Hey Everybody!
Well, as you may have guessed I have been incredibly busy soaking up my last few days of Italy. I probably wont finish my section on my family's 10 day visit, so expect for me to tell you all about the rest when I get home. There’s simply to much I want to share about that trip. But now that I am almost on my way home I'd really like to share some of the last few weekends and thoughts I have been enjoying while wrapping up my two month stint in Italy!
The weekend after my family left Florence API took us to Lucca and Cinque Terre. This was a trip I had really been looking forward to! Friday was the fourth of July, which is really weird to celebrate in a foreign country but my roomies and I rocked it out despite the distance. It started off in Lucca, where we left API, who had planned yet another day of walking tours around the city. We decided that we had had enough of walking tours and were ready to strike out on our own! So we found a place that rented bicycles out by the hour and biked along the city walls of Lucca for the next four hours. We dipped in to the city once and rode around to see the churches and little stores that filled the town, but we had fallen in love with the large city walls. When I say city walls, you probably picture a thin road made of stone that’s pretty high up! Well, the high up part is right, but its actually a huge road, probably wide enough for three cars to ride side by side and it has a TON of trees and even a few parks that branch off it (Pictures of it above). It was a gorgeous view from the road and I have never had so much fun on bike! After Lucca we were taken to our hotel and we swam for the rest of the day! That night before dinner all of us girls ordered a beer and toasted to America. We even hummed the Star Spangled Banner (We hummed instead of sang because lets face it, no one can really sing that song on pitch)! It was actually one of the most fun 4th of July's I have had yet!
Saturday we were taken to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is kind of like a "second rate" Capri. I actually feel lame even saying that because Cinque Terre was SO beautiful. So I take it back. Cinque Terre is JUST as beautiful as Capri. We were dropped off at La Spezia, a little beach town at the very beginning of the island chain that makes up Cinque Terre (AKA the 5 islands). We took a boat from La Spezia to Port Venere, which is a really great little beach town. It was pretty sleepy and not much to it. API had set up another tour and we skipped it again. So we wandered around the little town, laid on the HUGE rocks that they call a beach and enjoyed the sun and the sound of the waves! It was so relaxing and beautiful! From Port Venere we caught another boat to Monterosso, the only Island out of the five-island chain that has a beach...again a rock beach, but still, a beach! The boat ride over there was SO fun because there were some HUGE waves and the boat kept rising and plummeting. There were actually a few times I thought Anna and I were going to be thrown off the boat (thus that picture of us on the slideshow above), It was so fun! Monterosso was (surprise, surprise) beautiful and we spent the entire time sunning! It was a wonderful Saturday and Sunday, all I did was read and sunbathe! I actually used sun tan lotion for the first time in my life because I have finally began to worry about what all this laying out is going to translate into in the next thirty years. So I applied and reapplied through out the day! We had some really great pesto pasta because my Food and Wine professor says the area surrounding the Cinque Terre grows the best basil in the country and thus they make the best pesto around. He was right- it was delicious! We decided to join API for a little hike they wanted to take us on (Cinque Terre is known for their hiking trails). The trail they took us on is called Lovers Lane. But let me assure you, it’s a lot less romantic than it sounds when you’re walking it with 50 other people, none of whom are your love. But it was still a gorgeous hike with gorgeous views. Unfortunately my camera decided to die and I have yet to get pictures of it from Anna. But trust me, it was gorgeous. On Sunday, after we had spent the entire day in the sun we drove back to Florence and I was so tired I pretty much took a shower and went right to sleep!
The next weekend all of my roomies and I stayed in Florence, I don’t really even remember that weekend because most of it was spent lounging around the apartment reading. I have read 5 books so far in Florence, all in the last 3 weeks. I've been doing some serious relaxing, and loved every minute of it!
Last Friday my roomies and I were hungry...but we didn’t want to go anywhere so we decided to make apertivos in our apartment! Apertivos are a wonderful invention, very similar to Tappas in the States but better I think. I think I explained this in my Milan Blog post but I'll go ahead and give you a recap. Apertivos is where you go in to a restaurant, and purchase a cocktail for 6 euro or so and you get full access to a wonderful all you can eat buffet of snacks like pastas, or bruschetta or procuitto and melon. It’s pretty great!!! We decided to go to the grocery store, buy our own procuitto, mozzarella, tomatoes and peaches (for dessert). We took it all home, whipped it all up and thoroughly enjoyed our hard work! It was so fun! (Pictures of it are on the slide show!)
Saturday we went to Viagreggio, which is just a small beach about a two-hour train ride from Florence. I've been there before; I went there with Emma during first session. But this time I went with my roomies, Lexi, Anna, Hannah and Hannah's boyfriend Steven. We had a great time, lounging on the beach and then we had dinner at a really cute little restaurant where I tried gnocchi (potato dumplings) with a crab sauce! It was delicious! We even had crème Brule that was ffffaaabbbuulous. That's my favorite dessert! We got home around 11 and I again, took a shower and went straight to sleep!
We had to wake up early on Sunday because we were meeting a bike company at 9:30am to go on a Bike Tour through Tuscany! We didn't have reservations but they assured us we shouldn’t have a problem getting in. We ended up not being able to go with the first company that left at 9:30 but we were told to wait around for the Taste of Tuscany Bike Tour at 10:00. So we waited for about 20 minutes and luckily we were able to make it on the tour! We drove about 25 minutes outside of Florence to an 11th century Castle that is still being lived in by a Count and Countess! We were given a tour of the castle, and the wine process they have set up in order to age and bottle their wine and olive oil! We were able to climb the tour of the castle and see the amazing view from the top and then we climbed down and had a wine and olive oil tasting in the castle’s courtyard. It was so beautiful!!!
After a glass of wine we hopped on our bikes (I know...drinking and riding...really?) and started our 13-mile tour! 13 miles sounds like a lot but we took a lot of breaks and broke up the trip between Lunch. We rode downhill most of the way before lunch, which we had at a really cute little restaurant, and then rode for about 45 minutes on a straight stretch through olive and wine groves. After the bike tour we got back on the bus and went back to Florence. I basically never wanted to move again! So I took a shower and .... watched a movie! THEN I went to sleep! haha, changed it up there for ya :).
All in all I think its going to be a fabulous last week. I only have 5 more days till I am home as it is, and I am looking forward to wrapping up Florence by revisiting all of my favorite places and making sure to get in some news ones. Two months seemed to have flown by in retrospect. But I will wait for those thoughts till Friday when I will write again!
I hope you have great week- I will be writing soon!
Ciao ciao!
July 21, 2008
July 8, 2008
Part 2: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Ok! If you remember Mom, Mawmaw and Pawpaw and I were on a ferry to Palermo, Sicily when I last wrote:
Tuesday the 24th: At 6 am (ANOTHER early morning!) we woke up, packed up a little bit and got ready to dock at 6:30am. It was a really stressful morning since there were hundreds of other passengers trying to get off at the same time. Not to mention it was 6:30 am. However, we managed to get off the boat with all of our luggage and wits in tact. Our next stop was to the Avis Car Rental Company. We thought about taking a taxi but the map didn't make it look like it was far so we started walking, with all of our luggage in tow. About a mile later we were all frustrated and extremely tired of walking...with no exit from the port in site. A little shuttle came up behind us and offered a free ride to the end of the port, which we more than gladly accepted. We laughed as we were getting in, saying it was going to drive three feet up and drop us off. Luckily he drove more than three feet and we were thankful we took it when we did. From the edge of the port we took another taxi toward the Avis Rental Company. Our taxi driver was really nice though, and informed us (in Italian) that Avis wasn't going to open till 9 (it was about 7:15 by this time) so he wanted to take us somewhere we could eat and rest and then walk to Avis. He dropped us off at a really nice cafe and told us how to get to the Avis that was just across the street. Around 9 we went to rent a car.
Now, I just want to take a minute a salute Pawpaw because he was our fearless and confident driver for the week. Like I have said many times in previous blogs Italians are crazy drivers! Add driving on incredibly narrow roads, lined with cars, and pedestrians taking no notice of you and it can be nerve racking to say the least! But Pawpaw did a magnificent job of navigating us safely from town to countryside. I could not have driven all that time but Pawpaw never got tired of it and always got us where we needed to go! So thanks Pawpaw!
Tuesday we just drove from town to town seeing the sights. From Palermo we went north up a little mountain to Monreale, but it was to crowded to park and we were still getting use to the car so we decided not to stop. We turned back south and drove for two hours to the other side of Sicily to a little town called Agrigento. There are some Greek temple ruins in Agrigento that I am sure would have been cool but it was at least 100 degrees outside and they were to spread out to walk in the heat of the afternoon. We decided to just grab some lunch and head on to Piazza Armerina, a little town closer to the center of Sicily. We had to do a little detouring, and I had to reprogram our Tom-Tom Woman- who we named Rhoda (get it, "Road"a, haha) a couple of times, but we made it to our destination no worse for the wear. We were staying at a BEAUTIFUL converted convent (convents are just really great places to stay guys, believe me). The Gigliotto is located in the middle of a vineyard, in the middle of the Sicilian countryside! It was gorgeous, I loved it! Mawmaw and Pawpaw had stayed there once before, so it was their suggestion, and it was perfect! The Gigliotto had a swimming pool with a great view so after we checked in and moved in we all went to swim and rest. It was great. Then, like every night, we had dinner and went to sleep- happy because we had decided to sleep in the next morning!
Wednesday the 25th: We did sleep in, finally! We all decided to have an easy day around Piazza Armerina. We slept so late we missed the breakfast offered at the hotel so we got back in the car, set up Rhoda, and headed back into the town. We found a cute little cafe for croissants and coffee and then set off to walk around the town. We came across a great park in the center of the city and found a shady nook to sit in for a good while. We just chatted there and enjoyed the breeze. When we were tired of sitting we set out in search of some playing cards, Kleenexes and a swimsuit for mom! We found the cards and Kleenexes but no luck on the bathing suit. There were some Mosaic Ruins that Mawmaw and Pawpaw wanted us to check out so when we finished shopping we programmed Rhoda and left the town. We only had to drive a few miles out to find the Mosaics. They are still in the process of excavating and cleaning some areas of the town but there was a lot to see! We saw some absolutely beautiful floors found in houses, the bathes, and even outside decorating what must have been a major street.
After we visited the mosaics we got some lunch and some gelato and then went back to the hotel to swim and enjoy the evening. We all took naps and after dinner we played cards and planned out the next day.
Thursday the 26th: Thursday morning we woke up around 9, grabbed some breakfast at the convent, packed up, checked out and fired up Rhoda. We programmed her to take us to Catania where we would meet our cousins, Nina and Gianni. It was a fairly uneventful drive until we reached Catania and realized the meaning of a traffic jam. You think Houston is bad, go to Catania! It was one of those time when we were all SO thankful to have Rhoda. The night before Aunt Francis had given us the address to Nina and Gianni's appliance store, so Rhoda told us how to there while Pawpaw maneuvered through the traffic like a pro. When we finally reached the store we were welcomed with huge hugs and smiles, and a lot of Italian exclamations! Nina and Gianni don't speak English- actually Gianni does speak a little, and he understands a lot so that was helpful. Mawmaw understood everything they said to her, but she said the hard part was speaking back. I could understand a fair amount, if they spoke slowly, and I could respond fairly well. So with the help of some hand motions and oversized gestures we always managed to get the point across. Nina showed us around the store- it is a really great store- and then we all piled in our car again to take a trip up to Tauramina.
Taurmina is a small beach town much like Capri, only about 45 minutes away from Catania. Nina wanted to take us there for lunch and then to walk around the town and see the beautiful view. We had lunch at a seafood place and for the first time I realized why people always joked about their Italian grandmothers who never let them leave the table without eating EVERYTHING. Nina was that Italian grandmother. She continued to order food, even though there was way too much on the table already, and then in turn she scooped it on to your plate saying "Mary- MANGIA!" I did my best to eat what she offered me- and then I ate some more. We were all stuffed beyond reason by the time lunch was over, and we dreaded the thought of dinner- but she assured us dinner would be light. Keep that in mind.
After lunch we drove up a little higher on the cliff, parked, and walked around the cutest town I've seen yet. I really did love Tauramina. It was so picturesque. Just a small town, cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture, and with a view of the sea. We shopped some and then walked to a Greek theater about which Nina claimed "if you come to Tauramina but don't see this, you have seen nothing!" Mom and I climbed all the way up to the top of the theatre with Nina (she was like an energizer bunny!) And took in the view. It was gorgeous, perhaps more beautiful than Capri...I don’t know. Maybe a close second. After the theater, which was cool by the way, but after seeing so many ruins it’s kind of like..meh, its another ruin...we decided to start walking back to the car. Just a side note- on the way back to the car, I some how started talking to this old man while waiting for Mawmaw and Mom. I figured he was harmless so I smiled and chatted for a second, and the he decided he should try and kiss me...yeah. LUCKILY I managed to keep him on my cheek and then push him away but the damage was done and I was ready to get on a plane and go back to the states where random old men don't try to kiss you. It was terrible. Just thought I'd share that haha. Needless to say I was thankful to get in the car and go back to Catania.
When we got to Nina's apartment she gave us a tour of her lovely home and then showed us where we could put our stuff and shower. It was about 8pm by this point, and I thought I had heard her tell Gianni to pick up a pizza for dinner. I was thrilled at the thought of staying in after such a long day and just having a slice of pizza. Unfortunately, around 9 Gianni came home without a pizza- I thought this was odd but then I thought "well, maybe we are going to order one in"...10 o’clock rolls around and no pizza. I wasn’t hungry though so I didn't really mind going to bed without dinner. Mom agreed. But sometime after 10 Nina and Gianni asked us if we were ready to go get dinner...we, dumbfounded, said yes, piled into two cars and drove half way across Catania to this little pizzeria they told us was their favorite! When we got there Mom and I decided we would split a pizza but when it got to our table Nina grabbed our pizza, gave me her whole pizza, and gave mom Gianni's whole pizza (we are talking a ten inch pizza...it could have fed three) and they split ours! I still have no idea why they did that haha, I guess they didn’t want us to go hungry. So we all had potatoe wedges, beer, pizza, and THEN they wanted us to order some dessert. I ordered Pineapple figuring it would be a small bowl. wrong. It was HALF a pineapple, shell and all. I ate a few pieces and then decided to try to play their game and insist they eat some. They said they were full (which never worked when we said it) and left me to finish it.
