Of golden roofs and castles.

When on tour – two, even three countries in a day is possible. After Italy, our next stop was Austria. In that day alone, we were able to visit Austria, Liechtenstein, and still managed to reach Switzerland before sundown. The cool thing about Europe though, is that it may be 8 in the evening already, but the sun would still be up. Nevertheless, you wouldn’t catch me complaining about the heat in Europe. Though it may be sunny, the wind is always cold. (Damn Philippines, why can’t you be chill like Europe, brah?) (Bad attempt at being funny, huh?)

University of Innsbruck

View from the Old Inn Bridge

Aldstadt or Old Town

Helblinghaus

The Golden Roof

In Innsbruck, Austria, we went into the heart of the city - the Altstadt or The Old Town. This is where most of the notable structures of Innsbruck remain standing, including the Goldenes Dachl, the Helblinghaus, and the Innsbruck Cathedral. The Old Town, however, isn't a purely historical site. Surrounding the old structures are more modern ones, including one of the biggest Swarovski shops in the world, as well as a series of shops and cafés. The ambience isn't a la metro/big city/only the cool kids can hang here type of thing - it's more homey and cozy, and definitely a place I could see myself hanging out in... preferably with a book and headphones.

The Goldenes Dachl or Golden Roof is perhaps Innsbruck's most famous landmark. The Golden Roof isn’t actually golden, but is made up of 2,738 fire-gilded copper tiles. The Golden Roof overlooks the square below, which allowed Emperor Maximilian I and his wife Bianca Maria Sforza to observe events occurring at the square from a distance.

The church was too tall for me to get it all in one picture. Boo.

Had to include my ONLY photo in Innsbruck. *hehehe cries* The doors make me look tiny, though.

Simply breathtaking.

Europe is home to some of the most beautiful churches in the world and in my opinion, the Innsbruck Cathedral undoubtedly fits that description. The exteriors may not be as lavish as Italy’s St. Peter’s Basilica, but its simplicity is the key to its beauty. The interiors, however, are a whole different story. The Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James, possessed very intricate and beautifully crafted details for its ceilings alone.

The Vaduz Castle... from very far, far away.

The perfect views above are courtesy of the sixth smallest country in the world - Liechtenstein. You have to forgive the bad quality of the photos though; I was inside of the bus when I took them, hence, the glass hindrance to a well-taken photograph. We stopped at Liechtenstein only for a few hours, and only got to explore one city: Vaduz.

Liechtenstein, albeit small in size, is one of the richest countries in the world. That fact was quite obvious as we stepped down from the bus and savored the opulent atmosphere of the place. I was particularly amazed at the fact that Vaduz had a castle! In fact, Liechtenstein had five castles scattered around its land. 

Miniature replica of the Vaduz Castle at the town centre

Messy hair and haggard face and shopping bags, yep.

Our few hours in Vaduz were all spent in its town centre, referred to by the locals as Städtle (small town). Simply going around the town centre wasn't actually a waste of precious travel time. Städtle had a lot to offer - clothing and souvenir shops, outdoor cafés, and tons of modern art displays. My mom and I could never refuse the opportunity to shop, and it was there that I tasted the creamiest coffee I've ever had in my life. I'm even going to go out on a limb to claim that it was way better than any handcrafted Starbucks coffee that I've had. (Oh no, have I angered the masses?!)

The opportunity to explore two countries was squeezed into a single day, hence, my wanderer self was not pleased. Nevertheless, I am still immensely thankful for the opportunity to be able to see these two countries for myself. Perhaps someday I'll come back to fully take in all the beauty that both Austria and Liechtenstein has to offer... but I should probably learn how to speak in German first.

Desiderio di Viaggiare

The Italian phrase “desiderio di viaggiare” is roughly translated into the English language as the romantic word wanderlust. Wanderlust, which is the strong desire or impulse to travel and explore the world, has always been something that I associated with myself. As I’ve mentioned in my Wanderlist post, I will always always have the itch to go about and see new places. This summer, I’ve been blessed a hundredfold as I was able to go on a Europe tour with my mother. The tour may not have taken me to see the entirety of the continent (that would be impossible, I assume), but it did allow me to see some of the landmarks and cities that I thought I would never see in the flesh. As you may have gathered from the title, this post will be about our tour’s first stop – the enchantingly historical country of Italy.

Out of the eight countries that the tour allowed me to visit, Italy is definitely on my top three list. What a wonderful experience it was to have visited the Vatican City in Rome; to have been able to see the famous Trevi Fountain and toss (three) coins in it; to have seen the Colloseum and revel in the fact that there were actual gladiators who fought in that very structure; to have seen the architectural wonder that is the Leaning Tower of Pisa; to have walked along the breathtaking streets of the floating city, Venice.

