Waking up to such an amazing view was so unreal! We sat outside for breakfast as we waited to clear the port for entry and I've never seen such beautiful scenery as Croatia!! Once we were cleared the GradPack Seahort headed out to go visit the American College of Management and Technology (a branch campus of Rochester or RIT). It was great to see that there are some opportunities for student affairs professionals to branch out through these branch campuses :) It was a great visit and a neat opportunity to learn how the US and Croatia worked together to get students a dual degree in both countries :) Latter in the evening Melissa, Chris, Ryan, Mike, and I headed out on a search for evening kayaking. We met a guy who’s name sounded like a fruit :) he gave us a good deal and we headed out for a 2 hour kayaking trip! Our first stop was to jump off some cliffs... I did not participate here. Instead Ryan and I continued on to see more views and we met up with everyone in between Dubrovnik and an island. Our goal was to find a great spot to watch the sun set and we succeeded!!! We parked our kayaks and climbed up the island rocks and watched the sun set behind Croatia. With the cool colors in the sky and the sun's reflection seeping into the ocean I could not have imagined a more beautiful setting!!! Afterwards we continued on with an attempt to go around the island and discovered a small cave!! I was soo excited! We took some pictures and hung out and slowly headed back to return the kayaks :)
On our journey back Chris brought up the idea of heading out to Montenegro the next day... so we did! Melissa, Chris, Shametrius, and I headed out after breakfast to check out prices to take the bus... it was a bit high! So, as graduate students and staff we took advantage of being able to rent a vehicle and jammed to a mix of Croatian and 80-90's American top hits :) it was a fantastic road trip!!!! We got our passports stamped 3 times and t to soak in even more amazing views of Montenegro! We had a pit stop at a local beach and headed back just in time for dinner :)
The next day I headed out with one of the other LLCs, Kari, to explore :) we ran into one of the nurses on the ship who actually knew the language! We decided to follow her to Lapad where we found a FAANTASTIC beach! :) y'all have to see how clear this water was!!! Here, we found our own private little lagoon (idk how else to say it) to put our things at as we swam in this amazingly refreshing water!! it was simply relaxing! Latter, Kari and I headed out to Old Town (Dubrovnik) to walk the glossy streets :) We ran into Tracy and Drew there and had the most delicious Croatian meal!!! :) Can you believe!! I ate grilled baby octopus!!!!! It was soooo good!! we also shared this amazing fish bowl with all kinds of sea food: fish, shrimp, muscles, SQUID, and a few other things :) it was fabulous!!! As we headed back we did a little shopping. On our walk back we got to watch the beautiful full moon reflect two places! once right below it and it's reflection path :) sooo gorgeous!!
Our final day, we headed out to go walk the wall :) It was very hot and long but it was grat to see all the views and walk on the history of Croatia! Since we wee all ubber hot we made our way to Boza and I finally jumped off the cliffs into the very forgiving waters of the Adriatic Sea!!! That concluded our adventures in Croatia but I boarded the ship for Gangway Dutie and said my good byes... but I was still very much looking forward to Greece!!! :)
Sea yah latter!
Jenni
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Ciao Ciao Italy!
Ciao USA!
Woo! So it's been a while since I've been able to blog so I hope I can get it all in tonight :) Ok! I just sent the one I was able to type up for my first port of Naples in Italy :) I did that one on the 4th of July! Soooo... Now on to my adventures while in the Civitavecchia, Italy port! Boy I had so much!! :D
My first day I took my travels slow and relaxing :) I had never been to Civitavecchia before and decided to hang out there for a day to explore it while most others headed straight for Rome. This was also a great idea because I really needed to save money for my future trip (it's coming>). This town was very different from what I was expecting Italy to be like. It seemed like a plain city and there was the same old city things to do so I walked around and window shopped with Ashley (from the Teachers at Sea program) then took a day to catch up on some sleep and reading. After laying out with Caitlyn (in my SeaHort) we enjoyed a great discussion over dinner with Paul (another Living Learning Coordinator :). He helped me to remember to take time to soak in these special moments while in these unique ports! He is such a great co-worker! ...So great that I will still have pictures of the rest of my trip because he and his wife have lent me a camera!!! The rest of the day was utilized for the planning of my trip to Venice!!!
The second day in port was FILLED with adventure! I headed out with a group trip to see the highlights of Rome in the morning. They bussed us around the historic city pointing out well known sites before we got of to explore the roman coliseum! It was fantastic to see where all the gladiators used to battle and to hear about all the history behind it! Then they took us to go see the beautiful Vatican City!!! There was Sooooo much art and history there that you couldn't help but feel the glory of god there! It was magnificent!! Fair warning to everyone... it is PACKED! Our tour guide zoomed in and I almost got lost looking at all the well known statues and paintings... I was just in AW... I felt so lucky!!
