When in Rome...

As the end of my year abroad came into sight, my housemate Charlotte and I decided we wanted to go on a trip together to end our year on a positive note. And where better to go but Rome?

So on Friday 13th (ooh!) May we set off to the airport for our weekend adventure, and it's safe to say we were very, very excited.

(until we realised that flying with a budget airline means that bits inside the plane are fixed with duct tape...)

But we arrived safely in Rome and took the half an hour train to the city centre. Our hotel (Hotel Seiler) was about a ten minute walk from the main train station, and very close to the centre of the city too, so we were in a great location. 

On Friday evening we headed to the region of Trastevere in Rome, which we were told was less touristy and had some great restaurants. After a rather cramped and frankly scary bus ride, we decided we'd probably walk back to the hotel after dinner. We found a little pizzeria (of course, we were in Italy!) for dinner and on the walk back to the hotel later on we found a gelateria and bought the most amazing ice cream! 

Rome at night was beautiful!

Saturday, our first full day in Rome, was unfortunately very rainy...

...however we bought umbrellas and tried to make the most of the day!

We went for a walk into the centre area of Rome, where we saw parts of the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia.

We stopped for lunch in a lovely little cafe by the Colosseum and although it was raining, we were able to sit outside in the sheltered area. It was such a shame seeing so many tourists getting soaked (as we were) by the torrential rain and we tried to decide what we could still do.

We decided that we would try doing a bus tour of the city, as at least that way we would learn about the area and see some of the sights. So we bought our tickets, which included entry to the Roman Forum and Colosseum, and got on the bus. Unfortunately despite the rain, the company had put up the roof but no windows upstairs, so sitting by the 'window' meant that you got absolutely soaked. By this point I was feeling quite uncomfortable, and we decided we needed to have a change of plans.

We got off the bus at the Trevi fountain, and the rain had eased off a little. 

After that we thought that shopping in Rome might be a good way of being inside, dry and still experiencing the city. So we headed off around the corner to Via del Corso to do some shopping and it was very successful. 

We also found La Durée, a famous Parisian tea house, so we had to go in and try!

The hot chocolate was literally just melted chocolate in a mug - amazing!

On the way to the hotel on the Friday we'd seen a lovely little restaurant in a little alley that we really wanted to try, so we got back on the (rather wet) tour bus and headed back to the train station to find it. And we weren't disappointed. At Alessio Ristorante we had a lovely meal, with traditional bread, wine and, to quote Charlotte, 'The best panna cotta I've ever had!'

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to watch Eurovision and although I understood pretty much nothing of the Italian, it was great fun, especially to watch with someone from another participating country.

On Sunday the weather was a lot better, and we tried to make up for lost time. One thing I learnt is that two days is not long enough to see Rome. You need at least a week I'd say! But we enjoyed it nonetheless, and I would love to go back one day.
We started out at the Roman Forum, as we had to pick up our tickets here for the Colosseum and Roman Forum. As we couldn't get into the Colosseum until 2.30pm we took our time in the Roman Forum, learning a bit about the Roman civilisation that existed such a long time ago.

At around 1pm we'd still only seen about half of the Roman Forum, but we were pretty hungry by then, so we decided to go back to the same restaurant as yesterday and have some lunch before heading to the Colosseum.
As we arrived at the Colosseum, we were a little confused. We'd bought 'skip the line' tickets, but couldn't see a way in other than an extremely long queue. It turned out that this queue was for the 'skip the line' tickets (ironic!) which was ridiculous...so we asked a tourist information worker for advice. He said we could take part in an English tour (of course for more money) and then we wouldn't have to queue. We thought this sounded like the best idea, as then we also get information about the Colosseum and learn something, so we joined the tour group.
I did get a little freaked out when the tour guide told us we had to pretend not to have a ticket to get in, and then after the metal detector we could just head on through as though we did have tickets (which we did), but we couldn't go as a group because it wasn't 'official' and that he would meet us in there...eek! But we trusted him, and it paid off, because he did appear and the tour was fantastic, informative and I learnt a lot - definitely worth that little extra money for a tour and skipping the queue!

As we were headed back to the hotel to drop our bags off before dinner, it started pouring with rain...

We sheltered in a couple of shops and popped into a supermarket to buy some traditional Italian food to take home with us, and eventually made it back to the hotel, completely soaking wet (I had to throw my poor shoes away!)

Our plan was to head back to the same restaurant at the day before, but we decided that because we were now soaking wet, we'd have a picnic at the hotel instead, and it was totally worth it!

Early on Monday morning we flew back to Austria. Despite the weather, I had a wonderful time in Rome, and it was a great way to end my time living with Charlotte. She's been an amazing housemate, so generous, helpful and fun - a friend for life!

