Wednesday, September 29, 2010

its been a while...

So. Here I am in my dining room at almost 4 in the morning.......I can't fucking sleep! I don't know whats wrong with me. Marsha today was telling me about her friend who only sleeps like 2 hours every night. But still manages to get absolutely nothing done in the 22 hours that she's awake....I was at the library today from 2 PM- 1 AM. .... ... I managed to read ONE article for one of my exams next week, nothing for my other one, and to do some of my economics homework before going on an angry rant about capitalism and free markets in my chapter outline....I really hope my teacher reads it all.
This class has really opened my eyes to how a lot of Americans think. And I simply dont get it. At all. What is wrong with universal health care? Or with a paid maternity leave? Or with a paid PATERNITY leave? Or with forced paid vacation? Or with free daycare? I understand that these programs are being implemented in other countries solely because of higher taxes....but the people in these countries are happier! And they have a better quality of life! AANNDD! The majority don't mind the higher taxes because of the benefits that they get from them! They can rely on their government to spend their tax money effectively, because isnt that what governments are for?
I CANT TRUST MY GOVERNMENT! But I'd like to be able to.
I can't sleep while I've got these things on my mind. It's too distressing.

Friday, August 13, 2010

goooood morning!

Greetings!
Im waiting for Guillermo to wake up. Its been a great few days, and I dont want to leave New York! .....Except that I DO want to get to Miami already! 3 months is a long time to be away. And I havent seen my mom since January! JANUARY! Its been so long. I leave tomorrow afternoon, and I think we will be going to Central Park in the morning before heading out.... Today we will be exploring the wondrous area of Williamsburg, Brooklyn! woooooo! Can you believe that my sister has lived here for more than 2 years and shes only been to Brooklyn like twice! What the shit! Its where its all going down.
I found out that my friends band is playing tonight at the Mercury Lounge here in New York, and Im super stoked to see them. (http://prettyandnice.com/) I might even be able to get my older sister to come!

Venice:
Do not pay 80 Euros for a Gondola ride. ITS NOT WORTH IT! Not that we did it....but it IS very easy to ride the ferries fo free (illegally, of course). We rode to the island of Murano fo free. And didnt see any people making glass. Disappointment? ....yes.


Verona:

Juliets house was amazing! I know shes a fictional character and all (we were SO confused about this the entire time we were there....but we are pretty sure that Shakespeare made her up. In fact, Im now 200% sure of this), but it was so touching seeing everyones letters to her! (Apparently theres a movie about it?! Letters to Juliet) And of course, we each wrote one (we made friends with an American guy who was going to Venice, and we convinced him to stay with us in Verona for the day...good times).
...Romeo's house, on the other hand, was not as impressive.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

back in the US

Hello all!
Ive been back in the US for almost a week now! Im in New York Citaaay visiting my lovely older sister, who lives here. Im super stoked because today one of my besties gets here!!!! Were going to have a blast together. AND I havent seen him since MARCH! Its been way too long.
Im currently waiting for him to arrive, he lands at 10ish. I also have a terrible stomach ache, from yesterdays Whole Foods lunch. I still love Whole Foods.
Brussels was awesome. I STILL havent uploaded my pictures =/ Im definitely slacking. Madrid was also beautiful, as usual!
Ive decided that Im either moving to France or Belgium to learn French.

Brussels: coffe and beer. a lot of both.

Ghentfest 2010

"im sorry, she just likes to hug"

Helenas friends' house in the Hamptons. Beautiful Saturday.

GUILLERMO JUST LANDED! i have to change.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Brussels

So Im finally in a position to update with pictures and details.
Since I last updated, Ive seen a lot. and spent too much.
After I got dumped, I was depressed for a few days and didnt even think about touching my Canon. As a result, I dont have very many good pictures from some places....but I always had my Cybershot with me, so I at least took SOME.
Im in Brussels, and I think this is another place where I want to live for a few months. I would so learn French! And why stop there? Dutch/Flemish too!!!!!

at the museum of modern art, in Koppenhagen



at a bar in Berlin


Budapest at night.


Lamp post at the Fisherman's Bastion

Fountain spewing wine in the caves under Budapest.


