Ciao a tutti! I am so sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Kim asked me to update, and that's when I realized it had been a week! Time flies by really fast here.
So let's see! I left you at our V-day dinner. It was really fun, and the food was great. We had shrimp linguini in a white wine sauce, bruschetta, salad, asparagus, and amazing chocolate cake for dinner. We had some great food and conversation, and chocolate hearts and a sweet card from one of our roommates, Kalin, made the night special.
From left: Taylor, Brittney, Rebecca, Me, Grant, Ringelberg, Allee
Sunday was the trip to Venice. That city is so beautiful. There are no cars, and everyone gets around by foot or water taxi. It was carnivale, meaning people were walking around in costumes all day. There were some pretty outlandish outfits! It was jam-packed in the city, but still a really nice day. We were on a tour with an Italian speaking guide, and he made me his official translator (not that I was very good at it!) We didn't go into any churches or museums, but just walked around the city and learned about it which was still great.
From left: Rebecca, me, Brittney
Let's see. That leaves this past week, which was mostly the typical school week. On Wednesday my italian class went on a field trip, which was so much fun. We were broken up into teams and we each had a destination--it was each team's job to get the class to the destination by asking for directions in italian. We got some great cappuccino/hot chocolate at a cafe, and then went into Santa Maria del Carmine, a church that housed some frescos I had learned about before and wasn't expecting to see. That's always so exciting! My italian teacher is really cool, and it was a great day.
That day was Allee's (one of my roommates) 21st birthday, so we took her out to dinner at an amazing restaurant called Osteria dei Pazzi (Pazzi means crazy...) The food was so good and the service was great. I'm definitely going back there! I felt like it was truly my first authentic italian meal--three courses: bruschetta, broccoli penne, and caprese salad.
Friday was an art history class trip to Lucca and Pisa. In Lucca we saw many churches and monuments, and it was a really beautiful city. I was so excited to go to Pisa, because when I came to Italy in high school I didn't make it there. I would live in Pisa! It was so amazing. Quiet and cute, yet hopping all at the same time. I climbed to the top of the tower with a few people, and the view was amazing and worth the 15 euro. It was so disorienting getting up there though, because the staircase was leaning, obviously!
Here's me at the top of the leaning tower!
Of course I took this picture...I couldn't help myself!!!!
Saturday was a chill day, with everyone doing homework and hanging around. Today (Sunday) was the Florence carnival, which consisted of a parade moving through the city. The parade had 36 different countries represented, with some floats and dancing people. Bolivia had it going on! Their street dancers were amazing. It wasn't anything too extravagant, but it was nice to be out amongst the Florentines watching the culture pass by. And all the bambini (children) were dressed up like it was Halloween--they were so cute!
Well, that gets everyone caught up for now. I will try not to wait so long to update again, although I don't think I'll be doing anything much different than usual this week. Friday is the Siena/San Gimignano trip, which I am excited about!
Vi amo!
Boy, it does lean.
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