Le Belle Chiese di Italia, The Beautiful Churches of Italy

It's impossible to be in Italy and not visit the magnificent churches. I have been in more than I care to count! Some churches are incredibly ornate, such as Siena's large cathedral, and some are pleasantly simple, like a small white marble church I visited in Rome. Below are some of my most memorable images from churches. I took many more photos of course, but I believe this collection represents the beauty of each individual church. The churches are from: Arezzo, Pistoia, Florence, Rome, Siena, Assisi, and the Vatican City.

Ciao,
Sarah

Cheapest Resturant In Salzburg: Just Listen to the Street Music

So many cakes!

I had time to kill before class started . I had just left a tiny café where I sampled five different pastries in AIFS’s pastry seminar. Two types of Guglhupf (like pound cake), Apfelstrudel, Sachertorte (chocolate cake with fruit sauce hidden in the pores), a tall creamy Rigojanschi with layers of chocolate and, my favorite and the sweetest of the pastries, a Esterhazytorte, layers of cake and creamy frosting. And of course all accompanied by a handmade Mozartkugel.

            And believe it or not, I was still hungry, so I found a bench in the sun, pulled out my mozzarella and salami sandwich, and watched two Austrians play each other at giant chess. The giant chessboard is laid out in Salzburg’s Kapitelplatz, which also houses an abstract art piece (a golden sphere with a man standing atop), my favorite pretzelstand  (Where, every time, before I say anything but “hallo” the woman behind the counter asks me if I speak French or English or just starts with English without even asking. Do I really look that American…or French?) and the street performer with the guitar (I actually found a picture of him in my Salzburg guidebook. Apparently, he’s been around for a while). To the right rises the Dom cathedral where I’ve attended two lovely by freezing—marble really locks in the winter cold—Catholic masses. To the left towers the Festung Hohensalzburg, which defines Salzburg’s skyline.

Giant chess in Kapitelplatz.

            The two men playing chess looked intent on their game. Surrounding them, locals played smaller chess games and tourists snapped photos. My favorite moment was when an old man, sitting squarely in the middle of the bench opposite me, was bombarded by a troop of little boys, who didn’t hesitate to cuddle right up to him while they pointed and shouted exclamations at the giant chess pieces.

            And while all this was enfolding, the street performer was playing my favorite song—Pachelbel’s Kanon. The best lunches in Salzburg, it seems, cost almost nothing.

Wandering in Salzburg

 

The Heart of Joy Cafe

Wandering through the streets of Salzburg’s Neu Stadt on a Saturday morning yields interesting results. Shopkeepers are just opening their doors as tourists begin clogging the streets with their umbrellas (and the occasional “Do Re Me” and Sound of Music chatter). I was surprised to catch snippets of so many American conversations as I walked, but at the time I hadn’t realized that’d I wandered towards Mirabel Gardens where a famous scene from Sound of Music was shot. A stretch of road perpendicular to Salzburg Congress was lined with enticing cafés. I was a snapping a photograph of a colorful café called The Heart of Joy Café when a server opened the door and welcomed me in. “You don’t have to look from outside, come in,” he said. When he asked me if I wanted an English or German menu, I told him I had to practice my German, so he gave me both.

Mirabel Gardens

Compared to other cafes in Salzburg, The Heart of Joy Café is large and airy. Painted in bold blue and orange and lined with books about meditation and healthy living, it’s a fun café to accidently wander into. Yogo-esk music was playing in the background as I enjoyed my “continental breakfast” of a role, gouda cheese, and an Americano (all at a reasonable price below five Euro). A little card on my table read, “There is only one duty and that duty is to live happily,” and I was very content to be in Salzburg at that moment.

The view from my bus stop.

The clientele in The Heart and Joy Café was a smorgasbord of backpackers with dreads, young women with their children, and an American couple, who were taking photos of their breakfast, clearly as delighted as I had first been when my coffee was brought to me on a tray.  After chatting with the couple about the Salzburg Card, a discount card that I was familiar with only because a different American couple I met in an Italian restaurant had given me theirs, I left to continue wandering. I passed Salzburg Congress and realized that the park I was walking through winded its way toward Mirabel Gardens. I snapped a great photograph of a group of men wearing traditional green wool coats and hats with a single feather poking up from the side. I caught a whisper of classical music as I passed by the practice rooms in Universität Mozarteum. Although it was raining, just above freezing, and grey, I’ve never enjoyed listening to Mozart so much!

Salzburg Cafes

Coffe from the Mozart Cafe.

Traditional Apfelstrudel

Ein Kaffee mit Milch in Manner Cafe

My first cafe experience- a torte in Cafe Fuerst.

