Grecia

Stasera andro' a Grecia per la mia pausa di primavera!

I will hitting Athens for a day and then I will spend four on Santorini, one of the islands.  After that I will spend a day in Pompeii. I am going with Rebecca and Allee.

I will update with pictures when I get home!  Keep us travellers in your thoughts!

Ciao! :)

Roma e Cinque Terre

Ok, wow. Sorry it has been a while. I get so caught up here in every day life, that it takes real concentration to work in blog time! Where to start—March 6 I left Florence for Rome. Sorry, this is going to be a real long one!

We took a train at 8:19 pm to Rome, and when we arrived we went straight to our hostel. The hostel wasn’t around the parts of Rome we were interested in touring, but it was right next to a Metro stop, which was perfect. The hostel ended up being a fairly good setup, and a really good first hostel experience. Eight of us went on the trip; Me, Allee, Kelly, Courtney, Lena, Eric, Will, and Erin. We ended up (after some finagling) all getting in to an 8 person mixed room, with bunk beds and a bathroom. So, we avoided sharing with any sketchy people, and it was clean and that’s all we could ask for! We went and got a late dinner at a Chinese food place (yes you read that right!) It wasn’t half bad! We went to bed relatively early (12 or so) in order to be rested for our busy day.

We woke up in the morning and took the metro to get into Vatican City for our 10:00 tour of the Vatican museums. We got in without any problems, and we had a tour of about 20-30 people with an English-speaking tour guide. She spent some time going over the Sistine Ceiling paintings (since no talking is allowed in there!) and then we went on our way. She took us through the highlights of the museums (Map gallery, Raphael rooms, sculpture galleries etc) and there were some amazing things in that collection. I was so happy to get to see it, after missing out when I came here in high school. The last stop on our tour was the Sistine Chapel, and I think it was well worth it. It wasn’t as big or quite as grand (scale wise) as I think you are led to believe when you learn about it, but the paintings are so amazing. Thinking about the process behind them as well really adds to their affect. We spent some time in there just staring at all of the paintings, and then left and went to St. Peter’s. St. Peter’s Basilica was absolutely breathtaking—I can’t imagine it being built by human hands. It was so monumental, and every inch was covered with decoration. My favorite part though was La Pieta, the statue of Jesus and Mary by Michelangelo. I truly think that that is the most beautiful statue in the world, and I could have looked at it for hours. After we left the basilica, we continued on our tour of Rome!

Me in the Vatican museum courtyard

OH MY GOSH!

Allee and I outside the Vatican Museums

After spending some time playing around in St. Peter’s Square, we ate lunch at a very sketch touristy restaurant...many inside jokes were spawned there, because all we could do was laugh about everything.  We then headed off to see the famous Four Rivers fountain, and then the Trevi Fountain. Along the way, we also looked at some of the big columns in Rome.  Both were amazing! I threw my coin into the Trevi fountain, supposedly ensuring my return to Rome ☺ (It worked last time, right?!) After that, we headed over to the Parthenon, which was unfortunately closed for mass. We got to peek inside though, but I had already been there a few years ago so I wasn’t too upset. After we walked around for a little bit, we went to the Spanish Steps and climbed up to the top. The sunset was absolutely amazing! There was a church at the very top that we peered into, and nuns were singing inside. It was a really great evening. We went and got wine and appetizers at a little restaurant after the Steps, and then went back to the Chinese Restaurant for dinner (don’t ask me why….I just went along with it!) By the time we got back, most people were beat and we ended up going to bed at midnight or so.

The next morning we woke up early and checked out of the hostel, leaving our bags to pick up later. We went to the Coliseum from there, and that was truly amazing. You can’t comprehend how huge it is until you are inside, and you can just feel the history oozing from every brick. We all walked around on our own in there for about an hour, and then got some lunch at a cute buffet/sandwich place. After that we headed over to the Roman Forum/Palatine hill where we spent about an hour, which was not nearly enough time! That was one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. The whole area was lush green, with flowers and trees like a park; but then there were ancient ruins scattered throughout the whole place! I really recommend going there and spending hours just sitting in there reading or relaxing, which I think a lot of Romans do. After we left the Forum, we got on a train and headed back to Florence, arriving late afternoon. It was a really awesome weekend, and the weather was perfect—couldn’t ask for a better time in Rome!

