What a week! School flew by as usual…and Kristen, Hannah, and I signed up for dance club. So after school on Tuesday we took salsa and Wednesday night we took belly dancing. Salsa was so fun! I hope I continue to go to salsa clubs and such throughout my life! And belly dancing was definitely a new experience hahha. None of us had a clue what we were doing, but it was fun to try. Friday girls and I decided to stay in our own little city rather than travel. So Maddie, Kristen, and Hannah went to a modern museum and Marci and I window shopped and searched different parts of Florence that we hadn’t had a chance to see.
Most exciting about Friday was that Adam came!!! It was the craziest thing! The whole night I just kept saying “I can’t believe this is real.” Adam is studying in Perugia so it was like an hour and a half train ride to Florence! The whole night seemed like any other night we were hanging out in Idaho or California except the scenery was a little different hahha. So I showed him around Florence and we had gelato, these waffle things with nutella on them that they sell at all the gelato stands (nutella is everywhere here!), and then we finished the night up by having dinner down the street from my apartment. I love all of the Italian family restaurants around here….sooo delicious! And after we got done having the normal Italian meal it was already 10:30 or so (most people don’t eat dinner until about 9 o’clock) so my roommies helped me get Adam a hostel and then we called it a night. Sha Sha it’s probably the same hostel you’ll stay in because Adam said it’s the best he’s ever been in. So it’s safe and right down the street. I think you will like it!
Then Saturday morning at a bright and early 7 am Adam and I went to one of the corner coffee shops and had our first real Italian, stand at the bar, coffee. The way Italians and apparently a lot of Europeans have coffee, is standing at the bar where the barista makes it. So I got a latte, which was amazing (but I still added sugar haha) and Adam got Italian hot chocolate (ill explain that one later). So Adam’s train left at 8:30 and the girls and I left at 9:30 for CORTONA. Ahh Amazing Cortona. Hahah the girls and I are now in love with Cortona, if it’s possible to be in love with a city. And we are all convinced that we’re going to buy a small place together for vacationing someday. We’ll see ;)
Anyway, our original plan was to spend a couple of hours in Cortona and a couple in Assisi. But when we got to Cortona we stayed in Cortona haha. Cortona is a really small village up on a hill. It’s the place where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed…so that was definitely incentive for going! When we first got there we walked to one of the local restaurants, according to Rick Steve’s it’s one of the best and has the most locals haha. After that we just wandered around the city. First we went to a store that had tons of leather bags. They were so cute and Hannah ended up buying one. The cutest thing was that one of the owners walked around the corner while we were all browsing, and randomly she asked if we were studying abroad. We said yes we were all from the U.S. and we were studying in Florence. She kind of laughed and then said that she was originally from Britain and decided to study abroad in Florence when she was in college as well. Only she ended up falling in love with an Italian man and moving to Cortona! The girls and I just listened with these big smiles on our faces. It was seriously the sweetest story J
Anyway, when we were leaving I asked the lady where the best bakery was (because the whole town smelled amazing) and the girls and I couldn’t decide where to go. So she sent us down a random street to this place called Cocoa. And I can honestly say that it was THE BEST bakery I have every been to. I was in chocolate heaven. Kristen, Hannah, and I all had the special Italian hot chocolate which is totally to die for. It’s so thick and chocolaty that I swear they just melt chocolate in a cup! Anyway, we all tried different truffles and such from the case as well…I think we took the most pictures there because we were all like glowing and couldn’t stop laughing. Amazing!
And after that we just continued our wandering for the rest of the day. We hiked up to a church at the top of the hill. It had a mummified body in it which was a little weird. Then just went into a bunch of the little shops, saw some wild sunflowers, ate grapes from a huge grape tree…..i don’t even know what else, but it was so beautiful. Everyone in the town was sooo laid back and everything was so beautiful. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to really live there. Oh and the girls and I got back at about 9 p.m. and decided to put on our jammies and watch Under the Tuscan Sun. We figured it was appropriate hahah. Kristen and I also made a gelato run that night…but that’s nothing out of the ordinary ;)
Sunday was a sleep in, homework, and grocery day. Which basically sums up the whole day except for church last night. Hannah, Kristen, and I decided to try out a different church that we’d heard about. It was a night service geared more towards youth. The story behind the church was that an American man started a service for study abroad students in his house, and when he moved a Swedish couple who hardly speaks English took over. It was the sweetest story and they were such a cute couple. There were about 25 people in the service and it was mainly worship music which I absolutely loved. Afterwards everyone stayed to talk and have juice and cookies. So the girls and I made some new friends and I think we’re going to game night at one of the young couples houses on Wednesday. Anyway, that was my weekend and now im back to school! I’ve had a ton of reading for school this week, I think I’ve already done about 4 hours….no good haha. But I’m meeting mom and dad in Rome on Thursday and I can’t even wait!!! yay!
