Home Sweet Stati Uniti!

Monday morning, bright and early, we headed to the airport. Maggie was headed back to Germany for 2 more months and for me, it was time to go back to the United States. As surreal as it seemed, my European adventure had come to a close. Petra’s dad dropped us off and it was a tearful goodbye as Maggie and I knew we would not see Petra again until school starts back up at the end of August. Of course it was another tearful goodbye as Maggie and I parted ways and our crazy European adventure was over. As we like to say, “its probably the greatest thing we’ve ever done!” I was so glad I had her for all of our mishaps traveling from country to country but of course we had many, many laughs and great memories and stories we’ll never forget!

As for me, my flights were fine. I have to admit I had to fight back tears on the plane. I couldn’t help but think that my amazing adventure that I had looked forward to for so long was really over. I truly had the time of my life and I guess I just did not know what to expect when returning home.

When I finally landed on US soil, as I walked off my plane, the German flight attended said, “Welcome Home” to me and I lost it! I started crying and I realized how happy I was to be home. I was a happy that I didn’t think would come once leaving Florence. I cried when I saw the sign “Welcome to the United States of America” and I cried when the man at customs said, “How long have you been gone?” and I replied “4 months!” I was truly happy to be back in the U.S. a place I now have the up most appreciation for. Of course I cried when I saw my mom and dad standing at the arrivals gate and then when Rudy was waiting for me in the car! When I got home there was a great “Welcome Home” sign on my door and a cake. And later in the week I got to see my grandma and my wonderful friends threw me a surprise party which I did not expect! All of this was just so great and unexpected and overwhelming!

I have to say that now I am home, Florence seems like dream, a distant memory of the most amazing four months of life. Me and the friends that I have made will always have a special bond because we share the same feelings about a place that is so special and important to our lives. I traveled the world, and lived in a non-English speaking country for four months. I lived in a place where I knew nothing and came to know everything. I like to think…If I can do that…I can do anything.

It was definitely strange for me returning home though. As weird as it sounds, I felt it was hard to function in society. Walking by and knowing exactly what people were saying in their conversations was weird for me. Ordering ice cream seemed like a difficult task. Little things that I wouldn’t have thought just seemed so strange but nothing that I won’t get used to in time.

Now that I’ve been home three weeks now I think I have adjusted well, in fact, better than I had originally anticipated. I really love seeing all of my friends and family and I think that really helps. Although, sometimes I think I’m going back and than I sadness comes over me when I realize…I’m not. But I have my painting of the duomo, and my great leather purse, and my million pictures and my all of my stories and this blog to remind me of my amazing experiences and memories.
So, as my last blog entry, I just want to THANK YOU ALL for following me on my journey. Your love and support means more than you will ever know!

Homecoming June 1, 2009

Hungary!

After a very long and much needed sleep, I woke up with my eye swollen shut! So…I definitely had pink eye! But Maggie and I were well rested and ready to see Budapest! First things first though…my eye. Petra’s mom suggested that I wash out my eye with camaeal tea and that really helped the itching but it was still so red. So before Petra could take us to see the city we went to a pharmacist to see if I could get medicine for my eyes but unfortunately they wouldn’t give me medicine without a prescription. So now what? Luckily, there was a “FirstMed” center right around the corner from the pharmacist and even luckier they spoke English and took me within five minutes! The doctor was very nice and gave me prescriptions that I got filled right away and then we could start our day!

The first stop was The Castle of Buda which overlooked the whole city on the Pest side. I learned a lot of interesting and fun facts like Budapest is split by the river Danube. The hilly side is Buda and the flat side in the Pest side. We took tons of pictures at the top and walked across the famous chain bridge which connects Buda and Pest. It was just a relaxing day and a nice tour of the city. For dinner, Petra’s mom made us a yummy dinner of pasta with sage cabbage soup and we had delicious wine that her dad gave us. After dinner, we headed out on the town to a place called Rumba, where we met up with Petra’s friends from high school. It was great to meet her friends and see what she does for fun!

On Wednesday we woke up to a great big breakfast served by Petra’s mother, of meats, vegetables, bread and great apricot juice which was so good and refreshing! After breakfast we headed out into the city and our first stop was to visit Petra’s school where she went to middle and high school. It was a huge building of many stories. It was much different than my high school so it was really neat to see. After that it was off to the Parliament building which is right along the Danube. We had an appointment to take an English speaking tour through the building. It was a massive building built in the 1900’s and housed the crown jewels and fun stuff like that! It was cool to see! We took tons of pictures outside of the Parliament and then walked around town. We then headed to Hero’s Square which is this huge square in the center of the city and it has statues of all of the hero’s in Hungarian history. We hung out there for awhile and then took the bus back to Petra’s house. For dinner that night we had a very yummy duck with fruit!

On Friday morning bright and early we went to Margaret Island, which is this little island off of the center of the town which has no cars. Its like a little park with pools and fountains and you can rent bikes or electric cars to ride around the island. We rented the electric car which was so funny. All three of us squeezed into the little car and we drove around the island. It was so much fun! We had tons of laughs as we drove all around and of course took pictures. Then Petra’s dad took us to the Citadel which was at the very top of the Buda side. Its at the top where their statue of Liberty is and there is a view of the entire city which was so beautiful! Then we headed to the mall to meet one of Petra’s best friends and hung out with her for awhile. Then we stopped on at Petra’s grandparent’s house to say hi. They are so cute! After that Petra’s parents took us to their lake house in Balatonfured on Lake Balaton or always called the Hungarian Sea. It was soooo beautiful!! The weather was a little rainy but we walked all around the lake and looked in the little shops. We had of course another delicious dinner of packed potatoes, which might have been my favorite dinner so far!

On Saturday, we got up and took the bikes out and road them all around the lake up to this town called Tihany which had an old monastery at the top and a beautiful view of Lake Balaton. Lake Balaton is also known as the Hungarian sea. We admired the view for awhile and then took a ferry to Szantod which is another little town on the lake. After getting there, a storm rolled in so we hung out for awhile and took a break while it passed. Then it was back on the ferry because we had to ride our bikes all the way back. Man…were we sore from riding those bikes! And did our butts hurt the next day!! But it was a really fun day and we got to see the beautiful country side! On the way back we stopped at a little fair that they were having along the lake. Then we headed back and it was time for Petra’s dad’s specialty which was a stew and her grandma’s apple strudel! Again it was delicious!
On Sunday it was time to go back to Petra’s house in Budapest. On our way home we stopped for lunch at Petra’s grandparents. They are two of the cutest, most friendly people I’ve ever met! They were so hospitable and welcoming! For lunch we had paprika rabbit and crepes with cottage cheese! And her grandpa’s homemade wine! Of course it was so yummy! I was so happy that we got to meet them! Her grandpa showed us his massive garden and read us some poems that he wrote! I really enjoyed meeting them and getting to experience their life. Once it was back to Petra’s Budapest house, Maggie and I had to pack up our stuff because we were leaving bright and early.

I really had the greatest time in Budapest! I was so glad I got to experience Petra’s life in Hungary! Maggie and I got to do her life thing for five whole days and it was so cool! We are so used to her doing what we are used to in the United States and it was awesome for us to do what she is used too. For one of the first times, I felt so foreign because the cultural was so different and I could not understand any of the language! Petra’s parents could not have been any nicer or welcoming to us and they truly showed us an amazing cultural experience that I will never forget!!!

Visiting Petra in Hungary! May 26-June 1, 2009

Trip to the Bud!

Tuesday morning, bright and early, Maggie took Katherine to the train station and she was off to fly back to the United States. Once Maggie got back, she and I were off on our CRAZY adventure to Hungary to see Petra! This is how our day played out…

First, we packed up all of my luggage (I threw out some stuff to make it easier and lighter to carry!) I was lucky this time to have Maggie there to help me carry all of it! At about 7:30am the cab arrives to pick us up at Maggies apartment. He asks were we are going and when Maggie replies, “Budapest”… he laughs. Note to self: This should have been our first clue that this was going to be one hell of a day! We get to the train station with time to spare to Maggie runs to grab us some breakfast. While we are waiting for the train we are enjoying our breakfast, I drop my entire breakfast sandwich on the ground. This is sign #2 about how our day would play out. I get over the dropped McMuffin and board the train. All fine and well, we make the first two connections. (Oh, I forgot to mention that we were taking 4 trains to Munich and then once in the Munich airport we would split up and take two separate flights to Budapest where Petra and her dad were to pick us up. Sounds totally crazy but we were up for the adventure.) So…after our first two connections we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves…then we get to the third one and theres only 3 minutes in between trains so we have to rush off the train, get all of my luggage, find the track and get back on the train. Unlikely, but we figured we’d give it a shot! Well, thanks for some slow moving people we were unsuccessful  so Maggie goes with her best game face on to talk to the people and see what we can do to make it to Munich in time for my flight which left earlier than Maggies. (And by earlier, I mean 5 hours earlier! She had to hang out in Munich for her flight which wasn’t until hours after mine but I had to wait for her in Budapest so we thought it would all work out in the end. I know…don’t even ask about how we thought this would be a good idea!) So…Maggie returns with a new schedule for us. We would take the next train which would bring us right into Munich but then we would…drum roll please…have to take the SUBWAY in MUNICH to the airport! WITH ALL OF MY LUGGAGE! So…we have no other choice and no room for error…we can handle this!! Keeping our spirits up with some pretzels and milkshakes, we board the train. To keep my suitcases from rolling we have to rig them up with some sort of ribbon and our legs…it was crazy but we made it work.

