Viaggio a Firenze

Its been a while... Roma

2010-03-26T17:17:00.003-04:00

So I've been so busy I'm so behind on my posts.

On February 26th I went to Rome for a field trip for my Ancient Rome class. My roommate Melissa is also taking that class so luckily we were able to room together. We got there around 12 in the afternoon. The hotel was really nice and we had the only balcony in the hotel. The tour started off at the Imperial forum of Trajan. The biggest of all of the emperors. The Trajan Tower is a story book that wraps around the entire tower with St. Paul at the top. It is about the war were the first bridge was made to cross the river and conquer. It is amazing the amount of detail in the carvings and every man has his own distinct features. To the right was Vittorio Emanuele, a large white building built by the order o Mussolini. Erika my professor said most Ital ans are bitter towards it, with good reason.

After we went to the Colosseum which is really called the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was a lot smaller than I expected but twice as amazing. All of the marble that it was covered in was taken for the Sistine Chapel. There were gladiator games with lions, tigers, elephants and giraffes, basically any animal they could bring over from Egypt. The gladiators would get ready underneath the stage and had an elevator to brig them up through the stage. The architecture and engineering is beyond belief for that time period.

The Imperial forums were a place for the emperors. Augustus, Caesar, Vespasian, Nerva and Trajan all had one. Mussolini covered Vespasian and Nerva's forums with a road so there aren't any remains. The others are only ruins now.

We walked over the Tiber River and it was just as clear as the Arno, looking like coffee, it was so dirty. Supposedly you can the find the best gelato but we didn't stop to try it. The tour was over around five and we were free for the night. Melissa and I stopped bu our hotel for some gelato. It was the best tiramasu gelato I've ever ha. We learned that the bes gelato is always in tin canisters and never piled in mounds. Another good way to tell is that the pistaccio flavor should be closer to a brown color. If it is green it's not real. We clearly haven;t been having the good stuff in Florence so the number one goal for when we got back was to find a new gelato place.

We meet up with some friends that were staying the weekend on there own and found a cute family restaurant for dinner. After we went to check the Colosseum out at night. I liked it so much better at night. It was lit up and gave the structure such an ambiance.

The next morning we got up for our second tour. We went to the Pantheon. It's one of the seven wonders of the world because it has no visible supports for the dome and it is the second largest to the Bertinelli. (Which was designed off of the Pantheon) There is a nine diameter hole in the top that is completely open. They have drainage holes in the floor so they can still hold mass when it is raining.

After the Pantheon we took a hike to see the Tellus. It's located in a modern building. The tellus was built during Augustus and he has hi procession family carved into the side. Inside is where annual sacrifices took place. Only priests were allowed inside to the alter.

We then went to the Trevi fountain which is amazing. We got whistled at by the police for sitting on the rocks. After we went to the Spanish steps which were awesome. There were so many people there it was a prime people watching spot. We stayed there for about two hours.

After dinner we found an Irish pub that was full of Scottish guys dressed in kilts. Apparently there was a big rugby match against Scotland so they all flew in for it. We probably saw close to a thousand Scots walking through the streets with kilts on throughout the weekend. The ones we met were so cool.. we decided we needed to take a trip to Scotland which we actually booked today. We're going on April 8th :)

The next morning we walked across the entire city to get to the Vatican... which was closed but we got to see the Basilica of St. Sebastian which was beautiful anyway. At this point our legs could barely carry us. We had to go to the other side of the city again to get to the train station. We were so tired and out of it that we didn't even think to take public transportation. Of course once we got on the trip I was completely out.

Roma was amazing is almost unbelievable because I've learned about everything since I was in fourth grade and it was actually in front of me in real life.

Mi piace Bologna

2010-03-01T09:06:00.005-05:00

Soooo I'm extremely behind on all of my posts. Two weekends ago Steph, Melissa and I decided that we wanted to get out of Florence for the weekend. We originally planned to go to Milan but discovered that it was an extremely expensive trip just for an over night and there aren't many attractions there. A couple of our friends said they did a day trip to Bologna and said it was beautiful so we decided to make a weekend out of it. Left Florence around 4:00 in the afternoon by train. I was hoping to see a pretty scenery on the train but unfortunately we were in tunnels most of the time. The trains are really nice here. It's like being on a spaceship everything is so modern.

