st. petersburg

so! (sorry i'm a little behind, lots has been going on)

i went to st. petersburg in march on the premise of attending a model un conference (none of us took it seriously, this was just an opportunity for us to go to russia, drink vodka and buy a furry hat.) and it was a grand old time. we got there and the first night (of course) we drank some vodka, had a good time. then the next day we toured russia, saw the sights. hermitage. it was really snowy and still winter which was weird because winter was coming to a close in neuchatel. the model un portion of the trip was kind of fun too, all of the other schools that were there were taking it really seriously, and we were just there to explore russia. we only had one day where it was really serious and it was really intimidating when they called me (iraq) up to the front of the classroom and demanded that i speak on something i hadn't been listening too, but it's all in good fun, right??

florence

i just realized it's been two weeks and i've forgotten to do a post about florence!

well, it was wonderful.

we got there on friday and had a bit of free time to walk around and explore before going to a restaurant (delicious) where they proceeded to serve us 8 meat courses. (not really, but the point is we ate a lot of meat and that made me VERY happy). they also put two-liter bottles of wine on each table. oy.

the next day we visited the Uffizi gallery (where DAVID is) it was very cool. i never knew he was so big

after that, we had the rest of the day free and i went to the leather market and bought a nice leather belt, some gifts and more things for myself hehe.

that night we were on our own for dinner so most of the students went to a restaurant together (my pizza had anchovies on it and i wasn't aware until i took my first bite... wasn't impressed)

the next day we took a walking tour of the city and went to a lot of cool churches (ie. the Duomo)

we returned to the leather market (it was that good)

and then that night for dinner we went to an amazing (and inexpensive) restaurant with lots of fresh pasta mmmmm...

it was definitely a delicious trip!

berlin

so happy that independent travel has started again!

two weekends ago i went to berlin with five of my friends and it was a great time to say the least.

berlin was the only place coming here that i knew i just HAD to go to, and i was a little skeptical about going so last minute but it ended up being the perfect weekend!

we stayed at a great hostel (st. christopher's- everyone who is going to berlin should stay in this hostel. it's especially great for young people because it has a bar downstairs and the drink prices during happy hour are dangerously cheap.)

so we got there and sat in the bar for a bit, had some dinner, and then went in search of somewhere else to party. we ended up going to a hookah bar which was nice because we got to sit down and stuff.

the next day we went on a fabulous free tour offered through the hostel and saw everything we needed to see - the brandonburg gate, where Hitler killed himself, the Jewish memorial and everything else notable in berlin

we went on a pub crawl that night which was kind of mediocre, nothing too special.

the next day we went to an AMAZING flea market where i purchased a dusty polaroid camera, some shoes that pinch my feet (but it's worth it, they are really cute). i spent the rest of the day wandering alone through the tiergarten and picking up some extra souvenirs, and it was very relaxing and nice to absorb the city by myself.

it was weird, berlin made me feel very comfortable, like i had already been there before.

definitely a successful trip!