K I hope life is treating everyone well J
And I’ll write again soon!
p.s. This is really random, but Kristen is writing a blog for Athena the program we are studying abroad through, and Marci and I are on the homepage! Kristen writes and sends in pictures and apparently they like a picture of Marci and I….so we’re on the front page. It’s athenaabroad.com if anyone wants to look!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Pompeii, Sorrento, & Capri
My favorite weekend so far! So this may be a long one because my roommates and I spent Saturday in Siena, and then 4 of us went on a school trip to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri on Saturday and Sunday. Needless to say we did so much in such a small amount of time that last Friday feels like it was weeks ago. But I will do my best to remember what I did haha. The pictures should help!
So Friday morning the girls and I caught an 8 o’clock bus and took the hour and a half ride to Siena. Maddie has a family house in Siena and one of her aunts is living in it. So her aunt met us at the bus and gave us a little tour around the city. After Maddie and her aunt left, the rest of us explored the city. We walked around to different lookouts trying to get the best views of the city, and then bought a museum pass for 10 euro that got us into the museo dell ‘opera, battistero, cripta, and Cattedrale (the Siena Duomo). I’d go into detail of each but it would take forever because there is so much to say. My favorite was the museo dell ‘opera mainly because there was a small spiral staircase in the back of one of the rooms. The staircase lead to different areas on the roof where the view was gorgeous! The Cattedrale was amazing as well, mainly because of the elaborate designs inside.
After touring through a few of the museums we took a break to eat! And as usual the food was great! We ended up eating at a pretty fancy restaurant. Ironically they played American music which consisted of pop and rap?! Everywhere we go, and no matter how nice the restaurant or store is, they play American music. Its beyond weird but none of us can help but laugh. Kristen and I split (as always) and one of the dishes we ordered was a pear ravioli with a white sauce over it. I don’t know what all was in that ravioli but it was fantastic! Ahhh I love food! Oh and when we first got to the city we ate gelato at a homemade creamery that Hannah’s book had suggested, hahah We eat so much here…but we’re trying to “live to eat” like the Italians ;) something that is not hard to do.
We got back to our apartment at about 7 that night, did some homework, and packed for the rest of the weekend.
So starting at 5:30 a.m. Hannah, Katie, Kristen, and I loaded the bus with a bunch of people from our school, and Luca, one of the teachers. And took the 5 hour drive to Pompeii. The drive flew by since all of us seemed to sleep the whole way! The bus dropped us in Naples (which is a frightening place, ill write more about it later) and we all went to different restaurants to eat pizza. So I have officially had pizza from Naples! After that we walked to the village of Pompeii and met with our tour guide. He gave us a 3 hour tour of the archaeological site and we still only saw about half of it. About 110 acres of the site has been restored, so it is huge! I don’t even know where to start….we walked through the streets, on the cobblestone which still has wagon marks and saw different houses and bars that were popular. Some of the houses still had frescoes on the walls and everything. We saw two theaters, one amphitheater where the gladiators fought, and one field where they trained. We also saw some of the baths, a brothel, a giant swimming pool, and the part which seemed to have the biggest effect on all of us, were the casted bodies. Most of them are in the fetal position, many of the adults had their arms wrapped around children. It sounds really morbid but I think it made all of us realize that the Pompeian’s were just normal people who were used to going about day to day life. On a lighter note, the whole town was so much more sophisticated than I ever would have thought. Hannah and I were talking the other day about how hard it is to imagine that all of Pompeii and its many developments were here before Christ was!
After Pompeii the bus took us to Sorrento. The city is located right on the Mediterranean Sea and is known for it’s lemons….so there were lemon products everywhere! We stayed in a 4 star hotel called Hotel de Michelangelo. And it was so nice because we all got to pick our rooms, so I was just with my roomies haha. That night we had a three course meal, where we experienced the “food of Sorrento” :P I can’t even remember what my meal was but I started with an asparagus risotto and ended with tiramisu so it was delish!
That night all of us walked to a lemon cello store. They brought around samples of limoncello and lemon cream, as well as chocolate covered almonds and macaroons. So the girls and I tried everything. The limoncello and lemon cream were pretty brutal going down haha. I wish I had pictures of all four of our faces….hahhaha oh geez! Anyway the chocolate almonds and macaroons were soo great…so we pretty much stuck to dessert. Hahah I talk about food so much in this blog I feel like a should be a hundred pounds overweight! But we walk EVERYWHERE it’s crazy and I love it! I feel like I sleep so well every night, especially when we’re traveling because we spend majority of the days on our feet.
