So I am finally back home in America, no culture shock yet..I haven't said grazie yet to anyone either. Last week I spent it with my parents visiting family in Torino for Easter, family in Genova near the Ligurian Coast, and finally wrapping up our visits in Rome. It was really fun to meet family that I had never met before. Some, had only seen me when I was a couple months old. This was my dad's first time back in Italy in 30 years, so it was really great for him to see his family.
All of the cities were really different, but really beautiful. Torino seemed like a great place to live, and really big! I liked it because it had both modern and old parts of the town. I met most of the relatives that I had never met before there. Zia Rita is my Nana Ida's sister, they are so much alike! It was really fun to finally meet the cousins I have heard so much about over the years.
In Genova, their main attraction is the ocean. We went to Portofino one day which is a beautiful area on the Italian Riviera. We saw the mansions of Dolce & Gabbana, Silvio Burlesconi, as well as other designers and famous people! I had the opportunity to go out with Alessandra (my cousin who is 19 years old) and her friends one night. Most know English so I was able to communicate with them. It was really fun and I made the observation that boys are the same everywhere! Her friends reminded me of my own.
We had already been to Rome before. In fact we were visiting the same family members that I visited in January. We were there during the Beatification of JP 2 so it was really crazy! Also, Obama and the other presidents of countries were meeting to discuss business. Rome was really crazy but we had a really great time seeing family and some of the sites! All in all it was a really fun and exciting week seeing family. It was hard to say hello and goodbye to people I had just met in two days. I know I will be back to Italy, there is no doubt about that. Some of the cousins even told me they want to visit the USA so that would be exciting for me to show them American culture.
I am so happy I decided to study abroad. I have learned so much about other cultures as well as myself! I am happy to be back home, also. But I already miss Italy and I will do all I can to go back soon. Thanks to everyone who read my blog. My mom told me a lot of people were commenting on it to her, I really appreciate it. It was my way of journaling and staying connected to what is happening at home.
We just took pictures on my parents' camera so I unfortunately don't have any to share on the blog...but if you pester my parents over e-mail they would be more than happy to send whoever wants to see pictures of the last leg of my trip to you. Thanks for reading! Baci to all!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
5 Terre, Heaven on Earth!
I spent my last weekend of my time as a student in Italy in Cinque Terre. And I decided I liked it even more than Amalfi Coast trip! My friend Ellen and I spent 2 days and 1 night in Monterosso Al Mare, the beach town and the 5th town of Cinque Terre. My friend Paige, another Gopher joined us the first day. We ate some pesto and mozzarella foccacia, had some gelato and then boated to the first town called Riomaggiore. Riomaggiore has really great colorful buildings all stacked close together. We walked from Riomaggiore to the next town, it started with a M but I can't seem to remember the name. Regardless, we did the walk of love together and reminisced about our time spent in Italy. The end verdict? We love the people from Minnesota and we love the city of Florence.
The next day Ellen and I were on a mission to hike! Recovering from my awful sinus infection, I was motivated and ready to kick some butt hitting as many towns as I could! Unfortunately, the main trail was closed. Of course! It was a beautiful day, but it was closed because it rained a week before...didn't make much sense. Our other option was to take one of the three unmarked trails, hike an hour and a half straight up hill, then hike another hour and a half straight downhill to reach the city directly next to Monterosso. We started to hike it, but it only took about 5 minutes of deciding that we would rather veg out and enjoy ourselves. Who were we kidding to think we could be athletic after stuffing our faces with Italian pastries and pastas and pizzas these last four months?? We ended up having a great day boating to Vernazza for only 3 euros and we ended up loving that town! Regardless of our lack of hiking we then headed home later that day. Monterosso has a great beach, would've like to spent more time there. I don't think a day trip would've been enough here, glad I spent the night.
Ellen is again, for the 50th time, my foodie friend. We split a dinner of black home made pasta (made with squid ink I believe), curry, zucchini and prawns. We also tried fish ravioli, which was really delicious and not as weird as it sounds.
I realize I have not vented a whole lot on this blog, which is probably a good thing. Here are a list of things I will miss, and things I will not miss. Might I add the things I will not miss are things I have taken with a grain a salt, and made me appreciate what I have at home!
It has hit me since I have been here that when I go home, I will not be 21. Normally this isn't a problem, however I am obsessed with great quality wine for cheap!!!! So even when I am 21 I will be whining (no pun intending) that my glass of wine costs $8 and that it tastes like Franzia. Italy has spoiled me in so many ways...this being one of them.
What I will miss...list could go on forever....1 euro cappuccinos, walking everywhere, affordable amazing no preservative food, my cute apartment, traveling the world every weekend, class once a week, markets...everywhere, lack of technology-no need for a cell phone, letting my undies dry any where and everywhere and have it be perfectly acceptable, Pino my man who makes my paninos, hearing people speaking a beautiful language everywhere I go...again the list could go on.
What I won't miss...crusty jeans because I don't have a dryer, creeper Italian & Albanian men, grocery shopping multiple times a week, slow internet, my feet are ALWAYS dirty, and cobblestone streets. I would say this list is definitely much shorter.
My parents have arrived! I have spent barely any time with them since I have had finals and they were in Cinque Terre this week! I will try to keep writing until May 2nd about family stories and situations that have happened while traveling with my family.
The next day Ellen and I were on a mission to hike! Recovering from my awful sinus infection, I was motivated and ready to kick some butt hitting as many towns as I could! Unfortunately, the main trail was closed. Of course! It was a beautiful day, but it was closed because it rained a week before...didn't make much sense. Our other option was to take one of the three unmarked trails, hike an hour and a half straight up hill, then hike another hour and a half straight downhill to reach the city directly next to Monterosso. We started to hike it, but it only took about 5 minutes of deciding that we would rather veg out and enjoy ourselves. Who were we kidding to think we could be athletic after stuffing our faces with Italian pastries and pastas and pizzas these last four months?? We ended up having a great day boating to Vernazza for only 3 euros and we ended up loving that town! Regardless of our lack of hiking we then headed home later that day. Monterosso has a great beach, would've like to spent more time there. I don't think a day trip would've been enough here, glad I spent the night.
I realize I have not vented a whole lot on this blog, which is probably a good thing. Here are a list of things I will miss, and things I will not miss. Might I add the things I will not miss are things I have taken with a grain a salt, and made me appreciate what I have at home!
It has hit me since I have been here that when I go home, I will not be 21. Normally this isn't a problem, however I am obsessed with great quality wine for cheap!!!! So even when I am 21 I will be whining (no pun intending) that my glass of wine costs $8 and that it tastes like Franzia. Italy has spoiled me in so many ways...this being one of them.
What I will miss...list could go on forever....1 euro cappuccinos, walking everywhere, affordable amazing no preservative food, my cute apartment, traveling the world every weekend, class once a week, markets...everywhere, lack of technology-no need for a cell phone, letting my undies dry any where and everywhere and have it be perfectly acceptable, Pino my man who makes my paninos, hearing people speaking a beautiful language everywhere I go...again the list could go on.
What I won't miss...crusty jeans because I don't have a dryer, creeper Italian & Albanian men, grocery shopping multiple times a week, slow internet, my feet are ALWAYS dirty, and cobblestone streets. I would say this list is definitely much shorter.
My parents have arrived! I have spent barely any time with them since I have had finals and they were in Cinque Terre this week! I will try to keep writing until May 2nd about family stories and situations that have happened while traveling with my family.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Lemons, Sun, and Mount Vesuvius!
This past weekend I traveled to the Amalfi Coast for my birthday! It was really fun. We stayed in Sorrento but we spent the days in Positano, Capri, and Pompeii. I went with the same group of girls I traveled with last weekend, a mix of U of M girls and Colorado Boulder girls. We went through Florence for Fun a student travel group and we ended up staying in a 4 star hotel which was a really nice change from hostels.
We arrived on Thursday night after a long ride there since our bus got hit by a car...everyone was alright but it definitely delayed the trip! It was cute too because the bus sang happy birthday to me at midnight. We took a day trip to Positano. Positano is a little beach town with lots of shopping, restaurants and really beautiful scenic beaches. We had amazing Neapolitan style pizza and relaxed on the beach with Peroni beers. That night we went to a local bar to celebrate my birthday. Other people from my program were at the same place, they played some fun music and overall I had a really fun night! Another girl was there who was turning 21 and we were wearing the same dress which was really ironic, we had to take a picture together.
The next day we went to Capri. We took a boat tour and saw the Blue Grotto which apparently is one of the 7 wonders of the world. We looked it up and are not quite sure if this is true, but it was really amazing to see. Capri was also so beautiful! Definitely really touristy but I loved being in little beach towns. It was really relaxing. We also had a limoncello tasting, I tried meloncello, cream limoncello and regular limoncello. All were delicious! Also, the Amalfi coast is also famous for their granitas and citrus fruits. So we had lots of lemon and orange granitas during our stay, they were soo good! The two girls leading our trip bought me a little bottle of limoncello for my birthday too, which was really nice of them.
On Sunday we traveled to Pompeii. We had a really cute old Italian man tour guide who brought us through the old, historical city. He was really fascinated by the brothels they had during this time and showed us exactly where they were. I felt like we talked about brothels for a lot of the time but we all thought it was funny. It was really interesting to see the 3 bodies and a dog that were on display. They were covered in rock materials but almost all had there hands covering their mouths and eyes to protect them from the gas that swarmed the city. After that we climbed Mount Vesuvius! I didn't know what to expect climbing or seeing what the volcano looks like but it was really cool. All of us felt really out of shape as we saw babies and old men and women climbing vesuvius, as all of us young girls were panting the entire way. The view was really spectacular and it felt good to get in some exercise and see a famous historical site!
We had great weather all weekend sunny with a light breeze and I didn't even get sunburned! It is now really coming to the end of my time here and it's starting to be a scary thought. My psychology teacher says we will never be the same person again after studying abroad. I am anxious to see my friends and family, but I know I will miss Italy more than ever. I might have to take up my chances to go to Belcastro in the summer from now on. My parents arrive in one week! I will be spending this Saturday and Sunday in Cinque Terre. I found a really great price for a private apartment in the city of Monterrosso Al Mare and I am really excited, I will be traveling with my friend Ellen (fellow foodie as she likes to say). My next post will be my last as a student, but I might share some stories and photos of my time traveling with my parents to visit my family in Italy. Can't believe it's almost over! Anyone want to join me in Europe next time??
Right now I unfortunately am sick with probably the worst sinus infection ever. I have been staying in at night, and doing homework has been hard to focus on. Finals next week too! I am going to a doctor to get antibiotics so I am hopefully better by Saturday when I leave for Cinque Terre.
