As if Friday hadn’t been hard enough, Saturday was worse. We were already emotionally unstable, it only got worse. I was wearing my Fiorintina jersey, my purple Florence sweater, and my yellow SoLo hat. Trying to be in a fun mood on my out. We got to the airport at 4:30 am…it wasn’t even open. We waited outside for a few minutes, ran into about 6 other girls in the program, and chatted with strangers about why we were tear drenched and had so many bags.
When we walked in the airport we went straight to the screens to see which desk we each needed to check in at. Next to my flight number said CANCELLED. Oh gosh. I dropped my bags, and sat on them, defeated. Had I been less sad, im sure I would have been more calm. Maybe. I called my dad, he is pretty good at fixing everything. He helped calm me down, did everything he could from 9000 miles away. No one was in the ticketing booth until about 5:30. Finally I got to talk to one of them, after watching all my friends go. The next and only other flight to London from Florence was at 6:10 P.M. They switched my flight. I was exhausted, unsure of what to do for the next 11 hours. I fell asleep on my bags for a bit of time, and another one of my friends came into the airport. We decided that doing this wasn’t the best idea, but with my exhaustion from the past few days there was no way I would stay awake. I got in a cab and went five minutes down the road to the airport hotel, where I got a room for the day (they thought I was SO weird) and slept for hours. Thank goodness I did so, I would not have made it through the entire day otherwise. (Thank you dad for reassuring me and keeping me safe always.)
I checked out and headed back to the airport around 3:30, just to be safe. I had had a solid 7 hours of sleep, plus a few of relaxing, reorganizing, and checking my flight online. It was still scheduled to leave.
Meanwhile my mom is in London. It was awful knowing she was there ALL day, since 7 am, and I was stuck in Florence, leaving her to start off London alone; sheesh.
I got to the airport, checked in. Got an OBSCENE fine for my bags, I don’t even want to talk about it. Even more tears, you have no idea, it was ridiculous. A kind couple from London was helping me and trying to reason with the mean people at the airport. They had been on my morning flight as well, and spent the entire day in the airport, taking turns of one sleeping, while the other watched the bags. Anyway, they got charged for bags too, which none of were waned about. Lets just say that instead of charging for an extra bag…they charged per kilogram…12 euro, per kilogram.
I spent the rest of my time hanging out with the couple. They were wonderful. Hilarious, and we all made light of the situation by being sarcastic and making one another laugh. Thank goodness I met them. We got to our gate and after sitting for about an hour, the flight time got pushed back an hour and a half. AWESOME. It seemed as though everyone at the gate was in our same boat, so everyone freaked out. They gave us vouchers for food and one drink, to try and settle us, which did help.
Anyway enough of the awful-ness. I got to Gatwik, went through the passport line, got my bags (they were first on the conveyerbelt) and left baggage claim to have my mammas face be the first I see. Best sight in the world. We ran to each other, hugged and cried for a few minutes. Made a scene Im sure, but it didn’t matter one bit. My whole day was 100% better once we were together. We took a train to London, then a cab to our hotel, all the while I was telling her stories of the semester and she was catching me up on news from home. We had a late dinner (I got a big, fresh salad; haven’t had one of those in 4 months) planned out activities for the week, and came home to go to bed in our wonderful hotel.
***Side note: going from hostels (questionable sheets/pillows/bathrooms/cleanliness) to a hotel is the BEST.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
(4/23) The last day
I woke up at 10…three hours after going to sleep. I woke up to the noise of the pensione, although exhausted, I just wanted to be up and be with everyone. I got up, ate, and walked around to all the rooms chatting and what not. Keagan, Sean and Justin were all leaving around 2, so there was an unfortunate sadness around the pensione. Chloe came over around 11, everyone was being sad together so we decided to go out in the city. It was raining…of course. It rained our first day here, so it just had to rain our last. We went to the school, did some last minute things, and headed out to lunch. We got lunch and ran into a bunch of other kids there. We talked about our previous nights, reminisced, and then got up to roam the city. Chloe and I were with Garrett, Brooks, Carl, Kuss and Mary, but this shifted and changed throughout the next four hours. We shopped around.. Some went to get last minute souveneirs, presents for friends, parents, family, etc. It was raining so it was somber. We were all bummed but trying to make the most fun and light of our last day. Chloe and I got our last scoops of Grom Gelatto (our favorite place) and headed home. The plan was to pack.
I tried packing, I did. Multiple times. But it was so hard. Id pack for a few minutes, then stop, run down the hall and sit and talk with Jackie, Kussman, Gibbs…whoever was there. I ran back to school to say bye to the Student Life staff and to Alessandro, grabbed my fresco, and returned to the pensione.
I decided the best thing for my fresco was to give it to Giovanni and Marinella. Marinella was gone for a bit, so I went into the office to give it to Giovanni. (note: neither of them speaks a word of English…) I went into the office and set it down. He looked at it with such shear joy, and said “Brava, Brava!” I told him “Io dipinto in clase di arte, e volglio dare e tu”; that I had painted this in my art class, and that I wanted to give it to him. His face completely changed. I think he had originally thought that I was simply showing him what I had done at school, like “look what I did dad!!” when I told him I wanted to give it to him he looked at me and his eyes filled with tears. He hugged me and said thank you, we kissed and embraced for days (shocker). He then sat and talked to me about the painting. My Italian isn’t great when I try to speak, but when I listen I am much better. He told me he used to paint when he was younger, and had even done frescos. He liked the way I used colors, and how I carved the babies heads to make them look 3-dimensional. I understood everything he said, and he was impressed. We hugged some more, I thanked him for everything, and left even more emotional than before…as if that was at all possible. I packed more, or tried. The room was a complete mess, Roomie was trying to pack too. Her parents had come at some point in the day, Marinella brought them back. While they ran into the room to hug Elizabeth, Marinella and I stood in the halway admiring all the hugging and loving. As we watched them, being so happy they were all together, but at the same time realizing it was all coming to an end. There is such a communication gap between us, nonetheless, we ended up turning to each other at the same timeand hugging and kissing in reaction to all the love going on with my roommates family.
For dinner we had a group of about 12 of our friends, not including the ones that had left earlier that day. When we arrived at the restaurant, our friend Michelle was there with her parents, they asked if we minded that they join in on our last dinner. We of course welcomed them with open arms. Her father insisted that we all share a very traditional italian meal for our last one there. He ordered lots of red wine, 6 orders of a bruscetta appetizer for the table, and told us all to order wisely, because everyone would be having a pasta course AND a main course. We were all shocked, couldnt believe that we were so lucky as to have a friend with such generous parents. They were exited to meet us, hear our stories, and share such a great meal together. I had gnocchi as my pasta and then an eggplant dinner. None of us have ever eaten that much at a restaurant, mostly because having two dishes in one meal is past the amount we want to spend. At the end of the meal Mr. McNulty got up and gave us a little speech. He talked about his Study Abroad experience, that he had 36 years earlier. How the friends he made there were ones he still has. He talked about the importance of keeping in touch with each other, because we are a special group of people, ones who have had an experience that not a lot of others get to have. He had us all in tears by the end and he said exactly what all of us wanted and needed to hear. We all thanked her parents over and over for providing us with such a fantastic final meal, and they left.
The rest of us stayed at the restaurant finishing the wine, and talking. 4 hours after the beginning of the meal we got up and left. We went to the Duomo and sat on the steps for a while, took pictures, etc. Eventually we made our way over to the Shot café. A ton of kids in the program were there. All taking shots, reminiscing, crying, saying goodbye, etc. Our friend Ralph bought about 40 for every GIF student who was there and made a speech before we all cheersed and took our group shot. I sat with my friends for hours, talked, loved, lots of goodbyes, etc.
We finally began to make our ways home when the bar closed at 3. We went home at end of night with a big group, tried to find secret bakery with Ralph AGAIN, and still couldn’t find it. Such a Fail. I never once made it to the Secret Bakery, and I am still bummed about it. I will go back to Florence one day and Secret Bakery will be one of my first stops..
I went home, finished packing and said bye to gibbs, Jackie, Lauren and stina. Then I headed to Kikis and Chloes place to wait for our taxi. I laid in bed with the girls until the cab came, got in the cab at 4 am and headed to the airport.
I tried packing, I did. Multiple times. But it was so hard. Id pack for a few minutes, then stop, run down the hall and sit and talk with Jackie, Kussman, Gibbs…whoever was there. I ran back to school to say bye to the Student Life staff and to Alessandro, grabbed my fresco, and returned to the pensione.
I decided the best thing for my fresco was to give it to Giovanni and Marinella. Marinella was gone for a bit, so I went into the office to give it to Giovanni. (note: neither of them speaks a word of English…) I went into the office and set it down. He looked at it with such shear joy, and said “Brava, Brava!” I told him “Io dipinto in clase di arte, e volglio dare e tu”; that I had painted this in my art class, and that I wanted to give it to him. His face completely changed. I think he had originally thought that I was simply showing him what I had done at school, like “look what I did dad!!” when I told him I wanted to give it to him he looked at me and his eyes filled with tears. He hugged me and said thank you, we kissed and embraced for days (shocker). He then sat and talked to me about the painting. My Italian isn’t great when I try to speak, but when I listen I am much better. He told me he used to paint when he was younger, and had even done frescos. He liked the way I used colors, and how I carved the babies heads to make them look 3-dimensional. I understood everything he said, and he was impressed. We hugged some more, I thanked him for everything, and left even more emotional than before…as if that was at all possible. I packed more, or tried. The room was a complete mess, Roomie was trying to pack too. Her parents had come at some point in the day, Marinella brought them back. While they ran into the room to hug Elizabeth, Marinella and I stood in the halway admiring all the hugging and loving. As we watched them, being so happy they were all together, but at the same time realizing it was all coming to an end. There is such a communication gap between us, nonetheless, we ended up turning to each other at the same timeand hugging and kissing in reaction to all the love going on with my roommates family.
For dinner we had a group of about 12 of our friends, not including the ones that had left earlier that day. When we arrived at the restaurant, our friend Michelle was there with her parents, they asked if we minded that they join in on our last dinner. We of course welcomed them with open arms. Her father insisted that we all share a very traditional italian meal for our last one there. He ordered lots of red wine, 6 orders of a bruscetta appetizer for the table, and told us all to order wisely, because everyone would be having a pasta course AND a main course. We were all shocked, couldnt believe that we were so lucky as to have a friend with such generous parents. They were exited to meet us, hear our stories, and share such a great meal together. I had gnocchi as my pasta and then an eggplant dinner. None of us have ever eaten that much at a restaurant, mostly because having two dishes in one meal is past the amount we want to spend. At the end of the meal Mr. McNulty got up and gave us a little speech. He talked about his Study Abroad experience, that he had 36 years earlier. How the friends he made there were ones he still has. He talked about the importance of keeping in touch with each other, because we are a special group of people, ones who have had an experience that not a lot of others get to have. He had us all in tears by the end and he said exactly what all of us wanted and needed to hear. We all thanked her parents over and over for providing us with such a fantastic final meal, and they left.
The rest of us stayed at the restaurant finishing the wine, and talking. 4 hours after the beginning of the meal we got up and left. We went to the Duomo and sat on the steps for a while, took pictures, etc. Eventually we made our way over to the Shot café. A ton of kids in the program were there. All taking shots, reminiscing, crying, saying goodbye, etc. Our friend Ralph bought about 40 for every GIF student who was there and made a speech before we all cheersed and took our group shot. I sat with my friends for hours, talked, loved, lots of goodbyes, etc.
We finally began to make our ways home when the bar closed at 3. We went home at end of night with a big group, tried to find secret bakery with Ralph AGAIN, and still couldn’t find it. Such a Fail. I never once made it to the Secret Bakery, and I am still bummed about it. I will go back to Florence one day and Secret Bakery will be one of my first stops..
I went home, finished packing and said bye to gibbs, Jackie, Lauren and stina. Then I headed to Kikis and Chloes place to wait for our taxi. I laid in bed with the girls until the cab came, got in the cab at 4 am and headed to the airport.
(4/22) The beginning of the end…
Well finals were done, so I had nothing important to wake up for. I got up at a decent time anyway, ate breakfast, and packed a bit more, as always, pretty depressing. I took clothes to school to donate, returned books, and took pictures all over school. Thursday afternoon was our last lunch/meal at Soggiourno Laura. It was the usual lunch, not much was different. After it however, Chiara came out with a bag full of Soggiourno Laura hats. There were yellow and white ones, so I obviously took a yellow. All of us put out hats on right away. After lunch we headed upstairs to the terrace to take a group picture of all of us with the staff. All of us kids are wearing our hats and Marinella is right in the middle of all of us.
We were all getting nostalgic and began taking multiple pictures with each other, Marinella, Chiara, Jesus, and Giovanni. At 2, a group of us headed over to Boboli gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day and that is the best place to sit in the grass, toss a Frisbee, and enjoy the sunshine…so that is exactly what we did. We spent a few hours there, taking pictures, roaming the gardens, playing Frisbee. Brooks, Tucker and I left the group around 430 and went and met another group of friends on the Triangle Bridge. It was our friend Jack’s birthday, so we had some champagne, enjoyed the view of the arno, and took some final, beautiful pictures on the river.
We all headed home to shower up, pack a bit more, and get ready for our last big group dinner. Sean called and made reservations for 20 at a restaurant suggested to us by Alessandro (a teacher at school). The restaurant was down by Santa Croce, which was perfect because that’s where all our favorite bars are. Chloe and I both had the gnocchi for dinner, no surprise there, and it was absolutely fabulous, as always. After a while at dinner, everyone moved around, (we were at two tables of ten, sadly) so people moved from one table to the other. Sean came over to our table, mostly of girls. Christina asked him to go through every person and tell the story of how they first met. He went through every person at the table, nine of us, and told the exact story of how he had met each one. Sean has been studying there a year, so for some, had to remember back to August. His memory was so prime that he was even able to go so far as to saying what each of us were wearing the night we met. As for me, we met in the hallway of our pensione, I was wearing the old (I think its from the ’80’s) crewneck UofA sweatshirt I always wear, and he was worried I would be the usual, snobby LA kind of girl, but pleasantly surprised and happy that’s not how it was. Anywho, other members of the table tried doing what he was able to do, and it turned into a big discussion of all of our first meets, first impressions, story telling of the semester, etc.
After a long dinner, we all left for the bars. Some went to Kikuya and some went to Moyo. Chloe and I decided to go to Moyo with Tucker, Carl, Brooks, Sean and Kussman. We ordered drinks, enjoyed the ambiance and continued reminiscing. We moved on to Kikuya to get the rest of our friends, then stopped by Exbaco. We were there only for a short period of time, Jackie and I did handstands with Roy out in the front area of Santa Croce Cathedral while the others sat outside of Exbaco having a good laugh at us. We then all hopped in cabs to go to Finnegans, at the other side of the city, to see our friend Jack for his 21st birthday. Finnegans closed soon after our arrival, but there we met up with about 50 other people from the GIF program. When the bar kicked us all out for closing, we frolicked around in the street for a while, and agreed on Shot Café, a nearby location for our next bar. We ALL went there, it was fantastic. We enjoyed being with so many people from the program. We bought pitchers and stuck multiple straws in them, as always, and enjoyed hanging out with our best friends, along with the kids we had had in our classes all semester. At 3, it closed, and everyone quite slowly made their way home.
Back at home Chloe, Garrett and I sat outside reminiscing even more, and getting way too nostalgic to the point where all three of us were in tears. Sean and Kuss came home with the genius idea to fill the waterballoons we had been holding all semester. We did, and of course decided to attack all of those who had come home early and were sleeping. We rampaged them, obviously woke them, and then all played and ran around the pensione together until about 4 am. Obviously a great time.
Brooks came over and told us to throw on comfy clothes, because we were heading to see the sunrise. We threw on sweats, sweatshirts, rain coats, and grabbed umbrellas and headed out. I was with Brooks and Chloe, and Sean, Antonina and Kussman had gone ahead. We met up with them in Piazza Singnoria around 5 and began our climb up to the top of Piazza Michelangelo. Kuss was too tired so she grabbed a cab, but the other five of us made it to the very top. We took pictures, hung out, opened a bottle of champagne. We didn’t exactly see the sun ‘rise’ but we saw the city go from complete darkness, to light, which we decided was just as awesome. We finished the champagne, made a toast, and headed home in a cab. We got back around 730 am, and fell asleep.
I have never been so content with a night. As the last night for me to stay up that late, and see the sunrise, I couldn’t be happier that I made it to that point and actually got to experience it. It was my last full night-into-morning I had in Florence, and I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent it.
I wish this could never end. I leave in less than 24 hours…
We were all getting nostalgic and began taking multiple pictures with each other, Marinella, Chiara, Jesus, and Giovanni. At 2, a group of us headed over to Boboli gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day and that is the best place to sit in the grass, toss a Frisbee, and enjoy the sunshine…so that is exactly what we did. We spent a few hours there, taking pictures, roaming the gardens, playing Frisbee. Brooks, Tucker and I left the group around 430 and went and met another group of friends on the Triangle Bridge. It was our friend Jack’s birthday, so we had some champagne, enjoyed the view of the arno, and took some final, beautiful pictures on the river.
We all headed home to shower up, pack a bit more, and get ready for our last big group dinner. Sean called and made reservations for 20 at a restaurant suggested to us by Alessandro (a teacher at school). The restaurant was down by Santa Croce, which was perfect because that’s where all our favorite bars are. Chloe and I both had the gnocchi for dinner, no surprise there, and it was absolutely fabulous, as always. After a while at dinner, everyone moved around, (we were at two tables of ten, sadly) so people moved from one table to the other. Sean came over to our table, mostly of girls. Christina asked him to go through every person and tell the story of how they first met. He went through every person at the table, nine of us, and told the exact story of how he had met each one. Sean has been studying there a year, so for some, had to remember back to August. His memory was so prime that he was even able to go so far as to saying what each of us were wearing the night we met. As for me, we met in the hallway of our pensione, I was wearing the old (I think its from the ’80’s) crewneck UofA sweatshirt I always wear, and he was worried I would be the usual, snobby LA kind of girl, but pleasantly surprised and happy that’s not how it was. Anywho, other members of the table tried doing what he was able to do, and it turned into a big discussion of all of our first meets, first impressions, story telling of the semester, etc.
After a long dinner, we all left for the bars. Some went to Kikuya and some went to Moyo. Chloe and I decided to go to Moyo with Tucker, Carl, Brooks, Sean and Kussman. We ordered drinks, enjoyed the ambiance and continued reminiscing. We moved on to Kikuya to get the rest of our friends, then stopped by Exbaco. We were there only for a short period of time, Jackie and I did handstands with Roy out in the front area of Santa Croce Cathedral while the others sat outside of Exbaco having a good laugh at us. We then all hopped in cabs to go to Finnegans, at the other side of the city, to see our friend Jack for his 21st birthday. Finnegans closed soon after our arrival, but there we met up with about 50 other people from the GIF program. When the bar kicked us all out for closing, we frolicked around in the street for a while, and agreed on Shot Café, a nearby location for our next bar. We ALL went there, it was fantastic. We enjoyed being with so many people from the program. We bought pitchers and stuck multiple straws in them, as always, and enjoyed hanging out with our best friends, along with the kids we had had in our classes all semester. At 3, it closed, and everyone quite slowly made their way home.