We arrive in Munich around 2pm and my flight leaves at 5 so we are running close on time but we’re not stressing. Thank god Maggie knows her German and figured our way on to the subway. We take the lovely Munich subway for about 30 minutes. It was here that I noticed my eye seemed to be a little red but I just brushed it off thinking it was just tiredness. *Remember this for later*. So we finally, finally arrive in Munich at a little before 3pm with just the right amount of time. My luggage in hand we proceed to the baggage counter to check my bags. This is where it gets bad. So the first lady tells me to weigh my bags and tells me how they are overweight and that MY bag broke the scale and that I can’t check in here because my bag is too big! How rude! So Maggie, the great girl that she is, took one of my bags and checked it as her bag because I knew that they wouldn’t let me check both bags. So I go up to the counter that I was told to go to and the lady tells me that my bag is overweight…no duhhh…as if I didn’t know this before (I’ve already trekked the stupid thing through, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany!) I tell her I am aware of this and I’m willing to pay the difference for it being overweight. So annoyed she does some crazy calculation on the computer and tells me that I would have to pay 150 euros for my bag!! Is she crazy?! 150 euros!! No way!! So I say, ok, I’ll get rid of a few things…so I step aside and try to go through some of the stuff that I could throw away. I pick out a few shirts and bring my bag back to the counter to be reweighed. She tells me No, its still overweight and she repeatedly asks, can’t you throw heavy things away?! I tell her that I have four months worth of clothes but she won’t have any of it. Now I’ve reached my breaking point and start to cry and cry as I have to throw out ½ my wardrobe. Thank god I had Maggie because she made it easier for my to chose what I should keep and what I should throw out and she helped me stay calm as I was about to go crazy on this German Lufthansa lady! Maggie took some heavier things from me and put them in her luggage to help me out. I throw out everything from my alarm clock, to jeans, to my umbrella. After a few minutes of sobbing, I finally got it together and my bag passed weigh in and it was off. I was so upset but I had to keep reminding myself that I’d rather pay 150 euros on new clothes and to pay that stupid Lufthansa lady. Then we rushed through to get to my gate only to find out that my plane was delayed about 20 minutes. Here Maggie and I had to go our separate ways but if all goes well we would be reunited in Budapest in about 6 hours!

I finally boarded the smallest plane I’ve ever seen and I was so exhausted! The plane was delayed another hour on the runway but I didn’t even care. I went right to sleep and when I woke up I was in Budapest! Finally, I had arrived at 9pm…12 hours of traveling later! But…with a very sore eye! Once I gathered my luggage from the claim I went right to the bathroom to check out my eye, and my worse fears had been confirmed…pink eye! Talk about bad news bears! What was I going to do? I had a few hours to hang out in the airport before Maggie arrived and Petra came to pick us up so that’s when I jumped online and updated my blog. While I was sitting in the arrival section waiting for Maggie, minutes before her flight was supposed to land, it says that her flight is delayed and won’t arrive until 1am! Just as I realize this, Petra appears in the airport!! I was SO happy to see her!! And it was so great to finally know that I had made it…but Maggie hadn’t  and I could only imagine she was freaking out as she had been hanging out in the airport for hours!! So I break the news to Petra and her dad, who had showed up with a fresh rose for me (sooo nice!) and he decided it would be best to go back to her house and them come back when Maggie’s flight got in. So we went to Petra’s house and her mom had a delicious dinner waiting for me on the table! Along with my pink eye, I also had a terrible cough (I’m sure Petra’s mom was thrilled to have me haha) so her mom suggested some “Swedish Bitter” which is some strange, Hungarian liquid that is supposed to cure all. So I figured…when in Hungary! And it wasn’t even THAT bad!

After my Swedish Bitter experience…we figured out that Maggie’s flight was getting in earlier that it had initially been delayed so we hopped back in the car and it was back to the airport to get her! As she walked out through the arrival gates at about 12:30am…Petra and I were so happy to see her…but I realized that she didn’t have my bag!! So I’m like…”Mags, where is my luggage?” and she’s like, “What do you mean?!” So I panicked for a quick second thinking that it never made it from Munich but then Maggie went back to the baggage claim and she returned with it thankfully! So…finally…a journey that started at 7:30am in Germany and ended at 12:30am in Budapest was finally over! We had successfully or not, arrived in Budapest and we’re more than excited to see Petra and her homeland! What an adventure it was…but well worth it. I just had to deal with my pink eye first….

Journey to Budapest!

GUTENTAG!

Gutentag...from Konstanz Germany!

After several VERY long train rides, fighting back tears as I left my beloved Florence, I finally arrived in Konstanz. I took the train from Florence, to Milan, to Zurich, to Konstanz. I was having trouble getting off the train with all of my luggage so as I was struggling to get off, I acquired a crowd around me as they were waiting to get on the train but no one bothered to help me and then I felt someone rush up behind. Startled, I turned to see it was Maggie! I have never been so relieved and happy to see her! Katherine, one of Maggie’s best friends from home, was staying with Maggie that week too so she was there to help as well. I was just so happy to finally be there after such a long and stressful day, the tears just poured out of my eyes! The two girls took all of my luggage and we jumped in a cab back to Maggies apartment.

Konstanz is in the south of Germany and right on the Bodensee Lake which borders Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The town is beautiful and quaint and very eclectic. Germany is so different from the very unorganized and laid back Italy that I had been so used to. Everything is on time, there is order to everything they do and the country seemed to be so efficient.

Maggie’s apartment was so cool; something out of a retro-futuristic thing, definitely not what you would expect in Germany. She has the cutest apartment with a bed set up for me and everything. So once I arrived we took a little break and then got ready for an authentic German dinner at the “Brauhaus.” The “Brauhaus” brewed their own type of beer which was very good and the food was out of this world. I got some sort of asparagus soup and delicious pork dumplings and a salad. It hit the spot!! Somehow Maggie got involved in some guys bachelor party and she had to cut a hole in his pant leg. Of course all of their corresponding was going on in German so Katherine and I sat their clueless as to what was going on and then we see Maggie cutting the hole in his pant leg. It was pretty humorous to say the least! Never a dull moment…is that one thing I learned while studying aboard. Then Maggie showed me around town, stopping by the Bodensee Lake.

Sunday morning we slept in and Katherine made Maggie and I a delicious breakfast. Then we met up with one of Maggies friend from Germany who is studying aboard from England named, Amy. She was lovely and fun to hang out with. Maggie, Katherine, Amy and I took a bus to the Flower Island or Insel Mainau. It was B-E-A-U-TIFUL to say the least! The day was gorgeous and probably about 88 degrees and the place was just so pretty. We first stopped to get lunch and this interesting beer which was mixed with lemonade. It hit the spot as it was so hot out! Then we toured the island and took TONS of pictures of all of the beautiful flowers! There was also a little fair going on so we stopped in a few of the tents selling things. I got some pretty glass beaded bracelets. There was also a butterfly house on the island which was awesome to walk through because the butterflies just come right up to you. After spending most of the day on the island, we grabbed some ice cream before leaving the island and taking the ferry back to Konstanz. The ferry ride was so cool, stopping at a few places along the way and giving me a sense of all the pretty little towns on the Bodensee. The ferry ride was so peaceful and cool after a long hot day that we all feel asleep on the boat! Then it was back for a delicious dinner made by Katherine! After dinner we were off to my first experience at a real authentic German Beer Garden! So cool! Its just this big open patio on the lake with tons of tables and chairs and trees filled with bright colorful lights. It was so cheerful and happy and relaxing! Definitely one of my favorite things, just taking it all in and being so German!

On Monday morning we headed to Meersburg which is an adorable little town on the Bodensee that is your traditional Germany town. We look the ferry which was so much fun and a breath of fresh air for me as I’m used to walking everywhere in Florence. The ferry was just a great way to get around. Once we arrived in Meersburg we walked all throughout the town stopping in the little shops along the way and of course taking tons of pictures which was a popular theme of my trip! The town was just so perfect with beautiful flowers and buildings. We had lunch right on the water was this delicious restaurant on the Bodensee. We just relaxed and took it all in as we ate lunch. The weather was another beautiful day of about 85-90 degrees. After lunch we took the ferry back to Konstanz and we walked all throughout the town and Maggie showed me some of her favorite spots including the park along the Bodensee and her favorite jewelry shop and I picked up some souvenirs along the way. Then it was back to the apartment for another delicious dinner by Katherine! We packed up our stuff after dinner since Maggie and I were off on another adventure the next morning but before that we hit the “Strandbar” or the beach bar which was right along the Bodensee. It was just a big plot of land filled with sand and awesome beach chairs that you could just hang out on. We went with a bunch of Maggie’s friends from Germany and had an awesome time! We didn’t stay out too late because we had a busy next day but we did have an awesome time!