I also got a chance last night (Tuesday) to go out to dinner with my 72 year old Italian landlord and his wife. They have been more than kind to us bringing us desserts or gifts throughout the semester so we thought we had to take them out! It was great seeing them interact together, and they even challenged us to only speak in Italian for part of the time! They are so wonderful and have lived through a lot of Italian history, it was great to hear their stories. I will definitely miss Franco but he did give us his email address so we can stay in contact for next time I come to Florence.
Well, I am off to the doctor now...lets hope I get better soon!
We arrived on Thursday night after a long ride there since our bus got hit by a car...everyone was alright but it definitely delayed the trip! It was cute too because the bus sang happy birthday to me at midnight. We took a day trip to Positano. Positano is a little beach town with lots of shopping, restaurants and really beautiful scenic beaches. We had amazing Neapolitan style pizza and relaxed on the beach with Peroni beers. That night we went to a local bar to celebrate my birthday. Other people from my program were at the same place, they played some fun music and overall I had a really fun night! Another girl was there who was turning 21 and we were wearing the same dress which was really ironic, we had to take a picture together.
Climbing Mount Vesuvius
On Sunday we traveled to Pompeii. We had a really cute old Italian man tour guide who brought us through the old, historical city. He was really fascinated by the brothels they had during this time and showed us exactly where they were. I felt like we talked about brothels for a lot of the time but we all thought it was funny. It was really interesting to see the 3 bodies and a dog that were on display. They were covered in rock materials but almost all had there hands covering their mouths and eyes to protect them from the gas that swarmed the city. After that we climbed Mount Vesuvius! I didn't know what to expect climbing or seeing what the volcano looks like but it was really cool. All of us felt really out of shape as we saw babies and old men and women climbing vesuvius, as all of us young girls were panting the entire way. The view was really spectacular and it felt good to get in some exercise and see a famous historical site!
We had great weather all weekend sunny with a light breeze and I didn't even get sunburned! It is now really coming to the end of my time here and it's starting to be a scary thought. My psychology teacher says we will never be the same person again after studying abroad. I am anxious to see my friends and family, but I know I will miss Italy more than ever. I might have to take up my chances to go to Belcastro in the summer from now on. My parents arrive in one week! I will be spending this Saturday and Sunday in Cinque Terre. I found a really great price for a private apartment in the city of Monterrosso Al Mare and I am really excited, I will be traveling with my friend Ellen (fellow foodie as she likes to say). My next post will be my last as a student, but I might share some stories and photos of my time traveling with my parents to visit my family in Italy. Can't believe it's almost over! Anyone want to join me in Europe next time??
Right now I unfortunately am sick with probably the worst sinus infection ever. I have been staying in at night, and doing homework has been hard to focus on. Finals next week too! I am going to a doctor to get antibiotics so I am hopefully better by Saturday when I leave for Cinque Terre.
I also got a chance last night (Tuesday) to go out to dinner with my 72 year old Italian landlord and his wife. They have been more than kind to us bringing us desserts or gifts throughout the semester so we thought we had to take them out! It was great seeing them interact together, and they even challenged us to only speak in Italian for part of the time! They are so wonderful and have lived through a lot of Italian history, it was great to hear their stories. I will definitely miss Franco but he did give us his email address so we can stay in contact for next time I come to Florence.
Well, I am off to the doctor now...lets hope I get better soon!
Monday, April 4, 2011
La Sangria Familia...BARCELONA
I spent this last weekend in Barcelona and loved every minute of it! The weather was beautiful, sunny everyday! A little too sunny at times considering we all got so sun burned and walked around the city looking like lobster tourists. I went with ten girls, which was a lot of fun. It was a group of girls I hadn't traveled with yet and I really had a lot of fun getting to know new people even within the last weeks of the program. I was also so thrilled because I met up with my friend Madie, from the U of M who is studying in London at one of the clubs. I was so happy about this since I didn't get a chance to visit her, it was so amazing seeing her!
On the first day we hung out at the beach and walked around the city a lot. We had a paella dinner and lots and lots of sangria which is a delicious fruit and wine drink. Late afternoon (on almost everyday I think) we had a siesta. Yes, you heard right. I knew that I couldn't go to Barcelona without experiencing their beach night life....which might I add the locals stay out until 6 am. I realize I do not have the stamina to be able to do that or study abroad in a city like Barcelona! We didn't make it out even close to that late, but it was fun to be able to go out, dance and have a good time. Plus, we were celebrating my friend Devon's 21st birthday. The next day we did a Gaudi tour around Barcelona which was really amazing. La Segrada Familia is the unfinished incredible Gaudi church. We didn't go inside because of time and money but it was great to hear stories about it, it was the last work of Gaudi before he died. He also knew he wouldn't finish it so he left tons of drawings for people to keep his work going. The whole tour was free and he told us really amazing pieces of information. Did you know George Lucas was inspired by chimney's on one of Gaudi's designs for the look of the Stormtrooper's in Star Wars? Thought my dad would enjoy knowing that.
One of my favorite things in Barcelona besides the beach and the food and all the Gaudi was the market La Boqueria (spelling). It was fabulous! I liked it because it had a lot of fresh fruit juices and mixed fruit cups, something you don't find much of in Italy. It was so delicious and so cheap! We wanted to go back there for lunch one day but it was closed, we were happy to have seen it while we did.
Again, the food was amazing. I was told a lot of things are fried but I didn't find that true. I had a lot of seafood, paella, different types of salads, and tapas! Tapas are their form of appetizers. These are what I heard was fried, but we ordered a lot of seafood, potatas bravas (potatoes with a paprika-garlic mayo type topping--so delicious but probably horrible for you...), and sauteed vegetables! I found most things to be quite healthy. We kept looking for churros, but I think they are more popular in Madrid. We also laughed at all the gelato stores because they can never live up to Italy gelato!
We spent 4 nights in Spain which was a long time. Usually, everyone is ready to go home to Florence by Sunday but we wanted to stay we loved it so much! It definitely felt like vacation though, probably because I associated vacation + hot weather together. I am now so much more curious about places like Sevilla, Toledo and Madrid that I have heard great things about and want to see all of Spain. Next weekend I will be going to the Amalfi Coast which is Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri and I cannot wait! I am hoping for beautiful weather and I am especially excited because it is my birthday! The days are diminishing while I am here and it's getting sad...not looking forward to going home broke and jobless. So that's why I have to enjoy it while it lasts and at least I have my parents to join me after my program ends. I am really really looking forward to that. Adios Amigos! Now I have to go back to saying Ciao...all these language changes make my brain hurt!
On the first day we hung out at the beach and walked around the city a lot. We had a paella dinner and lots and lots of sangria which is a delicious fruit and wine drink. Late afternoon (on almost everyday I think) we had a siesta. Yes, you heard right. I knew that I couldn't go to Barcelona without experiencing their beach night life....which might I add the locals stay out until 6 am. I realize I do not have the stamina to be able to do that or study abroad in a city like Barcelona! We didn't make it out even close to that late, but it was fun to be able to go out, dance and have a good time. Plus, we were celebrating my friend Devon's 21st birthday. The next day we did a Gaudi tour around Barcelona which was really amazing. La Segrada Familia is the unfinished incredible Gaudi church. We didn't go inside because of time and money but it was great to hear stories about it, it was the last work of Gaudi before he died. He also knew he wouldn't finish it so he left tons of drawings for people to keep his work going. The whole tour was free and he told us really amazing pieces of information. Did you know George Lucas was inspired by chimney's on one of Gaudi's designs for the look of the Stormtrooper's in Star Wars? Thought my dad would enjoy knowing that.
One of my favorite things in Barcelona besides the beach and the food and all the Gaudi was the market La Boqueria (spelling). It was fabulous! I liked it because it had a lot of fresh fruit juices and mixed fruit cups, something you don't find much of in Italy. It was so delicious and so cheap! We wanted to go back there for lunch one day but it was closed, we were happy to have seen it while we did.
Again, the food was amazing. I was told a lot of things are fried but I didn't find that true. I had a lot of seafood, paella, different types of salads, and tapas! Tapas are their form of appetizers. These are what I heard was fried, but we ordered a lot of seafood, potatas bravas (potatoes with a paprika-garlic mayo type topping--so delicious but probably horrible for you...), and sauteed vegetables! I found most things to be quite healthy. We kept looking for churros, but I think they are more popular in Madrid. We also laughed at all the gelato stores because they can never live up to Italy gelato!
We spent 4 nights in Spain which was a long time. Usually, everyone is ready to go home to Florence by Sunday but we wanted to stay we loved it so much! It definitely felt like vacation though, probably because I associated vacation + hot weather together. I am now so much more curious about places like Sevilla, Toledo and Madrid that I have heard great things about and want to see all of Spain. Next weekend I will be going to the Amalfi Coast which is Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri and I cannot wait! I am hoping for beautiful weather and I am especially excited because it is my birthday! The days are diminishing while I am here and it's getting sad...not looking forward to going home broke and jobless. So that's why I have to enjoy it while it lasts and at least I have my parents to join me after my program ends. I am really really looking forward to that. Adios Amigos! Now I have to go back to saying Ciao...all these language changes make my brain hurt!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Beer, Castles, and a lot of Potatoes
Last weekend I took an overnight bus to Prague, Czech Republic with a friend from high school, Elizabeth Mountain. It was so so nice to catch up with her, we had a long bus ride to do so too! Butt was a little sore, but it wasn’t too horrible and definitely the cheaper option.
On our first day we did a free walking tour, which was a little slow and we ended up leaving and went to go try our first steins of Czech beer. It was super affordable for quite a bit of beer, we were really full for the rest of the day then. I am not exactly a huge beer drinker, but it was fun to try their local beer. For dinner we went to a traditional Czech restaurant. We each had beef with a traditional sauce (tasted like a gravy) and potato dumplings. It was really heavy! And even more filling with a stein of beer. Our stomachs felt like we wanted to explode after, but hey you gotta try the local cuisine!
Some other sites we saw were the Charles Bridge, which is beautiful. We also saw the John Lennon Wall, which since the 1980’s has been a average wall but it is covered in graffiti. In the late 80’s the wall was a source of letting out irritation for the Communist Regime. You can’t see the picture of John Lennon that once used to be there, but it is covered with plenty of lyrics and Beatles memorabilia. I really liked this and was happy to be informed of the history behind it. We also saw the Prague Castle with is a huge area made up of palaces and a cathedral. It almost looks like its own little town. Elizabeth and I were picturing a castle from Shrek, but it was really interesting to see how different this was from a typical castle. We checked out the Old Jewish Cemetery, which was incredible. There are over 100,000 burials within the cemetery with 12,000 tombstones showing. They are all crooked and stacked amongst each other it’s really quite a site to see.