After the limoncello we went straight to bed and woke up around 7 to catch a ferryboat to Capri. Amazing amazing Capri hahah. So far, it is my favorite scenic place in Italy! After we got to the island we had a half hour to hang in the port before getting on a small boat which took us on a tour around the island. The whole day was kind of stormy, but in the end that’s what made it the great experience that it was! The water was a little rough at first but seemed to calm down as we got around the island. After the boat ride we had from 12 to 5 to spend on our own. So we took a cable car up to the village and spent all of our time wandering around. Capri is a resort town so it was absolutely packed with people, mainly tourists haha! So we ended up winding down these narrow paths to the residential area. All of the paths/walkways to the houses were lined with white fences and there were flowers everywhere. The island is fairly small so it never took us long to get from one side to the other. We’d just be walking along and suddenly one of us would see the ocean and know it was time to pull our cameras out.
We found an amazing gelateria that Luca had told us about. They made their own waffle cones so they were warm when we got them. And Luca suggested a toasted almond and Capri special flavor that were to die for! Yumm! So we ate those and searched for the zigzag walkway to the beach. After searching for awhile and taking several wrong turns…we found it! It probably took about 20 minutes for us to get to the bottom and when we were almost there it started to rain. So we go to the beach and we all had our swim suits on so Hannah and Katie decided to get in. Kristen and I put our feet in but didn’t want to get wet because we had to be back on the bus in an hour and didn’t have towels. While we were there a model and some photographers were having a photo shoot on a rock about 20 feet from us, and there was a restaurant a little bit above us. So people were staring at us like we were crazy, since it was raining and we were in the water. Apparently everyone else had gone inside because the place was suddenly desolate when the rain started. During our quick 15 minutes at the beach it started pouring so we all took off our dry tops and hiked in our swimsuits and shorts back up the steep walkway. Kristen and I were completely drenched in a matter of seconds after heading back up. So we both vowed never to avoid being spontaneous again. Therefore the next time we only have an hour before we get on the bus we are getting in the Mediterranean!!! Kristen was convinced it was God’s way of telling us to not hold back next time hahaha. So great!
Anyway, we’re all such dorks and started singing sound of music and cracking up laughing as we ran and jogged through the pouring rain! There was a couple we met on the way down that was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. So as we were heading up they were hiding in a little cove from the rain. The mom asked if she could take a picture of us to show her daughter how fun it was to study abroad and we had her take one for us as well. So we made it back to the top…and all of us got our 2nd gelato because we figured we weren’t going to have Capri gelato ever again…unless of course we venture back their someday. So we took the tram back down, got on the ferry which took us to the bus, and loaded the bus in the port of Naples which brought us 6 hours to our little foreign home of Firenze. Oh man it was quite the trip! We got back at about 1 in the morning and we were all very exhausted. I think the craziest part about studying abroad is the fact that my weekends are amazing adventures and then come Monday morning I'm sitting at a desk in class. Hahaha So amazing!
Sorry this blog was soooo long! I just couldn’t leave anything out :)
So Friday morning the girls and I caught an 8 o’clock bus and took the hour and a half ride to Siena. Maddie has a family house in Siena and one of her aunts is living in it. So her aunt met us at the bus and gave us a little tour around the city. After Maddie and her aunt left, the rest of us explored the city. We walked around to different lookouts trying to get the best views of the city, and then bought a museum pass for 10 euro that got us into the museo dell ‘opera, battistero, cripta, and Cattedrale (the Siena Duomo). I’d go into detail of each but it would take forever because there is so much to say. My favorite was the museo dell ‘opera mainly because there was a small spiral staircase in the back of one of the rooms. The staircase lead to different areas on the roof where the view was gorgeous! The Cattedrale was amazing as well, mainly because of the elaborate designs inside.
After touring through a few of the museums we took a break to eat! And as usual the food was great! We ended up eating at a pretty fancy restaurant. Ironically they played American music which consisted of pop and rap?! Everywhere we go, and no matter how nice the restaurant or store is, they play American music. Its beyond weird but none of us can help but laugh. Kristen and I split (as always) and one of the dishes we ordered was a pear ravioli with a white sauce over it. I don’t know what all was in that ravioli but it was fantastic! Ahhh I love food! Oh and when we first got to the city we ate gelato at a homemade creamery that Hannah’s book had suggested, hahah We eat so much here…but we’re trying to “live to eat” like the Italians ;) something that is not hard to do.
We got back to our apartment at about 7 that night, did some homework, and packed for the rest of the weekend.