Thanks for reading!

Laura

My first week in Linz

Hello everyone!

So I have almost been in Linz a week now - the time has flown by! I am still settling in, but my house mate Charlotte has made me feel so welcome, and so far I feel really comfortable living here.

Travel
On Sunday 20th September, Mum dropped me to Gatwick airport to embark on my first solo flight to Vienna, and then find my way by bus and train to Linz. The flight itself was fine, apart from the annoying man sat next to me who kept jabbing me with his elbows and snoring in my ear...!
The plane was delayed an hour, and so I was a little anxious that I might not make my connection, but luckily I'd given myself plenty of time, and the luggage pick-up in Vienna was very quick. Plus it was a great excuse to treat myself to pancakes at Frankie and Benny's at Gatwick airport! When I landed I had to get a bus from Vienna airport to Vienna's main train station, which took just over half an hour and gave me plenty of time to familiarise myself with the sights of Vienna.
I also managed to navigate the trains pretty well - it's very similar to in England, just in German (obviously!) - but whilst at the train station, I had my first time face to face with a group of Syrian refugees. It was quite a shock - I think in England we're very sheltered from what's going on in the rest of Europe, and seeing it for myself really brought home that fact that these are people just like everyone else, wearing clothes like ours and carrying bags like ours, who are having to run away from their own country. A group of refugees were actually giving up their seats on the train for other passengers, and whilst at first I felt quite intimidated being surrounded by people speaking a language I didn't understand, I gradually became more comfortable, and enjoyed watching them play with the new mobile phones they had been given.

Arriving
Charlotte and her boyfriend Markus were there to meet me at Linz train station, and Charlotte was just as excited and nervous to meet me as I was to meet her, which made me feel much better! She gave me a massive hug, and chatted to me in slow, understandable German to make me feel more comfortable. Once at her apartment, she gave me a tour around (it's a lovely apartment!) and we sat and drank tea and chatted in English all evening. Both her and Markus speak fantastic English and are enjoying practising it! Charlotte also has a cat called Niki, who luckily seems to like me, which means I get lots of cuddles!

My bedroom

My bedroom

My bedroom

The kitchen

Niki

The dining area

Food
Charlotte works for a company called Sonnetor who sell organic teas, herbs and spices, so she's very interested in our English tea! She also loves to cook, and so this week she's introduced me to many Austrian delicacies. The majority were high points, like the vegetable soup, the pastries, the bread, and a creamy mushroom sauce she did with rice, with only one real low point which was a soup made from her homemade stock, which was far too rich for me and reminded me a lot of gravy...We've also made pancakes together, and the food highlight of the week was an amazing 'brunch' Charlotte did where she went to a local bakery and brought back so many Austrian cakes for us to sample! And yes, I did try a bit of each!

Austrian cakes

I've also tried to introduce Charlotte to some English foods, for example apple crumble and bread and butter pudding, and I have also promised to make scones (although you can't get clotted cream over here), custard and maybe even a pasty, if Nanny will send me her recipe?!

Exploring
So food-wise, I've had a great week. But I have done things other than eating, I promise! I've managed to navigate the city fairly well so far. I've been to DM which is their equivalent of Superdrug, and I've also been food shopping in Hofer, which is pretty much the same as Lidl or Aldi. I've found my way to one of the schools I will be teaching at, and I went on a walk to the train station. I have also visited the New Cathedral and the Old Cathedral, both are beautiful but completely different styles and it was really interesting to research them, and the main square as well. I have yet to try out the trams and buses, but that will come with time! I would also like to do a test run to the other school I will be working at, which is a little outside Linz centre, and find a swimming pool and the main library to have a little look around.

New Cathedral

New Cathedral - stained glass

Hauptplatz - main square

Charlotte also took me yesterday to register as a citizen of Linz, which made everything feel very real! She did a lot of the talking, and I don't know how I would have done it without her, because the lady behind the desk obviously spoke English (to work where she works she would have had to have gone to a higher level school where English is compulsory) but she wasn't going to speak English to me! I understood the majority, but it was really good to have Charlotte there as back up, especially as the forms were all so important. I have some more forms to fill in to apply for an Activpass, which gets me discount on travel and entry to tourist attractions, and I've also been given a book full of vouchers for tourist attractions that is valid for a year, so I'm looking forward to using all of them!

I think that's everything I've been up to so far...This week coming I am on a training week in Hinterglemm, so I aim to write another post next weekend about how that went!

Thanks for reading!

Laura

Three weeks to go!

Hi everyone!

The count down begins!

My flights are all booked - on Sunday 20th September I'll be flying from London Gatwick to Vienna, and travelling on to Linz by train. Three weeks and counting! Now that I've booked my travel it all suddenly feels real and very soon, which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time! Especially when a lot of my course mates have already left or are leaving in the next few days to start their new adventures!

