Hanging around Vienna, Finals, and the Holidays.

Hello all,

Well, I do not have much to update you on in dealing with trips, but I have been having an amazing time in Vienna with some pretty great people. I think I have finally (of course now, when I'm leaving in less then a month) found a place that I am really comfortable in. Aside from a little cold, I have learned to manage all of the free time, learned to rest, and share in a lot of fun times with people embarking on the same experience as me!!

We have done some very Austrian things: cafe's, beer (what we like to call Brew-Ha-Ha's), lots of food, and indulging in Hazelnut flavored things.  Christmas is in full swing here. The malls are packed, the sales are pretty incredible, and it snows almost everyday (which is very very strange for Austria this early).

I am preparing for my last two trips abroad. For Christmas, I am leaving shortly after my final on Tuesday to embark on a week long journey around Austria. I have been many places in Austria (some of which I am repeating), but I really want to take this time to see the country during Christmas time with snow, lots of Christmas trees, and holiday cheer. I will spend Christmas with the VonTrapps, back in Salzburg. They have invited me over for dinner, so I think I will accept their offer :-) (I'm sure my grandmother appreciates this sarcasm).

Upon returning to Vienna on the 28th (still TBA), I will leave for NYE in Paris!!! A bunch of my friends will also be there, and we have already bought our NYE dresses, so I am very very excited! NYE in Paris is sure to be one filled with fashion, french bread, soup, and lots of wine and champagne.

I will keep you updated as the time goes on, but here are a few pictures of my time since Barcelona!!!

Stephensplatz, Vienna

Apple Strudel and Melange...VERY AUSTRIAN

Josh and I

Beau, Marie, Me, and Ingrid

RIDE CLUB!

See...I always manage to find people goofy like me! 

They don't look tough, but these are our bodyguards! 

Cujean and Matt!! 

Barcelona, Spain....with Courtney!!

So many of you may remember Courtney. Courtney has been a friend of mine since 6th grade back when I was at Holy Ghost. We went to Marian together and continued in the same path at the University of Illinois as business students.  She is currently studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain (Geez....we're a lot alike).

Naturally, it was necessary that we see each other and explore some place in Europe together. Surprisingly, she had never been to Barcelona, and that was my #1 choice for a trip to Spain.  I flew in a little bit after them and met them at our really nice hostel. To our surprise, when we saw each other, we weren't even that emotional, LOL. We talked about it, and we think it is because we literally talk everyday since we are on the same time zone. Studying abroad was a lot more manageable on those "home sick" days, because I could always hop on Skype and talk to Courtney about it! Thanks lady!!!

If you are interested in her travels, you can follow her blog at: chicagostravelingprincess.blogspot.com!

Us goofing off on Las Ramblas, as usual! 

With Courtney was Elise Joyner, from NYC. She was a cool girl. It takes a lot to deal with Courtney and I together because we are goofy, full of sarcastic comments, and really strange, to be honest.

All in all, Spain was great. We were able to see a lot in such a small amount of time. However, if you were with us, you would have thought the following:

1. Boy, these girls are hungry.
2. These girls sleep a lot.
3. These girls are addicted to "trashy" American TV (aka Bad Girls Club on the Oxygen Network)
4. I thought they knew Spanish....

Here are some pictures from our adventures:

Christmas but approached 70 degrees the last day :-)

Chocolate, fruit, and nuts galore

Us...notice Santa's rear end in the background

Paella!!! NOM NOM.

Chupitos...alcoholic shots on fire....Spanish tradition, they tell me.

A group of American friends we found on the street randomly..

Pretty ladies! 

Unfortunately, Courtney and Elise had to return to Sevilla on Sunday because of exams, but I was able to stay one more day and explore Barcelona...alone. It was a strange experience, but I'm really glad I did it for at least a day. Ended up doing some pretty intense hiking, climbing, and running. Got to see the castle and got an AMAZING view of the city. Here are some pictures from my independent exploration!

