And I Will Always Love You
February 14, 2012
And I Will Always Love You
Buon San Valentino! (Happy Valentine’s Day) I have been away from the blogging sphere for 2 weeks now. Somewhere between the picturesque streets of Amsterdam and the snowy weekend in Rome I lost the will to do much typing, but I’m back and ready to share my stories! True to form I title my entries with elements from different songs I love. Whitney Houston was the obvious choice for this week. I was on a long walk downtown last night and I could hear this song blaring from just about every Fiat on the road. The Italians are mourning too.
Beyond the tribute to the fabulous, I want to tell you about the past two weeks of my abroad experience. Go to Amsterdam! It is not just a city of vices though it does offer certain indiscretions. It is absolutely beautiful. We pulled into the city on an extremely snowy day and I couldn’t help but compare the architecture to gingerbread houses. The coffee was splendid, the famous pancakes divine, and the waterways filled with colorful boats and icy water took my breath away. I marveled at the works of the Van Gogh museum, I learned about brewery and drank some incredible beer at the Heineken experience, and I somberly experienced the Anne Frank House and Museum. A group of 11 of us whole-heartedly took on the city and pretty much ate and drank our way through Amsterdam. It was amazing.
When we returned to Rome we were excited to shed our scarves, hats and gloves for the better southern weather. We were wrong. We flew into the snowiest Rome I could imagine. The Romans are perplexed, excited, and totally lost in the snow. It is not like Chicago where we salt and clear all city roads in 20 minutes flat. Here everyone takes a
vacation. The natives keep telling us to take in the city because to see it in the snow is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Since very few forms of transportation are available in the weather, a friend of mine and I took it upon ourselves to walk the hour downhill to see Rome in it’s white glory. It was gorgeous, breathtaking and unique. I have realized now that ignoring my mom’s advice to bring a winter coat was probably not the right form of rebellious activity. It’s cold. Lucky for me, I found a winter coat here and I am ready to embark into the winter. Next stop: Venice for Carnivale.
Sending you all my love from Rome today!
xo
C