When we got to Bologna we found our hotel easily. It was such a nice hotel we weren't even expecting it for the price we paid. The city is really pretty and it's more of a family place than Florence. There were a lot more people our age too because of the University of Bologna so it is a college town. The sidewalks were covered with arched overhangs and there were cars everywhere. It was nice to see the sun and tree too because we're always in the shade in Florence. We found a cute little place to eat dinner. I had Lasagna verde (green pasta) which was soo good and of course tiramasu set in pudding. Everywhere we go we get tiramasu, I can't say which place I like best because they're all Delicious just different. We joke about how we're making our way through Italy on Tiramasu and Pizza. But it is so true, the pizza is always different as well and we're always eating pasta in the apartment so I almost always get pizza when we go out.

We asked the waiter where to go at right and he pointed us in the direction of pub row. It was pretty cool they were all students at the university from all over Italy. Basically no one spoke English in Bologna so we got good practice with Italian. But at the pubs all the students who were studying English made there way over to us to practice. It was pretty funny we'd try to talk in Italian and they would try to respond in English. They also told us what attractions to see the next day. That was really helpful because the trip was planned last minute and we really had no idea what was in Bologna.

The next day we went to the towers. They are absolutely huge and one is tipping like the leaning tower of Pisa. We walked all 500 steps up. They were so steep it was like climbing a latter forever. Every one hundred steps there was a ledge to take a break on. Thank goodness because we definitely needed it but it was also a joke because every time we saw one we thought we made it to the top and then we'd look up and had so many more to go. But all in all we made it and it was beautiful we could see for miles. Then we made our way down the 500 steps again. Sometimes we had to turn around and walk backwards that's how steep they were. And it was always difficult when you were passing someone going the opposite way. We found a piazza and sat there for a while and just people watched. Everyone has dogs and they're always dressed up. They're adorable and they are much more obedient than any dog in America it's amazing I don't know how they train them differently but it works a lot better. After lunch we went to the Duono and the government buildings which were pretty cool, everything is so historic and they look like castles. We got back to Florence around 1030. It was a good mini trip before our big spring break trip when we go to Barcelona, London, and Paris in a row!

The next day we went to the Florence Calcio game (Soccer) It wasn't intense as most calcio games are fan wise because it was only a Tuscany game. But I hear at country to country game there are a lot of riots and it really gets out of hand. I thought it was pretty funny that you're allowed to bring any drink inside the stadium you want as long as it is in a open plastic cup. You're not allowed bottles because they can be used as weapons. And everyone is allowed to smoke in the stadium, it so different from America. The game was a lot of fun, we won! Florenita Forza Viola (The Florence forceful purple)

Venezia Carnevale

2010-02-14T17:30:00.003-05:00

Venice holds a ten day carnival every year. Years ago the gangs in Venice would wear masks. When they were outlawed they all chose one day to all wear masks. The tradition turned into Venezia Carnevale. Citizens of the city save all year long for their costumes. They range from classic Victorian to absolutely crazy. There was confetti and silly string being thrown every where. The city was filled with people from all over. Most of the tourists to visit are actually from various parts of Italy. It was funny to look into a restaurant and see people dressed up.

It took 3hours to get to Venice from Florence. We went through a tour company specifically made for study abroad student. Needless to say we will not be going through them again. They literally dropped us off at a boat taxi, told us to get on and that was it. We asked one of the guides where we should go or what we should see. She legitimately said "Whatever you want" sooo zero help. We were fine though. We figured out what stop to get off of and just started walking around. The city was so packed. It was unbelievable. There are over 120 Bridges that connect islands and 200 canals.

We took a canal ride on a gondola of course. It was amazing. I felt like I was in water world. It was funny to see random doors because they don't have stairs. They open their door and jump in their boats to go anywhere. The guy that steered the gondola said that his has been in his family for 60 years. It was his great grandfathers. They also don't have a sewage system which is pretty gross. It all goes into the the canal and gets flushed to the ocean. I would had to fall in. We saw Marco Polo's and Monet's houses. We even had to pull over for the police... in a boat. There aren't any cars, bikes, or vespas. There are tiny streets which are more like corridors that lead to the big Piazza which was huge and where the center of the carnival was.