 Me and Allee in the Coliseum

 See what I mean? Forum/Palatine

The rest of the week went by as per usual, with classes and such. Friday we left after Italian class for Cinque Terre, and we got there by train in the late afternoon. It was me, Brittney, Allee, Kelly, Kalin, and Rebecca. When we got off the train, the first thing we saw was the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking—clear blue water, cloudless skies and huge mountains. We stayed in Riomaggiore, the first of the five villages. We went to check into the hostel and found a tiny office—the check-in man walked us out and back down the hill where we had just come from, seemingly taking us out into the boonies. We emerged from a tunnel and BAM there was the ocean. At this point we’re getting really excited, and then he brings us into a building, takes us up really treacherous steps (there were ropes on the wall to help pull you up) and bought us into a set-up with three rooms—each with bunk beds, as there were six of us. We open the window and we are literally RIGHT on the ocean. If I had fallen out of my window, I would have fallen right into the ocean. I was so excited, I can’t even tell you. Perfetto! We had to climb some more stairs to get to the bathroom, but we didn’t mind—and we didn’t see a single other soul in the building while we were there. So that first night we walked around a little bit, and went into a restaurant right by the rooms. We all got huge seafood meals and dessert, and it was really delicious. It was so amazing to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves outside my window.

The view outside of my window—amazing! Be jealous ☺


Me before the treacherous hike!

 From left-Allee, Kelly, Rebecca, Kalin, Brittney, Me

Saturday morning we woke up rather leisurely, and got ready to explore the villages. We took a trail from the first village to the second, and it was a nice, relaxing walk along the cliffs. I went camera crazy and took over 400 pictures that weekend, if that gives you an indication of how beautiful it was! So we get to the second village, and walk around for a little bit. The buildings are all so colorful, and the ocean is right there. The day was perfect and cloudless. The path from the second village to the third was closed down, so we took a quick train ride to get around to the fourth village. At the fourth village, we sat on some rocks on the ocean and ate pesto pizza, which was amazing. Cinque Terre was the birthplace of pesto! It was so relaxing to sit on the rocks, and we had a lot of fun just being there. From the fourth village we took the path to the fifth village, and here’s where it got interesting—this was a legitimate HIKE. Like, thousands of feet in the air, teeny tiny path high in the mountains, constant incline hike. We all know how out of shape I am, so after the first five minutes I thought I was going to die. But it was SO worth it…after a little while I got used to the pace, and was fine the rest of the way. I felt like I was in Ireland, it was so lush and green, with flowers everywhere up in the cliffs. We even passed lemon and orange groves, and saw some lemons being harvested! The view from up there was so fabulous. By the time we reached the fifth village, though, we were definitely ready for a break. There was a black sand beach there that we stopped on for a few minutes, and just took a breather. We walked around a bit, and then took the train back to our village. We had dinner at a local place, and I got a great pesto pasta dish. Afterwards, we went back to our hostel.

We had a lot of fun hanging out in the hostel, and we also saw something really funny—a bunch of (very drunk) Americans were skinny dipping right outside our window in the little harbor area…they kept falling and trying to get out and into the water, all the while yelling at us to come down (which we refused). It was quite funny though, but it also gives you an idea of why sometimes Americans are given a bad rep…In the morning we got on a train and headed back to Florence, back by early afternoon. We took that time to do some homework and relax a little bit, but it was the perfect weekend. I would go back to Cinque Terre in a heartbeat, and I wish you could all come with me!

As for this week, nothing too out of the usual. Today we were supposed to go to a big park with our Italian class, but the teachers took us on the wrong bus and we got all confused—we ended up just getting out early. Everyone has been busy working on school stuff this week, and this weekend I think almost everyone is staying in Florence to get work done before spring break. More on that later! I think that’s it for now (big breath!) so CIAO!

A presto.

Please check out my facebook album—even then, I can’t capture how amazing this place was!!!!

Mi dispiace!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post!  It's just always so busy here.  I am leaving for Cinque Terre tomorrow (yay!) so early next week, expect an update on Rome AND Cinque Terre!  Just a little preview...Rome was AWESOME!

Sorry to keep you waiting...

Ciao e amore!

Giovedi

So, this week has gone by semi-fast, semi-slow.  Monday we got our italian tests back (I did well, no worries!) and so on Tuesday our classes were switched up.  My new class is a few more Elon students, plus a few people from my old class.  I have one of the same teachers and one new one--which is sad, since I will miss Giuseppe! Enrico is very nice too, though.  Class is going well so far!

