A Weekend in Paris

Last weekend, Kaili and I ventured off to one of the most beloved, romantic cities in the world--Paris. Although it was very cold, we had a truly amazing weekend and somehow managed to fall in love with this city even though we were only there for a few days!

Upon our arrival in France, we had a very convoluted and exhausting trip to our hostel (the Paris train systems are not our friends) but eventually made it to the Eiffel Tower that night. It was absolutely beautiful at night, and the light show they play every hour is so awesome! We toasted to the night with some champagne, then headed all the way to the top for a spectacular nighttime view of Paris.

The next day, we woke up early and filled up on free breakfast from the hostel (fresh baguettes and nutella, yes please) and headed out for a long day of sightseeing (and eating). First, we visited the cathedral of Notre Dame--it was a giant, beautiful church and we even got to witness a mass going on while we were in there!

Next, we headed toward the Louvre, but made a quick pit stop....

To this place. 

This was the first stop on our Paris food tour, and arguably one of my favorites. Here we got some delicious and original macaroons!

I tried chocolate and salted caramel...they were to die for. 

We continued on our journey to the Lourve to see nothing other than the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is so unbelievably vast and beautiful, you would need a month just to see all of the masterpieces displayed within it. But since we only had a day or so, we headed straight for the Mona Lisa so we could check that off our list. 

Up close and personal (and pale...yikes) with the legend herself

Next on the agenda was to get a classic French lunch. We found an adorable, upscale café where we had the perfect meal. We started off with escargot, had the best french onion soup I've ever tasted, then finished it off with some créme brulée. 

After our delectable lunch we walked down the Ave des Champs-Elysées (one of the main shopping streets in Paris) for a little window shopping. Once we reached the end, we marveled at one of the most iconic Parisian symbols (next to the Eiffel Tower, of course) the Arc de Triomphe. It was very cool to actually see it in person. 

After a little more sightseeing, we continued the food tour--but this time we took it to the streets. 

We had a nice warm and gooey banana-nutella crepe, which was hands down the best crepe I have ever had! And then we tried some highly-recommended street grilled cheese...it was AMAZING. I wish I could eat one of those every day for the rest of my life..that kind of good. 

To top off our awesome day, we spent the night at a really cool bar on Rue de Lappe, a street chock full of bars, making it a hot spot for Paris nightlife. 

Before we made headed home to Florence on Sunday, we completed our food tour with fresh croissants and omelettes after seeing a beautiful panoramic view of Paris from the only sky scraper in the city. 

Paris was SUCH an amazing trip...definitely a place I hope to revisit someday. 

Ciao!

Becca

A Weekend in Switzerland

This past weekend, Kaili and I ventured to the land of the Swiss! 

This trip was definitely our most random, last minute choice of a weekend destination, but I am so unbelievably happy that I went. We had SUCH an amazing time there. Not only was Interlaken, Switzerland (the small town we stayed in) stunningly beautiful with massive, snow-covered mountains, it also had so many fun things to offer. 

Some views of the breathtaking mountains

For starters, our hostel was awesome! We stayed in Balmer's, an infamous Interlaken hostel. From warm rooms to free breakfast to a bar in the basement, it was definitely a great place to stay in while on our Swiss adventure. 

On our first full day there, Kaili and I went on a CHOCOLATE TOUR! Aka we walked around town and ate chocolate, chocolate filled things, chocolate flavored things....you get the idea. Since the Swiss are famous for their chocolate, we just had to try it all...how could we not? 

Photo cred to Kaili...our delicious chocolate treats of the day:

- Fresh chocolate (with hazelnuts and crunchy toffee layer)

- A fresh crepe with nutella

- Hot chocolate

- "Silver Mountain" chocolate truffles filled with caramel 

This is the place where we got the fresh bars of chocolate...this place was AMAZING. (We went there three times....woops). They had an array of truffles and all other forms of chocolate, but our favorite was definitely the fresh made giant bars. So many different kinds with nuts, caramels, toffees, fruits, and even cornflakes lined the window, it was so hard not to try them all. Whichever kind you wanted, the nice ladies behind the counter would break you off a big piece and you would be on your way, mouthwatering chocolate in hand! We tried 4 different kinds while we were there, and they were all SO delicious. All in all the chocolate tour was a great day. 

Did I mention I jumped off a cliff? A 295 ft cliff into a snowy canyon? Yeah, that happened. 

It was absolutely the CRAZIEST most frightening thing I have ever obliged to, but it was SO much fun. Both Kaili and I did the jump, and we still cannot believe that we actually did it. First we had to basically climb up a snowy mountain, in a blizzard, in our fancy pea-coats and flat leather boots (we were just a bit unprepared for the weather...like I said, Switzerland was a last minute decision). On the way up, Kaili could barely stay on her feet; she was slipping, sliding, and falling all over the place--it was hilarious and definitely some much needed comic relief for what was to come. Once we finally reached the top of the mountain, the 14 of us in the group huddled into this small tarp hut and waited until one-by-one, we jumped. 

This is the small platform we jumped off of

But now to put things into better perspective....

It's a little hard to see, but the arrow up top is showing again the platform we jumped off of, and the second shows the river that we jumped down to. (We didn't actually go in the freezing water...our rope swung us just above the water through the canyon once we reached the bottom). 

Me right before I jumped off...it was the most terrifying thing standing on the edge and looking down at that canyon!

It was the most ridiculous feeling, free falling for that long, but once you started to swing at the bottom my adrenaline really kicked in and it was the most amazing thing!

Cheesin right after we both finally did it 

Switzerland was so awesome, I am so happy we decided (last minute or not) to spend a weekend there...it's going to be hard to beat this trip, Paris better have some good things in store!

Arrivederci,

Becca

Our Stay In Siena

Soo it's been a little while since my last post, mostly due to the very terrible wifi connection we had (or didn't have) in Siena, as well as the craziness of finally moving into our home for the next few months, Florence. 

I am SO unbelievably happy to finally be in Firenze--it is so absolutely beautiful and offers a lot more than the much more quiet, quaint city of Siena. That being said, before I go off about Florence, I will highlight all of my favorite parts our stay in our first two weeks in Italy. 

A day of sightseeing 

                                          One of the many piazzas (plazas) in Siena at night

                                 The UNbelievably beautiful and intricate Cathedral of Siena 

                                                                    A wine tasting

Pizza crust + Nutella + Mascarpone cheese = Pizza Dolce = Dessert Pizza = Most AMAZING thing you will EVER eat!!

The night we took a cooking class with "Leila"

Leila unfortunately did not speak a LICK of english, but she was still one hell of a cook. She made us pappa col pomodoro, a classic Tuscan soup with a tomato base that has bread cooked into it, of course. Picci all'aglione, a spaghetti-like pasta native to the region with a slightly spicy tomato sauce, and lastly the best tasting tiramisu I've ever had. Everything was made from scratch and absolutely DELICIOUS! 

We even got to hand roll out the pasta!

The recipes for the night, the aprons we wore, and Kaili posing in front of Leila's cooking school

On our last day in Siena before we ventured off to Florence, Kaili and I climbed to the top of the Cathedral--it rained for most of the days our our stay there, but we got extremely lucky for this day was incredibly clear, with great open blue skies. Once we made it to the top of the very narrow, stone spiral staircases, we were met with the most beautiful views!

All in all, we had a great time in Siena. It was the perfect place to begin our adjustment to the Italian lifestyle, since it was much smaller (aka we could find our way around...sorta). It is such a pretty little city filled with friendly people, incredible views, and some really awesome restaurants. We had lots of fun, but now we are so ready to take on Florence!!

I'm off to class, Ciao!