I really loved seeing Konstanz! And just like when I went to Dublin, it was so awesome to see where my friends had been living for the past several months and I loved having them show me their favorite spots in the city. Maggie was an excellent tour guide and I really loved getting to go see her! The trip was so relaxing but I saw so much at the same time. Germany was so different from Italy but I’m really glad that I got to experience it! I had been to Germany before when I was on my People to People trip but I had a different experience and I loved coming back again!

Konstanz, Germany: May 23-26, 2009

Quick Update from the BUD

I am currently sitting in the Budapest airport. I narrowly made it to Budapest. Maggie and I left at 9 am this morning to take a taxi to the train station where we had to change trains 4 times (with all my luggage from the past 4 months) and the take a subway to the Munich airport where I got into a few minor fights with the Lufthansa luggage people. To make a long story short I had 3 minutes to throw out my most prizes possessions or pay a million euros to Lufthansa due to my luggage being overweight so...I'm down a few outfits...no big deal right? Well..not exactly...and Maggie has the pictures to prove it. Finally get to the plane which is delayed 2 hours but eventually made it to the BUD! And someplace between Munich and Budapest I've contracted pink eye. Stellerrr! Maggie's flight gets in soon and then Petra comes and picks us up and we are off!! I'm so excited!!

More updates on the BUD and my wonderful time in Germany soon!!

Ciao Firenze!

I've just had the busiest, craziest, best, and most exhausting week of my life. Papers and finals in every class while trying to soak all of Florence say my goodbyes to everything. We had a few farewell parties.

On Monday, Nick took us out to our favorite restaurant where we went on the first night...we came full circle!

Last night we all got together and drank wine and hung out on the steps of Piazza Michelangelo which over looks Florence. We say the sunset and cheers and then hung out there all night. It was a really great time. Our group was really fantastic. We all got along so well and everyone really bonded with each other. I'm so happy it worked out so well. I will have so many new friends at Rutgers now!

Today I spent my day finally finally picking out my purse which which I love!! And then went to my favorite sandwich shop and sat out in the piazza then wandered around and then it was time to pack :( I felt like I was packing up my whole life...it was really sad. Jes's parents are visiting so they took us out to a very delicious last night dinner! Then we met up with everyone who was still left and said our final goodbyes and hung out on the steps of the Duomo for a little bit.

Today I'm off to Konstanze Germany to visit Maggie for a few days! I'm taking the train from Florence to Milan and then Milan to Zurich and then Zurich to Konstanze. Its going to be a long trip but its supposed to be a beautiful ride and I know I'm going to have a great time! And then on Tuesday we fly to Budapest to visit Petra!! YAY!! And then I'll be home on June 1st!

Stay tuned for updates!!

Firenze will always have my heart

As I sit and procrastinate on finishing up my history paper on the Medici family on my last Sunday in Italy, I can't help but be consumed with an overwhelming feeling that I don't know if I can express in words. A feeling of utter sadness that I'm leaving the place I have come to call home for the greatest four months of my life.

All of my best friends at Rutgers studied aboard this semester so we are lucky to understand each other as we all have different feelings but its hard to convey the feeling to those who have not experienced such a thing.

Four months ago I left my home and just another semester at Rutgers to live in a country where I didn't know anything except "Ciao" and that they ate lots of pasta. This place is now my home. Study Abroad is really a weird thing...I left my home to come to live in another country, it took some time but I became totally able to successfully function in society and now I'm being yanked out and put right back into my old society. Hellooooo Cultural Shock! I truly think adjusting back into my old life is going to be a hard task and I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back yet. I'm a different person than I was four months ago and I'm not sure how many people really realize that. I've changed and grown and learned SO much about myself, others, and the world. I am a truly more confident person who has learned that theres so much more to life and I really want to experience it all. I've become accustom to the laid back lifestyle, taking time out to enjoy each day and the time we have with others. I am truly a significantly calmer and happier person since being here. This experience has changed and shaped me in ways I never thought possible. I never thought that I would come to embrace my cot (that if you remember collapsed the first night haha) or that I would enjoy walking the 20 minute walk to school each day, or that I wouldn't want to go home after 4 months! If someone had asked me this four months ago, I would have thought they were crazy but I think that shows how much I have come to love it here.

Would I want to live in Italy my whole life? Definitely not. This experience has taught me to appreciate the good old U.S.of A! There are so much I took for granted in the US that I didn't realize until having this experience.

I do wish I had a little more time. I feel like the end just snuck up on me and its over. The beginning was a little rough as it rained for the first two months straight! (Of course Italy has a rain spell when I'm here!) And it definitely did take a while to get accustom to the culture and language (I'll never forget me and Jes's first trip to the supermercato when we both cried because we couldn't buy milk! or when Nick told us we had to get to school on our own and handed us a map!)In hindsight that was the best thing he could have ever done for us. I know the city like the back of my hand. Having visitors the past few weeks and showing them around the city has really made me feel like this is my city. I know so much about Florence. I really enjoyed taking everyone around and sharing my favorite places with them.

And the most ironic thing is that I almost didn't study aboard. I was playing with the idea when most of my roommates decided they were going. Then I thought...ok why not? I knew I had always wanted to return to Europe since going on People to People in high school so theres no better time! But then I couldn't decide on where to study...and I can thank one of my roommates, Petra, for talking me into Italy! She couldn't have led in a better direction! This is by far, hands down, the best thing I have ever done. Right now, I can't imagine my life without study aboard.
My memory and life will forever be filled with amazing memories of this place. And a special thanks to Grandma and Pop-Pop for giving me this opportunity! Without them I wouldn't have been able to come and have this amazing experience!

Basically what I'm trying to say is that Florence will always have my heart. It has changed my life is such a grand and positive way, I am permanently indebted to this place. A piece of me will always be in Florence. Its where I learned and grew as a person.

Of course, I am looking forward to seeing everyone! Mike, Eileen and Rudy better be prepared at the gates for a warm welcoming! (cue scene: me running with my 89 pieces of luggage into their arms!) I've really missed my family, my grandparents, and my pink room, and my pool, and Mexican food, and Wawa hoogies, and peanut butter, and Mets baseball, and especially my friends <3! I will be oh so very happy to be back in the U.S.A. And I know its going to be an awesome summer ahead of me! Just more changes to come.

But as they say...
"We'll always have Firenze!"

Cinque Terre

On Friday Nick took a whole group of us to Cinque Terre. We left early since its about 3 hours away, by train, from Florence. Cinque Terre meaning "The Five Lands" is 5 small towns on the coast of the Italian Riviera. They are all so beautiful and unique with gorgeous cliffs and beaches. The five towns are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

We started in Riomaggiore and hung out in that town for a little bit. Very cute and different from the other towns I've visited on the trip. We had some breakfast and took some pictures. Then we walked on the Via Del'Amore which is the "Street of Love." Via del'Amore connects Riomaggiore and the next town Manarola. Its a beautiful path laid out right on the edge of the coast with beautiful views. It was originally built years ago when there were rules that you could only date people from your town so people would take the path to the other towns to see their lovers. It was a beautiful walk and fun to see all of the writings on the wall with people professing their love for each other.

Once we got into the second town, Manarola, it started raining so we decided to take the train to the fourth town, Vernazza, (skipping the 3rd town Cornigilia). Vernazza was a cute little shore town with old boats everywhere. It was still raining when we got there so Nick found us a place to eat right on the shore. I have a very delicious trenette pasta with pesto and white wine, all local specialties! After lunch it stopped raining so the group split up. Nick took whoever wanted to go to the next town by train and Maria took everyone else on a hike. Originally I was thinking against the hike but then decided it could be fun and I would get to see so much more...so we went with Maria on the hike which is about an hour and a half up and down the mountains total of about 2 miles. It was really tough at first but in the end so worth it!! The sights were beautiful! There was a little old Italian man on the path who sold homemade lemonade so we stopped and got some from him. He was so cute and the lemonade was so refreshing...it never tasted so good!! At the end of the hike it was so rewarding and here comes the best part...when we arrived in the last town, Monterosso, we saw the beautiful beach and the sun was just coming out (since it had been pretty overcast the whole day) so we all jumped into the Mediterranean and swam out to the rocks! The water was so refreshing! Of course it was chilly at first but once I started swimming around it felt great! And it was so salty! Once we swam out to the rocks we hung out there for awhile. It was seriously la dolce vita!! I wish we could have stayed there the whole day!

This was one of my more favorite trips since it was so relaxing! We got to see Cinque Terre but we didn't cram everything in. It was a great way to see the towns and enjoy the day. After the long train ride home we came back and crashed into our beds.

Today I got up and hit San Lorenzo Market trying to get last minute shopping done. I still can't decide on a purse! and I'm running out of time. I actually think I'm in denial now about leaving this place I've called my home in 6 days! ahh I can't even talk about it!!

Tonight, all of Team Rutgers is getting together at this lounge in town for a last get together. It should be a good time!

Cinque Terre pictures!

Cinque Terre: May 15, 2009

Just another day in Italy...