Tuesday I spent my first afternoon in the Uffizi! It was fantastic.  I just kind of wandered, acclimating myself to the things that were going on in there.  There was a suprise around every corner--example...I walk into a new room and BAM--Birth of Venus.  Love it!  That reminds me, I started a research blog that is attached to this--check out my profile and head there if you're interested.  Although, I'm sure this one will be more fun to read for most of you! :)

So here I am today, getting ready for another art history trip tomorrow (Arezzo and then some) and then ROME!  This is the first trip that I've gone on that has been planned and executed just by us, not affiliated with the school.  Wish us luck!  We are staying in a hostel near Vatican city, and we have a tour on Saturday at the Vatican and two day tickets for the Colosseum and Roman Forum.  I am really excited, especially since last time I was in Rome I didn't get to go into the Colosseum or see the inside of the Vatican! Definitely looking forward to it.  

So, that's it for now, but expect a post on (hopefully) Monday or Tuesday with an update from the weekend!  Ciao, a presto!

Buona Sera!

Buona sera!  Well, I guess for most of you it's buon pomeriggio! (Good afternoon!)

This past week has been a pretty typical school week. Wednesday I went with my little research group to a library and we learned how to use it (at the University of Florence),  It has an old school dewey decimal catalogue! Should be interesting :) Thursday was our big Italian test for the end of month one, determining whether we move up to level two, and presumedly counting towards our grade.  We don't really know though, since Italians apparently don't care about grades, so they don't understand why we want to know how much these tests count for!

Friday was Siena and San Gimagnano, which was so fun.  Both of those places are so beautiful, and I saw once of the most amazing sunsets in San Gimagnano.  We started early in the morning and it was only about an hour ride to Siena.  We saw several churches and museums, and I love the large piazza in the middle of the city.  It's on a curve, and there are so many hills in that city.  I bet there are no overweight Sienese!

We had lunch at a good pizza restaurant and then left for San Gimagnano, which was also amazing.  We saw a church and museum, and climbed to the top of a large tower.  The view was amazing from there.  Afterwards, the art history teacher surprised us with a wine and cheese tasting.  She got several bottles of San Gimagnano white, cheese, and salami and took us up to an overlook, just as the sun was going down.  It was so amazing.  

Today (Saturday) I spent most of the day planning the trip for next week to Rome.  It's me, Allee, Kelly, Will and Erin going and we have tickets so far for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Vatican.  I think it will be a lot of fun!  I also worked a little bit on my paper due. Tomorrow, is ALL work ALL day.  First big essay due for Ringelberg's class and a reading/response paper on Monday.  Wish me luck :)

My class at the overlook after our wine tasting in San Gimagnano.

E bella, no?

Me in San Gimagnano--amazing Tuscan countryside.

Brittney and I on top of the tower in San Gimagnano.

Siena tower in the central piazza.

Mi dispiace ancora!

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!

Mi dispiace!

Ciao amici e famiglia!  I'm sorry I haven't posted in a view days but things have been so busy! Tonight there is nothing really going on, so everyone is enjoying a little calm time.

This weekend was fun--on Saturday me and a few other people went to the Piazza Michelangelo, which was the most incredible view of the entire city.  It was a really nice day, perfect for being up there.  Walking further up leads to San Miniato, which is a monastery at the top of a huge hill.  The view was even more amazing from up there, and when we went into the church there were monks chanting.  It was really nice to just walk around, enjoy the sights and feel like a Florentine.  Although we did take some touristy pictures...:)

On Sunday, almost everyone on the trip went to Ravenna with the art history class.  It was a very long day, with us getting to the bus station at 7:00 am and returning to Florence at 8:00 pm. I got to see so much though, including San Vitale, a very beautiful church that I have learned about before in my art history classes.

The art history professor was VERY knowledgeable, and told us really interesting and minute details of every place we saw.  Ravenna was a little bit like Florence, but much smaller.  We had a break for lunch, and had a really good sandwich.  It was overall a good day, but we have all been very tired since then.  Sleep is not plentiful in Florence!

Me taking a cheesy photo in front of the lunch place...

Dante's temporary tomb, next to the actual tomb

Mausoleum of Theodoric

Monday was class as usual, and Tuesday night I went with a group of people to a music club called BeBop for a Beatles cover band.  A few of us left early because of class in the morning, but we got to feel the place out and it was a lot of fun.  The band was actually pretty good! Thursdays are Oasis nights, so we might check that out soon.

I think that gets everyone about caught up!  This weekend, we are going to Venice on Sunday with the school.  Some people are leaving tomorrow, but a few of us will just be going on Sunday.  We will be trying to plan out some trips and stuff tomorrow, booking hostels and whatnot.  On Saturday those of us who are staying here until Sunday will be cooking a big Valentine's day/Anti-Valentine's day dinner, so we are working on what we want to cook.  I'd welcome suggestions!

Ciao!