AMSTERDAM 2011

In February 2011, three friends and I took an amazing trip to Amsterdam. I was really excited to go to another new country I have never been to before. My favorite part of this trip was experiencing the Dutch culture, the architecture of Amsterdam, the people of Holland, and the great nightlife in this city. My friend found us an apartment in a perfect location so we were in walking distance of everything we wanted to see. It was right above a nice coffee shop, only a few blocks from the Red Light District, and walking distance to many other main attractions and nightlife. Also, with having the apartment, we were able to save a lot of money and buy groceries to cook in the apartment. We did go out to eat sometimes of course! We went to a Thai restaurant (shown on the left 2 pictures) that was delicious and I got to have some Saki, which brought me right back to those days of working at Kaji Japanese Grill...for those of you that know about my work experience there, you know it brought back GREAT memories! :) Holland seemed to be much more ahead of times than Sicily and what I'm used to there because we were in heaven when we saw their supermarket! It felt like I was back in America again! You people living in America now, never take advantage of the amazing supermarkets we have available, because its not fun when its taken away from you! In Sicily I have gotten used to the limited selection of foods and brands, so it was great to see all the selection in Amsterdam again! One huge plus Sicily supermarkets have is the freshness of the produce: fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses- you name it, its there and fresh! My diet since I have started living in Sicily has became very rich with fresh, good quality foods...delicious!
Back to Amsterdam...the culture here was so unique and different compared to Italy. The architecture is very beautifully unique style to it that I loved. We noticed how a lot of the buildings were leaning and not all the buildings were straight and matching each other. Some were leaning in, some were leaning back- it was crazy! This picture of the street shows an example of how the buildings were. The city is also filled with canals splitting the heart of Amsterdam into streets and sections. We walked everywhere we went in Amsterdam, which allowed us to experience just how beautiful this city truly is. On our way back from the supermarket, we walked past the house of Anne Frank. We didn't wait in line to go inside because the line went halfway down the next block, but we definitely took pictures of the outside to make sure it looked like we went inside- and of course for the memory. haha
We were fortunate to be in Amsterdam on a Sunday because we were able to walk through the Sunday street market. This market was crowded with fresh food, clothing, shoes, accessories, and more. Our groups favorite was the amazing cheddar cheese we miss so much from the States (we only have found a select store in Palermo that sells cheddar cheese and the quality is nowhere near Wisconsin cheddar!!) and the fresh dried fruits- never had better tasting dried cranberries and blueberries! Amsterdam also has many little bars, like the picture shown, filled with amazing munchy snack food....pizza, sweets, burgers, fries, waffle crisps, you name it- all delicious!!
Of course, many people know of the Amsterdam Red Light District...a must see if ever in Amsterdam. It was definitely something unique and interesting to see! And yes, we found out- not by experience of course- that it costs the same for women as it does for men... a random American guy asked my girl friend and I, so of course, I had to find out- to help out a fellow American of course! The District was full of red lights, naturally, women standing in windows, sex show places that look like movie theater entrances..the whole works. It just honestly is a fun experience to walk through and see, even if you're not interested participating in events that take place there.
The clubs and nightlife we found were a lot of fun. There is a variety of places from chill to nightclub dancing. Our favorite place we found is the nightclub Escape. It was a bit pricey for the entrance fee, but it was totally worth it. My friend and I, especially my friend, have traveled quite a bit around the world and have been to some great dance clubs and nightlife, but this was one of our favorite clubs we have ever been! There were two floors with different types of music, both were fantastic, great dj's, a VIP area that we somehow got into and danced at...so much fun! I would love to go back to Amsterdam just to go to Escape again!
Since we were there in February, the weather was of course a bit chilly. It was cold (for us) in Sicily, and Amsterdam had that bite of cold air like the Midwest that I have not missed! It was still bearable and it didn't snow while we were there. It was fun to get use out of my winter hats and mittens. I also bought an Amsterdam winter hat that can go straight into my suitcase for going back home because the weather here in Sicily is getting so beautiful! It definitely is springtime here in March! The weather is becoming sunny and beautiful! I almost forgot how strong the sun is in Sicily. If you're in the shade, you need a jacket. If in the sun, no need! Completely different temperatures. I can't wait for the weather to get even more beautiful so we can begin again our BBQs, beach time, and tanning! :)

*Natale e un Nuovo Anno....BeLLiSsiMO!! - Christmas and a New Year...!!