Yesterday morning I woke up a little late and had to find a place to print out my Art History paper (since we don't have access to printers). I know of two places on my street so I wasn't too worried. I quickly got ready and headed out. First place...closed! Second printing place...closed! So I started devising plans in my head about how I could print out my paper. I'm quickly walking around and I find a fax machine place so I ask in there if I can print and the guy says no but gives me directions to another place which is pretty close so I find that. I walk in and ask the lady if she speaks in English and she tells me..in English..."No...I don't speak English!" so I try to formulate a sentence in Italian about printing out my paper from my email. So I'm trying my best to make the most Italian sense I can and she says, "I can't understand you!" in English again..of course..right..she doesn't speak English. Then she says something not very nice to me in Italian so I walked right out of the store. Now I start to slip into panic mode as I have class in 20 minutes and I have yet to print out my paper. And of course I know this is completely my fault as I left printing to the last minute...but I've lived in Italy for 4 months..they leave everything to the last minute!! I'm trying to stay calm..and I have to say...I think I would have lost it if it was last semester at Rutgers (Em: cue Loree printing run!) but the new me...decided to keep looking around and stay calm. I turn the corner and find another fax machine place so I run and see three cats sleeping on a fax machine and a bright blond haired woman sitting behind the desk with another cat on her lap!! I quickly find out she speaks English so I explain my story. She tells me that I can email my word document to her and she will print it out...AHH she's not realizing I need this in 15 minutes! So I ask if I could go on her computer and print it out right now..."Oh..of course!...We'll I normally don't let people do this..but...sure!" I was so relieved! As I'm sitting at her computer her cats are jumping on top of the computer moniter! It was so funny but I was so grateful that she was so nice to me and let me print it out. Within the course of 5 minutes I met the good and the bad in Italy. I made it to class in time...which was held at the Bargello Museum...one of the more famous museums in the world...I guess it beats Scott Hall!

Tonight, Nick is having a going away BBQ for us at his house! Should be fun! Tomorrow is Cinque Terra!

Assisi and Maggie's Visit to Firenze!

Thursday afternoon Maggie arrived in Firenze!! I was so happy to see her!! Immediately we starting catching up, I showed her the apartment and we went to Aperitivo which is this popular Italian thing that a lot of restaurants offer on the week days. You buy a drink and they serve you free food. Jes and I figured we'd show Maggie come typical Italian things that we do in Florence. After dinner, we wanted Maggie to experience her first gelato so we went to this really great new place that I discovered near my apartment. We got the gelato and then sat outside by Santa Croce. We called it an early night as we had to get up early on Friday morning to go to Assisi. I also finally booked my flight to Hungry on Thursday so I'm officially going to Hungry on May 26 with Maggie to see Petra! (another one of my roommates from Rutgers, who lives in Hungry!)

Friday morning bright and early we got on the bus to Assisi for our last Rutgers excursion. Assisi is about 2 hours away in the Umbria region of Italy. It is most famous for being the inhabitants of St. Francis. It was a really nice town...it reminded me of a mix between Eze in the French Riviera and San Gimignano in Tuscany. And we were lucky enough to be in Assisi on the weekend that they celebrate "Madonna Privamera" or the Lady of Spring! They have all kinds of festivals, parades, and games going on all weekend long. When we first arrived we got our whispers which was a foreign concept for Maggie who only has 3 students total in her study aboard group, and we had a tour throughout the town. We went into St. Francis Basilica which is where St. Francis tomb is which was cool to see. The Basilica is actually in two churches built on top of each other. Both were really pretty and it had many fresco's by Cimabue and Giotto, two of Italy's most famous painters. After our tour, Nick took us to a delicious lunch and then he got us tickets to watch the parade and games. This festival has been a tradition since Medieval times. And if theres one thing I learned in Italy...the Italians love their tradition! The parade was beautiful with so many different colors with the young and the old from town marching in it. It was really fun to see. After the parade were the games of archery, bows and arrows and some races. Unfortunately, we had to be back at the bus as a certain time so we didn't have too much of a chance to see the games but we did witness the race which consisted of boys dressed in old Medieval outfits pulling huge wooden things down the street. Let me tell you...they moved! I was impressed and everyone in the crowd went crazy for all of the games! It was certainly a pretty parade and definitely something I'll never forget! We were so lucky to have been able to see the festival. Nick does a great job planning our excursions! When we returned home to Firenze, we took Maggie to our favorite neighborhood restaurant "Gatto e La Volpe" (Cat and Fox) thats on our street. Then we headed out to the Fish Pub, a local hang out, with a few other friends from the Rutgers program.

On Saturday, Jes and I took Maggie on a tour of our city and showed her all of our favorite spots. We hit all the highlights like Palazzo Vecchio, the Arno, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Trinita, the Bronze Boar, and San Lorenzo Market stopping for smoothies and other goodies along the way. We spent a good amount of time at San Lorenzo Market where Maggie and Jes got fabulous new leather purses! I almost got one...but you all know me...I can't make a decision to save my life so I decided to hold off...I still have two more weeks to decide haha! For dinner, Jes and I made Maggie our our very authentic specialty...spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce! It was very delicious if I do say so myself! Then it was out for a night dancing! We had so much fun!

Sunday we hit up all the spots we missed on Saturday. Had lunch at a cute outdoor cafe by the Duomo, showed Maggie the inside of the Duomo and chilled with Michelangelo's David for awhile. Then of course it wouldn't be a day in Italy without some gelato so we got some and sat on the steps of the Duomo. For dinner we hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo. We stopped on the way and picked up some pizza and had a little picnic as we enjoyed the view of Florence from the piazza high above the city at night. We just sat and chatted and had such a great time! It was so nice to catch up with Maggie and hear all about her experiences abroad and show her what Jes and I have been up to for the past four months! On the way back we took the scenic route along the Arno and over the Ponte Vecchio and we may or may not have stopped of gelato again :)

This morning Maggie had to catch a train back to Konstanz :( and I had to do a presentation in my history class. But we had a fabulous time! I'm so happy she got to come and visit! I am going to visit her in two weeks at the end of my program. So I'm really excited to see her city!

Now that the fun weekend is over...its back to the books. I have a paper due on Wednesday and then 3 papers and 3 finals next week. So this week will be busy. On Friday, Nick is organizing a trip to Cinque Terra (a town about 3 hours away, on the coast which is supposed to be beautiful!) for whoever wants to go so I am planning on going there as my last Italy trip :(

Didn't I JUST get here?!

Pictures from the Weekend!

Assisi May 8, 2009

Maggie's Visit to Firenze May 8-10, 2009

The weekend is here already?!

The weeks are just flying by! The weather has been beautiful here in Florence this week! I've been out trying to enjoy as much as possible but its hard to do since I have a good amount of work to do...I know..its hard to believe I have real work like a real college kid! I forgot what that was like being over here!

My roommate, Maggie, from Rutgers is coming today to visit until Monday! I'm so excited! She is studying abroad in Konstanze Germany so I am going to Germany to visit her after my program is over...in 2 weeks eeekkkk!! Tomorrow we are going to Assisi for our last Rutgers Excursion :(

The weeks are going by so fast...sometimes I wish I could just pause time.

The Weekend Update

So although I didn't get to do as much with Aunt Debbie as we would have liked, we still made the best of it. Walking on the crutches was tough but we did as much as we could. The week went quick. On Thursday night, Aunt Deb decided to stay in as again as she was advised two days of bed rest so Jen, Morgan and myself (Jes is in the U.S. for the weekend for her brothers wedding!) went to the movies to see "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It started at weird but ended up being really good. I have to say I really enjoyed it.

Friday, Aunt Debbie and I took the hop on hop off bus after Florence without the hopping off of course!It was actually really cool and I learned a lot of things I didn't know. Then we went to the Santa Croce Market and hung out, got some gelato and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Florence.

On Saturday we ventured to the Bargello Museum which has many famous things like Donatello's David and Ghiberti's Bronze doors. I have been before but it is a fun museum to go to. From there we did lunch, went to San Lorenzo Market and then sat out in a piazza at a cute cafe, got drinks and again just enjoyed the beautiful weather!

On Sunday we went to Michelangelo's house and out to lunch at a delicious authentic Tuscan restaurant. Very yummy! Poor Aunt Deb was exhausted from walking on her crutches so we called it a day.

Today she just rested and pack for her early flight back to N.Y.C. tomorrow morning. I will be sad to see her go! But she has to get back to get her foot checked out by real doctors aka orthopedic hopsitals that HAVE crutches!

I have a busy week with 2 papers and a presentation due on Monday. Maggie, my roommate from Rutgers, is coming on Thursday! I'm so excited! Then Friday is our last Rutgers Excursion to Assisi, which is supposed to be beautiful! I'll show Maggie was its like to be a Florentine over the weekend and then she leaves on Monday and then its only 2 weeks left till departure :( Where did the time go?!

Never a dull moment...