Inside of Sagrada Familia...one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen in Europe. Built in 1908

Plaza de Espana!

A great view of the city!

A nice man noticed I was alone, and offered to take my picture!

Another nice lady offered to take my picture...apparently I looked like a loner!

This is Spain's main department store...reminded me of Macys! 

Overall, this trip to Spain was much less stressful then Italy, very enjoyable, and really great to see Courtney. Spain is another country that I think I could spend weeks in. Along with probably 6 other countries I've been to.

On the coast in Barcelona, Spain!

Italy.....The Good, the Bad, the Ugly (Oh, and the shopping).

Well, usually I would start off my posting in chronological order. I want to make this a little more interesting and coincide this posting with the title. Bear with me...this may take a while....here goes....

The Good
Rome is an amazing city. We spent 3 full days exploring the city, and we were able to see so much.  Our first night in Rome, we managed to see very well known sites- The Spanish stairs, and Trevi Fountain. To add to the excitement of being in Rome, we were lucky enough to see two very intoxicated girls jump in the fountain, and then to their surprise, be arrested by the "not so nice" Italian police.

We were also able to see the Vatican on the last Sunday of the month.  This is when everything in the Vatican (a completely separate COUNTRY then Italy) is FREE! After walking through the Vatican for hours, we were standing in a small shop looking a rosaries, when the lady behind the counter nonchalantly said, "Oh. The Pope is blessing everyone in about 10 minutes. But it takes about 20 minutes to walk there." We paused, looked at each other, and began running. Sadly we were literally 30 seconds late. I'm pretty sure the Pope had JUST closed the window when we got there. But nevertheless, it was cool to see the crowd and all the aspects of the Vatican.

The famous Acorn

Vatican Museum 

The Pope's Window, as I like to call it.

Overall, the food was great, the shopping was excellent, and the weather was rainy, but warmer then Vienna....On Monday night, my friends went out, and I stayed in to interview for a position within my business organization (BUSINESS COUNCIL) on the executive board.  I will notify you of the results of this interview in "THE UGLY." So stay tuned....

And, that's about it for the Good.

The Bad
Besides the fact that Italian men seemed to be very fond of my complexion, the Italian people were not as nice as I expected. I was on the search for a nice pair of Italian leather boots. Upon finding a pair, I decided I still wanted to look around more before committing to them. The owner of the shoe store snatched them away from me, and made short comments about how "you people" meaning Americans, always do this.  I didn't find a pair anywhere else I liked, so I returned to the store 30 minutes later to find out that "he had sold the pair of shoes..." I called his bluff and ultimately ended up with the pair, so I was happy in the end. He told me, "If you find a good pair of shoes, you buy, you don't think." Imagine all of this in a VERY HEAVY ITALIAN ACCENT.

"AHHHH..." the angels sang....

The food was good, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't as GREAT as I expected it to be. Also, like I said the weather WAS warmer, but it did rain the entire time we were there, aside from one day. But before you continue reading and put me in the category of a complainer, let me get to the ugly....so you understand my negative associations with Italy.

THE UGLY
OH Italy, Oh Italy....so the night before I left, I looked at my boarding pass that I had printed out a week prior to the flight (Ryan Air....THE WORST AIRLINE EVER, allows you to check in over 7 days before). On this boarding pass was printed the name, "Kelly Kelly." Now to my dismay, I realized that my name is "Kyla Kelly," and that an issue may have developed. I quickly checked online to see how I could change this.

Ryan Air's dumb rules:

1. After checking in, you can't make any changes.
2. The gate closes 45 minutes before the flight even takes off. (this rule will be more relevant later)
3. Changing your name on a boarding pass (BEFORE CHECKING IN) cost 150 Euros.

So, I decided I would play stupid at the airport and see what would happen. I went to the checkin counter, and acted normal. The lady made a call, crossed out my name so it was right, then stamped it so that I could go through security. She explained the issue but said I was all clear. Great, right? No, not really.  I asked her what I should do about my boarding pass on the way back. She said, "You should be fine, but if you want to double check, you can ask my colleague at the information desk." 

