Bella Vita

Time has just flown by! I’m going to break up the last few weeks into sections for easier consumption.

This is Venice: Five girls. 118 islands. 160 canals. 420 bridges. 100 churches. 60,000 people.

Venice, in my opinion, is a beautiful city that just happens to be rotting. Even the most disgusting food (I overreact, but there was some bad pizza) is overpriced. That being said, I ate amazing sandwiches and gelato. The buildings (despite mold and floods) are gorgeous, and the bridges are idyllic. The museums are manageable and fantastic. I recommend the Peggy Guggenheim for anyone Venice-bound (though the Academia is not well organized). San Marco’s Basillica is stunning. The pigeons are scary. Gondola rides are fun.

Florence 2009, take two.

I eat the best when I eat in Florence. I am not a fan of the city itself, but I love the surrounding countryside and gardens (love the Boboli). Great gelato. Great food. Great museums – the Uffizi still ranks as one of my favorites in the world. Great friends. The Duomo is fun and so is Santa Croche.

Madre comes to London.

Mother and I went to theater. We saw galleries. We ate yummy foods.

Okay short and sweet! That’s what I got for you. It's officially official winter now (in my mind) and today was officially a blustery day!

I’m sending you all love.

Love,

Lauren

We'll always have Paris

This past weekend I met up with a bazillion UNC friends in Paris!

A quick narrative: I stepped off of the underground and onto the Eurostar early early early Friday morning. At noon local time I arrived at Gare du Nord. I immediately left and went to Versailles (minor shambles due to lack of telephones). It was all that I had ever dreamed and more. Saturday sights included Sacre Coeur, L’orangerie, the bakery, the Louvre, the Seine, and the Eiffel tower (1652 stairs and an elevator ride to the top). Sunday sights included Notre Dame, Shakespeare & Co Bookshop, Saint Chapelle, RAIN, a café, musee d’Orsay.

That is the brief version of the adventures of Paris. There was also a lot of bread, cheese, and chocolate involved. I saw “Princess Bride” for the first time. A lot of things my family says make more sense now.

It is now November and it feels like it is fully Autumn. My knee (from my Amsterdam tumble) is still swollen. I fall more in love with Yoga every time I practice. I am slowly eating my way around London – coffee shops, restaurants, cafes, I am pretty indiscriminate.

I wish I could be more funny.

With love,

Lauren