Ahhhh. I love the approaching holidays. There really is nothing better. Even though I won't have any money for gifts (sorry family and friends. All you'll be getting from me this year is chocolate. Hard, right?) I can't wait until the giant Christmas tree gets put up in Cathedral Square. It is so magical, especially when it starts snowing.
We found a delicious milkshake place in town a few weeks ago. It's called Pink Milkshake.
My chocolate banana milkshake and the bouquet of flowers that I found laying on a wall.
Any milkshake I have tried here in Europe has just been milk with flavor. No thickness. No actual shake form. But this....this changes things. This milkshake was perfect.
Last week, a few of us met up with Luiza. She has a very small car so I could only bring along Katie & Saffron. We had just planned to go get Kebabs and then watch a movie, but she asked if we wanted to go on a night drive to Trakai (the castle town 20 minutes out of Vilnius.) I thought it sounded super great! We got our kebabs, which were very good but as usual, made my stomach churn. If you don't know what a European kebab is, it is nothing like a Shish-Kebab that we know of in the states. It's basically a wrap. It comes in like a flatbread with meat, vegetables and lots of garlic sauce. They're tasty but for some reason, I always feel sick after eating them. We went to Trakai and walked around the castle for a bit. It was so quiet and peaceful. We were only there for about 20 minutes. When we were about to head back, Luiza asked me if I wanted to drive us back?!? umm..YES PLEASE. I was kind of nervous because I don't understand any of the street signs, but her car was automatic so at least I wouldn't have to worry about that. She explained to me all of the signs and everything and it was smooth sailing all the way back to Vilnius. It felt SO good to drive again. I loved it :)
This weekend, we went to Kaunas to surprise Cynthia (the head teacher there) for her birthday! We hopped on one of the 3 buses that were leaving at 10:30 Saturday morning, and we happened to pick the wrong one. First off, it was 8,70 Euros! Last time, it was only like 2,70. So that was a little weird. I should have seen this as a sign to get the hell off that bus. Anyway, we paid and sat down. The ride to Kaunas is only supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes. Well, I noticed that we were stopping at these little bus stops along the way about every 5 minutes. They were just random stops out in the middle of the forest. I thought that was a little strange. Anyway, long story short, 3 hours later we arrive in Kaunas. Our surprise plan didn't really work out due to timing, but Cynthia was still surprised that we came! I love the Kaunas girls. They are all so so sweet and hilarious and so fun to be around. We made turkey and cheese melts with avocado, which were so yummy and we had cake, apple pancakes made by Saffron and coffee! We just sat and talked for hours about our vacations we went on and about school and everything. They are the best :) And their apartment is so cozy and nice. Much nicer than ours. After it got dark (at 4:30 PM, mind you) we went into town. Their city center is super small. We got donuts at The Donut Lab which were exquisite, and then we went to our favorite store, Tiger. It's like a dollar store on drugs. Everything they have there is very quirky and fun. They have all sorts of fun crafts and science projects, home goods, everything. I want to buy all the things when I go there. We talked about planning a trip to Latvia with them at the end of November so I'm super excited about that!
From left to right:
Saffron, Cynthia, Morgan, me, Rebecca, Katie & Emily. Kaunas has one more gal, Clarissa, but she went home due to a death in the family :( I miss her! She is such a sweetheart!
Sunday, we wanted to go on a forest adventure. I have been craving to be out in the woods. I wanted to just bundle up and pack a little picnic and just head into the woods that are in the middle of town. I wanted to take fun photos, explore and then try to navigate our way back by using our bus knowledge. I just thought it would be fun to get a bit lost :)
but it rained :( so we didn't do it. Hopefully soon though. I ended up doing a little shopping instead and eating at my favorite Vapiano pizza pasta and salad bar. Nom.
I definitely have an unhealthy obsession with Pizza Express. It's the little pizza joint right down the street from our apartment. It makes it even worse that it's just so conveniently placed down the street. Their pizzas are super cheap (4 euros for a personal pizza, but really it's big I can hardly finish it.) They are super thin. My favorite is the Neapolio with Salami or the Havaju with chicken and pineapple. The pizza itself would be nothing without the sauce they serve it with, though. It's like a creamy garlic sauce. It's so so delicious. You just smother you pizza in it and go right to Heaven. Pizza bliss. I will surely miss it.
Oh by the way, I have 36 days left here. Unbelievable.
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