Just when I thought the night was over, and I could go sleep off the 115 lbs of food I just ate, Nina and Gianni's oldest son, Pipo, comes up with his girl friend Andrea. They sat down with us and we chatted for a little bit. Andrea is 21 and had been teaching herself English so while I spoke Italian to her she spoke English back and we instantly hit it off! She was absolutely adorable. They all insisted we walk around the town together so they could show us Cantania. We agreed and off we went! Mom and I walked with Andrea and Jean Marco, Pipo's 12 year-old son, for most of the tour. About three minutes in to the walk Andrea asked Jean Marco if he would walk on the other side of me so she could stand next to me and hold my hand. Italian women love to hold hands when they walk, its a sign of close friendship, Nina hadn't let go of Mawmaw's hand the whole day. So we walked and talked and got to know eachother while looking at all the beautiful architechure. We ended up trying this drink Catanian's have at 4am after dancing the night away in a club and they are hot and thirsty- that was Pipo's exact explanation. I think it was a syrup and club soda mixture, mine kind of tasted like sour apple...it was strange but good! After alllllll of that, we said our good byes to Pipo, Andrea and Jean Marco. I was genuinely sad to say goodbye to Andrea and Jean Marco- They were both incredibly fun. I knew if we had had more time together Andrea and I would have become like sisters. She was a real sweetheart. When Mom and I finally crawled into bed we looked at the clock and realized that it was 3 in the morning. I hadn't stayed up until 3 in the morning once since school had let out. I was exhausted, and fell asleep thinking about how our Italian cousins are incredible people and that I never wanted to eat again!
I think I will stop here for part 2, and Pick up on part 3 soon! Va bene? Ok! Ciao!
Tuesday the 24th: At 6 am (ANOTHER early morning!) we woke up, packed up a little bit and got ready to dock at 6:30am. It was a really stressful morning since there were hundreds of other passengers trying to get off at the same time. Not to mention it was 6:30 am. However, we managed to get off the boat with all of our luggage and wits in tact. Our next stop was to the Avis Car Rental Company. We thought about taking a taxi but the map didn't make it look like it was far so we started walking, with all of our luggage in tow. About a mile later we were all frustrated and extremely tired of walking...with no exit from the port in site. A little shuttle came up behind us and offered a free ride to the end of the port, which we more than gladly accepted. We laughed as we were getting in, saying it was going to drive three feet up and drop us off. Luckily he drove more than three feet and we were thankful we took it when we did. From the edge of the port we took another taxi toward the Avis Rental Company. Our taxi driver was really nice though, and informed us (in Italian) that Avis wasn't going to open till 9 (it was about 7:15 by this time) so he wanted to take us somewhere we could eat and rest and then walk to Avis. He dropped us off at a really nice cafe and told us how to get to the Avis that was just across the street. Around 9 we went to rent a car.
Now, I just want to take a minute a salute Pawpaw because he was our fearless and confident driver for the week. Like I have said many times in previous blogs Italians are crazy drivers! Add driving on incredibly narrow roads, lined with cars, and pedestrians taking no notice of you and it can be nerve racking to say the least! But Pawpaw did a magnificent job of navigating us safely from town to countryside. I could not have driven all that time but Pawpaw never got tired of it and always got us where we needed to go! So thanks Pawpaw!
Tuesday we just drove from town to town seeing the sights. From Palermo we went north up a little mountain to Monreale, but it was to crowded to park and we were still getting use to the car so we decided not to stop. We turned back south and drove for two hours to the other side of Sicily to a little town called Agrigento. There are some Greek temple ruins in Agrigento that I am sure would have been cool but it was at least 100 degrees outside and they were to spread out to walk in the heat of the afternoon. We decided to just grab some lunch and head on to Piazza Armerina, a little town closer to the center of Sicily. We had to do a little detouring, and I had to reprogram our Tom-Tom Woman- who we named Rhoda (get it, "Road"a, haha) a couple of times, but we made it to our destination no worse for the wear. We were staying at a BEAUTIFUL converted convent (convents are just really great places to stay guys, believe me). The Gigliotto is located in the middle of a vineyard, in the middle of the Sicilian countryside! It was gorgeous, I loved it! Mawmaw and Pawpaw had stayed there once before, so it was their suggestion, and it was perfect! The Gigliotto had a swimming pool with a great view so after we checked in and moved in we all went to swim and rest. It was great. Then, like every night, we had dinner and went to sleep- happy because we had decided to sleep in the next morning!
Wednesday the 25th: We did sleep in, finally! We all decided to have an easy day around Piazza Armerina. We slept so late we missed the breakfast offered at the hotel so we got back in the car, set up Rhoda, and headed back into the town. We found a cute little cafe for croissants and coffee and then set off to walk around the town. We came across a great park in the center of the city and found a shady nook to sit in for a good while. We just chatted there and enjoyed the breeze. When we were tired of sitting we set out in search of some playing cards, Kleenexes and a swimsuit for mom! We found the cards and Kleenexes but no luck on the bathing suit. There were some Mosaic Ruins that Mawmaw and Pawpaw wanted us to check out so when we finished shopping we programmed Rhoda and left the town. We only had to drive a few miles out to find the Mosaics. They are still in the process of excavating and cleaning some areas of the town but there was a lot to see! We saw some absolutely beautiful floors found in houses, the bathes, and even outside decorating what must have been a major street.
After we visited the mosaics we got some lunch and some gelato and then went back to the hotel to swim and enjoy the evening. We all took naps and after dinner we played cards and planned out the next day.
Thursday the 26th: Thursday morning we woke up around 9, grabbed some breakfast at the convent, packed up, checked out and fired up Rhoda. We programmed her to take us to Catania where we would meet our cousins, Nina and Gianni. It was a fairly uneventful drive until we reached Catania and realized the meaning of a traffic jam. You think Houston is bad, go to Catania! It was one of those time when we were all SO thankful to have Rhoda. The night before Aunt Francis had given us the address to Nina and Gianni's appliance store, so Rhoda told us how to there while Pawpaw maneuvered through the traffic like a pro. When we finally reached the store we were welcomed with huge hugs and smiles, and a lot of Italian exclamations! Nina and Gianni don't speak English- actually Gianni does speak a little, and he understands a lot so that was helpful. Mawmaw understood everything they said to her, but she said the hard part was speaking back. I could understand a fair amount, if they spoke slowly, and I could respond fairly well. So with the help of some hand motions and oversized gestures we always managed to get the point across. Nina showed us around the store- it is a really great store- and then we all piled in our car again to take a trip up to Tauramina.
Taurmina is a small beach town much like Capri, only about 45 minutes away from Catania. Nina wanted to take us there for lunch and then to walk around the town and see the beautiful view. We had lunch at a seafood place and for the first time I realized why people always joked about their Italian grandmothers who never let them leave the table without eating EVERYTHING. Nina was that Italian grandmother. She continued to order food, even though there was way too much on the table already, and then in turn she scooped it on to your plate saying "Mary- MANGIA!" I did my best to eat what she offered me- and then I ate some more. We were all stuffed beyond reason by the time lunch was over, and we dreaded the thought of dinner- but she assured us dinner would be light. Keep that in mind.
After lunch we drove up a little higher on the cliff, parked, and walked around the cutest town I've seen yet. I really did love Tauramina. It was so picturesque. Just a small town, cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture, and with a view of the sea. We shopped some and then walked to a Greek theater about which Nina claimed "if you come to Tauramina but don't see this, you have seen nothing!" Mom and I climbed all the way up to the top of the theatre with Nina (she was like an energizer bunny!) And took in the view. It was gorgeous, perhaps more beautiful than Capri...I don’t know. Maybe a close second. After the theater, which was cool by the way, but after seeing so many ruins it’s kind of like..meh, its another ruin...we decided to start walking back to the car. Just a side note- on the way back to the car, I some how started talking to this old man while waiting for Mawmaw and Mom. I figured he was harmless so I smiled and chatted for a second, and the he decided he should try and kiss me...yeah. LUCKILY I managed to keep him on my cheek and then push him away but the damage was done and I was ready to get on a plane and go back to the states where random old men don't try to kiss you. It was terrible. Just thought I'd share that haha. Needless to say I was thankful to get in the car and go back to Catania.
When we got to Nina's apartment she gave us a tour of her lovely home and then showed us where we could put our stuff and shower. It was about 8pm by this point, and I thought I had heard her tell Gianni to pick up a pizza for dinner. I was thrilled at the thought of staying in after such a long day and just having a slice of pizza. Unfortunately, around 9 Gianni came home without a pizza- I thought this was odd but then I thought "well, maybe we are going to order one in"...10 o’clock rolls around and no pizza. I wasn’t hungry though so I didn't really mind going to bed without dinner. Mom agreed. But sometime after 10 Nina and Gianni asked us if we were ready to go get dinner...we, dumbfounded, said yes, piled into two cars and drove half way across Catania to this little pizzeria they told us was their favorite! When we got there Mom and I decided we would split a pizza but when it got to our table Nina grabbed our pizza, gave me her whole pizza, and gave mom Gianni's whole pizza (we are talking a ten inch pizza...it could have fed three) and they split ours! I still have no idea why they did that haha, I guess they didn’t want us to go hungry. So we all had potatoe wedges, beer, pizza, and THEN they wanted us to order some dessert. I ordered Pineapple figuring it would be a small bowl. wrong. It was HALF a pineapple, shell and all. I ate a few pieces and then decided to try to play their game and insist they eat some. They said they were full (which never worked when we said it) and left me to finish it.
Just when I thought the night was over, and I could go sleep off the 115 lbs of food I just ate, Nina and Gianni's oldest son, Pipo, comes up with his girl friend Andrea. They sat down with us and we chatted for a little bit. Andrea is 21 and had been teaching herself English so while I spoke Italian to her she spoke English back and we instantly hit it off! She was absolutely adorable. They all insisted we walk around the town together so they could show us Cantania. We agreed and off we went! Mom and I walked with Andrea and Jean Marco, Pipo's 12 year-old son, for most of the tour. About three minutes in to the walk Andrea asked Jean Marco if he would walk on the other side of me so she could stand next to me and hold my hand. Italian women love to hold hands when they walk, its a sign of close friendship, Nina hadn't let go of Mawmaw's hand the whole day. So we walked and talked and got to know eachother while looking at all the beautiful architechure. We ended up trying this drink Catanian's have at 4am after dancing the night away in a club and they are hot and thirsty- that was Pipo's exact explanation. I think it was a syrup and club soda mixture, mine kind of tasted like sour apple...it was strange but good! After alllllll of that, we said our good byes to Pipo, Andrea and Jean Marco. I was genuinely sad to say goodbye to Andrea and Jean Marco- They were both incredibly fun. I knew if we had had more time together Andrea and I would have become like sisters. She was a real sweetheart. When Mom and I finally crawled into bed we looked at the clock and realized that it was 3 in the morning. I hadn't stayed up until 3 in the morning once since school had let out. I was exhausted, and fell asleep thinking about how our Italian cousins are incredible people and that I never wanted to eat again!
I think I will stop here for part 2, and Pick up on part 3 soon! Va bene? Ok! Ciao!
July 7, 2008
Planes, Trains and Automobiles....
And taxis, and tour buses, and even a boat!!! And of course- on foot! Those were all of the means of transportation Mom, Mawmaw Pawpaw and I took during our 10-day tour of Southern Italy. It was amazing the amount of traveling we accomplished in such a short amount of time! During the plane ride from Palermo, Sicily to Florence Mom and I discovered we had visited 16 cities/towns in 10 days. We were traveling fools! I think it would be much easier for me to take this day by day since there are ten of them and let's face it, there's a lot to remember!
Friday the 20th: When I left you on Friday, I was about thirty minutes away from hopping on the train to Rome. I made it there with out a hitch and Mom and PawPaw were at the train station waiting to pick me up! It was so great to see them and hug them, I was pretty ecstatic! We carried my luggage up nine blocks to our hotel, which was actually a convent of Spanish (I know, why not Italian? who knows!) Nuns who rented out several rooms as a hotel. They were the sweetest Nuns, so welcoming and cute, I really wanted to be their best friends. So there ya go Uncle Mike- I almost joined a convent! BUT I didn't! That night we took a taxi straight to the Pantheon, since mom had never seen it, and then we found a cute, quiet little piazza and had a wonderful meal! After dinner we walked to the Trevi Fountain, which, if you recall is by far my favorite site in Rome, and mom and I made a wish in the Fountain. Mom wouldn't tell me what she wished for but I'm going to go out on a limb and say she wished to come back with Dad and Dom...ok fine maybe that was MY wish, but I bet she echoed it! :). After the Trevi we went and got their first cone of Gelato! It was delicious!! We had to go back to the convent after that because the Nuns had a curfew of 11:30, but believe me, we were all exhausted from traveling so it didn't bother us to call it a night.
Saturday the 21st: We slept in a little bit, grabbed some breakfast at the convent (a roll with cheese and a cappuccino) and headed out for the day! Mom, Mawmaw and Pawpaw had found a tour bus the day before that would take you all over the city of Rome and allow you to get off at any stop you chose and explore for as long as you want and then catch the next tour bus that came along. I thought this was a grand idea. The first thing we stopped at was the Coloseum. We went through the long line, and then walked around the entire arena. I was acting tour guide and basically parroted back everything I remember Fabrizio (my previous tour guide) had said. This is why I do well in school- I am an incredible audio learner, the real reason I don’t have a 4.0 is because I tend to daydream... :). ANYWAY, after the colosseum we hopped back on the bus and took it to the Vatican City. This is what I was most excited for Mom to see- I adore St. Peter's Basilica and every church in Italy pales in comparison to its ornate arches, sculptures, and frescoes. We debated not going in because the line looked about 2 miles long (I'm not joking) but we realized it was moving pretty fast and we got in line. I am really glad we did because the line, going through the church and getting out couldn't have taken us more than 45 minutes! It worked out really well! By the time we were out of the Vatican we were ready for some Gelato and a nap. So we got some gelato, caught the next tour bus and went back to our convent. We rested and then went back to the city center for dinner. We had the cab driver take us straight to the Spanish Steps but when we got there he had to drop us off a little ways from it because there was a marching band playing on the steps and quite a crowd of people standing around enjoying the music! We listened for a little while and then set off in search for a bancomat (ATM) and a cute place to eat! We found both and had another enjoyable dinner in a breezy little piazza. After dinner we walked back to the Pantheon to catch a cab and called it a night.
