london with AIFS!

So after being so excited to meet all the AIFS people (its more like i keep meeting cooler and cooler people hahah)... we all went out for drinks that night together! it is so great getting to know everyone... then the next day, we went on a bus tour around the entire city, so gorgeous... and we ended in covent garden (my fav) where ariel, stacey, kailey and i got ben's cookies and then went to see the play CHICAGO! live which was FANTASTIC!! we got to bring cider into the show! and had the BEST seats and it was seriously sooo soo good! so worth the money haha... then we went to get indian food after and then out for drinks! tomorrow morning its hello italy... FINALLY!!!

Londontown with allie! hello aifs!

So it was goodbye olivia, paris, and the binge eating of baguettes (especially those late night ones haha) and hello londontown!! I took the underground and met allie at the station and she took me to her adorable flat, met her roomies who are all so nice! and then we walked around, of course went to top shop (so dangerous!) got ben's cookies (my fav!!) and then had an amazing indian dinner! Then all of allie's friends came over to pregame at her place (i bought yummy magners cider) and then we went to china mist club, danced until 2am and walked back with dying feet from heels hahah... it was so much fun! it was like all usc people at the club because they were all in allie's program.

the next day, allie and i walked around a bit, got a yummy lunch, and then she dropped me off at my program (what a nice mommy haha)

OMG i am SO excited for my program!! i literally have met like 45 AMAZING girls who i want to be like bff with hahaha... i thought i would find like a good group of like 6 or ten or something and become really g close with them, but my close knit group is like hugeeee hahaha... there are 165 of us!! everyone is sooo nice!!

living in paris for two weeks ...

so basically i don't have enough effort to explain what i did living in paris for two weeks with olivia and her brother (and for a bit miss courtney mcphee :) ).... basically all we did was eat, walk, sit at cafes, eat, see museums, and eat some more hahah, oh and watch alias and james bond hahah... we had literally the best time and just became so close just bumming around.... we probably ate 3 full baguettes each daily (and i am seriously not joking) and so much jam! and of course we had the best falafel in the marais, la duree macarons, crepes, gauffre, berthillion sorbet, french onion soup... and went to the pompiduo, lourve, claude monet in the tulleries, musee d'orsay, bvlgari exhibit, and more... i cannot even remember haha

we also saw every sight again, shopped of course, saw the eiffel tower light up on new years eve!, went to my favorite tea places, saw the movie somewhere... and so much more! it was literally amazing... maybe i will update more later....

Happy 80th Nonnali! and goodbye family!

For my grandma's 80th birthday we have a big dinner celebration, and played "nonnali trivia"... the whole family got so into it hahah... there were four teams: 1) nonnali of course to provide the correct answers 2) nonnajan 3) my mom and her bros 4) us grandchildren... and the grandchildren and my mom and bros tied! yeah! hahah shows how good we are!... but of course nonnajan won, it was adorable :).... we also toasted probably 15 times haha and presented lots of gifts! it was such a beautiful and fun family filled night.... we also watched old home videos of my mom living the most amazing life in milan and on elba in italy, and in germany and holland... so crazy...

the next morning, it was off to Amsterdam airport and goodbye to my family :(!! they all had to check in earlier then me, except alexine had a later flight so we raided the hema at schipol and then parted... sooo weird and scary to all of a sudden be stranded in amsterdam airport by myself haha, but the train ride to paris was pretty easy, except that i was carrying like four different bags hahah and then had to find the metro and transfer and then walk to olivia's apartment, what an adventure! but i made it!!

Family bike ride!

Today my uncle renting bikes for everyone and we went on the most AMAZING bike ride ever! it was like 40 kilometers or something in minus 10 degrees celsius weather (aka freeeezinggggg)... through the cutest little towns and the prettiest countryside... i can't even explain how pretty it was!!! half of the group didn't even make it all the way though because it was soo cold hahah but i did!! all the way to get pannakoeken... aka dutch amazingness! its like a hugeee giant dutch pancake, kind of like a crepe... we all got hot chocolates, and hot wine (vin chaud) sooo good! and i got a pannakoeken with cheese and banana and pineapple, i know SO weird haha but alexine got a really good sweet one :).... at the pannakoeken hosue there waas the only dutch ice skating museum in holland and it was sooo cool! and we saw a famous skater with the last name rodenhuis! our heritage bahahah.... dutch skating is so much different from normal ice skating (its like speed skating) and its soo hilarious because people just skate on the canals between the towns.... crazy!!.... after biking home, we all hung around the house and then had an italian dinner yum! and then played a family drinking game hahahah.... basically we all got on three teams and had to make a cocktail and just who's was the best.

