Of course there are plenty of differences between the two cities, so I've decided to write about the differences
Pittsburgh :
1. Stores stay open til around 10-12 pm on a daily basis (beside Sunday)
2. There are many different fast food restaurants & regular ones for you to eat at.
3. When using public transportation you have to show the bus/trolly driver your bus pass/ticket.
4. There are no quiet hours in your home made by the law.
5. I have service EVERYWHERE !
6. The people know that there is a thing called "personal space".
7. Majority of the licensed drivers will not ride your bumper the whole time they are behind you. In other words, we can drive.
8. Majority of the places you eat or shop at have the option for you to pay with credit. & with food places you can split the tab.
9. Public transportation buses get filled to capacity & don't let anyone else on until there is room.
10. We have dryers !!!! We can dry our clothes that we washed in a dryer, not on a line outside.
Rome :
1. If you're ever craving pizza you will not have a problem finding a pizzeria.
2. You can get your ears pierced in the farmacia.
3. There is no school on Fridays !
4. There a night buses that you can catch that run past 12 am.
5. It is very hard to find tequila in any liquor store or bar.
6. VIP's pizza , a pizzeria where I go after I go out at night. They have some of the best Italian pizza that I have ever tasted.
7. Piazza Venezia. A big white building that was built for the soldiers in Rome. It's beautiful, Pittsburgh has nothing like it.
8. The shopping center in rome is one big strip. Majority of the stores are in the same area.
9. Their apartments are like their houses. They spend thousands on an apartment like how we would on a house in Pittsburgh.
10. Suppli , it's an Italian snack that they have come up with. It has rice, cheese , & pasta sauce in a deep fried ball. It's delicious.
Those are just 10 differences between Rome & Pittsburgh. I'm pretty sure there are many other differences but these are the ones that came up in my head. But, there is a similarity between the two cities .. I will forever call both of these places my home.
-Erin Hager
Monday, April 16, 2012
4 things I did in Amsterdam
1. Red Light District
This is an area in amsterdam that it is famous for. During the day it is a nice place to shop & stop through the different kind of adult stores that they have in the area. The area comes alive at night time when the prostitutes come to work in their windows & the whole place is lit up red , hence RED light district. I was fascinated by the whole place because it was so bright and exciting.
2. Heineken Experience
This is a museum-like place where you can learn the history of Heineken & it's creators. You also get to see how the Heineken beer is made , get 3 free glasses of beer , & do a virtual ride where you are the beer & you get to go through the whole process of making and shipping the beer. What was really nice about this experience was that I got to make my own Heineken bottle with my name on the bottom of it. They had a very nice gift shop with many different things with the Heineken logo on it for you to buy. If you like beer or just are interested in knowing the history & how it is made then this is the place to be. It costs €15 if you buy your ticket with the "hop on hop off bus tour" or €17 inside of the building
3. Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
You get to do exactly what the name says , hop on and hop off. This bus takes you around amsterdam to about 11 different attractions & history spots. You can chose to stay on or hop off at the attraction that you want to see and then hop back on the next bus that comes around. This is good to do because it tells you the city's history , and also gives you transportation to some of the hottest attractions in Amsterdam. The price is around €18 for a 2 day pass which is a good price. This tour guides on the bus give you a map & head phones. With the map there are different coupons that you can use at some of the places in amsterdam.
4. The infamous coffee shops
Even if you do not smoke you should still stop at the various coffee shops in the red light district. You get to see the many different kinds that there are and their level of "stoned" that they can take you to. One thing bad about the coffee shops is that they're filled with smoke , and if you have asthma you probably won't do good in any coffee shop.
Overall my trip to Amsterdam was great ! I would love to go back and hit all the attractions that I didn't get to see (Anne franks house due to the long line) and just to visit again. It was such a diverse city & reminded me of being back in the United States. Amsterdam is a really high tech & up to date city which was even better for me. It felt just like home.
This is an area in amsterdam that it is famous for. During the day it is a nice place to shop & stop through the different kind of adult stores that they have in the area. The area comes alive at night time when the prostitutes come to work in their windows & the whole place is lit up red , hence RED light district. I was fascinated by the whole place because it was so bright and exciting.
2. Heineken Experience
This is a museum-like place where you can learn the history of Heineken & it's creators. You also get to see how the Heineken beer is made , get 3 free glasses of beer , & do a virtual ride where you are the beer & you get to go through the whole process of making and shipping the beer. What was really nice about this experience was that I got to make my own Heineken bottle with my name on the bottom of it. They had a very nice gift shop with many different things with the Heineken logo on it for you to buy. If you like beer or just are interested in knowing the history & how it is made then this is the place to be. It costs €15 if you buy your ticket with the "hop on hop off bus tour" or €17 inside of the building
3. Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
You get to do exactly what the name says , hop on and hop off. This bus takes you around amsterdam to about 11 different attractions & history spots. You can chose to stay on or hop off at the attraction that you want to see and then hop back on the next bus that comes around. This is good to do because it tells you the city's history , and also gives you transportation to some of the hottest attractions in Amsterdam. The price is around €18 for a 2 day pass which is a good price. This tour guides on the bus give you a map & head phones. With the map there are different coupons that you can use at some of the places in amsterdam.