Sunday the 22nd: Sunday we had to get up extremely early to call a cab (which I managed to do in Italian, whoop!) and head out to catch our Bus Tour to Naples, Pompeii and Capri! The bus nearly left Pawpaw because he was on the phone a few steps away, but we caused quite a raucous while it was pulling away, and they stopped so he could hop on! I slept all the way to Naples (it was 7 am and I was in a moving vehicle, I didn't stand a chance). We didn't actually stop in Naples, we just drove through the port so I wouldn't say we got a good view of the city. It was a pretty dirty port, and didn't look inviting or fun at all, so based on that little bus ride I'd have to say Naples was a bust and not really some place I'd like to visit again!
After Naples we went to Pompeii! It was incredibly hot but our tour guide was great and always stopped in shaded places. We walked all over the ruins of the little town and I was amazed to see how much of the town was still in tact. Almost entire houses were in tact with their mosaic floors and painted walls. They were actually really nice houses. I was also shocked to see how far away Mt. Vesuvius was from Pompeii. I was under the impression Pompeii was a naive little city that put itself right on the foot of a volcano and was destroyed because of the lava. In reality Pompeii is several miles away from the mountain and it wasn't the lava that killed the people living there, it was the poisonous gasses and the 500-degree ash that settled over the town. It wasn't even that eerie to walk around but what was eerie, and very sad, was what we saw in the food market. There we were introduced to two former inhabitants of Pompeii. It was actually a plaster cast of their bodies in the position they were in when the disaster hit. What happened was their bodies were covered in layers and layers of ash during the volcano's eruption. As years went by the ash turned more into rock and the body decayed leaving a perfect mold. Some archeologist discovered this and decided to pour plaster into a small hole he made in the ground effectively giving him a perfect reconstruction of what the person looked like in the last moments of their life. I think that’s perfectly horrific but to each his own. I took about a MILLION pictures all over Pompeii so I will have to show them to you sometime, my description here does no justice to how cool the town actually was.
After Pompeii we were taken by bus to Sorrento, which is a really scary drive up VERY narrow streets where one side is a rock wall and the other is a plunge into the Mediterranean Sea. It was nerve racking, but there was a beautiful view if you could manage to look out the window, haha. Sorrento is a little town just 5 minutes from Capri. We stayed in a beautiful hotel called Hotel Vesuvius (no worries we were no where near Mt. Vesuvius at this point) and had a wonderful dinner. After we ate we enjoyed some coffee out on a lovely patio with live music. We went to sleep exhausted and knowing we had another early morning ahead of us.
Monday the 23rd: Ok, I am going to admit that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Monday morning. I had fought a battle of the wills the night before- I basically had an excruciating headache and refused to take anything for it. Mother Nature won out around 3 am when I felt so sick I could barely sit up long enough to take some Tylenol. I know Mom and TJ are just shaking their heads at me right now. Why am I so rediculously stubborn about taking medicine? I have no idea. Nor is that really interesting haha, just an excuse to why I was so cranky the next morning. We woke up at 6am, all of us wishing we didn't have to get back on that bus and go go go for the rest of the day. It had been a rushed few days and I think we were all ready to sit still for a day...and maybe sleep in a little! But we made it out to the bus at 7:30 and met our guide for the day: Marco. Marco is a 30 something Italian man, as cute as can be and maybe a little too energetic. He took us to the ferry we took to get to Capri from Sorrento. When we arrived in Capri he basically RAN us to these little speedboats so we could be the first to enter the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is a little little cave in the side of a cliff. We were told over and over again how lucky we were because the grotto was open that day. If the tide is to high or the water is too rough it is impossible to go in. Why would we rush to go in that death trap you ask?? I will tell you. When we arrived at the grotto's entrance Mom, Pawpaw and I climbed into a little rowboat with a very small Italian guy as our guide. Mawmaw chose the wide-open spaces, and I do not blame her, looking at the little rowboat and the even smaller opening we were about to go into was a little frightening! We rowed up to a 5 foot wide and 3 feet tall opening in the cliff. Our guide told us to lie completely flat in the boat and he pulled on a chain that pulled us into the cave. We sat up as soon as we got in and looked down into the water. This is why people come into the Blue Grotto. The angle at which the light comes through the opening of the cave causes a reflection that makes the entire cave light up in the most brilliant electric blue you have ever seen!! I got some great pictures of it, plus some great video of our guide singing opera once we were in the cave. It was really an amazing little ride.
Once we got back to the mainland of Capri we took a little bus all around the overly crowded island and walked and shopped. We saw an old perfumery where monks once worked making perfumes and soaps using all of the flowers and herbs native to Capri. We also saw a gorgeous little garden- it really is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world.
We only stayed in Capri for a few hours, by three pm we were back at our hotel and waiting for one more tour bus to take us back to Pompeii where we hoped yet ANOTHER tour bus would take us to Napoles where we would catch a ferry to Palermo Italy. Do you see now why I was a little upset that morning, we are talking a non-stop few days. We made it to Naples (turns out we got a huge 55 passenger bus all to our selves! I have no idea how!) and on the ferry with out a problem! We had some dinner, enjoyed some drinks and went to sleep, thankful for a chance to rest!
I think I am going to stop here for this blog- I will write about the rest in a separate post just for the sake of space!!!
So....To be Continued:...
Friday the 20th: When I left you on Friday, I was about thirty minutes away from hopping on the train to Rome. I made it there with out a hitch and Mom and PawPaw were at the train station waiting to pick me up! It was so great to see them and hug them, I was pretty ecstatic! We carried my luggage up nine blocks to our hotel, which was actually a convent of Spanish (I know, why not Italian? who knows!) Nuns who rented out several rooms as a hotel. They were the sweetest Nuns, so welcoming and cute, I really wanted to be their best friends. So there ya go Uncle Mike- I almost joined a convent! BUT I didn't! That night we took a taxi straight to the Pantheon, since mom had never seen it, and then we found a cute, quiet little piazza and had a wonderful meal! After dinner we walked to the Trevi Fountain, which, if you recall is by far my favorite site in Rome, and mom and I made a wish in the Fountain. Mom wouldn't tell me what she wished for but I'm going to go out on a limb and say she wished to come back with Dad and Dom...ok fine maybe that was MY wish, but I bet she echoed it! :). After the Trevi we went and got their first cone of Gelato! It was delicious!! We had to go back to the convent after that because the Nuns had a curfew of 11:30, but believe me, we were all exhausted from traveling so it didn't bother us to call it a night.
Saturday the 21st: We slept in a little bit, grabbed some breakfast at the convent (a roll with cheese and a cappuccino) and headed out for the day! Mom, Mawmaw and Pawpaw had found a tour bus the day before that would take you all over the city of Rome and allow you to get off at any stop you chose and explore for as long as you want and then catch the next tour bus that came along. I thought this was a grand idea. The first thing we stopped at was the Coloseum. We went through the long line, and then walked around the entire arena. I was acting tour guide and basically parroted back everything I remember Fabrizio (my previous tour guide) had said. This is why I do well in school- I am an incredible audio learner, the real reason I don’t have a 4.0 is because I tend to daydream... :). ANYWAY, after the colosseum we hopped back on the bus and took it to the Vatican City. This is what I was most excited for Mom to see- I adore St. Peter's Basilica and every church in Italy pales in comparison to its ornate arches, sculptures, and frescoes. We debated not going in because the line looked about 2 miles long (I'm not joking) but we realized it was moving pretty fast and we got in line. I am really glad we did because the line, going through the church and getting out couldn't have taken us more than 45 minutes! It worked out really well! By the time we were out of the Vatican we were ready for some Gelato and a nap. So we got some gelato, caught the next tour bus and went back to our convent. We rested and then went back to the city center for dinner. We had the cab driver take us straight to the Spanish Steps but when we got there he had to drop us off a little ways from it because there was a marching band playing on the steps and quite a crowd of people standing around enjoying the music! We listened for a little while and then set off in search for a bancomat (ATM) and a cute place to eat! We found both and had another enjoyable dinner in a breezy little piazza. After dinner we walked back to the Pantheon to catch a cab and called it a night.
Sunday the 22nd: Sunday we had to get up extremely early to call a cab (which I managed to do in Italian, whoop!) and head out to catch our Bus Tour to Naples, Pompeii and Capri! The bus nearly left Pawpaw because he was on the phone a few steps away, but we caused quite a raucous while it was pulling away, and they stopped so he could hop on! I slept all the way to Naples (it was 7 am and I was in a moving vehicle, I didn't stand a chance). We didn't actually stop in Naples, we just drove through the port so I wouldn't say we got a good view of the city. It was a pretty dirty port, and didn't look inviting or fun at all, so based on that little bus ride I'd have to say Naples was a bust and not really some place I'd like to visit again!
After Naples we went to Pompeii! It was incredibly hot but our tour guide was great and always stopped in shaded places. We walked all over the ruins of the little town and I was amazed to see how much of the town was still in tact. Almost entire houses were in tact with their mosaic floors and painted walls. They were actually really nice houses. I was also shocked to see how far away Mt. Vesuvius was from Pompeii. I was under the impression Pompeii was a naive little city that put itself right on the foot of a volcano and was destroyed because of the lava. In reality Pompeii is several miles away from the mountain and it wasn't the lava that killed the people living there, it was the poisonous gasses and the 500-degree ash that settled over the town. It wasn't even that eerie to walk around but what was eerie, and very sad, was what we saw in the food market. There we were introduced to two former inhabitants of Pompeii. It was actually a plaster cast of their bodies in the position they were in when the disaster hit. What happened was their bodies were covered in layers and layers of ash during the volcano's eruption. As years went by the ash turned more into rock and the body decayed leaving a perfect mold. Some archeologist discovered this and decided to pour plaster into a small hole he made in the ground effectively giving him a perfect reconstruction of what the person looked like in the last moments of their life. I think that’s perfectly horrific but to each his own. I took about a MILLION pictures all over Pompeii so I will have to show them to you sometime, my description here does no justice to how cool the town actually was.
After Pompeii we were taken by bus to Sorrento, which is a really scary drive up VERY narrow streets where one side is a rock wall and the other is a plunge into the Mediterranean Sea. It was nerve racking, but there was a beautiful view if you could manage to look out the window, haha. Sorrento is a little town just 5 minutes from Capri. We stayed in a beautiful hotel called Hotel Vesuvius (no worries we were no where near Mt. Vesuvius at this point) and had a wonderful dinner. After we ate we enjoyed some coffee out on a lovely patio with live music. We went to sleep exhausted and knowing we had another early morning ahead of us.
Monday the 23rd: Ok, I am going to admit that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Monday morning. I had fought a battle of the wills the night before- I basically had an excruciating headache and refused to take anything for it. Mother Nature won out around 3 am when I felt so sick I could barely sit up long enough to take some Tylenol. I know Mom and TJ are just shaking their heads at me right now. Why am I so rediculously stubborn about taking medicine? I have no idea. Nor is that really interesting haha, just an excuse to why I was so cranky the next morning. We woke up at 6am, all of us wishing we didn't have to get back on that bus and go go go for the rest of the day. It had been a rushed few days and I think we were all ready to sit still for a day...and maybe sleep in a little! But we made it out to the bus at 7:30 and met our guide for the day: Marco. Marco is a 30 something Italian man, as cute as can be and maybe a little too energetic. He took us to the ferry we took to get to Capri from Sorrento. When we arrived in Capri he basically RAN us to these little speedboats so we could be the first to enter the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is a little little cave in the side of a cliff. We were told over and over again how lucky we were because the grotto was open that day. If the tide is to high or the water is too rough it is impossible to go in. Why would we rush to go in that death trap you ask?? I will tell you. When we arrived at the grotto's entrance Mom, Pawpaw and I climbed into a little rowboat with a very small Italian guy as our guide. Mawmaw chose the wide-open spaces, and I do not blame her, looking at the little rowboat and the even smaller opening we were about to go into was a little frightening! We rowed up to a 5 foot wide and 3 feet tall opening in the cliff. Our guide told us to lie completely flat in the boat and he pulled on a chain that pulled us into the cave. We sat up as soon as we got in and looked down into the water. This is why people come into the Blue Grotto. The angle at which the light comes through the opening of the cave causes a reflection that makes the entire cave light up in the most brilliant electric blue you have ever seen!! I got some great pictures of it, plus some great video of our guide singing opera once we were in the cave. It was really an amazing little ride.
Once we got back to the mainland of Capri we took a little bus all around the overly crowded island and walked and shopped. We saw an old perfumery where monks once worked making perfumes and soaps using all of the flowers and herbs native to Capri. We also saw a gorgeous little garden- it really is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world.
We only stayed in Capri for a few hours, by three pm we were back at our hotel and waiting for one more tour bus to take us back to Pompeii where we hoped yet ANOTHER tour bus would take us to Napoles where we would catch a ferry to Palermo Italy. Do you see now why I was a little upset that morning, we are talking a non-stop few days. We made it to Naples (turns out we got a huge 55 passenger bus all to our selves! I have no idea how!) and on the ferry with out a problem! We had some dinner, enjoyed some drinks and went to sleep, thankful for a chance to rest!
I think I am going to stop here for this blog- I will write about the rest in a separate post just for the sake of space!!!
So....To be Continued:...
July 2, 2008
Pictures from Lake Guarda/Venice/ Verona
Hello!
Here are the captions for the new slide show I put up from Lake Garda, Venice and Verona! I hope you enjoy them!
Lake Garda:
1. We took a speedboat out for about 20 minutes (it would have been longer but it started to rain) to get a better look at Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy. You can see our cute old captain in the hat and red vest! He was really cute!
2. Close up of us in the boat! (Thanks Anna for these two pictures!)
3. The beautiful Scaliger Castle from the 13th Century, right on the water. It was probably the coolest castle I've seen yet!
Venice:
1. View of Venice from the Grand Canal
2. View of Venice from the Grand Canal
3. View of Venice from the Grand Canal- Here you see the Bell Tower and Duomo from St. Marks Square in the background!
4. Close up of the bell tower and the Greek Church.
5. Beautiful Waterway in Venice- Venice is made up of 118 Islands, 166 canals and 400 Bridges connecting them. Our tour guide said every time you cross a bridge you are leaving behind an island.
6. This is a close up a crest you see on all of the Gondola's in Venice. The Top thick part represents a governor’s hat- to show power, the 6 prongs coming off of it represent the six districts in Venice and the silver stem that runs down the bottom of the gondola represents the Grand Canal.