Prague nightlife is usually pretty popular. We were able to “Czech” out the 5 story club as well as a 80’s themed club that I really loved. The 5 story club had a different music theme on each floor and it is a pretty big tourist attraction. The 80’s club not only played 80’s music, but used every wall to play the music videos too. Never heard so much ABBA in my life!
I really loved Prague. The architecture was incredibly, and the city was so unique and very historical. I love Florence but it is really nice to go to places that are so different from Italian culture. I am at the only 3 weeks left mark. It makes me a little sad but I am definitely anxious to get back home to see people that I have been missing. I need to enjoy my cappuccinos and gelato while it lasts. My parents have been tempting me by skyping during their dinner time. My mom made stir fry with peanut sauce! Italy has beyond amazing food but I definitely want some variation in my life!
This weekend I will be going to Barcelona for 4 nights with 10 girls. It will be an adventure! I am excited though for the Gaudi, food, and finally being able to somewhat speak a language. Only things I am nervous about are what I have heard about pickpockets and speaking Spanish when I arrive back in Italy! Should be an exciting weekend.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Home Sweet Home Firenze
On Thursday of this week it was Italy's 150th Unification Celebration! So if you were Italian, you wouldn't have to go to school or work that day. All of the festivities happened on Wednesday night. There was a band playing at Santa Croce, and then fireworks were set off on top of Palazzo Vecchio (old Medici Palace). There was Italian flags EVERYWHERE. Even the Ponte Vecchio had the light outline of the Italian flag on it. My adorable old man landlord left us a note saying "I hope you don't mind I put a Italian flag outside of your apartment balcony. I like being Italian." It was a fun and proud moment for me to be able to say I am Italian!
Later that night I had the opportunity to attend a 18 year old Italian boy's birthday party. My friend Natalie's homestay brother, Pietro was having a party at a nearby club. We walked in and the bartender looked at us and knew we were all 20 + years old. It was really hilarious to see these boys get excited American girls were there. Our main lines for the night were "Sono vecchia." I am old and "Io ho venti anni, tu hai deicisette anni." I am twenty, you are seventeen. Regardless it was really interesting to be around Italians and not Americans for once.
This past week it had been overcast and rainy. But I woke up Friday morning and it was beautiful out! Since I don't have class on Friday, my friend Ellen and I decided to roam the city center and also go to the Boboli Gardens. The Boboli Gardens were huge and really beautiful. Whenever I walk through all the historical sites around the city I am so amazed they are the same rooms and gardens people lived in hundreds of years ago! We also were able to see a costume gallery inside Palazzo Pitti. That was fascinating to guess what year the garments were made.
We had made plans to go to the market and then make dinner together that night since I had my whole apartment to myself this weekend. The market is my new favorite place to shop. Everything is fresh and affordable, especially for cooking for one or two. We ended up buying pear and pecorino ravioli, french bread, garlic and parsley chicken meatballs, fresh tomatoes, squash, asparagus, and for dessert a chocolate raspberry torte brownie. It ended up being really delicious. We enjoyed dinner with my bottle of Chianti Classico I bought from my vineyard visit a few weeks back. As Ellen says we are both foodies and that is probably why we get along so well. Being here in Italy has really made me want to try new things and experiment with my cooking skills more. I am looking into taking a cooking class the last few weeks of the semester, hopefully.
We had made plans to go to the market and then make dinner together that night since I had my whole apartment to myself this weekend. The market is my new favorite place to shop. Everything is fresh and affordable, especially for cooking for one or two. We ended up buying pear and pecorino ravioli, french bread, garlic and parsley chicken meatballs, fresh tomatoes, squash, asparagus, and for dessert a chocolate raspberry torte brownie. It ended up being really delicious. We enjoyed dinner with my bottle of Chianti Classico I bought from my vineyard visit a few weeks back. As Ellen says we are both foodies and that is probably why we get along so well. Being here in Italy has really made me want to try new things and experiment with my cooking skills more. I am looking into taking a cooking class the last few weeks of the semester, hopefully.
Yesterday was Saturday and I went to Fiesole, a town full of hills and villas. Also, part of my reasoning for making a trip to Fiesole is that I have heard that is where all the soccer players live : ) It ended up being a very overcast day, but it didn't rain on us which is all we cared about. We hiked through the woods and it was really fun, we didn't feel like we were in Italy it felt like we were back home in Minnesota!
Overall, I had a really great week. It is scary to count forward because I only have 4 weekends counting next weekend left of my program. It will be bittersweet for me because I miss my family and friends so much at home, but I have become sentimental about Florence. I love it so much here! I know at home when I order a caffe I won't be receiving an espresso for 1 euro but a cup of gross American coffee for 3 dollars. I won't be able to walk anywhere, or buy fresh mozzarella for 40 euro cents, or have free passes to see museums. But at the same time, I am fortunate enough to have studied abroad, for many people are not able to. At the end my parents are visiting and we will be going to see my family around Italy. Next blog entry will be all about Prague! I am going with a high school friend, Elizabeth Mountain who is studying at Gonzaga in Florence.
I also got great news that Lady Gaga and possibly other artists will be giving a free concert on April 20th just a couple days before my program is over at Santa Croce! Very excited for that.
Later that night I had the opportunity to attend a 18 year old Italian boy's birthday party. My friend Natalie's homestay brother, Pietro was having a party at a nearby club. We walked in and the bartender looked at us and knew we were all 20 + years old. It was really hilarious to see these boys get excited American girls were there. Our main lines for the night were "Sono vecchia." I am old and "Io ho venti anni, tu hai deicisette anni." I am twenty, you are seventeen. Regardless it was really interesting to be around Italians and not Americans for once.
We had made plans to go to the market and then make dinner together that night since I had my whole apartment to myself this weekend. The market is my new favorite place to shop. Everything is fresh and affordable, especially for cooking for one or two. We ended up buying pear and pecorino ravioli, french bread, garlic and parsley chicken meatballs, fresh tomatoes, squash, asparagus, and for dessert a chocolate raspberry torte brownie. It ended up being really delicious. We enjoyed dinner with my bottle of Chianti Classico I bought from my vineyard visit a few weeks back. As Ellen says we are both foodies and that is probably why we get along so well. Being here in Italy has really made me want to try new things and experiment with my cooking skills more. I am looking into taking a cooking class the last few weeks of the semester, hopefully.
We had made plans to go to the market and then make dinner together that night since I had my whole apartment to myself this weekend. The market is my new favorite place to shop. Everything is fresh and affordable, especially for cooking for one or two. We ended up buying pear and pecorino ravioli, french bread, garlic and parsley chicken meatballs, fresh tomatoes, squash, asparagus, and for dessert a chocolate raspberry torte brownie. It ended up being really delicious. We enjoyed dinner with my bottle of Chianti Classico I bought from my vineyard visit a few weeks back. As Ellen says we are both foodies and that is probably why we get along so well. Being here in Italy has really made me want to try new things and experiment with my cooking skills more. I am looking into taking a cooking class the last few weeks of the semester, hopefully.
Yesterday was Saturday and I went to Fiesole, a town full of hills and villas. Also, part of my reasoning for making a trip to Fiesole is that I have heard that is where all the soccer players live : ) It ended up being a very overcast day, but it didn't rain on us which is all we cared about. We hiked through the woods and it was really fun, we didn't feel like we were in Italy it felt like we were back home in Minnesota!
Overall, I had a really great week. It is scary to count forward because I only have 4 weekends counting next weekend left of my program. It will be bittersweet for me because I miss my family and friends so much at home, but I have become sentimental about Florence. I love it so much here! I know at home when I order a caffe I won't be receiving an espresso for 1 euro but a cup of gross American coffee for 3 dollars. I won't be able to walk anywhere, or buy fresh mozzarella for 40 euro cents, or have free passes to see museums. But at the same time, I am fortunate enough to have studied abroad, for many people are not able to. At the end my parents are visiting and we will be going to see my family around Italy. Next blog entry will be all about Prague! I am going with a high school friend, Elizabeth Mountain who is studying at Gonzaga in Florence.
I also got great news that Lady Gaga and possibly other artists will be giving a free concert on April 20th just a couple days before my program is over at Santa Croce! Very excited for that.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Spring Break: Istanbul, Athens and Santorini
This Spring Break experience was really incredible. I traveled with 6 girls and then another joined us in Greece making a group of 7. Usually that is hard to do, but I would say it worked out surprisingly well. We first trained to Rome where our flight to Istanbul takes off, and we made a plan to sleep in the air port. 3 of us took turns staying awake. Of course I got the worst shift ever of 4 am and got to witness the hobos digging through the trash around us...but man was that an interesting experience. If I can help it it won't happen again for me, but it could've been worse! Plus we saved a lot of money by not staying in a hostel.
We then started off in Istanbul, Turkey which I must say is so far one of my favorite cities. I loved the architecture, the tile, the Mosques, the food. Everything. I had no idea how massive of a city it is. Fortunately, our hostel was located 5 minutes away from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. On our first day in Istanbul we did the Bosphorous Tour. So we got on a huge ferry ship and got to see Istanbul at all ends. We were a bit confused where the Asian side was, but it was really beautiful. Lots of picture taking! We then had lunch on a little city right off the pier and enjoyed fresh fresh fresh sea bass. It was so delicious. We had to dig the meat out of the actual fish.
The majority of the city is Muslim so we would be eating lunch, or sleeping in our hostel at 4 am and we could hear them saying prayers into the microphone throughout the whole city. Even though it disturbed my sleep, it was really really interesting to be around. I loved the tile inside the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. It was incredible and definitely my kind of style when it comes to art and architecture. There were also a lot of mosaic pieces. When we visited the Topkapi Palace we could tell we were the only people there who didn't truly understand the history. There were huge lines to a few rooms, once we got in there were really amazing jewels. Lots of people around me were getting in trouble for taking pictures. But again, it was hard to fully understand what we were looking at without knowing the history. But we tried!
We had some really great street food when we were there. Highlights were a special drink, yup that's the name of it...that they sold on the street especially when it got cool out. It tasted to me like tapioca pudding (not the texture) with nutmeg and cinnamon. Really delicious and probably God awful for me too. Apple tea was everywhere and really great. Kebabs, and lots of baked vegetable and meat dishes were the most popular. I tried what looked like a sesame bagel that they sold on the streets. We were hungry, it was cold out, and the man was yelling "hot hot hot hot" so we thought how perfect! It wasn't hot, but it still tasted pretty good. We had lots of Turkish delight which were surprisingly good. But now every time I saw them in the airports or in Greece it made me feel sick because of how many samples I tried. The pastries in Turkey were also to die for. They were thick and dense and way more filling than Italian croissants. A lot had chocolate, nuts, and apple. They were a definite breakfast food, we had at least one a day when we were there.
