Running around the world

I have been keeping up with running while abroad, I mean I do eat enough pasta and delicious food so running is essential.  I have gone on some very unique runs while abroad.  I really love sharing going on runs with my friends.  I have new running buddies!

Here are some of my favorite runs…

1.  Cascine Park in Florence

I have been here many times after I discovered it with Michele one evening.  We went for a nice long run and made it back to Cordova in time for dinner at 7.  Whenever I run with Michele we always have the best conversations.  The park has real runners who are running quite fast and there are bikers and walkers and people exercising which is exciting!! 

One afternoon I decided to go for a run and then Michele, Emily, Dan and Brian all decided to come too!! It was so fun!  We were all together for about a 1.5miles and then Dan and I kept on running and made it to Cascine Park.  Then we hurried back to Cordova in time to shower and go out to “family” dinner at Yellow Bar.  I ate pasta with pomodora sauce that night and some good red wine!  And we finished the night with gelato!

The weekend before midterms I had just got my computer back from the computer store and was so excited and it was a sunny day so I went for a run with no real plan in mind.  Well 7.5 miles later and dark clouds getting closer I decided I should maybe turn around.  I ran all the way through Cascine Park and out the other side to a bike path that must go on forever.  I decided I should probably turn around at one point.  I was near somewhere called San Donino.  I wore my Garmin GPS watch so I was able to see where I ran when I uploaded it to my computer.  This run was very nice and refreshing, I was out for almost two hours running.  On the way back to Cordova I ran into the Greek place and got a chicken pita for lunch right as it was about to start raining. 

2.  Piazzle Michaelangelo – Florence

This one is a toughie, but the views are worth it.  Always pretty and the Duomo looks huge amongst the other buildings in Florence.  The loop ends up being around 5 miles.

3.  Firenze Urban Trail 13k race

Coolest race ever?  Yes.  The race started at Santa Croce, went over the Ponte Vecchio, through Boboli Gardens, up nod down the hills of Florence through cute streets and up and down more hills and then past San Miniato del Monte (a church) and then to Piazzale Michaelangelo and then back down and up some more and crossed back over the Ponte Vecchio and past my favorite gelato place (Gelateria de Neri) where I started my kick and then back to Santa Croce. It was the best running experience ever and everyone came up to me to congratulate me coming in fifth place.  It was a unique experience because I couldn’t speak to anyone but the euphoria that comes with doing well after a race was present and everyone was having the same experience.  Everyone was so nice to me and kept congratulating me.  Everyone runs and smiles in the same language.  I ran it in 1:07.  It was so very hilly!!!  Oh!! And afterwards for refueling there were pastries and cookies and water, beer or tea!  Haha oh so different than the States!

4.  Downtown Dublin

Michele, Dan and I ran by the river in Dublin.  Dan and I kept going further and found a stadium and an Episcopal church.  We thought that was interesting because of all the Catholicism that is present in Ireland.  The stadium was huge!!! We think that it is for Rugby. 

5.  Phoenix Park 10k, Dublin

I ran a 10k in Phoenix Park.  The previous night I think I was up until one.  We had gone to a bar and I had a cider beer which was good.  Then we tried finding another bar to go to, but it was so crazy and packed because of a rugby game that we just went back to the hostel.  I woke up at 7:15 so I could make it to Phoenix Park and find the race.  I took the tram to the park.  I wasn’t quite sure how to buy a ticket so I asked a nice man what ticket to buy.  He helped me and then when we got on the tram we continued to talk and I was telling him about my experiences studying abroad.  The funny thing was that when I was waiting for the tram and I said I am from Seattle, someone else who was waiting asked if I listened to KEXP.  What a random thing to ask!  I finally got to the park, turns out the park is huge and the race started at least 1.5 miles into the park…  so I walked and then started running since walking was too slow.  I finally found the start of the race and checked in and then found Lauren and her parents!! It was so nice to see them!  I was waiting for my race to start and then started talking to the guy next to me.  He asked what my goal was, I truly had no idea what I wanted to run it in and especially since I had very little sleep.  I said 45 mins and he was very impressed.  He was trying to beat 40:20.  We got to talking about how I was from Seattle, studying in Florence and on spring break in Dublin and why on earth did I sign up for 10k run.  Obviously, I run cross country which means I am crazy.  That is why I was running the 10k J  But actually, it is a neat way to experience difference cultures.  The race went alright, I ran it in 44 mins which was fine with me for just going out and jumping into a 10k!  I ran the last little bit with a lady and we were encouraging each other. 