So starting at 5:30 a.m. Hannah, Katie, Kristen, and I loaded the bus with a bunch of people from our school, and Luca, one of the teachers. And took the 5 hour drive to Pompeii. The drive flew by since all of us seemed to sleep the whole way! The bus dropped us in Naples (which is a frightening place, ill write more about it later) and we all went to different restaurants to eat pizza. So I have officially had pizza from Naples! After that we walked to the village of Pompeii and met with our tour guide. He gave us a 3 hour tour of the archaeological site and we still only saw about half of it. About 110 acres of the site has been restored, so it is huge! I don’t even know where to start….we walked through the streets, on the cobblestone which still has wagon marks and saw different houses and bars that were popular. Some of the houses still had frescoes on the walls and everything. We saw two theaters, one amphitheater where the gladiators fought, and one field where they trained. We also saw some of the baths, a brothel, a giant swimming pool, and the part which seemed to have the biggest effect on all of us, were the casted bodies. Most of them are in the fetal position, many of the adults had their arms wrapped around children. It sounds really morbid but I think it made all of us realize that the Pompeian’s were just normal people who were used to going about day to day life. On a lighter note, the whole town was so much more sophisticated than I ever would have thought. Hannah and I were talking the other day about how hard it is to imagine that all of Pompeii and its many developments were here before Christ was!
After Pompeii the bus took us to Sorrento. The city is located right on the Mediterranean Sea and is known for it’s lemons….so there were lemon products everywhere! We stayed in a 4 star hotel called Hotel de Michelangelo. And it was so nice because we all got to pick our rooms, so I was just with my roomies haha. That night we had a three course meal, where we experienced the “food of Sorrento” :P I can’t even remember what my meal was but I started with an asparagus risotto and ended with tiramisu so it was delish!
That night all of us walked to a lemon cello store. They brought around samples of limoncello and lemon cream, as well as chocolate covered almonds and macaroons. So the girls and I tried everything. The limoncello and lemon cream were pretty brutal going down haha. I wish I had pictures of all four of our faces….hahhaha oh geez! Anyway the chocolate almonds and macaroons were soo great…so we pretty much stuck to dessert. Hahah I talk about food so much in this blog I feel like a should be a hundred pounds overweight! But we walk EVERYWHERE it’s crazy and I love it! I feel like I sleep so well every night, especially when we’re traveling because we spend majority of the days on our feet.
After the limoncello we went straight to bed and woke up around 7 to catch a ferryboat to Capri. Amazing amazing Capri hahah. So far, it is my favorite scenic place in Italy! After we got to the island we had a half hour to hang in the port before getting on a small boat which took us on a tour around the island. The whole day was kind of stormy, but in the end that’s what made it the great experience that it was! The water was a little rough at first but seemed to calm down as we got around the island. After the boat ride we had from 12 to 5 to spend on our own. So we took a cable car up to the village and spent all of our time wandering around. Capri is a resort town so it was absolutely packed with people, mainly tourists haha! So we ended up winding down these narrow paths to the residential area. All of the paths/walkways to the houses were lined with white fences and there were flowers everywhere. The island is fairly small so it never took us long to get from one side to the other. We’d just be walking along and suddenly one of us would see the ocean and know it was time to pull our cameras out.
We found an amazing gelateria that Luca had told us about. They made their own waffle cones so they were warm when we got them. And Luca suggested a toasted almond and Capri special flavor that were to die for! Yumm! So we ate those and searched for the zigzag walkway to the beach. After searching for awhile and taking several wrong turns…we found it! It probably took about 20 minutes for us to get to the bottom and when we were almost there it started to rain. So we go to the beach and we all had our swim suits on so Hannah and Katie decided to get in. Kristen and I put our feet in but didn’t want to get wet because we had to be back on the bus in an hour and didn’t have towels. While we were there a model and some photographers were having a photo shoot on a rock about 20 feet from us, and there was a restaurant a little bit above us. So people were staring at us like we were crazy, since it was raining and we were in the water. Apparently everyone else had gone inside because the place was suddenly desolate when the rain started. During our quick 15 minutes at the beach it started pouring so we all took off our dry tops and hiked in our swimsuits and shorts back up the steep walkway. Kristen and I were completely drenched in a matter of seconds after heading back up. So we both vowed never to avoid being spontaneous again. Therefore the next time we only have an hour before we get on the bus we are getting in the Mediterranean!!! Kristen was convinced it was God’s way of telling us to not hold back next time hahaha. So great!
Anyway, we’re all such dorks and started singing sound of music and cracking up laughing as we ran and jogged through the pouring rain! There was a couple we met on the way down that was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. So as we were heading up they were hiding in a little cove from the rain. The mom asked if she could take a picture of us to show her daughter how fun it was to study abroad and we had her take one for us as well. So we made it back to the top…and all of us got our 2nd gelato because we figured we weren’t going to have Capri gelato ever again…unless of course we venture back their someday. So we took the tram back down, got on the ferry which took us to the bus, and loaded the bus in the port of Naples which brought us 6 hours to our little foreign home of Firenze. Oh man it was quite the trip! We got back at about 1 in the morning and we were all very exhausted. I think the craziest part about studying abroad is the fact that my weekends are amazing adventures and then come Monday morning I'm sitting at a desk in class. Hahaha So amazing!