A beach on an island in Split. They prefer pebble beaches to sand beaches and Jessica and I still cant figure out why. Those pebbles were impossible to walk on! The water was super clear though, and soooo refreshing! We bought these awesome captain hats that say CROATIA on them, and I think its been my best purchase so far. Everytime we wear them people salute us!


After a jump from those cliffs. That was scary.


from the mainland to the island!


So I guess thats all for right now....I still have to upload my Italy pictures from my device to my computer, so it might be a while until those come around.....
Jess and I are going to Ghent Festival tonight. We're getting there around 11 PM and are planning on taking the train back to Brussels around 7 AM. I should be napping.
I leave to Madrid on Wed. Everything is happening so fast!
Au Revoir!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Horse Meat

So since my last update, i have been to:
Koppenhagen,
Dresden,
Tubingen,
Berlin,
Budapest,
Split,
Dubrovnik,
Milan,
Verona
and Im currently in Treviso which is about 20 minutes outside of Venice!
Things have been wunderbar, except for the constant pain in my feet, and the deterioration of my English (spell check corrected the spelling of deterioration for me. i looooove technology).
This update is picture-less due to my level of EXHAUSTION. I seriously thought I was going to pass out and DIE today while crossing a huge bridge in Venice. Luckily, I survived.
Couchsurfing has been a MAD success. Seriously, weve stayed with 3 different hosts in Italy, and all of them have been marvelous.

Jess: "We can get 9 hours of sleep tonight."
me: "omg, YES"
Jess: ".....but only if we go to sleep right now."
Ciao!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Goodbye Swedeeeen!









I will be sad to leave this country! Regardless of the weather.....Just look at all the GREEEEEEN!
Koppenhagen tomorrow, with an overnight bus ride to Dresden!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Good News!


By request of Chanel, I am updating. :]
I survived Stockholm! Im now on a farm in Laholm, near Goetheborg! Its fabulous down here, except for the weather. Im really not down with how cold it has been. And the people who live here say that this is the coldest its been during the summer in a whiiiillle. Why!!! I dont even have winter clothes in Florida, why would I bring any with me on this trip!? Ive been wearing the same thing since I got here (on Monday. whoa! Have I been here that long?!).... except that I switched from leggings + shorts to leggings + jeans. yup, its gotten colder. I've become an expert at making fires!!!! Thats always a good skill to have.
The kind of work that we have been doing wasnt really what I was expecting. We have mainly been weeding the vineyard (we had some wine from the grapes the other night. Talk about delliiiish. ALSO! Im not a vegetarian on this farm, because THE MEAT THAT THEY EAT IS RIGHT HERE! I met the cows and the sheep, and they're the ones that they eat!!!! So environmentally friendly! AND! They use ALL parts of the animals that they kill!!!!! :] AAAANNNNDDD, the veggies that they have been cooking come from Maria's farm! aaaaahhhhh, its like heaven.), and moving TREES from field, which will get picked up later, and the field will be turned into pasture land! :] They keep talking about how important it is to rotate things around the farm, and I can't help but feel a little bad/guilty for not having finished reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivores Dilemma....

Oh, Sweden is GORGEOUS.

....last thing: www.bataholm.com im on a farm, motha fuckas!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Stockholm, accidentally.

Im currently updating from the Stockholm Central Station. Where I am stuck. I thought that the train ticket that I bought was for TONIGHT....but really, its for tomorrow night. Which means 2 things: 1. I have to find a place to stay and 2. I have all day tomorrow in Stockholm! Luckily, Couchsurfing has an emergency couch message board, and this friendly looking guy, Jonas (whos name Im writing in case anything happens to me. Hes holding a Make Love Not War sign in his profile picture though.......I hope it goes well.) said he could put me up for the night. PHEWPH. This will be my first couch surfing experience. Thank God he answered me though, because apparently the train station, with all these comfortable looking benches, closes at 1 AM! So now Im killing time until he contacts me, and I'll be on my way with him....I bought him some chocolate. I hope he likes it.
I have to say that I was kind of bummed when I realized that I wouldnt be able to spend anytime in Stockholm, but with this unexpected turn of events, I get AN ENTIRE DAY! I have absolutely no idea what sights to visit, or what kind of food to eat. And Im pretty sure that the cheese sandwich that I bought when I got here is not really typical Swedish food.
Everyone here speaks English. THANK GOD! (if i believed in him)
... Theres a crazy man sitting behind me on this bench. Hes not speaking English.
Hopefully the next update will be from the farm. Also, with a special part about KOPENICK! The best kept secret in the castle world of Berlin!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Still alive!