4. The infamous coffee shops
Even if you do not smoke you should still stop at the various coffee shops in the red light district. You get to see the many different kinds that there are and their level of "stoned" that they can take you to. One thing bad about the coffee shops is that they're filled with smoke , and if you have asthma you probably won't do good in any coffee shop.
Overall my trip to Amsterdam was great ! I would love to go back and hit all the attractions that I didn't get to see (Anne franks house due to the long line) and just to visit again. It was such a diverse city & reminded me of being back in the United States. Amsterdam is a really high tech & up to date city which was even better for me. It felt just like home.
(OLD POST) Spring Break is Over
wrote on March 26, 2012
Sad to say that but my long 10 days of spring break is finally over. It feels like it went by so fast while traveling through Greece. I am happy to be back home (Rome) because I was tired of living out of my suit case everyday , it got old.
Anyways .. Let me tell you about the rest of my spring break that I already didn't mention on here ... After 2 days in Athens we left for Santorini. We had to catch a 8 hour ferry which felt like it took forever ! Of course we tried to keep ourselves occupied with a game of UNO. We we finally got to Santorini all I saw was mountains on top of mountains & a ton of white and blue beautiful buildings. Our hotel was a quick walk from where our buses let us off & was the best accommodation that we had on that trip. The shower was kind of small but it was better than the shower we had in Athens at the "easy access" hostel.
Our first day we got there so late in the evening that all we got to do was eat and then we had to get dressed and go out. We ate at a small nice restaurant.. We only ate there because the man outside promoting the restaurant promised us a free glass of wine which was very good. After we ate we headed to a bar for happy hour called Murphy's. The DJ was very good, as well as the drinks.
Our next day in Santorini we took a bus tour around the city. We stopped at the black sand beach & the red sand beach. Both were phenomenal. We got to eat on the black sand beach at a very nice restaurant that our tour guide said in the summer it has at least a hour waiting time to be seated. We also went to a wine tasting place. The wine in Greece is very good, I like it better than Italian wine.
After our trips to the beaches and the winery it was about time to go see the sunset in Santorini. Me, Jenn , & Nathalie were tired so we decided to take a nap instead of going to see the sunset so we could be ready for the night.
That was pretty much our last full day in Santorini the next day we were heading back to Athens for a night then to back to Ancona, Italy .. Then finally back to Rome. Our ferry ride back to Italy was supposed to take 21 hour but it ended up taking us 26 hours. Then once we got back into Italy our bus wasn't there yet so we had to wait a extra 2 hours for our bus. We got back to Rome at 12 am and had to run for a bus to make sure we got home on time to get enough sleep for our class at 9 am.
Overall, my spring break was great. I got to see many different things that I probably wouldn't have saw if I didn't go on the Greece island hopping spring break trip with bus2alps. Now it's back to business & time to get my head back in the books.
Sad to say that but my long 10 days of spring break is finally over. It feels like it went by so fast while traveling through Greece. I am happy to be back home (Rome) because I was tired of living out of my suit case everyday , it got old.
Anyways .. Let me tell you about the rest of my spring break that I already didn't mention on here ... After 2 days in Athens we left for Santorini. We had to catch a 8 hour ferry which felt like it took forever ! Of course we tried to keep ourselves occupied with a game of UNO. We we finally got to Santorini all I saw was mountains on top of mountains & a ton of white and blue beautiful buildings. Our hotel was a quick walk from where our buses let us off & was the best accommodation that we had on that trip. The shower was kind of small but it was better than the shower we had in Athens at the "easy access" hostel.
Our first day we got there so late in the evening that all we got to do was eat and then we had to get dressed and go out. We ate at a small nice restaurant.. We only ate there because the man outside promoting the restaurant promised us a free glass of wine which was very good. After we ate we headed to a bar for happy hour called Murphy's. The DJ was very good, as well as the drinks.
Our next day in Santorini we took a bus tour around the city. We stopped at the black sand beach & the red sand beach. Both were phenomenal. We got to eat on the black sand beach at a very nice restaurant that our tour guide said in the summer it has at least a hour waiting time to be seated. We also went to a wine tasting place. The wine in Greece is very good, I like it better than Italian wine.
After our trips to the beaches and the winery it was about time to go see the sunset in Santorini. Me, Jenn , & Nathalie were tired so we decided to take a nap instead of going to see the sunset so we could be ready for the night.
That was pretty much our last full day in Santorini the next day we were heading back to Athens for a night then to back to Ancona, Italy .. Then finally back to Rome. Our ferry ride back to Italy was supposed to take 21 hour but it ended up taking us 26 hours. Then once we got back into Italy our bus wasn't there yet so we had to wait a extra 2 hours for our bus. We got back to Rome at 12 am and had to run for a bus to make sure we got home on time to get enough sleep for our class at 9 am.
Overall, my spring break was great. I got to see many different things that I probably wouldn't have saw if I didn't go on the Greece island hopping spring break trip with bus2alps. Now it's back to business & time to get my head back in the books.
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