Hey Everyone!
So this last weekend Kristen and I went to Venice....It took us the whole weekend to get there, but we made it hahha.
Starting Thursday night, Katies birthday lasted kind of late and then i skyped with Peej, mom, dad, & Trev until about 2 in the morning. So Kristen and I decided to change our Venice day from Friday to Saturday. We spent Friday having a hangout day and just getting caught up on everything. Then Saturday morning we woke up at 4:45 am and headed to the train station where we bought our train tickets (weàd looked up the times about a week before). But what we didnt realize was that the tickets the machine printed for us required us to catch a train to another florence station before leaving for Venice. So we had already missed it.
Therefore we went to the ticket counter where the lady proceeded to tell us we could not get a refund and all the other trains that morning were full. She did tell us we could use the tickets sunday though. So we went to our cute corner coffe shop on Via Faenza and Nazionale got our cafe lattes and pastries and headed back to the apartment. Our other 4 roomies headed out at 4 in the morning so we had the apartment to ourselves and basically just ended up getting internet, watching movies, making chocolate chip cookies, booking our Ireland, England, and Scotland hostels and trying to get Phantom of the Opera tickets for London, which we couldnt figure out...but we will buy some broadway show for London at some point haha.
So Sunday came around and Kristen and I woke up at 4:45 once again....that is wayyyyy too early for me :P. So we went to the train station and purchased our tickets for the train home that night. The guy behind the counter told us the lastest trains were already booked up so we would have to come home at 4:56 that afternoon. We were so excited to go to Venice that nothing was going to stop us! We got to Bologna where we had a quick lay over and sadly missed our next train haha. Kristen and I have not missed a single train until this weekend and then we missed 2! Crazy! Anyway, we were with two other American study abroad girls so we all just waited for about 45 minutes for the next train. We made that one and got to Venice around 11 in the morning.
We heard that if you buy an all day ferry pass itàs a lot cheaper and you can by pass the lines. So we did and that was sooo helpful. We got on the first ferry which took us to the island of Murano. Venice is known for its glass and Murano is the island that makes the glass. So we wanted to see how it was done. I had never seen glass blowing before and it was seriously one of the coolest things. The two guys doing demonstrations that day looked to be about our age and for their intricate work that seemed insane! So after that we went SHOPPING! Of course! I bought a venetian necklace and watch (i havent had a clue what the time has been since i got to italy haha). Afterwards we took another ferry back to the center of Venice and went to Piazza San Marco. It was absolutely gorgeous. As is all of Italy. Each region is so unique and from the landscape to the architecture is completely stunning. So we had about an hour there to see the basilica, go in a few more shops (there were glass shops everywhere), take pictures of the gondolas and beautiful houses...not to mention everything else thats on the water. There were so many people in Venice too, honestly I think it was more touristy than Milan which was absolutely packed!
So we walked for awhile and then hopped back on another ferry to the train station. We made both trains and made it back to florence by 8:39 last night. Oh and the ferrys are hilarious. Kristen said it best when she was like "come on think sardines people." Everyone would push to the front of the ferry lines and honestly it was like cattle call to get on board. One guy even started mooing...im not even kindding haha. Oh and at one point I was one of the last on one of the ferries and Kristen hadnt made it on. The guy told me no more people when I pointed Kristen out. So I just grabbed her hand and yanked her on and he made a weird face but Kristen kept saying "oh my gosh that was just like titanic" hahha. Anyway, the ferries were quite the experience and Im very surprised with how many people they can fit on those things! But overall theyàre really fun because you get to see so much of the city. Oh and that was another thing that was really cool. All of the families have boats instead of cars. So youd see like a mom and dad in the front with the kids in the back heading off somewhere. Or one dad was letting his son drive and they looked like they were just hanging on the lake. So fun!
The whole trip was fast and furious. But now I know that Venice is sooo beautiful and definitely a place I want to go back to. If I find a free weekend during the rest of the semester I will probably head back that direction and try and do Verona as well.
Okay Hannah and I are going to meet our church group at Tijuanas for some Mexican food. Im craving nachos and havent had them since I left Idaho haha. Okay ciao ciao & baci
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Milan, Lake Como, Dinner with the Cooking class, and Katie's 21st :)
So catching up on last weekend…Hannah, Kristen, Maddie, and I went to Milan and Lake Como. Friday morning we caught a 7:30 train to Milan. When we got there we took the metro to the middle of the city and the station was right in front of Milan’s huge Duomo. The Duomo was absolutely gorgeous and very medieval looking which was really cool. My first impression of the city wasn’t the best because it was really smoggy and there were people smoking everywhere. Although we did sit at a famous coffee shop on the corner of one of the big designer shopping centers for about an hour, which was really cool. Milan is awesome for people watching and seeing fashion haha. There were seriously designer stores on every corner and giant flat screen tvs on many of the buildings showing the latest fashion. It was crazy!