Back at home Chloe, Garrett and I sat outside reminiscing even more, and getting way too nostalgic to the point where all three of us were in tears. Sean and Kuss came home with the genius idea to fill the waterballoons we had been holding all semester. We did, and of course decided to attack all of those who had come home early and were sleeping. We rampaged them, obviously woke them, and then all played and ran around the pensione together until about 4 am. Obviously a great time.
Brooks came over and told us to throw on comfy clothes, because we were heading to see the sunrise. We threw on sweats, sweatshirts, rain coats, and grabbed umbrellas and headed out. I was with Brooks and Chloe, and Sean, Antonina and Kussman had gone ahead. We met up with them in Piazza Singnoria around 5 and began our climb up to the top of Piazza Michelangelo. Kuss was too tired so she grabbed a cab, but the other five of us made it to the very top. We took pictures, hung out, opened a bottle of champagne. We didn’t exactly see the sun ‘rise’ but we saw the city go from complete darkness, to light, which we decided was just as awesome. We finished the champagne, made a toast, and headed home in a cab. We got back around 730 am, and fell asleep.
I have never been so content with a night. As the last night for me to stay up that late, and see the sunrise, I couldn’t be happier that I made it to that point and actually got to experience it. It was my last full night-into-morning I had in Florence, and I couldn’t think of a better way to have spent it.
I wish this could never end. I leave in less than 24 hours…
(4/21) I have never been so sad to finish Finals…
On Tuesday night we pretended it wasn’t finals week and played Monopoly all night. The boys in our Pensione love Monopoly, and finally decided to let the other Annie and I play with them. They are overly-competitive, harsh, and over-the-top, so now we understand why its an all boys game. Annie and I played with them once and decided we should leave it an all-boys game so we would still love them by the end of the week.
Wednesday morning was my Italian final. All three of Russo’s classes (101, 102, 301) took the final in the same room at the same time; yet still there were only about 30 of us in the room. She walked in, put her things down, and began speaking to us in Italian. She thanked us for being great students, told us how happy she was about how the semester went, how lucky she felt to be her age and still be coming and teaching new students all the time. She expressed her sadness that this was the last time we would be together, and how much she would miss us. She reminded us that if we were to ever return to Florence, that her home is always open, and to please come and visit her. Those of us who understood what she was saying were obviously moved, because she too, got emotional as she expressed her feelings to us. Russo and I have grown so close over the semester that I was obviously teary-eyed from the Italian send-off, and even more emotional that I had actually understood it all. My friend Amanda who was next to me had absolutely no idea what had been said so at least I got a good laugh when she turned to me and said “wait, what is going on, why is everyone quiet???” haha… It was a great way to end such a fun class. The final wasn’t too hard, I finished in about an hour. At the end of the test I asked Russo to come outside with me for a picture. She did so more than willingly, and gave me her e-mail address so I could send her the picture and so that we could continue to keep in touch. We had a very tearful goodbye, and quite a long one, before I left for the day, and she went back into the room.
I ran home to put down my backpack, then went over to the train station to meet Lucas Miller and his family. It was so exciting to get to see them! I took them over to the river, across the Ponte Vecchio and to the Piti Palace/Boboli Gardens. Along the way we exchanged stories, I gave them as much history as possible, etc. The gardens are huge, 11 acres, and we walked a majority of them. I left them at 1230 so I could make it back for lunch at home. After lunch I cleaned and began packing. This was obviously depressing so I stopped, and went to meet the Millers again at the Accademia to see the David. After David they needed a rest so we all went home to freshen up for dinner.
That night I took them all out to Zaza’s for dinner. We had a wonderful meal full of stories from mine and Lucas’ semesters. We talked a lot about museums, art, our favorite cities, etc. After dinner Lucas’s grandparents went home and Lucas and I brought out Mr and Mrs Miller to the bars with us. It was trivia night at Old Stove, so it couldn’t be a better opportunity to bring out the parents. The Millers were obviously a hit. Lucas and my friends instantly became friends, and everyone wanted to meet Jim and Michelle. We played some trivia, but not really because we got there late. Michelle is a Delta Gamma so I gathered the other DGs in our program and we took a group photo. We drank, there may or may not have been tequila…all my friends met the Millers, had great conversation, danced, and of course, and most importantly, sang karaoke. The Millers and I sang a song together, then Jim and I sang one, then I sang Man in the Mirror with the girls…as always.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller left us around midnight, and a group of us headed over to Kikuya. We introduced the Dragoon to Lucas and left at closing. Jackie and I walked home a majority of the way with Lucas but had to split when we got closer. I looked for Secret Bakery with Matt Smith and Amanda Westwood, but sadly, never found it. I am determined to find it before I leave…
Ciao!
Wednesday morning was my Italian final. All three of Russo’s classes (101, 102, 301) took the final in the same room at the same time; yet still there were only about 30 of us in the room. She walked in, put her things down, and began speaking to us in Italian. She thanked us for being great students, told us how happy she was about how the semester went, how lucky she felt to be her age and still be coming and teaching new students all the time. She expressed her sadness that this was the last time we would be together, and how much she would miss us. She reminded us that if we were to ever return to Florence, that her home is always open, and to please come and visit her. Those of us who understood what she was saying were obviously moved, because she too, got emotional as she expressed her feelings to us. Russo and I have grown so close over the semester that I was obviously teary-eyed from the Italian send-off, and even more emotional that I had actually understood it all. My friend Amanda who was next to me had absolutely no idea what had been said so at least I got a good laugh when she turned to me and said “wait, what is going on, why is everyone quiet???” haha… It was a great way to end such a fun class. The final wasn’t too hard, I finished in about an hour. At the end of the test I asked Russo to come outside with me for a picture. She did so more than willingly, and gave me her e-mail address so I could send her the picture and so that we could continue to keep in touch. We had a very tearful goodbye, and quite a long one, before I left for the day, and she went back into the room.
I ran home to put down my backpack, then went over to the train station to meet Lucas Miller and his family. It was so exciting to get to see them! I took them over to the river, across the Ponte Vecchio and to the Piti Palace/Boboli Gardens. Along the way we exchanged stories, I gave them as much history as possible, etc. The gardens are huge, 11 acres, and we walked a majority of them. I left them at 1230 so I could make it back for lunch at home. After lunch I cleaned and began packing. This was obviously depressing so I stopped, and went to meet the Millers again at the Accademia to see the David. After David they needed a rest so we all went home to freshen up for dinner.
That night I took them all out to Zaza’s for dinner. We had a wonderful meal full of stories from mine and Lucas’ semesters. We talked a lot about museums, art, our favorite cities, etc. After dinner Lucas’s grandparents went home and Lucas and I brought out Mr and Mrs Miller to the bars with us. It was trivia night at Old Stove, so it couldn’t be a better opportunity to bring out the parents. The Millers were obviously a hit. Lucas and my friends instantly became friends, and everyone wanted to meet Jim and Michelle. We played some trivia, but not really because we got there late. Michelle is a Delta Gamma so I gathered the other DGs in our program and we took a group photo. We drank, there may or may not have been tequila…all my friends met the Millers, had great conversation, danced, and of course, and most importantly, sang karaoke. The Millers and I sang a song together, then Jim and I sang one, then I sang Man in the Mirror with the girls…as always.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller left us around midnight, and a group of us headed over to Kikuya. We introduced the Dragoon to Lucas and left at closing. Jackie and I walked home a majority of the way with Lucas but had to split when we got closer. I looked for Secret Bakery with Matt Smith and Amanda Westwood, but sadly, never found it. I am determined to find it before I leave…
Ciao!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Two Finals down, Two to go
Last night Anita's test went so well. We did the listening portion first. I was the most worried about that so I spent all day listening to the pieces she gave us. I was worried that it wasnt going to go well, I had Chloe quiz me which helped, but not much confidence going in. Apparently no one spent as much time as I did on the listening, and I ended up being the only one to get all the composers, compositions, and movements correctly. Which I was pretty excited about. Besides labeling which composition it is (along with composer, symphony number, and movement number) we also had to analyze the meter, tempo, dynamics, etc of each piece. We turned those papers in and began the written portion of the test. That went pretty well also, and I didnt have too much difficulty. While we were writing she graded our listening portion so we could have that back before we left, I got it on my way out and got a 98% on it, pretty pumped about that one. Anita is a doll and said that if we gave her our home addresses she would mail us the other portion of our test. She also reminded me on my way out to keep in touch, and keep dancing, and let her know if I ever end up performing to a piece by Tchaikovsky.
Dinner was delicious, we all got pasta and then the vegetarians had pasta shells stuffed with spinach.
After dinner I began organizing, but it got depressing so I stopped. Michaela came over to study for Philosophy, which of course didnt happen. We sat and talked and enjoyed each others company, and after an hour she went home. I barely studied for philosophy, I know it all pretty well, and I finished the final paper weeks ago, so last night was relaxing.
I took philosophy this morning, it was a breeze, I had plenty to say and to write about so I felt confident when leaving.
I just finished my paper due for my art class tonight, and took pictures of my fresco to show you all at home. Im currently sitting with Chloe and Kussman in the computer lab, all getting tid-bits of work done while gabbing and laughing and making jokes about the silly volcano that is messing with everyone's plans.
As of now all three of us are fine, but we have plenty of friends who found out this morning that their flights on Saturday are cancelled. Its really a day-by-day process right now, and no one will really know anything till Friday night.
Pray for strong winds so I can go to London with my mamma.
baci
Dinner was delicious, we all got pasta and then the vegetarians had pasta shells stuffed with spinach.
After dinner I began organizing, but it got depressing so I stopped. Michaela came over to study for Philosophy, which of course didnt happen. We sat and talked and enjoyed each others company, and after an hour she went home. I barely studied for philosophy, I know it all pretty well, and I finished the final paper weeks ago, so last night was relaxing.
I took philosophy this morning, it was a breeze, I had plenty to say and to write about so I felt confident when leaving.
I just finished my paper due for my art class tonight, and took pictures of my fresco to show you all at home. Im currently sitting with Chloe and Kussman in the computer lab, all getting tid-bits of work done while gabbing and laughing and making jokes about the silly volcano that is messing with everyone's plans.
As of now all three of us are fine, but we have plenty of friends who found out this morning that their flights on Saturday are cancelled. Its really a day-by-day process right now, and no one will really know anything till Friday night.
Pray for strong winds so I can go to London with my mamma.
baci
Monday, April 19, 2010
Splorin' Florence
Since we had a restful evening, Chloe and I got up at nine, ate breakfast, got ready, and were out the door by ten. We went to the market, shopped around. Then we walked through the city to the Santa Croce area, I have never been in the actual church, just around it, so we tried to get in. It was closed of course, so, c'est la vie, ill go the next time in my life when I return to Florence. After that we walked down our favorite street full of bars, through a few alleys and over to the Arno. We went over the Arno, past the Ponte Vecchio and saw a sign for San Spirito Church. A month or so ago in class, Russo was very mad at the seven of us because none of us had been to that church. She scolded us and we all promised we would go. When I saw the sign I told Chloe we MUST go there so I could run back to Russo and make her day. So we went. It is hideous on the outside. It actually is. Its such a bummer because the inside is absolutely marvelous. We went in, looked around, stopped at paintings, lit candles for Ali (Saturday was her 21st birthday) and had our chats with God.
Right outside the church is a little outdoor market. There were fruit and veggie stands, second hand item stands, clothing, books, etc. Very different from the San Lorenzo market which is full of tourists, and all more souvenir-like things. We looked around, enjoyed a completely tourist-less market where everyone spoke Italian. We turned a corner to look at the outside of Piti Palace, but didnt go in because Chloe has already been, and I promised Kussman Id go there with her this week.
We walked back to the market area because it was surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating, and it was a beautiful sunny day. We picked a restaurant and sat outside eating gnocchi and pizza.
After lunch we took the long way home, simply marveling at and enjoying this city we call our home. Saturday marked exactly one week until our departure, so that thought was looming over us the entire time.
We came home around three, chatted with the girls in Club SoLo, then went back to Chloe's to watch a movie and take a nap.
For dinner Gibbs, Jackie, Chloe, Kiki and I went to a new place right down the street past Piazza Liberta called Perseus. It was an extremely local place. It opened at 7, thank goodness we got there right then, because by 715 every single table was full. There was no english spoken, only italian, which is ALWAYS a good sign. We enjoyed a delicious dinner then headed home to get ready for the night.
We went out to Old Stove for a while but my friend Matt and I got sick of it so we left for Santa Croce. There I ran into a friend of mine that goes to a different school named Ross. We went to a few bars together and then I told him I wanted to go to Secret Bakery. He said that instead of secret bakery he wanted to take me to secret pizza. I agreed and so we went to this pizza place hidden in an alley, pretty difficult to find (just like secret bakery). They had AMAZING pizza, I still cant believe how delicious it was. Ross walked me the majority of the way home, but a bit before my place we ran into a bunch of other kids in my program at the Kebob shop so I went with them so Ross could go back home.
On Sunday we all woke up and spent a majority of the morning fretting about the damn volcano. Many friends who were supposed to have their parents come this week all had to cancel their trips. New flights were booked, and new trains because the Italians are going on a train strike for Thursday and Friday...perfect timing.
The sun was shining, so we put our computers away and went on the terrace to lay in the sun and eat cookies with nutella.
At 4 everyone in GIF headed up to Piazza Michelangelo for the GIF group picture. After the picture we stayed a bit to take pictures with our closest friends, or members of our pensiones.
On our way back Chloe and I stopped at school for mass. It was the last mass of the semester, and way more kids than usual showed up, which was really nice. Our little chapel at school was completely full. Father Brian gave a great mass, a lot to do with being thankful for this amazing time here, praying for our safety upon departure, etc. We stand in a circle when we take communion and I was standing next to Father Brian, he passed it the opposite way so I was the last to get the wine, he nudged me and told me to finish it, quite a task with that sweet of wine. Michaela helped me out and everyone had a laugh because that is just so typical of Father Brian to do.
At the end of mass he reminded us to stay in touch. That we always have his email and no question, favor, or prayer is ever stupid to ask for. He said "Once your Jesuit, always your Jesuit". We really lucked out in getting such a great Jesuit to be with us for the semester. He understands us and is great at communicating with us. We all got up at the end and thanked him and said our goodbyes, then headed home for dinner.
It was eggplant, our favorite. Marinella was all lit up and full of joy when serving it to us because she knows how much we go crazy for it.
After dinner I headed to the library to study. I was in there with mostly all engineers, so we were all cracking jokes with each other about who was there at that time and why.
I love the engineers. Some of them are shy, or difficult to crack, but they are all really great kids. A lot of people in the program dont know them, simply because they either dont go out at night/shyness/whatever it may be. I have managed to become friends with almost every single one, and I couldnt be happier that I did so. They are so much fun and really kind sweet guys. Ted and Craig walked me home at the end of the night since we all stayed till closing. I slept over at Chloe's again last night because my roommate is still deathly ill. She has been sick for over 9 days and its just not getting better. I havent been sleeping there because she isnt very aware of how much she spreads germs, and Im really trying to not get sick.
Its funny to think back to when I lived with Shelbie (a dance major) because whenever either of us got sick we were very conscious of coughing into our elbows, cloroxing door nobs, etc. It's a very different experience living with someone who is unaware of these things.
Anywho I slept over with Chloe and woke up at 9 this morning to head back to the library for studying. We just had lunch, Gnocchi...delicious, and Im headed back to the library now for more studying. Anita Garriot's (classical music) final tonight at 5. I refer to her as Anita because she asks us to, and she also emails with me at least twice a day either chatting about the day or about papers or tests. She is such a character.
Back to the library. Wish luck.
Ciao.
Right outside the church is a little outdoor market. There were fruit and veggie stands, second hand item stands, clothing, books, etc. Very different from the San Lorenzo market which is full of tourists, and all more souvenir-like things. We looked around, enjoyed a completely tourist-less market where everyone spoke Italian. We turned a corner to look at the outside of Piti Palace, but didnt go in because Chloe has already been, and I promised Kussman Id go there with her this week.
We walked back to the market area because it was surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating, and it was a beautiful sunny day. We picked a restaurant and sat outside eating gnocchi and pizza.
After lunch we took the long way home, simply marveling at and enjoying this city we call our home. Saturday marked exactly one week until our departure, so that thought was looming over us the entire time.
We came home around three, chatted with the girls in Club SoLo, then went back to Chloe's to watch a movie and take a nap.
For dinner Gibbs, Jackie, Chloe, Kiki and I went to a new place right down the street past Piazza Liberta called Perseus. It was an extremely local place. It opened at 7, thank goodness we got there right then, because by 715 every single table was full. There was no english spoken, only italian, which is ALWAYS a good sign. We enjoyed a delicious dinner then headed home to get ready for the night.
We went out to Old Stove for a while but my friend Matt and I got sick of it so we left for Santa Croce. There I ran into a friend of mine that goes to a different school named Ross. We went to a few bars together and then I told him I wanted to go to Secret Bakery. He said that instead of secret bakery he wanted to take me to secret pizza. I agreed and so we went to this pizza place hidden in an alley, pretty difficult to find (just like secret bakery). They had AMAZING pizza, I still cant believe how delicious it was. Ross walked me the majority of the way home, but a bit before my place we ran into a bunch of other kids in my program at the Kebob shop so I went with them so Ross could go back home.
On Sunday we all woke up and spent a majority of the morning fretting about the damn volcano. Many friends who were supposed to have their parents come this week all had to cancel their trips. New flights were booked, and new trains because the Italians are going on a train strike for Thursday and Friday...perfect timing.
The sun was shining, so we put our computers away and went on the terrace to lay in the sun and eat cookies with nutella.
At 4 everyone in GIF headed up to Piazza Michelangelo for the GIF group picture. After the picture we stayed a bit to take pictures with our closest friends, or members of our pensiones.
On our way back Chloe and I stopped at school for mass. It was the last mass of the semester, and way more kids than usual showed up, which was really nice. Our little chapel at school was completely full. Father Brian gave a great mass, a lot to do with being thankful for this amazing time here, praying for our safety upon departure, etc. We stand in a circle when we take communion and I was standing next to Father Brian, he passed it the opposite way so I was the last to get the wine, he nudged me and told me to finish it, quite a task with that sweet of wine. Michaela helped me out and everyone had a laugh because that is just so typical of Father Brian to do.
At the end of mass he reminded us to stay in touch. That we always have his email and no question, favor, or prayer is ever stupid to ask for. He said "Once your Jesuit, always your Jesuit". We really lucked out in getting such a great Jesuit to be with us for the semester. He understands us and is great at communicating with us. We all got up at the end and thanked him and said our goodbyes, then headed home for dinner.
It was eggplant, our favorite. Marinella was all lit up and full of joy when serving it to us because she knows how much we go crazy for it.
After dinner I headed to the library to study. I was in there with mostly all engineers, so we were all cracking jokes with each other about who was there at that time and why.