7. The Bridge of Sighs- it connects the courthouse and the prison and as the prisoners were taken across to the prison it is said they would sigh as they caught the last glimpse of their sweet Venice. Very sad. Very Poetic.
8. St. Mark's Basilica in St. Marks Square
9. The Bell tower in St. Marks Square
10. The sweet Clock tower in St. Marks Square. The iron guys at the top actually swing their hammers to ring the bell- way cool.
11. The Scala Contarini del Bovolo- a staircase designed to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa- but they messed up because it’s not leaning! :) Ironic.
12. Rialto Bridge- Beautiful! Almost as cool as the Ponte Vecchio in Florence-- Almost but not quite!
13. Gondola Traffic Jam...haha. Which is why I didn't ride one- too touristy, to packed. blah.
14. Me with a pretty waterway
15. Anna, Me and Emma drinking Bellini's the drink Venice is known for! It's Champagne and Grapefruit Juice--yum!
16. Hooray for Venetian Masks!!
Verona:
1. St. Peter's Hill- the oldest roman building in Verona. Originally it was meant to defend the city but now it hosts a huge jazz festival!
2. This is a grave of a guy called Cane Grande...yes that translates to Big Dog. I don’t know about you, but that sounds slightly Mafioso to me! Which makes sense because he was kind of a bully. The reason his grave is above the door instead of on the ground like all of the other sarcophagi is because he wanted to remind people that he was "above them in life, and is above them in death." He was a real nice guy....
3. A statue of Dante the famous author. He fled to Verona when Florence kicked him out because of his controversial ideas, so he finished parts 2 and 3 of his divine comedy in Verona.
4. Juliet's Balcony- the reason Verona is the 4th most visited city in Italy. To bad it’s fake. Basically it’s a sarcophagus they glued to the side of a wall. People can't get enough of it though. (Read the bottom note B/c I have some fun facts about Romeo and Juliet!)
5. This is statue of "Juliet"- if you notice that a certain part of Juliet is exceptionally shiny its because there's a legend that says if you touch said shiny part you will have luck in love. I thought that was a little too weird so I stuck with a picture.
6. the Arena of Verona- basically the little sister of the Colosseum. It was used for the same purpose as the Colosseum for years and years but now it hosts an entire year of theatrical and opera events like Aida.
7. A beautiful piazza in Verona.
Valpollicella:
1. the view of this little wine town outside of Verona, we visited it for a wine tasting
2. Vineyards
3. Soon to be vineyard
4. Cute church near the wine cellars.
5. Vineyards
6. Anna and Me in the Vineyard
7. Me in front of a HUGE wine cask!
My New Hair cut! Ever since I first saw the movie Roman Holiday where Audrey Hepburn gets her hair cut off while in Italy it has been my goal to get my hair cut in Italy. Check Check!
Small note about Romeo and Juliet:
1. While Romeo and Juliet never existed there was in fact a family called the Capulets and a family called the Montague’s- and their houses are the ones pinpointed as "Romeo and Juliet’s" houses.
2. The two families did hate each other. The Montague’s (Romeo's family) were Imperialists and the Capulets (Juliet's Family) were Papalists. These two different groups hated each other during the time of the legend.
3. Turns out Shakespeare's story is actually an English version of a French translation of an Italian legend. The reason Shakespeare gets all the glory is because he was the only one who wrote an ingenious and beautiful play out of it! Bravo Shakespeare!
And that's all the fun pictures and fun facts I've got for ya from those three places. I'll be writing again soon!
Love,
Mary Kay
Here are the captions for the new slide show I put up from Lake Garda, Venice and Verona! I hope you enjoy them!
Lake Garda:
1. We took a speedboat out for about 20 minutes (it would have been longer but it started to rain) to get a better look at Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy. You can see our cute old captain in the hat and red vest! He was really cute!
2. Close up of us in the boat! (Thanks Anna for these two pictures!)
3. The beautiful Scaliger Castle from the 13th Century, right on the water. It was probably the coolest castle I've seen yet!
Venice:
1. View of Venice from the Grand Canal
2. View of Venice from the Grand Canal
3. View of Venice from the Grand Canal- Here you see the Bell Tower and Duomo from St. Marks Square in the background!
4. Close up of the bell tower and the Greek Church.
5. Beautiful Waterway in Venice- Venice is made up of 118 Islands, 166 canals and 400 Bridges connecting them. Our tour guide said every time you cross a bridge you are leaving behind an island.
6. This is a close up a crest you see on all of the Gondola's in Venice. The Top thick part represents a governor’s hat- to show power, the 6 prongs coming off of it represent the six districts in Venice and the silver stem that runs down the bottom of the gondola represents the Grand Canal.
7. The Bridge of Sighs- it connects the courthouse and the prison and as the prisoners were taken across to the prison it is said they would sigh as they caught the last glimpse of their sweet Venice. Very sad. Very Poetic.
8. St. Mark's Basilica in St. Marks Square
9. The Bell tower in St. Marks Square
10. The sweet Clock tower in St. Marks Square. The iron guys at the top actually swing their hammers to ring the bell- way cool.
11. The Scala Contarini del Bovolo- a staircase designed to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa- but they messed up because it’s not leaning! :) Ironic.
12. Rialto Bridge- Beautiful! Almost as cool as the Ponte Vecchio in Florence-- Almost but not quite!
13. Gondola Traffic Jam...haha. Which is why I didn't ride one- too touristy, to packed. blah.
14. Me with a pretty waterway
15. Anna, Me and Emma drinking Bellini's the drink Venice is known for! It's Champagne and Grapefruit Juice--yum!
16. Hooray for Venetian Masks!!
Verona:
1. St. Peter's Hill- the oldest roman building in Verona. Originally it was meant to defend the city but now it hosts a huge jazz festival!
2. This is a grave of a guy called Cane Grande...yes that translates to Big Dog. I don’t know about you, but that sounds slightly Mafioso to me! Which makes sense because he was kind of a bully. The reason his grave is above the door instead of on the ground like all of the other sarcophagi is because he wanted to remind people that he was "above them in life, and is above them in death." He was a real nice guy....
3. A statue of Dante the famous author. He fled to Verona when Florence kicked him out because of his controversial ideas, so he finished parts 2 and 3 of his divine comedy in Verona.
4. Juliet's Balcony- the reason Verona is the 4th most visited city in Italy. To bad it’s fake. Basically it’s a sarcophagus they glued to the side of a wall. People can't get enough of it though. (Read the bottom note B/c I have some fun facts about Romeo and Juliet!)
5. This is statue of "Juliet"- if you notice that a certain part of Juliet is exceptionally shiny its because there's a legend that says if you touch said shiny part you will have luck in love. I thought that was a little too weird so I stuck with a picture.
6. the Arena of Verona- basically the little sister of the Colosseum. It was used for the same purpose as the Colosseum for years and years but now it hosts an entire year of theatrical and opera events like Aida.
7. A beautiful piazza in Verona.
Valpollicella:
1. the view of this little wine town outside of Verona, we visited it for a wine tasting
2. Vineyards
3. Soon to be vineyard
4. Cute church near the wine cellars.
5. Vineyards
6. Anna and Me in the Vineyard
7. Me in front of a HUGE wine cask!
My New Hair cut! Ever since I first saw the movie Roman Holiday where Audrey Hepburn gets her hair cut off while in Italy it has been my goal to get my hair cut in Italy. Check Check!
Small note about Romeo and Juliet:
1. While Romeo and Juliet never existed there was in fact a family called the Capulets and a family called the Montague’s- and their houses are the ones pinpointed as "Romeo and Juliet’s" houses.
2. The two families did hate each other. The Montague’s (Romeo's family) were Imperialists and the Capulets (Juliet's Family) were Papalists. These two different groups hated each other during the time of the legend.
3. Turns out Shakespeare's story is actually an English version of a French translation of an Italian legend. The reason Shakespeare gets all the glory is because he was the only one who wrote an ingenious and beautiful play out of it! Bravo Shakespeare!
And that's all the fun pictures and fun facts I've got for ya from those three places. I'll be writing again soon!
Love,
Mary Kay
June 20, 2008
Audrey Hepburn would be proud!
Ciao!!!
Ok, I have to apologize for a few things right off the bat. First of all, I am sorry it has taken me so long to write on my bog. It was finals week this week and as much as I tried to procrastinate (and succeeded in some cases) I just never got enough time to sit and write a good blog post!
I also must apologize because I have been promising to tell you all about Lake Guarda, Venice and Verona and I am afraid I won't be able to. Why? Well, I don’t exactly know, except that every time I sit down to and start writing about it I get annoyed and stop. The trip was great, don't get me wrong, and to be honest I have no idea why writing about it is so impossible but I guess, since it is, I'll just have to tell you about it in person when I get back! So be sure to ask about it if you’re interested! They were all three beautiful places, and Venice is probably one of my favorite cities so far. I have pictures up on the new slide show so you'll get to see them and I'll write some captions here in a minute!
Ok- So about this week. Actually it was a pretty funny week despite the stress and annoying exams! I'll just go through the week and if I remember a funny story I'll write it out! Deal!? Deal!
Monday: On Monday my Art History class (did I ever tell you I was taking Art History? No? Well I am!) went to the Palazzo Vecchio which is a really old palace built in the 13th century. During the 15th century it was renovated, so to speak, by an artist named Vassari (that's his last name). Vassari created several major masterpieces for the ceiling of the Palazzo, along with tons of minor paintings and frescos all over the place. Of course we went to take a tour, however, this was no ordinary tour. Oh no...on this tour we were going to be walking and talking with Vassari HIMSELF....how can this be you ask?? Well, basically a 20 something Italian man is paid to dress up like Vassari, know everything about him and the time period he lives in and gives us "his" thoughts on all of the paintings and frescoes we see as if it was the 1500's and he was Vassari. At first I thought this was a pretty great idea, but soon after we began things just got awkward. First of all, our dear sweet sweet tour guide, Alberto....I mean, Vassari, didn't speak English very well. He got several words mixed up during the tour making for some pretty great quotes. My favorite "Vassari-ism" went something like this:
Vassari to a girl in my class: Why do you wear pants and not a dress, YOU ARE NAKED!
Girl: It's too hot to wear a dress! Why did they wear them during the summer anyway?
Vassari: Because, you see...a woman's body is full of...of...PEACH.
All of us: Peach?
Vassari: Si! Peach...peach!!
All of us: *Blank stare*
Vassari to my teacher: Come se Dice 'peccato' in inglese? *teacher answers*
Vassari: OOOO, SIN! a woman's body is full of SIN therefore she must wear the dresses!!
....Peaches...Sin...sure I can see how they sound the same. I am no longer going to feel bad for mixing up my Italian words haha. I loved Alberto- he was a great sport!
Tuesday: Ok....I admit it. I crumbled, I gave in to my cravings and I caved and I ....I went to McDonalds! I KNOW! I KNOW! I am in ITLAY, HOOWWW could I possibly have gone to MCDONALDS! Here's how. First of all, the McD's in Italy smell better than the ones in the US. I think it's because they use sunflower seed oil instead of what the US uses. Second of all, all of my roomies and I decided latish Wednesday night that we were craving some chocolate cake, so we headed out in search for some! unfortunately its not possible in Italy to eat just dessert at a restaurant so no one would let us sit down and order cake. We didn't feel like gelato though, and the only American bakery in Florence closed three hours before we set out. So we just started walking, hoping we would happen upon a sweet little trattoria that would let us have some cake. And then we saw the golden arches. We all looked at each other and said....Meh...Why not! They all got Mcflurries but as soon as I stepped inside the craving for their fries I had been fighting for the last 5 weeks came rushing back and I had to order some. They were delicious. I do not regret it haha.
Wednesday: Wednesday was spent cramming for the exam I had in Art History on Thursday
Thursday: I took an exam, it was fine! It was one of my roommate's (Olivia) last night in Florence so all my roomies and I took her out to dinner at a really cute place called Trattatoria Nerone. In case you are wondering a Trattatoria is a little family owned restaurant, they are pretty much the norm here and you are guaranteed a wonderful meal and a friendly smile. Emma came along (it was her last night too) and we had dinner, went to Grome, our favorite gelato place and finally ended up in Piazza Della Signoria were we listened to a guy play some Simon and Garfunkel on his guitar for about an hour. It was amazing!!!
Friday: Today....today I accomplished one of my goals! I got my haircut in Italy! It was so scary!!! I printed off a picture or two of what I wanted and I took to the hair salon a friend of mine had recommended. The girl who cut my hair didn't speak English or understand my weak Italian- eek!- but her friend did so he made sure she knew what I was looking for. And then she had me stand up...and took an electric razor...and chopped off three inches in one foul swoop. I nearly cried but then I remembered it was just hair! She took about two hours to shape and style it, the whole time using an electric and then an old school blade barbars use on men’s beards. I was pretty freaked out by the end of it. I walked out convinced I looked like a boy until I got home and all of my roommates freaked out with a round of "OOO MY GOSH IT LOOKS GREATTTT!!!!!"...I love them. I have played with it some and I really love it. Its EXTREMELY thinned out and short so its a lot easier to deal with, I think I’m going to really love it as soon as it gets really hot here. I put a picture up there so you can kind of get a feel for it, but I have it half up in the picture so it looks a little different than normal.
Well, I have to run because a train's leaving for Rome in 30 minutes and I've got to be on it! My mom and Grandparents made it safely to Rome and have been touring around for the day. I will meet up with them around 6 pm and then it's on to a super fun week in Napoli, Pompeii, Capri and Sicily and back to Florence! I will be posting about it the week after next and I'll be sure to put up some fun pictures!
I hope everyone has a fantastic week, I love you all!!
Mary K.
Ok, I have to apologize for a few things right off the bat. First of all, I am sorry it has taken me so long to write on my bog. It was finals week this week and as much as I tried to procrastinate (and succeeded in some cases) I just never got enough time to sit and write a good blog post!
I also must apologize because I have been promising to tell you all about Lake Guarda, Venice and Verona and I am afraid I won't be able to. Why? Well, I don’t exactly know, except that every time I sit down to and start writing about it I get annoyed and stop. The trip was great, don't get me wrong, and to be honest I have no idea why writing about it is so impossible but I guess, since it is, I'll just have to tell you about it in person when I get back! So be sure to ask about it if you’re interested! They were all three beautiful places, and Venice is probably one of my favorite cities so far. I have pictures up on the new slide show so you'll get to see them and I'll write some captions here in a minute!