That night we took an hour train to Como. We walked around there for awhile before catching an hour long ferry to a little city called Menaggio. It was a really small and quiet city. Almost kind of creepy since there didn’t seem to be anyone around and especially because the rest of Italy is so lively at night. We found a really cute litte restaurant though and ended up having dinner and dessert there before checking in to our first hostel! What an experience hahha. It wasn’t too bad because the girls and I reserved our own room, that way we didn’t have any creepy people sleeping next to us haha. The entire hostel reminded me so much of summer camp! We all slept on little red bunk beds and the tables in the kitchen and outside were picnic tables. When we first got to our hostel there was a giant spider on the door handle…but thankfully we didn’t see anymore after that haha. The next morning was absolutely gorgeous. Our room was on the 3rd floor and the window looked out over Lake Como and the Alps. It was a great view to wake up to! We got an early start so that we could do one of the nearby hikes. We took a bus up to the start of the hike and just walked through all of these huge trees in this forest area up to a little church dedicated to the different world wars. On the way we passed German World War I trenches. That was soo crazy. Apparently the soldiers in those trenches kept people from fleeing into Switzerland who was neutral. The whole day seemed to fly by…as usual haha. Time is a serious issue here hahah every week in Italy goes by way too fast and the weekends are even faster. I’m just trying to soak up as much as possible and enjoy every minute of it…so far so good hahah :P
During the week nothing very eventful happens except for school and the girls and I making pasta for every meal but this last Tuesday was kind of exciting. The morning started with my cooking class. It was fantastic like always hahah mainly because we cook amazing food and then get to eat it. We made vegetable broth, risotto, vegetable soup, polenta, and a berry tart….so delish! But the eventful part is that the oven mitt I was wearing was huge on my hand. And while I was stirring the risotto the mitt managed to reach all the way down to the burner. So I started smelling something burning and quickly realized my oven mitt was on fire! Luckily it had just started so it wasn’t like flaming or anything haha. So I pulled my hand out not realizing what was happening and handed it to the girl next to me who said “wow it really was on fire!” haha Another crazy experience!
That night our cooking class went out to dinner together. About 8 of us showed up and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. I was really excited because it was the first time I have actually had a real Italian sit down that included all of the courses. Most Italians go to dinner around 9ish…so that’s what time our teacher had us meet up. We ate bread and talked for the first 45minutes and then all of the courses started coming out after that. Dinner lasted until midnight and all of us felt like we were going to have to be rolled out of the restaurant! The courses were:
Antipasti- spinach and ricotta rolled in meat, fried asparagus, barley with shrimp, and salmon covered in green sauce
Primi- an amazing risotto
Main Course- sausage, green peas and prosciutto, potatoes, and after a little while they brought out steak covered in parmesan.
Dessert- tiramisu!!!
After dessert the waiter offered us all coffee, grappa, and limoncello. None of us were hungry for more but he decided the men needed grappa and the women needed limoncello so he brought them out anyway. It was such an awesome meal and really neat because everyone at the table had so much time to talk and get to know each other which will only make Tuesday mornings even more fun!
Okay last but not least. Yesterday all of us roomies celebrated Katie’s 21st Birthday!!! She actually turns 21 on Sunday but she will be with her boyfriend in Cortona, and 3 of the other roommates are going to the French Riviera. So Katie picked a restaurant that had been recommended by one of her teachers. Once again our meal was very long! The waiters were so funny and really cute to Katie because we told them it was her birthday. All of us had big smiles on our faces the whole night and kept laughing…but that’s pretty common for everyday in Italy. I think we all have so much fun being together and we’re always cracking up about something ridiculous! Anyway, we got crème brulee and the waiters turned off the house lights, put a candle in her dessert, and sang happy birthday in English. It was seriously the cutest thing! After that we headed back to the apartment and had birthday pie, Katie’s favorite, which we got from an American dessert place here. It was such a fun night and it makes me so happy when all 6 of us roommates are together. I don’t know how I lucked out so much but I feel like I ended up with the sweetest most loving roommates. They all play a huge part in my Italy experience and I don’t think it would be half as amazing without all of them! Sentimental I know…but totally the truth haha
Okay im done with the catching up for now and I will write about Venice after I see it tomorrow!!!