6.  Vienna, Austria

I don’t really know where I was but this run might have been the best yet.  Dan and I went for a run around 6 and came back two hours later.  We started off at the hostel and ran to a park, which had structures that were left from WWII.  There was also a dog park within the park, Vienna has a lot of dog parks.  From here we ran to what we thought was just a Ferris Wheel, which turned out to be a decently sized amusement park type thing.  We dubbed this area Disneyland.  After running through Disneyland we were on a path and off to the left was a playground.  Naturally we explored the playground and found out that it was a great place!! The swings were really long and you could swing super high and the slide was long and there was a zip line you could sit on and a circle tire thingy that you could hold onto and then be spun around in circles.  We took a pit-stop and played here for awhile.  Once the running part resumed we ended up on a road that went on forever and was just for runners, walkers, bikers and people being active.  It was lit up and there were probably hundreds of runners out and about at 7pm.  We were keeping up a good pace as well.  We guessed we ran nearly 12 miles that day.  On the way back to the hostel we got a little confused where we were supposed to go and then an Austrian man asked if we were lost and we told him our address and he gave us directions.  He told me I was very pretty.  Then he asked if Dan and I were dating.  We said no, just friends.  Then he asked if we were brother and sister because we were both so nice and smiling.  Again, we told him we are friends.  After giving us directions to the hostel he asked us where we were from and what we were doing in Austria.  Then he gave us a mini history lesson and started talking about oil.  Dan and I kept smiling and nodding our heads.  The old man was nice and kept going off on tangents.  Finally we told him we had to head back and he said bye to us by kissing his fingers and waving at us.  This experience was very unique and the run might be my favorite so far. 

Running is a great way of exploring new places and races are so fun to meet new people and experience running culture worldwide.  Everyone runs with a smile! 

Happy

I think that everyday is the best day yet and then the next day happens.  Everyday I am happy.  This is the theme song to the semester…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITKVVqxVD5s

And I am obsessed with this video…

http://vimeo.com/27246366

Always be happy and moving 

Budapest

So this should have been posted a long time ago...

Traveled to Budapest on Thursday February 13th by myself to join up with the Gonzaga group. I got to the hotel around midnight and went to bed. On Friday we got up and went to breakfast which had literally every type of breakfast food you could ever imagine. It was a feast!! Then we went on a walking tour at 10. We saw the synagogue and St. Stephens Basilica. Then Emily and I got goulash at a little hole in the wall type place for lunch. It was really hot and good and I burned my tongue. As we were walking around, a guy came up to us and told us we looked interesting and asked us where we were going. We thought he was strange so we walked away. The we both got a little slice of cake for valentines day and then met up with the Gonzaga group at 4 to visit the terror museum. This museum showed stories about those affected by the internment and the revolution. It was horrifying to see the stories and artifacts. Afterward we went back to the hotel and then met up again to get dinner. We really wanted Thai food so we walked around and tried to go to several restaurants but everything was full for Valentines day and needs a reservation. So we ended up at a place where you chose what you wanted in your Thai food and they made it. It was essentially fast food Thai. It was tasty. Then we heads back to the the hotel and stopped and got a chocolate bar on the way back. On Saturday we woke up super early to make it to the Schenzy Baths. This was such a cool experience. The baths are indoor and outdoor and are warmed by hot springs. The baths all have different minerals but I couldn't tell which was which since Hungarian is much different than a Romance language or English. The main pool outside was a comfortable temperature and there was steam coming off the water since it was so cold outside. The indoor baths were smaller but there were probably fifteen different ones so we went between each bath. Then we took the metro back to the hotel to get breakfast. The tour was a bus tour and it took us to many of the major sights if the city. We saw Hero's Square and the central market and the Buda castle and the Buda side of  Budapest. At the market Emily and I shared Langos which is a typical Hungarian dish. It is fried bread with toppings. We put sour cream, garlic and cheese on it and it was delicious!! After the tour we walked around and crossed over the chain bridge and walked along the Buda side of the river and it was pretty and very nice weather. Some of us walked up on the side of the hill up some stairs. I think it was gellert hill but that was under debate. Then we went back to the hotel and rested a bit until the cooking class. At the cooking class inadequate two dishes, a vegetable salad with a mayonnaise and yogurt dressing and then ham rolls with a horseradish bechemel filling. My dream of using a pastry bag was fulfilled and may I say, I rocked the pastry bag piping!! Then we ate what everyone had made. After the cooking class and dinner the group I had been hanging out with this weekend went to a bar which was super cool! It was so crazy and busy and the decorations inside were crazy. I got a cider beer and it was quite tasty. It was nice to sit and talk to the girls I was hanging out with and just relax. On Sunday I got up and had breakfast and checked out of the room and then walked around the Buda side and went to the museum hospital in the rock. It was a museum underneath the Buda castle that is a system of caves essentially and was used during the Hungarian revolution and World War Two. At one point 700 people were in the hospital. The tour was a bit cheesy. After the tour we went to a hummus place for lunch and got a naan bread wrap with hummus and yummy stuff. Then Emily wanted coffee so we did that and then took the metro back to the airport! Another great weekend!