Christmas, as expected, was filled with a ton of family, friends, fun, and was exactly what I needed. I love the experience of living over here in Europe, but it's always a great time to go home and be with my family and friends I haven't seen in awhile. Some of my friends I hadn't seen for a whole year since when I first came to Italy! Of course, this means a lot of celebrating, laughter, celebrating, fun, and more celebrating. :) I was fortunate enough with weather and everything that I was able to be in Onalaska and also go to Cedar Rapids. I spent as much time with family as possible...you know you have the best family ever when I can go out with friends and also bring along my parents and brother- they only make the night more fun! I was happy I got to go to both sides of the family for Christmas and see most of my relatives as well! Again, I missed my family, so it was really great to be surrounded by them as much as possible when I was home.

I went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the time around New Years Eve. After much deciding of where to spend the big night of New Years Eve, we just ended up staying in Cedar Rapids because we realized that it's more about being surrounded by the people you love rather than the place. It ended up being a great New Years Eve and saw many friends I haven't seen for over a year! It was so great to see my good friends from college again...I missed them so much along with my high school friends from home! One of the things that keeps me going in Italy is that I have pictures of all of them surrounding my room so they are still apart of my every day! The two weeks home went so quickly, I have to say that I was not ready to come back to Palermo yet, but I know myself enough to know that I attach myself so easily to places and settle into places so quickly. I knew that I would be alright once I arrived back into Palermo and saw my Italian friends and little kids again...which was absolutely true. Of course, there is nothing like home, but I soon was happy to be back in Italy- ready for whatever was coming next on my journey here!

It took a long time to get adjusted to the time change only when coming back to Palermo- not going from Palermo to home. I needed to sleep during the day and couldn't at night. Eventually, I got adjusted, saw all my friends again, started work back up, and was back in the groove of my Italian life. I noticed that I really love both "worlds" that I live in..here in Palermo and back in the States. It's going to be interesting to see how I feel when I eventually move back to America! I have the want to travel more now than ever, especially since I am planning on going back to the States in July. I know my time is winding down, so I want to do as much as possible while I am here in Europe! It's so much cheaper to travel around once you are in Europe rather than going from America obviously, so I want to take trips as much as my work allows me!

One weekend, some friends of mine and I went on a mini road trip to a city in Europe called Erice. (All the pictures from the at a restaurant with my friends and down are from Erice. At the table are the friends that I went there with.)It's so great to take little trips all over the island of Sicily, the only thing is I have to find a friend with a car to be able to take us! It hasn't been easy adjusting to not having a car here, although I do enjoy not having to worry about gas, parking (which is not easy here), crazy Italian driving (ha), and of course, no drinking and driving for me! :) It is difficult not to be able to take a weekend trip to one of the beautiful cities of Sicily and explore this wonderful island of Italy. Fortunately, my friend had a car for the weekend and 5 of us went to Erice. It is a small town up on the mountains. We literally drove in circles up the mountain into the clouds to the city of Erice! It was a cute little town. The day we went was a bit foggy plus we were up in the clouds so we couldn't see much in front of us. Everyone seemed to be staying inside that Sunday as well, so it felt like a little deserted ghost town! They had some nice shops, good food, and a beautiful castle. It was great to get out of the city for a day and relax in this quiet town with good friends.

~Traveling and Friendships~

I would have to say, my favorite part of this WHOLE experience has been the traveling I have been fortunate enough to be able to do. But also to have met such wonderful people that I trust and find happiness with to share these travels makes each individual trip an unforgettable memory! My friendships I have made here in Palermo are what has kept me here in Europe for more than a year now! Without them, I would not be able to stay such a long time and distance away from my family and friends back home. So a shout out to all my amazing friends I've made here in Palermo....LOVE YOU GUYS!! :) haha.. and then from here, I have made so many more friendships with people from all over the world! Amazing...These relationships have also positively influenced my decisions of places to travel. A lot of my friends have the same urge as me to travel and see as much as they can while they are able to. I swear, the more you travel, the more you want to keep traveling!!! A perfect example: on our way back from Amsterdam, Sabrina, my good friend, and I were discussing where we should go next! :) But I have to back up a bit...skipped some other trips!