Ciao Caio :)
That night we took an hour train to Como. We walked around there for awhile before catching an hour long ferry to a little city called Menaggio. It was a really small and quiet city. Almost kind of creepy since there didn’t seem to be anyone around and especially because the rest of Italy is so lively at night. We found a really cute litte restaurant though and ended up having dinner and dessert there before checking in to our first hostel! What an experience hahha. It wasn’t too bad because the girls and I reserved our own room, that way we didn’t have any creepy people sleeping next to us haha. The entire hostel reminded me so much of summer camp! We all slept on little red bunk beds and the tables in the kitchen and outside were picnic tables. When we first got to our hostel there was a giant spider on the door handle…but thankfully we didn’t see anymore after that haha. The next morning was absolutely gorgeous. Our room was on the 3rd floor and the window looked out over Lake Como and the Alps. It was a great view to wake up to! We got an early start so that we could do one of the nearby hikes. We took a bus up to the start of the hike and just walked through all of these huge trees in this forest area up to a little church dedicated to the different world wars. On the way we passed German World War I trenches. That was soo crazy. Apparently the soldiers in those trenches kept people from fleeing into Switzerland who was neutral. The whole day seemed to fly by…as usual haha. Time is a serious issue here hahah every week in Italy goes by way too fast and the weekends are even faster. I’m just trying to soak up as much as possible and enjoy every minute of it…so far so good hahah :P
During the week nothing very eventful happens except for school and the girls and I making pasta for every meal but this last Tuesday was kind of exciting. The morning started with my cooking class. It was fantastic like always hahah mainly because we cook amazing food and then get to eat it. We made vegetable broth, risotto, vegetable soup, polenta, and a berry tart….so delish! But the eventful part is that the oven mitt I was wearing was huge on my hand. And while I was stirring the risotto the mitt managed to reach all the way down to the burner. So I started smelling something burning and quickly realized my oven mitt was on fire! Luckily it had just started so it wasn’t like flaming or anything haha. So I pulled my hand out not realizing what was happening and handed it to the girl next to me who said “wow it really was on fire!” haha Another crazy experience!
That night our cooking class went out to dinner together. About 8 of us showed up and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. I was really excited because it was the first time I have actually had a real Italian sit down that included all of the courses. Most Italians go to dinner around 9ish…so that’s what time our teacher had us meet up. We ate bread and talked for the first 45minutes and then all of the courses started coming out after that. Dinner lasted until midnight and all of us felt like we were going to have to be rolled out of the restaurant! The courses were:
Antipasti- spinach and ricotta rolled in meat, fried asparagus, barley with shrimp, and salmon covered in green sauce
Primi- an amazing risotto
Main Course- sausage, green peas and prosciutto, potatoes, and after a little while they brought out steak covered in parmesan.
Dessert- tiramisu!!!
After dessert the waiter offered us all coffee, grappa, and limoncello. None of us were hungry for more but he decided the men needed grappa and the women needed limoncello so he brought them out anyway. It was such an awesome meal and really neat because everyone at the table had so much time to talk and get to know each other which will only make Tuesday mornings even more fun!
Okay last but not least. Yesterday all of us roomies celebrated Katie’s 21st Birthday!!! She actually turns 21 on Sunday but she will be with her boyfriend in Cortona, and 3 of the other roommates are going to the French Riviera. So Katie picked a restaurant that had been recommended by one of her teachers. Once again our meal was very long! The waiters were so funny and really cute to Katie because we told them it was her birthday. All of us had big smiles on our faces the whole night and kept laughing…but that’s pretty common for everyday in Italy. I think we all have so much fun being together and we’re always cracking up about something ridiculous! Anyway, we got crème brulee and the waiters turned off the house lights, put a candle in her dessert, and sang happy birthday in English. It was seriously the cutest thing! After that we headed back to the apartment and had birthday pie, Katie’s favorite, which we got from an American dessert place here. It was such a fun night and it makes me so happy when all 6 of us roommates are together. I don’t know how I lucked out so much but I feel like I ended up with the sweetest most loving roommates. They all play a huge part in my Italy experience and I don’t think it would be half as amazing without all of them! Sentimental I know…but totally the truth haha
Okay im done with the catching up for now and I will write about Venice after I see it tomorrow!!!
Ciao Caio :)
Monday, October 6, 2008
Rome & Cinque Terra with Mom and Dad
Sunday, October 5th
I am sooo far behind on my blogging, so hopefully I can get caught up on the last two weekends right now!
Starting with last weekend: Mom and Dad flew into Rome on Thursday night (the 25th) so I took the train after class. It was an eventful train ride to say the least, I paid for the fast train, but for some reason there was a problem on the tracks. So it was an hour and twenty minutes longer than it was supposed to be and I was sitting across from a slightly creepy Venezuelan man. We kept speaking Spanish to each other though so at least I got to work on that.