I love the engineers. Some of them are shy, or difficult to crack, but they are all really great kids. A lot of people in the program dont know them, simply because they either dont go out at night/shyness/whatever it may be. I have managed to become friends with almost every single one, and I couldnt be happier that I did so. They are so much fun and really kind sweet guys. Ted and Craig walked me home at the end of the night since we all stayed till closing. I slept over at Chloe's again last night because my roommate is still deathly ill. She has been sick for over 9 days and its just not getting better. I havent been sleeping there because she isnt very aware of how much she spreads germs, and Im really trying to not get sick.
Its funny to think back to when I lived with Shelbie (a dance major) because whenever either of us got sick we were very conscious of coughing into our elbows, cloroxing door nobs, etc. It's a very different experience living with someone who is unaware of these things.
Anywho I slept over with Chloe and woke up at 9 this morning to head back to the library for studying. We just had lunch, Gnocchi...delicious, and Im headed back to the library now for more studying. Anita Garriot's (classical music) final tonight at 5. I refer to her as Anita because she asks us to, and she also emails with me at least twice a day either chatting about the day or about papers or tests. She is such a character.
Back to the library. Wish luck.
Ciao.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Cinque Terre!!!
Cinque Terre was unreal. We left around nine, arrived about 1, and set out on our hike. We decided before we started that we would do the ENTIRE thing, all seven miles, which on average takes 5 hours (Being young girls we did the actual hiking in just under 4 hours, but when you include the stops it took a bit longer). We know a lot of people who went, but only did one or two towns, but we figured that would be silly to go all the way to Cinque Terre and not see it all. I was with Chloe and Kalea (thank goodness for a small group). We hiked from town to town, stopping in each for a bit to enjoy the personal characteristics of each. The hike was easy in the beginning, but definitely got more challenging as we went on. Each town was sweet and unique. We stopped in one for a quick lunch of caprese and pasta and continued on. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and it was so warm out, the perfect day for a hike. We got plenty sweaty but enjoyed being in the sunshine. The hike was a lot of up and downs, over and over, and staircases.
About half way through we stopped for a while at Vernazza, we met some retired American men who we discussed with whether being retired or being abroad was more of a vacation. They were hilarious and we always love running into Americans because they are so fun to talk to.
As we were heading back onto the trail we ran into Kiki and her parents. Faj was a bit sweaty to say the least, he didnt necessarily wear the right gear...and Kiki was overjoyed to see us and get to finish the rest of the hike as a group. We did so, all together, which was nice because we stopped more so her parents could take breaks. The hike is pretty tough, we all got winded. I enjoyed the breaks because it gave me time to take more pictures. At the end of the day I had about 160 pictures from the day alone.
A majority of the hike I was being over-dramatic (shocker) and screaming about the epic beauty surrounding me. I was in shock basically the entire time. I wish that I could use the right words, or even have good enough pictures to explain to someone who has never been there what the place is like. It is so phenomenally beautiful it blew my mind.
We spent the hike getting so excited to jump in the ocean at the end, but by the time we got there the air was chilly and we figured for our coughs and runny noses, the cold ocean probably wasnt the best idea.
We parted with the Moline family and hopped on a train back to Florence. We were exhausted, sweaty, covered in dirt, so going out didnt sound like a good idea either. We walked Kalea home and Chloe and I went home, showered, put on sweats, hopped into bed and watched a movie until we fell asleep.
About half way through we stopped for a while at Vernazza, we met some retired American men who we discussed with whether being retired or being abroad was more of a vacation. They were hilarious and we always love running into Americans because they are so fun to talk to.
As we were heading back onto the trail we ran into Kiki and her parents. Faj was a bit sweaty to say the least, he didnt necessarily wear the right gear...and Kiki was overjoyed to see us and get to finish the rest of the hike as a group. We did so, all together, which was nice because we stopped more so her parents could take breaks. The hike is pretty tough, we all got winded. I enjoyed the breaks because it gave me time to take more pictures. At the end of the day I had about 160 pictures from the day alone.
A majority of the hike I was being over-dramatic (shocker) and screaming about the epic beauty surrounding me. I was in shock basically the entire time. I wish that I could use the right words, or even have good enough pictures to explain to someone who has never been there what the place is like. It is so phenomenally beautiful it blew my mind.
We spent the hike getting so excited to jump in the ocean at the end, but by the time we got there the air was chilly and we figured for our coughs and runny noses, the cold ocean probably wasnt the best idea.
We parted with the Moline family and hopped on a train back to Florence. We were exhausted, sweaty, covered in dirt, so going out didnt sound like a good idea either. We walked Kalea home and Chloe and I went home, showered, put on sweats, hopped into bed and watched a movie until we fell asleep.
Crazy fun week
Finished my painting on Tuesday...it actually looks pretty good. Im kinda bummed I cant bring it home since its so big and heavy, but Ill take pictures of it.
Wednesday after classes I went to San Lorenzo market with Jennie and Angela to get souvenirs for our families. We were there for hours, walking around and having a great time. When we were done I stopped in the Medici Chapels for a bit. They were beautiful and enjoyable, but I still dont see what the big deal is about them. They werent that cool, haha. I didnt stay long, but maybe Ill go back. Its free with my Uffici pass so I probably will.
Kiki's parents were in town this week. On Wednesday night they took Kiki, Chloe and I out to dinner at one of our favorite, tiny hole in the wall restaurants. Its amazing food, and no tourists because its so hard to find. We had a great time with them with great conversation. Kiki calls her parents Faj (as in father) and Jack (short for jackie). We talk about our families all the time to each other, so thats how I know them. At one point during the dinner they made it clear to Chloe and I that we were more than welcome to refer to them as that as well, haha so we did.
After dinner we forced them to come to Trivia night at Old Stove with us. It didnt take much convincing because they were both excited to come and meet more of Kiki's friends. They came, Faj (her dad) got on the guys team, and the rest of us girls formed our own team. We basically stopped playing and just hung out with Jackie. We bought tequila shots and put one in front of her. She looked at me and said "Annie I havent done this since my 20s" and I told her that was perfect because she was surrounded by girls in their 20s. She did it, like a champ. It was awesome. After trivia we stayed for a bit of the live music but then headed out. We went to Lions Fountain, and on the way pointed the way home to Faj and Jack. I dont like Lions Fountain very much, just because its so full of American Students, but we went because our Calcietto team went to the finals and lost in the end in Penalty Kicks. They were all at Lions so we went there to show our support and hang out. Kiki and Chloe both went home early, so I stayed with Annie and Roy. Kussman showed up soon after, so she and I went to Angies bar and danced, and then to Michelle's bar to say hello and hang out.
Thursday was sad. Last day of classes. Horvath told our Philosophy class that "Every semester you guys come, I fall in love with all of you, and then you leave." She got teary-eyed, and then took a picture from the front of the room of her point of view when looking at us. In Italian we went to the market!!!
Russo is about 80..she walks very slowly. There are only seven kids in my class, but they tend to forget that she is a bit slower. Everyone was waiting out in front, and when Russo made it to the door I was standing there holding it and she looked at me and said "Ecco Me!" (here I am!). I died with laughter, mostly just because thats our favorite phrase, and we say it ALL the time. Anyway, I stayed with Russo the whole time on the walk, she walks slowly, so I stayed back with her. We talked a lot, she pointed things out to me on the walk there, we continued to grow to love each other even more than we already do. She got all sentimental, got me teary eyed. She told me she lives alone, so its sad for her to not get to cook for a big family anymore, and how much she would love for me to come back to Italy and stay with her. She gave me her email so we could keep in touch. As we were walking through the market she was sharing some of her favorite recipes to me (of course all vegetarian, she finally accepted that I dont eat meat...haha). She said to make sure to keep up the emails especially so she could email me her recipes and then have me tell her how they went after I cook them. We laughed and giggled together, walked by one meat man that was playing music so danced a bit. All the other kids were ahead of us, chatting about their own things or doing whatever, but I was glad to spend all that time with Russo, it was great. She stayed back at the market to wait for her next class, and we headed home.
After lunch Chloe came over and she and Annie and I walked around the city. We went and got gelatto at La Carria and sat on the bridge and ate it. Then we walked around to different stores on the other side of the river. We went into some antique shops, and stores full of things the people must have been collecting for ages. I thought of my dad a lot and how much he would have loved some of the stores we went into. After we went up onto the Terrace, laid in the sun and drank some beers.
For dinner, Chloe, Annie and I went to Quatro Lioni. Its one of the more famous restaurants in town, and I hadnt been there all semester. Everyone says "You must get the pear pasta". I thought to myself, EW, but ordered it anyway. It was absolutely magnificent and I LITERALLY scrapped my bowl clean it was soo good.
On our way to the bar we decided to hop on the Carousel in Piazza Republica. We walk by it everyday, and have always thought we should ride it, but never had. It was all lit up and running, so the three of us hopped on and enjoyed spinning around on our fake horses.
We met out friends at Cafe Bigalo, but Chloe and I left early to go to Santa Croce. We went to Rex, where we ran into a guy named Scott who goes to school with us. Scott is 32. He had a rough time in college, ended up in rehab, but then turned his life around and went back to school. He had always studied abroad and thought he might as well do what he wanted, so he is. He is really an awesome guy, fun to talk to because his life has been so interesting. I say good for him for turning his life around. Everyone deserves the chance to do what were doing.
Chloe and I also stopped by Kikoya where we made new friends, drank sangria, etc. On our way home we ran into Jack, Spencer and Brooks, so we turned around and went back out with them to Lions Fountain. There, I proceeded to do the ENTIRE dance from Beyonce's Single Ladies video with one of the bar tenders. He is quite gay to say the least, so he was completely in character. He played the part of Beyonce and I was one of his backup dancers. The floor was cleared for our performance, and we got plenty of cheers. We shared a big hug afterwards and took pictures of course. It was such a blast.
The nightlife here is so unbelievably fun. We rarely have a night when we go out and dont have a ball.
I love it here. The most. This week has been too fun.
Wednesday after classes I went to San Lorenzo market with Jennie and Angela to get souvenirs for our families. We were there for hours, walking around and having a great time. When we were done I stopped in the Medici Chapels for a bit. They were beautiful and enjoyable, but I still dont see what the big deal is about them. They werent that cool, haha. I didnt stay long, but maybe Ill go back. Its free with my Uffici pass so I probably will.
Kiki's parents were in town this week. On Wednesday night they took Kiki, Chloe and I out to dinner at one of our favorite, tiny hole in the wall restaurants. Its amazing food, and no tourists because its so hard to find. We had a great time with them with great conversation. Kiki calls her parents Faj (as in father) and Jack (short for jackie). We talk about our families all the time to each other, so thats how I know them. At one point during the dinner they made it clear to Chloe and I that we were more than welcome to refer to them as that as well, haha so we did.
After dinner we forced them to come to Trivia night at Old Stove with us. It didnt take much convincing because they were both excited to come and meet more of Kiki's friends. They came, Faj (her dad) got on the guys team, and the rest of us girls formed our own team. We basically stopped playing and just hung out with Jackie. We bought tequila shots and put one in front of her. She looked at me and said "Annie I havent done this since my 20s" and I told her that was perfect because she was surrounded by girls in their 20s. She did it, like a champ. It was awesome. After trivia we stayed for a bit of the live music but then headed out. We went to Lions Fountain, and on the way pointed the way home to Faj and Jack. I dont like Lions Fountain very much, just because its so full of American Students, but we went because our Calcietto team went to the finals and lost in the end in Penalty Kicks. They were all at Lions so we went there to show our support and hang out. Kiki and Chloe both went home early, so I stayed with Annie and Roy. Kussman showed up soon after, so she and I went to Angies bar and danced, and then to Michelle's bar to say hello and hang out.
Thursday was sad. Last day of classes. Horvath told our Philosophy class that "Every semester you guys come, I fall in love with all of you, and then you leave." She got teary-eyed, and then took a picture from the front of the room of her point of view when looking at us. In Italian we went to the market!!!
Russo is about 80..she walks very slowly. There are only seven kids in my class, but they tend to forget that she is a bit slower. Everyone was waiting out in front, and when Russo made it to the door I was standing there holding it and she looked at me and said "Ecco Me!" (here I am!). I died with laughter, mostly just because thats our favorite phrase, and we say it ALL the time. Anyway, I stayed with Russo the whole time on the walk, she walks slowly, so I stayed back with her. We talked a lot, she pointed things out to me on the walk there, we continued to grow to love each other even more than we already do. She got all sentimental, got me teary eyed. She told me she lives alone, so its sad for her to not get to cook for a big family anymore, and how much she would love for me to come back to Italy and stay with her. She gave me her email so we could keep in touch. As we were walking through the market she was sharing some of her favorite recipes to me (of course all vegetarian, she finally accepted that I dont eat meat...haha). She said to make sure to keep up the emails especially so she could email me her recipes and then have me tell her how they went after I cook them. We laughed and giggled together, walked by one meat man that was playing music so danced a bit. All the other kids were ahead of us, chatting about their own things or doing whatever, but I was glad to spend all that time with Russo, it was great. She stayed back at the market to wait for her next class, and we headed home.
After lunch Chloe came over and she and Annie and I walked around the city. We went and got gelatto at La Carria and sat on the bridge and ate it. Then we walked around to different stores on the other side of the river. We went into some antique shops, and stores full of things the people must have been collecting for ages. I thought of my dad a lot and how much he would have loved some of the stores we went into. After we went up onto the Terrace, laid in the sun and drank some beers.
For dinner, Chloe, Annie and I went to Quatro Lioni. Its one of the more famous restaurants in town, and I hadnt been there all semester. Everyone says "You must get the pear pasta". I thought to myself, EW, but ordered it anyway. It was absolutely magnificent and I LITERALLY scrapped my bowl clean it was soo good.
On our way to the bar we decided to hop on the Carousel in Piazza Republica. We walk by it everyday, and have always thought we should ride it, but never had. It was all lit up and running, so the three of us hopped on and enjoyed spinning around on our fake horses.
We met out friends at Cafe Bigalo, but Chloe and I left early to go to Santa Croce. We went to Rex, where we ran into a guy named Scott who goes to school with us. Scott is 32. He had a rough time in college, ended up in rehab, but then turned his life around and went back to school. He had always studied abroad and thought he might as well do what he wanted, so he is. He is really an awesome guy, fun to talk to because his life has been so interesting. I say good for him for turning his life around. Everyone deserves the chance to do what were doing.
Chloe and I also stopped by Kikoya where we made new friends, drank sangria, etc. On our way home we ran into Jack, Spencer and Brooks, so we turned around and went back out with them to Lions Fountain. There, I proceeded to do the ENTIRE dance from Beyonce's Single Ladies video with one of the bar tenders. He is quite gay to say the least, so he was completely in character. He played the part of Beyonce and I was one of his backup dancers. The floor was cleared for our performance, and we got plenty of cheers. We shared a big hug afterwards and took pictures of course. It was such a blast.
The nightlife here is so unbelievably fun. We rarely have a night when we go out and dont have a ball.
I love it here. The most. This week has been too fun.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Welp, I gave a speech....
So last night was the end of the year dinner. We all got all dressed up, girls in dresses and heels, boys in suits (for the most part...)
Club SoLo had a pensione pre dinner party up on our rooftop terrace. We took pictures and hung out for a while before all walking over to dinner together. The restaurant was huge, and gorgeous. All 150 of us basically took over the entire restaurant. We sat, had bottomless wine, and ate our hearts out. We had a salad with tuna, awesome penne pasta with eggplant/tomato sauce, and then potatoes, veggies, and cream puffs for desert. We all walked around from table to table, socializing, saying hi to friends, etc. At one point, Dr. Burke (Dean) got up and made a speech, it was awesome, of course, he is an amazing guy. He talked for a while, had half of us tearing up, and got a standing ovation when he was done talking. Then the speeches began. He first called the president of the students, Spencer to say something. Next, he called on Laura. Laura's GIF history is long and complicated, but he said that her strength was one to be proud of. She said a few words, got teary-eyed (which is shocking for Kuss) and everyone cheered for her. From there, a bunch of students got up and said things. A lot of year kids said things, the ones who are really active in activities, etc. Brooks said a few things, so did Garrett, Ralph, Justin, Sean, Mia, Ari, etc. Anywho, there werent many semester kids talking, and even less who were not from Gonzaga. Shelly, a member of the Student Life staff came up to me and asked me to say something. So of course I took the mic, not hard to get me to say what I feel on a microphone to a hundred people. Not lying, I had had a few glasses of wine...but all went well. The gist of it was like this...
'I came here from a different school only knowing two people. It was a scary plunge to take at first, but one I was willing to dive right into. I knew girls from LMU, but decided to live with a random. It was the best decision I ever made, and my roommate has had a huge impact on my life here abroad. She is sick and not here, so shout out to Rooms! (Then a bunch of people screamed for Rooms shout out). I continued on talking about how amazing it was to come to a brand new place, with complete strangers, and in less than a few days, feel as though I had found 100 new best friends. I thanked the entire group for welcoming me with such loving arms and giving me the happiest semester of my life. Apparently I was quite poetic about it. I was holding my glass of wine - Kuss called me out on that mid way through, causing another applause... I decided to keep it fairly short and sweet so I signed off with a "We all know I could talk for days, so Im gunna wrap it up..." (getting me plenty of laughs since we all know I can talk for days to anyone) I wrapped it up with the quote I left you guys with yesterday. I told them there was a song by the Fruit Bats that had a line that says "We wont loose the beat if we just keep clapping our hands....(then said) The way I interpret that line is that, although we will be hundreds of miles apart, keep in touch, because these friendships and experiences dont have to end here. Ciao."
I got a standing O, haha, not sure why. Maybe because I was so overly poetic about it. Of course I would end with a quote, I would do that. A lot of it is a blur simply because whenever something like that happens you dont realize it till its over; that happens to me with dance shows all the time, or when I give speeches in class. Ill be like, wow that came out better than I thought it would, cool.
Anywho, when I walked back to my seat one of Elizabeth's (roomie) best friends stopped me, she was crying. She told me that what I said about Elizabeth was so amazingly sweet, and that if had Elizabeth been there it would have meant a lot to her. Today when we woke up, Elizabeth had already heard about it and came and gave me a hug. Another few people came up to me and said they loved what I had to say. I was really shocked to be honest just because I was one of the only two spring semester kids to get up. But hey, glad it went well considering I had a glass of wine in my hand :)
Shelly got on the mic afterwards and said it was a testament to the amazing kids in the program, because before a few days ago, Shelly had no idea that I didnt go to Gonzaga. Thats the beauty of the program. Everyone here meshes so well. There really is no divide, its amazing.
After everyone spoke everyone was basically near tears and we all got up and hugged, took pictures on the main floor area. Yannick and I danced a bit to the music playing (he is the only boy here who knows how to actually dance and lead well! And Im pretty good at following thanks to my Dad and Grandpa for teaching me)
Afterwards we went to a bar called Slowly for Amanda Ito's birthday. We got the whole second floor to ourselves because there were about 50 of us who went. After that we went to the shot cafe for a bit before turning home.
For philosophy today Horvath took us to the San Marco Monastery. It was awesome, the school paid for our entry in, and Horvath took us all around it. She of course knew every little thing about every aspect of it and gave us a complete tour full of information. She continues to boggle my mind with the amount of knowledge she has.
