Leather + Jewelry + Gelato + Family + Florence = A Happy Birthday

We traveled to Florence on Wednesday, and it was a little chaotic when we arrived. Unfortunately, there was a problem with our original hotel, so we had to take another taxi to a new one. We finally got to the new hotel and were able to relax. Ariana and I had the privilege of sleeping with Aidan “Loud Snoring” Speridakos. The minute we stepped out of the hotel to explore, I entered leather heaven. There were so many tents set up. The market just went on and on. Hillary told me that I couldn’t leave Florence without buying leather, and I didn’t…

The following day (My BIRTHDAY!) we went on a tour of Florence. It really is a beautiful city. The only thing I did not like about Florence was all of the creepy men trying to sell you things on the streets. They were relentless. They kept trying to get us to come into their stores and try on clothes. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the statue of David. Our tour guide said that the next time we visited it might be closed off in glass. I guess carbon dioxide particles from all the visitors get into the holes in the statue and are slowly destroying it, so archeologists are trying to figure out how to best preserve it. Another highlight: Aidan fell asleep on Dad’s feet while we were standing right in front of the statue. (No he did not faint from its beauty, he really fell asleep!) He almost fell asleep again on one of the benches, but one of the women who worked there, spotted him and gave him the evil eye.

We walked around for the rest of the day and checked out the leather stores. My goal was to find a leather jacket my mom would get me for my birthday. On the way, we stopped for gelato…twice. The first time I had nocciola again, and then the second time we found a bakery dad had read about in his travel guide so we had to try it. I still think that nocciola in Rome was the best. My one request on my birthday was to visit the Ponte Vecchio or as I affectionately named the “Diamond Bridge” in Florence. So much jewelry in one place! I could have spent hours there! Then, we bought some pastries for my birthday celebration. We wanted to sit in the place and sing happy birthday, but they were going to charge us three euros! Instead, we went back to the hotel, watched Modern Family and sang happy birthday. It was low key and relaxing.

The following day we had completely free (Yay!). I finally bought my leather jacket with some negotiations. We did some more shopping. My favorite part of the day was going out for coffee with my dad. The whole trip to Italy we kept saying that we wanted to get coffee somewhere and relax. We finally did that at a place our tour guide recommended. Apparently, many famous writers used to have important meetings and discussions there. We chose the right place! The man was very kind to us, and let us sit without having to pay. We tried fresh tiramisu and a cannoli with some café. Gosh I am going to miss Europe!

Pompeii & Vatican City

The family took a trip to Pompeii. It was a little stressful since we didn’t have a platform for the train until ten minutes before we were supposed to leave! We arrived at Pompeii to some rainy and cold weather. It’s amazing how much can be uncovered about the ancient world. I think that is one of my favorite parts about being in Europe. Every street has a story and hundreds of years of history. It was a trip mostly for mom and dad’s enjoyment, but the kids found some ways to be occupied.

Aidan enjoyed the ancient soup bowls, entering areas that were restricted and being a statue. Here are some examples:

Mom in heaven.

One thing I will remember about Pompeii is seeing all of the abandoned dogs in the ruins. They have an adopt-a-dog program that they were advertising all around Pompeii. I spoke with the groundskeeper, and she told me that some people are just cruel and drop their dogs off. How sad! Aidan and I think Brody needs a playmate. Mom? Dad?

The following day, we went to Vatican City for a tour. One of the highlights was our highly energetic tour guide. She kept saying you have to "visualize" with grand hand gestures while she was telling stories. She really tried to get us into the mood of ancient times. Another highlight was seeing the Sistine Chapel. How fantastic!

We spent our last night in Rome doing a little exploring. It seems that there is a beautiful statue on every corner. On the way to the Spanish steps, we passed the super expensive, ritzy store district of Gucci, Prada, etc. 

A little bit of good luck before leaving Rome.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I'm writing this as snow falls outside my window covering the already five inches there! Wow, it has been a fast transition into winter for me. Of course while traveling in Italy with my mother, I said that I wouldn't need boots since it doesn't snow in Denmark until January or February. Well, I was certainly wrong.


I feel so lucky to be in Denmark during the holiday season because they really do it right here. The other day my host siblings had a decorating day at school where they spent five hours decorating their classrooms and relaxing. Last night, my host family taught me how to make some decorations. I successfully made Christmas stars out of paper. Aidan get ready... You will be making Christmas decorations with me when I get home.

Before:

After:

This is a photo of the Christmas elves. Mine is the second to last on the right side. Every Sunday before Christmas a little gift appears before near the elf. This morning there was a small present waiting for me. Also, another interesting fact about Christmas in Denmark is that they celebrate it on December 24. They have a big dinner celebration and then the kids open up all of their presents. On December 25, they have a relaxing day. 

That's all for now. I'm off to prepare for Christmas lunch, another Danish tradition I will describe later...

Eat, Pray, Love: The Elena Edition

Number one lesson I learned in Italy: Hazelnut Gelato can substitute any meal of the day.

So I arrived in Rome to see my mom, dad, brother and sister. What a great surprise! I did not even suspect that they were all coming even when my parents kept saying "we" can't wait to see you. We took a bus to the hotel, and it was refreshing to be staying in a hotel instead of a hostel. It felt great to have our own shower.

The first night, my dad and I explored the streets surrounding our hotel. We found a gelato place which wasn't difficult since there seems to be one on every corner. We tried Nocciola (hazelnut) and Pistachio. The man made the gelato into a beautiful masterpiece. He overflowed the cup with gelato and finished it off with a cone on top. I am not sure how I will ever be able to cherish eating a Danish or gelato back in the States after tasting delicacies from Denmark and Italy (unless they are from Frances bakery in Connecticut!)

We had a relaxing and enjoyable dinner. Some might say that Aidan enjoyed himself a little too much:

A few observations from the first night:

-One bottle of water (flat water, water without bubbles as the servers in Italy would say) is 3 euros. Tap water is not free.

-It's very difficult to read street signs. The first night we struggled to find Piazza Navarro and the Pantheon, but it took us longer than we thought.

-Crossing the street means you just start walking in the middle of traffic. No one follows the rules or street lights. In Denmark, if you don't wait until the light turns green to walk, you could receive a ticket. They take j walking very seriously.

-The cars are so tiny, and there's barely a centimeter of space between them on the street. Our tour guide said you don't need a license to drive a vespa.

Day 1

We went on a tour of Rome's famous sites. What an extraordinary landmark! Everyone was having a rough time with the jet lag, but we were up bright and early to catch the bus to meet our tour. The bus system in Italy is not the most efficient since we couldn't tell which stop to get off. Aidan had a particularly difficult time with the jet lag. The little "bambino" needed to be held half the time and the other half of the tour he played with dirt. Good thing I took a lot of pictures so I can remind him that he was actually there, when he gets older!

After we went back to the hotel to relax, and Aidan and I went to the gym (one of his favorite parts of the hotel). 

*Best part of the tour: We stopped for a gelato break! More Nocciola...

The Colosseum 

Piazza Navarro

The Pantheon