So I did just that. Upon talking to this "Very kind man," he took my passport and both boarding passes (INCLUDING THE ONE THAT I WAS ALREADY APPROVED FOR), and told me I had to pay 150 Euro in order to change my name. I explained to him that I was already approved for this flight, but he denied me access. He said he would give me the boarding pass and passport back, but I would be greeted by security at the gate. So I paid. 

THE REALLY UGLY

I want to start by saying that most European countries give college education for free!! Well, the Italian students still aren't happy, and decided to protest and literally shut down the ENTIRE CITY OF ROME for a couple of hours the day we were suppose to fly out. After our shuttle bus was missing (due to the fact that traffic was at a stand still), we had to catch a 70 EURO cab. This cab driver was AMAZING. He sacrificed NO ONE....except this group of four young Italian women....he stopped for them LOL.  He got us there in the exact time he told us he would, and we ran into the airport, cut the check in line, then the security line, and dashed to the gate, only to find out that the mad REFUSED to let us on the plane. He was nice however, he let us watch our plane leave the terminal and take off...BUTT HOLE. 

We headed back to the city to see what we could do. We ended up buying a train ticket back to Vienna. We waiting in the rainy, crowded city for about 6 hours an embarked on a 14 hour train ride back to Austria...It was an experience. Oh, our train was delayed to due to the fact that the Italian SWOT took over the train station for the protest.

Yeah...it was that serious. 

Amidst, all of this "bad luck," I found out I was awarded the position of Vice President of Operations for the University of Illinois Business Council...sounds official, doesn't it? :-) Out of the darkness, there always seems to be a light!!!

Prague, Czech Republic

Well, it's been a while. I want to preface this blog by saying that I have been incredibly busy, and traveling a lot.  Right now, I am currently in Barcelona, Spain needing to update you all on my last three trips- Prague, Rome, and Barcelona. Three amazing cities in Europe.

So let's start with Prague. Prague was the trip that everyone said, "Hey Kyla...you're really close and I hear it's beautiful. You should try and go." So after hearing about Prague, and still not being all that excited about it, I decided to go to Prague with a fun group of people.

Our trip started out in a very interesting way- we decided to take a bus instead of a train or plane. Why? The bus was significantly cheaper, and made more sense.  We left Vienna around 9pm. After searching for a long time to find the proper bus stop, we got the the bus and started our journey.  After a solid 2 hour nap (well my friends napped while I wrote a paper), we stopped in a town called Brno, Czech Republic.  We got to Brno around 11pm, and had to find something to keep us occupied until around 4am. Yes, 4am....please don't be mad at me, Mom.

We stopped in an asian resturant, then ventured off to McDonalds where there was free internet. After McDonalds closed, we were forced to go to the neighboring casino. Not exactly what I expected to do in this shady town, but I did get a decent glass of wine out of it. Finally, we were able to get back on the bus and finish our journey to Prague.  Early that morning...around 5am, we arrived.  We basically RAN to our hostel hoping to find a couch to sleep on. To our surprise, our room was ready, so we were able to sleep in a nice, comfy bed!!! This hostel called, CzechInn was literally the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in.

After waking up and getting a good nap in, we ventured off into the city. There was so much we didn't know about Prague, and we were eager to explore it. After walking around a little bit, we realized it was pretty necessary to do a walking city tour. We found an ad for a FREE WALKING TOUR. While we had our worries, we decided to try it. This walking tour was the ABSOLUTE BEST tour I have ever been on. Our tour guide, Justin (from Boston), was amazingly informative, charismatic, and exciting. He loves Prague so much, and he made us love us too!

At one point in the tour, he stopped us in front of the main university and gave us a huge summary of the history of Prague from like the 1800s to present day. It was an incredibly intriguing 20 minutes. I hate standing in one place (it's a pet peeve of mine), so for me to endure 20 minutes of standing and not notice, is pretty respectable.