Part 2:
So after our exhausting trip over the weekend and all the traveling so Aunt Debbie decided to relax on Monday while I was at school. When I returned home from a full day on school she shows me her foot (the one slightly twisted on Friday) and it is completely black and blue up her ankle and totally swollen! So I call knower of all things, Nick, to see what to do. He makes an appointment for the next morning at the Doctors. After seeing the doctor he says she needs an xray. I have to run to class so Aunt Deb takes and taxi to the xray place. Next thing I know I'm in class and I get a text message saying that she's in the emergency room! Right after class I ask my teacher, Elizabetta, how to get to the C.T.O Hospital. Well...I have to take a bus she tells me. Ok...I can take a bus...nbd (no big deal). So I'm searching for hospital as the bus is taking me further and further out of Florence. I ask a few people and no one seems to know what I'm talking about. I get off at the last stop as Elizabetta had advised and ask a few more people. Still nothing so I'm walking and walking and happen upon what looks to be a hospital! So I walk in and I'm searching around and I notice all these little kids and then I finally see a sign saying that its a pediatric hospital. Nope..Aunt Debbie's not here! So I hop back on the bus heading towards Florence figuring I'd see it at some point. In the mean time I get a call from Aunt Deb saying that I have to meet her at the hospital! So I jump off the bus and just start walking, first looking for a taxi (but of course the one time I'm looking for one there's none to be found) so then I just start walking to what looks like a hospital. Then finally I see a sign that says C.T.O. (the last letter standing for Orthopedic) so now its all making sense as to why she is in the crazy hospital in the middle of now where! I'm not even sure it was still in Florence. So after this crazy trek and I finally make to the hospital where I find Aunt Debbie on a stretcher in the middle of a hallway with a full leg cast on up to her knee!! She sure enough broke her foot! I just couldn't help but laugh (well it was a nervous laugh) when I saw her sitting this with this huge cast on her leg! She's been in Italy for like 2 days and now shes in the hospital! And it gets better...so...she can't put any weight at all on her foot so she needs crutches...remember we are in the orthopedic hospital...they are fresh out of crutches!! OH ITALY!! So after wheeling her to a taxi which has to take us to a special crutches store where we had to buy crutches and then wait in the rain for another taxi to take us back into the center of Florence!

Boy...it was exhausting and I wasn't the one walking on crutches! She has to keep the cast on for at least 20 days and have it reevaluated next week when she gets back to the states. And Florence isn't a very handicap friendly city! Poor Aunt Deb! I feel so bad! She comes to Italy and breaks her foot in France! We are just going to take it day by day and see how she feels and try and do and see as much as her ginormous cast will allow!

The French Riviera!

Things have been insane here! I have so much to update on!

This is part 1:
This past weekend I spend in the French Riviera! It was so pretty! On Thursday afternoon I picked up Aunt Debbie at the train station! She took the train in from Rome. Then I dropped her off at my apartment, got her settled and ran to class. Came back, packed and we were off to France! We went with Bus2Alps again (same program I went to Amalfi with). The bus ride was a long one...we left at about 11 and didn't get to the hostel until 5am! The hostel was at the top of a hill so the bus dropped us off at the bottom and we had to wait with out luggage to get a shuttle to the hostel, then get checked it and passed out immediately.

On Friday morning we were off to this town in the French Riviera called Eze. It was the cutest little town on top of a big mountain. It was hard to get to though so the whole group (about 50 people) had to take the shuttle to the center of town, where we got the tram, which took us to a bus, which took us to Eze. Eze looked like one of the towns where its impossible to think of anyone actually living there because its so cute it looks fake. At the top of the town was an exotic garden with all kinds of crazy plants and cactus's. The view from the top was unbelievable. The Mediterranean is so blue and that was all you could see. It was definitely something to see! We shopped around in Eze and I a really cool ring that I love, had lunch and it was back on the bus to head to Monaco! I was really excited about Monaco (pronounced MON-OC-O...who knew?!) Our first stop was the Monte Carlo Casino which is world famous for all of the many rich and famous celebrities that vacation and gamble there. It was really pretty from the outside. We couldn't go in because we didn't meet the dress code but it was still cool to see the outside and all of the fancy cars that are parked out front. Aunt Debbie and I decided to head up toward the Princes Palace to get a tour. It was really pretty at the top because you can see all of Monaco and the harbor. The palace was really pretty. I didn't know too much of the history of the family expect for Grace Kelly so it was cool to learn about. Then we went into the church at the top where Grace Kelly and Prince Reiner III got married. It definitly wasn't one of the more pretty churches I've seen. (And I say that with confidence after being on the church tour of Europe for the past 4 months!) But the family is buried behind the alter and Grace Kelly and Prince Reiner III are the only tombs that have fresh flowers every single day of the year!

Oh and I forgot to mention that our tour guide thought she was Posh Spice. She wore these ridiculous high heels and outfits everyday throughout the whole trip we called her Posh. She wasn't even that nice to us! And she wasn't a good tour guide!

Anyways...back to the trip. SO while on our walk back to the bus, Aunt Debbie, stepped out of the shoe and landed weird on her foot. Not thinking too much about it we got the bus, and then the tram, and then the shuttle back to the hostel and put some ice on it. No biggie. We had dinner in the hostel (which was actually really good food!) since it was such a hassle to get into the center of Nice (shuttle, tram, bus, I'm sure you're noticing a pattern!) And we were exhausted! We were only going on about 4 hours of sleep at most!

Saturday morning we got up early again and headed to this small sea town called Antibes. It was just the cutest town on the Mediterranean with the biggest marina in the French Riviera. There was a big antique market there which we walked though and then Aunt Deb and I ate lunch in the middle of the square. The weather was just perfect! Then we did some shopping and wandered around the town going to a few markets and stuff like that. It was just very relaxing taking in all the sights and sounds. We had a few hours there and then it was to Cannes, where the famous Film Festival is held every year. I was really excited to go to Cannes because I had always seen pictures. It is a lot like Beverley Hills if you ask me. Really cool to see but not much there besides the beach (which is awesome of course!) and designer clothing shops. For the rich and famous its perfect but for the everyday person its too much. We laid on the beach for awhile but it started to get cold and windy so we decided to take a tram car tour ride though the town. That was fun learning about the different buildings and which celebrities had stay in where. My favorite part was standing on the stairs were all the celebrities walk at the film festival (does that surprise you?!) haha. It was definitely a fun place but unless or should I say until I'm rich and famous...not much else to do. When we returned to the hostel we took a look at Aunt Deb's foot and it was really purple but she said it didn't hurt too much as long as she took it easy! But that was hard to do when we had Posh all over our tails!

Sunday morning it was pouring so Posh changed our plans from spending the day in Nice to going to this tiny town in the hills of the French Riviera called Saint-Paul. Saint Paul is a tiny walled Medieval town in the area of Vence. Again...so small and quaint with great little shops and cute places to eat! Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs so it wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been but we did have fun looking in the shops and getting some warm french food! I was disappointed I didn't get to see more of the town of Nice itself but I had to go with the flow, or should I say Posh, and do what everyone else was doing. Since Sunday was such rainy and cold day we headed back to Florence early. Which in the end turned out to be a good idea because we got stuck in crazy traffic and it took us forever! It was so wonderful being back in Firenze! I had a great time in the French Riviera...it was beautiful and the weather was great...but Florence is my home (aside from Voorhees of course!) but I was just so happy to come back!!

I plan on spending the remaining few weeks left in Florence just soaking it all in and checking off my list of "must do's" before I leave!

Here are pictures from the weekend!!

Weekend in the French Riviera April 23-26, 2009

stay tuned for part 2...

Time is flying...

This week flew by with the blink of an eye! Had tons of fun celebrating Jes's birthday! I'm still waiting on midterm grades but now I have to start writing my final papers. 1 MONTH from today I leave Italy :( I better stop talking about this before the tears ensue! Last night Nick had us all over for a BBQ on this gorgeous terrace! It was so much fun! The hamburgers and hot dogs tasted really great...never thought I would actually miss them but I did! In a few minutes I'm going to pick up my Aunt Debbie at the train station. She is coming to visit for awhile! Today after I pick her up I have class and then I have to run back home to pack and then its off to the French Riviera for the weekend!! We are going to Cannes, Nice, and Monaco! I've only heard good things so I'm sure it will be amazing!! Update and pictures upon my return!!

Spring Break!

Why does Spring Break always go so fast? I feel like it just flew by!

My parents and sister came to visit me for Spring Break in Firenze. We had a wonderful time!

On Saturday afternoon I picked them up from the airport, checked into the hotel and freshened up. Then we headed out so I could show them my apartment and the area. After that we went to dinner at this delicious restaurant across the street from my apartment called "Il Teatro" (the theater) and had dinner. Jes and Morgan joined us as well. Then we headed back to my parents hotel which had a terrace with a 360 degree view of Florence!! It was really an incredible view of the city! We sat up on the terrace and had some vino and caught up. It was lovely! After that my parents headed to bed since the time difference and all the traveling was sinking in they were very tired. Jes, Morgan and I headed out with a few other people from Rutgers and Nick and Maria to Friends Pub to hang out a little. Amanda stayed at my apartment and she was beat as well so she stayed back.