After that, In Italian, Russo didnt make me participate. I have lost my voice, almost completely, so she was sweet and said if I felt like contributing more I could, or to whisper and have Yannick repeat it for me. I hate not participating, of course, so I mostly whispered to Yannick so I could still be apart of the class.
Headed to painting now. Wish luck.
Ciao
Club SoLo had a pensione pre dinner party up on our rooftop terrace. We took pictures and hung out for a while before all walking over to dinner together. The restaurant was huge, and gorgeous. All 150 of us basically took over the entire restaurant. We sat, had bottomless wine, and ate our hearts out. We had a salad with tuna, awesome penne pasta with eggplant/tomato sauce, and then potatoes, veggies, and cream puffs for desert. We all walked around from table to table, socializing, saying hi to friends, etc. At one point, Dr. Burke (Dean) got up and made a speech, it was awesome, of course, he is an amazing guy. He talked for a while, had half of us tearing up, and got a standing ovation when he was done talking. Then the speeches began. He first called the president of the students, Spencer to say something. Next, he called on Laura. Laura's GIF history is long and complicated, but he said that her strength was one to be proud of. She said a few words, got teary-eyed (which is shocking for Kuss) and everyone cheered for her. From there, a bunch of students got up and said things. A lot of year kids said things, the ones who are really active in activities, etc. Brooks said a few things, so did Garrett, Ralph, Justin, Sean, Mia, Ari, etc. Anywho, there werent many semester kids talking, and even less who were not from Gonzaga. Shelly, a member of the Student Life staff came up to me and asked me to say something. So of course I took the mic, not hard to get me to say what I feel on a microphone to a hundred people. Not lying, I had had a few glasses of wine...but all went well. The gist of it was like this...
'I came here from a different school only knowing two people. It was a scary plunge to take at first, but one I was willing to dive right into. I knew girls from LMU, but decided to live with a random. It was the best decision I ever made, and my roommate has had a huge impact on my life here abroad. She is sick and not here, so shout out to Rooms! (Then a bunch of people screamed for Rooms shout out). I continued on talking about how amazing it was to come to a brand new place, with complete strangers, and in less than a few days, feel as though I had found 100 new best friends. I thanked the entire group for welcoming me with such loving arms and giving me the happiest semester of my life. Apparently I was quite poetic about it. I was holding my glass of wine - Kuss called me out on that mid way through, causing another applause... I decided to keep it fairly short and sweet so I signed off with a "We all know I could talk for days, so Im gunna wrap it up..." (getting me plenty of laughs since we all know I can talk for days to anyone) I wrapped it up with the quote I left you guys with yesterday. I told them there was a song by the Fruit Bats that had a line that says "We wont loose the beat if we just keep clapping our hands....(then said) The way I interpret that line is that, although we will be hundreds of miles apart, keep in touch, because these friendships and experiences dont have to end here. Ciao."
I got a standing O, haha, not sure why. Maybe because I was so overly poetic about it. Of course I would end with a quote, I would do that. A lot of it is a blur simply because whenever something like that happens you dont realize it till its over; that happens to me with dance shows all the time, or when I give speeches in class. Ill be like, wow that came out better than I thought it would, cool.
Anywho, when I walked back to my seat one of Elizabeth's (roomie) best friends stopped me, she was crying. She told me that what I said about Elizabeth was so amazingly sweet, and that if had Elizabeth been there it would have meant a lot to her. Today when we woke up, Elizabeth had already heard about it and came and gave me a hug. Another few people came up to me and said they loved what I had to say. I was really shocked to be honest just because I was one of the only two spring semester kids to get up. But hey, glad it went well considering I had a glass of wine in my hand :)
Shelly got on the mic afterwards and said it was a testament to the amazing kids in the program, because before a few days ago, Shelly had no idea that I didnt go to Gonzaga. Thats the beauty of the program. Everyone here meshes so well. There really is no divide, its amazing.
After everyone spoke everyone was basically near tears and we all got up and hugged, took pictures on the main floor area. Yannick and I danced a bit to the music playing (he is the only boy here who knows how to actually dance and lead well! And Im pretty good at following thanks to my Dad and Grandpa for teaching me)
Afterwards we went to a bar called Slowly for Amanda Ito's birthday. We got the whole second floor to ourselves because there were about 50 of us who went. After that we went to the shot cafe for a bit before turning home.
For philosophy today Horvath took us to the San Marco Monastery. It was awesome, the school paid for our entry in, and Horvath took us all around it. She of course knew every little thing about every aspect of it and gave us a complete tour full of information. She continues to boggle my mind with the amount of knowledge she has.
After that, In Italian, Russo didnt make me participate. I have lost my voice, almost completely, so she was sweet and said if I felt like contributing more I could, or to whisper and have Yannick repeat it for me. I hate not participating, of course, so I mostly whispered to Yannick so I could still be apart of the class.
Headed to painting now. Wish luck.
Ciao
Monday, April 12, 2010
"you really are meant to live on the beach..."
On Saturday, we went to the beach. I could not have been more excited to finally see the ocean and lay on the beach.
We left in the morning around 10, I went with Kalea and Mary to the food market to grab some dried fruit to snack on for the day and we were on the train by 1045 headed to Viareggio.
We arrived, stopped by a supermarket for cheese and crackers, and went to the beach. We sat there for HOURS. Sean and Kalea laid down and fell asleep, but Keagan, Kussman, Mary and I sat and talked for hours. I went swimming in the ocean, I had to, but no one else was wanting to stand the cold water. We laid in the sun, snacked on our crackers, played card games, etc.
The title of this post is what Kuss said to me at one point in the day, and its the truth. I love the beach/ocean more than anything in the world. I could sit on a beach for hours and never get bored of it. I felt so at home on the beach, looking out over the water with the breeze on my face, basking in the sun and being unbelievably thankful that I was in that place at that time.
We stayed till the sun set, around 7:30 p.m. Then we walked down the boardwalk for a bit, down to the boats. I thought of my dad and grandpa a lot because I knew that they would absolutely love this place. The seafood looked and smelled amazing at the little restaurants along the water by the boats, but we didnt have time to stay for dinner. Our train was at 8:30 so we ran back to the train station and were back home by 10:30.
Kuss (Laura Kussman) and I made a pact to go out every night. Not necessarily to bars/drinking/whatever, but just to leave the pensione, walk around the city, and see it by night. Everyone else was exhausted, so just Kuss and I went out. We had a blast of course, its hard not to with Kuss. She is literally one of the most light hearted, easy going, fun people I have ever met in my life. We found a little hole-in-the wall bar full of Italians. We met the owner and the waiters and sat and talked with them for a long time. They were really fun and sweet people and loved the company that Kuss and I provided. On our walk home we stopped by Santa Croce to see it all lit up (one of my favorite places to see at night), and walked home.
She slept over with me because my roomie was gone for the weekend.
Sunday was a lazy day full of homework and chores, but we did go out to Gato for dinner.
People keep talking about the end, because its so soon, less than two weeks now. Its the last thing I want to talk about. It makes my stomach churn. My closest friends here dont go to LMU, so I wont be seeing them often, its hard to think that they wont be in my life every single day.
I dont know how to express how blessed I am to have met some of these people. Its funny how people can come and go in your life and have the most unbelievable impact on it in such a short amount of time.
There is a line from a song that came out last year that says "You wont lose the beat if you just keep clapping your hands". This pretty much explains how most of us are going to try and handle leaving one another in just 12 days...
We left in the morning around 10, I went with Kalea and Mary to the food market to grab some dried fruit to snack on for the day and we were on the train by 1045 headed to Viareggio.
We arrived, stopped by a supermarket for cheese and crackers, and went to the beach. We sat there for HOURS. Sean and Kalea laid down and fell asleep, but Keagan, Kussman, Mary and I sat and talked for hours. I went swimming in the ocean, I had to, but no one else was wanting to stand the cold water. We laid in the sun, snacked on our crackers, played card games, etc.
The title of this post is what Kuss said to me at one point in the day, and its the truth. I love the beach/ocean more than anything in the world. I could sit on a beach for hours and never get bored of it. I felt so at home on the beach, looking out over the water with the breeze on my face, basking in the sun and being unbelievably thankful that I was in that place at that time.
We stayed till the sun set, around 7:30 p.m. Then we walked down the boardwalk for a bit, down to the boats. I thought of my dad and grandpa a lot because I knew that they would absolutely love this place. The seafood looked and smelled amazing at the little restaurants along the water by the boats, but we didnt have time to stay for dinner. Our train was at 8:30 so we ran back to the train station and were back home by 10:30.
Kuss (Laura Kussman) and I made a pact to go out every night. Not necessarily to bars/drinking/whatever, but just to leave the pensione, walk around the city, and see it by night. Everyone else was exhausted, so just Kuss and I went out. We had a blast of course, its hard not to with Kuss. She is literally one of the most light hearted, easy going, fun people I have ever met in my life. We found a little hole-in-the wall bar full of Italians. We met the owner and the waiters and sat and talked with them for a long time. They were really fun and sweet people and loved the company that Kuss and I provided. On our walk home we stopped by Santa Croce to see it all lit up (one of my favorite places to see at night), and walked home.
She slept over with me because my roomie was gone for the weekend.
Sunday was a lazy day full of homework and chores, but we did go out to Gato for dinner.
People keep talking about the end, because its so soon, less than two weeks now. Its the last thing I want to talk about. It makes my stomach churn. My closest friends here dont go to LMU, so I wont be seeing them often, its hard to think that they wont be in my life every single day.
I dont know how to express how blessed I am to have met some of these people. Its funny how people can come and go in your life and have the most unbelievable impact on it in such a short amount of time.
There is a line from a song that came out last year that says "You wont lose the beat if you just keep clapping your hands". This pretty much explains how most of us are going to try and handle leaving one another in just 12 days...
Friday, April 9, 2010
I LOVE Club SoLo
Club SoLo is what everyone calls my building. On most days when we go out everyone comes over to our place before hand to hang out and get ready before we leave. The kids in my building are awesome. We all get along amazingly well and always have a good time. Most people want to live here. Its the best.
A lot of people went out of town yesterday, but a good chunk of kids, and a fun one at that, stayed in Firenze this weekend. After lunch we went up to the terrace in our swimsuits and played Monopoly and had some cocktails in the beautiful sunshine. We were up there for hours. We decided around 5 to put some clothes on and head out. We went up to Piazza Michelangelo for sunset and spent an hour or two up there hanging out and enjoying the view. Then we headed to dinner at Dante's. One of the best meals I have had in Florence. A simple penne with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, but the sauce was absolutely unbelievable. SO delicious. After dinner we headed over to Kikoya, as always, our favorite spot to go. We ran into Kylie and her friends there, as always and hung out with them. I found a seat at the bar and ended up talking to the guys next to me for a while. Diego, the bar tender was excited to see me, and I him, he is one of my favorite bar tenders here. Had a dragoon or two and walked home with Kalea, Garret and Preston at the end of the night. It was a LONG day but such a fun one.
Woke up today and everyone was exhausted. We finally began to function, got dressed, and headed out for the day. We went to a sandwich place that had amazing 3 euro sandwiches and sat on the steps of Santa Croce to eat them. We stopped at the School of Leather, then went to Santa Maria Novella and sat in the grass in the sunshine playing board games and throwing a frisbee.
Then we went to San Lorenzo Market. Jackie got a leather jacket and I got a bracelet for a friend at home.
We came home, laid in big bed and watched TV, then went to Il Panda to pick up Chinese food and ate it up on the terrace.
(In the room next door to me are three girls. Kuss, Mary and Christina. They pushed their three beds together to form one big bed, and thats how we refer to it.) Were all back in big bed now, hanging out and taking it easy tonight because we plan to head to the beach tomorrow!! Hooray. I cant even express the amount of happiness I am experiencing from all of this beautiful sunshine. Honestly cant believe there are only two weeks left. I try not to think about it, ever, because its so depressing. I never want to leave. For now, Im just loving how unbelievably happy and in love with life I am.
Ciao.
A lot of people went out of town yesterday, but a good chunk of kids, and a fun one at that, stayed in Firenze this weekend. After lunch we went up to the terrace in our swimsuits and played Monopoly and had some cocktails in the beautiful sunshine. We were up there for hours. We decided around 5 to put some clothes on and head out. We went up to Piazza Michelangelo for sunset and spent an hour or two up there hanging out and enjoying the view. Then we headed to dinner at Dante's. One of the best meals I have had in Florence. A simple penne with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, but the sauce was absolutely unbelievable. SO delicious. After dinner we headed over to Kikoya, as always, our favorite spot to go. We ran into Kylie and her friends there, as always and hung out with them. I found a seat at the bar and ended up talking to the guys next to me for a while. Diego, the bar tender was excited to see me, and I him, he is one of my favorite bar tenders here. Had a dragoon or two and walked home with Kalea, Garret and Preston at the end of the night. It was a LONG day but such a fun one.
Woke up today and everyone was exhausted. We finally began to function, got dressed, and headed out for the day. We went to a sandwich place that had amazing 3 euro sandwiches and sat on the steps of Santa Croce to eat them. We stopped at the School of Leather, then went to Santa Maria Novella and sat in the grass in the sunshine playing board games and throwing a frisbee.
Then we went to San Lorenzo Market. Jackie got a leather jacket and I got a bracelet for a friend at home.
We came home, laid in big bed and watched TV, then went to Il Panda to pick up Chinese food and ate it up on the terrace.
(In the room next door to me are three girls. Kuss, Mary and Christina. They pushed their three beds together to form one big bed, and thats how we refer to it.) Were all back in big bed now, hanging out and taking it easy tonight because we plan to head to the beach tomorrow!! Hooray. I cant even express the amount of happiness I am experiencing from all of this beautiful sunshine. Honestly cant believe there are only two weeks left. I try not to think about it, ever, because its so depressing. I never want to leave. For now, Im just loving how unbelievably happy and in love with life I am.
Ciao.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Lets be honest, Im on a four month vacation...
No classes Monday....a holiday. We did homework, laid around. Most everyone came to lunch and some even dinner, in our pajamas. In the middle of the day I went on a walk with Chloe, Kiki and Kussman down to the Duomo and to get some Gelato. I stopped by school with Kuss to print out some papers, came home, went on a run, then dinner.
After dinner I got dressed and ready and left with Kuss, Brooks and Garret to go to Kikoya, one of our favorite bars. Carter Brown and Kylie McAllister were both there. Carter is visiting from Amsterdam, and his 21st birthday was monday night. It was SO good to see him and Kylie. We spent the night reminiscing about highschool and telling one another about our semesters.
Tuesday was the only day this week I had all my classes. In philosophy, we walked down to Piazza San Marco to go into the church. Our teacher took us from painting to statue, telling us stories and giving us historical facts. Then we walked over to Piazza Annunciata and went into the church there as well. She told us more interesting information, mostly about Michaelangelo and how this church is a place he used as a hideout from the Medicci family.
Italian was the usual. A lot of laughing and playing around.
Painting was also the usual. Frustrating, messy, but fun.
We did an "Around the Pensioni" dinner Tuesday night. In groups of 25 we walked to each pensione and had a course. My group had pasta first, located at the Nazionale pensione. It was delicious. The vegetarian pasta was amazing, apparently the woman who owns their pensione used to be a professional chef, we could tell.
We had bruscetta here, salad at Savonarola, and hamburgers (veggie burgers) at Gallo. It was a fun night. Cool to see the other pensioni and to meet the people they live with.
THat night we went to Trivia. Our new favorite Tuesday night event. It starts at 8:30 and for 10 euro you get all the beer you can drink for 2 hours. About 20 to 25 of us always go and we break into teams of 5. (This week was awesome because about 15 of the engineering major kids came. We NEVER see them out, let alone drinking. They were a blast to hang out with outside of class for once.) Kiki, Chloe, Keagan, Kira and I were all on a team for trivia. We were thankful we had Keagan this week because one entire round was just pictures of album covers that we had to label, so Keagan dominated that round for our team. Luckily there was also a science round, I was excited and got our team enough points to pull us from 4th into 2nd.
Sadly we ended up in a tie for second with the group of boys next to us. The team who won got a 50 euro bar tab and once again (just like last week) bought everyone a shot with it. We are all very loving and sharing towards one another, haha, its great.
Karaoke begins when trivia ends. By that time, everyone has had enough beer to be willing to sing and dance. EVERYONE signed up for a song, literally. I signed up to do Michael Jackson's, Man in the Mirror, and obviously no one was shocked about it. My friend Kalea sang with me, and Chloe and Alexandra ended up jumping on stage as well. It was awesome. Everyone sang and danced along and were happy to hear an MJ song...everybody loves MJ :)
Wednesday at school was hilarious. Sooo many kids had gone out the night before so all of us were telling/hearing stories and entertaining our teachers with our tired eyes but smiling faces.
After lunch all the girls in my pensione headed upstairs to our rooftop terrace. We were in our swimsuits and took beach towels and laid out all afternoon listening to music, reading books, and doing homework. It was a dream. It was so warm out, not a cloud in the sky.
After dinner a few of us considered going out again, but decided that a full night of rest would be a better idea. We all went to sleep fairly early.
One of my classes was cancelled today so I only had Italian. I technically only had 2 days of school this week which is why I gave this post the title it has. We had a quiz today in Italian though, but it went pretty well.
Im staying in Firenze this weekend and couldnt be happier about it.
ciao.
After dinner I got dressed and ready and left with Kuss, Brooks and Garret to go to Kikoya, one of our favorite bars. Carter Brown and Kylie McAllister were both there. Carter is visiting from Amsterdam, and his 21st birthday was monday night. It was SO good to see him and Kylie. We spent the night reminiscing about highschool and telling one another about our semesters.
Tuesday was the only day this week I had all my classes. In philosophy, we walked down to Piazza San Marco to go into the church. Our teacher took us from painting to statue, telling us stories and giving us historical facts. Then we walked over to Piazza Annunciata and went into the church there as well. She told us more interesting information, mostly about Michaelangelo and how this church is a place he used as a hideout from the Medicci family.
Italian was the usual. A lot of laughing and playing around.
Painting was also the usual. Frustrating, messy, but fun.
We did an "Around the Pensioni" dinner Tuesday night. In groups of 25 we walked to each pensione and had a course. My group had pasta first, located at the Nazionale pensione. It was delicious. The vegetarian pasta was amazing, apparently the woman who owns their pensione used to be a professional chef, we could tell.
We had bruscetta here, salad at Savonarola, and hamburgers (veggie burgers) at Gallo. It was a fun night. Cool to see the other pensioni and to meet the people they live with.
THat night we went to Trivia. Our new favorite Tuesday night event. It starts at 8:30 and for 10 euro you get all the beer you can drink for 2 hours. About 20 to 25 of us always go and we break into teams of 5. (This week was awesome because about 15 of the engineering major kids came. We NEVER see them out, let alone drinking. They were a blast to hang out with outside of class for once.) Kiki, Chloe, Keagan, Kira and I were all on a team for trivia. We were thankful we had Keagan this week because one entire round was just pictures of album covers that we had to label, so Keagan dominated that round for our team. Luckily there was also a science round, I was excited and got our team enough points to pull us from 4th into 2nd.
Sadly we ended up in a tie for second with the group of boys next to us. The team who won got a 50 euro bar tab and once again (just like last week) bought everyone a shot with it. We are all very loving and sharing towards one another, haha, its great.