Florence makes me smile

Ciao!

Let’s see if I can pick up where I left off and not leave out anything too major.  I currently am just chilling in my room and resting after a long day, but that will come later.  I left off and I had almost finished my first week of class, I’ll fill you all in on the first long weekend and updates through today.

Thursday January 16^th:

This was the last day of class for the week and I finished up at 12:35 and headed back to Cordova for lunch.  After lunch, Megan, Julie and I walked up to San Miniato al Monte.  This is a Basillica on the hill across the river.  On our walk up, we found a little garden.  It was cute and would probably be prettier in the spring, but it was still quite quaint.  When we reached the Basillica, the view looked over Florence and it was so pretty.  Pictures don’t do anything justice.  When we went inside, there was someone practicing playing the organ, which added a neat ambiance. 

Friday, January 17^th (Happy Birthday Davis!!):

I went to the Academia and saw the David.  It was HUGE!!  I was not expecting the statue to be as large and as perfect as it was.  I went with Michele and Emily and afterwards we walked around and looked for boots and clothes and by the time we got back to Cordova, it was pouring rain and we were pretty wet.  We were getting kinda grumpy by the time dinner was rolling around which makes sense.  So Michele, Emily, Megan and I went to a place called Yellow Bar and we were instantly happy once we walked inside out of the rain.  The person who greeted us at the door showed us where they make all their own fresh pasta and then showed us to a table.  We all ordered something different and then were able to try all the different dishes.  I got a pasta dish that had wide thicker noodles with tomato sauce and zucchini and eggplant.  It was delicious!  We got a bottle of house wine and I drank a full glass.  I am improving on wine drinking slowly but surely.  We also got a little tiramisu to split at the end of dinner.  What my favorite part about this evening was laughing and talking with friends and eating and not being rushed.  We were probably at the restaurant for 2.5 hours.  The best part about Italian culture is the emphasis on good, fresh food and enjoying it with company and spending time enjoying life.  We all laughed so much that evening and it is something that I will always remember.  Friends, food, laughing and fun.

Saturday, January 18^th:

Today was a good day for eating.  Megan and I walked around Florence and found a sandwich place that people had been talking about.  When we walked in we were overwhelmed since there wasn’t a traditional menu.  Megan told the guy to make her something good and he made a delicious sandwich.  I went first so I just said yes to whatever the server offered to put on my sandwich.  It was good as well.  The sandwiches were bigger than our heads and the bread was warm and fresh and delicious.  We also stopped by the best gelato place ever – Gelateria dei Neri!! Emily, Megan and I had Gusta Pizza for dinner which is across the river and was delicious! I got a Margherita Pizza for 5 euros.  We hung out back at Cordova for the rest of the evening. 

Sunday, January 19^th:

Megan, Emily and I planned our spring break and bought flights! Woohoo!! So excited about that adventure upcoming.  Since all the engineers live in Cordova, we all did homework together and helped each other out.  I went to the student mass at school and then had pasta afterwards at school after mass.  Then I went to office hours for math at 8.  On to week two of school!

Monday – Thursday: School.  The highlights included on Wednesday night I played calcetto.  This is essentially soccer, but on a smaller field and the ball was slightly smaller and bounced less and the ground had zero traction.  It was a lot of fun to play with everyone at school and to be able to play since I have missed playing soccer.  I ran in the mornings before classes. 

