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Buon compleanno da Firenze

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I rang in my 26th birthday alone at an Irish pub in Florence, Italy with some random Euro footie game on the telly playing. The kind Italians at the bar bought me several shots of various Italian liquors and who was I to complain as a girl on a budget? I also managed to lock myself out of my room, having to endure an awkward walk of shame down to the front desk in only my nude-colored skivvies (arm pressed to my chest for modesty) and explain that I mistook the main door to my room for the toilets, burning an image into the young man's mind that he is unlikely to forget for quite some time... happy birthday to me! Aside from the unintentional exhibitionist start of my birthday, I'd say it was a fun exploratory day. The weather was a bit wicked with winds literally shutting down parts of the city, including schools. Our group was unable to visit the Colosseum as initially scheduled due to the weather, but we are going to reschedule to visit before we leave the city. We still had
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Pam Local - Firenze

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Today was a free day following a short walking tour through Florence. I made quite the day out of visiting as many museums as I could, seeking out the Statue of David, the Uffizi Gallery, the Museo Galileo, absorbing as much of the city as I could as I walked around. It felt so calming, thrilling, mesmerizing. Afterwards, I took my time picking out a few brews from the local  Pam  grocery store to enjoy a nice hot bath to rest by tired tootsies before venturing out for a pre-birthday brew. Gold Stern Premium Beer by Brouwerij Martens: a smooth lager with a mid-range rating, nothing too fancy Oettinger Pils by Oettinger Brauerei: perhaps because I stopped ranking quite some time ago, I'm a tad objectively in my remarks that for such a refreshing and simplistic beer, unTappd offers it such a low ranking.. Oettinger Hefeweißbier Naturtrüb/Weissbier by Oettinger Brauerei: not too shabby; good brew to enjoy in a hot bath In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink ours here.  -F
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Ho fame di pizza

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 Fun fact: my last semester of my undergrad, I had credits to fill so I could be considered a full-time student as I only required one or two classes to satisfy my major and minor so I filled my schedule with Spanish I, Latin I, and Italian I classes....then answered an entire Italian oral exam in Spanish. Thankfully, my Italian professor knew I was also taking other languages (my minor was actually in German Language) so she allowed me to retake it after I took a few deep breaths to mentally "switch" my brain to the correct romance language, making sure not to answer in French as I have several years of that  under my belt. phew It is truly amazing what the brain is capable of processing and in former years of language study, I've always envisioned that little toggle switch in my brain for changing languages. Mind you, I'm not proficient in the least, albeit I work on keeping up my language skills with Duolingo to keep vocabulary and grammar fresh. Your brain is a m
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Location: Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy
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Una Storia Italiana a Venezia

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 Birra Moretti L'authentia, ricetta dal 1859 - la birra de Yuengling in Venezia. Per human tendency, one compares new with what they know. After trying and thus seeing Birra Moretti's brewskis all around me, I'd equate it similarly to a Yuengling (I'm a central-PA gal after all) albeit a bit smoother in taste. Interestingly enough, Yuengling was founded before  Birra Moretti - gotta tie in that good ol' history lesson in there. Italy is renowned for its fines wines, exquisite fashion labels , and pasta so fresh you swear you can feel your taste buds perform jumping jacks in ecstasy. I felt as though my beer-venture might be one in vain but was pleasantly surprised in my findings. Similarly to US supermarkets, the local COOP grocery store proved to be invaluable in finding new brews to find in single bottles and cans. As a traveler, trying local cuisine and immersing in the culture, interacting with locals to truly get a better appreciation for a new location - th
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This is what dreams are made of

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 Hey now! Hey no-ow! If you are a 90s baby like I am, Lizzie McGuire running about with Paolo crosses your mind when you think of Rome. Venice, Florenze, Pompeii, Rome, and Sorrento for my 26th birthday...hey now, hey now!! But first, a few pre-flight brews since that's my special defense against pre-trip jitters and getting through long travel journeys. I have horrible flight luck so I'd say a few brews to calm my nerves are well deserved. It also helps with sleep and sets a tasty tone for the trip. I've found airports also have quite the eclectic selection of brews as they want to keep a variety under their belt in anticipation for the many different palettes traversing through their restaurants. Little secret - for as much traveling as I've done, both domestic and international, I get insanely wild jitters the minute I set off at the airport. I blame it on my bad luck at airports: numerous delays, missed flights, missed connections, cancelled flights, crying in term
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Club XL Live

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By name alone, this name could mean so many things, among them a few highly ambiguous double-entendres but those close to the Harrisburg area would know this to be a rather newish venue offering live music and baller club nightlife. Maybe I don't even need to mention the potentially sexual inferences to which this could  refer, but if you're like me, your sense of humor can go dark all too quickly. Perverted minds will be perverted....yet I digress per usual. If you've come this far, I trust you have come to become accustomed to little side notes and if you don't know me on a more personal level, you may not realize the internal struggle it has become not to type every single aside I have with myself in my little noggin before I hit that orange Publish button . I'm trying to be as concise as I am in my professional life but with more creative flair, I swear. It's a balance. Where were we? Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Club XL - there we are. Reel it in. Reel.It.
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Passions of Greece

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Okay, maybe we're not talking actual  Greece nor any Biblical references, but Yorgos offers a sliver of Grecian touch with that homey feeling of family as is traditional Greek life. This Mediterranean golden gem is tucked away in Lancaster, PA on the corner between North Queen Street and West Orange Street. The menus are flavorful without that standoffish, pretentious smugness you may come to find in other areas trying to "globalize" the community through means of different foods and culture...aka authentic, tasty freakin' food. Alas, this is not a food blog, but a b e e r blog (albeit I love both). Upon entering the downstairs bar, it was rather difficult to decide which brew I wanted to try as they offer a revolving variety of local brews on tap as well as some go-to staples such as Yuengling. Side note: Yuengling is more like the Miller or PBR of Pennsylvania, in that it's usually on draft at a bar and if it's the "fanciest" draft on tap, you k
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