Karaoke begins when trivia ends. By that time, everyone has had enough beer to be willing to sing and dance. EVERYONE signed up for a song, literally. I signed up to do Michael Jackson's, Man in the Mirror, and obviously no one was shocked about it. My friend Kalea sang with me, and Chloe and Alexandra ended up jumping on stage as well. It was awesome. Everyone sang and danced along and were happy to hear an MJ song...everybody loves MJ :)
Wednesday at school was hilarious. Sooo many kids had gone out the night before so all of us were telling/hearing stories and entertaining our teachers with our tired eyes but smiling faces.
After lunch all the girls in my pensione headed upstairs to our rooftop terrace. We were in our swimsuits and took beach towels and laid out all afternoon listening to music, reading books, and doing homework. It was a dream. It was so warm out, not a cloud in the sky.
After dinner a few of us considered going out again, but decided that a full night of rest would be a better idea. We all went to sleep fairly early.
One of my classes was cancelled today so I only had Italian. I technically only had 2 days of school this week which is why I gave this post the title it has. We had a quiz today in Italian though, but it went pretty well.
Im staying in Firenze this weekend and couldnt be happier about it.
ciao.
Monday, April 5, 2010
I fell in love with Munchen
Munchen is the German word for Munich. We obviously loved the fact that it was Munchen, because it sounds funny.
We left for Dachau concentration camp Friday morning. It was an hour outside of Munich. We got there, broke up into two groups of about 25 and headed out on our tour. The first question of the day was answered by none other than yours truly. I love history, and ended up answering most of his questions about the Holocaust and WWII. When did Hitler begin coming into power? 1933. What event happened in America and effected the rest of the world in the '30s? The stock market crash and therefore Great Depression. What sparked the beginning of WWII? The annexation of Austria. What year and if possible what month was this camp liberated? April 29th, 1945. Yes. I answered all these questions. I was on my game.
Otherwise the tour was extremely sorrowing, depressing, sad, and eye opening. Its entirely different seeing the camps in pictures as compared to actually being there. The entire site was quiet, eerie. We saw the monument stating "Never Again" in five different languages, the Catholic, Russian, Jewish, and Lutheran monuments on the site. Our guide showed us their sleeping barracks and took us to the crematorium. We saw the ovens, the chimney, the gas chambers, everything. Some kids were shocked by how much they showed us, and honestly I was too. A few people were unable to make it through the entire tour, and many didn't enter the gas chambers, crematoriums and holding rooms for the bodies. It was an extremely moving experience. Right when we were done with the tour we went to the Monastery directly behind the camp for a Good Friday Vigil. Father Brian led mass, as always (were so lucky he travels on all our trips). He had a few of us participate in reading the Gospel and I was one of them. Everyone, Catholic or not, came to the mass, which was really nice, it was good to all be together after being apart for our tours. Father Brian told us great stories and really got us in the holiday spirit.
We left, somber from our mornings events, and decided the Hofbrauhaus was the best way to change gears. It was Kiki, Chloe, Stina, Ant and Mich, Brooks, Tuck, Carl, Alex and I. We originally planned on only having one stein, lunch, and leaving. It didnt work out that way though. We all had lunch and a stein and then a second round was ordered. We met other kids from the States, one of which goes to school with, and even had class with Nick Rivers, one of mine and Brooks close friends from highschool. We hung out and talked with them for a while, and had another stein. The hours passed, new friends came and went. We saw other Gonzaga kids, met Germans, old and young. Suddenly it was night time. I met a group of German kids that were super nice and sat with them for a while. The kid next to me Lucas was a doll, and the only one who spoke English. Kiki, Lauren, Kira and I sat with the guys, had another Stein, and enjoyed learning German toast songs with them.
Everyone in our group slowly began to leave, and at midnight, the Hofbrauhaus closed. I was with Chloe. We left to find the metro. We got there fine, but when it came to finding where to go, we had some trouble. We found nice people who showed us where to go and how to get there, how to get our tickets, etc. We thanked them and went on our way. On the metro we met another kid, named Greg. Greg was from England but studying in Munich, as always, 6 degrees of separation led us to know someone similar. We ended up joining him and his friends at a bar. They were really sweet, fun kids. We talked about studying abroad, our experiences in our cities, etc. Around 4 the exhaustion hit, so Greg called us a cab and sent Chloe and I directly to our hostel.
Side Note: By far, Munich quite possibly had some of the nicest people we have met/hung out with/encountered in all of our traveling. As you can tell.
Slightly hungover we woke up the next morning, and went on a bike tour through the city. Our tour guide was crazy. Funny, out going, sometimes tried to be too funny, but all around enjoyable. I got a yellow bike (YES) and even better, they were all beach cruisers. Munich is pretty flat, so the bike ride was very leisurely. We stopped at famous sites, learned about the city, etc. The sun was shining, it was warm, we all took off our coats and soaked up the sun. We went to the second largest garden in the world, and in it, a huge beer garden. We stopped for lunch and a beer.. well, some people had beers. I had a fanta. We got back on the bikes and rode to a place on the river where surfers can go to ride the waves that come from a place in the river that is dammed up. We saw more sites, nude people laying out, kids playing, churches, statues, etc.
Yannick had been messing around on his bike all morning. Doing all kinds of tricks, and obviously making me nervous. I warned him a plethora of times, and always heard back. "Okay mom". By the end of the day he had flipped off his bike and completely annihilated his hands. I hated saying I told you so, but after wrapping up his hands, I did. haha
After the bike tour everyone broke up to do their own things. Chloe and I went with Tucker, Carl and Brooks to the BMW world and Museum. It was really cool. Beautiful cars, interactive areas to learn about them, etc. Tucker and Carl are huge car fanatics and sat there telling Chloe and I ALLL about engines and every part of a car you can imagine. It was fun to learn about what they love and see the cars. The museum had cars from the 1930s all the way till now. We fell in love with all of them, of course.
After the museum we went back to the hostel, napped, and Chloe and I left for mass. No one else had wanted to go because we were warned of the length of mass. Chloe and I are used to longer holiday masses though, and decided it would be weird to have an Easter without going to mass. We went, and couldnt be happier we did.
The cathedral was HUGE. It was St. Michael's Cathedral (google it). It was greatly damaged in WWII (as was 70% of Munich) but was restored to its original architecture after. We walked in and saw people standing, and were confused. We walked farther in to see that every single pew was completely full and that hundreds of people were standing, and even more were just sitting on the floor. The place was packed. We saw that there was a balcony, so we went to find how to get up there. We found a staircase and made our way up. Every light in the cathedral was turned off, the place was completely black. Then, the priest and about 20 alter boys and girls came in holding candles. At each pew, the person at the end would have their candle lit, and pass on the light to their pew. As the priest and alter kids made their way down, eventually every person held a lit candle. It was quite a sight to see. Chloe and I were bummed we were candle-less, but enjoyed the beautiful sight nonetheless. We were able to follow along for the most part, understanding when each reading happened, and the Gospel. We whispered to each other the stories we guessed they were telling. We guessed when the Apostles Creed happened and the Our Father, and recited them quietly in English. When it came time for communion, a man motioned us to follow him. There were about 8 people in our balcony with us, so we all followed. We passed the sacristy, and Chloe and I both got nervous. He opened a door and all of a sudden we were on the Alter. Actually, behind the alter is a better description. We were in a long line of people, walking towards the back of the church, and then when the line swerved turned to face out towards the rest of the church, it was an unbelievable sight to see the hundreds of people getting communion. A nun gave us our communion, and we headed back to our seats. They used incense, and the alter kids were a huge part of the ceremony. They were broken up on the two sides of the aisle, boys and girls, and from inside to outside, from shortest to tallest.
The mass lasted 2.5 hours, and at the end, Chloe and I stayed to look around the church and see the pictures from the war. We went to meet up with our friends at a bar after and went home early with Kiki around 1.
Sunday we had to wake up early and head over to Neuschwanstein castle. It was two hours outside of Munich, and when we arrived we had about an hour to wander. We went into shops, walked down the streets, got postcards and went into a restaurant for hot chocolate. We began the trek up to the castle. It was about a 30 minute uphill walk to get there, and, walking next to Chloe (6 ft tall) was more of a sprint. On the way up we ran into other Gonzaga kids playing a new found game. A sort of battle of sexes. The girls would give the boys a word that EVERY girl would know, and the guys would try to guess what it was. And then the boys would do it back. We started with Bangles. Every girl knows that Bangles are metal bracelets. Kirk defined it as "When your bangs are all tangled up." We realized this was a PERFECT road trip game and the girls and guys teamed up to come up with words before we got back on the bus.
The tour through the castle was short and sweet. They took us through a few rooms but only on one floor because a majority of the castle was never completed. It was meant to have over 110 rooms, but only 16 are completed. She told us some history, we asked a million Disney questions, and she answered them happily. We argued over whether it was Cinderella's or Sleeping Beauty's castle and she didnt have an answer. She did however, tell us that one of the paintings in the castle is what inspired the man who came up with the story of Bambi. King Ludwig lived there alone, he liked being alone she told us. He had an obsession with swans, and had a man made cave built in it just for fun. The castle is built up on the mountain for the sole purpose of looking down on his father's castle. He only lived there 152 days before he died.
We left the castle, a bit unsatisfied, but when we caught the view of the outside again, felt better. The outside is really whats stunning about it.
On the walk down we stopped for "snow balls" doughy balls covered in sugar. Obviously delicious.
On the bus we played our game. Us girls used mostly clothing and accessory terms, and the boys gave us car and sports terms. We won, big time. I knew most of the sports terms so did Amanda and Kiki and one of the other girls knew the car terms. There were some we had no idea about, but the guesses they would come up with were hilarious. We gave them; Romper, clutch, wedges, bangles, and spanks. Carl did get romper, but after Kirk and Cooper took some funny guesses.
I got ERA, RBI, Intentional grounding. Kiki explained cylinders and horsepower. They were frustrated we won, and we all sat to watch the on-bus movies.
It took a long time to get home because of the rain but we finally made it home by 10. We were all pretty bummed to spend our Easter on a bus, but Shelly and Linda (student life staff) gave us chocolates as a present.
I got to talk to the family when I got home, did some homework, STILL have not unpacked, and went to bed. Today has been spent in jammies, writing papers, blogs, putting up pictures, and recovering from a long, fun, weekend.
Lots of Love and Buona Pasqua!
We left for Dachau concentration camp Friday morning. It was an hour outside of Munich. We got there, broke up into two groups of about 25 and headed out on our tour. The first question of the day was answered by none other than yours truly. I love history, and ended up answering most of his questions about the Holocaust and WWII. When did Hitler begin coming into power? 1933. What event happened in America and effected the rest of the world in the '30s? The stock market crash and therefore Great Depression. What sparked the beginning of WWII? The annexation of Austria. What year and if possible what month was this camp liberated? April 29th, 1945. Yes. I answered all these questions. I was on my game.
Otherwise the tour was extremely sorrowing, depressing, sad, and eye opening. Its entirely different seeing the camps in pictures as compared to actually being there. The entire site was quiet, eerie. We saw the monument stating "Never Again" in five different languages, the Catholic, Russian, Jewish, and Lutheran monuments on the site. Our guide showed us their sleeping barracks and took us to the crematorium. We saw the ovens, the chimney, the gas chambers, everything. Some kids were shocked by how much they showed us, and honestly I was too. A few people were unable to make it through the entire tour, and many didn't enter the gas chambers, crematoriums and holding rooms for the bodies. It was an extremely moving experience. Right when we were done with the tour we went to the Monastery directly behind the camp for a Good Friday Vigil. Father Brian led mass, as always (were so lucky he travels on all our trips). He had a few of us participate in reading the Gospel and I was one of them. Everyone, Catholic or not, came to the mass, which was really nice, it was good to all be together after being apart for our tours. Father Brian told us great stories and really got us in the holiday spirit.
We left, somber from our mornings events, and decided the Hofbrauhaus was the best way to change gears. It was Kiki, Chloe, Stina, Ant and Mich, Brooks, Tuck, Carl, Alex and I. We originally planned on only having one stein, lunch, and leaving. It didnt work out that way though. We all had lunch and a stein and then a second round was ordered. We met other kids from the States, one of which goes to school with, and even had class with Nick Rivers, one of mine and Brooks close friends from highschool. We hung out and talked with them for a while, and had another stein. The hours passed, new friends came and went. We saw other Gonzaga kids, met Germans, old and young. Suddenly it was night time. I met a group of German kids that were super nice and sat with them for a while. The kid next to me Lucas was a doll, and the only one who spoke English. Kiki, Lauren, Kira and I sat with the guys, had another Stein, and enjoyed learning German toast songs with them.
Everyone in our group slowly began to leave, and at midnight, the Hofbrauhaus closed. I was with Chloe. We left to find the metro. We got there fine, but when it came to finding where to go, we had some trouble. We found nice people who showed us where to go and how to get there, how to get our tickets, etc. We thanked them and went on our way. On the metro we met another kid, named Greg. Greg was from England but studying in Munich, as always, 6 degrees of separation led us to know someone similar. We ended up joining him and his friends at a bar. They were really sweet, fun kids. We talked about studying abroad, our experiences in our cities, etc. Around 4 the exhaustion hit, so Greg called us a cab and sent Chloe and I directly to our hostel.
Side Note: By far, Munich quite possibly had some of the nicest people we have met/hung out with/encountered in all of our traveling. As you can tell.
Slightly hungover we woke up the next morning, and went on a bike tour through the city. Our tour guide was crazy. Funny, out going, sometimes tried to be too funny, but all around enjoyable. I got a yellow bike (YES) and even better, they were all beach cruisers. Munich is pretty flat, so the bike ride was very leisurely. We stopped at famous sites, learned about the city, etc. The sun was shining, it was warm, we all took off our coats and soaked up the sun. We went to the second largest garden in the world, and in it, a huge beer garden. We stopped for lunch and a beer.. well, some people had beers. I had a fanta. We got back on the bikes and rode to a place on the river where surfers can go to ride the waves that come from a place in the river that is dammed up. We saw more sites, nude people laying out, kids playing, churches, statues, etc.
Yannick had been messing around on his bike all morning. Doing all kinds of tricks, and obviously making me nervous. I warned him a plethora of times, and always heard back. "Okay mom". By the end of the day he had flipped off his bike and completely annihilated his hands. I hated saying I told you so, but after wrapping up his hands, I did. haha
After the bike tour everyone broke up to do their own things. Chloe and I went with Tucker, Carl and Brooks to the BMW world and Museum. It was really cool. Beautiful cars, interactive areas to learn about them, etc. Tucker and Carl are huge car fanatics and sat there telling Chloe and I ALLL about engines and every part of a car you can imagine. It was fun to learn about what they love and see the cars. The museum had cars from the 1930s all the way till now. We fell in love with all of them, of course.
After the museum we went back to the hostel, napped, and Chloe and I left for mass. No one else had wanted to go because we were warned of the length of mass. Chloe and I are used to longer holiday masses though, and decided it would be weird to have an Easter without going to mass. We went, and couldnt be happier we did.
The cathedral was HUGE. It was St. Michael's Cathedral (google it). It was greatly damaged in WWII (as was 70% of Munich) but was restored to its original architecture after. We walked in and saw people standing, and were confused. We walked farther in to see that every single pew was completely full and that hundreds of people were standing, and even more were just sitting on the floor. The place was packed. We saw that there was a balcony, so we went to find how to get up there. We found a staircase and made our way up. Every light in the cathedral was turned off, the place was completely black. Then, the priest and about 20 alter boys and girls came in holding candles. At each pew, the person at the end would have their candle lit, and pass on the light to their pew. As the priest and alter kids made their way down, eventually every person held a lit candle. It was quite a sight to see. Chloe and I were bummed we were candle-less, but enjoyed the beautiful sight nonetheless. We were able to follow along for the most part, understanding when each reading happened, and the Gospel. We whispered to each other the stories we guessed they were telling. We guessed when the Apostles Creed happened and the Our Father, and recited them quietly in English. When it came time for communion, a man motioned us to follow him. There were about 8 people in our balcony with us, so we all followed. We passed the sacristy, and Chloe and I both got nervous. He opened a door and all of a sudden we were on the Alter. Actually, behind the alter is a better description. We were in a long line of people, walking towards the back of the church, and then when the line swerved turned to face out towards the rest of the church, it was an unbelievable sight to see the hundreds of people getting communion. A nun gave us our communion, and we headed back to our seats. They used incense, and the alter kids were a huge part of the ceremony. They were broken up on the two sides of the aisle, boys and girls, and from inside to outside, from shortest to tallest.
The mass lasted 2.5 hours, and at the end, Chloe and I stayed to look around the church and see the pictures from the war. We went to meet up with our friends at a bar after and went home early with Kiki around 1.
Sunday we had to wake up early and head over to Neuschwanstein castle. It was two hours outside of Munich, and when we arrived we had about an hour to wander. We went into shops, walked down the streets, got postcards and went into a restaurant for hot chocolate. We began the trek up to the castle. It was about a 30 minute uphill walk to get there, and, walking next to Chloe (6 ft tall) was more of a sprint. On the way up we ran into other Gonzaga kids playing a new found game. A sort of battle of sexes. The girls would give the boys a word that EVERY girl would know, and the guys would try to guess what it was. And then the boys would do it back. We started with Bangles. Every girl knows that Bangles are metal bracelets. Kirk defined it as "When your bangs are all tangled up." We realized this was a PERFECT road trip game and the girls and guys teamed up to come up with words before we got back on the bus.
The tour through the castle was short and sweet. They took us through a few rooms but only on one floor because a majority of the castle was never completed. It was meant to have over 110 rooms, but only 16 are completed. She told us some history, we asked a million Disney questions, and she answered them happily. We argued over whether it was Cinderella's or Sleeping Beauty's castle and she didnt have an answer. She did however, tell us that one of the paintings in the castle is what inspired the man who came up with the story of Bambi. King Ludwig lived there alone, he liked being alone she told us. He had an obsession with swans, and had a man made cave built in it just for fun. The castle is built up on the mountain for the sole purpose of looking down on his father's castle. He only lived there 152 days before he died.
We left the castle, a bit unsatisfied, but when we caught the view of the outside again, felt better. The outside is really whats stunning about it.
On the walk down we stopped for "snow balls" doughy balls covered in sugar. Obviously delicious.
On the bus we played our game. Us girls used mostly clothing and accessory terms, and the boys gave us car and sports terms. We won, big time. I knew most of the sports terms so did Amanda and Kiki and one of the other girls knew the car terms. There were some we had no idea about, but the guesses they would come up with were hilarious. We gave them; Romper, clutch, wedges, bangles, and spanks. Carl did get romper, but after Kirk and Cooper took some funny guesses.
I got ERA, RBI, Intentional grounding. Kiki explained cylinders and horsepower. They were frustrated we won, and we all sat to watch the on-bus movies.
It took a long time to get home because of the rain but we finally made it home by 10. We were all pretty bummed to spend our Easter on a bus, but Shelly and Linda (student life staff) gave us chocolates as a present.
I got to talk to the family when I got home, did some homework, STILL have not unpacked, and went to bed. Today has been spent in jammies, writing papers, blogs, putting up pictures, and recovering from a long, fun, weekend.
