And I Will Always Love You<\/strong><\/p>\n Buon San Valentino! (Happy Valentine\u2019s Day)\u00a0 I have been away from the blogging sphere for 2 weeks now.\u00a0 Somewhere between the picturesque streets of Amsterdam and the snowy weekend in Rome I lost the will to do much typing, but I\u2019m back and ready to share my stories!\u00a0 True to form I title my entries with elements from different songs I love.\u00a0 Whitney Houston was the obvious choice for this week.\u00a0 I was on a long walk downtown last night and I could hear this song blaring from just about every Fiat on the road.\u00a0 The Italians are mourning too.<\/p>\n Beyond the tribute to the fabulous, I want to tell you about the past two weeks of my abroad experience.\u00a0 Go to Amsterdam!\u00a0 It is not just a city of vices though it does offer certain indiscretions.\u00a0 It is absolutely beautiful.\u00a0 We pulled into the city on an extremely snowy day and I couldn\u2019t help but compare the architecture to gingerbread houses.\u00a0 The coffee was splendid, the famous pancakes divine, and the waterways filled with colorful boats and icy water took my breath away.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 A group of 11 of us whole-heartedly took on the city and pretty much ate and drank our way through Amsterdam.\u00a0 It was amazing.<\/p>\n When we returned to Rome we were excited to shed our scarves, hats and gloves for the better southern weather.\u00a0 We were wrong.\u00a0 We flew into the snowiest Rome I could imagine.\u00a0 The Romans are perplexed, excited, and totally lost in the snow.\u00a0 It is not like Chicago where we salt and clear all city roads in 20 minutes flat.\u00a0 Here everyone takes a<\/p>\n vacation.\u00a0 The natives keep telling us to take in the city because to see it in the snow is a once in a lifetime opportunity.\u00a0 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\u2019s white glory.\u00a0 It was gorgeous, breathtaking and unique.\u00a0 I have realized now that ignoring my mom\u2019s advice to bring a winter coat was probably not the right form of rebellious activity.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold. \u00a0Lucky for me, I found a winter coat here and I am ready to embark into the winter.\u00a0 Next stop: Venice for Carnivale.<\/p>\n Sending you all my love from Rome today!<\/p>\n xo<\/p>\n C<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 14, 2012 And I Will Always Love You Buon San Valentino! (Happy Valentine\u2019s Day)\u00a0 I have been away from the blogging sphere for 2 weeks now.\u00a0 Somewhere between the picturesque streets of Amsterdam and the snowy weekend in Rome I lost the will to do much typing, but I\u2019m back and ready to share … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/files\/2012\/02\/403174_10150650439562463_778927462_10950875_1908136027_n-150x150.jpg\")
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