I'm hoping my accommodation is also pretty much sorted. I am going to view an apartment the day after I arrive in Linz. It's in the Hauptplatz, owned by a 28 year old lady called Charlotte who seems lovely from the emails we've exchanged over the past week. She's renting out a room in her flat, and it seems to be perfect for me, so I am hoping to pay a small deposit in the next few days to secure it, but want to view it before I move in to ensure everything is as I expected. I will most likely be staying in a hostel for the Sunday and Monday evening, and, all being well, will move in on the Tuesday! Once I get out there and have moved into accommodation, I will post pictures on here, but from what I've seen so far, it's a lovely flat and I can imagine myself being happy there. Plus, she has a cat - what more could I want?

There are a few things left to do, for example changing my English phone contract onto pay-as-you-go for the year, but mostly the remaining things to do will have to wait until I get there. I may have to set up a bank account in Linz, as my bank doesn't have a branch over there, but I will have to research this more. And I will also need to look at getting an Austrian SIM card for my phone so that I can use it out there as well.

All the big things are pretty much there now, it's just the little things remaining. But the main thing is reading through all the information I've been given about my placement, talking more with the school about my role and the logistics of it all, and most importantly swatting up on my German!

I am starting to get excited now, especially with my accommodation coming together - I think that was something that was stressing me out quite a bit, so it's good to have a bit more of a plan to go on.

I plan to post another blog post once I have arrived in Linz and have settled in a bit, which will hopefully include pictures and descriptions of where I will be living. But for now, this post is just to let you know my plans and how all the preparation is going for my year abroad! Now I need to start thinking about packing.........!

Liebe Grüße

Laura

Salamanca 2014 - Introduction

This Sunday I am going to Salamanca, Spain as part of my degree with my course mates. We will be staying with a Spanish family and learning Spanish in a school there from 9am-1pm every day for two weeks. I am excited about the trip, and I know it will be fantastic for my Spanish, however it is also very scary because I've only been learning it for a year!

My university booked the flights for us and organised the accommodation, however we were then told we had to book a bus from Madrid Airport to Salamanca and would then be taking a taxi to our family. We have to make our own way to the airport as well. So the first hurdle was booking the bus through a Spanish website - WordReference was very helpful! I eventually got this sorted, and then we received another email to say that we had to book the bus for a later time than originally planned and from a set terminal - our lecturer then redid our bookings for those of us who had the wrong bus, thankfully! Next was getting to Gatwick. I am going by train as I live quite a long way from London, and I booked my train tickets well in advance. However I checked the timings again more recently and the train I was booked on to no longer existed! I had to get in touch with the train company and luckily I was able to get the train closest to the original one in time as I had booked an off-peak ticket - phew!

Thinking I'd sorted all the travel arrangements, we then discovered that we had only been booked onto the flight with hand luggage, despite being away for two weeks. We had to get in touch with a man from the company in charge of our trip and pay separately for hold luggage. Finally having sorted this only a week ago, all I have left to worry about is getting a taxi or walking to my family's home - but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

I've also made a list of all the important information and documents I need to take with me; health and travel insurance, travel information and confirmation, passport, family address and information and maps of the area. It's scary having to think about all of these things - I just hope I get there safely and don't get ill while I'm out there!

Map of Salamanca

While I am in Salamanca, I will hopefully have lots of free time to explore the city and surrounding area after our mornings in the school. I would like to visit the University of Salamanca, the Cathedrals and the parks and river. We are just over two hours from Madrid as well, and on the border with Portugal, so there may be some opportunity to explore further afield as well!

The family I am staying with is a mother and her daughter who is a similar age to me. I am staying on my own with the family, while others on the trip are in pairs, so I'm quite nervous but I know it will be good for my Spanish and I hope that I will be able to bond with the family well. Plus, I will see my course mates every day at the school. I am going to take a present for the family to thank them for having me, and I have been brainstorming about what I might take. I want to give them something typically British, so my ideas are shortbread biscuits, teabags, English sweets or an English book/film. I haven't decided yet!

Having just had quite a long summer holiday, I haven't used my Spanish very much, so this week I am trying to swat up on some vocab before I go! I am trying to watch Spanish YouTube videos and read short Spanish texts online as preparation, but I know it's still going to be hard!

Overall, the weather looks pretty good for the trip...

...and I'm pretty excited for that! The next few days will be frantic summer clothes shopping, packing and making sure I have everything I need for going! I'm nervous about the challenge but so excited for the opportunity to explore Spain for the first time, improve my language and bond with a Spanish family and my class mates.


Thanks for reading!

Laura