Sorry this blog was soooo long! I just couldn’t leave anything out :)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Study Abroad Dinner
So this week has been flying by and I honestly cannot believe its already Thursday! Not a lot has happened as far as classes go, except i do have a large amount of italian homework haha
Bus aside from classes, this city is sooo busy that my roommates and I rarely find ourselves in our apartment! Last night we all got dressed up and went to a dinner that the school held for us. We walked from the school to the dinner which ended up being right on the Arno River. It was sooo beautiful! The best part about it was that it happened to be the exact place that we couldnt get to when we were watching the lantern ceremony! We met new Chapman friends!!! So that was exciting and we sat with them for dinner. It was kind of a buffet style and there were plenty of things on our plates that we couldnt identify. But thats all part of experiencing the italian culture haha We all sat around talking and taking pictures after dinner, and then walked to the Ponte Vecchio. There was a street guitarist playing music and he sang in French, Italian, and English haha. It was such a cool night and so surreal. I think the pictures will say it better than I can. So I will put them up as soon as I get a chance!
Bus aside from classes, this city is sooo busy that my roommates and I rarely find ourselves in our apartment! Last night we all got dressed up and went to a dinner that the school held for us. We walked from the school to the dinner which ended up being right on the Arno River. It was sooo beautiful! The best part about it was that it happened to be the exact place that we couldnt get to when we were watching the lantern ceremony! We met new Chapman friends!!! So that was exciting and we sat with them for dinner. It was kind of a buffet style and there were plenty of things on our plates that we couldnt identify. But thats all part of experiencing the italian culture haha We all sat around talking and taking pictures after dinner, and then walked to the Ponte Vecchio. There was a street guitarist playing music and he sang in French, Italian, and English haha. It was such a cool night and so surreal. I think the pictures will say it better than I can. So I will put them up as soon as I get a chance!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Yay for coffee!!!
So today was officially my 2nd day of school in Italia! And the only class I had was Current Trends in Italian Cuisine. Which was amazing. Its about a 3 hour class and Im so excited for the semester so we can start cooking all this great italian food. The best part about it was that my professor owns the cafe upstairs so he took specialty coffee drink orders for all of us and it was on the house! So it was my first latte since i have been here and it was fantastic! hahah Coffee aside from straight doppios and black coffee is hard to come by around here :P
A lot has happened the last couple days and I dont even know where to start. I was trying to keep track of things to jog my memory...but that obviously wasnt very effective hahah
Starting with Sunday: Kristen, Hannah, and I went to an Episcopal church service about 2 miles from our apartment. Its called St. Josephs Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous and was a very traditional service. The church and service both reminded me of Cathedral of the Rockies...so it made me feel a little at home! The next sunday that we are not traveling the girls and I are going to try another Christian church that is on Sunday nights and more geared towards college students. But either way they are in ENGLISH and im sooo happy to have a place to go. Oh and St. Josephs has a college night dinner on Wednesday nights...so we will be going to that a few times while we are here hahah
Lets see...later that day I felt a little homesick. I dont know what my deal was, but a lot of mixed feelings probably taking in everything from the first week! But the girls and I went shopping and I bought some new heels hahaha so I was very happy :)
That night we all walked to this random square in front of Santa Croce. Apparently it is tradition for the children in Italy to have a lantern lighting procession at this time every year. So that night all of these parents showed up with their children and all of the kids had these brightly lit lanters (some had real candles inside....dangerous hahah) and there was a street band and everything. Basically all the little kids danced around everywhere and the whole town stood around the band in a big circle just enjoying the music. Later on everyone formed a procession and followed the band walking and dancing down random streets (Maddie and I went to get gelato and missed the end of the procession hahah but we saw the gist of it!)
Then last night was the 2nd night of the lantern lighting. So all of these families gathered on the bank of the Arno River and the kids brought their colorful lanterns once again. My roomies and I stood on the bridge with a bunch of other people that were watching. But all of the families took turns loading and unloading from two boats that had Christmas lights on them and a GONDOLA! So for the first time I got to see real people taking a real gondola ride hahaha. The city is sooo romantic especially at night and sooooo beautiful!
Oh and I had my first two classes, Italian and Flamenco, yesterday. They both went really well and I have them again tomorrow! I love that classes have started and I have a schedule to go by now haha but its so nice to be able to walk around the city every night and enjoy all the people. Plus all the tourists are gone at night so you can actually get through the streets haha. Oh thats another weird thing. Here people eat at about 9 o'clock at night....Kristen and I went to eat at 6 the other day and the restaurant was empty. So they are night owls for sure. Okay ive got to head back to the apartment to make pasta!!! But ill write again soon!
