4-day break in Lake Como, Italy

4-day couldn't have come at a better time! We're all so mentally and physically drained that the break was necessary. Our first full day in Lake Como it was pouring, so we stayed inside most of the day watching Gossip Girl, besides a short break to get pizza for lunch and pasta for dinner =) On Tuesday we had a clear day so we decided to hop on a train to Switzerland for lunch. There we got fantastic views of the Swiss alps by taking a funiculore (google it) to the top of Mt. San Salvatore. As if that wasn't enough, we got back to Como and took a ferry to Bellagio for dinner. The sunset there was beautiful and we were able to identify George Clooney's vacation house on the way over (added bonus!)

xoxo Marina

1. Lake Como in fog

2. the 4 of us the first night hanging out on the docks after some wonderful gelato. From left to right... Me, Kristiana, Lauren, Becky

3. Becky and Lauren in a square (piazza) in Como

Oops... I forgot that most of my 4-day pictures are still on my camera! More to come later...

Berlin!

Sorry it's been such a while. For the most part I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves. Berlin was a great city. Probably one of my favorites. Someone who greatly contributed to that experience was our tour guide extraordinaire Gabriel Fawcett. Over the Berlin stretch I went to the Berlin zoo, a karaoke bar, the old berlin wall, a great chocolate cafe called Fersbergher-Rausch (or something like that)... and much much more. I loved living in an apartment with Lizzie and Elri and making dinners together every night =)

Our Berlin stay was interrupted by 3 days in Poland and 3 in Prague. Poland was one of the hardest places because that's when we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. Prague was pretty sweet, with probably the greatest Lebanese restaurant known to man and the sweetest castle!

Love to you all!

Marina

1. Alex and I on halloween. We both had butterflies painted on our faces =) And who said Europe didn't celebrate Halloween? Some of our group even dressed up as fellow professors or students. Maddie and Lizzie were Snape and Harry Potter, that was pretty memorable.

2. Elri and I in our apartment before the ballet we attended in Berlin.

3. Megan and I in front of the Berliner Dom cathedral on Museums Insel.

4. Megan, Lizzie, and I kicking leaves. Yeah, Germany has seasons. It's great.

5. Reichstag building in Berlin