“Gruss Gott!” When I walked into the pastel pink café—one wall lined with chocolates and candies wrapped in pink boxes and cellophane—I heard these words. Literally, “Gruss Gott” is an imperative, commanding you to “greet god!” but the Austrian’s don’t use the greeting with any religious connotations. The server at Manner Café in Salzburg’s Alt Stadt was as cheery as the café’s décor and seemed happy to practice her English while serving me (When I ordered “ein Kaffee” she knew immediately I was American. In Austria, “ein Kaffee” is an umbrella term covering all the varieties of coffee from “kleiner Mocha” to “Cappuccino”). I nearly forgot that in Austria, you do not hesitate to be seated in a café.  Unlike American’s fast-food style cafés like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, Austrian cafés are like coffee restaurants. You order at your seat, and to encourage you to sip on your “heisse Schokolade” for hours, servers will not approach you with the check until you call them over.

               

Heisse Schokolade

 A steaming coffee served with a small glass of water and a Mozart candy, all displayed on a silver platter. For under three Euros, you can feel like royalty at a café here. The door opens, a rush of chill air, and an exchange of “Gruss Gott” and “Guten Tag.” At a nearby table, an old man reads a newspaper and waits to be served. A group of Austrians chat loudly in German near the door. Although the view from the window is obstructed by a massive vase filled with Mozartkugln—Salzburg’s special chocolate and marzipan candies created in honor of their most famous resident---you can see a horse carriage jingle by and a group of tourists snapping photographs in front of the fountain in the square.

                What makes Salzburg particularly magical are the numerous “Platz” (squares) and consequent “gassen” (alleys). Most Platz house a statue or fountain and are lined with cafes and souvenir shops. Wander from a Platz into an narrow street and you won’t know where to look first. Above you, intricate metal signs older than the United States advertise each tiny shop. Bumpy cobblestone forms a road. Cardboard cut outs of Mozart seem to pop out at you every which way, and your eyes linger on a shoe display here, a posh clothing store there, and, of course, the sweet wares of cafes.

Some cafe's also serve juice

                Each café in Salzburg in unique. Manner Café is informal and bright. Café Fürst is cramped unless you can manage to find a seat outside in the square. Mozart Café is über-classy (and just as expensive). To reach the café you ascend a long, bright stairway with the sound of Mozart softly playing in the background. The café itself is dimly lit but romantically so like a fancy Italian restaurant. The crescent booths are upholstered with maroon fabric. Servers dressed like hotel doormen server coffees, alcohol and pastries. I was not so impressed with the complimentary square of chocolate I received (Manner’s Mozartkugeln is more my style), but I can only judge when I’ve come back for something more elaborate than a simple coffee, the cheapest item on the menu.

Gelato

Gelato may be my biggest weakness in Italy. It doesn't seem to matter how much I ate for dinner or how cold it is outside, I am always ready for some gelato. Not to mention that the cheapest (and most delicious!) gelato place is down the street from my apartment.

Here are some of the flavors I've tried thus far:

Best Flavor: Cookies
Weirdest Flavor: Cheese and Fig
Least Favorite (but still good!): Rice Pudding
Fondente
Chocolate orange
Tiramisu
Caramel
Caffe
Crema
Vaniglia
Chocolate
Baco
Nutella
Hazelnut
Pane Cotta
Strawberry
Mixed Berry
Pistachio
Mint chocolate chip
Rice pudding
Ferrero

 

Flavors I still need to try:
Peanut butter
Limone
Yoghurt
Santa Trinita (specialty flavor)
Eggnog

Ciao!
Sarah

E Un bello mondo!

Some of the best views I've seen from across Tuscany...

 Arno River, Florence

 Fiesole, Italy

 Boboli Gardens in Florence

 Ponte Vecchio, Florence

 Chianti Sculpture Garden

 Siena, Italy

 San Giminagno, Italy

 Siena, Italy (from my hotel room!)

Arezzo, Italy

Ciao!
Sarah

Travel Plans for Spring 2011

So I've been in Florence for more than a week and I started to feel settled...I guess it's time for me to start updating this blog!

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy 

Most of you probably know that I spent two weeks in Siena, Italy for orientation for AIFS. I am now (finally!) in Florence taking regular classes. I want to update you on some of my other travel plans for the rest of the semester. Italy happens to be a prime location for traveling around Europe. Florence is also a well-connected city (an hour from Rome, 3 from Venice). I'm trying to concentrate most of my traveling to Italy. After all, I came here for the Italian culture, so I plan to get to know the country as best I can. That said, I will be traveling to a select number of other countries in Europe. Here's my current list!

-Salzburg, Austria. Angela is of course studying here so I will certainly be taking a trip up there! I'd also like to see Munich, Berlin, and Vienna while I'm in the area.
-Madrid, Spain. I'm saving this trip for when after classes end in May. I will be staying in Europe one month longer in order to travel.
-Paris, France. Again, a May trip.
-London, England. I had a quick 2 day stop over here but plan on spending a couple more days exploring the free museums and maybe riding a double decker bus before my flight leaves from this city in June.
-Rome, Venice, Pisa, Lucca, CinqueTerre, and Milan. Planned through AIFS. Can't wait!
-Almafi Coast: Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Napoli...beaches, limoncello, and sun! My spring break trip.

I'm also debating between...
-Corfu, Greece
and
-The French Riviera

I will keep you all posted!

Ciao,
Sarah