Ok- So about this week. Actually it was a pretty funny week despite the stress and annoying exams! I'll just go through the week and if I remember a funny story I'll write it out! Deal!? Deal!
Monday: On Monday my Art History class (did I ever tell you I was taking Art History? No? Well I am!) went to the Palazzo Vecchio which is a really old palace built in the 13th century. During the 15th century it was renovated, so to speak, by an artist named Vassari (that's his last name). Vassari created several major masterpieces for the ceiling of the Palazzo, along with tons of minor paintings and frescos all over the place. Of course we went to take a tour, however, this was no ordinary tour. Oh no...on this tour we were going to be walking and talking with Vassari HIMSELF....how can this be you ask?? Well, basically a 20 something Italian man is paid to dress up like Vassari, know everything about him and the time period he lives in and gives us "his" thoughts on all of the paintings and frescoes we see as if it was the 1500's and he was Vassari. At first I thought this was a pretty great idea, but soon after we began things just got awkward. First of all, our dear sweet sweet tour guide, Alberto....I mean, Vassari, didn't speak English very well. He got several words mixed up during the tour making for some pretty great quotes. My favorite "Vassari-ism" went something like this:
Vassari to a girl in my class: Why do you wear pants and not a dress, YOU ARE NAKED!
Girl: It's too hot to wear a dress! Why did they wear them during the summer anyway?
Vassari: Because, you see...a woman's body is full of...of...PEACH.
All of us: Peach?
Vassari: Si! Peach...peach!!
All of us: *Blank stare*
Vassari to my teacher: Come se Dice 'peccato' in inglese? *teacher answers*
Vassari: OOOO, SIN! a woman's body is full of SIN therefore she must wear the dresses!!
....Peaches...Sin...sure I can see how they sound the same. I am no longer going to feel bad for mixing up my Italian words haha. I loved Alberto- he was a great sport!
Tuesday: Ok....I admit it. I crumbled, I gave in to my cravings and I caved and I ....I went to McDonalds! I KNOW! I KNOW! I am in ITLAY, HOOWWW could I possibly have gone to MCDONALDS! Here's how. First of all, the McD's in Italy smell better than the ones in the US. I think it's because they use sunflower seed oil instead of what the US uses. Second of all, all of my roomies and I decided latish Wednesday night that we were craving some chocolate cake, so we headed out in search for some! unfortunately its not possible in Italy to eat just dessert at a restaurant so no one would let us sit down and order cake. We didn't feel like gelato though, and the only American bakery in Florence closed three hours before we set out. So we just started walking, hoping we would happen upon a sweet little trattoria that would let us have some cake. And then we saw the golden arches. We all looked at each other and said....Meh...Why not! They all got Mcflurries but as soon as I stepped inside the craving for their fries I had been fighting for the last 5 weeks came rushing back and I had to order some. They were delicious. I do not regret it haha.
Wednesday: Wednesday was spent cramming for the exam I had in Art History on Thursday
Thursday: I took an exam, it was fine! It was one of my roommate's (Olivia) last night in Florence so all my roomies and I took her out to dinner at a really cute place called Trattatoria Nerone. In case you are wondering a Trattatoria is a little family owned restaurant, they are pretty much the norm here and you are guaranteed a wonderful meal and a friendly smile. Emma came along (it was her last night too) and we had dinner, went to Grome, our favorite gelato place and finally ended up in Piazza Della Signoria were we listened to a guy play some Simon and Garfunkel on his guitar for about an hour. It was amazing!!!
Friday: Today....today I accomplished one of my goals! I got my haircut in Italy! It was so scary!!! I printed off a picture or two of what I wanted and I took to the hair salon a friend of mine had recommended. The girl who cut my hair didn't speak English or understand my weak Italian- eek!- but her friend did so he made sure she knew what I was looking for. And then she had me stand up...and took an electric razor...and chopped off three inches in one foul swoop. I nearly cried but then I remembered it was just hair! She took about two hours to shape and style it, the whole time using an electric and then an old school blade barbars use on men’s beards. I was pretty freaked out by the end of it. I walked out convinced I looked like a boy until I got home and all of my roommates freaked out with a round of "OOO MY GOSH IT LOOKS GREATTTT!!!!!"...I love them. I have played with it some and I really love it. Its EXTREMELY thinned out and short so its a lot easier to deal with, I think I’m going to really love it as soon as it gets really hot here. I put a picture up there so you can kind of get a feel for it, but I have it half up in the picture so it looks a little different than normal.
Well, I have to run because a train's leaving for Rome in 30 minutes and I've got to be on it! My mom and Grandparents made it safely to Rome and have been touring around for the day. I will meet up with them around 6 pm and then it's on to a super fun week in Napoli, Pompeii, Capri and Sicily and back to Florence! I will be posting about it the week after next and I'll be sure to put up some fun pictures!
I hope everyone has a fantastic week, I love you all!!
Mary K.
June 10, 2008
There are no Squirrels in Florence
It's true. And coming from College Station, where squirrels practically outnumber the students, I am surprised it took me this long to notice!
How's everybody doing?! I am great; today was a monumental day for me. Actually the last two days have been good, but I'll get to yesterday in a minute. Today two significant things happened. The first was getting on a first name basis with Marbola, the sweetest little barista in the News Café, where I get my cappuccino and croissant every morning. Every day for the last few weeks we have smiled animatedly, said ciao to each other, asked how the other was (in Italian of course) and exchanged coffee and cash. And that was great, but I really wanted to talk to her and get to know her, she seemed so sweet. So last week I began attempting to chat with her. Unfortunately I would get so intimidated that my Italian failed me and I couldn't say more than three words before I resorted to a pathetic "uuhh...*Smile and shrug*". She was really sweet and helped me say what I was trying to say but it was emotionally exhausting for me and our conversations were never more than two sentences long. But today I decided to try again- perseverance!- and I asked her name. That kicked off a good little chat about my name, our ages and why I was here. So it was a lot better, and I think I made a good friend. I'll keep you updated, hopefully my Italian will get better and we can talk more!
The second monumental occurrence of the day actually happened about five minutes after my conversation with Marbola. Today I felt my first surge of pride for my little neighborhood. While I was enjoying my cappuccino, a group of tourists walked by, heading towards the leather market. While they were passing my table I heard their leader say rather loudly, "Now watch your purses and your pockets! Do you have locks on that backpack!? Keep everything close now!". This made me angry! How dare he accuse my sweet little neighborhood with my sweet little Italian neighbors of being thieves. If they were walking past the Duomo sure, but in my neighborhood?!?! No way. Ok sure, there are some creepers in the leather market, but the worst one is the guy who calls out terrible pickup lines every time you pass by. My personal favorite is the " Wait Bella, you've dropped something... (I keep walking)...Bella, Bella, you've dropped my heart!" But I have even come to find that guy endearing. So please Mr. Guide, if you're going to accuse a part of town of being sketchy, I suggest you look elsewhere!
Yesterday was, like I said, another great day! I skipped class with a few of my roommates because it was one of the first pretty days we have had in Florence. I don't think I have mentioned it yet in my blog but Italy is experiencing its rainiest summer in 2 CENTURIES! CENTURIES! Are you kidding me, I chose the ONE rainy summer out of 200 gorgeous ones....ha! The Italians are in an uproar about it too. It has been kind of frustrating actually because Florence isn't as pretty when the skies are gray and rainy. Not to mention I have no desire to sit and read in a garden or walk around a museum when it’s cold. So when we woke up and it was gorgeous outside we just couldn't help it! Don't worry- we get two free absences and I haven’t skipped class yet, nor do I plan on doing it again so I promise it wasn't a big deal :)! We decided to go the Boboli Gardens and enjoy the sun and warm weather. The Boboli Gardens is located on the southern side of Florence (also the more residential and less touristy part of town). It is a gorgeous and huge plot of land divided by geometrically shaped hedges, beautiful fountains, and big spacious lawns. It sits right behind the Piti Palace and use to be a private oasis for the Medici's, an incredibly wealthy royal family in Florence way back when. We brought some books to read and a blanket and just lounged and chatted. It was probably one of the best mornings yet!
So I really can't complain about this week! It has been amazing! Last week was probably my most difficult as far as homesickness goes. I suppose that makes sense. I had been here for three weeks and I was looking ahead at 6 more. A bunch of the kids I have been hanging out with on a daily basis (including Emma and Lee) are only here for the first 5 week term, so everyone was talking about what they were going to do when they got home in two weeks. It was really hard to listen to the food they were going to eat, people they were going to see and things they were going to do knowing I had another month and half before I got back to any of the things I was missing. So there were a few low points. I am convinced the rain didn't help. But this week I am better; the sun is shining and I am making some progress in my goals. The same kids are even telling me how lucky I am that I get to stay longer, and I am beginning to agree with them. Not to mention the huge bonus that Mom, Maw maw and Pawpaw will be here next week!!! We have been planning a ten-day trip for the time in-between my class sessions and it has really been helping with my homesickness! I am really looking forward to having them up, though I wish all of you could come. I am convinced this trip would be better if everyone I loved were here, though I know I wouldn't be growing so much if they all were.
This post is getting long so I am going to say Buona Sera, and leave you for now. But I will write back soon about my trip last weekend to Venice and Verona! I hope you all have a great day!!
Love,
Mary K
How's everybody doing?! I am great; today was a monumental day for me. Actually the last two days have been good, but I'll get to yesterday in a minute. Today two significant things happened. The first was getting on a first name basis with Marbola, the sweetest little barista in the News Café, where I get my cappuccino and croissant every morning. Every day for the last few weeks we have smiled animatedly, said ciao to each other, asked how the other was (in Italian of course) and exchanged coffee and cash. And that was great, but I really wanted to talk to her and get to know her, she seemed so sweet. So last week I began attempting to chat with her. Unfortunately I would get so intimidated that my Italian failed me and I couldn't say more than three words before I resorted to a pathetic "uuhh...*Smile and shrug*". She was really sweet and helped me say what I was trying to say but it was emotionally exhausting for me and our conversations were never more than two sentences long. But today I decided to try again- perseverance!- and I asked her name. That kicked off a good little chat about my name, our ages and why I was here. So it was a lot better, and I think I made a good friend. I'll keep you updated, hopefully my Italian will get better and we can talk more!
The second monumental occurrence of the day actually happened about five minutes after my conversation with Marbola. Today I felt my first surge of pride for my little neighborhood. While I was enjoying my cappuccino, a group of tourists walked by, heading towards the leather market. While they were passing my table I heard their leader say rather loudly, "Now watch your purses and your pockets! Do you have locks on that backpack!? Keep everything close now!". This made me angry! How dare he accuse my sweet little neighborhood with my sweet little Italian neighbors of being thieves. If they were walking past the Duomo sure, but in my neighborhood?!?! No way. Ok sure, there are some creepers in the leather market, but the worst one is the guy who calls out terrible pickup lines every time you pass by. My personal favorite is the " Wait Bella, you've dropped something... (I keep walking)...Bella, Bella, you've dropped my heart!" But I have even come to find that guy endearing. So please Mr. Guide, if you're going to accuse a part of town of being sketchy, I suggest you look elsewhere!
Yesterday was, like I said, another great day! I skipped class with a few of my roommates because it was one of the first pretty days we have had in Florence. I don't think I have mentioned it yet in my blog but Italy is experiencing its rainiest summer in 2 CENTURIES! CENTURIES! Are you kidding me, I chose the ONE rainy summer out of 200 gorgeous ones....ha! The Italians are in an uproar about it too. It has been kind of frustrating actually because Florence isn't as pretty when the skies are gray and rainy. Not to mention I have no desire to sit and read in a garden or walk around a museum when it’s cold. So when we woke up and it was gorgeous outside we just couldn't help it! Don't worry- we get two free absences and I haven’t skipped class yet, nor do I plan on doing it again so I promise it wasn't a big deal :)! We decided to go the Boboli Gardens and enjoy the sun and warm weather. The Boboli Gardens is located on the southern side of Florence (also the more residential and less touristy part of town). It is a gorgeous and huge plot of land divided by geometrically shaped hedges, beautiful fountains, and big spacious lawns. It sits right behind the Piti Palace and use to be a private oasis for the Medici's, an incredibly wealthy royal family in Florence way back when. We brought some books to read and a blanket and just lounged and chatted. It was probably one of the best mornings yet!
So I really can't complain about this week! It has been amazing! Last week was probably my most difficult as far as homesickness goes. I suppose that makes sense. I had been here for three weeks and I was looking ahead at 6 more. A bunch of the kids I have been hanging out with on a daily basis (including Emma and Lee) are only here for the first 5 week term, so everyone was talking about what they were going to do when they got home in two weeks. It was really hard to listen to the food they were going to eat, people they were going to see and things they were going to do knowing I had another month and half before I got back to any of the things I was missing. So there were a few low points. I am convinced the rain didn't help. But this week I am better; the sun is shining and I am making some progress in my goals. The same kids are even telling me how lucky I am that I get to stay longer, and I am beginning to agree with them. Not to mention the huge bonus that Mom, Maw maw and Pawpaw will be here next week!!! We have been planning a ten-day trip for the time in-between my class sessions and it has really been helping with my homesickness! I am really looking forward to having them up, though I wish all of you could come. I am convinced this trip would be better if everyone I loved were here, though I know I wouldn't be growing so much if they all were.
This post is getting long so I am going to say Buona Sera, and leave you for now. But I will write back soon about my trip last weekend to Venice and Verona! I hope you all have a great day!!
Love,
Mary K
June 3, 2008
Yay for Comments!
Hi All!
Several of you have been asking me how you can comment on my blog if you are not a gmail user! You are in luck my friends because I have just fixed it up so everyone can comment!! What you do iissss:
1. click on the "# comments" link at the very bottom right hand side of the post you wish to comment on
2. Write your comment in the box!
3. Click on the bubble next to "Name/URL" Type in your name, Don't worry about URL, just leave that blank
4. Click "Publish Comment"- It won't show up as a comment right away because I have requested to check every comment for the random crazys I dont know.
Va Bene?? Let me know if y'all have any problems but I am pretty sure that should work! So thanks for letting me know I needed to fix that, y'all make me smile! I will probably post next week so till then- Have a good one!!!