The good news is that my train finally made it to the station and mom and dad were waiting for me when I got off. Yay! It was so good to see them and I was sooo happy. We headed straight to our hotel because we were wiped out and crawled in. The next day we took a bus to the Vatican. It was absolutely huge and definitely gorgeous. We took the stairs to the top of the Vatican to look out over the city and went down into the tombs as well. After that we took a bus to the Parthenon and the Colosseum. The Colosseum was giant and completely mind boggling! After sight seeing mom and I decided to shop…dad didn’t exactly seem to enjoy this part of Rome...but it didn’t last that long because we headed back to the Trevi Fountain. That seemed to be the popular place. It was all lit up and there were tons of people there every night. On our way back to the hotel we ran across the cutest local restaurant called Ristorante da Giovanni. The food was really good and the waiters were sweet little old men, our waiter even put my red rose in a wine bottle and set it on the table.
The next morning we took a train to Florence!!! I couldn’t wait for mom and dad to see the city I’ve been living in and my little home! So we spent the day running around to the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, seeing the outside of the Uffizzi, doing a little shopping, and mom and dad bought dinner for me and all the roomies. So we ate together down in their hotel room. And by the end of the night we were exhausted, as usual haha so we put in 27 Dresses, skyped with Trev, and then called it a night. Sunday morning mom, dad, 4 of the roomies and I went to Cinque Terra. We went through a tour group called Florence For Fun. The guides were hilarious and made the trip even more fun. We took a train up to Cinque Terra which are 5 villages on the Mediterranean Coast and from there started hiking. The 5 towns are: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, & Monterosso. The hikes progressively got more difficult, so we hiked the first 4 and took a ferry to the 5th town. All of Cinque Terra had stunning views with colorful towns settled right on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Oh and most importantly in the last town we had amazing gelato…of course haha! Cinque Terra was on my list of top things to do in Italy and I’m sooo happy I got to see it I’ve got to finish some Italian homework..im supposed to be writing about my hometown haha. So I will write about this last weekend in Milan and Lake Como later!
Ciao Ciao
I am sooo far behind on my blogging, so hopefully I can get caught up on the last two weekends right now!
Starting with last weekend: Mom and Dad flew into Rome on Thursday night (the 25th) so I took the train after class. It was an eventful train ride to say the least, I paid for the fast train, but for some reason there was a problem on the tracks. So it was an hour and twenty minutes longer than it was supposed to be and I was sitting across from a slightly creepy Venezuelan man. We kept speaking Spanish to each other though so at least I got to work on that.
The good news is that my train finally made it to the station and mom and dad were waiting for me when I got off. Yay! It was so good to see them and I was sooo happy. We headed straight to our hotel because we were wiped out and crawled in. The next day we took a bus to the Vatican. It was absolutely huge and definitely gorgeous. We took the stairs to the top of the Vatican to look out over the city and went down into the tombs as well. After that we took a bus to the Parthenon and the Colosseum. The Colosseum was giant and completely mind boggling! After sight seeing mom and I decided to shop…dad didn’t exactly seem to enjoy this part of Rome...but it didn’t last that long because we headed back to the Trevi Fountain. That seemed to be the popular place. It was all lit up and there were tons of people there every night. On our way back to the hotel we ran across the cutest local restaurant called Ristorante da Giovanni. The food was really good and the waiters were sweet little old men, our waiter even put my red rose in a wine bottle and set it on the table.
The next morning we took a train to Florence!!! I couldn’t wait for mom and dad to see the city I’ve been living in and my little home! So we spent the day running around to the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, seeing the outside of the Uffizzi, doing a little shopping, and mom and dad bought dinner for me and all the roomies. So we ate together down in their hotel room. And by the end of the night we were exhausted, as usual haha so we put in 27 Dresses, skyped with Trev, and then called it a night. Sunday morning mom, dad, 4 of the roomies and I went to Cinque Terra. We went through a tour group called Florence For Fun. The guides were hilarious and made the trip even more fun. We took a train up to Cinque Terra which are 5 villages on the Mediterranean Coast and from there started hiking. The 5 towns are: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, & Monterosso. The hikes progressively got more difficult, so we hiked the first 4 and took a ferry to the 5th town. All of Cinque Terra had stunning views with colorful towns settled right on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Oh and most importantly in the last town we had amazing gelato…of course haha! Cinque Terra was on my list of top things to do in Italy and I’m sooo happy I got to see it I’ve got to finish some Italian homework..im supposed to be writing about my hometown haha. So I will write about this last weekend in Milan and Lake Como later!
Ciao Ciao
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