Instead of returning to the group back to Civitavecchia, I grabbed my OL backpack (with my travel gear) and found my way to the closest Metro station (which by now, I find my self a pro at) for my own quick tour of Rome... my own highlights included seeing the Spanish Steps (you know, the ones in Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn :) and the Trevi fountain!!! I of course made a couple of wishes... but I'm not telling you ;D Then I took another Metro to the train station where I waited in line to purchase my ticket to Venice!
I was happy to see one Semester at Sea student, who I chatted with you briefly before being introduced to a new friend from Canada! Her name was Samantha and she was a photographer traveling Europe for some great shots and looking for work :D She was great company for the wait in line and I was happy to have her help me find the way to my train... I kept looking at my ticket for my platform (yip ima do it), and I did look for a platform 9 and 3/4... but it wasn't at this station :D I looked for a safe place on the train (apparently I was not assigned a seat)... I got onto a cart filled with a group of high school kids and their professor from Austria... I felt that that would be pretty safe... and I think it was :) Since most of the kids sat together I hung out in the walkway and found an English speaking companion for the trip! He was a physics teacher name was Juan Carlos and he was from Columbia! He did help me to practice a bit of Spanish which I was happy to do! We had fantastic conversations about traveling! 6 hours latter we landed in the station right outside of Venice at 1 am and made our way to the bus stop. We had excellent luck because apparently they had run out of tickets and we didn't have to pay :)
We arrived shortly after in Venice and we were just elated! It was soo beautiful even in the dark of the night! We were very shocked ot find that at nearly 2am... no one was around. It was as if no one lived there. Which made it wonderful to explore! We walked around they city for about 2 hours before we found a beautiful spot overlooking the water. We decided to sit on the benches and watch the sun rise! It was beautiful! I felt so at peace (and sleepy) that I decided to snuggle up on my bench for a quick nap :) Never fear though! Again, there was absolutely no one around and I did not feel threatened at all! It was really nice to feel that kind of secure! I woke up to the sound of the newspaper boats slowly stroll by as they dropped them off at the local stores. Then I was on a hunt to find WiFi... at this point, Juan Carlos headed out for his own exploration of the city. It look me a while to find internet and when I did I contacted a few people to figure out where some of the other graduate students were staying. About an hour of hunting for my friends and exploring the city I discovered their hotel and was soooo happy to find their happy faces behind door number 1 (room number). I was able to take an amazing shower before we headed out to rome around the city! We had an AMAZING lunch (lasagna) and latter they convinced me to hop on board for a ride on a gondola and it was wonderful :) We spent a good time in San Marco square (I was pretty happy to bee in a San Marvelous again) then headed back to the train station. The girls took a sleeping cabin... but I could not pay for it. So, I found myself in the 2nd class train again :) An of course I found a new friend from Australia! He was an architecture major at a university in Florence and his name was Tom. He actually had a 1st class ticket... but didn't have anyone to travel with either so stayed and hung out with me! He showed me pictures of his travels and I showed him my pictures of Spain and Italy :D I was terribly tired by the time he left so I found a seat in the cabins and took a nap... but I didn't want to miss my station so I stayed awake for the remainder. When I finally got home in the morning, I crashed hard!! I woke up to head back out for one last gelato and came back to help with Gangway (helping with the search process as the students boarded the ship).
These past 2 days have simply been classes and work again :) ...oh and planning for Croatia. I believe I am wanting to add another country to my list for the summer... Montenegro :D OH and we also had our Harry Potter 7 (part 1) movie showing in the union yesterday and that got me all hyped for the release this week in Croatia :) Hopefully I will make that happen too! Ok! It's really late now so I'm go to bed! Have a fantastic day!
Sea ya latter!
~Jenni
Naples, Italy!!!
Naples, Italy
(July 4, 2011)
So we arrived in Naples on Saturday and took the day to simply explore and walk the city. We found a really great pizzeria up a random ally and it was fantastic! It definitely tasted different than the kinds back in the US :) we ordered a cheese pizza which they call a margarita. It's thinner and the sauce tastes more like a fresh tomato. There is always some basil on top which adds a little flavor. Oh and it's surely not as greasy! Oh and, what made it even better is that it was soo cheap! Each pizza was 5€ (apparently it's normal to order your own) :) afterwards a group of us grad students headed out for a hunt to find the Archeological Museum which included the artifacts from the Pompeii excavations. There were many paintings, glass vases, cooking utensils, furniture, and many other relics. It was pretty interesting. Heading back to he ship, we met a friendly local who spoke no English. He very much liked Kristina seeing as how he tried to kiss her on her lips and (per
haps accidentally) Grabbed her boob! He did manage to give us directions to the train station and he left to meet his friend.