I've been in Amsterdam since Tuesday morning. This city is great! Although I do have to say that it is a huge tourist trap. They smoke you out and then surround you with cute stuff to buy and SO much food. Good thing that its too expensive to buy much....although it hasn't stopped us all the times that it should have.....I'm dieing to try food from this vending machine place. Burgers from a vending machine....yes, please? I mean I wont eat the burger. But I will try one of the croquettas that I see people eating everywhere. I'm also totally loving the hostel that we are currently staying at (and not ONLY because of the wifi...).
Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the North! The weather has been semi good. When the sun isn't blocked by clouds, its pretty warm. But its been really cloudy.


Have I talked about how awesome our hostel is?
At dinner (Mexican. in Amsterdam?), we were talking about how this part of the vacation has been super relaxing, because while there is a lot to see in this city, most of it costs too much money so we just end up wandering around for most of the day without anywhere in particular to go. ..... Tomorrow though, I think we are doing a free walking tour. If they do it on weekends.
OH MAN. Last night we went to a Matt and Kim AND Major Laser AND Diplo concert. in Amsterdam. Yeah. I know. It was just as amazing as it sounds. And we got to dance on stage with Major Laser and Diplo. mhhhhhhhhhhhhm. super fucking rad.

Sunday, May 16, 2010


The churches that we have seen have been SO impressive.
OHMYGOD! So i completely forgot to mention something in my post about Poland: the FOOD! was so good. I'm not going to lie, I was worried about eating in Poland. For some reason I thought all they ate was meat. And being a vegetarian, I thought it'd be a problem. But NO! I've added perogies and red beet soup to my list of things to cook when I get back.

Yesterday we went to the Sachsicher Schweiz, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site! And with reason. This place was beaaauuutiful. The people in my group were lucky that I didn't have my Canon on me, because otherwise I would have taken about 765590 more pictures than I already did. I think its been my favorite activity so far. I wish it was MY JOB to climb those things.

It was ridiculous because even though it was rainy and freeeeeezing, the place was still packed! With old German people! God, I love them.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Polen

Poland was pretty sweet. I have to say that we were completely sketched out when 4 of us decided to cross the bridge over to the Polish side and it became night-time. .... The contrast between the German side and the Polish side was crazy because of how apparent it was! We were told that the Polish government doesn't invest too much money in reconstructing that city. Oh, at this point we were in Goerlitz!

The main Polish city that we saw a lot of, though, was Bretslau. Talk about awesome. I decided to buy a luggage there because honestly, one book bag was a BAD idea (ahem).....plus, it was relatively cheap! Poland isn't on the Euro yet, so they're exchange rate was way better. WAY better.

Im not going to lie, a lot of times we were confused as to what country we were in. It seemed like every city that we went to was bordering Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany.

On our way back to Dresden, we stopped at this CUTE ASS town, where we all had ice cream. Then we stopped at a mountain neraby to have lunch. Suuuuuuuuper sweet. And the people who are scared of heights even enjoyed it! Thats how nice the view was. Yeah. Whenever we get bagged lunches, they like to give us Coca-Cola and candy bars. Yeah, we're American, but is that REALLY necessary? I've had more Coke within this week than I've ever had in my entire life (not counting Cherry Coke).

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bugs and Birds

So we've been in Dresden since Tuesday now. The days go by so fast here! One minute its breakfast time, and the next, we're shoving lunch down our throats because its scheduled feeding time. (Yeah, its weird for us, too.)
So far we've seen a lot of the city, but really, not enough! We've also seen a bit of the nightlife which has been suuuper fun....but tiring.

Its Spring time, but you'd never guess here. Its been rainy lately, but for the last couple of days we've been able to catch some sun for a few hours.
So far, we've met and talked with a bunch of German students. For the most part, we've been able to communicate pretty well with each other. I feel like my German is improving by the HOUR! Although Dirk told me his secret to his perfect English: watch TV in English! I'm totally going to start doing that. Except in German.