After dinner we went to the fire show. It was difficult to see because there were so many people but it was pretty cool. They were holding the fire in their hands, they had umbrellas of fire and some were just dancing inside of rings of it. Its a weird feeling being in these places. I feel like I'm back in Disney at Epcot where they reenact all of the countries. But no, I have to keep reminding myself that this is real life. We took the water taxi back to where the bus was early so we could leave on the first bus. But the program we went through forgot to tell the bus drivers to come back early. So we waited outside for three hours before it came. There weren't any places to go inside so we froze. And then when it did come the heat was barely on so I couldn't shake the cold. But it was a great day minus that. I will definitely take a train next time. Net weekend we are going to Milano and I can't wait. I have to being my most fashionable outfits.

Last Thursday we also took a cooking class. We made an eggplant, potato and zucchini appetizer which I loved and the only ingredient I usually like is potato. We also made spinach and ricotta ravioli and Panna cotta for dessert. I can't wait to come home and cook everything that I've learned. Ciao!

The Best Thing About Firenze... Leather.

2010-02-06T10:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday one of my roommates, Brittany and I (whose middle name is Lee too haha)went to the train station to buy tickets to go to Rome for Easter weekend. The kiosk had an English option but all of the steps were still in Italian. Between the two of us we were able to figure it out and book the tickets. On our way home we passed the leather shop that she and my other roommate Melissa bought their coats in. She wanted to show me the adorable guy that works there. Needless to say I fell in love with a black bomber lambskin leather jacket as well as the sales man. Haha. When I was looking at jackets a couple of weeks ago I thought I wanted a brown straight tailored one but when I randomly tried the bomber for kicks I loved it. The workers, Maria and Uginio, are so sweet and I didn't feel pressured like at the San Lorenzo market. The Jackets are next seasons line and they only have one size of each style. They're made on the other side of the Ponte Vechhio so they are genuine Italy leather. I also got a pair of boots with a bow in the back (of course) because my Swede boot are getting ruined by all of the rain. It was an expensive day but I would be perfectly happy not buying anything else (other than parmagiano cheese) for the rest of the semester. I usually panic when spending my money but I know they will last me for years.

Soooo today we went to the San Lorenzo food market and got fresh parmagiano regiano cheese, olive oil and faccacia bread, which is my favorite. Its the only salted bread in Florence and to die for. On our way back we found Carnevale masks, they're so cute so we bought them for when we go to Venice Carnevale next weekend. I currently have sparkles all over my face from trying them on.

After we decided to take Steph to the leather store for her to check it out. She wasn't planning on buying a jacket at the moment either but of course did. She got a tan bomber. So now there are four of us looking like Italians in our bomber jackets haha but they all have their own styles to them even Melissa and mine which are both black.

There was a fair going on in the Piazza Republica by our apt. today too. I guess they do it the first weekend of every month. We walked around and tried samples of oils, breads,and jams. I ended up buying salami. It's too die for here, I have always loved salami but its nothing like at home. Its the best with a square of parmagiano cheese and balsamic oil.

We found our new panini place by our apt. They are cheap and sooo good and they actually care about customer service which is rare. Here they look at stores as the customer should be greatful that they are there instead of the store being greatful for the customer. But the guy was joking around with us and he also got us a table to sit at and we didn't have to pay a sitting fee. Steph and I split a procutto (ham) and formaggio (cheese) and a formaggio and spinaci panini. sooooo good.

Over all it was another expensive day buying food but it was great. Everyone we ran into was so nice and friendly. We don't find that all of the time here. Even the leather guy was saying that he's not from Florence and has noticed how cold the Florentines are compared to other Italian towns and cities. But we have found some good people, ones that we are actually forming relationships with.

I'll post pictures of me in my leather products once I shower so everyone doesn't think I'm a mess haha Ciao

Chianti, Siena, San Giminano

2010-02-03T07:15:00.004-05:00

Ciao! This past weekend there were two trips we took through the school.

On Friday we went to Chianti to a independent wine and oil farm. The views of the Tuscan country side are so amazing. My pictures don't event capture it. You could stand outside for hours just in gaze. We got a tour of the cellar where the barrels of wine and oil ferment. It just when on forever. We then went into a room for wine tasting where they had pasta, oiled bread, pomadoro, cheese and probably the best salami I've ever tasted. The first wine we had was very good. It was only two years old. The next one was four years old and was a lot drier. The wine was botted in the gift shop for 6euro and there was a conversion sheet that said if you wanted to buy this particular wine in the States it would cost $90. After lunch we walked around the property for a little while. The oil trees look like oversized roots. After we headed back on the bus where, per usual, fell asleep until we got back.