Because the city of Naples wasn't as exciting as I hoped, I called it a night and wrote my paper for class. It was nice to actually get some sleep before my next trip early on the morning!
So we arrived in Naples on Saturday and took the day to simply explore and walk the city. We found a really great pizzeria up a random ally and it was fantastic! It definitely tasted different than the kinds back in the US :) we ordered a cheese pizza which they call a margarita. It's thinner and the sauce tastes more like a fresh tomato. There is always some basil on top which adds a little flavor. Oh and it's surely not as greasy! Oh and, what made it even better is that it was soo cheap! Each pizza was 5€ (apparently it's normal to order your own) :) afterwards a group of us grad students headed out for a hunt to find the Archeological Museum which included the artifacts from the Pompeii excavations. There were many paintings, glass vases, cooking utensils, furniture, and many other relics. It was pretty interesting. Heading back to he ship, we met a friendly local who spoke no English. He very much liked Kristina seeing as how he tried to kiss her on her lips and (per
haps accidentally) Grabbed her boob! He did manage to give us directions to the train station and he left to meet his friend.
Because the city of Naples wasn't as exciting as I hoped, I called it a night and wrote my paper for class. It was nice to actually get some sleep before my next trip early on the morning!
Yesterday was amazing!! We headed for a trip to the island of Capri and Anacapri!! It was soo much more beautiful and it definitely gave me the feel that I was in Italy!! When we landed ( by hydrofoil/fast boat) we took an hour to enjoy the beach! It was different from our usual sandy beach... Mostly because there was no sand! It was all rocks, and even though it hurt a little to walk on, it was pretty and it made a beautiful sound as the waves receded! I loved it! Unfortunately, I loved it so much that I pulled out my "waterproof" camera to record it and it apparently killed my camera :( I didn't let it ruin my trip though. We continued on touring the island and saw how beautiful everything was!!! Don't worry though I have friends who took pictures for me and I do have this little iTouch to take some pictures with.
When we got back we all took showers (these seas are very salty... Go figure :) and then headed out to have pizza where pizza originated! I liked this pizza even more but it was pretty similar to the one the night before :)
When we got back we all took showers (these seas are very salty... Go figure :) and then headed out to have pizza where pizza originated! I liked this pizza even more but it was pretty similar to the one the night before :)
Our (last day in Naples) adventure today was a hike up Mt. Vesuvius... Which by the way is the volcano that erupted and destroyed the city of Pompeii in 79AD. It was gorgeous! We hiked up past the clouds to over 3,600 feet!
After wondering the city and discovering more sites I headed back to help with gangway :) and omg!!!! We had a FANTASTIC 4th of July barbq when we got back!!!! Incase you were wondering... Yes I more than likely will be bigger when I get back!!!! Yay food!!!
Sea ya latter!
Jenni
Sent from my iPod
Sea ya latter!
Jenni
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Last day in Spain and heading to Italy!
Last day in Spain and heading to Italy!
7/1/2011
So this will be a brief blog :) But my last day in Spain was yesterday and I started off the day with a beautiful bike ride tour around the city! After a quick nap I went to lunch and I got two of the students to travel up to the Estadi del football club Barcelona :) we didn't go inside because it was too expensive BUT after walking around a fully covered coliseum, I was convinced I wanted to see the inside... So, I figured out a way :) No, I didn't get to go inside, but I knew I had to go UP! I looked up and saw some tall buildings and... because I know I won't look like I belong here... I'm sure I wouldn't be able to walk through a business and blend in. We went into the tallest hotel I could find... only to find out all the views on the side of the FC were rooms... but we spoke to one of the maids and she let us out through the emergency exit where we walked up the staircase to find a door that (in Spanish) read "restricted this door must be kept closed at all times." But the door was open... so we walked out onto the roof top for the perfect view!! :) After which we went back home (to the ship) and set sail for Italy!!
Even briefer :) Today was the Sea Olympics!!! My team was wonderful! ...we didn't place but I would say we definitely won the congeniality award! I was proud of them! Ok well... Ciao!!
Sea ya latter!
~Jenni
España tiene mi corazón!
España tiene mi corazón!
