This time around, the BTSB staff decided to look into sightseeing and here's our selection of sights in Europe! Il gelato di San Crispino, Rome, Italy
Some years ago The New York times chose San Crispino as the best ice cream bar in Rome. Situated on a narrow street near Fontana di Trevi, it's easy to miss this tiny place, but if you're lucky enough to find it, you wouldn't want to simply pass it by. The second you walk in, you realize it's no ordinary ice cream vendor. The staff are dressed in white and the ice cream itself is in spotless metal containers. Ask to see the ice cream and the staff will let you take a peek as you struggle to choose between the flavors. Well... you don't really have to take just one, you can have a combination. In any case, you will have a cup of otherworldly, delicious ice cream for a very reasonable price. In fact, brain freeze has never felt as good as it did just outside San Crispino, an empty ice cream cup in my hand.
Computerspielemuseum, Berlin, Germany
When I last visited Berlin I had every intention of going to see the video game museum they have there. Unfortunately, due to a lack of time and being in a state of nearly constant inebriation, I was unable to do so. So, if you're ever in Berlin, check out the video game museum on Karl-Marx Allee 93a and tell me what it was like! I've heard good things about it!
Westminster Abbey, London, UK
I loved Britlit 1 and 2. Sure, the amount of names of all sorts of royalties was overwhelming and I never want to read a single line of Beowulf again, but I find the days of glory of the age-old empire perfectly fascinating. I also love churches, and few more than Westminster Abbey, the gorgeous 800 year-old Gothic masterpiece next to the Houses of Parliament in London. Kate and Wills were married there in 2011, Richard II and Anne of Bohemia in 1382. If only the walls could talk!
The floor of the church does communicate to an extent, and it causes a serious amount of chittering among literature freaks: in the Poets’ Corner are buried such superstars as Chaucer, Dickens, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare! I regretted immediately that I hadn’t brought my Norton with me; I could have sat there all day just reading poems from my favourite authors, sucking in the creativeness and nobility that seemed to be all over the church. For anyone even mildly interested in English history and literature, Westminster Abbey is a must! (And those who are more into sciences, you can find Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin’s final resting places there as well.) And even if old corpses aren’t really your thing, go for the architecture – it leaves you speechless.
Tip: We all hate to look like tourists, but let’s face it; everyone visiting the Abbey is a tourist. So swallow the embarrassment and buy the audio tour! It’s worth it!
