This is What Dreams are Made of

One of our first few rainy nights in Rome a group of us decided to have a movie night, solely watching movies set in Rome. One of the many we watched was the Lizzie McGuire Movie. Having all seen it before, we wanted to experience all of the places Lizzie did on her trip. One of our favorite places she visited were beautiful gardens, so after some research we got on a train and headed to the ancient town of Tivoli.

Our destination in Tivoli was the Villa Adriana, home of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The entire estate is gorgeous, overlooking sprawling hills. A wedding had just occurred at the church next to the Villa and the reception was taking place within the gardens, the entire scene was beautiful. The gardens were sprawling, and overlooked the nearby town.

After exploring the Hadrian’s villa we headed into the small town for food. I’ve learned that basically anywhere you stop to eat in Italy the food will be fantastic. So after yet another amazing meal we shopped through the town, stopping for gelato on our way back to the train. Our trip to Tivoli fulfilled our childhood dreams of being Lizzie McGuire.

Prost: Oktoberfest

Before we even left for Rome, my friend Steve and I knew that one of our many trips while abroad had to be to Oktoberfest in Germany. For those who don’t know, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest “funfair” which is held annually in Munich, Germany. Despite its name, Oktoberfest runs from late September until early October. With the fair running while we were already in Europe, we felt we couldn’t miss it.

We ended up attending Oktoberfest the last weekend of the festivities. The trip was booked through Bus2Alps, our favorite travel company while abroad. That Thursday night we got on the bus for our 12-hour bus ride from Rome to Munich. Those 12 hours were spent attempting to sleep, as the fun would start the second we got to Munich.

Once in Munich we headed to Jaeger’s Hostel, only a few blocks from the fairgrounds. After quickly dropping off our bags we headed directly to the Hofbrauhaus tent to meet up with friends who were already there. The tent was filled with people of all ages, but with a strong number of college aged adults. There was music, food, and ample amounts of beer. In the late afternoon the tents clear out for those who chose to reserve tables, and we headed over to ride the Ferris wheel and eat pretzels the size of our faces. As we barely slept the night before, Friday was an early night in order to prepare for the next day.

Saturday morning we left for the fairgrounds early, as it is a mad dash to get tables. We again spent the day at the Hofbrauhaus tent, meeting up with friends old and new. Once again when the tents were cleared for those who reserved tables and we headed back into Munich to the Hofbrauhaus restaurant for more beer, chicken, and spaetzle. After dinner we met up friends’ cousins who were locals, which meant they knew how to get back into the tents for more music and fun. They took us to the Hacker-Pschorr tent where we spent the night dancing next to the live band. Oktoberfest is definitely a once in a lifetime experience.