Lots of Love and Buona Pasqua!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
endorphins.
Before I get into my running story.... Philosophy is awesome, competing for first place of best class Ive ever taken.. Every day we have been talking about topics that are in either Homo Faber (the book we just read- awesome book) and our class book. Subjects like friendship, abortion, politics, relationships, etc. We finished the subjects on Wednesday. At the end of class she said, "You will pick the subjects for the rest of the semester." Anything we wonder about, question about, or just want to talk about. She is amazing. We came in today and someone said "Prostitution; I just got back from Amsterdam and want to talk about it." We spent the entire class talking about Prostitution, sex education, the youth of today, we got into every possible facet. Its great getting to hear everyones opinions, give our own, and have constructive conversations. And she always chirps in with information, stories, everything. She speaks five languages, grew up in a communist country, and has lived in Italy for the past 20 years, she has a lot of knowledge to share. At the end of class she said, what do you want to talk about next? We threw out subjects, and she said "How about we discuss and walk? Its been so beautiful out." We all got so excited. That is EXACTLY what we wanted to do. Cant wait for class on Tuesday.
Anyway...
Ive run every day this week. Thank goodness. I needed it. With all the eating, drinking, etc, running feels great. Today by far wins best run.
I got out of Russo's class at 11:40. I got home by 11:45 and set out. I ran down to the Arno and along it for a few blocks. The next part wasn't too fun because of the OBSCENE amount of tourists; past the Uffici, Piazza Signoria and the Duomo. Then I went down Via Cavour and asked a police man the time (in Italian). It was only 12:25. Not enough time to go back and shower, so I figured I'd run all the way till lunch started. So I passed through Piazza San Marco, down the street to Piazza Santissima Annunciata. I passed that and went down farther to a park I've passed through before. There were four little boys playing soccer. I stopped and watched for a while, then gained the confidence to walk up and ask to play. "Posso giocare?" - may I play? The boys were very welcoming and I joined for a bit. It was a blast. I was on the team of the two that looked no older than 5 years old, against the other two, who had to be at least 10. (obviously unfair for the two little ones). Time was running so I had to leave them, I thanked them for the fun time, and one of the little boys hugged me good bye. My heart melted.
I continued running, saw people who were obviously lost and asked them if they needed help. They were from Calgary. I asked for the time, 12:45...still doing great. They asked how to get to the David..they were way off from the correct direction. I explained to them how to get there, using street names and land marks, etc. They were so sweet. They were so excited and asked what I was doing here and why I knew my way around, etc. They were spending their Spring Break in Florence. We said goodbye and went out ways, I kept running. I ran to Piazza Liberta and stopped to sit on a bench. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle flanked on either side by two huge, beautiful arches. I literally live 30 steps away from this piazza, and have never really seen it. It was great to finally sit and enjoy the beauty of it. I picked some little daisy flowers and finished the run by going the very round about way back to my pensione. I walked in at 1:03, just in time, the first course was being set out as I walked in.
The run was needed. Cleared my head. Enjoyed the beautiful weather in my beautiful city. Put me in a sensational mood, and of course, got my heart rate goin.
We had veggies and pizza for lunch, and fresh strawberries for desert...They have given us strawberries the past 3 days, each time with whipped cream :) the best.
I just finished packing, now just hanging out with Jackie in the room before I head off to Munich for the weekend.
Living la dolce vita.
ciao.
Anyway...
Ive run every day this week. Thank goodness. I needed it. With all the eating, drinking, etc, running feels great. Today by far wins best run.
I got out of Russo's class at 11:40. I got home by 11:45 and set out. I ran down to the Arno and along it for a few blocks. The next part wasn't too fun because of the OBSCENE amount of tourists; past the Uffici, Piazza Signoria and the Duomo. Then I went down Via Cavour and asked a police man the time (in Italian). It was only 12:25. Not enough time to go back and shower, so I figured I'd run all the way till lunch started. So I passed through Piazza San Marco, down the street to Piazza Santissima Annunciata. I passed that and went down farther to a park I've passed through before. There were four little boys playing soccer. I stopped and watched for a while, then gained the confidence to walk up and ask to play. "Posso giocare?" - may I play? The boys were very welcoming and I joined for a bit. It was a blast. I was on the team of the two that looked no older than 5 years old, against the other two, who had to be at least 10. (obviously unfair for the two little ones). Time was running so I had to leave them, I thanked them for the fun time, and one of the little boys hugged me good bye. My heart melted.
I continued running, saw people who were obviously lost and asked them if they needed help. They were from Calgary. I asked for the time, 12:45...still doing great. They asked how to get to the David..they were way off from the correct direction. I explained to them how to get there, using street names and land marks, etc. They were so sweet. They were so excited and asked what I was doing here and why I knew my way around, etc. They were spending their Spring Break in Florence. We said goodbye and went out ways, I kept running. I ran to Piazza Liberta and stopped to sit on a bench. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle flanked on either side by two huge, beautiful arches. I literally live 30 steps away from this piazza, and have never really seen it. It was great to finally sit and enjoy the beauty of it. I picked some little daisy flowers and finished the run by going the very round about way back to my pensione. I walked in at 1:03, just in time, the first course was being set out as I walked in.
The run was needed. Cleared my head. Enjoyed the beautiful weather in my beautiful city. Put me in a sensational mood, and of course, got my heart rate goin.
We had veggies and pizza for lunch, and fresh strawberries for desert...They have given us strawberries the past 3 days, each time with whipped cream :) the best.
I just finished packing, now just hanging out with Jackie in the room before I head off to Munich for the weekend.
Living la dolce vita.
ciao.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Weekend sunshine and bug bites.
14. That is the number of mosquito bites I have. 5. That is the amount located on my face. Not fun to say the least. With this beautiful heat and sunshine, comes the mosquitos.
Saturday was spent at the Bargello Museum, San Lorenzo Market, and long walks outside.
I went to dinner with a huge group of people, had eggplant, pasta and wine. After we all went out to Cafe Bigalo and Rex. Chloe and I had said at the beginning of the night that we would stay out allll night. And we did. We ran around the city from bar to bar and had a great time. Because of the time change (yes, unfortunately it does change here) we didn't get home until about 5. It was a ball.
We woke up and went to the American diner, I had eggs benedict and a peach ice tea. Went home, showered, did laundry, skyped and did homework, then went to bed early, exhausted.
Monday I had class cancelled so Laura and I went with Michaela and her friends to a park nearby and laid out in the sunshine.
Last night we went to a bar called the Old Stove and did trivia night. I was on an all girls team vs 4 other teams, mostly made of guys. It was fun because everyone playing were GIF students and we all knew each other. Our first two rounds didnt go that well, but when we got to the History round, Kira and I dominated and got almost every question right. We ended up in a tie for second place. Thankfully the guys that won are of the more generous, so they spent their 50 euro bar tab winnings by buying everyone who played a drink. It was a ball.
Today I only had Italian class. We were supposed to go to a piazza down the street, but Russo's neck was bugging her. She brought us freshly baked Foccacia bread and the seven of us chowed down on it. Wednesdays are always funny because all seven of us always go out on Tuesday nights, so class is always a fun time the next day. We ended up not opening our books once. She said "ask me questions" and we did. We asked about what Easter was like in Florence and from there the conversation somehow got into life stories. Russo told us about how she has lived in Florence her entire life. About living here during WWII and what she saw. About politics, wars in general, and life lessons. We finally figured out her age because we asked how old she was during the war. 15 in 1945, so she was born in 1930. She is just as old as we had guessed. She was giggling at herself that we won the fight and tricked her into giving us dates. It was a wonderful day. We started out all speaking in Italian, but at some point it switched to English which was nice because we got a lot more out of what she was saying.
Russo is a great lady. A lot of people dont like her, Im truly not sure why. She is great. I cant believe she is still coming to school every day and teaching all day long at her age. She amazes me. After today's talk I think we all left class with more respect, love and reverence to her.
I came home to the smell of cauliflower and pasta. Excited for lunch.
Ciao.
Saturday was spent at the Bargello Museum, San Lorenzo Market, and long walks outside.
I went to dinner with a huge group of people, had eggplant, pasta and wine. After we all went out to Cafe Bigalo and Rex. Chloe and I had said at the beginning of the night that we would stay out allll night. And we did. We ran around the city from bar to bar and had a great time. Because of the time change (yes, unfortunately it does change here) we didn't get home until about 5. It was a ball.
We woke up and went to the American diner, I had eggs benedict and a peach ice tea. Went home, showered, did laundry, skyped and did homework, then went to bed early, exhausted.
Monday I had class cancelled so Laura and I went with Michaela and her friends to a park nearby and laid out in the sunshine.
Last night we went to a bar called the Old Stove and did trivia night. I was on an all girls team vs 4 other teams, mostly made of guys. It was fun because everyone playing were GIF students and we all knew each other. Our first two rounds didnt go that well, but when we got to the History round, Kira and I dominated and got almost every question right. We ended up in a tie for second place. Thankfully the guys that won are of the more generous, so they spent their 50 euro bar tab winnings by buying everyone who played a drink. It was a ball.
Today I only had Italian class. We were supposed to go to a piazza down the street, but Russo's neck was bugging her. She brought us freshly baked Foccacia bread and the seven of us chowed down on it. Wednesdays are always funny because all seven of us always go out on Tuesday nights, so class is always a fun time the next day. We ended up not opening our books once. She said "ask me questions" and we did. We asked about what Easter was like in Florence and from there the conversation somehow got into life stories. Russo told us about how she has lived in Florence her entire life. About living here during WWII and what she saw. About politics, wars in general, and life lessons. We finally figured out her age because we asked how old she was during the war. 15 in 1945, so she was born in 1930. She is just as old as we had guessed. She was giggling at herself that we won the fight and tricked her into giving us dates. It was a wonderful day. We started out all speaking in Italian, but at some point it switched to English which was nice because we got a lot more out of what she was saying.
Russo is a great lady. A lot of people dont like her, Im truly not sure why. She is great. I cant believe she is still coming to school every day and teaching all day long at her age. She amazes me. After today's talk I think we all left class with more respect, love and reverence to her.
I came home to the smell of cauliflower and pasta. Excited for lunch.
Ciao.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Vespas and Vino
Friday morning Christina, Laura, Sean, Keagan, Tucker, Kiki, Chloe and I woke up and met a man from a Chianti wine tour company in San Marco. He drove us out to Chianti and on the way we picked up his son Joseph. Joseph is three, so was obviously a big hit for those of us girls. We absolutely loved him and he loved the attention.
When we got to Chianti we got our helmets on and were given our vespas. I got a yellow one (yes!) and they had us drive around the little property to practice before we went out on the roads. We all had it down pretty well and headed out. There weren't many cars out at all, so that really wasnt a concern. I picked up driving it pretty quickly and really enjoyed riding it. We stopped at a tiny town with 4 homes, 1 restaurant and 1 church in it for a little snack. Chloe and I went into the church, as we always do, had our chats with God and lit candles for friends back at home.
We got back on the road and drove to a huge fort/castle. We walked around inside, took lots of pictures, and then we were led into a little winery. There, one of the guides talked to us about the wines and we tasted about 3 different kinds. Sean bought a bottle, and Chloe and I were tempted but decided against it.
We got back on our vespas for the last leg of the journey back to the place we picked the vespas up. Then they put us back in the van, and took us over to a restaurant near a lake. They fed us tons of food and tons of wine. Bottomless wine for that matter. We all drank quite a bit, to say the least. The food was delicious and so was the wine. We ate and drank and then walked around by the lake. The guides packed us back into the van and drove us back home to our pensione. We all fell right to sleep and woke up for dinner at about 9. We went to dinner, and came home, exhausted.
I got on skype and saw my mama, aunt Lisa, and cousin Caroline. I was so happy to get to see them and we had a great chat.
I fell right to sleep, so content.
When we got to Chianti we got our helmets on and were given our vespas. I got a yellow one (yes!) and they had us drive around the little property to practice before we went out on the roads. We all had it down pretty well and headed out. There weren't many cars out at all, so that really wasnt a concern. I picked up driving it pretty quickly and really enjoyed riding it. We stopped at a tiny town with 4 homes, 1 restaurant and 1 church in it for a little snack. Chloe and I went into the church, as we always do, had our chats with God and lit candles for friends back at home.
We got back on the road and drove to a huge fort/castle. We walked around inside, took lots of pictures, and then we were led into a little winery. There, one of the guides talked to us about the wines and we tasted about 3 different kinds. Sean bought a bottle, and Chloe and I were tempted but decided against it.
We got back on our vespas for the last leg of the journey back to the place we picked the vespas up. Then they put us back in the van, and took us over to a restaurant near a lake. They fed us tons of food and tons of wine. Bottomless wine for that matter. We all drank quite a bit, to say the least. The food was delicious and so was the wine. We ate and drank and then walked around by the lake. The guides packed us back into the van and drove us back home to our pensione. We all fell right to sleep and woke up for dinner at about 9. We went to dinner, and came home, exhausted.
I got on skype and saw my mama, aunt Lisa, and cousin Caroline. I was so happy to get to see them and we had a great chat.
I fell right to sleep, so content.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Happy New Year...
Thursday was New Years day for Florence. None of us really understood why, and no one explained it to us, but we loved the day. After lunch about ten of us headed over to the New Years market. Its a market that only comes on new years day. There was a ton of food, candy, chocolate, meat, clothes, jewelry, everything. The sun was shining, we were all in t-shirts and sun glasses. Chloe and Tucker got Coronas and I made a necklace. There were charms and chains, I chose a silver elephant and a long silver chain. The man and I put it together and my grand total was 2 euro. I love the necklace. At some of the places there were whole pigs that had been roasted sitting on the counter. You could literally walk up, have a sliver of pig cut off and handed to you right there. I was obviously disturbed but plenty of people there loved it.
After meandering, Chloe, Tucker, Kiki and I climbed the Duomo. It was a rough climb, lots of steps, but worse for me, extremely claustrophobic, tinnnyyy staircases. It was well worth it once at the top though. The view of the city is absolutely perfect. The Duomo is the center of everything. We took plenty of pictures, hung out for a while, and headed home.
I went to Cirque Du Soleil that night with a bunch of friends. On the way we stopped at a Sandwhich shop that Federica (student Life staff) had suggested. It had HUGE, delicious paninis for only 4 euro. It was a local place, no one spoke english and it was full of Italians. Our favorite. We chowed down and everyone was stuffed. Then crossed the street to the Mandella Forum where Cirque was held. Saltimbanco was the name. It was amazing, blew me away. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time. The trapeze artists were doing the most unreal tricks. All of the acts were amazing, and they included some clown like, really funny acts, too. There was a little girl sitting next to me making me laugh because she was enjoying it so much. I was inspired to go home and work out and find a crazy talent so that by next year Jackie and I can join Cirque, wouldnt that be fun?
Came home late and exhausted, hopped in to bed and got a good nights sleep.
After meandering, Chloe, Tucker, Kiki and I climbed the Duomo. It was a rough climb, lots of steps, but worse for me, extremely claustrophobic, tinnnyyy staircases. It was well worth it once at the top though. The view of the city is absolutely perfect. The Duomo is the center of everything. We took plenty of pictures, hung out for a while, and headed home.
I went to Cirque Du Soleil that night with a bunch of friends. On the way we stopped at a Sandwhich shop that Federica (student Life staff) had suggested. It had HUGE, delicious paninis for only 4 euro. It was a local place, no one spoke english and it was full of Italians. Our favorite. We chowed down and everyone was stuffed. Then crossed the street to the Mandella Forum where Cirque was held. Saltimbanco was the name. It was amazing, blew me away. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time. The trapeze artists were doing the most unreal tricks. All of the acts were amazing, and they included some clown like, really funny acts, too. There was a little girl sitting next to me making me laugh because she was enjoying it so much. I was inspired to go home and work out and find a crazy talent so that by next year Jackie and I can join Cirque, wouldnt that be fun?
Came home late and exhausted, hopped in to bed and got a good nights sleep.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Spring is here!!
This week has been amazingly gorgeous.
Matt Butterfeild and his mom were here this week. That was a dream. It was so good to see Matt. We took them out on Tuesday night to Joshua Tree bar and had a great time. Matt and I are old friends from home so it was nice getting to sit and talk with him for so long. It was also great to see his mom. She is so sweet and so mom-like, so she acted as a mommy to us this week.
On Wednesday, Chloe and I left after lunch and decided to walk around the city. We stopped at Grom, our favorite Gelato place, and headed to the Triangle Bridge. The triangle bridge is one bridge down from the Ponte Vecchio and we call it the Triangle bridge because there are these big triangle shaped ledges coming off of it that we sit on. We sat there for hours, talking and soaking up the sunshine in our t-shirts and flip flops. We havent been able to wear t-shirts and flip flops yet, so it was a very exciting day!
Hello Spring!
Matt Butterfeild and his mom were here this week. That was a dream. It was so good to see Matt. We took them out on Tuesday night to Joshua Tree bar and had a great time. Matt and I are old friends from home so it was nice getting to sit and talk with him for so long. It was also great to see his mom. She is so sweet and so mom-like, so she acted as a mommy to us this week.
On Wednesday, Chloe and I left after lunch and decided to walk around the city. We stopped at Grom, our favorite Gelato place, and headed to the Triangle Bridge. The triangle bridge is one bridge down from the Ponte Vecchio and we call it the Triangle bridge because there are these big triangle shaped ledges coming off of it that we sit on. We sat there for hours, talking and soaking up the sunshine in our t-shirts and flip flops. We havent been able to wear t-shirts and flip flops yet, so it was a very exciting day!
Hello Spring!
Aran Islands
We got up on Friday morning and took a bus to a ferry which took us to the Aran Islands.
We went to the little supermarket and got sandwiches and fruit and waters. We then rented bikes and headed out on our own bike tour all over the island. We stopped to have a picnic and eat our food on the water by a bunch of seals, it was beautiful of course. While we were eating I heard music, and got up to investigate. Behind us a little ways there were two Asian girls playing songs on their flutes. It was absolutely beautiful and after their song the three of us clapped for them, and they continued playing. We hopped back on the bikes and continued. Stopped for pictures, stopped for Katie to pet horses, etc.
We went to the cliffs and laid down on the edge of them, climbed around on the ruins and frolicked in the open grass. It was warm, the sun was shining, and the island was beautiful. We talked a lot about how we thought the 800 people on the island lived. The houses were so scattered. How many schools were there? How many restaurants, bars, etc? We had many discussions over what each of us thought the lifestyle of the Aran Island people was like. We ended up finding and elementary school and going in to it. We also went into a church, and then to the Aran Sweater Market. Katie and I remembered that dad had a sweater that looked just like these. I bbmed him to see if we were right, and in fact, we were. I ended up getting a sweater, and katie and wade got beanies.
We left the island at 5 an made it back to our hostel a little after 7. We got some Wok food (we love those places), got ready and were out to the first bar by 930. The man at the front desk was so excited when we asked him for bar suggestions. He jumped up and said he loved the young bar scene there and had plenty of suggestions. He gave us the names of about 5 places and we headed out.