During the tour, we learned some really interesting things. We got to see where Michael Jackson stayed when he did a world tour. We learned that Hugo Boss was the designer of the 3rd Reich Nazi uniform....pretty surreal.  Through the Jewish Quarter, we were taken to the cemetery in the photo below. The cemetery is currently about 1.5 stories above normal ground. Why is that? Well, people were buried to the point where there was not enough room to continue burials, so the Jewish people spread dirt over the current graves and continued to burry bodies until it reached this amazing height. It is believed that over 100,000 people are buried here. The Jewish community holds this cemetery at such great value. Because it is a common place where they can bury their loved ones.

A little dark, but pretty powerful.

After the tour, we did some more exploring and headed back to the hostel for sleep. We were POOPED, to say the least.  The next day, we were able to see some more main sites, Christmas markets, and the main palace in Prague. Pretty amazing:

After the castle, we were able to find the John Lennon graffiti wall. This wall was dedicated to Johh Lennon after he spoke up on the Czechs behalf during the time that the Soviets took over the country. He believed in equality and freedom, and the Czechs love him for everything he did. The wall was so colorful and cool to see. Tons of Americans were visiting the wall!

That evening, some of our friends headed back to Vienna, but four of us remained so that we could travel to Kutna Hora, Czech Republic the next day to see a church made completely out of bones. A little somber, but it seemed like a pretty cool experience. Plus, we were able to see a smaller down within the Czech Republic. Basically, this church was created from the bodies of the thousands of people that died from the plague.

After exploring that very small town, we traveled back to Prague, by bus, and had dinner. After dinner, losing the two guys we were with (lack of communication...go figure), and picking up our luggage from the hostel, we got back on the bus and headed back to Vienna. The night bus was a little more hard to endure this time around, but we made it safe and sound. Prague was a great trip!!

Talk to you guys soon! I still have lots of updates to do: Rome (trip from heaven and hell) and Barcelona!!

Dublin, Ireland

Well, Dublin was amazing to say the least. English speakers, friendly people, great food, and a beautiful coast....I couldn't ask for much more. Unfortunately, the trip was too short, and I plan to return there in a the next few years. I do not have too much to talk about as we were there only 1 full day.

My favorite part of the trip is between the coast and the Guinness Factory!

In the time there, I did manage to grab a Claddagh Ring, some good souvenirs for the men of the family, and a birthday gift for my mommy! Another highlight of the trip was that the second Eurpoean location of FOREVER 21 was opening up the day we were there!!! It was awesome to see such a successful, American store open up in a city we were visiting. At the register, the store manager of the LA and Chicago Forever 21's were working the registers. They were so excited to hear my American accent! :-))

Dublin, Ireland will be visited again......I can assure you of that.

On my way to the airport, I caught a glimpse of a few golf courses along the coast. Life can't get much better then 18 holes there!

I am off to Prague this evening, so I will let you know how that goes in the near future!!!!

Purbach Wine Tasting and Enjoying Vienna!

Purbach, a small town right outside of Vienna is the center of Austria's wine country.  Once every year, the town comes together for a ceremony (blessing of the vineyards). To celebrate a good year, every winery opens their door to the people of the town and anyone who travels to see the experience. Overall, there is not much to say other then the fact that the town is very cute, the wine was delicious, (there were 26 wineries with over 6 bottles each of wine to taste) and we had an amazing time!!!

Here are a few pictures!

The city centre...filled with small houses where the vineyards set up shop to sell wine!

The town's Nigerian priest blessing the wine- he drank a lot too!

MMM...Fresh Wine!

Meanwhile, back in Vienna, we have been trying to enjoy the city. The Christmas season officially kicked off tonight. Other then that, we have been trying new things, exploring new cafe's, and enjoying each other's company. Branching out and meeting new people has been an amazing decision. 

I look sad! I swear I'm not!