Love, Mary K
Several of you have been asking me how you can comment on my blog if you are not a gmail user! You are in luck my friends because I have just fixed it up so everyone can comment!! What you do iissss:
1. click on the "# comments" link at the very bottom right hand side of the post you wish to comment on
2. Write your comment in the box!
3. Click on the bubble next to "Name/URL" Type in your name, Don't worry about URL, just leave that blank
4. Click "Publish Comment"- It won't show up as a comment right away because I have requested to check every comment for the random crazys I dont know.
Va Bene?? Let me know if y'all have any problems but I am pretty sure that should work! So thanks for letting me know I needed to fix that, y'all make me smile! I will probably post next week so till then- Have a good one!!!
Love, Mary K
June 2, 2008
Pictures!
Here are some descriptions of the pictures for the new slide show! The pictures are from "Everything is smaller in Italy..." and "Gelato in the Rain". Enjoy!!
Siena:
1.Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza Del Campo
2.Torre del Mangia in the Piazza del Campo
3. A bird's eye view of the Piazza Del Campo- not my picture by the way!
Castello Di Volpaia:
4. a cute sign!
5. A cool ally way
6. A gorgeous door I found
7. Castello's Wine Vats
8. These were the Barrels that held the Wine!
9. This is the incredible spread they served us for the Olive Oil Tasting
10.A gorgeous veiw from the Castello
Pisa:
11. The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Me!
12.The Duomo of Pisa and the Leaning Belltower!
Milan:
13. Emma Lee and Me boarding our train to Milan!
14.Alex, Lee, Me, Emma and Alan in front of the Duomo of Milan
15.A view of the side of Milan's Duomo and the sculptures that decorate the entire outside
16.The Alter inside of the Duomo
17.The arches and nave of the Duomo from the back of the church
18. The Galleria of Milan!
19.Me Scowling at Mcdonalds for being in the middle of such a beautiful place, who do they think they are!?!?!
20. Louis Vuitton in the Galleria
21. Prada and its 6,000 Euro Purses in the Galleria
22. Me spinning three times in a bulls testicles for good luck!
23. The Castello Sforzesco in Milan
24. The Lover's Bridge
25. Emma and Me on the train to Lake Como- a suprise picture obviously haha thanks Lee!
26. Lake Como from the boat!
27. Emma, Alan, Lee, Alex, Bruno and Me eating Gelato in Cerenobbio!
28. Bruno, Alan, Lee, Emma, Me and Alex with Lake Como behind us!
29. The hills around Lake Como
30. Another view of Lake Como
Siena:
1.Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza Del Campo
2.Torre del Mangia in the Piazza del Campo
3. A bird's eye view of the Piazza Del Campo- not my picture by the way!
Castello Di Volpaia:
4. a cute sign!
5. A cool ally way
6. A gorgeous door I found
7. Castello's Wine Vats
8. These were the Barrels that held the Wine!
9. This is the incredible spread they served us for the Olive Oil Tasting
10.A gorgeous veiw from the Castello
Pisa:
11. The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Me!
12.The Duomo of Pisa and the Leaning Belltower!
Milan:
13. Emma Lee and Me boarding our train to Milan!
14.Alex, Lee, Me, Emma and Alan in front of the Duomo of Milan
15.A view of the side of Milan's Duomo and the sculptures that decorate the entire outside
16.The Alter inside of the Duomo
17.The arches and nave of the Duomo from the back of the church
18. The Galleria of Milan!
19.Me Scowling at Mcdonalds for being in the middle of such a beautiful place, who do they think they are!?!?!
20. Louis Vuitton in the Galleria
21. Prada and its 6,000 Euro Purses in the Galleria
22. Me spinning three times in a bulls testicles for good luck!
23. The Castello Sforzesco in Milan
24. The Lover's Bridge
25. Emma and Me on the train to Lake Como- a suprise picture obviously haha thanks Lee!
26. Lake Como from the boat!
27. Emma, Alan, Lee, Alex, Bruno and Me eating Gelato in Cerenobbio!
28. Bruno, Alan, Lee, Emma, Me and Alex with Lake Como behind us!
29. The hills around Lake Como
30. Another view of Lake Como
Gelato in the Rain
I thought this title post up while walking in the rain, with my umbrella in my right hand, and a huge scoop of gelato in my left. I felt it was a beautiful phrase and incoporated everything I loved about Italy. The rain, and the gelato.
Ok, maybe that isn't ALL that I love about Italy but it is two of my favorite things.
This weekend we went to Milan!! We being Emma, Lee, Alan, and Alex. We were five Aggies setting out to explore an unknown land!! Luckily we had a guide, or we would have failed miserably, how about I just start with Friday and let the story unfold on its own!!
OK! So Friday (May 30th) all five of us met at the train station in Florence about 45 minutes before our train was supposed to leave. We had not bought our tickets yet but we had been assured we wouldn't have any problems. Lies. The next three trains were completely full, but luckily there was a train leaving about an hour and half later than we were planning and it would only put us about an hour behind schedule. We got our tickets and decided to chill in the Caffe at the station until our train was here. We had a great time talking, we had not traveled with these guys before so it was a lot of fun getting to know them. Both Alex and Alan were Juniors at A&M and are members of a Christian fraternity BCA (Brotherhood of Christian Aggies) so we all knew the same people (Like Cabby) and had a ton to talk about! Finally it was time to find our platform and get on the train! We found our compartment and met a nice Italian guy who was going to share our compartment with us. He slept most of the way and had terrible B.O. but he was very nice, and told us where to go to get the best gelato in Milan. Anyone who can point my in the direction of the best Gelato is a friend in my book.
The train ride was 3.5 hours and filled with Alan singing along with his Ipod, Alex drifting in and out of sleep and the three of us girls switching between magazines, catching up on journaling and videotaping Alan singing off tune. Over all it was a great ride and we laughed a lot. We finally arrived in Milan at 10:30pm and as soon as we stepped off the train and looked around (Milan has a beautiful trainstation) we were met by Bruno. Everytime I said his name I thought about Uncle Mike Fod! Bruno is a native Texan who actually, come to find out, lives off of Cambell Road in Houston, so about three minutes away from all of my family in Houston. He graduated from A&M, got his masters, and then moved to Milan about three years ago and knows the city like the back of his hand. Alex knew him from BCA so they were already good friends. The guys took us to find our Hotel and we got our first glimpse of Milan. Basically I would have to say Milan is a pretty city in the same way New York is a pretty city. Expensive stores line the streets, and window shopping is incredible. Its really just a huge City, completely different from Florence or Rome. The only efficient means of transportation is by subway (again like New York) and without Bruno I know we would have gotten lost instantly, their subway system is HUGE.
The next day, Saturday the 31st, the guys picked us up at our hotel at 9:30 and Bruno had the whole day planned for us. He took us straight to the Duomo of Milan, which was one of the most beautiful and freakiest Duomo's I have ever seen. I say freaky because the whole outside of the church is "decorated" with statues of martyed saints in the exact position they were martyred in. Actually, that is why this is the only Duomo that will never be finished. They will continue to add on saints and Popes forever. Not exactly a cheerful look, but definetly one that makes you stand in awe for a few minutes. We went inside of the church which was also incredible and I have a few pictures of it up there on the slide show! To get in you have to pass a few police men checking bags, but I didnt realize this and just walked on through. They stopped Emma and Lee but they never bothered me. When I asked Bruno if it was a problem he said no, they didn't stop me because I looked like an Italian woman and they typically only stop Americans. This ofcourse made my day (it was one of my goals to be mistaken for a native Italian woman by a local and I had just fooled 4!!) SO I can go home happy now. hahaha.
After the Duomo we did a little more sightseeing, went to a really cool castel: Castello Sforesco. We also walked through a gorgeous park that was huge and soooo green. There were people holding hands and cuddeling and kissng everywhere in that park. We crossed a little bridge that had a ton of locks on it, we asked Bruno about them and he said that every time a couple decided to get married they would bring a lock with their names etched on it, lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the river under the bridge. We girls were just oodeling over this idea, pledging one day we would come back, Alan and Alex said it made the bridge look dumpy...boys...no appreciation for the beautiful things in life!
After all of the sighseeing Bruno took us to the train station and we bought tickets to go to Lake Como!! We took a 50 minute train ride there, got off and bought a ticket to get on a boat that would take us to a couple little towns off of the lake so we could get off and explore. Of course the lake was beautiful but it was a little gray out so the pictures above probably do it no justice. We got off at a little town called Cerenobbio. It was a cute little town right off the Lake. We got some gelato and headed up the hill (or mountain it felt like!) to get a better picture of the lake below and then walked down it. We got back on the boat after about an hour of hiking and snapping pictures and headed back to the mainland. Once we got there we hopped back on the train to Milan. We were pretty hungry by the time we got back to Milan so Bruno took us to a very chic restuarant for "Happy Hour". Happy Hour in Milan is a lot different than in the States. In Milan at about 8 o'clock pm Happy Hour begins, and at this particular restuarant you pay 8 Euro and you get a drink (I chose a Mojito) and you get to munch on an extravagant all you can eat bar. The variety of food was incredible and it tatsted so good. We aren't talking a CiCi's pizza buffet here, we are talking high class food, it was amazing. We sat and talked for a really long time and left around 10pm. We were stuffed but Bruno swore he knew where the best gelato was so we went and tatsted it...two gelatos in one day...forget the freshman 15, I'm reachin for the Italian 30! It was great but I was so over stuffed that by the time we reached our hotel it was all I could do to stay awake long enough to get into bed!
We wanted to catch a 7 am train the next morning to go to Cinque Terre so the guys picked us up at 6:30am. We made it late to the train station and didn't make our train, and as frustrating as that was it turns out it was a huge blessing. At 7:15am there was a train station strike somewhere in the region and all of the trains that go into that region (which would have been ours) stopped running for the day. So while we would have made it to Cinque Terre, there was little chance we would have made it back to Florence that night like we were planning. We decided to call it a weekend and head back to Florence on an 8:30am train. We caught it and went home and we just lounged around Florence for the rest of yesturday and today. It was a fantastic weekend, but we were exhausted.
So that was my weekend in Milan! I hope you are all doing well! I think about each of you often and miss you tons! Thanks for keepin up with me, it means a lot to me! Have a great week! I will talk to you soon!
Love, MK
Ok, maybe that isn't ALL that I love about Italy but it is two of my favorite things.
This weekend we went to Milan!! We being Emma, Lee, Alan, and Alex. We were five Aggies setting out to explore an unknown land!! Luckily we had a guide, or we would have failed miserably, how about I just start with Friday and let the story unfold on its own!!
OK! So Friday (May 30th) all five of us met at the train station in Florence about 45 minutes before our train was supposed to leave. We had not bought our tickets yet but we had been assured we wouldn't have any problems. Lies. The next three trains were completely full, but luckily there was a train leaving about an hour and half later than we were planning and it would only put us about an hour behind schedule. We got our tickets and decided to chill in the Caffe at the station until our train was here. We had a great time talking, we had not traveled with these guys before so it was a lot of fun getting to know them. Both Alex and Alan were Juniors at A&M and are members of a Christian fraternity BCA (Brotherhood of Christian Aggies) so we all knew the same people (Like Cabby) and had a ton to talk about! Finally it was time to find our platform and get on the train! We found our compartment and met a nice Italian guy who was going to share our compartment with us. He slept most of the way and had terrible B.O. but he was very nice, and told us where to go to get the best gelato in Milan. Anyone who can point my in the direction of the best Gelato is a friend in my book.
The train ride was 3.5 hours and filled with Alan singing along with his Ipod, Alex drifting in and out of sleep and the three of us girls switching between magazines, catching up on journaling and videotaping Alan singing off tune. Over all it was a great ride and we laughed a lot. We finally arrived in Milan at 10:30pm and as soon as we stepped off the train and looked around (Milan has a beautiful trainstation) we were met by Bruno. Everytime I said his name I thought about Uncle Mike Fod! Bruno is a native Texan who actually, come to find out, lives off of Cambell Road in Houston, so about three minutes away from all of my family in Houston. He graduated from A&M, got his masters, and then moved to Milan about three years ago and knows the city like the back of his hand. Alex knew him from BCA so they were already good friends. The guys took us to find our Hotel and we got our first glimpse of Milan. Basically I would have to say Milan is a pretty city in the same way New York is a pretty city. Expensive stores line the streets, and window shopping is incredible. Its really just a huge City, completely different from Florence or Rome. The only efficient means of transportation is by subway (again like New York) and without Bruno I know we would have gotten lost instantly, their subway system is HUGE.
The next day, Saturday the 31st, the guys picked us up at our hotel at 9:30 and Bruno had the whole day planned for us. He took us straight to the Duomo of Milan, which was one of the most beautiful and freakiest Duomo's I have ever seen. I say freaky because the whole outside of the church is "decorated" with statues of martyed saints in the exact position they were martyred in. Actually, that is why this is the only Duomo that will never be finished. They will continue to add on saints and Popes forever. Not exactly a cheerful look, but definetly one that makes you stand in awe for a few minutes. We went inside of the church which was also incredible and I have a few pictures of it up there on the slide show! To get in you have to pass a few police men checking bags, but I didnt realize this and just walked on through. They stopped Emma and Lee but they never bothered me. When I asked Bruno if it was a problem he said no, they didn't stop me because I looked like an Italian woman and they typically only stop Americans. This ofcourse made my day (it was one of my goals to be mistaken for a native Italian woman by a local and I had just fooled 4!!) SO I can go home happy now. hahaha.
After the Duomo we did a little more sightseeing, went to a really cool castel: Castello Sforesco. We also walked through a gorgeous park that was huge and soooo green. There were people holding hands and cuddeling and kissng everywhere in that park. We crossed a little bridge that had a ton of locks on it, we asked Bruno about them and he said that every time a couple decided to get married they would bring a lock with their names etched on it, lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the river under the bridge. We girls were just oodeling over this idea, pledging one day we would come back, Alan and Alex said it made the bridge look dumpy...boys...no appreciation for the beautiful things in life!