Milan has always been a city I have wanted to visit since I have moved to Italy. To be honest, not many people suggest Milan as a top city in Italy to visit. Most people will list a lot of other cities before Milan, but I always knew I wanted to go there.....so my friend Sabrina and I decided to go for Thanksgiving! There's really no reason we chose this holiday, but I did want to do something fun this weekend to keep my mind busy from thinking about how my family will be together without me! Holidays are always hard to miss when you know your family is getting together without you...Family is the most important thing in my life and has been the hardest thing to be away from while being here. If I haven't said it before, thank god for Skype! Anyways, Sabrina and I had the best time in Milan. The city had a different style about it than southern Italy which I enjoyed. The 2 pictures shown are of the Duomo..one of the best things I've seen when we came up from the Subway at night and saw this amazingly lit Cathedral..one of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen..the pictures do it no justice! Another thing I enjoyed was something called an aperitivo, which is like a happy hour in America sort of, originates in Milan, so they are known to have the best aperitifs. Basically, you buy a drink and then you get all the food they have out for free. The thing is, they can range from little snack foods to being an actual dinner with pasta dishes and hot plates. One aperitivo right next to our hotel was the best aperitivo I have ever scene. It was basically an American buffet only you just pay for your drink...so much amazing Italian food kept coming and coming! We also went to some amazing dance clubs (disco tech as they call it ..I can only image Americans these days calling clubs disco techs haha).
We were really lucky to find some really great bars, clubs, aperitifs, and people! Below is one place we found that had a nice aperitivo, a great club scene and dancing, and met some nice people! It can be really difficult to go to a large, new city and find the best places to dine or for entertainment. The BEST thing to do I have learned is to ask locals. Most sites on the internet will lead you to the biggest tourist places. If you ask locals, they will tell you the best places to really experience the culture you have traveled to see.

Life is all about who you know and the relationships you make...people can take you in directions you would never imagine going! Another example of this for me, is during the Fall, I had the opportunity to be an Actress in a film!! Of course, I never expected doing this while I lived in Palermo! All about the people you know...one of the mom's I work for is a producer in the film industry and at the time, she was working on a film that was being produced in Palermo. She introduced me to the director, and he decided I would work for this extra part in the film!! It really was nothing, but soooo much fun and what an experience! I still got my hair and makeup done, wardrobe...everything! My part was a girlfriend of one of the main actors in the film. We come on-screen walking and he's yelling at me, basically telling me he doesn't want to be together anymore. I get mad at him, SLAP him, and walk off-screen. HAHA crazy huh? First of all, I've never slapped ANYONE before! I also felt so bad because this actor I slapped wanted me to really do it so it looked real, so of course I did. He was such a sweet guy, and only like 17 years old! Felt bad, but he was great about it....throughout the 10 slaps/takes we did. That's acting baby! :) Overall, it was such a fun experience...I even got paid for my part! The best part about it was meeting the cast and crew. There were some famous people in this film that I was lucky to have met. I really had fun and got to know the Director and some of the actresses and actors. Above is a picture of an actress, Kiera, that I had a lot of fun with. I even got a chance to go out with them a bunch of times while they were in Palermo filming. Great people and I hope to stay in touch with a few of them! We'll see if we some day see a movie out there called Chamber Film! I hope so!! :)

When the Christmas, Natale in Italian, season came, I was very anxious to come home to be with my family! It was strange not to see snow on the ground and I was actually excited to be in some snow for awhile! I've said many times here that I would almost rather have snow sometimes than rain because here in Palermo it rains all the time in the winter instead of snow. I hate umbrellas and snow can really be pretty and fun sometimes..until you start getting into the 4th month of snow, I know...not fun. I just know that Christmas just wouldn't be right without being with my family, so I was very happy I was able to make the trip home..even if it took about 25 hours of traveling and waiting to get there, it was well worth it! :)