Hello friends! I finally have some downtime (and free wifi) to update you all on what I've been up to in the past few days. I have been on spring break for a week now, and it is unbelievable what I have seen and done. Last Friday I flew from Nantes, France, to Rome to begin the Easter weekend. The three days there were spent eating absurd amounts of pasta and gelato, seeing the historical sights of the ancient city and visiting with friends from Notre Dame. Oh, and I saw the pope.
Easter Sunday is usually full of candy and eggs, but I was willing to sacrifice tradition to attend mass at the Vatican with Pope Francis and 300,000 of his closest friends. Besides waking up at 4:30 a.m. and waiting in line for five hours, it was a perfect day. The sun was shining, everywhere I looked I saw familiar faces thanks to Notre Dame's tickets and we were sitting about ten rows back from the altar. It was unbelievable to be in such a historic and religious place on the most important Catholic holiday.
After our final meal of basically all you can eat Italian food with gelato added at the end, we were ready to head to our next stop: Istanbul, Turkey. I wasn't sure what to expect with our next city seeing as the only things I know about it came from high school history classes, but I have been thoroughly impressed with the city and its culture. Store owners stand outside begging for customers, but rather than being obnoxious and aggressive like the Italians, they are witty and endearing. The little English they speak is skewed through poor translations, so walking past stores we hear "excuse me, I love you" and "yes please, can I take your money?" as supposedly effective sales lines. Once hearing that we are American, the Turkish people begin shouting famous Americans, calling us Angelina Jolie, John Travolta and Michael Jackson. Going to the Grand Bazaar was the most exciting experience because we were able to haggle with shopowners and leave with quality scarves and souvenirs at minimal prices.
Speaking of minimal prices, the food in Istanbul is high quality at extremely low prices. Every restaurant we went to was recommended by Trip Advisor and had generous portions of delicious, authentic food. Even as a vegetarian I was able to enjoy a selection of options ranging from vegetable stew to Turkish pizza to rice and veggies. No matter how filling our dinners were, we always made room for pistachio and walnut baklava bought at small local bakeries - one of the most delicious desserts I've ever tasted.
Right now I'm in a shuttle on the way to the airport (with the sounds of daily prayer echoing through the city from the speakers of the Blue Mosque), and I am surprisingly sad to be leaving this beautiful city. The only redeeming factor is that our next stop is Athens, Greece, where I plan to live the lives of the characters in Mamma Mia and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Bye for now, updates on Greece and Florence to follow!
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Rome
Hostel: Valle Aurelia apartments - includes airport shuttle and extremely helpful staff, very nice amenities, private apartment
Gelato: Frigidarium
Transportation: Metro, walking
Istanbul
Hostel: Cordial House - perfect location, good price, airport shuttle
Food: anything, seriously
Transportation: walking