6/30/201
I love Spain everyone!! The first day we got here we were the first to get off the ship (because we had a FDP we were going to be late for:) and we hopped on the metro to head to the Universitat de Barcelona (UB)!!! I was so excited :) When we got on I sat next to a young man studying a paper... and started speaking to him in Spanish!!! I love practicing!! He was a student going to the UB. His major is geology and he was taking his comprehensive final (the only grade for his class... that's how they do it on the EU system) that day and he was kind of worried... but I gave him some words of encouragement before we left and I'm sure he did well!!
We got off the Metro and headed to the UB historical campus and were just amazed as we entered into the Main Entrance! This was just a sneak preview of the university. We were given a brief presentation (admissions pitch) on the UB and it's services followed by a tour of the building! The architecture and paintings were just epic everywhere! I will post a link of pictures when/if I ever get a chance!!! We got to see a lecture hall and it had us all floored! It resembled a really fancy church and museum! There were two balconies facing one another where a student would defend himself to the professor on the other side in front of the whole class! The whole thing was amazing.
Afterwards, the grad students all went to a fantastic 3 course meal for 10.5 E (fantastic with everything we got!!!)! Everything tasted amazing!!! Slowly we headed back to the ship as we strolled down Las Ramblas (a really great and lively city street). We each went to our cabins and had a siesta (nap) to get refreshed for the night life! We left the ship around 11:30 and headed out and discovered a tapas restaurant and all sat down to enjoy a dinner (yes... they have late dinners and even latter evenings... starting at 2!). While we ate some really delicious Tapas (I highly suggest Croquets <sp?), paella, & Sangria we over heard a group at the next table singing and we joined in and apparently we each liked to jump into each other's salutes! Eventually, some of our group left to go to a bar and we joined their table! They were from England, and Germany, and some other places and this was their last night before they headed out to France. Their names were Natasha, Alex, Ian, and Jaga and we hung out and had a blast with them until about 4am when we returned back to the ship for some sleep!!! :)
The next morning started at 9am when Amy, Caitlin, Adrian and I headed out to find some Curros con Chocolate :) Our goal for this day was to simply "get lost" in the city and explore... and we did! We found all kinds of interesting shops and even more tapas! ...there was a secret agenda for the day though... we were waiting for a specific someone to fly in and meet Caitlin who had no idea they were coming :) Once Amy got the go ahead Adrian and I split up from them to head back and Caitlin and Amy went to go visit another University and Tipitabo (sp?) where her boyfriend of 5 years proposed to her!!! I was sooo excited!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :)
Today!!! OMG What an amazing day!!!! So it all started off with a fantastic FPD called Paella Tour where I got to take a cooking class to learn how to make paella!! ...Just so you all know, traditionally this dish has sea food in it... you know, the stuff I don't really like! Well I definitely tried a lot of new things with this dish! It was a fantastic time getting to make it and delicious to eat! For desert we also got to have some yummy crembrule!!! Then, I headed back to the ship where I met up with Sercon to go to the Dali museum... unfortunately, we found out it was an hour away and would probably be closed before we got there :(... but we will probably go tomorrow (fingers crossed). Instead we headed bravely found our way to a number of things! First, the Picasso museum! So amazing! I've heard others thought it was boring but I thing my sister Alice, has made me appreciate art a lot more :) then we headed to the Sagrada la Familia... this was SOOOO beautiful!! I cou
ld not believe how much detail went into this one building... unfortunately Gali died before he could complete it... so others are working on it and it's supposed to be finished in like 50 years for his 100th anniversary. So pretty! Then (my favorite!!!) we went to the Park Guiell!!!!! WOW!!! We got there... and I literally had no words!! I don't think I can ever remember anything making me feel so impressed!!! The architecture was so unique and amazingly beautiful! Just walking around was peaceful and amazing!!! We made our way up to the cross at the top and had the best view of Barcelona as we watched the sun set over the Tipitabo church!!! On our way down we found the gorgeous (what I call) squiggly benches!!! I was just so happy!!!! We headed back and were at the bus stop ready to head back to the ship but I knew I was just going to find a Flamenco performance... and one of the other LLCs, Drew, had just gotten out of one and told me to go... so I recruited (new friend on SaS) Leah to come with me and we watched a show for 6E at Toranto!! It was fantastic!!! Oh and I got to have a nice little 20 min. conversation with Ambierrto (sp?) in Spanish... He didn't know any english but he told me he would make me practice :D
Now I'm back and am off to bed!! My goal is to wake up for my FPD bike tour at 7:30 followed by a visit to the football/soccer stadium and an attempt at going to see Dali's museum!!! :D
Sea ya latter~
~Jenni
6/30/201
I love Spain everyone!! The first day we got here we were the first to get off the ship (because we had a FDP we were going to be late for:) and we hopped on the metro to head to the Universitat de Barcelona (UB)!!! I was so excited :) When we got on I sat next to a young man studying a paper... and started speaking to him in Spanish!!! I love practicing!! He was a student going to the UB. His major is geology and he was taking his comprehensive final (the only grade for his class... that's how they do it on the EU system) that day and he was kind of worried... but I gave him some words of encouragement before we left and I'm sure he did well!!