Thursday, January 23rd: 
I slept through my alarm, and both roommates waking up and taking a shower (I must have needed sleep!!) and missed out on having time to run so I did a core workout after school.  I signed up for the Tuscan dinner through school.  We went to a traditional Tuscan restaurant and had dinner.  I sat next to Megan and Professor McKenzie (my math professor).  We had traditional Tuscan dishes.  It was fun to sit next to McKenzie since he is such an excited person about life.  It turns out we both love Gelateria dei Neri so afterwards Megan, McKenzie and I got gelato :)  Didn't think that would ever happen!! Walking through the streets of Florence with my math professor.  He showed us some spots he likes to go to as well.  So fun :)

Friday, January 24^th:

Pisa!! Megan and I went to Pisa today.  We took the train from Florence and arrived in Pisa.  We took the classic Pisa tourist pictures and then had lunch at a pizza place and then walked back over to the Cathedral and walked through it.  We walked around and found a museum which had an Andy Warhol exhibit, but you had to pay for that so we went to the free exhibit on the 2^nd floor.  We continued to walk around and found a piazza and then some stores.  I found a cute shirt on sale for 7 euros and Megan got a shirt too!  We walked back to the train station and met up with another group that went to Pisa today as well.  We all fell asleep on the train ride back since we were so tired from the day.  Those of us that did not travel this weekend went to dinner at a Greek place down the street and I got a chicken pita which had chicken, tomato, tzatziki sauce, and French fires (a surprisingly good addition).  Then we walked back and got chocolate bombolini’s (doughnuts).  Apparently after lunch they are warm and even better!  It was a surprisingly cheap dinner, under 6 euros for the pita and bombolini! 

What else is planned for this weekend? A hike in Prato tomorrow, a museum visit and some homework thrown in there.  Also, Megan and I decided to go to Barcelona next weekend.  So excited!!

I absolutely love everything about being abroad, independence, new experiences, new friends and just a grand old time J 

Love,

Allie

P.S.  The wifi here is awful (I like to joke that when the wifi dies - which is often, it is hiding in the Duomo) and it takes way too much time to upload a photo on to here, so selected pictures are on Facebook.  

Rome and my new home, Firenze

Hello!!

I’m spending the semester in Florence, Italy! Woohoo! :)

I arrived in Florence on January 8 and met up with all my engineering buddies and then the next day we packed up and headed to Rome for the opening tour.  I was in Rome from January 9^th to the 12^th and it was so neat, every bit of it. 

Rome

Day 1:

Got in around 2 and had a 3 hour walking tour of Rome at 4:30.  In this tour I saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Rooms of St. Ignatius, many churches and ruins.  The tour ended at the place where we were having dinner.  Dinner was fun since it was a multi course meal with lots of time in between and there was a cute old man playing the piano and singing and at one time he played the “YMCA”.  So fun!  We had vegetables, pasta, veal (I think that’s what it was…) and cake and it was all yummy!  After dinner, I walked back to the hotel and fell asleep (jet lag is rough).

Day 2:

Visited the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.  The Colosseum is absolutely huge and I can’t imagine how it was built.  It was neat walking through the Roman Forum and seeing all the old building and ruins and it brought back memories of learning about Rome in 7^th grade at Stella with Mrs. Tennis.  Definitely brought history to life!  After this, a group of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at a little pizza place, which was tasty.  The afternoon was a trip to the Villa Borghese, and we went in and got a tour of the museum.  There were lots of neat paintings and sculptures.  For the evening we were on our own, so Michele Cusick, Megan Cunningham, Julie Nowak, Emily Zikmund and I went to find a place to eat.  We wandered over to a place across the river and found a nice place to eat.  We all got a pasta dish and shared a bottle of wine (can’t say I drank more than 3 sips…) and it was simple and delicious and fun to be with good company.  Then we had gelato to top the night off. 

Day 3:

This morning we went to the Vatican museum and St. Peter’s Basillica.  The Sistine Chapel was absolutely amazing.  St. Peter’s Basillica was huge and again, it amazes me how all these huge, gorgeous buildings were built.  We were in our tour groups for this again and it was so nice having a guide to point everything out.  The afternoon was on our own, so we had lunch (pizza and salad) and then we walked down the shopping area of Rome and it was crazy!  So many people out and about.  Next up was a nap before dinner at 8.  Dinner was at a yummy place and the whole school group went.  I sat with Megan, Michele, Julie and Emily and we had a lot of fun together and enjoying each others company.  Dinner lasted over 3 hours and it was so enjoyable to eat and laugh.  Dinner started with a bunch of little tasty appetizers and the waiters kept bringing out more and more.  We also had 3 different types of pasta and one of them was in the shape of what Michele thought looked like maggots.  That kept us laughing for awhile.  Next was salad and a huge platter of meat was brought to the table for us all to pick what we wanted.  It was an interesting assortment of meats.  Then was dessert!  I had chocolate cake.  The funny part of dinner was that I actually enjoyed the wine for once.  I only poured myself a small amount and was drinking it, until I realized that the amount in the glass never seemed to actually go down.  That’s when I figured out that every time I would be distracted laughing with Michele, Emily, Julie and Megan he would pour a little more into my glass.  It was all fun J