Two of my favorite things were definitely the bazaars and the Turkish Baths. The two Bazaars were the Grand Bazaar that has jewelry, ceramics, clothing, bags, everything...and then the Spice Bazaar had mainly tea and spices. I definitely got my barter on (sometimes I was really awful at it) and came out with a decent dent in my wallet, but everything I bought is definitely worth it. Turkey was a great place to buy gifts. I had a really great lentil soup there with warm pita at the Bazaar too.
The Turkish Baths were quite the experience. Our hostel kept recommending an affordable one, but sometimes we are hesitant they are getting a deal for telling us that. We did it anywhere, just because they offered us a ride! Man o man I still can't believe what we saw. Old, overweight, toothless, Turkish women topless everywhere with their panties hanging off their butts. We didn't fully understand the concept of a Turkish bath. We knew you were naked, and we knew water was involved. But most of us thought we would be getting into hot tub like pools. Nope. We walked in the room with our thin gingham towels around us and walked into a huge open space with only large sinks filled with hot water. One of my friends unwillingly got her towel grabbed off her by an old lady who was demonstrating to us how we were supposed to do it. We had a good laugh then clapped and told her she handled herself well. It was really hilarious. We were shy because of how out in the open the baths were, but we later got the courage to strip down and jump in the cool pool that we found.
We flew from Istanbul to Athens. We landed in Athens to a snow storm...and we found out the Acropolis was closed which was probably good and bad news in the end. Our ferry the next day was also canceled, and we did not want to be stuck in Athens (which none of us were fond of anyway) in the snow storm. So we did a bit of a last minute splurge and hopped on a 30 minute flight to Santorini. The last Sunday of our trip we headed back to Athens and enjoyed major sunshine and the Acropolis. Athens almost redeemed itself at that point.
Once we got to Santorini there was sunshine, but there were also flurries and rain. We thought oh crap, did this flight for nothing. However the next day, it only rained a little bit and was overcast so we enjoyed a wine tasting and tour of a winery which was really interesting. From that point on out though, everything was smooth sailing. Every restaurant we went to we were given free ouzo, limoncello shots and desserts. We definitely got the spoiled treatment because tourist season hadn't started yet. Everyone was really kind to us, it was nice to experience small town people being friendly. In Greece we ate lots of Mousakka a potato, beef, and bechamel sauce dish. We also had some really great fresh cod, greek salads, gyros and lamb dishes. The Baklava was insane as well. It was oozing out of our mouths, best I have ever had hands down. We tried to order everything as Greek as we could. I fell in love with the food! It was so delicious. Every meal we kept saying "wow that is my favorite yet".
My favorite part about Santorini had to be renting an ATV and riding the whole entire island. We started off and saw the red sand and black sand beaches which were BEAUTFUL. Everything was so picturesque. I really couldn't believe my eyes. Way way way better then Mexico. People must go to Greece! Then we ended our day watching the famous sunset at Oia by 5 pm. All of the buildings, the water, the beaches, the cliffs, in Santorini are so unbelievable. This is definitely a place I want to go back sometime. We then took a ferry back to Athens and like I said before finally enjoyed the Acropolis and Olympic grounds.
All in all Spring Break was a HUGE success. One girl I was with found out her debit card number was stolen in Florence, another got her wallet stolen in Athens during the last 30 minutes of our vacation, and the other accidently booked the flight that left Saturday instead of Sunday and missed her flight by a day...but hey a week of traveling and a total of multiple train rides, 5 flights, ferrying and metro-ing everywhere we didn't fail too badly.
We then started off in Istanbul, Turkey which I must say is so far one of my favorite cities. I loved the architecture, the tile, the Mosques, the food. Everything. I had no idea how massive of a city it is. Fortunately, our hostel was located 5 minutes away from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. On our first day in Istanbul we did the Bosphorous Tour. So we got on a huge ferry ship and got to see Istanbul at all ends. We were a bit confused where the Asian side was, but it was really beautiful. Lots of picture taking! We then had lunch on a little city right off the pier and enjoyed fresh fresh fresh sea bass. It was so delicious. We had to dig the meat out of the actual fish.
The majority of the city is Muslim so we would be eating lunch, or sleeping in our hostel at 4 am and we could hear them saying prayers into the microphone throughout the whole city. Even though it disturbed my sleep, it was really really interesting to be around. I loved the tile inside the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. It was incredible and definitely my kind of style when it comes to art and architecture. There were also a lot of mosaic pieces. When we visited the Topkapi Palace we could tell we were the only people there who didn't truly understand the history. There were huge lines to a few rooms, once we got in there were really amazing jewels. Lots of people around me were getting in trouble for taking pictures. But again, it was hard to fully understand what we were looking at without knowing the history. But we tried!
We had some really great street food when we were there. Highlights were a special drink, yup that's the name of it...that they sold on the street especially when it got cool out. It tasted to me like tapioca pudding (not the texture) with nutmeg and cinnamon. Really delicious and probably God awful for me too. Apple tea was everywhere and really great. Kebabs, and lots of baked vegetable and meat dishes were the most popular. I tried what looked like a sesame bagel that they sold on the streets. We were hungry, it was cold out, and the man was yelling "hot hot hot hot" so we thought how perfect! It wasn't hot, but it still tasted pretty good. We had lots of Turkish delight which were surprisingly good. But now every time I saw them in the airports or in Greece it made me feel sick because of how many samples I tried. The pastries in Turkey were also to die for. They were thick and dense and way more filling than Italian croissants. A lot had chocolate, nuts, and apple. They were a definite breakfast food, we had at least one a day when we were there.
Two of my favorite things were definitely the bazaars and the Turkish Baths. The two Bazaars were the Grand Bazaar that has jewelry, ceramics, clothing, bags, everything...and then the Spice Bazaar had mainly tea and spices. I definitely got my barter on (sometimes I was really awful at it) and came out with a decent dent in my wallet, but everything I bought is definitely worth it. Turkey was a great place to buy gifts. I had a really great lentil soup there with warm pita at the Bazaar too.
We flew from Istanbul to Athens. We landed in Athens to a snow storm...and we found out the Acropolis was closed which was probably good and bad news in the end. Our ferry the next day was also canceled, and we did not want to be stuck in Athens (which none of us were fond of anyway) in the snow storm. So we did a bit of a last minute splurge and hopped on a 30 minute flight to Santorini. The last Sunday of our trip we headed back to Athens and enjoyed major sunshine and the Acropolis. Athens almost redeemed itself at that point.
Once we got to Santorini there was sunshine, but there were also flurries and rain. We thought oh crap, did this flight for nothing. However the next day, it only rained a little bit and was overcast so we enjoyed a wine tasting and tour of a winery which was really interesting. From that point on out though, everything was smooth sailing. Every restaurant we went to we were given free ouzo, limoncello shots and desserts. We definitely got the spoiled treatment because tourist season hadn't started yet. Everyone was really kind to us, it was nice to experience small town people being friendly. In Greece we ate lots of Mousakka a potato, beef, and bechamel sauce dish. We also had some really great fresh cod, greek salads, gyros and lamb dishes. The Baklava was insane as well. It was oozing out of our mouths, best I have ever had hands down. We tried to order everything as Greek as we could. I fell in love with the food! It was so delicious. Every meal we kept saying "wow that is my favorite yet".
Monday, February 28, 2011
Vireggio, Famiglia in Prato, Venice
Earlier this week my Italian class brought us to a market which isn't too far from my apartment. It is called Sant' Ambrogio market. There was fresh meat, fish, cheese, fresh pastas, bread, fruit and vegetables. I decided I am doing all my grocery shopping there from now on! Everything is so delicious looking and not very expensive. I am excited to take my mom and dad there. My mom will die and go to heaven, it is truly a cook's paradise.
I thought this weekend would be fairly low key for me but it ended up being very busy and exciting! On Friday, Kenzie and Becca's friends Lena and Sarah were in town visiting Florence from Rome so we decided to meet up and I would show them a few spots. We ended up doing a full hour power tour seeing almost everything there is in Florence. I was actually very impressed with them and their energy! We walked to the top of the Duomo (well the thing next to the Duomo), saw Piazza Michelangelo, San Lorenzo market, got lunch, and did the whole Uffizi. We ended the day having dinner at Acqua al 2 which was really amazing. I was exhausted, but it was very fun. I was glad to have met up with them.
On Friday, Frank Lupia my dad's cousin picked me up to visit another cousin Cesare, in Prato a city near by Florence. Frank does not speak English, and I don't speak Italian. It was very interesting, but it wasn't too bad! We had to call Alessandra a couple times about questions he had for me, but overall it was not too bad and we got through it together! We couldn't visit Cesare until later in the day so Frank too me to Vireggio, a small beach city famous for it's Carnivale and seafood. I was really excited he brought me there because I was planning a day trip there anyways! We walked the pier, it was a lot of fun. You could see beach from one angle and sea from another. Frank and I had a HUGE lunch together of seafood carbonara, so so good! I tried clams, mussels, these little fish that looked like baby octopus, and I liked it all! None of it tasted fishy. We also had fried fish which was really delicious. I told him "no me va" that I was full but he proceeded to order two desserts, a caramel panna cotta and pistachio cake and gelato.
After Vireggio, we visited Cesare in Prato. Cesare is very sick, he has brain cancer and they are not sure how much longer he will make it. It was hard to meet someone for the first and last time all together. He seemed very optimistic and excited to see me. His daughter Tina can speak a bit of English but does not remember much since she only learned in school. We had a very nice time talking together. It was funny because the one thing everyone understood was how my dad can only speak Belcastrese (small Calabrian town dialect) and not proper Italian. All of the relatives get a kick out of that. They sent me off with cheese from Belcastro and Tadods (spelling?) a biscuit that my Nana Ida used to make. I am really lucky to have so much family in Italy that are willing to pick me up and bring me places. I might be planning a trip to Genova to see Frank's family again in March.
On Sunday, I woke up early and met a tour group called Florence for Fun for a day trip to Venice. It was a very very long day. Unfortunately it was soo cold, windy, and rainy. I hate letting weather affect my feelings about a city but it is difficult to do. I tried to be as optimistic as I could and enjoy my time there. Venice was very pretty and I enjoyed seeing all of the people dressed up in their Carnivale outfits. One woman was kneeling behind a stroller so you couldn't see her body and all you saw was her head on the body of a baby in a stroller! As people passed it was hilarious because as people would pass she would cry or smile or blow kisses. It was a very impressive costume I would say. I never got to ride a Gondola because it cost so much...80 for only 3 people but I took lots of pictures of people in them! I just need to picture riding the boat on Lake Latoka at the cabin is a Gondola. Overall, I would love to see Venice again in the summer time without the crowds or cold weather. The city was pretty in the rain, I can't imagine how it is in the sun.
