned that due to the hops in the beer, you can never drink a Heinkein slow. In order to taste the sweetness of the beer you need to take large gulps and drink under the foam and carbon dioxide. Who ever knew beer drinking was a science in disguise? We also got the opportunity to go to the Van Gogh Musuem, it was well worth the visit and I learned a lot about Van Gogh that was truly fascinating. For instance, did you ever know that there are only 2 photogrpahs of Van Gogh; one when he was a baby and the other is of the back of his head. The rest are self portraits that he painted; so in reality noone really knows what Van Gogh looks like. Fascinating, huh? Besides all the touristy attractions we enjoyed some amazing food. Thanks to the recommendations of my roommates Addie and Allie who went to amsterdam the week before, we had some amazing meals! We ate at this one place called Homemade, very close to the Anne Frank house were I enjoyed a smoked salmon salad with a homemade lemon vinegertte and a freshly juiced apple and carrot drink. I also had my first thai meal ever at a restaurant called Bird, and I am a HUGE fan. We also fell in love with stroop waffles, dutch hot chocolate, and the Henri Willig cheese shop where I found my new favorite mustard. (unfortunately I got the mustard that I bought here taken away from me at customs...just my luck). Based off another recommendation from Addie and Allie we headed over to the nine streets. The nine streets are filled with quirky shops, trendy boutiques and cozy cafes making it in my opinion, one of the best shopping areas in Amsterdam. I look forward to my next adventure in Amsterdam, because there is no doubt that I will return here in the future!

This would be my bike if i lived in Amsterdam! 

My salmon salad and apple carrot juice at Homemade

Anne Frank's Bedroom

Henri Willig mustard and cheese samples = <3

Jamin candy store = our daily spot

Brad Pitt and George Clooney are frequent visitors at this coffee shop

At Bird Thai Restaurant

Red Light District 

Rembrandt Square

The four ingredients that make Heineken: water, barley, hops, and yeast

Delta Love

Stroop Waffles

Barcelona: Gaudi= my new obsession

Barcelona, wow what a whirlwind of a weekend. I went into this trip with zero expectations, not knowing anything and left with so much knowledge! I feel in love with Barc, I loved the half city half beachy vibe along with the incredible architecture by Gaudi. Deanna, Kat, Laurie, Dana, Kelly and Jenny all stayed with a few of our guy friends from Maryland. They showed us all the highlights of the city along with an amazing nightlife experience. When we first arrived our friend took us out to a little lunch place called Bo Da B located right by the beach. We all had these delicious salads with either chicken or salmon topped with a selection of salsas and a wide variety of fresh veggie toppings.  After our lunch we took  a walk down La Ramblas which is filled with shopping, performers and touristy attractions. Our friend then brought us to the la Boqueria. The bright colors and variety of fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats and candy is absolutely worth a visit! I have heard this is one of the best fresh food markets in all of Europe and I wouldn’t doubt that for a second! The nightlife in Barcelona was a crazy scene! Friday night we went to Opium Mar. The club has a beuatiful  beach-front location and stays open until 6 a.m.! The beach terrace was stunning, the white coaches were there for the party goers to enhoy their drinks and admire the ocean. 

After only getting a few hours of sleep waking up and starting our day on Saturday was somewhat of a struggle. But, we pushed through our tiredness and hoped on the metro to see Sagrada Familia which was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gaudi. I was really in shock to see the detail that went into this church. I found out that he died mid construction and the expected finish date of the church is in 2026. Oddly enough, the castle sort of reminded me of a sand castle made from drops of wet sand. After being completely stunned by the church we headed to park Guale to see another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces. This park was so magical to me, and I felt like a child that had just entered candy land. The colorful mosaics all around the park and the view of the entire city made us mesmerized for hours. I was so amazed by Gaudi’s work that the boys took us to see Casa Batllo which is an interesting and usual house. The building appeared to be adorned with skulls and bones and the roof resembled fish scales in the most beautiful oceanic blue shades.

Later that night we went to a luxurious, exotic oriental restaurant called Monk. All of the Maryland boys met up with us girls there and we enjoyed fun cocktails, ( I got a Mojito Champaign) and an amazing mediteranean/ asian fusion dinner! The whole trip we kept hearing about Chipitos, so after dinner us girls had to check it our for ourselves. I have never seen anything like this bar in my life; and if a place like this was brought to New York City it would be a gold mine. They have over 500 shots displayed on the wall with fun names such as the “Monica Lewinsky” and the “Willy Wonka” shot. The bartenders put on a show for most of the shots to fit the theme of what you order by using props and fire! Us girls tried the boy shot which starts off with the bartender handing us a marshmallow on a wooden stick and then she lights the bar on fire. We were told to roast our marshmallows in the fire, then drop it in the shot class and take the shot! The next shot we tried was the Harry Potter shot, which involves a huge sparkling flame and oranges. After Chupitos the boys brought us to another nightclub called Oshum where we were fortunate to have the best location for our table that looked down on the entire club. My trip to Barcelona really made me realize how the little things in life really make me the happiest. I realized how appreciative I should be and how fortunate I am to be experiencing such amazing things! 

Amazing salmon salad at Bo de b!

 

Maryland reunion

La Bouqueteria

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Opium Mar nightclub beach terrace

Park Guell

Before Opium

Laurie and I at the top of the park

Park Guell entrance

Monk Restaurant and Bar

Salmon with spinach and citrus

Chipito's shot list

Roasting our marshmallows for our boy-scout shots!

Harry Potter Shots!

Willy Wonka Shots!

Jenny, Kat, Kelly and I Oshum

Jenny and I wanted getting ready for V-day!

Casa Batllo, so gorgeous!

Sagrada Familia