Easter in Florence is quite the experience! Originally we had planned to go to 11 o'clock mass at the duomo. I had heard there was also some sort of parade and lighting of fireworks that happened around 10am so I figured we could see that and then head to mass. Well apparently Florence has a tradition called Scoppio del Carro or the “Explosion of the Cart." There is a cart which is lead by 4 white oxen and it travels though Florence behind a parade. Once the parade and the cart arrive in the center by the Duomo the cart stops in between the Duomo and the Baptistery. Then they hand attached fireworks to the cart (keep im mind this is Italy where nothing really ever makes sense and everything is slow!!) They put some fireworks on the top with a cherrypicker and there were a few momnets where I thought it was going to go overbroad! I must say it was quite entertaining to watch! Once that was all settled they lit the cart starting at the bottom and all the fireworks to go off! It was quite exciting and certainly different. There was massive amounts of crowds! We got there a little late so it was really hard to see the parade from where we were standing but we could see the fireworks well. (That was the first time I've seen fireworks in the daytime). Definitely an Easter mass celebration to remember! After that, I took them on a walking tour through Florence, stopping in some shops and a few markets. Then we hit up my favorite panni shop, GustoPanni, for sandwiches. We packed a book bag with snacks, panni's, and wine and made the hike up to Piazza Michelangelo for a view of the whole city. It was a beautiful clear day and we could see everything! There was a guy at the top playing music as we ate our panni's and drank wine. It was definitely different from our usual Easter but it was a lot of fun and definitely one to remember! After hiking back down, I took them for their first gelato which I think they really enjoyed!

Monday was a very busy day! Bright and early we climbed the Duomo! (There was many things that I hadn't gotten a chance to go yet in Florence but I knew that my parents would enjoy them as well so I waited until they came. This was one of them.) The Duomo has a total of 463 steps. They start off as spiral and then they get really steep and go straight up! Boy, it was some workout! You start off climbing up and then you climb between the two different shells of the dome so thats why its so steep. The dome was designed by Fillipo Brunellschi and at the time it was a major innovation, built with bricks and wood using a movable scaffold system. It was really cool to see how it the insides of the duomo. (Especially since I have to write a paper on it!) There are two times when climbing the dome that you are actually up close with the frescos painted on the inside of the dome. Its really neat. The view from the top is really incredible as well. We were very lucky as we had beautiful weather! After the domo we visited the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo which contains a lot of orignal things from the Duomo along with one of Michelangelo's Pieta and several works by Donatello. It was very interesting as I had never been there before. Then we grabbed lunch at an outdoor cafe and sat in the sun. It felt so nice! Then my mom and I headed to San Lorenzo Market for some shopping while Amanda and my Dad look a little nap. Afterward's I showed them Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dell'Signoria.

On Tuesday we got up early again and visited Santa Trinita Church and Santa Croce Church. Santa Croce was hit hardest during the flood of 1966 and a lot of it was destroyed. It was since been restored. It was very beautiful. Galileo and Michelangelo's tombs are also inside Santa Croce. After that we hopped on a train to the tiny town, Lucca. Lucca is about an hour and a half away in northern Tuscany. It is famous for its intact wall that surrounds the city from the Renaissance era. It was built to keep out the Pisans (from Pisa) and the Florentines. Jes joined us for our day in Lucca. We had lunch at another outdoor cafe in the center of town, then walked around and went in some shops and then rented bikes and road around the wall. It was so much fun! I hadn't road a bike in so long and I forgot how fun and relaxing they are! Again, the weather was beautiful so it was just so enjoyable. My mom joked that were like the Van Trapp Family and started singing "Do-re-me!" Haha! Unfortunately big dark clouds were off in the distance so we rode around for about the an hour and decided to head back to Florence before we got caught in the storm. We were cutting it close on time for the train and had to literally sprint to the train! When we got back to Florence, my mom, dad, and Amanda come over to Trattoria Ghibellina (AKA...my kitchen were Jes and I cooked a very authentic spaghetti and meatballs dinner). It was a delicious if I do say so myself!

On Wednesday we got an early start again and went inside church of the Duomo which we didn't really get to see when we climbed it. Its so beautiful inside. Just incredible to look at. Underneath the church there is a museum showing the remains if the cathedral, Santa Reparata, that the Duomo was built on. There was tons of tombs including that of Brunelleschi (who built the dome). Santa Reparata was from the 6th century and was discovered in the 1970's when archeologist found it. They excavated it and it is now a museum. It was really interesting because I didn't even know this existed. After that we went to the inside part of San Lorenzo to get some snacks to have for dinner on the terrace at the hotel. The day was beautiful again so we went to Boboli Gardens, which is part of Pitti Palace, where the Medici family used to live. The gardens are huge! So pretty but tons of walking! There is one part the overlooks the city on one side and Tuscany on the other side. So pretty! Then we went inside Pitti Palace to see the Royal Apartments which are cool to see too. Then we had a lovely dinner on the rooftop of the hotel. It was a little chilly but still so nice. Saw the sunset and all. Then my dad, Amanda and I went out for gelato and sat on the Ponte Vecchio and listened to the guys in the street play music. It was a lot of fun!

Thursday was another early morning. We got up early to head to the Uffizi. Its a big museum and it takes some time going through but it is definitely worth seeing. After that we also went to see Michelangelo's David. It was yucky weather on Thursday so we did inside things. Then we had our final dinner in Italy.

Friday morning Amanda has a separate flight then my parents so I left at about 7am to take her to the airport. Her flight was delayed about an hour and she was nervous to fly by herself but she got on the plane safe and sound. Then my parents arrived at the airport and they were about to check into their flight and it comes up on the screen that their flight had been canceled due to "Handling Agent Strike." All flights in and out of Germany were now canceled. I mean come on...everyone could just put their bags on the plane themselves! So after talking to Lufthansa my dad came back with two tickets for a flight on Saturday morning. So they got a nice hotel near the airport. We took a cab to the hotel and then took a bus back into the city of Florence where we walked around and did some more shopping. Then back to the hotel for a delicious dinner on Lufthansa! Then I headed back to my apartment. It was so nice to have the extra, unexpected day with them!

I had a really great time with my family! I really enjoyed showing them around my city. I feel like I have learned so much about Florence and it was fun to share it with them! We fit so much into such a small window of time but I was really glad we got to do everything we did. I think they had a great time! And I got to see things in Florence that I hadn't seen yet. And the weather was just perfect! I couldn't have asked for better weather or a better time!!

Now the party is over :( Back to school on Monday. On Thursday my Aunt Debbie is coming to visit and we are going to the French Riviera for the weekend so I'm really looking forward to that!

Tonights its out to celebrate Jes's Birthday and tomorrow its homework :)

Pictures!

Spring Break in Firenze with the Family April 11-17, 2009

Trip to Sorrento, Capri. Positano & Pompeii

Its been a very busy and eventful week here in Firenze. Everything is okay with the earthquake. Very sad though. Many people died...it was such a shame. Florence wasn't effected luckily but it very easily could have. I also had midterms but they weren't too terrible. Somehow taking midterms in Florence is much easier than taking then in New Brunswick haha.

As for my fabulous trip, we departed Thursday night around 7:30 pm from Florence. A bit behind schedule, we stopped in Rome and picked up more kids. (Rome kids are very different from the Florence kids!) We were told we were staying in "bungalows on the beach." Sounds pretty awesome right?! Well...after a very long ride we finally arrived in Sorrento at around 3am and we were shown to our four person "beach bungalows" which were most like cabins in the woods! (Family: think Saugerties trailer meets Burns Lake.) It was this tiny tiny cabin with 2 small bunk beds and a double bed and barely any room to move around in between. By the time we were settled it was about 3:45am and we had to be up at 8am the next morning. In our exhausted stooper we didn't realize that we had to turn the heat ON so we froze to death...by froze to death I mean fully decked in most of the clothes I had and covers over my head to save the warmth!