We got off the Metro and headed to the UB historical campus and were just amazed as we entered into the Main Entrance! This was just a sneak preview of the university. We were given a brief presentation (admissions pitch) on the UB and it's services followed by a tour of the building! The architecture and paintings were just epic everywhere! I will post a link of pictures when/if I ever get a chance!!! We got to see a lecture hall and it had us all floored! It resembled a really fancy church and museum! There were two balconies facing one another where a student would defend himself to the professor on the other side in front of the whole class! The whole thing was amazing.
Afterwards, the grad students all went to a fantastic 3 course meal for 10.5 E (fantastic with everything we got!!!)! Everything tasted amazing!!! Slowly we headed back to the ship as we strolled down Las Ramblas (a really great and lively city street). We each went to our cabins and had a siesta (nap) to get refreshed for the night life! We left the ship around 11:30 and headed out and discovered a tapas restaurant and all sat down to enjoy a dinner (yes... they have late dinners and even latter evenings... starting at 2!). While we ate some really delicious Tapas (I highly suggest Croquets <sp?), paella, & Sangria we over heard a group at the next table singing and we joined in and apparently we each liked to jump into each other's salutes! Eventually, some of our group left to go to a bar and we joined their table! They were from England, and Germany, and some other places and this was their last night before they headed out to France. Their names were Natasha, Alex, Ian, and Jaga and we hung out and had a blast with them until about 4am when we returned back to the ship for some sleep!!! :)
The next morning started at 9am when Amy, Caitlin, Adrian and I headed out to find some Curros con Chocolate :) Our goal for this day was to simply "get lost" in the city and explore... and we did! We found all kinds of interesting shops and even more tapas! ...there was a secret agenda for the day though... we were waiting for a specific someone to fly in and meet Caitlin who had no idea they were coming :) Once Amy got the go ahead Adrian and I split up from them to head back and Caitlin and Amy went to go visit another University and Tipitabo (sp?) where her boyfriend of 5 years proposed to her!!! I was sooo excited!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :)
Today!!! OMG What an amazing day!!!! So it all started off with a fantastic FPD called Paella Tour where I got to take a cooking class to learn how to make paella!! ...Just so you all know, traditionally this dish has sea food in it... you know, the stuff I don't really like! Well I definitely tried a lot of new things with this dish! It was a fantastic time getting to make it and delicious to eat! For desert we also got to have some yummy crembrule!!! Then, I headed back to the ship where I met up with Sercon to go to the Dali museum... unfortunately, we found out it was an hour away and would probably be closed before we got there :(... but we will probably go tomorrow (fingers crossed). Instead we headed bravely found our way to a number of things! First, the Picasso museum! So amazing! I've heard others thought it was boring but I thing my sister Alice, has made me appreciate art a lot more :) then we headed to the Sagrada la Familia... this was SOOOO beautiful!! I cou
ld not believe how much detail went into this one building... unfortunately Gali died before he could complete it... so others are working on it and it's supposed to be finished in like 50 years for his 100th anniversary. So pretty! Then (my favorite!!!) we went to the Park Guiell!!!!! WOW!!! We got there... and I literally had no words!! I don't think I can ever remember anything making me feel so impressed!!! The architecture was so unique and amazingly beautiful! Just walking around was peaceful and amazing!!! We made our way up to the cross at the top and had the best view of Barcelona as we watched the sun set over the Tipitabo church!!! On our way down we found the gorgeous (what I call) squiggly benches!!! I was just so happy!!!! We headed back and were at the bus stop ready to head back to the ship but I knew I was just going to find a Flamenco performance... and one of the other LLCs, Drew, had just gotten out of one and told me to go... so I recruited (new friend on SaS) Leah to come with me and we watched a show for 6E at Toranto!! It was fantastic!!! Oh and I got to have a nice little 20 min. conversation with Ambierrto (sp?) in Spanish... He didn't know any english but he told me he would make me practice :D
Now I'm back and am off to bed!! My goal is to wake up for my FPD bike tour at 7:30 followed by a visit to the football/soccer stadium and an attempt at going to see Dali's museum!!! :D
Sea ya latter~
~Jenni
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