This is my last entry until March 13th! I am going on Spring Break on Friday to Istanbul, Athens and Santorini Greece. I also have plenty of midterms and things I have to be planning for. Trying not to stress is difficult but once Friday hits I know I will feel much better.
I thought this weekend would be fairly low key for me but it ended up being very busy and exciting! On Friday, Kenzie and Becca's friends Lena and Sarah were in town visiting Florence from Rome so we decided to meet up and I would show them a few spots. We ended up doing a full hour power tour seeing almost everything there is in Florence. I was actually very impressed with them and their energy! We walked to the top of the Duomo (well the thing next to the Duomo), saw Piazza Michelangelo, San Lorenzo market, got lunch, and did the whole Uffizi. We ended the day having dinner at Acqua al 2 which was really amazing. I was exhausted, but it was very fun. I was glad to have met up with them.
On Sunday, I woke up early and met a tour group called Florence for Fun for a day trip to Venice. It was a very very long day. Unfortunately it was soo cold, windy, and rainy. I hate letting weather affect my feelings about a city but it is difficult to do. I tried to be as optimistic as I could and enjoy my time there. Venice was very pretty and I enjoyed seeing all of the people dressed up in their Carnivale outfits. One woman was kneeling behind a stroller so you couldn't see her body and all you saw was her head on the body of a baby in a stroller! As people passed it was hilarious because as people would pass she would cry or smile or blow kisses. It was a very impressive costume I would say. I never got to ride a Gondola because it cost so much...80 for only 3 people but I took lots of pictures of people in them! I just need to picture riding the boat on Lake Latoka at the cabin is a Gondola. Overall, I would love to see Venice again in the summer time without the crowds or cold weather. The city was pretty in the rain, I can't imagine how it is in the sun.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Day Tripping Away: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and Lucca
This past week I bought my first pair of leather boots at the San Lorenzo market for 40 euros. I was really proud of myself! I like them a lot but am worried the cobblestone streets will ruin them before Minnesota winters do.
This past weekend I went to Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and Lucca. I loved all of them! Siena and San Gimignano are known for really excellent wine, wild boar, saffron and truffles (mushroom truffles). Thought about bringing my mom home something but I couldn't find much around that would be transportable. And affordable...
In Siena I had Spaghetti Carbonara which is pasta in a egg sauce, so good. There were these rice dessert balls, started with an f...and now I am blanking out but they were deilcious! And only 4 for 1 euro, so cheap. My friend and I split them then later had to go back and get our own. I believe they were a traditional food for Siena. Really really tasty. They sell them in the middle of one of their main Piazzas where they do a famous horse race every summer. I also had some incredible cinnamon, chocolate and dried fruit gelato in San Gimignano. I think the woman said it was a type of cake they make locally.
Two of my room mates and I all cooked dinner together also this weekend which was fun. They are both in sororities so they do not do much cooking. They try really hard to experiment in the kitchen and they are always so sweet to me when I cook for them. They are amazed by the littlest things and always so complimentary. I should give my mom major props for showing me how to use a stove. We made gnocchi with sausage, red peppers and spicy tomato sauce. It was so delicious, I was proud of our team work. I am going through a huge spicy faze right now. I put hot sauce on every sandwich I get at the deli. Earlier when I first got here I was addicted to pesto on everything. Last night my room mates and I made spicy shrimp linguine, it was so awesome. We had wine and stayed in and talked, those have been some of my favorite nights here!
Out of all the cities I enjoyed Pisa the least. Some parts were cute but the river was really dirty and their was not much to look at (Florence's Arno is way better!). We had to get a picture at the leaning tower though, of course. It was really funny to see everyone pretending to push it over all around. Both San Gimignano and Lucca were cities where cars are not able to drive down the streets. In Lucca everyone rides bikes inside the city walls. We had a group of 3 and the bikes required 2 people so we decided just to walk around instead of bike. I went with my room mates Lauren and Blaire and we all loved the city so much. It was so cute, so many little restaurants, cafes and boutiques. Everyone seemed to know each other and were really friendly. I would suggest to anyone to make sure to see Lucca at least during the same day as Pisa.
Kenzie Smith, Anna Czech and some of their St. Louis University Madrid friends came to Florence on Sunday and Monday of this week. Sunday was rainy and they seemed tired from their Rome travels (I feel their pain) so we took it easy on Sunday. Monday was beautiful and they got to see Piazza Michelangelo, San Lorenzo Market, The Duomo and other sites around Florence. We had dinner at Il Gatto E La Volpe which was so good, and I made sure to bring them to a favorite pastry shop of mine as well as an amazing sandwich shop called the Green Salami (Salameria Verde).
Mom and Dad we will be going there for lunch, it is so delicious and cheap! Definitely a mom and pop/hole in the wall kind of place.
Next weekend I am going to visit one of my dad's cousins named Caesare in Prato. Prato is a city I hear about often and very close to Florence. His cousin Frank from Genoa is picking me up and bringing me there to visit. Next weekend I am spending Friday in Prato and Saturday in Florence and then I head off to Venice for a day trip on Sunday. I am not going with any friends but with a student travel program so this might be interesting! But I wanted to travel alone somehow and this will halfway give me the chance. Venice has it's Carnivale where everyone wears masks. I am really excited!
This past weekend I went to Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and Lucca. I loved all of them! Siena and San Gimignano are known for really excellent wine, wild boar, saffron and truffles (mushroom truffles). Thought about bringing my mom home something but I couldn't find much around that would be transportable. And affordable...
In Siena I had Spaghetti Carbonara which is pasta in a egg sauce, so good. There were these rice dessert balls, started with an f...and now I am blanking out but they were deilcious! And only 4 for 1 euro, so cheap. My friend and I split them then later had to go back and get our own. I believe they were a traditional food for Siena. Really really tasty. They sell them in the middle of one of their main Piazzas where they do a famous horse race every summer. I also had some incredible cinnamon, chocolate and dried fruit gelato in San Gimignano. I think the woman said it was a type of cake they make locally.
Out of all the cities I enjoyed Pisa the least. Some parts were cute but the river was really dirty and their was not much to look at (Florence's Arno is way better!). We had to get a picture at the leaning tower though, of course. It was really funny to see everyone pretending to push it over all around. Both San Gimignano and Lucca were cities where cars are not able to drive down the streets. In Lucca everyone rides bikes inside the city walls. We had a group of 3 and the bikes required 2 people so we decided just to walk around instead of bike. I went with my room mates Lauren and Blaire and we all loved the city so much. It was so cute, so many little restaurants, cafes and boutiques. Everyone seemed to know each other and were really friendly. I would suggest to anyone to make sure to see Lucca at least during the same day as Pisa.
Mom and Dad we will be going there for lunch, it is so delicious and cheap! Definitely a mom and pop/hole in the wall kind of place.
I think the girls enjoyed San Lorenzo Market the most. Except we experienced a very bad run in with a vendor who was not happen when we asked for ten after he said fifteen. He screamed at us to leave and shouted other mean things. I am hoping won't have to see him again...some people are just not very nice! We were really surprised because even though Florentines (he may have not been Italian) have the coldest personalities, I have never seen anything like that before. Oh well, we could've given him business!
Next weekend I am going to visit one of my dad's cousins named Caesare in Prato. Prato is a city I hear about often and very close to Florence. His cousin Frank from Genoa is picking me up and bringing me there to visit. Next weekend I am spending Friday in Prato and Saturday in Florence and then I head off to Venice for a day trip on Sunday. I am not going with any friends but with a student travel program so this might be interesting! But I wanted to travel alone somehow and this will halfway give me the chance. Venice has it's Carnivale where everyone wears masks. I am really excited!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Bologna, Chianti, Loving Traveling Italy
This week I decided to stay in Italy. I feel really lucky there are so many great places I can travel to for cheap and their is always endless amounts of things to do in Florence. Outside of Santa Croce, a huge church in Florence, there was a chocolate festival this week. Everything was super expensive, it was so hard to walk through and not buy everything in sight! They had strawberries in hot chocolate, truffles, chocolate liquor, but I ended up getting a white chocolate pistachio cannoli. It was so delicious!
On Thursday night a few friends and I went out of appertivo. I am not sure if I have mentioned what it was before, but it is one of my top favorite things they have in Italy that we don't have in the US. You buy a glass of wine, cocktail, beer, coke...any kind of drink you'd like for 6-8 euros and then you get a small plate and get endless amounts of food that is set out at the bar. There is always grilled eggplant (my new favorite thing, italians put eggplant in everything), pastas, breads, pizzas,
sandwiches..anything. It is such a great deal and the food has been so great. We went to a place near my apartment called Zoe, it is really cute and you can tell it is where the Italians go. I have been trying to avoid the American favorite places, they are not as much fun and definitely are more dangerous. The drink I ordered had strawberries, blackberries and whipped cream apparently. It was so delicious...the whipped cream was a pleasant surprise. I wanted to lick my glass empty but I realized that wasn't very bella figura of me. Bella figura is the idea Italians have of looking their best always. That is why women always wear fur or expensive boots and coats. Never sweat pants.
When I got back from Bologna it was around 9 pm and I had missed the last bus that brings me directly home. When I was waiting I met three girls visiting Florence from Barcelona. We had a great conversation when we waited a half hour for a different bus. I went home feeling really great and happy that I met such cool people. The girls gave great advice for me and my travels to Barcelona. It reminded me that studying abroad isn't just about traveling, but also meeting people from other places.
On Saturday I signed up through a local student travel program called florence for fun to do a chianti hike, wine tasting and lunch. It was amazing! It was a gloomy day, but the scenery was still beautiful. Plus it felt good to be doing some sort of physical activity. During our hike, our leader Stefano pointed out to us many believe the hills we saw were what many people believe to be the background of the Mona Lisa! After our hike we headed back to the house of a family who has a legacy for making wine and olive oil in the small chianti town called Panzano. He served us 3 different choices of his red wine including a chianti classico which can only be from this area of chianti. We also tried 2 different liquors and some olive oil. I bought a chianti classico and olive oil, I am going to try to bring the olive oil back home. Lorenzo the home owner made us a huge lunch with lots of prosciutto, delicious white beans in olive oil, salami, bread, penne with pesto and another penne with red sauce that actually reminded me a little of my Nana Ida's red sauce recipe. Everything was so delicious and spaced out for 3 hours so we were able to take everything in and really enjoy it.
It has been a very good week! Next week I might try to hit the last week of the sales and find myself a pair of really nice boots. I also booked my ticket to Greece (Athens and Santorini) and Istanbul, Turkey for Spring Break. We found a great deal and very direct flights--I can't wait!