Luckily, waking up at 8 wasn't as bad as I had thought. We had breakfast at the camp sight slash "hostel" and walked down to water. I had finally found the "beach" that our "bungalow" was supposed to be situated on. There was major cliffs and rocks with very blue water and a clear sky. The view definitely woke me up and got me going for the day. We waiting a few minutes on the rocks and then our ferry came to pick us up and take us all around the Amalfi Coast and to the Island of Capri. Our first stop was the very famous Blue Grotto. It was here that everyone got off the ferry and onto tiny boats (about 4 person per boat). This was such a feat that we had to try and not tip the boat over going from one to the other. Then we had to pay the "Blue Grotto Officers" for our ticket and then we could head on it. Keep in mine this happened while floating around the sea in tiny boats. As we are about to enter the very tiny cave-like entrance the man paddling our boat yells "DUCK!" Immediately, Jes, Jen, Morgan and I hit the deck as the boat cleared the entrance. He says, "didn't want you to hit your head" very nonchalantly and we are inside. Once inside all the boat paddlers start singing in Italian! Its so funny! The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the island. When the sun is shining it passes through the underwater cavity and the light reflects lighting up the cave and the water a beautiful blue color. It was really beautiful and I'm glad I got to see it although it was so short! I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting. After making a circle inside the cave it was over and back to our ferry. (I later learned that we didn't see the Blue Grotto at its finest due to the fact that we went in the morning and the sun was not at the proper angel to create optional lighting of the cave. But...2 hours after we visited they closed it off due to t0o many waves...so...if we had waited for the sun we wouldn't have been able to see it. So it was a good thing that we went when we did.) From there we continued along our tour of Capri. The ferry dropped us off at Marina Piccola. We walked up a ways to Capri Town which has amazing views of the Island. We got some really good lemon slushies as we were very warm after our walk and the sun was beating down. After strolling around Capri Town we took a bus up to Anacapri which is the town at the top of the Island. They have these tiny bus's that drive on this crazy roads right on t he edge of the cliff! The views are beautiful but I'm not going to lie...I feared for my life on a few of the turns. There was an older lady sitting next to me and as she looked out down the cliff she did the sign of the cross and started saying Hail Marys!! I had to laugh! She was so cute!! Thankfully making it alive, we went to a limocello (Capri is famous for its limocello) and chocolate tasting! So yummy! There is also a place were they would custom make sandals. It was all very neat. From there...we took a single person gondola ride up to the tipity top of the island. (Picture a ski lift for one.) This was my favorite thing. It was just so peaceful and pretty! At the top was a little snack bar with 360 degree view of the island, Mt. Vesuvius and the Amalfi Coast. I think this what the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The water is so blue and clear! I really enjoyed going up there and just looking out at the sea. After the gondola ride down we shopped around the town a little bit and then grabbed some lunch at a cute outdoor cafe. Then we had to take the bus back down to Capri Town and walk back down to Marina Piccola. We laid on the beach (which consisted of rocks, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as it sounds) and basked in the sun while taking in the sights and sounds. Not before long, the ferry was back to pick us and up and finish our tour of the island. Our first stop was the Faraglioni which are three blocks of rocks which have survived coastal landslides, erosion and atmospheric erosion. They are named Stella, Faraglioni di Mezzo, and Faraglioni di Fuori. The middle rock, Faraglioni di Mezzo, is the most famous. It was a tunnel in the middle which is called the tunnel of love. Our ferry driver told us that the tradition is that when the boat goes through the tunnel you have to kiss the person you love. It was very neat. The next stop was the Green Grotto which is similar to the Blue Grotto but the water is green. And there's even a White Grotto. The White Grotto is a little different. Its a large cave above the water with all white rocks. At one point a stalactite and a stalagmite meet they formed what looks to be a statue of the Madonna.(See pictures). It was very neat. Then the ferry headed back to port and we returned to our cabin for a little nap time as the whole only-got-3-hours-of-sleep and being out in the sun on the water all day was starting to hit us. After a much needed nap the whole group got together and went to dinner in the center of Sorrento. I got gnocchi and....it was delicious!! By far the best meal I've had in Italy so far! (The tortellini in Bologna is a close second though!) Just so good. Then it back to the cabin for bed...and we figured out how to work the heater so we weren't icicles in the morning when we woke up!

Saturday we took the bus to Positano which is the first city on the Amalfi Coast. Some scenes from the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" were filmed there. Because the roads are so curvy, the bus has to drop us off on the outskirts of town and we had to walk on the road into town. Unfortunately, as we got closer to town we could see the clouds starting to roll in over the cute little beach town. Once we made it into town and found a spot on the beach it was really cloudy and chilly. We hung out for awhile and then walked around town. It was so cute! A very typical Italian beach town. Little shops and tiny twinkle lights were throughout the town. Just adorable. In May 1953, the famous author, John Stienbeck wrote an essay on the town saying, "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone." The town is definitely a step out of reality. I was so bummed that the weather wasn't very nice but finally in the afternoon the sun came out and we went right back to the beach. It was so nice to be able to just lay in the beach and take in the sun in Italy. We had the day to do whatever we wanted in the town we just had to take a bus back to Sorrento and we were told that the last bus returning was 9pm so we figured we'd spend the day, eat dinner and then had back. Well it started getting chilly so at around 7pm we decided to head to the bus stop (we weren't really given any directions as to how to get to the bus stop except that its near a big tree. Really great directions I know.) So luckily, Morgan had her "Rick Steves: Italy 2009" book with her so we looked it up and found out where it was. We make it to the bus stop, buy a ticket for Sorrento and check to see when the next bus is (we were told they run every 20 minutes). Well, the schedule informs us that the last bus to Sorrento was at 7pm! Its 7:10! And the leader of the trip told us that they didn't stop running until 9! So after a few moments of widespread panic (in an afterthought, Positano wouldn't have been a bad place to get stuck!) we figure out that if we take another bus we can switch and then take another one back to our camp sight but the bus we needed didn't come for another 45 minutes...and in Italian time that means god knows when. So we did what any logical people would do...bought a bottle of white wine (the area is known for its white wine) sat on the sidewalk and cracked it open! Luckily for us, the bus was on time and we actually met some other kids from the trip on the bus and apparently the bus was making a special stop at our camp sight so in the long run it all worked out. But...it was definitely stressful for a few minutes. I was upset at the leaders because I really thought they should have informed us better of how to get home but then I thought...this is just another learning experience and thats what I'm here for. So once back to our cabin we headed into the center of town again for dinner. I had to get pizza since we were near Naples (where pizza originated from). Listen to this pizza, cheese, spring tomatoes, pineapple, and kiwi! When the description didn't say sauce...they weren't kidding. It only had cheese...no red sauce! It was quite interesting...I didn't hate it...but I don't know if I would get it again!

On Sunday we packed up, loaded the bus, and were off to Pompeii. Pompeii is someplace I always thought would be awesome to go! The area outside of it isn't very nice. Its just a bunch of tents trying to rip tourist off. Everyone is very pushy and I didn't really care for the atmosphere but inside Pompeii was awesome! We had an excellent tour guide who spoke perfect English and was very knowledgeable. In the year 79 AD Mt Vesuvius, which is 8 miles from Pompeii, erupted and left the city covered in 16 feet deep worth of ash and rock. The city was accidentally rediscovered in 1748. It took archeologist years and years to dig out 2/3 of the city. They are saving the last 1/3 for the next generation to discover. 20,000 people are recorded to have lived in the city at the time but only 2,000 bodies were found so that makes the historians believe that were was some sort of warning before the eruption. The archeologists have discovered a way to make cast molds of skeletons so it preserves the skeleton but it also shows the person just as they died. They have several of them to see. It was really interesting but totally creepy and sad at the same time! Its amazing to me that so much of the city is so well preserved considering how old it is! The tour guide also told us how worried they are that Mt. Vesuvius will erupt again sometime soon. There has not been any activity in many many years and it is still considered an active volcano. The area surround Mt. Vesuvius is very densely populated with about 9,000 people every square kilometer so if it were to erupt it could be catastrophic. I learned so much! It was so interesting. After the tour it was back on the bus back to Florence. We got back around 11pm and then it was back to school on Monday.

This was a really great trip! I had the greatest time! It might have been my favorite trip I've gone on so far! and It was definitely the most beautiful!

Now I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my mom, dad, and Amanda! I'm so excited that they are coming! I can't wait show them around town! After spring break I have a very busy schedule ahead of me...the time is going to fly by :(

Pictures of the trip below!

Trip to the Amalfi Coast: Sorrento, Capri, Positano & Pompeii. April 3-5, 2009

Shout out to Francesca Catherine: Happy 21st Birthday!! xo

Earthquake in Italy

I never thought I would be writing a post about an earthquake in Italy...but here I am. Just letting you all know that I am alive!

I woke up this morning to one of my roommates telling me about an Earthquake that happened in central Italy. I immediately went to cnn.com to check it out. And then figured I'd send a quick email to the parents knowing that they would be panicking when they saw the news. Figured I'd just tell everyone whats going on.

Luckily, Florence is a good distance away from where the actual earthquake took place, somewhere between Rome and Florence. Scary enough though, I was traveling through the area late last night coming home from my trip to Sorrento, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast (update on that later!) It is really scary to think that this happened so close to Florence, although everyone in Florence is functioning a-okay. From what I've been hearing it seems like a very bad earthquake. A magnitude of 6.3, the worst since 1980. Over 70 have been confirmed dead, thousands injured and hundreds of thousands left homeless. 15,000 buildings have collapsed. There was been a state of emergency declared while so many try to search for others and clean up the mess. (Oddly enough, yesterday when I was visiting Pompeii, the tour guide told us how worried they are about Mt. Vesuvius. It is still considered an active volcano but hasn't had any activity since the 1940's. Since then monitors have been installed but they aren't even sure they work since no activity has been recorded. If the volcano were to erupt hundreds of thousands of lives would be at risk since the area is so densely populated now. It was so interesting to learn about this but also such a coincidence that then there is an earthquake just hours later!)

Well, I didn't feel anything but others in my program swear they felt tremors in the night. I am so lucky to have been far enough away! I could have easily been driving though on the bus last night. Its just really scary and crazy to think about. I can honestly say, an earthquake was not one of my fears when coming to Italy to study abroad.

I'm staying tuned in to cnn.com for all the updates. Keep you posted!
Midterms this week so my weekend in Sorrento update might not come for a few days!

Weekend in Sorrento

Midterms are next week :( boo...

Going to Sorrento, Capri, Naples and the Amalfi Coast this weekend!! We are supposed to see Pompeii, the Blue Grotto, Mt. Vesuvius, and possibly go cliff jumping? All weather depending of course...and the way things go in Italy...so cross your fingers!!

Updates and pictures upon my return!