St. Peter's Basilica

Tuscan colonnades bordering the St. Peter's Square

Interiors of St. Peter's Basilica

I took the photos above in Vatican City, or as the locals call the Stato della Città del Vaticano. The interiors are of the St. Peter's Basilica which has been deemed as the largest church in the world. Michelangelo was one of the key designers of this church, which probably helps to explain why everything about it was simply astonishing. Displayed in St. Peter's Basilica is one of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures, the Pietà. Unfortunately, the only picture that I could take of the sculpture was quite blurry, as it was encased in glass, and many people were pushing their way to get a glimpse of it.

When we visited Vatican City, it was a Sunday, which is Pope Francis' schedule for showing up on one of the windows over St. Peter's Square to recite the Angelus prayer. Fortunately, we were standing in the square at noon time, and we were able to see the current pope himself and attend his prayer. Never in my eighteen years of existence would I have expected to have such a blessed experience, and honestly, even though I am not as what you would call pious, the said event made me even more thankful at just how privileged I am and has driven me to have more faith.

(Please forgive my haggard tourist face)

Our next stop in Rome, Italy, was the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater (Anfiteatro Flavio). Being a self-proclaimed mythology junkie, I was quite excited to see this historical landmark that had been used to stage dramas about classical mythology. It gave me chills, however, to think that the Colosseum had previously hosted gladiatorial shows. How could the people before find it entertaining to watch men kill each other? But I should probably save my angst-filled questions for my 2am musings.

The Trevi Fountain

"This is what dreams are made of" - Lizzie McGuire

Authentic Italian gelato!!!

Italian pizza... in Italy. Dreams do come true.

After seeing the Colosseum, we went to see the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi). My mythology geek self squealed upon seeing the fountain whose design is centered around Oceanus and his sea mythological creatures. If you've seen the Lizzie McGuire movie, this is the very same fountain upon which Lizzie tossed a coin in. Of course I had to throw in coins and make wishes, as well! (One item on my Wanderlist, check!) Interestingly, the locals said that your wish would only come true if you threw the coin in a certain way: right hand over your left shoulder. That feat is easy enough to oblige for something(s) you desperately want. (Bonus feel-good fact: The coins that people toss into the fountain is collected by the charity Caritas, who runs food & social programs for the needy. Not a bad way to "throw away" your money!)

It was there in the Trevi district that I had my first lunch in Europe. Call me cliché, but I just had to have two of the most famous Italian food inventions - pizza and gelato! In all honesty, however, the pizza isn't as good as the pizza here in the Philippines. Apparently, this is due to the fact that Europeans prefer their food to be bland, as opposed to the Filipino taste which undoubtedly prefers more flavor. The gelato, on the other hand, is as good as it gets. I've tasted the gelato in Manila, and although it is good, the authentic Italian gelato is in my opinion, definitely par excellence.

Piazza del Duomo

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pisa Baptistry

The second day of our Europe tour was for Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. We visited the Piazza del Duomo, which houses the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Camposanto Monumentale, and the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. If you didn't know, the tower is actually the bell tower of the cathedral, and it was not intended for the tower to be slanted. This was another one of the places we've visited in the tour that I was really excited about, mostly because of its monumental contribution to physics (my favorite science subject). It is at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa that Galileo Galilei tried to prove that the time it takes for an object to fall is independent of its mass - an assumption we now know to be false.

Hi, pigeons

Please don't notice how weird my facial expression is... this is my only photo with the pretty gondolas.

Even the ceilings are beautiful.

(That forehead though.) 

(Those foreheads though.)

Typical Venetian canals.

Our last stop for Italy was the city of Venice - also known as the City of Masks, City of Bridges, and the Floating City. It was, perhaps, the most romantic city I've ever set foot on. The architecture was beautiful; everything was lovely... except for the smell of the water. Unfortunately, the water has a certain pungent smell to it, but even that couldn't hinder the way I immediately fell in love with the city. It was too bad that I didn't get to ride a gondola, though. Aside from the gondola rides costing way too much, we were also short on time. I guess that's one disadvantage of traveling on tours - the lack of control over time. There are schedules that need to be followed, lest you want to be left behind, and that means not being able to spend as much time as you want in a certain place, hence, not being able to see and experience everything you want to from that place.

Setting aside my disappointment over the amount of time I get to spend in each city (very short and insufficient), my three days in Italy were undoubtedly well-spent. I am immensely thankful over the fact that I have been able to dwell in some of the most beautiful cities in the world. But of course, not only were those cities so obviously resplendent, they were also those kinds of places that you could almost feel the history that has crafted them just by simply standing there.

Beyond any doubt, I will jump at the chance to visit or (crossed fingers) live in Italy. Here's to hoping that my first time there won't be my last time. Let me now grab this moment to profess my undying admiration to this country - ti amo, Italia!

Day 5: One wish that you have.