This building used to be a prison. >2,000 people were executed here during the time that this was still part of East Germany. The history of this region is so dense and still so evident. Today we went to a soccer game and when you walked in, it had a poster of Nazi-Propaganda stuff that you weren't allowed to wear into the stadium.

After the game, we spent some time at the Grosse Garten, where we ate ice cream, napped, played cards and frisbee.

Im loving this city, and everyone in it!

See you post-Poland :]

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Dresden

After 3 flights, a bus ride and a train ride, we have arrived at our destination!!!! Kelley and I are obsessed with the apartment that they put us in. It is the cutest thing ever, and we feel like we are living IN ikea. Our plan is to make a Cribs video....yeah, its THAT sweet.
Also, I totally underpacked. .... .... totally. I feel like the purchase of a small suitcase is in my near future...
The weather here is currently 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is what Im used to in the winter months of Tallahassee. We're doing a Pub Crawl tonight (don't ask me why Im not napping), I think I'm going to freeze. And I don't think I'll last long enough to get that 4th drink free....we shall seeeee.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

the day before...

So I'm leaving Tallahassee tomorrow morning at 11:30. I've been holed up in my room all day (minus the brunch making with my visiting loooover) packing and repacking my ONE bookbag that is supposed to somehow fit 3 months worth of clothing....I made it happen...but hardly.
Also, I realized that I have nowhere to stay for the last 2 weeks that I was supposed to be in Sweden wwoofing.....all of the farms are booked up, so my new plan is to slowly make my way down to Stuttgart to visit Rachel, and then back up to Berlin to fly out of there with Jessy, when we head to Budapest. I think Ill be making stops in Copenhagen and some parts of West Germany.
As of right now, everything is pretty much packed and Ive got my accounts in order.....the only thing missing are my headphones!
aaaahhh.

This time tomorrow, I'll be in Dresden, Germany!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

As of RIGHT NOW.....this is no longer a food blog. but instead...just my regular old blog. no longer will i be restricted to just food recipes! (which i couldnt stick to on a regular basis. =/) but speaking of recipes, we're having a potluck for my Food and Environment class on Friday....and i just can't decide between yucca or curry cabbage!
Youd think that this being finals week, Id be more worried about exams and passing my classes. but.... i kind of hit this wall. and dont really care anymore. uh-oh!
it could be....because.....

im headed to Europe next week! Heres the travel itinerary:
Dresden, Germany May 3-22
Berlin, Germany May 22-25
Amsterdam, Netherlands May 25-30
Stuttgart, Germany May 30- June 3
Prague, Czech Republic June 3-9
Berlin, Germany June 9-12
Organic Farm:Bataholm, Sweden June 13-23
Organic Farm:hopefully, Sweden June 24-July 4
Stockholm, Sweden July 5-10
Budapest, Hungary July 10-13
Dubronvik, Croatia July 13-18
Milan & Venice, Italy July 18-23
Brussels, Belgium July 23-28
Madrid, Spain (mi gente!) July 28-Aug 5
Nueva York Aug 5- ?

Expect updates on a semi-regular basis! I plan on taking my laptop and will hopefully have internet in most places.
i have NO idea how im going to fit 3 months worth of clothes in my dad's hiking backpack.


The Treehouse Song

I counted all of the good things you are

and that list of charms was

longer than my chain of broken hearts

and when the day was done

I figured I had already lost

from the start – from the start

...baby we were made of gold.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Day One...

So, I am by no means a Catholic. But I just love giving things up for Lent!
So this year, I decided to go big. Im giving up high fructose corn syrup! Im really excited about this, because I think its going to force me to cook again! yay! I've been missing the kitchen and Im tired of eating Triscuits and other snacks. The time has come for real food again!
So today, for the first day of the 40 (I started a day late), I made some sauteed mushrooms and onions for breakfast that lasted me until linner (really late lunch/really early dinner).
Im lucky enough to have a roommate who loves to make salsa. He's made a fresh batch almost every week since the beginning of the year. Yeah, its awesome.
So for this part, I just used:
mushrooms
onions
garlic
salsa
Sauteed the onions in some olive oil for a little bit, and added the garlic, the shrooms and the salsa!
I put it on some (corn syrup-free) rice cakes that I had, since all the bread in the apartment has HFCS (its just too long to type!).....
For linner, I fried an egg and put the left over mushrooms on top of it! So good!
Just look at it! mmmmmm.