Just another rainy weekend...

So I was sitting in Cinema class on Thursday afternoon watching "Divorce Italian Style" when out of the blue, we hear this loud crack of thunder and then bright lightening! The whole class jumps and then we hear this pounding rain on the windows. Francesca (you all remember her, my feisty Culture teacher who is also my Cinema teacher) immediately stops the movie and runs to the window. Sure enough large chunks of ice are pelting the windows! Francesca says, in her fantastic Florentine accent, "Guys, it never hails in Florence! Take pictures!!" and more than half the class runs to the window to capture what looked like the opening scene in The Day After Tomorrow! Of course, the only day I didn't bring me camera! Unfortunately, I can say that I'm used to the rain in Florence by now but this was something different! The sky was an amazing purple-pink color as the hail came down. Of course Francesca had now lost the class as we were all staring out the window. Class was over! And lucky the hail stopped quickly so I didn't have to walk home in it. Needless to say, its been a crappy weather weekend here in Firenze. Plans to go to Lucca were rained out so instead we did some shopping, some homework and some trip planning.

Yesterday, after 2 months I finally made it to the Uffizi Museum. The Uffizi used to the Medici's offices but now houses the world's best Renaissance art collection. The Uffizi is a massive museum home to world famous works of art like Botticelli's Primavera and The Birth of Venus, Leonardo da Vinci's The Annunciation and The Adoratio of the Magi, along with Michelangelo's only painting that remains in Florence, the Doni Tondo. (This painting shows how Michelangelo was really more of a sculpturer than a painter because the characters of this painting are very muscular and masculine looking.) The museum is huge and has over 44 rooms to explore! Since I haven't learned about everything that in the museum we decided to take a shortened tour with my handy dandy guide book of Florence (thanks parents!) so we just saw the highlighted aspects. And I can always go back because I have the museum card that gets me in free! It was definitely fun to finally see this famous museum and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon in Florence.

Going to have a busy week coming up. Midterms are next week already and I'll be spending the weekend in Capri and Sorrento! What a life...I know! haha!

2 months already?!

I've almost been here 2 months already! Its so hard to comprehend! On one hand I feel like I've just arrived and every day flies by, but on the other hand I feel like I've been here for awhile now in the sense that I've learned SO much in such a short time and I know the city so well.

On Tuesday before class, Morgan and I decided to put our museum cards to good use and go to the Medici Chapel before class. This is a building that I pass every day on the way to school but never thought to stop. The Medici Chapel is a building that has many relics and tombs of members of the Medici Family along with several works by Michelangelo. The Medici Family were very important bankers (even bankers to the Pope) in the Medieval and Renaissance times and they funded a lot of the beautiful things that exist in Florence today. They lived in Pitti Palace with in across the Arno and you can tour today. Being in Renaissance Art History and History I am learning so many interesting facts about things that I pass every single day but know little to nothing about. For example, one of the Medici sons, Lorenzo the Magnificent, adopted Michelangelo. Michelangelo was not very loyal to the Medici Family and would commission works for other higher paying customers which was really looked down upon since the Medici's gave so much to him. Another interesting thing I learned today was that due to the size of Florence's Cathedral (more commonly known as the Duomo) designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the climate on either side of the building is completely different. There is a temperature difference and along with the wind speed. I pass the Duomo at least twice a day and never knew of this. Its things like this that I love learning about it! And I have to say that I am really enjoying my classes!

Last night, the whole group threw a surprise birthday party for Nick! Maria tipped us off that it was his birthday so we all went over to the boys apartment and pretended that a pipe broke so he would rush over. Unfortunately, he sent Maria first (seeing as housing is her main responsibility) so she had to call and tell him that he needed to come ASAP because it was really bad. So needless to say...he was really surprised! We all threw confetti on him as he walked in! He was definitely pleased with the party and we all had a great time!

Plans for the weekend are still up in the air. We are holding out to see what the weather decides to do. As of right now it is supposed to rain :( but hopefully not and we can make it to the cute little town of Lucca!

Wine Tasting and Venezia...what could be better?!

Ciao a Tutti!

Friday morning bright and early we left for our third Rutgers excursion to Veneto, the Northern Region of Italy. First we were headed to the city of Verona which is about 2 hours away from Florence. Yes…it is where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet takes place. One of the walls of the house is called the "Wall of Love" and all visitors are encouraged to profess their love on the wall with a sharpie. Every year they make a copy and put it in a museum. It was cool to look at. A fun fact I learned was that Shakespeare never actually visited Verona. He wrote about it from what he had learned from reading books. Verona was a lovely city. We had a walking tour through the city and then some free time for lunch. On our tour we saw the Capitulates house where Juliet supposedly lived. Verona also has a smaller version of the Coliseum which they call the “Arena”. It originally had 3 stories but after an earthquake the 3rd story was destroyed and only 2 floors remain. After getting some lunch and a spritzer (a typical Veronean drink which is white wine, an orange soda type drink and seltzer…it was very good!) and walking around for a little bit we were off to the town of Valpolicella.

Valpolicella literally means “Valley of many cellers” in Italian. This could only mean one thing…we were off to a wine tasting at Serego Alighieri Winery! The family that owns and runs this winery are direct descendants of Dante Alighieri and have owned the winery for centuries. The winery was so beautiful! We took a tour of the winery which was very interesting. They store tons of grapes on bamboo racks in a dry room for several months while the sugar turns into alcohol. The whole process of making the wine is done completely naturally. There are no computer systems monitoring the temperatures in the rooms unlike most winery’s have today. We also saw the large barrels where the wine is stored for several more months before it is bottled. Then it was off to the wine tasting. It was a nice room all set up for all 50 of us to try 3 different kinds of wine. I am not a huge wine fan myself, but, I will say this wine was pretty good! One of the ladies working at the winery explained the three different wines to us and then we all tasted them. It was definitely a good time! Then it was back on the bus as the sun was setting on Serego Alighieri Winery. It was so pretty to see!

Next we were off to the tiny town called Bardolino which is on Lake Garda which boarders the pre-Alps (the mountains that come before the Alps…incase you were wondering). Team Rutgers filled the tiny hotel in town that we stayed in. The town was so cute! Once we checked into the hotel Nick took us down to the lake. It was so pretty! This was the first time I’ve seen water since I’ve been here! It was a really big lake with tons of sail boats and docks. It seems like a great shore town that must be hopping once the warmer weather hits. The majority of tourists that go there are German so a lot of the signs were in German which I thought was interesting. We walked around the town for a little bit which was pretty dead but still fun to see and then it was time for dinner at the hotel.

Saturday morning I got really early start with a few others to check out the sunrise on Lake Garda. It was freezing!!! But to see the colors on the lake were so worth it!! I got some really nice pictures but then went back to sleep before breakfast and boarding the bus at 8:30. It was about another 2 hour drive to Venice from Bardolino so I got to go back to sleep for a little. Once we were close to Venice we hopped off the bus and took the train into Venice. Now…I had heard a lot of negative things about Venice. Just that it was only a day trip kind of place and that it wasn’t really worth seeing. I must say…I was completely surprised! I thought it was a really awesome city. When I first walked out of the train station I couldn’t believe there was a canal right there! It was so cool! Venice is a very marshy land with several canals running though the city. There are no cars in Venice, to get around you have to either walk, take a water taxi, or a gondola! We had a walking tour of the city where we saw the grand canal, San Marco Square which as a beautiful church in the center that was built over 1000’s years ago. Inside San Marco Church literally the entire thing is covered in mosaic tile! It was truly unbelievable! We also saw the Bell Tower that fully collapsed in 1902. It was since been rebuilt but it still, to this day, has structural issues and soon will be wrapped in titanium to keep it from collapsing again! After our walking tour, Nick took us out to lunch at this delicious restaurant where I had the greatest lasagna ever (Sorry Mom, yours is still good too!) along with pork, which was a welcomed change, French fires (they must have known we were American) and tiramisu! After lunch we had some free time to wonder around the city. Venice is much bigger than Florence and none of us had a map so it was definitely an adventure! At first I was nervous about not knowing where to go and wanted Nick to tell us directions but then I realized that this is all part of our learning experience. We had wanted to go to San Marco Square and go in some shops but by the time we found our way back, we had to be back to meet Nick at the train station. After getting a little lost we finally found our way back but unfortunately I didn’t have too much time to shop in the stores which I was disappointed about.

Once back it was a 3 hour bus ride back to Florence and then it was bed time for me as I was exhausted from my busy busy week and weekend! It was such a great time! I really enjoy our excursions! They are always such a good time and also a really great bonding experience with everyone on the trip! I also think that Nick takes us to places that I don’t know that I would have gone to on my own. He knows all the great places to go and its great to have a guided tour of the cities because I learn things I wouldn’t on my own. Sadly, we only have one more excursion left and its not until May .

Sunday was homework and catch up day. Tomorrow I am supposed to be going to an authentic Italian dinner. This weekend is shaping up to look like I am going to a little town called Lucca which is about a hour and a half train ride from Florence. According to my history teacher “it’s a jewel of a town” and a “must see!” So its off to Lucca I go!

Updates to come!

Weekend Pictures

Verona & Venice March 20-21 2009