Eataly and Beyond

Chapter 1: Barthelona, Ethpania (March 1 - 4)
I'm too lazy to read my last post to remember where I left off, but I'm pretty sure it was way back in Barcelona.

¡Oh my Gaudí! 

I do not know these people.

If you looked up and spun a lil, it gave the effect of being underwater.

I am not proud to admit that I almost cried when I saw Starbucks. 

I may have mentioned that the food in Spain was unimpressive. The McDonald's was the best I've ever had, though, so there's that.

View from Park Güell (Tyra was here, Cycle 7)

I bow to the gods of Architecture

Just some crying cubist bible guys 

More importantly, ♪♫ I found health food in a Spanish place ♪♫ (you know the tune). I love all food, including healthy food. I was desperate for a weird vegan dish and green smoothie (not pictured, as was consumed before the flash could reach the glass).

On the other side of the health spectrum, chocolate churros.

Inappropriate enough to be shared. Where's the classiness, Barcelona? 

Also, THIS. These plane rides are doing wonders for my game skillz. At least I'm doing some sort of running abroad? :(   

Chapter 2: Mint Milano (March 9 - 10)
First of all, remember Mint Milanos? They aren't related to anything right now except that I went to Milan, but they deserve to be brought up. Why do they even make regular Milanos when there is a mint option? Do people buy those? 


But yeah, I went to Milan!


There's this strange rivalry between Rome and Milan and people seem to either like one or the other. Milan is a faster paced and more modern, but I don't understand why the two are put in opposition with each other. They're just as much two different cities as two other different cities.


In spite of my affiliation with Rome, I liked Milan. I'm happy I'm studying/living in Rome though because there didn't seem to be all that much to do in Milan away from the main Duomo area. 


Advice: If you are planning to go to Milan sometime in the next 43 years, book your Last Supper tickets now. I was literally ten feet from the thing and couldn't see it. I still don't understand. I googled really hard trying to find another way in and spent a few minutes very seriously considering trying to blend in with an elementary school group but, alas, failure. 


However, no aesthetic experience could have been as divine as what happened in my mouth. Imagine the best ice cream you've ever had and then combine that with the most perfect chocolate taste you've ever encountered and then cry because nothing you could think of could touch the perfection of the following.
BEHOLD:

    

 ->

I like that random Jetson house chillin' between the monuments

Chapter 3: Brussels (March 16 - 18)
Belgians are weird (i.e. they are more excited that their city  boasts a peeing boy statue than the E.U.) and I like them because they stay up super late, just hanging around, and then sleep in.


Additionally, I like them because they eat waffles, fries, and chocolate all day. I thought that a city smelling of waffles could only exist in my dreams, but it's real! 

Typical Belgian crowd/ my kind of folks

Manneken Pis all dressed up as a military man!

Inappropriate chocolate peeing boy-- one of manymanymany

Weird dog

Weird chairs

Weird name for a restaurant

Costume change! (Think about that there is at least one person in the world whose job is to change the clothing of a small, peeing statue)

 P.S. Then we went here:

 


Chapter 4: Today (today)
I'm happy to have stayed in Rome this weekend, to relax and explore the city. Today, Carolina, Amanda and I went for a walk through various piazzas and open markets.
Spring is here and the tourists along with it. The atmosphere of the city has changed now that there are large bald men in shorts on every corner. I'm not complaining, as people watching is one of my favorite hobbies. And I find it oddly comforting to see Americans. Ugh look at me, starting a sentence with a conjunction. Allow me to apologize for my increasingly poor English communication skills. My Italian is barely improving, but I speak English like a foreigner, i.e. how many years do you have?

I finally took pictures with a real camera today, but it's going to be another two months before I figure out how to upload...