The next morning Steph and I got up so early and went back to the train station to catch the next bus for Siena and San Giminano. Siena has the most beautiful Duomo. I believe it number two behind Milan's. Our duomo in Florence was built to look like the Siena one. (which we have still yet to go inside of) There are walls surrounding one side of the duomo with nothing in it because they ran out of money and couldn't finish building. It is in the shape of the cross and the main part was supposed to be the long side that didn't get finished so they made one of the sides the entry way. Despite the lack of funding and completely the whole cathedral, the inside has so much detail. They're architecture skills are beyond anything we have done in America. After the church we went to a museum which was the highlight. There is a secret passageway that leads to spiral stairs that were so tiny we climbed single file and there was no way anyone would be able to get by. After what had to be at least 10 minutes of climbing we reached the top of to tower. It over looked the entire city. We were so high up you could see a rain storm occurring in a town miles away. It was beautiful. When we finally made it safely to the ground we were free for lunch. We found a stand on the way back to the bus with frettelli. Its these little balls that can be best described a fried dough except so much better. They are a carnival food so that's probably where our fried dough originated from.

It was raining when we got to San Giminano so we decided to take a quick walk around and see some of the piazzas. We bought a bottle of wine because it is bottled right in San Giminano. Steph brought up the point that it seem like Italy is the only place where you drink your souvenirs. S.Gimi is also known for the 2009 best gelato. I got Tiramasu favor... delizioso!

The week days pass by really fast. By the time I come back from school it's almost dinner time. I can't believe it's already been three weeks! Two of my roommates, Steph and Melissa, and I planned our spring break trip! I'm so excited We leave March 5Th for Barcelona, London and Paris! I can't wait to start traveling.

Pisa and Lucca

2010-01-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

Ciao! On Saturday we woke up at 6:30am and walked down to the train station to meet up with the rest of our tour group. Then we got on a bus and headed to Pisa and Lucca! We had a coach bus which was surprisingly nice because they're more concerned with being eco friendly than luxury.. minus the towel warmer in my bathroom (ps Dad we need one! haha). The drive was about an hour and a half but the Tuscan country side is beautiful so I didn't mind. It is exactly how I pictured Italy in my mind. Every so often we passed a little village with clay buildings and vines growing up the side.

Pisa is a tiny town that was captured by Genevia. Genevia took the chains to the city as a trophy. When Pisa regained it's independence with the help of Florence, they took the chains back. Today they are still hanging in the Cemetery of tombs in Pisa. The town its self isn't very exciting. Their claim to fame is definitely the Leaning Tower, the Baptistia and the Cathedral (which is also leaning). The buildings are breathtaking. I did expect the tower to be a little bigger but it is still amazing. Of course we took a million pictures pretending to hold it up. We had the perfect day for it too. My pictures look photo-shopped because the sky is so clear.

After we jumped back on the bus and headed to Lucca. I had never heard of the town before and we were told we were going to go bike riding. Everyone threw a fit. I haven't been on a bike in years and was dreading it. Needless to say the minute I jumped on my neon yellow bike I was loving life. Lucca is a tiny city that is surrounded by walls which is actually the bike path we took. We did three laps in one hour that's how small the town is. We were the only tourist and you have to pay a toll to get inside. It's the perfect place to retire. I fell asleep for the entire ride home, I was exhausted! Pisa was a check off the bucket list and amazing but Lucca was the best part of the day. We actually got to experience the Italian culture which includes biking everywhere! xoxo

Comincio alla scuola

2010-01-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

School started on Monday and it's a lot different than Roger Williams. The Professors are so sweet and are really passionate about the subjects they are teaching. Everything is more hands on and we have out of the classroom site visits. I'm in an advanced Italian class which is difficult because my classes at rwu did not get as far in the grammar as they expect me to know here. My professor is really nice and said she would help me with the work. Every tuesday some of the professors go to a cafe near the school where you can go and speak Italian with them. I'm also taking Ancient Rome which is really interesting and we get to take a trip to Rome in February. My third class is contemporary Italian which is completely different than what I'm used to. I've never taken and anthropology class so it's a whole new world. All I ever take is math classes, I think I'm going through separation anxiety from my calculator. My fourth class is the Business of Art. My professor is a little dry but the subject is really interesting because art is such a major part of their economy. We have site visits to various art galleries and auction houses which I'm excited for. My last class is European Union. I just switched into it and haven't been to the class yet so I'll post how that goes next week.