A lot has happened the last couple days and I dont even know where to start. I was trying to keep track of things to jog my memory...but that obviously wasnt very effective hahah
Starting with Sunday: Kristen, Hannah, and I went to an Episcopal church service about 2 miles from our apartment. Its called St. Josephs Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous and was a very traditional service. The church and service both reminded me of Cathedral of the Rockies...so it made me feel a little at home! The next sunday that we are not traveling the girls and I are going to try another Christian church that is on Sunday nights and more geared towards college students. But either way they are in ENGLISH and im sooo happy to have a place to go. Oh and St. Josephs has a college night dinner on Wednesday nights...so we will be going to that a few times while we are here hahah
Lets see...later that day I felt a little homesick. I dont know what my deal was, but a lot of mixed feelings probably taking in everything from the first week! But the girls and I went shopping and I bought some new heels hahaha so I was very happy :)
That night we all walked to this random square in front of Santa Croce. Apparently it is tradition for the children in Italy to have a lantern lighting procession at this time every year. So that night all of these parents showed up with their children and all of the kids had these brightly lit lanters (some had real candles inside....dangerous hahah) and there was a street band and everything. Basically all the little kids danced around everywhere and the whole town stood around the band in a big circle just enjoying the music. Later on everyone formed a procession and followed the band walking and dancing down random streets (Maddie and I went to get gelato and missed the end of the procession hahah but we saw the gist of it!)
Then last night was the 2nd night of the lantern lighting. So all of these families gathered on the bank of the Arno River and the kids brought their colorful lanterns once again. My roomies and I stood on the bridge with a bunch of other people that were watching. But all of the families took turns loading and unloading from two boats that had Christmas lights on them and a GONDOLA! So for the first time I got to see real people taking a real gondola ride hahaha. The city is sooo romantic especially at night and sooooo beautiful!
Oh and I had my first two classes, Italian and Flamenco, yesterday. They both went really well and I have them again tomorrow! I love that classes have started and I have a schedule to go by now haha but its so nice to be able to walk around the city every night and enjoy all the people. Plus all the tourists are gone at night so you can actually get through the streets haha. Oh thats another weird thing. Here people eat at about 9 o'clock at night....Kristen and I went to eat at 6 the other day and the restaurant was empty. So they are night owls for sure. Okay ive got to head back to the apartment to make pasta!!! But ill write again soon!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
First Weekend
Hiii!
So nothing really eventful has happened the girls and I are just exploring the city a little more and starting to really get settled in. Yesterday morning we all had a 4 hour orientation and then ran errands just getting school stuff taken care of, picking up books, getting our cell phones, and finding out how to get interent in our apartment! Then last night we came back to the apartment and decided to have a little roommate meeting. Basically we planned out some of the cities we all want to go to and when we are going to go. We also cooked our first dinner together, which was of course PASTA, and some salad, and BREAD haha. It was delish! Oh and Marci, Kristen, and I watched One Tree Hill on my laptop (we've got to keep something American!)
Then this morning we woke up at 8 and caught a bus to Fiesole a hilltop town thats right outside of Florence. It was fun to get out of the city for the first time and we hiked the scenic route of the town which was breathtaking! (mom and dad I think thats where im going to take you when you come...so let me know what you think!)
And now we're absolutely exhausted and its only 3 in the afternoon! So we're all resting and hanging in the apartment until we go watch the sunset from the Ponte Vecchio tonight. I think Kristen and I are going to try and get fresh bread from one of the bakeries in the morning...and then we all plan on having a relaxing day before school starts!
I miss you all and I'll write again soon!
So nothing really eventful has happened the girls and I are just exploring the city a little more and starting to really get settled in. Yesterday morning we all had a 4 hour orientation and then ran errands just getting school stuff taken care of, picking up books, getting our cell phones, and finding out how to get interent in our apartment! Then last night we came back to the apartment and decided to have a little roommate meeting. Basically we planned out some of the cities we all want to go to and when we are going to go. We also cooked our first dinner together, which was of course PASTA, and some salad, and BREAD haha. It was delish! Oh and Marci, Kristen, and I watched One Tree Hill on my laptop (we've got to keep something American!)
Then this morning we woke up at 8 and caught a bus to Fiesole a hilltop town thats right outside of Florence. It was fun to get out of the city for the first time and we hiked the scenic route of the town which was breathtaking! (mom and dad I think thats where im going to take you when you come...so let me know what you think!)
And now we're absolutely exhausted and its only 3 in the afternoon! So we're all resting and hanging in the apartment until we go watch the sunset from the Ponte Vecchio tonight. I think Kristen and I are going to try and get fresh bread from one of the bakeries in the morning...and then we all plan on having a relaxing day before school starts!
I miss you all and I'll write again soon!
Finally some pictures!