There was the bloody mary team (my dad put wayyy to much hot sauce!) haha , and the cosmopolitan team, and the kappa kappa cocktail team (i swear i did not name it haha) and it was made with fresh muddled kiwis, lemon zest/juice, sprite and vodka, i swear ours totally was the best!!!

then we just played cards until super late!

Friesland--Family, Fun, and Freezing!!

So after our flight from nice to amsterdam, we had to drive two hours up to northern holland, aka Friesland, where we were going to stay in the most AMAZING giant farm house in the middle of no where on a lake...absolute bliss, it was with all of my mom's side of the family, and organized to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday, so much preparation went into the four day vacation, but first, another stop to see family!

Before driving to Friesland, my family stopped for yet again more food (after getting croissants at the airport in holland haha) at my dad's brothers house right outside amsterdam... and it was alll white with snow!! sooooo beautiful! we spent a few hours talking and even some other fam friends came over from the haag... and this marked our last family members to see haha (we saw ALL of my extended relatives with 6 days bahaha)....

then off to friesland, the most gorgeous drive to a white country side of holland....

Friesland is actually where my dad's relatives are from, so it was fun for him to go back to!!

The Farmhouse: absolutely beautiful... it had been renovated for the past two years and was so modern yet old at the same time...with the highest ceilings etc... i think it could have easily been in a home magazine... and it was in the small town of "it heidenskip" hahah and literally the middle of no where! like we had to drive down this tiny windy road to get there which was surrounded by land and frozen canals... it was amazing that alll the canals were frozen!! the huge lake outside our house even was!

So the first day we got there, it was just a catch up with all the familys and a traditional dutch dinner (we had a caterer that brought food for every meal)....

Christmas Eve...a day of massive traveling (Eze sur mer)

Merry Christmas Eve to all, and happy travels to my family :)! So this morning the crazy fam embarked on a four flight journey (with three stops that each have about 5 min to run from plane to plane) hoping to make it to the south of france by christmas day...

Flight number one: orange county to chicago, flight number two: chicago to amsterdam (my fav airport in the world), flight number three: amsterdam to paris, flight number four: paris to nice... aka absolutely disgusting bhahah but, we made the flights so fun!

my family had to create a "plane package" for a secret person, which included yummy candy, magazines, games, books, etc, and all of the packages were SO good!... mommy had me and packed a bunch of florence books woohoo!.... and we flew business class, such a treat! so we all got tons of food the whole time... i had a lovely pasta lasagna type dish for xmas eve dinner (not the usual fish my dad makes) but thats okay hahah... and i had a white christmas landing in amsterdam and paris on xmas eve! so beautiful!!

Luckily, there were no delays and we made it safely to my dad's parents house in Eze Sur Mer, which is right between monaco and nice... it was SO nice to see them! it had been way to long... and my dad's sis and her husband and adorable son were there!... Didier (their son) is sooo big now i cannot believe it!.... the last time i saw him was like 3 years ago or so...

basically the next few days (and actually the next few weeks) just included eating and talking with family around the table haha... right after we arrived, it was straight to some tea, cheese, and bread (duh!) and lots of yummy cookies too :).... it was all so beautifully decorated!

After we had the best christmas dinner of amazing fishes and salads and of course tiramisu for dessert! we ended up talking so late (i am surprised none of us fell asleep at the dinner table haha)...

then then next day we spent the whole morning eating endless amounts of croissants and breads and cheese and tea, that by the time we finished breakfast, it was time for oysters! hahaha my dad and grandma went to a get a fresh batch really early in the morning, and even though i am kind of scared of oysters, they were still magnificent!

Then, we went and walked around a small town between eze and nice, which my aunt and uncle just moved to (they used to live in the most amazing apartment in monaco but moved to a more homey area :) )... and then it was dinner time again! hahaha... we ended up talking until like 3 am! and then we had to wake up at 4am for our next flight..

barely two nights of sleep and it was a flight to amsterdam again!!