On Thursday night a few friends and I went out of appertivo. I am not sure if I have mentioned what it was before, but it is one of my top favorite things they have in Italy that we don't have in the US. You buy a glass of wine, cocktail, beer, coke...any kind of drink you'd like for 6-8 euros and then you get a small plate and get endless amounts of food that is set out at the bar. There is always grilled eggplant (my new favorite thing, italians put eggplant in everything), pastas, breads, pizzas,
sandwiches..anything. It is such a great deal and the food has been so great. We went to a place near my apartment called Zoe, it is really cute and you can tell it is where the Italians go. I have been trying to avoid the American favorite places, they are not as much fun and definitely are more dangerous. The drink I ordered had strawberries, blackberries and whipped cream apparently. It was so delicious...the whipped cream was a pleasant surprise. I wanted to lick my glass empty but I realized that wasn't very bella figura of me. Bella figura is the idea Italians have of looking their best always. That is why women always wear fur or expensive boots and coats. Never sweat pants.
On Friday I took a day trip to Bologna. Bologna is famous for their university, bolognese sauce, and towers. I loved it there! It reminded me a lot of St. Paul. A city but not too huge, we pretty much knew where everything was by the end of the day. It was really cool to see college kids everywhere too, we never see that in Florence too often. We climbed the only tower (I believe) in Bologna that you are able to climb. It took forever and was very exhausting. I realized how out of shape I am...but when we got to the top it was absolutely breathtaking! We could see the entire city for miles and miles. We had a huge photo shoot and the top and called a lot of attention to ourselves. After that we went out looking for lunch and found a cute place that had a small menu and we could sit outside. My friend Kylie and I ordered the lasanga bolognese (we felt like we had to try it!) and the waiter heard us wrong and brought us something else. Oh well it was still delicious but I do feel a little strange going to Bologna without trying Bolognese. We shopped for a bit, went to a modern museum, and had appertivo before we headed home again. Overall, I loved loved loved the city. It was really cute and I would love to go back someday.
When I got back from Bologna it was around 9 pm and I had missed the last bus that brings me directly home. When I was waiting I met three girls visiting Florence from Barcelona. We had a great conversation when we waited a half hour for a different bus. I went home feeling really great and happy that I met such cool people. The girls gave great advice for me and my travels to Barcelona. It reminded me that studying abroad isn't just about traveling, but also meeting people from other places.
On Saturday I signed up through a local student travel program called florence for fun to do a chianti hike, wine tasting and lunch. It was amazing! It was a gloomy day, but the scenery was still beautiful. Plus it felt good to be doing some sort of physical activity. During our hike, our leader Stefano pointed out to us many believe the hills we saw were what many people believe to be the background of the Mona Lisa! After our hike we headed back to the house of a family who has a legacy for making wine and olive oil in the small chianti town called Panzano. He served us 3 different choices of his red wine including a chianti classico which can only be from this area of chianti. We also tried 2 different liquors and some olive oil. I bought a chianti classico and olive oil, I am going to try to bring the olive oil back home. Lorenzo the home owner made us a huge lunch with lots of prosciutto, delicious white beans in olive oil, salami, bread, penne with pesto and another penne with red sauce that actually reminded me a little of my Nana Ida's red sauce recipe. Everything was so delicious and spaced out for 3 hours so we were able to take everything in and really enjoy it.
Chianti
The pasta that tasted like Nana Ida's sauce
It has been a very good week! Next week I might try to hit the last week of the sales and find myself a pair of really nice boots. I also booked my ticket to Greece (Athens and Santorini) and Istanbul, Turkey for Spring Break. We found a great deal and very direct flights--I can't wait!
Monday, February 7, 2011
My super athletic weekend in Switzerland (this is a joke)
Last week I cracked and went shopping at San Lorenzo Market. I ended up buying a dark green super warm infinity scarf (it wraps around and doesn’t have an end to it). I thought this was a reasonable purchase since I will be able to put it to good use in cold Minnesota. I also bought a pair of leather gloves which were never on my “to buy in Florence list” but theses are more young looking and very cute. I got a pretty good deal on them too if I do say so myself…13 euros down! They also have a huge indoor market where they sell fresh fish, wines, meat, and pastries, but my personal favorite find was the dried fruit section! I spent a whopping 5 euro on a ton of dried fruit but it was delicious and I might make that my weekly treat instead of gelato.
Last weekend I went to Switzerland with a student tourist program. We went to Interlaken and then took a day trip to Bern. We initially were signed up for night sledding, but due to all of our budgets we decided we would rather do a day trip instead. In Switzerland the Franc is almost equivalent to the US Dollar however their minimum wage is 15 Francs. Therefore all meals were 20 Francs, so we resorted to having very few meals mainly eating bread, cheese fondue, and chocolate. Not too shabby of food choices when we did come around to eating. Euros look not too horrible anymore compared to Switzerland!
We found out the hard way that chocolate fondue is definitely a tourist, American stereotype of what is popular in Switzerland. We were sent to a restaurant and walked in and found the whole restaurant full of Asians signing and dancing to their national anthem led by a white local who owned the place. My friends ordered chocolate fondue, but we realized it wasn’t very good or common in Switzerland. Lesson learned. The night was very entertaining though! We had a good laugh and couldn’t believe how many Asians were in Switzerland. However the cheese fondue the night before was delicious.
We hiked on Friday, which took about 2 hours full of pit stops to take pictures. That was the most fitness I did all weekend, but I enjoyed relaxing and sight seeing. It was beautiful although I was surprised how little of snow their was! It was also a lot warmer than I thought it would be originally, very sunny and beautiful.
In Bern, Switzerland’s capital we stopped in a chocolate shop and I ordered a Chocolate Mousse Truffle, Champagne Dark Chocolate, and Cappuccino, which were all so delicious. I was also so proud of myself for finding a Toblerone bar for half off costing me only 1.30 Francs. We walked around the city of Bern, which was very beautiful. There were so many clock towers. We were so often confused and kept telling people grazie instead of Danka or Merci. Then we realized everywhere we go we will have to change our form of “thank you” when we are just getting used to grazie.
I never got the chance to go to Lucerne which was my mother’s suggestion but it seemed like everywhere in Switzerland is a little bit different but still really unique and beautiful. It was interesting to see how casual the people were. Their attitudes and how they dressed was very different than Italy. Everyone was all very earthy and seemed very environmentally conscious. We didn’t find one bit of trash on the ground, but also it was interesting to see that everyone smoked.
Just booked a day trip to Venice for Carnivale and then the Amalfi Coast over my birthday. This upcoming weekend I will be doing a day trip to Bologna home of prosciutto and parmeggiano reggiano (I believe…) and the next day a Chianti hike, wine tasting and 4 course meal. I can’t wait!
Monday, January 31, 2011
When In Rome!
I went to Rome last weekend and basically saw everything I could! (Except the inside of the St. Peter's Basilica because of lines...I feel like a horrible person but oh well.) It was such an awesome weekend. We left Friday at 6:40 am and came home Sunday at 9:30 pm so we spent quite a bit of time there. I saw the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel (wasn't allowed to talk pictures and had to remain silent), Borghese Museum and gardens, Colosseum, Roman Forum & Paletine. We saw numerous churches, monuments and buildings. I could go on and on and describe everything but I will just mention some of my favorites so I don't bore everyone.
I really loved the Borghese Museum and gardens. I described it as very whimsical and happy, not heavy like a lot of the artwork we have seen thus far. The Vatican museum was also awesome because of the history of the rooms we were in and the paintings. The Sistine Chapel was incredibly. I wish I snuck a picture but I was too scared to be kicked out! The Colosseum was also really great. Everything I ate in Rome was delicious as well. I was surprised being tourists we found great places to eat. Also, all of the piazzas in Rome have more going on than in Florence and were more of a social place to hang out, I really liked sitting there and taking a break for walking.
On Friday night I met up with my dad's cousin Fernando Lupia who lives in Rome. His wife Raffella was there as well as his son and daughter in law who actually speaks English because she is Canadian. My friend Ellen came with me who is in Italian 4 so she was very helpful before their daughter in law arrived to help translate. Raffella made a 5 course meal--so delicious I was blown away. They offered us espresso, Italian liquors, and endless wine too. They were so friendly I really loved visiting them. Even Ellen said it was an unforgettable experience for her as well. I might coordinate a weekend when I am staying in Florence for them to come visit me again and bring me to Prato (a city nearby) to visit another relative. Fernando and Raffella took us on a small tour of the city in their car, it was really nice to see the city without walking. Raffella is also teaching herself English so she enjoyed speaking to us in English I think. I was proud I was able to tell them my age in Italian (since I learned that on my first Italian quiz). I hope I will be able to visit them again sometime.
I met up with a friend who is studying at the Loyola Chicago Rome Campus, Katie Hynan. It was great to see her and catch up in such a beautiful place! We met at the Trevi Fountain and later went to a cute hole in the wall (those are the best!) restaurant. I ordered spaghetti with lobster in a creamy red sauce and the house white wine. It was so delicious. We went to a piazza where there were a lot of bars after and I randomly met into people who were in my program. Katie and Kenzie and I will all be in Switzerland next weekend in the Swiss Alps so hopefully I will see more of everyone soon. Katie and I kept saying "I am so happy you are here!" Her friends were awesome as well.
Overall, Rome was amazing but also exhausting. If I were to live there, my feet would not only disintegrate but it would be so difficult to learn my way around. When I am here in Florence struggling for directions...so I am overall very happy with my choice of where to study. I describe it as Florence is more scenic and artistic, Rome is more historic and has more going on. The night life in Florence is pretty low key compared to Rome, but I like that about it. Rome had less dog poop on the streets that is for sure. They also had less little dogs running around in hot pink jackets. Everywhere I looked I saw people holding a map looking confused and it is not even tourist season yet! Can't imagine what it is like in April or May.
Overall, I had a great weekend. It was really exhausting but fun! We had to take a fast train home because there was a scare of a train strike but it ended up being fun to experience something a little classier. More expensive though, probably won't do it again we just did to be sure we got home. My friend's 21st birthday is today so last night we decided to celebrate a little early and sipped limoncello on the train. It definitely didn't taste like my moms, maybe because I bought the cheapest one they had...but none of us were too big of fans. One friend even described it as rancid. Next time, if there is a next time, we will have to try something a little more expensive.
Next post will maybe talk about the rest of my week and Florence but then I am off to Interlaken, Switzerland! Let's hope I come out of night sledding alive.