First we went to a place called the Kinds Head, it was fun, but didnt have live music. We each had our beers and had a long life chat, and decided to move on. Next was the Queys. It was a huge bar with a great live band. We had a few beers there. Katie and I were a bit upset with the band because they didnt know "Galway Girl" but they did know Creedence Clearwater songs, haha nonetheless they were very talented. After the Queys we went to another bar that I cant remember the name of. We liked that one because, although it wasnt live music, their DJ was playing great old favorites of ours. We had fun dancing around. After that we went to a place called the Spanish Arch. This was my favorite. The band was AMAZING, and the lead singer was so talented. They played great songs that we all knew, so we stood there and watched, danced a bit, and had another guinness. There were tons of people in that bar, a huge group of men in kilts, and we danced around with them a bit too.
We headed home around 2 am, fully satisfied with our ability to make it to so many bars in one night, which is what was suggested to us that we do.
We left to go back to Dublin first thing the next morning. We walked around the city and did some last minute shopping/errands before heading to the airport hotel we were staying at. We watched titanic, had dinner, and fell asleep early.
Wade left around 5 am so neither of us saw him leave. Katie and I went to the continental breakfast. Ate SO much food in the hopes that we would stay full for the entire day, and left for the airport. We said our goodbyes and flew home.
Unfortunately, I had a 4 hour layover in Gatwick which was extended when my plane got delayed. I made it home around 130 in the morning, did my Italian homework, and went to bed.
Spring break was a great success!
We went to the little supermarket and got sandwiches and fruit and waters. We then rented bikes and headed out on our own bike tour all over the island. We stopped to have a picnic and eat our food on the water by a bunch of seals, it was beautiful of course. While we were eating I heard music, and got up to investigate. Behind us a little ways there were two Asian girls playing songs on their flutes. It was absolutely beautiful and after their song the three of us clapped for them, and they continued playing. We hopped back on the bikes and continued. Stopped for pictures, stopped for Katie to pet horses, etc.
We went to the cliffs and laid down on the edge of them, climbed around on the ruins and frolicked in the open grass. It was warm, the sun was shining, and the island was beautiful. We talked a lot about how we thought the 800 people on the island lived. The houses were so scattered. How many schools were there? How many restaurants, bars, etc? We had many discussions over what each of us thought the lifestyle of the Aran Island people was like. We ended up finding and elementary school and going in to it. We also went into a church, and then to the Aran Sweater Market. Katie and I remembered that dad had a sweater that looked just like these. I bbmed him to see if we were right, and in fact, we were. I ended up getting a sweater, and katie and wade got beanies.
We left the island at 5 an made it back to our hostel a little after 7. We got some Wok food (we love those places), got ready and were out to the first bar by 930. The man at the front desk was so excited when we asked him for bar suggestions. He jumped up and said he loved the young bar scene there and had plenty of suggestions. He gave us the names of about 5 places and we headed out.
First we went to a place called the Kinds Head, it was fun, but didnt have live music. We each had our beers and had a long life chat, and decided to move on. Next was the Queys. It was a huge bar with a great live band. We had a few beers there. Katie and I were a bit upset with the band because they didnt know "Galway Girl" but they did know Creedence Clearwater songs, haha nonetheless they were very talented. After the Queys we went to another bar that I cant remember the name of. We liked that one because, although it wasnt live music, their DJ was playing great old favorites of ours. We had fun dancing around. After that we went to a place called the Spanish Arch. This was my favorite. The band was AMAZING, and the lead singer was so talented. They played great songs that we all knew, so we stood there and watched, danced a bit, and had another guinness. There were tons of people in that bar, a huge group of men in kilts, and we danced around with them a bit too.
We headed home around 2 am, fully satisfied with our ability to make it to so many bars in one night, which is what was suggested to us that we do.
We left to go back to Dublin first thing the next morning. We walked around the city and did some last minute shopping/errands before heading to the airport hotel we were staying at. We watched titanic, had dinner, and fell asleep early.
Wade left around 5 am so neither of us saw him leave. Katie and I went to the continental breakfast. Ate SO much food in the hopes that we would stay full for the entire day, and left for the airport. We said our goodbyes and flew home.
Unfortunately, I had a 4 hour layover in Gatwick which was extended when my plane got delayed. I made it home around 130 in the morning, did my Italian homework, and went to bed.
Spring break was a great success!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Welcome to Dublin
Alright, here is what I have decided. Giving a detailed day-by-day description isnt going to happen because I just dont have the time or energy. I wrote out a journal for myself during the week, so Ill just give bullet points. <3
Monday.
- Arrived in Dublin, got into our beautiful hotel, met Wade, went site seeing = St. Patrick's Cathedral, St Stephens Green, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, ST ANN'S CHURCH - I was so excited to pass another one of my names, multiple pictures were taken. Its now my new goal to find a St. Therese church, then Ill have completed all my names, how cool.
- Had dinner at a diner, had burgers and fries and milkshakes, delish! Havent had anything like that in ages. (I had a veggie burger)
- Wade was exhausted so we took him home and Katie and I went to a bar with live Irish music and Irish dancers. It was great fun, entertaining, good guinness
Tuesday.
- Wild Wicklow Tour. A bus tour from 9-5 through the countryside outside of Dublin and into Wicklow. It was a blast. The bus driver was a funny guy. I sat up front in the jump seat right near the driver so we became good friends. We talked about how I had been to Ireland before and he announced to the entire bus that we had a dancer along with us and maybe everyone could work on convincing me to do a little dance for them. Of course this didnt happen, but we got a good laugh out of it. John was 66 but he might have had a bit of a crush on me...haha
Had lunch in a little town, potato and leak soup - loved it.
Went back to the Arlington that night for more live music and dancing and fun but went home early to prepare for St. Patty's.
Wednesday.
HAPPY ST. PATRICKS!
We got up early, had breakfast and mimosas and headed out. We went to the parade route (we thought early enough) and tried to get good spots. We climbed up on a statue for a better look. We stayed there till the Parade started and a while into the Parade before we got hungry and headed to get some lunch and go to a pub. We ended up hopping around from pub to pub, meeting people, dancing, drinking guinness and smithwicks, and having a merry good time.
We had dinner, took some power naps, and headed back out that night. Everyone was covered in green, celebrating, and having a great time. We ran into lots of friends.. Katie's friends from London, my friends from Florence, etc. BUt we also made a lot of friends. Great conversations, exploring, more dancing, etc.
We went home late, probably around 2 a.m and fell fast asleep. :)
Thursday.
- Woke up to find the room a complete mess. It was quite funny how messy it was so we took pictures of it. We went down and had breakfast, packed up, and got on a bus to Galway.
- Bus was 4 hours long, a bit painful because we might have been a bit hungover. But we made it.
- Got to Galway, found our hostel, and spent the rest of the day walking/exploring around the city. We saw the Spanish Arch, St. Nicholas Cathedral (went to church there) and walked along the river. We went to a small family run place for dinner and went home early to hang out and rest up.
The rest will come soon, promise. For now its lunch time. Its a beautiful sunny day out and I cant wait to spend the rest of the day outside after lunch! Im in flip flops and a t-shirt, FINALLY!
xoxo
Monday.
- Arrived in Dublin, got into our beautiful hotel, met Wade, went site seeing = St. Patrick's Cathedral, St Stephens Green, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, ST ANN'S CHURCH - I was so excited to pass another one of my names, multiple pictures were taken. Its now my new goal to find a St. Therese church, then Ill have completed all my names, how cool.
- Had dinner at a diner, had burgers and fries and milkshakes, delish! Havent had anything like that in ages. (I had a veggie burger)
- Wade was exhausted so we took him home and Katie and I went to a bar with live Irish music and Irish dancers. It was great fun, entertaining, good guinness
Tuesday.
- Wild Wicklow Tour. A bus tour from 9-5 through the countryside outside of Dublin and into Wicklow. It was a blast. The bus driver was a funny guy. I sat up front in the jump seat right near the driver so we became good friends. We talked about how I had been to Ireland before and he announced to the entire bus that we had a dancer along with us and maybe everyone could work on convincing me to do a little dance for them. Of course this didnt happen, but we got a good laugh out of it. John was 66 but he might have had a bit of a crush on me...haha
Had lunch in a little town, potato and leak soup - loved it.
Went back to the Arlington that night for more live music and dancing and fun but went home early to prepare for St. Patty's.
Wednesday.
HAPPY ST. PATRICKS!
We got up early, had breakfast and mimosas and headed out. We went to the parade route (we thought early enough) and tried to get good spots. We climbed up on a statue for a better look. We stayed there till the Parade started and a while into the Parade before we got hungry and headed to get some lunch and go to a pub. We ended up hopping around from pub to pub, meeting people, dancing, drinking guinness and smithwicks, and having a merry good time.
We had dinner, took some power naps, and headed back out that night. Everyone was covered in green, celebrating, and having a great time. We ran into lots of friends.. Katie's friends from London, my friends from Florence, etc. BUt we also made a lot of friends. Great conversations, exploring, more dancing, etc.
We went home late, probably around 2 a.m and fell fast asleep. :)
Thursday.
- Woke up to find the room a complete mess. It was quite funny how messy it was so we took pictures of it. We went down and had breakfast, packed up, and got on a bus to Galway.
- Bus was 4 hours long, a bit painful because we might have been a bit hungover. But we made it.
- Got to Galway, found our hostel, and spent the rest of the day walking/exploring around the city. We saw the Spanish Arch, St. Nicholas Cathedral (went to church there) and walked along the river. We went to a small family run place for dinner and went home early to hang out and rest up.
The rest will come soon, promise. For now its lunch time. Its a beautiful sunny day out and I cant wait to spend the rest of the day outside after lunch! Im in flip flops and a t-shirt, FINALLY!
xoxo
BarTHelona
They lisp here. On their Cs.
Last night we napped all the way until 10:30 at night. Thank goodness, because it was needed. The girls and I all got ready. Hung out with everyone at the apartment with everyone. By everyone, I mean a lot of people. Tera is one of five roommates. So there were those five girls, plus Katie, Kenzie and I, and two other visitors of other roommates. It was a full house. A great group of people. We left the apartment at about 12:30 to go to the first bar. This place was great, a tiny little place, but famous because they have over 1,000 different kinds of shots. The girls and I chose one with POPROCKS a kind of candy we loved eating when we were little. Such a fun place.
Katie and I at one point were talking to a few Spaniards...I was speaking in Italian, she was throwing in what she knew in French, and the guys were speaking Spanish. Somehow it worked out, and we had conversations about where we were from, what we were doing in Europe, etc. The three languages are just similar enough that we could all get by, it was great! Now, dont for any reason think that I can speak Italian. I am not that great at it. My issue is confidence when Im trying to speak, and the speed at which people speak. Thats why it worked with these guys, we were all speaking slowly to understand the others.
Im going to apologize to my grandmothers now before I make this statement...but I am much better at speaking Italian when I have had a beer or two. My confidence level goes up!
After the shot bar we left for a club called Elephant. There was lots of places to dance, lounges, a cool round bar in the middle. We were there till five in the morning dancing and meeting new people. It was a great time.
We took a cab home and slept in till about 11 the next morning.
When we got up we went to a place called Milk for brunch. They have a menu called the "Recovery Menu". They had great smoothies, dishes with eggs, pancakes, etc. McKenzie and I both got a smoothie and shared the blueberry pancakes.
Kenzie had a flight that afternoon, so we returned with her to the apartment to get her bags and take her to the bus stop to go to the airport. Then Katie, Tera, and I went to Park Guiell. By far my favorite place in Barcelona. It was a beautiful park, covered in palm trees, amazing mosaics, families, kids playing soccer and places to get sangria. It was SO warm out. All three of us were holding our coats and jackets and were down to our last layer. Lucky for Katie and Tera, they had tank tops on under everything, I was still in my long sleeve. It was warm enough for shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt. The most warmth Ive felt all semester, it was glorious. We spent a good amount of time there but decided we should get to the beach while it was so beautiful out.
We stopped on the way to the beach to get foccacia pizza with eggplant. We took our pizzas and sat on the beach eating and people watching. We stopped for gelato on the way home. It was okay, unfortunately I have a new level of pickyness after being spoiled with such amazing gelato here in Italy.
We rested and hung out back at home. Tera had to do Spanish homework so Katie and I took this time to look through Katies Ireland book to find out where to go and what to see when we headed to Ireland.
For dinner we went to an "All you can eat for 10 euros" place. We definitely made that ten euro go far. We each had two plates. And more plates came...we ate sooo much, haha it was hysterical to see how much we actually ate. Katie and I were so happy they had chips and catchup. We had been craving them all weekend and finally got them.
SIDE NOTE - in Europe, Chips = French Fries
and Crisps = potato chips
ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE - I loved how Barcelona had toilet seats on their public toilets, that was great.... Italy does NOT, it is unfortunate.
We went home, jumped in Tera's big bed, turned on a movie, and fell asleep within a few seconds.
Katie and I got in a cab the next morning at 8 before anyone got up and headed to the airport for Ireland!
Adios BarTHelona, thanks for the warmth and friends.
Last night we napped all the way until 10:30 at night. Thank goodness, because it was needed. The girls and I all got ready. Hung out with everyone at the apartment with everyone. By everyone, I mean a lot of people. Tera is one of five roommates. So there were those five girls, plus Katie, Kenzie and I, and two other visitors of other roommates. It was a full house. A great group of people. We left the apartment at about 12:30 to go to the first bar. This place was great, a tiny little place, but famous because they have over 1,000 different kinds of shots. The girls and I chose one with POPROCKS a kind of candy we loved eating when we were little. Such a fun place.
Katie and I at one point were talking to a few Spaniards...I was speaking in Italian, she was throwing in what she knew in French, and the guys were speaking Spanish. Somehow it worked out, and we had conversations about where we were from, what we were doing in Europe, etc. The three languages are just similar enough that we could all get by, it was great! Now, dont for any reason think that I can speak Italian. I am not that great at it. My issue is confidence when Im trying to speak, and the speed at which people speak. Thats why it worked with these guys, we were all speaking slowly to understand the others.
Im going to apologize to my grandmothers now before I make this statement...but I am much better at speaking Italian when I have had a beer or two. My confidence level goes up!
After the shot bar we left for a club called Elephant. There was lots of places to dance, lounges, a cool round bar in the middle. We were there till five in the morning dancing and meeting new people. It was a great time.
We took a cab home and slept in till about 11 the next morning.
When we got up we went to a place called Milk for brunch. They have a menu called the "Recovery Menu". They had great smoothies, dishes with eggs, pancakes, etc. McKenzie and I both got a smoothie and shared the blueberry pancakes.
Kenzie had a flight that afternoon, so we returned with her to the apartment to get her bags and take her to the bus stop to go to the airport. Then Katie, Tera, and I went to Park Guiell. By far my favorite place in Barcelona. It was a beautiful park, covered in palm trees, amazing mosaics, families, kids playing soccer and places to get sangria. It was SO warm out. All three of us were holding our coats and jackets and were down to our last layer. Lucky for Katie and Tera, they had tank tops on under everything, I was still in my long sleeve. It was warm enough for shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt. The most warmth Ive felt all semester, it was glorious. We spent a good amount of time there but decided we should get to the beach while it was so beautiful out.
We stopped on the way to the beach to get foccacia pizza with eggplant. We took our pizzas and sat on the beach eating and people watching. We stopped for gelato on the way home. It was okay, unfortunately I have a new level of pickyness after being spoiled with such amazing gelato here in Italy.
We rested and hung out back at home. Tera had to do Spanish homework so Katie and I took this time to look through Katies Ireland book to find out where to go and what to see when we headed to Ireland.
For dinner we went to an "All you can eat for 10 euros" place. We definitely made that ten euro go far. We each had two plates. And more plates came...we ate sooo much, haha it was hysterical to see how much we actually ate. Katie and I were so happy they had chips and catchup. We had been craving them all weekend and finally got them.
SIDE NOTE - in Europe, Chips = French Fries
and Crisps = potato chips
ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE - I loved how Barcelona had toilet seats on their public toilets, that was great.... Italy does NOT, it is unfortunate.
We went home, jumped in Tera's big bed, turned on a movie, and fell asleep within a few seconds.
Katie and I got in a cab the next morning at 8 before anyone got up and headed to the airport for Ireland!
Adios BarTHelona, thanks for the warmth and friends.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
hooray for spring break
FINALLY, I am on spring break. I have reached Barcelona safe and sound and am currently laying in bed with Katie, Tera, and McKenzie Ziezer.
We had quite a day. This morning I left the pensione at 10 to make sure I got to the airport with plenty of time, just in case we had another disaster. Thankfully my plane was on time and coming so I sat around, had a muffin, and waited for hours. The Florence airport is tiny. I cant believe how small it is. Ive never flown out of there before. It was super easy to navigate. Since I got there so early I got to check in early. I got a window seat in the 4th row. Perfect. Great view, boarded and de-boarded quickly. It was a breeze.
When I arrived I had no problems getting my bag and finding a cab. Tera gave me the wrong address, said it was 364 when its really 264, so I had to walk a bit after being dropped off. Thank goodness for blackberrys. Katie and I were able to BBM one another until I met up with them.
When I walked into Tera's apartment three of her roommates were wearing the same "Balmers" sweatshirt I was wearing. They have the same habit of wearing it constantly without taking it off. Its just too comfortable.
The girls and I went out to explore. We walked to get them some churros and I got some lunch. We walked through what Tera described as the Spanish Arch Du Triumph. We went through little allyways, into shops, and over to the beach. we saw the sailboats and eventually found the sand. We all took our shoes and socks off and played around in the sand. The weather was beautiful. Clear skies, sun shining, and fairly warm. There was a bit of a breeze but it was still perfect. I miss the ocean so it was fun to finally be reunited. We began walking back and went through outdoor markets, food markets, etc. They were selling fresh fruit, veggies, fish, meat, chocolate, candy, flowers, animals, you name it. We couldn't believe that they had pigeons caged for sale. There was a station of animals with pigeons, turkeys, roosters, hens, rabbits, mice, turtles, etc. It was hilarious.
We found a restaurant called Wok to Walk. We had asian stir fry. I had egg noodles with veggies and terryaki sauce. Delish. On our walk back Tera took us by an old gothic cathedral. Outside there was live music and older people dancing around. We stopped to watch and enjoy. There were at least 50 elderly people doing a traditional spanish dance.
Were back at home now, resting and getting ready for the evening. Apparently here in Barcelona they don't go out until 1 in the morning. This is new for Katie and I because its not how we go out in London and Florence. Cant wait for a night out on the town with the girls.
I couldn't be happier to be here with my best friends in the world. Looking forward to a fun night and a day full of more exploring tomorrow.
Adios.
P.S.Hello my lovely Verderame family!!! I love and miss you all so much and hope that everything in the states is wonderful!!! I can't wait to see you this summer!
Love,
Katie
and tera wanted me to add her name on this as well :)
We had quite a day. This morning I left the pensione at 10 to make sure I got to the airport with plenty of time, just in case we had another disaster. Thankfully my plane was on time and coming so I sat around, had a muffin, and waited for hours. The Florence airport is tiny. I cant believe how small it is. Ive never flown out of there before. It was super easy to navigate. Since I got there so early I got to check in early. I got a window seat in the 4th row. Perfect. Great view, boarded and de-boarded quickly. It was a breeze.