Ponte Vecchio!
the bridge on the left of the ponte vecchio
outside the Uffizi
Campanile
me in front of the duomo haha
The DUOMO
At my window/door
View out of my apartment window
End of Via Faenza...my street
With Hannah one of our roommates
using self timer in our hotel room for our first day in Italia!
kristen standing at one of our school front doors!
First gelatoThursday, September 4, 2008
Jet lag and such...
Ciao!
I dont have very much time to write because its 1 in the morning and i have to be up at 8:30 but the end of last night was really fun. The girls and I (all six of the roomies) went and got our first piece of real Italian pizza! And then went and ate it on the steps of the Duomo. It was so surreal! After that we walked back to the apartment (a different way so we kind of got lost, but we all have maps. So everyone could tell we were tourists when we pulled them out haha)
Then last night my jet lag kicked in. I woke up at 4 in the morning and was awake while the sun rose and apparently fell back asleep until lunch time when one of the other girls started waking the rest of us up! After that we went to a market and then picked up our luggage that FINALLY showed up. I was beyond excited to have all of my stuff and actually be able to unpack it. Then we just chilled around the apartment and ended up going shopping through the touristy markets later this afternoon.
Kristen's friend Kathryn was here last semester and she made friends with some guys that work at this restaurant called Reginellas. So we ordered take out for the 2nd time there! The guys are hilarious and the main one Alex is now in love with Kristen (he made her a heart shaped pizza like he used to do for Kathryn) and the other, Noel, who is way too old thinks im his new best friend. Its so fun though because every time he greets me he kisses both of my cheeks...im getting used to this italian greeting and wish we did it in America!
Anyway, thats the just of it and i've got to crawl in! i love you all and hope California, Idaho, Utah, and Texas are treating you well :) talk to you soon!
I dont have very much time to write because its 1 in the morning and i have to be up at 8:30 but the end of last night was really fun. The girls and I (all six of the roomies) went and got our first piece of real Italian pizza! And then went and ate it on the steps of the Duomo. It was so surreal! After that we walked back to the apartment (a different way so we kind of got lost, but we all have maps. So everyone could tell we were tourists when we pulled them out haha)
Then last night my jet lag kicked in. I woke up at 4 in the morning and was awake while the sun rose and apparently fell back asleep until lunch time when one of the other girls started waking the rest of us up! After that we went to a market and then picked up our luggage that FINALLY showed up. I was beyond excited to have all of my stuff and actually be able to unpack it. Then we just chilled around the apartment and ended up going shopping through the touristy markets later this afternoon.
Kristen's friend Kathryn was here last semester and she made friends with some guys that work at this restaurant called Reginellas. So we ordered take out for the 2nd time there! The guys are hilarious and the main one Alex is now in love with Kristen (he made her a heart shaped pizza like he used to do for Kathryn) and the other, Noel, who is way too old thinks im his new best friend. Its so fun though because every time he greets me he kisses both of my cheeks...im getting used to this italian greeting and wish we did it in America!
Anyway, thats the just of it and i've got to crawl in! i love you all and hope California, Idaho, Utah, and Texas are treating you well :) talk to you soon!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
2nd Day in Italy
Hey everyone!
So I got cut off when I was writing yesterday and I didnt get to finish haha. Basically the airline situation was a mess and i couldnt be happier that we are now moved into our apartment and getting settled! The airline still has not delivered any of the bags so Kristen and I are working with the stuff we have in our carry ons and waiting to get our big bags! The guy that works at the bag place for the school says this happens very often and the airport is very unorganized so itàll be a few days until we get them. hahah but no worries theyàll come eventually!
The hotel we stayed at last night was quaint and not to bad after we felt a little more settled. Both Kristen and I just kept looking at each other saying "this is so weird"! It was honestly the craziest feeling, after being awake more than 30 some hours and having to deal with lost baggage, and then getting to a tiny hotel that is slightly sketch and not knowing what part of town we were in...was kind of overwhelming haha. But it all worked out and I couldnàt be happier right now! Seriously, the very small amount of Italy I have seen so far is absolutely beautiful and all of the architecture, the way the people live, the tiny streets, scooters everywhere, it all amazes me!
Last night we didnàt see very much. We pretty much went straight to bed...but i got a solid 10 hours and feel very rested today. No jet lag yet haha Although yesterday I did feel like I was moving up and down for the longest time I just wanted my body to feel like i was sitting still. Anyway the Italians love to party no matter what day it is i guess, because the street below us just got busier as it got later. Then at 8 this morning it was absolutely dead silent haha theyàre crazy!