I really loved the Borghese Museum and gardens. I described it as very whimsical and happy, not heavy like a lot of the artwork we have seen thus far. The Vatican museum was also awesome because of the history of the rooms we were in and the paintings. The Sistine Chapel was incredibly. I wish I snuck a picture but I was too scared to be kicked out! The Colosseum was also really great. Everything I ate in Rome was delicious as well. I was surprised being tourists we found great places to eat. Also, all of the piazzas in Rome have more going on than in Florence and were more of a social place to hang out, I really liked sitting there and taking a break for walking.
On Friday night I met up with my dad's cousin Fernando Lupia who lives in Rome. His wife Raffella was there as well as his son and daughter in law who actually speaks English because she is Canadian. My friend Ellen came with me who is in Italian 4 so she was very helpful before their daughter in law arrived to help translate. Raffella made a 5 course meal--so delicious I was blown away. They offered us espresso, Italian liquors, and endless wine too. They were so friendly I really loved visiting them. Even Ellen said it was an unforgettable experience for her as well. I might coordinate a weekend when I am staying in Florence for them to come visit me again and bring me to Prato (a city nearby) to visit another relative. Fernando and Raffella took us on a small tour of the city in their car, it was really nice to see the city without walking. Raffella is also teaching herself English so she enjoyed speaking to us in English I think. I was proud I was able to tell them my age in Italian (since I learned that on my first Italian quiz). I hope I will be able to visit them again sometime.
I met up with a friend who is studying at the Loyola Chicago Rome Campus, Katie Hynan. It was great to see her and catch up in such a beautiful place! We met at the Trevi Fountain and later went to a cute hole in the wall (those are the best!) restaurant. I ordered spaghetti with lobster in a creamy red sauce and the house white wine. It was so delicious. We went to a piazza where there were a lot of bars after and I randomly met into people who were in my program. Katie and Kenzie and I will all be in Switzerland next weekend in the Swiss Alps so hopefully I will see more of everyone soon. Katie and I kept saying "I am so happy you are here!" Her friends were awesome as well.
Overall, Rome was amazing but also exhausting. If I were to live there, my feet would not only disintegrate but it would be so difficult to learn my way around. When I am here in Florence struggling for directions...so I am overall very happy with my choice of where to study. I describe it as Florence is more scenic and artistic, Rome is more historic and has more going on. The night life in Florence is pretty low key compared to Rome, but I like that about it. Rome had less dog poop on the streets that is for sure. They also had less little dogs running around in hot pink jackets. Everywhere I looked I saw people holding a map looking confused and it is not even tourist season yet! Can't imagine what it is like in April or May.
Overall, I had a great weekend. It was really exhausting but fun! We had to take a fast train home because there was a scare of a train strike but it ended up being fun to experience something a little classier. More expensive though, probably won't do it again we just did to be sure we got home. My friend's 21st birthday is today so last night we decided to celebrate a little early and sipped limoncello on the train. It definitely didn't taste like my moms, maybe because I bought the cheapest one they had...but none of us were too big of fans. One friend even described it as rancid. Next time, if there is a next time, we will have to try something a little more expensive.
Next post will maybe talk about the rest of my week and Florence but then I am off to Interlaken, Switzerland! Let's hope I come out of night sledding alive.
Colosseum with my room mate Kristin
At the Trevi with Katie
ROMA
Thursday, January 27, 2011
La Vita e Meravigliosa!
This week I had my first Italian quiz, hence the "la vita e mervigliosa" which means It's a wonderful life. I am trying to speak as much Italian as I can! Very different than Spanish I must say but it isn't too horrible. Some people in my class have God awful pronunciation from the East Coast so I don't sound too bad. This is a short post but I thought I would mention a few fun things I did this week!
First, my art history professor took us to Santa Croce Church which was beautiful. Michelangelo and Galileo are both buried there. We are learning about frescos, which are layers of paint that even though many have been chipped and distressed over the years you can still see how much work went into them. They remind me of textural wall murals--very pretty. I am excited to get out into the city for this class! The class is 3 hours long and my professor can talk the whole time and can still hold our attention.
We ate at restaurant called Il gatto e la volpe which means the cat and the fox. It is from the story of Pinocchio, which was written by an Italian author. When reading that back in the day I definitely didn't connect the dots to that one. Anyways, it was delicious! The balsamic was chunky, different than usual but sooo good. I order the Spaghetti Nonna Rosa which is made with green tomatoes, a bit of cream, spicy, and little pieces of ham. It was so delicious. Anyone who visits me I am taking you there! Besides, the waiter was soo nice and looked like Ray Romano which I loved. He even gave us a 10 percent discount card! I also tried white chocolate gelato with nutella in it, so delish!
I finally met up with a friend from high school, Elizabeth Mountain. We got lunch, well I ate she watched because she is fed at her school and it was great to catch up. I got margherita pizza and the lady was not liking me because I asked for tap water and if I could pay with a credit card. If you want something to drink here, you have to pay for a huge thing of water or order something else. So everyone savor your free water! And basically everywhere you go you need cash, definitely going to take some getting used to. Elizabeth and I are planning a trip to Prague at the end of March. I have heard only great things about it! If you have any suggestions please let me know. Can't wait!
I am going to Rome this weekend! Hopefully I will be able to meet up with both friends and family. I am in contact with my dad's cousin named Fernando. His wife speaks a little English but I am mainly going to try to speak to his daughter in law who is Canadian and will help me communicate. I heard Fernando has a fever so hopefully he will feel well enough to give me a tour or get a bite to eat. Looking forward to this crazy city. It will be interesting to compare it to Florence since I contemplated going there earlier...but I think I will be happy with my decision anyways!
Lately everyone has been stressing and talking about traveling. I, too have been struggling with trying to decide where to travel outside of Italy! I have ruled out Paris recently because it's difficult to fly there cheaply and will be pricey once I am there. I also ruled out London even though I'd love to go but again, its a lot for a weekend trip. So anyone who wants to travel to those two places before I am an old lady please tell me!
Here is my list and I would love to hear input: Spain, Prague, Switzerland (maybe next weekend), Greece for Spring Break, and possibly the French Riviera. I would love all advice! I know a lot of mothers who I am sure who have traveled the world are reading this so please e-mail me : ) And my main focus is traveling ALL over Italy! My room mates and I want to do Cinque Terre for my birthday and French Riviera at the very end in April! You can e-mail me suggestions at march154@umn.edu
p.s. people don't pick the dog poop up on the cobblestone streets ever. and italians do not know how to drive! I will post a picture explaining the driving next time because again, the internet won't let me!
In the meantime enjoy this link my cross cultural psych teacher gave me http://www.youtube.com/watch?
First, my art history professor took us to Santa Croce Church which was beautiful. Michelangelo and Galileo are both buried there. We are learning about frescos, which are layers of paint that even though many have been chipped and distressed over the years you can still see how much work went into them. They remind me of textural wall murals--very pretty. I am excited to get out into the city for this class! The class is 3 hours long and my professor can talk the whole time and can still hold our attention.
We ate at restaurant called Il gatto e la volpe which means the cat and the fox. It is from the story of Pinocchio, which was written by an Italian author. When reading that back in the day I definitely didn't connect the dots to that one. Anyways, it was delicious! The balsamic was chunky, different than usual but sooo good. I order the Spaghetti Nonna Rosa which is made with green tomatoes, a bit of cream, spicy, and little pieces of ham. It was so delicious. Anyone who visits me I am taking you there! Besides, the waiter was soo nice and looked like Ray Romano which I loved. He even gave us a 10 percent discount card! I also tried white chocolate gelato with nutella in it, so delish!
I finally met up with a friend from high school, Elizabeth Mountain. We got lunch, well I ate she watched because she is fed at her school and it was great to catch up. I got margherita pizza and the lady was not liking me because I asked for tap water and if I could pay with a credit card. If you want something to drink here, you have to pay for a huge thing of water or order something else. So everyone savor your free water! And basically everywhere you go you need cash, definitely going to take some getting used to. Elizabeth and I are planning a trip to Prague at the end of March. I have heard only great things about it! If you have any suggestions please let me know. Can't wait!
Elizabeth and I at lunch
Classic Italian Park Job
I haven't bought anything yet except for a sweater which involves a long story but I was in need of one. And it was cheap! Coin is a great place to shop, cheap and a department store. Plus sale season is ending soon so if I want anything I need to buy anything in stores I need to do it soon. I have a very limited wardrobe being one of the very few people who brought only 1 suitcase. But I am still resisting the temptation and have not bought anything yet! Still need to make it to San Lorenzo market to barter.I am going to Rome this weekend! Hopefully I will be able to meet up with both friends and family. I am in contact with my dad's cousin named Fernando. His wife speaks a little English but I am mainly going to try to speak to his daughter in law who is Canadian and will help me communicate. I heard Fernando has a fever so hopefully he will feel well enough to give me a tour or get a bite to eat. Looking forward to this crazy city. It will be interesting to compare it to Florence since I contemplated going there earlier...but I think I will be happy with my decision anyways!
Lately everyone has been stressing and talking about traveling. I, too have been struggling with trying to decide where to travel outside of Italy! I have ruled out Paris recently because it's difficult to fly there cheaply and will be pricey once I am there. I also ruled out London even though I'd love to go but again, its a lot for a weekend trip. So anyone who wants to travel to those two places before I am an old lady please tell me!
Here is my list and I would love to hear input: Spain, Prague, Switzerland (maybe next weekend), Greece for Spring Break, and possibly the French Riviera. I would love all advice! I know a lot of mothers who I am sure who have traveled the world are reading this so please e-mail me : ) And my main focus is traveling ALL over Italy! My room mates and I want to do Cinque Terre for my birthday and French Riviera at the very end in April! You can e-mail me suggestions at march154@umn.edu
p.s. people don't pick the dog poop up on the cobblestone streets ever. and italians do not know how to drive! I will post a picture explaining the driving next time because again, the internet won't let me!
In the meantime enjoy this link my cross cultural psych teacher gave me http://www.youtube.com/watch?
That's all for now...can you guess what the next post will be titled?
WHEN IN ROME!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Gelato, Great Views, What a hard life!
I finally completed my first week of class. It does not feel like I am in school at all because all my classes are once a week except for my Italian. I switched out of a class that assigned us a 15 page paper and into watercolor. I know I know, I am probably lazy...but now at least I get to spend my time painting outside of the classroom instead of writing a huge paper! I haven't water colored since Mr. Beaman's junior high art classes so this should be interesting but I have heard great things about the teacher.
We ate dinner last Thursday as a huge group. We were lucky enough to sit with our super nice CAPA staff Lorenzo and Guido. They let us even try there wine that they said would be the most expensive wine we will ever have...They were very funny giving us tips about where to go out. He gave us some names of places near where I live that he said we would enjoy. The dinner was a trio of pesto with penne, gnocci in a cream sauce, and meat and cheese ravioli. It was delicious! Groceries here are so cheap. Fresh mozzarella is only 1 euro! Delicious bread way under 1 euro and the produce is so cheap too. I hated sandwiches back at home, but here they are some of my favorite meals.
