Sicily: Mafia Territory

Gun shots, Pizzo's and Mafia initiations...

No, I'm just kidding, no gun shots.. but you can definitely feel the presence of the Mafia when visiting Palermo, Sicily.  When we got there we grabbed a late night bite to eat with some of the people on the trip.  We ordered in one restaurant and our food came from another, pretty sketchy, men coming in and out.  It might just be because we have been studying the Mafia all semester and have been paranoid.

Pizzo is the tax that IS STILL PAID BY 80% of businesses in Sicily to the Mafia.  It is a tax that is collected by Mafia members in order to have a business in Palermo.  We met with an anti-mafia activist on Saturday and a man that owns construction businesses in Sicily decided to stop paying the Pizzo and he was walking around with two body guards.  The mafia tries to instill fear in him on a daily basis.  I couldn't imagine living like that every day of my life.  He made the right decision though.  Slowly, but surely, the mafia is being refused. 

Friday morning we woke up early and visited the town of Cinisi where Pepino Impasado was killed for fighting against the Mafia.  We had watched a movie in class about him and now his brother runs a memorial in his honor.  It was really cool being able to talk to him and see how the Mafia affected him and his life.  After Cinisi, we talked to the anti mafia activist and then got gelato, which was UNREALLLLLLL!

Saturday morning, the rooster crowed and we headed to the fields! Our job you ask? To tie vines to a metal line to help the growing cycle of the wine buds! Such a cool experience.  Salvatore helped us farm and we had a great time out in the fields for three hours.  They then made us an amazing lunch full of wine, lasagna, bread, and sandwiches.  We then hiked this amazing hill where there was a castle.  The view was breathtaking. 

We visited Portella Ginestra which was where a massacre occurred against the farmers by the Mafia. We talked to some survivors which was really cool. Beside the fact when he was talking he told us how much he loved Obama and that we need to elect someone just like him because he gave people healthcare that didn't have any. Our teacher was wide eyed and shocked. All of us were shocked but laughed it off.

Sunday, Professor Piambino allowed us to sleep until 8:45! We headed to Segesta where there was an ancient Greek theater and a temple.  There were so many stray dogs and cats, we played with them because I miss Mollie.  After Segesta, we went to Mondello Beach near Palermo where we drank beer and played beach games.  It was a relaxing end to the trip! Lastly, we had an amazing seafood dinner.  I had swordfish pasta which was out of this world!

As you can see, Sicily was filled with Mafia education and relaxing sun bathing time.  I had the best time. Sicily is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. 

Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps

"For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to the humanity where the nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe."

This inscription was placed in multiple different languages as a monument to Never Forget.  The monument is located in the massive camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

For most people that know me, they know that I have wanted to visit these concentration camps my whole life. The Holocaust is something that is very important to me and my family's history. Being Jewish is something that I am very proud of, and visiting this camp only highlighted this fact about me.  

It was a cold day in Krakow, Poland as we set out to our private tour van. On the way to the camps we watched a documentary about the Holocaust and it was very informative.  When we arrived we met our tour guide Helenia, a Polish woman that spoke English pretty well.  She is very knowledgeable.  We entered Auschwitz first, as Auschwitz-Birkenau was a five minute drive from this camp.  It was museum-like, with tickets and exhibitions. There was a lot of people.

Arbeit Macht Frei is written on the gate in which you enter the camp.  It means "Work will set you Free" which is very powerful.  We learned that the camp was built in 1940 to hold Polish political prisoners originally, but then used for a camp during WWII by the Nazis in 1942.

 These are the brick barracks inside the gates where the Jews would stay.  It was very quiet and serene almost.  Inside these buildings now, are exhibitions with different parts of the Holocaust.  For example, in one of the barracks are all the shoes and hair taken from the Jews when they entered Auschwitz.  This was a very powerful and overwhelming image. They were striped of all their dignity before coming into the camp.  This was very hard for me to comprehend.  The fact that we had the freedom to come and go as we pleased to these camps and my ancestors did not have a choice.  My question is always WHY. I will never get an answer because there is no answer for insanity.

                                         Not Everyone wore glasses...

                                          Talit taken from the Jews

                                        People's suitcases

 Gas pellets that were dropped into the gas chambers and gave off gas that would usually take 15 minutes to kill.

 Nazi meeting room

 Usually fit two to a bed, I could barely fit in one, let alone have another person next to me!

                               This photo was taken of the HALT sign on the edge of the camp.

 

 The photos speak for themselves.  Visiting was very hard but very important for my family and ancestors.  I loved Krakow, Poland and the surrounding areas.  But this was a sad part of the trip.  