When I arrived I had no problems getting my bag and finding a cab. Tera gave me the wrong address, said it was 364 when its really 264, so I had to walk a bit after being dropped off. Thank goodness for blackberrys. Katie and I were able to BBM one another until I met up with them.
When I walked into Tera's apartment three of her roommates were wearing the same "Balmers" sweatshirt I was wearing. They have the same habit of wearing it constantly without taking it off. Its just too comfortable.
The girls and I went out to explore. We walked to get them some churros and I got some lunch. We walked through what Tera described as the Spanish Arch Du Triumph. We went through little allyways, into shops, and over to the beach. we saw the sailboats and eventually found the sand. We all took our shoes and socks off and played around in the sand. The weather was beautiful. Clear skies, sun shining, and fairly warm. There was a bit of a breeze but it was still perfect. I miss the ocean so it was fun to finally be reunited. We began walking back and went through outdoor markets, food markets, etc. They were selling fresh fruit, veggies, fish, meat, chocolate, candy, flowers, animals, you name it. We couldn't believe that they had pigeons caged for sale. There was a station of animals with pigeons, turkeys, roosters, hens, rabbits, mice, turtles, etc. It was hilarious.
We found a restaurant called Wok to Walk. We had asian stir fry. I had egg noodles with veggies and terryaki sauce. Delish. On our walk back Tera took us by an old gothic cathedral. Outside there was live music and older people dancing around. We stopped to watch and enjoy. There were at least 50 elderly people doing a traditional spanish dance.
Were back at home now, resting and getting ready for the evening. Apparently here in Barcelona they don't go out until 1 in the morning. This is new for Katie and I because its not how we go out in London and Florence. Cant wait for a night out on the town with the girls.
I couldn't be happier to be here with my best friends in the world. Looking forward to a fun night and a day full of more exploring tomorrow.
Adios.
P.S.Hello my lovely Verderame family!!! I love and miss you all so much and hope that everything in the states is wonderful!!! I can't wait to see you this summer!
Love,
Katie
and tera wanted me to add her name on this as well :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
fail.
Florence transportation went on strike today. I was aware that the busses went on strike this morning before I left. However, the trains and planes decided to join in on the strike as well, and by the time I payed my 25 euro cab to get to the airport, ALL flights had been cancelled. The people at the airport thought I was crazy. The place was empty. No people, no flights, nothing. I tried getting on a later flight, but the price difference was silly. Meridiana put me on the same flight tomorrow to Barcelona. Its fine, Im just bummed because everyone else is arriving there right now, and Im not. I was seriously bummed, and even more upset because I had to then get a cab all the way back. Spent so much money on cabs this morning and got absolutely no where. It stunk. The cab driver on the way home gave me a discount though because I basically cried the whole way back. I always cry. Its fine.
I got home and the girls who were still here cheered me up. Mary and Laura were making me laugh and the three of us laid in bed and hung out for a bit. Laura and I decided to stop being blobs so we got up and went to Anna's bagels for lunch, then over to the Academia to see David.
David was amazing. He is at the end of a long hallway, and right when you see him from the end of the hallway he takes your breath away. I loved it. Kuss (laura) and I spent so much time at the statue. There are places to sit so we simply sat and marveled at it. The rest of the museum actually isnt good at all, so we didnt do much else. There was an exhibit off to the side of old musical instruments which was really great, so we went in there for a while, but otherwise, besides David and the Four Prisoners, there wasnt much excitement to the Academia museum.
Were back home now, napping, figuring out flights and cabs for tomorrow, and hanging out.
We will probably stay in tonight because the last few of us have to get out tomorrow and we want to make sure that goes smoothly.
Ive been trying to put myself in a better mood all day since what happened this morning. Im mad at myself for being in a bad mood at all. Im trying to remember that I am here, in Florence. How blessed am I to be stuck in Florence? Even more, to be stuck here and able to go see the David?
Im done being a baby. Thankful i still have a flight to Barcelona and thankful Ill be with my best friends in the world tomorrow.
Ciao
I got home and the girls who were still here cheered me up. Mary and Laura were making me laugh and the three of us laid in bed and hung out for a bit. Laura and I decided to stop being blobs so we got up and went to Anna's bagels for lunch, then over to the Academia to see David.
David was amazing. He is at the end of a long hallway, and right when you see him from the end of the hallway he takes your breath away. I loved it. Kuss (laura) and I spent so much time at the statue. There are places to sit so we simply sat and marveled at it. The rest of the museum actually isnt good at all, so we didnt do much else. There was an exhibit off to the side of old musical instruments which was really great, so we went in there for a while, but otherwise, besides David and the Four Prisoners, there wasnt much excitement to the Academia museum.
Were back home now, napping, figuring out flights and cabs for tomorrow, and hanging out.
We will probably stay in tonight because the last few of us have to get out tomorrow and we want to make sure that goes smoothly.
Ive been trying to put myself in a better mood all day since what happened this morning. Im mad at myself for being in a bad mood at all. Im trying to remember that I am here, in Florence. How blessed am I to be stuck in Florence? Even more, to be stuck here and able to go see the David?
Im done being a baby. Thankful i still have a flight to Barcelona and thankful Ill be with my best friends in the world tomorrow.
Ciao
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
snow
Last week we had beautiful sunshine and clear skies.
Tuesday morning I woke up to snow. I went out to eat breakfast and Giovanni came over to me and started speaking to me in italian. I of course didnt understand most of it, so he grabbed my hand and brought me over to the window. His face was all lit up and excited about the snow, he thought it was beautiful. It made me have a better mood about it, but I looked at him and said FA FREDDO! "Its cold!" He laughed and we sat back down to our cereal. Later in the day I needed a run. So I went in the snow anyway. It wasn't bad to be honest. Running in the rain is always fun, so I decided to try it out. It was a blast.
We began our final, large size frescos last night in art...wish me luck.
Last night after dinner, Amanda Ito, Caitlin Toohey, Brooks and I all went over to Kylie McAllister's appartment for her birthday. She is studying in Florence through the LDM (Lorenzo Di Medici) program. They have their own apartment, and cook for themselves, so they cooked a meal for about 10 of us. I was so excited that they thought to have us over too. Brooks and I have known Kylie since sophomore year in highschool, and Amanda and Caitlin have met her through other mutual friends. We went out to a bar afterwords that I have not yet been to, which is always nice. It was called Moyo. It was super swanky and had pricey drinks, but we had a blast there. I was by Kylies side all night. We got the same fruity, tropical drink because it had fruit in it. I wish I could remember the name of it, because it was delicious. We went to a few other bars with the big group, but the four of us were tired and left to go home a bit early then the rest of the birthday crew.
Tonight dance is cancelled, so I am bummed, but theyre having another class tomorrow to make up for it.
Ciao ciao
Tuesday morning I woke up to snow. I went out to eat breakfast and Giovanni came over to me and started speaking to me in italian. I of course didnt understand most of it, so he grabbed my hand and brought me over to the window. His face was all lit up and excited about the snow, he thought it was beautiful. It made me have a better mood about it, but I looked at him and said FA FREDDO! "Its cold!" He laughed and we sat back down to our cereal. Later in the day I needed a run. So I went in the snow anyway. It wasn't bad to be honest. Running in the rain is always fun, so I decided to try it out. It was a blast.
We began our final, large size frescos last night in art...wish me luck.
Last night after dinner, Amanda Ito, Caitlin Toohey, Brooks and I all went over to Kylie McAllister's appartment for her birthday. She is studying in Florence through the LDM (Lorenzo Di Medici) program. They have their own apartment, and cook for themselves, so they cooked a meal for about 10 of us. I was so excited that they thought to have us over too. Brooks and I have known Kylie since sophomore year in highschool, and Amanda and Caitlin have met her through other mutual friends. We went out to a bar afterwords that I have not yet been to, which is always nice. It was called Moyo. It was super swanky and had pricey drinks, but we had a blast there. I was by Kylies side all night. We got the same fruity, tropical drink because it had fruit in it. I wish I could remember the name of it, because it was delicious. We went to a few other bars with the big group, but the four of us were tired and left to go home a bit early then the rest of the birthday crew.
Tonight dance is cancelled, so I am bummed, but theyre having another class tomorrow to make up for it.
Ciao ciao
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
PRAHA!
Kiki, Chloe, Sean and I left for Rome on thursday after lunch. We met up with Chloe's friend Reid with no problems, went to dinner, met his sweet and very accomodating roommates and went out. We went to a place that I believe was called Campo. Its a big square with a bunch of bars in it. We hung out, chatted, got to know Reid and his friends and went to some of the bars. We met some great kids and had a great time, but I think the four of us were thankful that we study in a smaller city. Ironically, Reid, Chloe's friend from home who we stayed with, goes to John Cabot University in Rome, which is where Ted studied a few years ago.
Sean has never been to Rome, so we decided to show him the Trevi fountain at the end of the night. We saw it both during the day and at night when the girls and I went, and decided its best at night. We hung out there for a little bit then went home to get plenty of sleep before going to Prague.
We left around noon and after busses, planes, metros, and trams, arrived at our hostel around 5. We dont know why, but when we checked in the man at the front desk told us we were getting an upgrade from a 10 person dorm to a 4 person private. We were obviously extremely excited. We met up with all our other friends who had arrived in Prague via a 12 hour bus ride and had dinner and beers at happy hour. Our hostel was a dream. It was the cleanest, nicest, most accommodating. There was a full bar and restaurant in it, and it was the cheapest hostel we have stayed in so far. Even better, the name of it was catchy, the Czech Inn. After all the BBMs I was getting from dad, the girls and I decided that he would love the name of the hostel.
We got ready for the night and headed out to a popular bar called U SUDU. I got to see Katie Jirauch there, which was a dream, and the girls and I sat with her and her roomies for a bit and chatted. Katie and her roomie were tired so they turned in early, but the rest of us stayed to hang out. It was a really cool place. There were multiple little rooms with different bars/tables and chairs and it was kind of cave-looking. We met some great people from Prague around our age and had fun chatting with them. We left there around midnight and headed over to a discotec. I had a blast here. Chloe and I checked our coats and headed right to the dance floor. We kind of got separated from the group, but there was a large stage, so we hopped on that and within no time the rest of our group found us and joined the dance party on stage. it was all 80s music. I couldnt have been happier. Some kids left early, but the majority of us stayed until 4 am. Chloe and I literally never left the stage, it was the best. We had a blast. When Chloe and I left at 4 we had some language issues with the cab driver, but thankfully made it home safely.
On Saturday we got up, left the sleeping boys behind and got to site seeing. We went to Old Town Square first. It was freezing, and snowing, so we got some Starbucks to go and headed out. We saw the Astronomical clock, and saw the changing of the hours. A man came out on top of the tower with a horn and blew it. We really had no idea what was going on or what any of it meant. I turned to a nice looking lady and said "do you know whats going on". She and the man with her laughed and explained that it was simply the hour turning, but people always stopped to watch because the clock is so large and so interesting. They were such sweet people, and they pointed us in the direction of the Charles Bridge. We went to the Charles Bridge. Not much to do there but walk over it and take pictures of the Danub river, which we joked about because "We were at the Danub last week in Budapest!"
Next we wanted to go to Lennon Wall. This proved to be quite a journey. Its not out in the open in a popular public area. Its down little streets in a more residential, quiet place. On the way to find it we ran into the sweet couple from the clock tower again. They spotted us playing in the snow and shouted to us. We got excited to see them and ran over for directions to the Wall. They showed us and suggested we get some hot wine to warm up. We thanked them for their help again and left for the wall. For the rest of the weekend we referred to them as Mom and Mike, because we never learned the lady's name.
We finally found the wall. It was awesome. We spent more time there than any other site in Prague. I loved it. I took so many pictures. It was fun just walking along the wall and finding the tiniest things that people had written.
We went to lunch and decided that the rest of the site seeing out doors could wait till sunday because the weather was just so miserable. We went to the beer factory, where you are given your own tap and pour your own beers. The girls and I talked about high school and home and embarrassing stories and had a blast. We went back to the hostel, napped, showered, ate dinner, and got ready for the evening.
While getting ready the safe drawer under my bed fell and hit my face. Right on the nose. It hurt to say the least. I tried brushing it off and getting ready, but it began turning red and getting really swollen. Kira ran to get me ice and I sat in the corner pouting with ice on my face for the next thirty minutes. Haha, it was painful and unfortunate, but lucky for me, I have the greatest friends ever. Chloe straightened my hair while Kiki did my makeup. I just sat there with ice on my nose doing no work. They helped me get ready and the three of us plus Alexandra and Kira left for a girls night out (with a fat nose). We went to a place called Chapou Rougue where I once again ran into Katie. We danced and played and met up with some of the guys in our program. It was a fun bar. Bars/Discotecs in Europe are SO different. There are multiple levels, multiple rooms, and multiple bars. I dont think I have been to anything like what I have been to here back in the states. We stayed there till pretty late, and then headed to a club. It was a long walk there, and by the time we got there Kira was ready to go home. It was about 3 am so I decided I would join her.
On Sunday everyone left except for the four of us. We went up to the castle and saw St. Vitus Church. I was so excited to say the least. Vitus is my confirmation name. Everyone in the program knows this, and all week last week I was being told "Annie! Your Saint's church is in Prague!" It was beautiful. Very different than what we were used to seeing because it is extremely gothic. It was huge and we spent a good amount of time there. Chloe and I chatted with God (and St. Vitus), as usual, and then we headed to lunch. We went to a bagel place that is famous in Prague and I got to have Lox. I havent had lox in so long so it was a dream.
We headed back to the hostel, grabbed our things and headed home. Everything went smoothly until our plane landed a bit later than planned, causing us to miss the last train out of Rome. Thankfully, Reid was still up at midnight and more than wiling to accommodate the four of us for another night. We made our way to his apartment and took about a 4 hour nap before getting up and catching the 6 am train.
We were back in Florence by 8 and all slept until lunch time. It took a while to get back, and we might have been moody at times, but we were all thankful to be back and be safe at home.
Sean has never been to Rome, so we decided to show him the Trevi fountain at the end of the night. We saw it both during the day and at night when the girls and I went, and decided its best at night. We hung out there for a little bit then went home to get plenty of sleep before going to Prague.
We left around noon and after busses, planes, metros, and trams, arrived at our hostel around 5. We dont know why, but when we checked in the man at the front desk told us we were getting an upgrade from a 10 person dorm to a 4 person private. We were obviously extremely excited. We met up with all our other friends who had arrived in Prague via a 12 hour bus ride and had dinner and beers at happy hour. Our hostel was a dream. It was the cleanest, nicest, most accommodating. There was a full bar and restaurant in it, and it was the cheapest hostel we have stayed in so far. Even better, the name of it was catchy, the Czech Inn. After all the BBMs I was getting from dad, the girls and I decided that he would love the name of the hostel.
We got ready for the night and headed out to a popular bar called U SUDU. I got to see Katie Jirauch there, which was a dream, and the girls and I sat with her and her roomies for a bit and chatted. Katie and her roomie were tired so they turned in early, but the rest of us stayed to hang out. It was a really cool place. There were multiple little rooms with different bars/tables and chairs and it was kind of cave-looking. We met some great people from Prague around our age and had fun chatting with them. We left there around midnight and headed over to a discotec. I had a blast here. Chloe and I checked our coats and headed right to the dance floor. We kind of got separated from the group, but there was a large stage, so we hopped on that and within no time the rest of our group found us and joined the dance party on stage. it was all 80s music. I couldnt have been happier. Some kids left early, but the majority of us stayed until 4 am. Chloe and I literally never left the stage, it was the best. We had a blast. When Chloe and I left at 4 we had some language issues with the cab driver, but thankfully made it home safely.
On Saturday we got up, left the sleeping boys behind and got to site seeing. We went to Old Town Square first. It was freezing, and snowing, so we got some Starbucks to go and headed out. We saw the Astronomical clock, and saw the changing of the hours. A man came out on top of the tower with a horn and blew it. We really had no idea what was going on or what any of it meant. I turned to a nice looking lady and said "do you know whats going on". She and the man with her laughed and explained that it was simply the hour turning, but people always stopped to watch because the clock is so large and so interesting. They were such sweet people, and they pointed us in the direction of the Charles Bridge. We went to the Charles Bridge. Not much to do there but walk over it and take pictures of the Danub river, which we joked about because "We were at the Danub last week in Budapest!"
Next we wanted to go to Lennon Wall. This proved to be quite a journey. Its not out in the open in a popular public area. Its down little streets in a more residential, quiet place. On the way to find it we ran into the sweet couple from the clock tower again. They spotted us playing in the snow and shouted to us. We got excited to see them and ran over for directions to the Wall. They showed us and suggested we get some hot wine to warm up. We thanked them for their help again and left for the wall. For the rest of the weekend we referred to them as Mom and Mike, because we never learned the lady's name.
We finally found the wall. It was awesome. We spent more time there than any other site in Prague. I loved it. I took so many pictures. It was fun just walking along the wall and finding the tiniest things that people had written.
We went to lunch and decided that the rest of the site seeing out doors could wait till sunday because the weather was just so miserable. We went to the beer factory, where you are given your own tap and pour your own beers. The girls and I talked about high school and home and embarrassing stories and had a blast. We went back to the hostel, napped, showered, ate dinner, and got ready for the evening.
While getting ready the safe drawer under my bed fell and hit my face. Right on the nose. It hurt to say the least. I tried brushing it off and getting ready, but it began turning red and getting really swollen. Kira ran to get me ice and I sat in the corner pouting with ice on my face for the next thirty minutes. Haha, it was painful and unfortunate, but lucky for me, I have the greatest friends ever. Chloe straightened my hair while Kiki did my makeup. I just sat there with ice on my nose doing no work. They helped me get ready and the three of us plus Alexandra and Kira left for a girls night out (with a fat nose). We went to a place called Chapou Rougue where I once again ran into Katie. We danced and played and met up with some of the guys in our program. It was a fun bar. Bars/Discotecs in Europe are SO different. There are multiple levels, multiple rooms, and multiple bars. I dont think I have been to anything like what I have been to here back in the states. We stayed there till pretty late, and then headed to a club. It was a long walk there, and by the time we got there Kira was ready to go home. It was about 3 am so I decided I would join her.
On Sunday everyone left except for the four of us. We went up to the castle and saw St. Vitus Church. I was so excited to say the least. Vitus is my confirmation name. Everyone in the program knows this, and all week last week I was being told "Annie! Your Saint's church is in Prague!" It was beautiful. Very different than what we were used to seeing because it is extremely gothic. It was huge and we spent a good amount of time there. Chloe and I chatted with God (and St. Vitus), as usual, and then we headed to lunch. We went to a bagel place that is famous in Prague and I got to have Lox. I havent had lox in so long so it was a dream.
We headed back to the hostel, grabbed our things and headed home. Everything went smoothly until our plane landed a bit later than planned, causing us to miss the last train out of Rome. Thankfully, Reid was still up at midnight and more than wiling to accommodate the four of us for another night. We made our way to his apartment and took about a 4 hour nap before getting up and catching the 6 am train.
We were back in Florence by 8 and all slept until lunch time. It took a while to get back, and we might have been moody at times, but we were all thankful to be back and be safe at home.
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