After all of the sighseeing Bruno took us to the train station and we bought tickets to go to Lake Como!! We took a 50 minute train ride there, got off and bought a ticket to get on a boat that would take us to a couple little towns off of the lake so we could get off and explore. Of course the lake was beautiful but it was a little gray out so the pictures above probably do it no justice. We got off at a little town called Cerenobbio. It was a cute little town right off the Lake. We got some gelato and headed up the hill (or mountain it felt like!) to get a better picture of the lake below and then walked down it. We got back on the boat after about an hour of hiking and snapping pictures and headed back to the mainland. Once we got there we hopped back on the train to Milan. We were pretty hungry by the time we got back to Milan so Bruno took us to a very chic restuarant for "Happy Hour". Happy Hour in Milan is a lot different than in the States. In Milan at about 8 o'clock pm Happy Hour begins, and at this particular restuarant you pay 8 Euro and you get a drink (I chose a Mojito) and you get to munch on an extravagant all you can eat bar. The variety of food was incredible and it tatsted so good. We aren't talking a CiCi's pizza buffet here, we are talking high class food, it was amazing. We sat and talked for a really long time and left around 10pm. We were stuffed but Bruno swore he knew where the best gelato was so we went and tatsted it...two gelatos in one day...forget the freshman 15, I'm reachin for the Italian 30! It was great but I was so over stuffed that by the time we reached our hotel it was all I could do to stay awake long enough to get into bed!
We wanted to catch a 7 am train the next morning to go to Cinque Terre so the guys picked us up at 6:30am. We made it late to the train station and didn't make our train, and as frustrating as that was it turns out it was a huge blessing. At 7:15am there was a train station strike somewhere in the region and all of the trains that go into that region (which would have been ours) stopped running for the day. So while we would have made it to Cinque Terre, there was little chance we would have made it back to Florence that night like we were planning. We decided to call it a weekend and head back to Florence on an 8:30am train. We caught it and went home and we just lounged around Florence for the rest of yesturday and today. It was a fantastic weekend, but we were exhausted.
So that was my weekend in Milan! I hope you are all doing well! I think about each of you often and miss you tons! Thanks for keepin up with me, it means a lot to me! Have a great week! I will talk to you soon!
Love, MK
May 27, 2008
Everything is Smaller in Italy, Except the Sugar Packets!
The title of this post was inspired by something our Resident Director, Frederica, said when we were getting a cappucino one morning! Its true too, unless you count the mammoth churches. But other than the churches the coffee is smaller, the portions of food are smaller, the glasses you get for water are smaller....everything is smaller, except for the sugar packets, which are about one and a half of the sugar packets that we know in love in the states!
I never got to tell you about our Excursion to Siena, so I am going to do that now before I go on! On Friday, May 23rd, API took us on a bus ride at 9 in the morning to Siena, a little tuscan town out in the middle of the country side. It was a beautiful ride there, gorgeous rolling hills, those little spear like trees ( I have been meaning to learn their name) and the occasional vinyard. Everythign you would expect and more! When we got to Siena, we instantly started a walking tour (ANOTHER walking tour) of the little town. Siena is beautiful, it is the little italian town you always imagine, the narrow winding roads, quaint ally ways with hanging baskets and amazing wooden doors. I have to admit that I found it really hard to concentrate and listen during the tour (after 5 tours in one week I think that is understandable) so I don't really know any cool facts about any of the churches or buildings. However I did pay attention the moment we rounded the corner and I got a veiw of Siena's main attraction: Piazza Del Campo! This piazza is HHUUGGEEE. Its a large brick floored semi-circle that is surrounded by caffe's and continuous wall of apartment buildings. It doesnt sound pretty, but it is! I will put pictures up of it in just a minute. Anyway, on the flat side of the semi circle (or shell, as they put it) is the Palazzo Pubblico (Public Palace) and the Torre del Mangia (Tower of Eating??). The cool part about this piazza is that every year, on July 2nd and again in August, there is a Horse Race: Il Palio. This isnt just any horse race though- the Sienese live for this thing! There are 15 or so neighborhoods in Siena (which is amazing because this town is TINY) and each neighborhood invests all of its extra cash into helping their horse win! They even bring the horse into their church to have it properly blessed the day of the Race. Its a huge ceremony and people actually cry its so emotional. The race itself is very dangerous considering the shell shaped sloped piazza. The horses gain an incredible amount of speed and turn at scary angles. All in all the race lasts about 75 seconds- guarenteed to be the most thrilling 75 seconds of your life. If your not crushed to death by the crowds assembled in the piazza, that is. At any rate, if there's a chance I can make this you can bet I'll be there- I will even find a neighborhood and see if they will adopt me for the day, I'm Italian, they should like me...right? :)
After Siena we took a one hour drive up a VERY windy and narrow road up into the tuscan hill country. We ended at Castello di Volpaia, an Olive Oil producing village.
A Quick Note about Italian Driving Skills: We are talking death defining skills here! Donato (or DoDo for short) was my driver for this trip. On our way to Siena he straddeled the dotted white line for atleast half of the trip, and moved over only seconds before the car on his right (or left) got to close. On our way to Castello Di Volpaia, he reached unheard of speeds and never missed a car by more than 5 inches. Talk about heart attacks, Frederica on the other hand (who was chatting with DoDo the entire time) thought nothing of his driving! Moral of the story: Never play chicken with an Italian...it turns out thats how they learned to drive!
I don't have much to say about Castello di Volpaia except WOW. A lot of the kids going the excursion said they would live in Siena in a heart beat...and ok, I can see that maybe before we went to Castello but after...no way, I am in love. If I dont come back home this August, you can find me in Castello Di Volpaia. Its a gorgeous town- no words can describe it so soon I will post pictures so your jaw can drop too. Cobble stone streets, beautiful rose vines creeping up old walls and over heavy wooden doors. Sweet old ladies sitting on the bench smiling and nodding as we passed by. Oh...so amazing. We had an olive oil tasting in an old church, which was great, I loved their oil (and bought some). Then it began to rain and we went home!
Saturday we spent in Florence walking around town and shopping! I began to feel more and more comfortable in the city, less homesick and more excited to explore. I really enjoyed saturday. On Sunday it was Emma's 19th Birthday (she's a youngin')! She wanted to go to Pisa so at 9 am we hopped on a train to Pisa and arrived there by 10:30! I love the train system here, I have no idea why America doesnt have trains. I could be in Fort Worth College Station in 1.5 hours tops if we had a train station! Pisa itself was unremarkable. The city was dirty and sleepy (keep in mind it was sunday so most of the shops were closed) and we got hit on more in the two hours we were there than in the entire week we had just spent in the country. Pisa men are gross. As gross as the city was, as soon as we turned the last corner we all three stopped, our jaws dropped, and we were sold! The leaning tower was so cool! It was definetly huge, but it was so thin! It was beautiful. We had lunch a cute little caffe and headed home! We just hung out in florence, went to dinner and chilled for the night because the next day was classes!
I will save that for next time because once again this has been an abnormally long post! But I love you all! And I hope you are all having fantastic weeks!!! Email me if you get the chane, I would to hear how y'all are doing!
Love,
Mary K
I never got to tell you about our Excursion to Siena, so I am going to do that now before I go on! On Friday, May 23rd, API took us on a bus ride at 9 in the morning to Siena, a little tuscan town out in the middle of the country side. It was a beautiful ride there, gorgeous rolling hills, those little spear like trees ( I have been meaning to learn their name) and the occasional vinyard. Everythign you would expect and more! When we got to Siena, we instantly started a walking tour (ANOTHER walking tour) of the little town. Siena is beautiful, it is the little italian town you always imagine, the narrow winding roads, quaint ally ways with hanging baskets and amazing wooden doors. I have to admit that I found it really hard to concentrate and listen during the tour (after 5 tours in one week I think that is understandable) so I don't really know any cool facts about any of the churches or buildings. However I did pay attention the moment we rounded the corner and I got a veiw of Siena's main attraction: Piazza Del Campo! This piazza is HHUUGGEEE. Its a large brick floored semi-circle that is surrounded by caffe's and continuous wall of apartment buildings. It doesnt sound pretty, but it is! I will put pictures up of it in just a minute. Anyway, on the flat side of the semi circle (or shell, as they put it) is the Palazzo Pubblico (Public Palace) and the Torre del Mangia (Tower of Eating??). The cool part about this piazza is that every year, on July 2nd and again in August, there is a Horse Race: Il Palio. This isnt just any horse race though- the Sienese live for this thing! There are 15 or so neighborhoods in Siena (which is amazing because this town is TINY) and each neighborhood invests all of its extra cash into helping their horse win! They even bring the horse into their church to have it properly blessed the day of the Race. Its a huge ceremony and people actually cry its so emotional. The race itself is very dangerous considering the shell shaped sloped piazza. The horses gain an incredible amount of speed and turn at scary angles. All in all the race lasts about 75 seconds- guarenteed to be the most thrilling 75 seconds of your life. If your not crushed to death by the crowds assembled in the piazza, that is. At any rate, if there's a chance I can make this you can bet I'll be there- I will even find a neighborhood and see if they will adopt me for the day, I'm Italian, they should like me...right? :)
After Siena we took a one hour drive up a VERY windy and narrow road up into the tuscan hill country. We ended at Castello di Volpaia, an Olive Oil producing village.
A Quick Note about Italian Driving Skills: We are talking death defining skills here! Donato (or DoDo for short) was my driver for this trip. On our way to Siena he straddeled the dotted white line for atleast half of the trip, and moved over only seconds before the car on his right (or left) got to close. On our way to Castello Di Volpaia, he reached unheard of speeds and never missed a car by more than 5 inches. Talk about heart attacks, Frederica on the other hand (who was chatting with DoDo the entire time) thought nothing of his driving! Moral of the story: Never play chicken with an Italian...it turns out thats how they learned to drive!
I don't have much to say about Castello di Volpaia except WOW. A lot of the kids going the excursion said they would live in Siena in a heart beat...and ok, I can see that maybe before we went to Castello but after...no way, I am in love. If I dont come back home this August, you can find me in Castello Di Volpaia. Its a gorgeous town- no words can describe it so soon I will post pictures so your jaw can drop too. Cobble stone streets, beautiful rose vines creeping up old walls and over heavy wooden doors. Sweet old ladies sitting on the bench smiling and nodding as we passed by. Oh...so amazing. We had an olive oil tasting in an old church, which was great, I loved their oil (and bought some). Then it began to rain and we went home!
Saturday we spent in Florence walking around town and shopping! I began to feel more and more comfortable in the city, less homesick and more excited to explore. I really enjoyed saturday. On Sunday it was Emma's 19th Birthday (she's a youngin')! She wanted to go to Pisa so at 9 am we hopped on a train to Pisa and arrived there by 10:30! I love the train system here, I have no idea why America doesnt have trains. I could be in Fort Worth College Station in 1.5 hours tops if we had a train station! Pisa itself was unremarkable. The city was dirty and sleepy (keep in mind it was sunday so most of the shops were closed) and we got hit on more in the two hours we were there than in the entire week we had just spent in the country. Pisa men are gross. As gross as the city was, as soon as we turned the last corner we all three stopped, our jaws dropped, and we were sold! The leaning tower was so cool! It was definetly huge, but it was so thin! It was beautiful. We had lunch a cute little caffe and headed home! We just hung out in florence, went to dinner and chilled for the night because the next day was classes!
I will save that for next time because once again this has been an abnormally long post! But I love you all! And I hope you are all having fantastic weeks!!! Email me if you get the chane, I would to hear how y'all are doing!
Love,
Mary K
May 22, 2008
"It's hard to be modest when you are the best!"
Ciao!
This quote is from our tour guide yesturday morning in Florence! She had just finished telling us all of the works that had been written in Florence (like Pinocchio and all of Dante's Devine Comedy) and at the end of her speel she took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips and said, "(Sigh) I hate-ah to brag...but eet ees hard to be modest ween you are tee best!" Sooo cute!
Backing up a little- I am officially moved in to Florence! We arrived Wednesday (May 21st) around noon! They dropped us off at our apartment and then told us to enjoy the city until 6:30!! It was a little over whelming to be thrown into the situation like that, but now that I have had a full day and a half to explore the city I feel very comfortable. In hindsight I am glad they gave us the chance to grasp what a big adventure this is going to be!
I really enjoy my roommates (there are 6 of us in this apartment, I share a room with Hannah). They are all very sweet girls and we will all be here for the next nine weeks so I am sure you will be hearing about them and that we will become good friends! When we walked in to our apartment we died, It is HUGE and GORGEOUS! Upto this point we had been told not to expect very much room, sparce walls...basically a hole in the wall and this place is anything but! It's very long and narrow, but our room is huge! I love it. I am not comfortable sleeping in it yet, but I guess that always takes a day or so. Soon it will be a home away from home.
Before I begin telling you about Siena ( We took a day trip there today) I would like to tell you about our last day in Rome, Tuesday, and what we were able to see!! On Tuesday we got up fairly early, had a cappucino and a croissant and got on a bus to the Vatican City! We were able to tour St. Peters Basillica, which of course was gorgeous (I have some pictures of it in the slide show) and incredibly ornate. I have no idea how they envisioned these things much less built them! It was a very fun tour, and we had a great tour guide (Fabrizio, the same one we had on Monday) which makes all the difference! After St. Peter's we walked down the street to St. Angels Castel. This is a fortress that was built to protect the Vatican and of corse the pope. I believe the 3rd Pope Paul lived there (dont quote me on this, Fabrizio is a fast talker and his accent is thick haha) and there is a corridor running from the Castel, down the street underground and into the vatican incase the Pope needed to make any fast getaways. I loved the castel, it was very very very old and rustic. The bottom floor we entered in was very dungeion like, thin halls, dank lighting and iron chains, but as we climed up in the castel it almost got palace like with its high ceilings and frescos. There were amazing veiws of the city if you walked along the edges. The picture in the slide show of the green vines and little chairs and a stone walk way was taken at the castel. The reason it is called St. Angels is because there is a HUGE Iron Angel (Michael the Archangel) Statue standing at the very top of the castel. The original one was stuck by lightning and is in a little courtyard lower down in the castel. We were able to go up on the roof and look at the amazing veiws. It was incredible! Unfortunately it was raining all day :(.
From the Castel we were free for the night so some friends and I went to find a bar and have some lunch. Keep in mind when I say bar I mean a coffee bar, not a drinking bar haha. This is a highlight for me of this past week because I was able to order in Italian and was actually complemented on my use of the language!! That was one of my goals and it was accomplished so early! Crazy!!! I am by no means a good speaker but atleast I am making progress, I am excited to see how far I have come after nine weeks!
Our last night Emma Lee and I just walked around Rome in the rain and looked at the Trevi Fountain all lit up. It really is my favorite thing in Rome. We had some dinner and The two kind of artsy pictures of the outside caffe and the white collumns were taken during that night!
