Just like at Grandma's

I was little too ambitious this morning, Tuesday April, 3. I went to my first class thinking getting out of the house would be good for me, however I was absolutely miserable and came home early. Upon returning home, Cristina took good care of me. She made me tea and toast in the afternoon, and kept asking if there was anything she could do – so kind!

  I told Cristina I would like some kind of soup or broth for dinner, as my stomach was telling me “proceed with caution”. Upon sitting down to dinner I was presented with small pasta in chicken broth that tasted exactly like the sick remedy my grandmother makes, “chicken broth soup”. With the warm broth and chewy pasta it reminded of being at Grandma’s house. It was the perfect meal for my stomach.

 I love being taken care of. At school it’s always fend-for-yourself, so in that respect, this semester has been a nice change. My laundry is washed and folded on the weekends, the bathroom is cleaned every week and dinner is on the table at 7:30 every night. And to think I was apprehensive about living in a home stay.

Just No.

Unfortunately yesterday evening’s sickies did not get better with rest, as I was home all day with some sort of stomach virus. This means: No fruit. No newsletter. No exercise class. No Healthy Monday.

There was no fruit as all my stomach could handle was broth, boiled zucchini, and a hard boiled egg.

There was no newsletter as instead of reading scholarly articles about health I dove into my fluffy novel of love and Irish landscapes to keep my mind off my churning stomach.

There was no exercise class for me, for my body could not muster up the energy for a single sit up but instead laid in bed all day watching episodes of New Girl and Desperate Housewives.

No, this Monday was not a healthy one.



Rotisserie Pastry

Our hostel in Prague proved to be very nice and even provided breakfast in the morning! Maria and I both fixed ourselves big bowls of yogurt with granola, coffee, and cheese and jam sandwiches to bring with us for later.

After breakfast we headed to our first site of the day, Prague castle which is the biggest castle in the world! The castle sits on top of a hill making it visible from miles away. Once we got up there, we found the vast castle quarters which were made up of a series of buildings. We spent some good time looking at the church (which we both agreed looks just like Notre Dame), and popping into different buildings on the premises. The gothic architecture was incredible and the buildings were like nothing I had ever seen before.

Traveling makes us both tired so we were soon in need of some down time. We decided we should get some traditional Czech food so we headed to a good looking restaurant. Unfortunately Prague is not very vegetarian friendly. One of the signature dishes here is beef goulash with potato dumplings. Trying to order something traditional while evading meat I ordered the "traditional garlic soup with brie" thinking I’d be safe, but it had bacon in it! I also ordered some of the potato dumplings which basically had no flavor without the beef goulash. Although my soup was good after I picked out the bacon, I guess you can say Czech food is not my favorite.

After relaxing at the restaurant, fueling up, and getting warm we headed out to see our final site - the Charles Bridge. The sun came out for us just as began to stroll across the bridge, enjoying the most gorgeous view of the river. There were so many people walking across the bridge, it was just a wonderful place to be. It was quite possibly my favorite part of Prague!

Before it was time to head to the airport we had our minds... or rather our stomachs... set on one last stop before we left. The day before in old town square we saw the most amazing looking tradition Czech sweets called “Trdelnik”. There were many stands making the hot sugary coated pastry by wrapping dough around a metal cylinder, rolling it in sugar, and cooking the dough over an open fire like a rotisserie chicken.

 

 We had to get one! So we got our treats and brought them to have with our American coffee at the ever beloved ... Starbucks!

After my last sip of American coffee, before my last month in Italy without it, we headed to airport to catch our flight. Unfortunately by that time we were both feeling quite sick. It could have been something we ate, the coffee or a bug but whatever it was it made the next 6 hours of travel miserable. While waiting for our flight, we both decided this may be our last weekend trip as we are over traveling. As cool as it is to experience new countries, it takes a heavy toll on the body and we are exhausted. The flight home may have been our last until its back to the States. We only have 3 weeks left before our April 26^th depature!

Three Cheers for Prague

Today, March 31, Maria and I were up early to head to the airport for we were headed to Prague! After hearing such great things about the city, we knew we had to Czech check it out. Upon our afternoon arrival, we stepped out of the metro station to find ourselves on the sidelines of a marathon! With people cheering and crowds congregating, it was a great way to be welcomed to Prague. If only we had gotten there a day earlier…we could have ran it!

After catching the last two people cross the finish line, we followed the masses as they all headed to Old Town Square. Surrounded by sites such as the Tyn Church, St. Nicholas Church, and the Astronomical clock, it was a great place to start our Prague adventure! The square had such a good atmosphere as it was filled with small shops and stands like an outdoor market (which we later found out were part of an Easter festival). Maria and I had the greatest time walking around and perusing the stands.

Having not had lunch, we soon got struck by hunger! As it was already late afternoon, so we decided to get some “linner” and stopped in the nearest eatery that looked good. Not to keen on the traditional Czech food on the menu, we decided to at least have some Czech beers. I mean, it’s hard to say no when a beer is cheaper than water! I enjoyed a Pilsner Urquell (for one Euro!), with smoked salmon on toast.

After walking around a bit more and finding our hostel, we decided to head out for another round of beers – experiencing the best of Prague right? We both tried two different types of beer: Gambrinus and Branik. I have never been too keen on beer but am beginning to branch out and try different kinds. I must say the Czech Republic knows how to do it right!

P.S. Shout out to my Dad on his birthday!