VIENNA:

Garlic Fettuccine with Cherry Tomatoes:

Our last Thursday in El Escorial (the village that we lived in for the month) was crazy. I got about 45 minutes of sleep that night.  I was so worn out and exhausted after a month of craziness, but we still had one more trip before we crossed the Atlantic...Vienna. 

We decided to travel to Vienna to meet up with my friend Taylor, who was studying there at the time, and my other good friend from Orlando, Danielle, was flying in so that we could all reunite in Europe.

 When will you realize Vienna waits for you?

 Stephansplatz?

 McDonald's has veggie burgers?!

 DONAUINSELFEST! Apparently this dude's lookin for a girlfriend...

BEST FRIENDS.

VIENNA: what to say?

The weekend included Donauinselfest, a trip to the hospital, sharing a twin bed with two other girls with no air conditioning, some good food, meeting some really cool people from Turkey and Ireland, having a conversation with a nice Austrian lad about How I Met Your Mother and Arnold Schwarzenegger, some beautiful mountain and roof top views, utter exhaustion, exploring the city, and the experience  of Austrian dorm life...it was awesome. 

We were expecting to have a laid-back night the first night we got there. However, Taylor and her friends had other plans. As soon as we landed, Taylor told us that all of her friends from study abroad were waiting for us with wine and Schnapps, and that we were going to Donauinselfest, which is one of the biggest music festivals in Europe.

Anyways, we stopped at Vapianos for dinner on our first night. They cook in front of you there, so I had the cute chef make me this garlic and cherry tomato dish. He spoke broken English and laughed at the fact that I was so particular and didn't want meat or butter. This recipe, although not incredibly creative, is easy to make and delicious. I've heard that there will be a Vapianos in Orlando very soon, so I'm pretty excited.

Ingredients:

1 package macaroni or fettuccine, cooked according to package directions
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
5 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Dash of oregano
Dash of cayenne pepper 
1 tsp. lemon juice

Serves 4. 
Total cook time: 30 minutes. 

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta. Set aside.

2. Add the cherry tomatoes, garlic, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a large saucepan. Cook on medium to medium high until tomatoes are almost tender, about 7 minutes. 

3. Stir in basil and oregano. Cook on medium heat for another 3 or so minutes. 

4. Add the veggie mixture to the pasta along with the remaining olive oil and cayenne, toss to coat.