This has become a really long post so i am going to save Florence and Siena for tomorrow's post ! So check back soon! I miss you all and love you so much! Below is an little caption for the slide show so you know what everything is!
Pictures:
1. Emma and I at Baries having Sangria the first night in Rome
2.St. Agnes Church in Piazza Navona (Rome)
3.The Pantheon (Rome)
4. Emma, Lee, Me and Anna at The Spanish steps
5. The Colosseum-
6. Inside the Colosseum- This is my favorite view of it!
7.Aggies in the Colosseum- All of the aggies on this trip!
8. St. Peters Basillica- inside
9. St. Peters Basillica- inside
10. The Canopy Bernini Designed to mark St. Peters grave
11. The outside view of St. Peter's Basillica
12. The walkway in the top of St. Angels Castel
13. A cool building pic the last night in Rome
14. A Picturesque Street Caffe in Rome
15. My Room in Florence
16. Our living room balcony view
17. our living room
18. our dining room (and anna)
19. the view from our dining room window
20. our cute LITTLE kitchen
21 our entrance hallway
22. my first glance of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence! Gorgeous
Ok Ciao everyone! And stay tuned!!! Love you! BYE!
Mary K
This quote is from our tour guide yesturday morning in Florence! She had just finished telling us all of the works that had been written in Florence (like Pinocchio and all of Dante's Devine Comedy) and at the end of her speel she took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips and said, "(Sigh) I hate-ah to brag...but eet ees hard to be modest ween you are tee best!" Sooo cute!
Backing up a little- I am officially moved in to Florence! We arrived Wednesday (May 21st) around noon! They dropped us off at our apartment and then told us to enjoy the city until 6:30!! It was a little over whelming to be thrown into the situation like that, but now that I have had a full day and a half to explore the city I feel very comfortable. In hindsight I am glad they gave us the chance to grasp what a big adventure this is going to be!
I really enjoy my roommates (there are 6 of us in this apartment, I share a room with Hannah). They are all very sweet girls and we will all be here for the next nine weeks so I am sure you will be hearing about them and that we will become good friends! When we walked in to our apartment we died, It is HUGE and GORGEOUS! Upto this point we had been told not to expect very much room, sparce walls...basically a hole in the wall and this place is anything but! It's very long and narrow, but our room is huge! I love it. I am not comfortable sleeping in it yet, but I guess that always takes a day or so. Soon it will be a home away from home.
Before I begin telling you about Siena ( We took a day trip there today) I would like to tell you about our last day in Rome, Tuesday, and what we were able to see!! On Tuesday we got up fairly early, had a cappucino and a croissant and got on a bus to the Vatican City! We were able to tour St. Peters Basillica, which of course was gorgeous (I have some pictures of it in the slide show) and incredibly ornate. I have no idea how they envisioned these things much less built them! It was a very fun tour, and we had a great tour guide (Fabrizio, the same one we had on Monday) which makes all the difference! After St. Peter's we walked down the street to St. Angels Castel. This is a fortress that was built to protect the Vatican and of corse the pope. I believe the 3rd Pope Paul lived there (dont quote me on this, Fabrizio is a fast talker and his accent is thick haha) and there is a corridor running from the Castel, down the street underground and into the vatican incase the Pope needed to make any fast getaways. I loved the castel, it was very very very old and rustic. The bottom floor we entered in was very dungeion like, thin halls, dank lighting and iron chains, but as we climed up in the castel it almost got palace like with its high ceilings and frescos. There were amazing veiws of the city if you walked along the edges. The picture in the slide show of the green vines and little chairs and a stone walk way was taken at the castel. The reason it is called St. Angels is because there is a HUGE Iron Angel (Michael the Archangel) Statue standing at the very top of the castel. The original one was stuck by lightning and is in a little courtyard lower down in the castel. We were able to go up on the roof and look at the amazing veiws. It was incredible! Unfortunately it was raining all day :(.
From the Castel we were free for the night so some friends and I went to find a bar and have some lunch. Keep in mind when I say bar I mean a coffee bar, not a drinking bar haha. This is a highlight for me of this past week because I was able to order in Italian and was actually complemented on my use of the language!! That was one of my goals and it was accomplished so early! Crazy!!! I am by no means a good speaker but atleast I am making progress, I am excited to see how far I have come after nine weeks!
Our last night Emma Lee and I just walked around Rome in the rain and looked at the Trevi Fountain all lit up. It really is my favorite thing in Rome. We had some dinner and The two kind of artsy pictures of the outside caffe and the white collumns were taken during that night!
This has become a really long post so i am going to save Florence and Siena for tomorrow's post ! So check back soon! I miss you all and love you so much! Below is an little caption for the slide show so you know what everything is!
Pictures:
1. Emma and I at Baries having Sangria the first night in Rome
2.St. Agnes Church in Piazza Navona (Rome)
3.The Pantheon (Rome)
4. Emma, Lee, Me and Anna at The Spanish steps
5. The Colosseum-
6. Inside the Colosseum- This is my favorite view of it!
7.Aggies in the Colosseum- All of the aggies on this trip!
8. St. Peters Basillica- inside
9. St. Peters Basillica- inside
10. The Canopy Bernini Designed to mark St. Peters grave
11. The outside view of St. Peter's Basillica
12. The walkway in the top of St. Angels Castel
13. A cool building pic the last night in Rome
14. A Picturesque Street Caffe in Rome
15. My Room in Florence
16. Our living room balcony view
17. our living room
18. our dining room (and anna)
19. the view from our dining room window
20. our cute LITTLE kitchen
21 our entrance hallway
22. my first glance of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence! Gorgeous
Ok Ciao everyone! And stay tuned!!! Love you! BYE!
Mary K
May 19, 2008
I'm In Rome!!!!
HellO All!
I am thrilled to say I have been running around Rome the past two days, though with all that we have done it feels like I have been here for Weeks!
The flight here was as fun as a flight can be I suppose! The flight to Newark was very uneventful, I sat by a very cute older couple and slept some. After the flight though I found about 9 or so kids who are in API and going to Florence. They are all so sweet and very fun, I am thrilled I met them so early in the trip. We flew from there to Rome, and lemme tell you, International flights are AWESOME. I watched Mad Money and the King and I and slept for two hours and before I knew it was there!!
We spent an hour and a half trying to get through immigration. No lines in Italy, only mosh pits, thats what took so long! Three times the Italians got tired of waiting and someone started a slow clap and soon everyone was clapping and cheering- I supose they were trying to cheer on the immigration officers to get them to hurry up! Whatever it was for it sure made me smile!
API picked us up and we went to our Hotel, which is VERY nice. We looked it up on line and its about 200 EURO a night...so we are stylin for sure! Its RIGHT behind the Pantheon (which we saw today) and only a few minutes from the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain (both of which we also saw today). Its a lot like G.Rolley for all of you who know that building. There is a lot of back tracking trying to find your room because the numbers bounce around and there is a suprising amount of stairs! I LOVE ITALY!
Here are some of my Inital Thoughts of the country:
1. Everyone here drives a Fiat...or similar sized car
2. Flats were a good call, everyone wears them here!
3. Everyone smokes, but its ok because everything is outdoors so its not so bad
4. I love this country!!!
5. I love Sangria (Emma, Lee, Anna and I found a little tratatorria and had a glass the first night we got here)
6. Everyone also wears this pashmina scarfs, VERY cute!!
7. Roma smells really good, kinda musty sweet, like flowers but something else, Its hard to describe...but its good!
Today we took a walking tour of the city today and when I get the chance I will upload some of the pics on to this slide show up there! Here are some of the highlights:
1. Pantheon- Huge Beautiful- HOW do they build these things!?!?!
2. Piazza Navona- Probably my favorite piazza, it is so gorgeous
3. The Spanish Steps- This is where Audrey Hepburn eats gelato!!
4. the Trevi Fountain- I LOVE THIS FOUNTAIN, favorite of the day!
Then we took a bus tour to:
1. The Colosseum- it IS as cool as it looks, I took video and I will show it to anyone who wants!
2. The Arch of Titus- very cool
3. More of Rome- to much to remember!
I have been able to use some Italian already, and while I am nowhere near fluent yet people respond well to my efforts and help me along. Did I mention I loved this country?
Ok, thats about it for tonight, but thanks for your prayers. I am having a GREAT time. I feel very safe, very at home, and very very happy. So thanks for reading up on me! Keep checkin back and I'll keep you updated on how its goin!! I love you all so much!!!
Arrivederci!
Mary K.
I am thrilled to say I have been running around Rome the past two days, though with all that we have done it feels like I have been here for Weeks!
The flight here was as fun as a flight can be I suppose! The flight to Newark was very uneventful, I sat by a very cute older couple and slept some. After the flight though I found about 9 or so kids who are in API and going to Florence. They are all so sweet and very fun, I am thrilled I met them so early in the trip. We flew from there to Rome, and lemme tell you, International flights are AWESOME. I watched Mad Money and the King and I and slept for two hours and before I knew it was there!!
We spent an hour and a half trying to get through immigration. No lines in Italy, only mosh pits, thats what took so long! Three times the Italians got tired of waiting and someone started a slow clap and soon everyone was clapping and cheering- I supose they were trying to cheer on the immigration officers to get them to hurry up! Whatever it was for it sure made me smile!
API picked us up and we went to our Hotel, which is VERY nice. We looked it up on line and its about 200 EURO a night...so we are stylin for sure! Its RIGHT behind the Pantheon (which we saw today) and only a few minutes from the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain (both of which we also saw today). Its a lot like G.Rolley for all of you who know that building. There is a lot of back tracking trying to find your room because the numbers bounce around and there is a suprising amount of stairs! I LOVE ITALY!
Here are some of my Inital Thoughts of the country:
1. Everyone here drives a Fiat...or similar sized car
2. Flats were a good call, everyone wears them here!
3. Everyone smokes, but its ok because everything is outdoors so its not so bad
4. I love this country!!!
5. I love Sangria (Emma, Lee, Anna and I found a little tratatorria and had a glass the first night we got here)
6. Everyone also wears this pashmina scarfs, VERY cute!!
7. Roma smells really good, kinda musty sweet, like flowers but something else, Its hard to describe...but its good!
Today we took a walking tour of the city today and when I get the chance I will upload some of the pics on to this slide show up there! Here are some of the highlights:
1. Pantheon- Huge Beautiful- HOW do they build these things!?!?!
2. Piazza Navona- Probably my favorite piazza, it is so gorgeous
3. The Spanish Steps- This is where Audrey Hepburn eats gelato!!
4. the Trevi Fountain- I LOVE THIS FOUNTAIN, favorite of the day!
Then we took a bus tour to:
1. The Colosseum- it IS as cool as it looks, I took video and I will show it to anyone who wants!
2. The Arch of Titus- very cool
3. More of Rome- to much to remember!
I have been able to use some Italian already, and while I am nowhere near fluent yet people respond well to my efforts and help me along. Did I mention I loved this country?
Ok, thats about it for tonight, but thanks for your prayers. I am having a GREAT time. I feel very safe, very at home, and very very happy. So thanks for reading up on me! Keep checkin back and I'll keep you updated on how its goin!! I love you all so much!!!
Arrivederci!
Mary K.
May 16, 2008
I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane, Don't know when I'll be back again...
Hi Everybody!!!!
Thanks for checkin’ out my blog! Incase you were wondering, and I am sure you were, the name of my blog is Italian for a Hug and a Kiss. No great story behind it, I just thought it was cute!
So tomorrow is the day I head out!! For those of you who haven't known me for the last 10 years, I have been talking and dreaming of this trip for...well, 10 years! I can barely grasp the fact that it's here; I guess the realization will come to me tomorrow when I am actually boarding the plane!
Planning for this trip has been an experience in and of itself! The last three days have been an insane flurry of running around Austin trying to gather the rest of my papers, money, and travel sized shampoos! But it is all done, I am all packed, and I am ready to go!
One thing I have learned through all of this prep work is how excited complete strangers get when you tell them you are going to Europe. Everyone has advice! The money exchange lady told me to bring my own pillow and blanket on the plane (who knew they charge for those things now?). The guy at the Mac store suggested I permanently glue my computer to my right hand (It tends to "walk away" otherwise). And the Lady at the bank told my dad he should be very proud of me.... still not sure why though, hahaha! Either way it is really encouraging when you have a whole community wishing you well not to mention all of you, friends and familia. I wouldn't be as confident going out on this great adventure with out all of your prayers and good wishes! So thanks!!
I will be flying in to Rome on the first day, and the next few days I will be touring Rome and going to Orientations so I will try to write when I get to Florence and have the chance to breathe!
I am so excited I am so excited! Woo! I have a whole list of things I want to accomplish while I am over there but I think I will save that for the next post! So on that note, I'm out! But check back next week, same bat time, same bat channel!!!
Ciao People!
PS- Don't let the title of this post worry you! I WILL come back...maybe :)
Thanks for checkin’ out my blog! Incase you were wondering, and I am sure you were, the name of my blog is Italian for a Hug and a Kiss. No great story behind it, I just thought it was cute!
So tomorrow is the day I head out!! For those of you who haven't known me for the last 10 years, I have been talking and dreaming of this trip for...well, 10 years! I can barely grasp the fact that it's here; I guess the realization will come to me tomorrow when I am actually boarding the plane!
Planning for this trip has been an experience in and of itself! The last three days have been an insane flurry of running around Austin trying to gather the rest of my papers, money, and travel sized shampoos! But it is all done, I am all packed, and I am ready to go!
One thing I have learned through all of this prep work is how excited complete strangers get when you tell them you are going to Europe. Everyone has advice! The money exchange lady told me to bring my own pillow and blanket on the plane (who knew they charge for those things now?). The guy at the Mac store suggested I permanently glue my computer to my right hand (It tends to "walk away" otherwise). And the Lady at the bank told my dad he should be very proud of me.... still not sure why though, hahaha! Either way it is really encouraging when you have a whole community wishing you well not to mention all of you, friends and familia. I wouldn't be as confident going out on this great adventure with out all of your prayers and good wishes! So thanks!!
I will be flying in to Rome on the first day, and the next few days I will be touring Rome and going to Orientations so I will try to write when I get to Florence and have the chance to breathe!
I am so excited I am so excited! Woo! I have a whole list of things I want to accomplish while I am over there but I think I will save that for the next post! So on that note, I'm out! But check back next week, same bat time, same bat channel!!!
Ciao People!
PS- Don't let the title of this post worry you! I WILL come back...maybe :)
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