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!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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!!
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!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
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!"
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!"
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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!
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!
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| Cinque Terre: May 15, 2009 |
Thursday, May 14, 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!
Tonight, Nick is having a going away BBQ for us at his house! Should be fun! Tomorrow is Cinque Terra!
Monday, May 11, 2009
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!
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!
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| Assisi May 8, 2009 |
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| Maggie's Visit to Firenze May 8-10, 2009 |
Thursday, May 7, 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.
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.
Monday, May 4, 2009
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?!
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?!
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