Day 4:

Last day in Roma!  This morning I walked over to St. Peter’s Square with Michele, Lauren, Emily, Ryan, Julie, Megan and we met other people from Gonzaga while we were there.  At noon Pope Frances came out from his window  and said a blessing in Italian that lasted for almost 15mins.  I didn’t understand what he was saying, but I think it had something to do with everyone being a family.  This was definitely a cool experience to be a part of.  There were so many people and there were people holding flags from their countries.  Very neat.  Then we grabbed a sandwich on the go and headed back to the hotel to leave for Florence.  By the time we all got back on the bus, we were exhausted.  Never before have I done that much walking!!

Monday brought the first day of classes.  I got up and ran with Michele before classes, it is nice to have someone to run with in the morning since it is dark when we have to run.  I had all five classes on Monday; Ordinary Differential Equations, Renaissance Architecture, Dynamics, Statistics, break for lunch and then Mechanics of Materials.  After classes we all did some homework in the pensione since everyone is an engineer in my pensione and then had dinner.  I have McKenzie for both math classes and he is hilarious.  It is going to be a lot of fun to have him as a teacher, and he likes running too! Renaissance Architecture is neat since on Wednesdays we walk around and the Professor tells us about Florence and the buildings.  Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials will be hard, not because of the material, but rather the language barrier.  Both of these Professors are from Florence and teach in Italian at their respective universities.  It is fun though to have them since they are from Florence and don’t speak English as a first language.  A bit of a challenge is always good. 

Tuesday I have Ordinary Differential Equations, a break, then Dynamics and Statistics and then lunch.  Michele and I ran before class again this morning.  After lunch, Megan and I walked to the Uffizi Museum so we could buy a pass to go see the museums nearby.  We then spent nearly 2 hrs walking through the museum looking at all the statues and paintings.  We got tired after awhile and decided we would come back later and went to get gelato at a really yummy place.  I will definitely be back to that gelato place.  I had caramel and chocolate.  So good!

And Wednesday, today!  Today I went on a 7mile run and ran past the Ponte Vecchio and then back and forth over lots of bridges.  It reminds me of the “Double Bridges” run in Spokane!  Then I had a tour in Renaissance Architecture where we went to the Piazza della Signoria and walked through the streets and learned about the different buildings and statues.  Florence has so much history.  Then lunch happened and then Mechanics of Materials class.  I didn’t do anything too exciting this afternoon, just some math HW and then after dinner I went to a review for math at school and walked to the Duomo and got gelato.  I also walked past a group called “Firenze Corre”.  Turns out every Wednesday night a group meet and runs. I want to join some Wednsday night, I am going to bring Michele and I think it would be funny if we could convince Professor McKenzie to go too, since he has been talking about a cool 18 mile run he went on. 

Hmmm…what else?  I am staying in Hotel Cordova and all the Engineering students are in the same place so we all do homework together at the tables so we can get help.  It’s quite handy.  Breakfast is served every morning at 7:30 – 9:30 and there is usually granola, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cereal, rolls, oranges and an assortment of jelly and nutella.  Lunch is at 1:00 and is the largest meal, so there is usually a pasta dish then a meat dish.  Today was a pasta with four cheese and then the next course was chicken and broccoli and a little ice cream bar.  Dinner is at 7:00 and tonight we had lentil soup and then a tomato and mozzarella stuffed puffed pastry thing and salad.  Truly every meal has been great so far!  Everything is so simple, and so tasty.  I love how much care is put in to all the food we eat.  So great!  I am absolutely loving everything about studying abroad right now. 

Tomorrow, Thursday, is the last day of classes for the week and then the three day weekend!  I think our pensione has an event planned for Friday night and then I might take a train somewhere on Saturday.  So many options and things to do all the time! 

Much love to everyone at home!

-Al

P.S. I can' figure out how to put pictures on here, look on my Facebook for those if you want.