Off the top of my head would be immensely materialistic things including tickets for the Bazooka Rocks Fest 3 and/or the Before You Exit concert, an unlimited supply of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream, Vans sneakers in every color, and a penny board. But if I only get one wish, I figure that it should be something that counts; something that doesn't only affect me, but the people that matter to me as well. In this case, those people would be my batch mates in Public Health. Yep, I would use my one wish to ask for a smooth-sailing upcoming third year of college for us. It will be the year that we finally get to don on those pristine white uniforms we've been dreaming about, and it will be the year that all hell breaks loose. (Hell in the form of gross & microscopic anatomy, physiology, human biochemistry, microbiology, and biostatistics. And that's only for the first semester!)

Crossed fingers that all of us survive our third year as Public Health students and that life would set us on the right track to where we should go and what we should be.

Flights & Deep Thoughts

Since I'll be traveling for the next few days, I've been searching for and have been compiling some songs that I think suit my "wanderlust" playlist well. With the long hours that flights provide, I've got plenty of time to overthink, and what better way to overthink than to accompany my melancholic thoughts with even more melancholic songs.

Listed above are some of my current favorites. Hope they provoke your desolate thoughts as much as they do mine. Ha. Just kidding. Happy listening! (Or not. That's cool too.)

Day 4: Describe two of your favorite memories.

Memory #1: Perhaps the best memory that I have would be my 18th birthday. I remember being so bummed out for most of the day because no one seemed to remember that it was my birthday. When I got home to Iloilo City from Miag-ao (a one-hour commute), I felt even more downhearted at the fact that I walked into an empty home. I texted my mom where she was and she replied that she couldn't leave the hospital because she had a very toxic patient to tend to and that she probably wouldn't get home until late. When my dad finally arrived home with my brother, they both said "hi" but they didn't greet me, which made me feel much worse and drove me to lock myself up in my room. Yes, I am that dramatic to the point of having such bad thoughts about myself, for example, being so unimportant that no one even bothered to greet me. Props to my brother for actually coming into my room and saying, "oh yeah, happy birthday", and making me a tad bit happier. 

After awhile, it started to rain hard. My dad, though, went inside my room and told me to change clothes because we were going to eat dinner with my cousins, aunts, and uncles. I told him that we shouldn't bother going out in the rain, and that all I wanted to do was nap. (Oh yes, major drama in the works.) My dad, coupled with his specialty guilt speech, said it would be rude to cancel at the last minute, so I conceded. I did not dress up though - I stayed in my college-I-don't-give-a-damn clothes: a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. I didn't regret this until later, when we arrived at the restaurant and I was welcomed with a blast of confetti and hugs from family, family friends, and my high school classmates. Apparently, my mom planned this "surprise party" for a week, and recruited my aunt, cousins, and some of my close friends to help. I had no inkling whatsoever because I don't stay at home for the most of the week. As I previously mentioned, I attend college in Miag-ao, and to make it easier for me, by avoiding the tiring long commutes, I stay in a dormitory and only come home during the weekends. 

Anyway - I was very much in awe of the ambience. The food looked great (they served baked scallops!!!), and I was particularly hyped about the dessert buffet with the Minion red velvet cake pops. Yet another Lesh fact: I'm a sucker for anything red velvet. Plus, my high school friends were there to celebrate with me, except of course my best friends who study in Manila and couldn't come home. Aside from my Manila friends, I was bummed to see that my college friends weren't in attendance. I understood, however, that my parents didn't know them that well, and that they would've been more difficult to contact. When one of my uncles was about to say grace, the door suddenly opened and in came my UP friends, and that was of course another happy surprise. The rest of the evening went great, ending in a sleepover with all of my Miag-ao friends. Needless to say, my 18th birthday was the best one yet, and is obviously, the best memory I have as well.

Memory #2: Public Health in the University of the Philippines Visayas has always been my plan (and my parents' plan for me) as my pre-med course in college. My best friend, Ruod, received a call one afternoon in senior year of high school from his friend that attended the University of the Philippines Diliman. His friend informed him that the results of the UPCAT were out and that he passed. He then asked for me if I got in as well, and for some reason, the universe decided to be good to me, and his friend told him that I got into UPV as a PH student. Knowing that I did my best to get to where I am now is very self-fulfilling, and that was, in fact, one of the very rare moments that I actually felt proud of myself. 

It's a wonderful feeling, the feeling you get when everything simply falls into place. There is, after all, never a bad time to receive great news.

Day 3: Three of your favorite movies of all time.

Stuck in Love, 50 First Dates and Beastly. I figure that the three aforementioned are my all-time favorites because I've watched them numerous times (in other words, I know almost every line) and because these are my go-to movies for any situation - be it to fend off depression, or should I want to chill.

As you've probably noticed, all three of these movies are chick flicks. You don't know me at all if you aren't aware of the fact that I am particularly fond of this genre. I am, after all, a hopeless romantic, and those three movies are the ones that fuel my fairy tale mood the most. I am, of course, aware that these happy endings are usually amiss in real life, but that doesn't hinder me from believing that good things; good endings could actually happen. 

Although I may never get my own happy ending (particularly with Alex Pettyfer or Logan Lerman or Nat Wolff), these three flicks allow me to be less cynical - at least until the credits start rolling.