Then today Kristen and I packed up early and got our keys to the apartment. Itàs seriously the cutest little Italian apartment ever. I think we were both so relieved that it was clean, cute, safe, etc etc haha Our kitchen is also really great and we have a washer (for clothes) in the kitchen so we dont even have to pay or leave our place to have it done! And no dryer because they hang dry everything here. Oh and each of the three bedrooms has its own bathroom, which i was definitlely not expectin. So that will be really nice in the morning so weàre not all trying to use 1.Anyway, later we went to lunch and I had my first plate of real italian pasta. Then we walked to the Duomo which is absolutely gigantic and gorgeous! So I took a ton of pictures of that, which I will post as soon as I can get internet on my laptop. Then we walked to the Ponte Vecchio (sp?) this really pretty bridge by a bunch of really neat houses. And we saw a few statues and had gelato for the second time! Last night I had stracciatella which was amazing! (itàs like vanilla with chocolate chuncks kind of) and today i had half chocolate half raspberry...really great haha I feel like there is soooo much Iàm leaving out, but my mind is overflowing so Iàll write it eventually! There are shops everywhere and so many cute stores with purses and shoes...so that will definitely be fun haha Basically, this day has flown by and there is so much Iàve been taking in. The streets all pretty much look like alleys and there are people and scooters everywhere. A lot of the restaurants have patio seating so you just walk by all of these people eating as you walk down the street. And there are shops, cafes, bakeries, and gelato places covering the streets. Everything is really close to. Seriously we though we were going to have to walk a ways to see the Duomo and we just walked down the street and turned the corner and all of us were like "oh my gosh"! hahah that was the exact reaction...itàs so huge! Anyway, iàve got to go now...itàs my roommate Hannahs birthday so i think weàre going out to dinner. Plus we dont have any foood in the apartment yet, so thats our only option hahah. k iàll write again soon!
Tara
So I got cut off when I was writing yesterday and I didnt get to finish haha. Basically the airline situation was a mess and i couldnt be happier that we are now moved into our apartment and getting settled! The airline still has not delivered any of the bags so Kristen and I are working with the stuff we have in our carry ons and waiting to get our big bags! The guy that works at the bag place for the school says this happens very often and the airport is very unorganized so itàll be a few days until we get them. hahah but no worries theyàll come eventually!
The hotel we stayed at last night was quaint and not to bad after we felt a little more settled. Both Kristen and I just kept looking at each other saying "this is so weird"! It was honestly the craziest feeling, after being awake more than 30 some hours and having to deal with lost baggage, and then getting to a tiny hotel that is slightly sketch and not knowing what part of town we were in...was kind of overwhelming haha. But it all worked out and I couldnàt be happier right now! Seriously, the very small amount of Italy I have seen so far is absolutely beautiful and all of the architecture, the way the people live, the tiny streets, scooters everywhere, it all amazes me!
Last night we didnàt see very much. We pretty much went straight to bed...but i got a solid 10 hours and feel very rested today. No jet lag yet haha Although yesterday I did feel like I was moving up and down for the longest time I just wanted my body to feel like i was sitting still. Anyway the Italians love to party no matter what day it is i guess, because the street below us just got busier as it got later. Then at 8 this morning it was absolutely dead silent haha theyàre crazy!
Then today Kristen and I packed up early and got our keys to the apartment. Itàs seriously the cutest little Italian apartment ever. I think we were both so relieved that it was clean, cute, safe, etc etc haha Our kitchen is also really great and we have a washer (for clothes) in the kitchen so we dont even have to pay or leave our place to have it done! And no dryer because they hang dry everything here. Oh and each of the three bedrooms has its own bathroom, which i was definitlely not expectin. So that will be really nice in the morning so weàre not all trying to use 1.
Tara
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
1st day in Italia
Hi guys!
Its officially my first day in Italy! Today was absolutely insane dealing with airlines and being in the airport and lost luggage....not exactly fun...but we made it! Kristen and I met a couple new friends and then spent the day in the airport with them since they were stuck as well haha Anyway im at an internet cafe right down the street from my slightly sketch hotel for the night. And i only have 5 minutes left. So this will be quick!
European flights serve good food haha
german airline people....dont seem to like americans...or maybe just me and kristen? all i can say is i wish shannon would have been there helping us haha
i bought a german calling card...not realizing it can only be used in Germany :P
oh and it had some really weird white stuff all over it which Kristen and
Its officially my first day in Italy! Today was absolutely insane dealing with airlines and being in the airport and lost luggage....not exactly fun...but we made it! Kristen and I met a couple new friends and then spent the day in the airport with them since they were stuck as well haha Anyway im at an internet cafe right down the street from my slightly sketch hotel for the night. And i only have 5 minutes left. So this will be quick!
European flights serve good food haha
german airline people....dont seem to like americans...or maybe just me and kristen? all i can say is i wish shannon would have been there helping us haha
i bought a german calling card...not realizing it can only be used in Germany :P
oh and it had some really weird white stuff all over it which Kristen and
Tara
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