Tomorrow were going on a school trip to Pisa and Lucca. It's only a day trip so we're going to be soo busy. I'll definitely take the classic "holding up the leaning tower of Pisa" picture and post it on the wall.

Mom, Dad, and Britt booked there trip! They re coming on March 18th, I can't wait!
xoxo Ciao

Vorrei Compare tutti cosi

2010-01-17T11:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning we went over to the school to pick up our books. It was nice not spending half a fortune like at home. Steph and I stopped for coffee at this adorable cafe right next to the school. All of the cafes are called bars and they are on every corner. They sell the most random things from cioccolata to lighter fluid. I'm getting pretty good at ordering things in Italian. Vorrei meaning I would like is probably the number most useful word in the Italian language. Premesso is also important. It means excuse me when trying to pass. Italians may drive crazy but they are the slowest walkers.

We checked out the market after and it was amazing. I could spend an entire day just walking around. There are three streets filled with leather and scarf kiosks. It is so overwhelming. There are people everywhere so it's the pickpocketing zone. We had our first close call when a man went up to Steph and told her to hold her bag in front of her because there was someone trying to get into her bag. The food market is even more amazing. It's like a flea market for food. There are cheese stations, meat stations, dried fruit which was absolutely delicious, and oil stations. For meat they have the actual animal hang from the ceiling and chop off the pieces you want. Its very intimidating. We put off on ordering that for another time.

On Sunday we decided to try to find McDonalds. Needless to say we spent the entire day walking around looking for it and it was about a block from our apt. The food was so good though. So much better than home, I didn't feeling nauseous after. Two things that are different are that they have chicken nuggets with Spanish and mozzarella. They were out yesterday but I plan on going back at some point to get those. They also have waffle fries that were soooo good. I don't normally eat fast food but it was nice to have something that reminded me of home. The place is nicer that most American restaurants too and has two floors of seating.

At night we walked around and got some gelato. I got carmello it was so good. They people in there were making fun of us for our terrible Italian. The good thing is we get better as the days go on. Miss you all Ciao!

Goodbye America, Ciao Italia

2010-01-15T11:32:00.000-05:00

After about a week of errands and clothes all over the floor I finally got everything into two suitcases. I said good bye to everyone and got on my flight to Germany. The flight was not bad probably because I slept most of the time. Steph, Sam and I were lucky and got to sit next to each other on the plane which was nice because most of the other students were spread out and could not sit with their friends. When we landed in Germany we had a six hour layover turned into seven becasue with the flight was late in coming. We had to take a bus out to an A-stand. The plane was so tiny it only had 16 rows. It was a short flight though and the turbulence was bad. Between the layover and the flight to Florence I finish an entire book.

When we landed in Florence I was so happy that I had all of my luggage. They told us it was an almost guarantee that it would be lost so it was nice to Be able to have everything. The program director was waiting for us when we left baggage claim and put us in taxis to go to our apartments. The driving over here is terrible. I thought Boston had bad drivers but it does not even compare. They do not have lines on their streets so the cars are all over the road and going top speed. The side walks are the same color as the road and pedestrians do not have the right of way so you really have to be paying attention or you'll get run over.

Our apartment is absolutely amazing. If it was in the U.S. it would definitely be worth well over a million dollars. I live with seven other girls. There are three doubles and two singles and a bathroom for ever bedroom. Steph and I got the best one. We basically have our own private apartment. It's at the end and we have a small living room, kind of like a study, and an amazing bathroom with a huge mirror. Our bedroom is furnished with Ikea with rustic wall decor. Our closets are from the celing to the floor and our view is amazing. I'll post a picture when I upload my photos.

We have had both orientation sessions Which were so helpful. The staff here is so nice I absolutely love them. Theyre so excited for us and have been great resources for directions and finding the best places to go to. The school is that I'm studying at is called The Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. The Rucellai family is one of the wealthiest in Florence and they rent out the second floor to the school. They still live on the third floor which is pretty cool. The building is incredible. It was built in the 1400s. Every wall is covered in murals and moldings. The architecture is amazing. The first floor is rented by a famous restaurant so it smells delicious all of the time.

We have spent a lot of time just walking around the city. Our apartment is right next to the Duomo which is breathtaking. I walked over the Ponte Vecchio onthe first day and it is amazing. Everything is ten times better then the pictures. It doesn't even seem real. I've only been here for two whole days and I can find my way around pretty well. The Italians are very helpful and willing to help us with our Italian. I'm picking up the language quickly.

Te Amo! Ciao!