Food

I just found out that my sister has decided to come to Rome next semester! I want to keep track of my favorite restaurants so when she comes she will know where to eat! 

Napoleatano's 

Viale Regina Margherita, 72 00198 Roma

This is by far the best place to get Appertivo - which means appetizers and drinks. Italians eat dinner around 8 or 9 pm so obviously you might get hungry before then which is why people go to Appertivo! I reccommend the pomodoro gnocchi, hot chocolate, and their strawberry bellini. The bruschetta is also a lot for you money! Not to mention this restaurant is located in front of the pantheon! Enjoy your meal next to history - so picture worthy!

Menu 

 Hot Chocolate!

Pomodoro Gnocchi

Dar Poeta 

Vicolo Del Bologna 45

You can't live in Trastevere and not visit Dar Poeta. This place is iconic and has become well known for its pizza. I recommend everything! For dessert the nutella and ricotta calzone is a must. 

Nutella and ricotta calzone - mouth watering. Photo credit: Google.

Friend's Cafe 

Piazza Trilussa, 34, 00153 Roma, Italia

Located right next to Piazza Trilussa, Cafe Friend's is super close to JCU campus. This is the best place to get large cups of coffee. My favorite drinks are the cappuccino friends (Iced cappuccino with chocolate) or the freddo cappuccino (Iced cappuccino). Their muffins and baked goods are also really great! They have american style breakfasts here as well. 

Insalata Ricca

Piazza Albania, 3, 00153 Roma

A perfect place to get a make your own salad. I heard about Insalata Ricca before I came to Rome so I knew when I got here I had to try it. I haven't been too adventurous because everytime I have ordered there I get a grilled turkey salad with corn and no mushrooms - HEAVEN! All of the salads look delicious and the best part is you can get them to go! Great for lunch or a light dinner. 

Grilled Turkey Salad. (Half- eaten) :)

Cacio e Pepe 

Vicolo del Cinque 15, Roma, Italia

Delishh!! I've had the bolognese and this amazing pizza below. The appetizers are also really great. Not as cheap as I would like but so worth it! 

Pizza with mozzarella and salami

Cafe Savoy 

Vítězná 124/5, 150 00 Praha 5, Repubblica Ceca

This restaurant is located in Prague but it receives honorable mention from me! I was told to order the pea soup because it is the best soup you will ever eat. I ordered it and was AMAZED. Best thing I ate in Prague - possibly the best thing I have ordered abroad so far!

Pea Soup

T-Bone Station 

Via di Santa Dorotea, 21, 00153 Roma

Craving American food? T-Bone Station is the place to go. One night my friends and I were walking around in the rain searching and searching for a place to eat. Italians apparently do not like to open their restaurants on Mondays. We searched until we came across this place that looked pretty good and we saw that it was called the American Steakhouse. I had the BEST cheeseburger I have ever eaten and delicious french fries. I think it tasted so good because I was homesick for some american style cooking! They also have mexican food, margaritas, chicken fingers, and everything else that makes an american mouth water. 

More food posts to come along the way I am sure...

Tuscany

Visiting Tuscany was far from what I expected my trip to be like. First of all, our accommodations were extremely nice - we had villas that included hot springs - and horseback riding and wine tasting sounded like great excursions to go on. However, I have never seen so much rain, snow, hail, and sleet in one weekend in my entire life. Horseback riding was canceled, wine tasting was freezing, and we ended up barely leaving our villa. When we did leave, we toured the small towns of tuscany in the hail and rain. Luckily I get the chance to go back with my parents when they come to visit in March. We ended up improvising and drinking wine and playing cards which turned out to be a fun alternative to staying in Rome for the weekend. 

 View from the top of Orvieto 

      

The Duomo in Orvieto 

Buffet dinner with free wine :)

 Civita di Bagnoregio

Prague Castle

Charles Bridge

During the reign of King Charles IV, this bridge provided the only way to cross the River Vltava. This bridge connected Prague Castle and Old Town. 

Charles Bridge.

The good luck statue on the Charles Bridge.

My 30 minute tram ticket.

Old Town. 

The Lennon Wall

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

- John Lennon

Prague (Praha)

They call Prague the "fairytale city" - In fact, a friend of mine told me they modeled the Disney logo off the castles in Prague. Although it was freezing, the snow was falling and covered everything in a wonderful blanket of white. After a 16 hour bus ride, my expectations were high and I hoped the long journey would be worth it - it was worth it 10 times over. I feel so lucky to be able to travel through Europe this semester and being in Prague opened my eyes to just how fascinating the world can be. 

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day! I've been getting some special treats in the mail all week :)

Carneval

Of course going to Venice during Carneval resulted in me taking over 300 photos. The costumes were simply incredible and so colorful! 

Venice

Quite possibly the most incredible city I have ever seen. These are a few of my favorite pictures from this weekend. Today I am feeling extremely lucky to be apart of this crazy adventure.

Masks

 My mask for Carneval!

Piazza Navona

I found a neat peak hole today that revealed a birds eye view of Piazza Navona.

Reflections

 Church reflected in a puddle. 

Wine Tasting

Today we went wine tasting through SAI. We visited a vineyard owned by an award winning wine producer named Sergio Mottura. He was an older man and was so sweet even though he didn't speak English very well. He first showed us wine fermenting in large metal basins and we tried four different kinds. He had us say what we thought the wine tasted and smelled like (flowers, fruit, spice, etc) and the winner got a free bottle of wine. Then we headed over to see the actual vineyards which were cool to see even though it is still too cold to start growing the grapes. We then had lunch while tasting 12 of his favorite wines. Lastly, he showed us the cellar where he stores over 30,000 bottles of wine at a time. There was a lot of mold and cobwebs in the cellar especially around the wines that were decades old. Overall, it was a great experience although I wish it hadn't been raining! 

Bad Luck

As we were walking to see the keyhole view of the Vatican, I was telling my friends a story about how once I got pooped on by a squirrel. Not two minutes later did a seagull decide to poop all over us. Thanks to my friend Alexandra the moment was captured on camera. 

Keyhole

Before I came to Rome, everyone that has been here before kept telling me to go see the "keyhole" where you can see a view of the Vatican. So today I made finding the keyhole my mission. My friend Claire knew its general location so we walked up a steep hill to find a row of doors with keyholes. Which keyhole is it? I watched as people walked up the hill and hovered around the same door. I walked over and looked inside and saw this - the basilica perfectly placed between a long row of arching green trees. Perfection.