I am finally starting to feel like I know my way around a little more. I found it's alright to ask questions if I find myself lost because it probably will help my Italian anyways. Also, the lovely Allie Hynan (Katie Hynan's sister) provided me with a huge list of tips. As I read it a week in I know where certain places are, have visited quite a few of them, and I love that I know if I am getting ripped off of gelato!
This weekend I went to the Uffizi. I have heard it will take me many many times to get through the whole thing but I ended up seeing a little over half of it! Plus I have my art history course that will take us there. It is truly remarkable to see work that was created so long ago, I really enjoyed going a lot. I also took a walk with a room mate and we found that our backyard (a little up a ways) is where the famous Piazza Michelangelo is. It overlooks the ENTIRE city of Florence, so so beautiful. I will take whoever visits there.
A word to describe the weather here would definitely be brisk. There will be sun but it is still cool and windy. The whole week is 45 degrees out. Not too bad, way better than Minnesota so I should not complain!
I made my room mates dinner the other night and it seemed like it went over well. I am the only one who likes cooking so they get really impressed over the simplest of things. I made spaghetti with ricotta, roasted red pepper and tomato sauce. It was really yummy I was proud of myself.
I have to admit there are times where I am home sick. My room mates and I all sat down and talked about it last night before bed (when most of us get home sick the most) and ended up the night laughing and writing down quotes. It is hard to be away from the people and friends who know you the best, but I have met a handful of really nice girls who I will hopefully do a lot of my traveling with. There aren't just Minnesotans so a lot of the times I really miss that "Minnesota Nice" smile people give.
I just e-mailed a family member in Rome to see if me and two other girls could stay with them when we visit. Next weekend I am either visiting Rome or a day trip to Pisa. It will depend on what my relative says. Otherwise I will be staying in my first hostel!
Ciao for now! I will try to write on this more. We can blame the lack of technology in Florence. Pictures to come later!
We ate dinner last Thursday as a huge group. We were lucky enough to sit with our super nice CAPA staff Lorenzo and Guido. They let us even try there wine that they said would be the most expensive wine we will ever have...They were very funny giving us tips about where to go out. He gave us some names of places near where I live that he said we would enjoy. The dinner was a trio of pesto with penne, gnocci in a cream sauce, and meat and cheese ravioli. It was delicious! Groceries here are so cheap. Fresh mozzarella is only 1 euro! Delicious bread way under 1 euro and the produce is so cheap too. I hated sandwiches back at home, but here they are some of my favorite meals.
I am finally starting to feel like I know my way around a little more. I found it's alright to ask questions if I find myself lost because it probably will help my Italian anyways. Also, the lovely Allie Hynan (Katie Hynan's sister) provided me with a huge list of tips. As I read it a week in I know where certain places are, have visited quite a few of them, and I love that I know if I am getting ripped off of gelato!
How amazing does that look?
My apartment
View from Piazza Michelangelo
A word to describe the weather here would definitely be brisk. There will be sun but it is still cool and windy. The whole week is 45 degrees out. Not too bad, way better than Minnesota so I should not complain!
I made my room mates dinner the other night and it seemed like it went over well. I am the only one who likes cooking so they get really impressed over the simplest of things. I made spaghetti with ricotta, roasted red pepper and tomato sauce. It was really yummy I was proud of myself.
I have to admit there are times where I am home sick. My room mates and I all sat down and talked about it last night before bed (when most of us get home sick the most) and ended up the night laughing and writing down quotes. It is hard to be away from the people and friends who know you the best, but I have met a handful of really nice girls who I will hopefully do a lot of my traveling with. There aren't just Minnesotans so a lot of the times I really miss that "Minnesota Nice" smile people give.
I just e-mailed a family member in Rome to see if me and two other girls could stay with them when we visit. Next weekend I am either visiting Rome or a day trip to Pisa. It will depend on what my relative says. Otherwise I will be staying in my first hostel!
Ciao for now! I will try to write on this more. We can blame the lack of technology in Florence. Pictures to come later!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Getting Started
I am slowly moving into the daily life of a Florentine. I finally mastered a way to get to school, however when it comes to everything else I am totally lost. I ask for directions and definitely feel like an idiot but hey it's better than walking around for hours! I have found that not that many people speak English. But I guess my Italian 1 skills will hopefully pay off eventually when I ask simple questions. Taking a whole new language has been interesting, there are some things are are similar to spanish like numbers...and then some things that are totally different. I am slightly confused let's say but everyone is, I am sure things will improve though. It is funny because everyone keeps saying "I have to go to Spanish class" when they actually mean Italian. Some people slip and say "adios" too instead of "ciao".
The other night we went out to eat and I ate pasta with bolognese sauce which is like a meat sauce. The portions are huge here and no doggie bags so it makes me sad being a poor student and only eating half! Another reason why I should be splitting my meals. After we went to a big bar with music playing, it was a fun time and I got to meet more abroad students. The Italian PDA here is crazy, people all over each other everywhere. It is disgusting so I try to ignore it!
In between classes I stopped at a bakery and bought a Beignet. It is basically a puff pastry with cream on the inside and on top covered in fresh strawberries. So delicious to say the least. I think I am going to have to resist myself in that department.
Best thing I have done school-wise all week is drop a class! I was in a class called Modern Italy and the first day of class the Professor told us about a 15 page paper. So what do I do instead? Take watercolor! This should be interesting, haven't taken it since junior high but if I remember correctly it was the one thing I was a little bit decent at. It sounds therapeutic and hopefully will make me appreciate the art shown in my art history class more!
Since I am staying in Florence this weekend I have plans to walk to the top of the Duomo, and maybe Piazza Michelangelo. San Lorenzo market is also on the top of my list!
More stories later after the weekend : ) CIAO!
The other night we went out to eat and I ate pasta with bolognese sauce which is like a meat sauce. The portions are huge here and no doggie bags so it makes me sad being a poor student and only eating half! Another reason why I should be splitting my meals. After we went to a big bar with music playing, it was a fun time and I got to meet more abroad students. The Italian PDA here is crazy, people all over each other everywhere. It is disgusting so I try to ignore it!
In between classes I stopped at a bakery and bought a Beignet. It is basically a puff pastry with cream on the inside and on top covered in fresh strawberries. So delicious to say the least. I think I am going to have to resist myself in that department.
Best thing I have done school-wise all week is drop a class! I was in a class called Modern Italy and the first day of class the Professor told us about a 15 page paper. So what do I do instead? Take watercolor! This should be interesting, haven't taken it since junior high but if I remember correctly it was the one thing I was a little bit decent at. It sounds therapeutic and hopefully will make me appreciate the art shown in my art history class more!
Since I am staying in Florence this weekend I have plans to walk to the top of the Duomo, and maybe Piazza Michelangelo. San Lorenzo market is also on the top of my list!
More stories later after the weekend : ) CIAO!
Monday, January 17, 2011
First Days in Florence!
Everyone…I am alive! Even though I have been in the country since Friday…I have been totally out of Internet or phone connection until today, but here I am in Florence, Italy. While some people went out to party their first night, my roommates and I were extremely jet lagged-all only sleeping a maximum of 30 minutes on a total of a 10-11 hour plane ride. But we are finally getting adjusted to our sleep and of course the 9pm dinners. My roommates are all super nice, two are from Indiana and the other is a U of M student as well. It is comforting because we all seem to all have the same worries, goals, and excitements for our stay here. We talked for a few hours last night at dinner, they even are fascinated with kidnapping cases just like me! See friends at home…it’s not that weird!
The city is absolutely beautiful. Everything is old and has so much character I love it. My apartment is across the river Arno so our walk to the city center everyday is really incredible. We cross the Ponte Vecchio daily, which I learned is the oldest bridge in the world and the only one Hitler declared not to bomb in WWII. Our apartment is ADORABLE. Great size, we like the location, only problem is it is colder inside than out! We haven’t been the smartest in some cases, buying a wine opener and realizing we had three in our apartment. Also buying our first cappuccinos and being scolded for offering a Visa.
Now, to get to the point…what has Anna eaten? Our first night out we ordered pizza, bruschetta and wine. Our second night out we ordered arugula pesto pasta with pancetta and grilled chicken. I have discovered splitting things is the best of both worlds-cheaper and try more! Also, nutella gelato is my new best friend costing only 2.5 euro! Thank goodness we walk everywhere, because that is definitely going to help me out this semester not gaining any “Italian food weight”. I am even convinced my foot is swollen from all the walking!
When we went out last night we ended up at a pub that was well…very American. That will not be happening again. Lesson learned. Even though it was funny to hear CeeLo Green’s version of “Forget You” play miles away from home, it wasn’t exactly a place to learn about Italian culture. We enjoyed people watching especially the American girls who were wearing heels on cobblestone streets, short skirts and well…not following the rules our program told us to blend in. Our goal is to find the bars that locals go to. Here in Italy getting wasted or having more than a couple drinks is very looked down upon.
When we arrived we were given a gift basket they presented us pasta and spaghetti sauce. The sauce tasted like metal, but cooking all together was a great experience. We laughed about it and focused more on eating our baguette, prosciutto and cheese that were very tasty.
We were told Florentines are all very cold mannered. So far we have not seen this! Some women do look intimidating in their all black, high fashion outfits but for the most part the Florentines have been very welcoming and helpful. We loved a woman in a leather store who sold my friend Kristin her first leather jacket. She was so sweet and offered her a great priced considering she makes jackets for Versace. The shopaholic side of me has not come out yet. I have been very tempted but also very cautious of my money. Fortunately there is a sale season in Italy that lasts until the end of February.
My Italian teacher was impressed with the few words I know...I can thank my dad who tutored me for the past few weeks for that. Her name is also Anna and loved when she called on me asking my name, realizing it was the same as hers. Looks like I will probably get an A in that class this semester : )
Picture 1: My friends Ellen, Kristin and I are out eating dinner.
Picture 2: Ponte Vecchio and the river Arno
Picture 3: The kitchen in our apartment and our balcony.
It will take me a while to figure out how to get to class…my dad passed being directionally disabled on to me that’s for sure. Kristin my roommate seems to know where everything is, I told her she isn’t leaving my side all trip. This week we hope to walk to the top of the Duomo, check out the San Lorenzo Market (bargain shopping…Kim Smith’s skills with this will hopefully influence me) and the Uffizi museum.
PS if you want to skype...it is best to be on from dinner time until midnight or later...7 hour time difference!
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