Never Forget.

Spring Break Part 2: Lisbon and Dublin

Let me start off by saying Lisbon is dirt cheap compared to the other cities I have visited. But Europe in general, is cheap. Traveling is easy and economically friendly between countries in Europe. 

Lisbon is a huge hill.  We arrived Wednesday afternoon and had to climb these streets looking for our air B and B apartment we rented. We had trouble finding it because turns out, the woman gave us the wrong address!! But it ended up working out because we found this incredible restaurant with an exquisite view. 

Porta del Sol

Once we found our place we settled in and set out to explore. We decided to take a Tuk Tuk which is a car with three wheels. It was bumpy but a cool way to see the city. We ended up being this man's first customers! 

Tuk Tuk

After that we went shopping, Jul got a cute romper and we called an Uber car to pick us up to take us to this restaurant recommended by our friends who studying abroad a couple years ago. 

Dinner with our Uber Driver! 

REWIND: Portuguese people are really great, they're helpful and nice. Our Uber driver, Diminico Bonito was very special. Alexandra put in the incorrect address for pick up on the Uber app. She was on the phone with this man trying to find his car. Then all of a sudden we turn around and he's standing behind us. He found us! We then walked three blocks and arrived at his car. He took us to this recommended restaurant and it seemed to be closed. So we asked Bonito where a really authentic Portuguese restaurant would be in the vicinity. He recommended this tapas place with good food. So, we jokingly said "oh! You should eat with us" (not thinking he would take us up on the offer). We pull up and he tells us he's going to eat with us. We say ummm okay, looking at each other like ummm what is happening. Next thing we know it we walk in the restaurant and have an authentic meal. The meal consists of Tapas of chicken hearts, vegetables, meats, cheese with spinach, old rice (which is hard rice with meat, very delicious). Yes, I ate chicken hearts!! Matt was very proud! But I can't believe I ate them and better yet enjoyed them!  We got a free ride home and were safe! I know this was a crazy, unsafe story where you learn in kindergarten not to go with strangers. But it was an adventure! 

Chicken Hearts

The next day, we went to a city near Lisbon called Sintra. Sintra is a small town about an hour by train from Lisbon. 

We went to this colorful Palace and a Moorish castle. Each place offered amazing views of Sintra. We did a lot of hiking and exploring. 

Streets of Sintra 

Palace

View from the Palace

The castle 

Cascais beach was breath taking. We had a drink on the boardwalk and watched the sunset then we took the train back and had a great sushi dinner with Elyse and Morgan. 

Off to Dublin we go! Ryanair was the airline we flew, but I will never ever ever fly them again. They were cheap but very uncomfortable and inconvinient. For example, once we got through security we realized all non EU passports had to check in at the desk and get their boarding pass stamped. Also, if you just so happened to forget to print your boarding pass at home, you had to pay 70 Euro. Luckily we all printed the passes and avoided that charge. 

The second we got off the plane we headed to the Guiness Factory because we had reservations with our group we were staying with at 2:00 pm. 

Shamrock Beer! 

Sky Bar

After a few beers at Guiness, we headed back to the hostel where we found out we would be bunking up with 10 other girls. So much fun!! NOT. With only 2 outlets we all were miserable. Attempting to shower was hell, I had to hold this button to keep the water flowing and it would get hot for two seconds and then shut off, not a good experience. Pretty sure the bed had bed bugs. It was just disgusting! We only spent minimal time there. We went to the Meat Wagon for dinner. This was the menu:

I got the Bird Box. 

So yummy!!

After dinner we headed out to the Temple Bar area. Everyone was out and starting to celebrate Saint Paddy's Day. It was great!! Given we had to wake up at 6 am the next morning, we headed back early. 

Rise and Shine, we were off to Limerick, The Cliffs of Moher and Galway.  We spent a lot of time on the bus but got to see amazing views. 

Ridiculous Rest Stop 

King's Castle

Cliffs of Moher

Stella in Galway! 

Night out in Temple Bar! 

Phia was nice enough to let Jul and me sleep in her hotel room. She was a life saver. We showered and felt normal lol. 

On our last day, we grabbed breakfast at a local pub and met this crazy old guy that had awoken on the street with no memory of last night and no wallet and phone. He was funny! What an idiot. 

We then bought souvenirs and wandered to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Alex's friend showed us around Trinity College. It was a huge campus. 

I left my heart in Dublin, I'll be back.  It was truely amazing. The people were so nice and helpful. 

All in all, Spring break taught me how to travel on a budget, never stay in a hostel, and explore as much as you can. Also, spontaneity is the most fun!