U-S-A! U-S-A!

I'm on a highhh from the game!! SO pumped! Last night our housemate Chiara made us an amazing dinner with cous cous and vegtables, as well as meatballs from her mom's recipe. It was soo wonderful. Classes are done for the week in honor of St. John's feast day so we're off to Lake Como tomorrow! Now we're getting ready for the night while celebrating the big win with my new favorite pinot grigio! Updates after the weekend!!

fiesole & siena

On Friday I went with my friend, Christa, to the duomo area for coffee, where we met up with two other friends. The four of us then mastered the bus system and went to Fiesole. It is a small town that overlooks all of Florence. It is also where all of the Medici villas are (the famous political and wealthy famiy of Florence). It was absolutely gorgeous. We explored the top of the hill, where you can see the best view of the city and where the church is. Then we wandered around the town, found an old tuscan tomb, and hung out. We ventured back to Florence to meet up with more friends for lunch at one of our favorite places: il Frattelinni. Its a hole-in-the-wall place with THE BEST sandwiches i've ever had for 3 euro and a glass of wine for 1 euro. PERFECT! We went into a few stores before making our way to a pub to watch the end of the Germany game and get good seats for the USA game! We watched the game with a good size group at a great pub called "the old stove".

On Saturday we were supposed to go on a wine tour of tuscany by bike. However, it was pouring rain when we got to the top of the mountain/hill. They gave us a short tour of the castle, let us try wine and olive oil, then brought us back down to Florence. We were able to reschedule for free. Christa and I wandered in the rain a little before we decided it was a great time to have a nice lunch at her favorite resturant. We shared a pear and walnut salad and homemade fresh pasta! We shopped around a little then went back to our apartment. For dinner we went to a famous hole in the wall pizzaria (pizza spera, it was on jay leno). Eight of our friends came over and had a little dinner party with us!

Sunday I went to Siena with three other girls. It was raining a bit so we bought colorful ponchos and umbrellas and found a warm pub for lunch. We tried Irish coffee to warm us up. Then we met up with one of our friend from Vandy that is studying there this summer! She took us on a short walking tour of the city, which is beautiful. We saw St. Catherine of Siena's Sanctuary which houses her relic, and a beautiful chapel and garden. We went to the campo (main piazza) and then the Duomo. It is BY FAR the most beautiful church i've ever seen. I could have stayed there forever. We headed back to Florence to cheer on italy against new zealand.

Today our first class was cancelled so i went for a run aorund our neighborhood and a local park. Then we went to our art history class. It was very interesting - we looked at the original statues that used to be on the outside of the Or San Michael. We also learned about the founding hospital and grabbed coffee with our class. We went to the grocery store, made dinner, and then i attempted to do laundry. I was handwashing some clothes and hanging them to dry (there are no dryers in Italy), and i apparently did not wring my clothes out enough. A man started yelling at me in Italian and then told me in english "miss, need to wring more." full with hand motions. Please note that below the back of our apartment is a concrete parking lot. We all started dying laughing as I re-wrung my clothes. Also note that the last 2 days it has been raining constantly, so the pavement hasnt been dry anyway. Great moment. Now i'm attempting to focus and do some homework! Ciao!!

Quick Updates

-Last Tuesday we had a pizza making class at a local pizza restaurant. AMAZZZINNNGGG. I ate the entire pizza i created (thankfully it wasn’t as big as a normal delivery in the US). Fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, etc...so good!!

- Today we got stuck in a torrential downpour, including large pieces of hail, while walking home from Italian class. Later in the day we climbed to the top of the belltower to see all of Florence. Then we went for aparitvos (happy hour/ tapas type of thing) at a really modern hip place.

- Classes have been great! Yesterday our culture class was a 3-hour class on the fashion industry in Italy. A woman who has been involved in finding trends and buying for the entire company of Saks, Target, Harrods, Bloomingdales, and one other place came and talked to us too! Then our art history class was about the doors of the Baptistry and the Duomo. SO interesting! And we ran into Kelly Rip & family then later Santo Versace. Very cool! Italian class has been really fun and HELPFUL! The teachers here are amazing, as are all the program directors.

- Our Italian housemate, Chiara, is the nicest and most sincere person. She’s wonderful and fashionable. I love love her.

More to come on life and such!
Ciao!!

Adventures

On Friday, the Hirsch family was in town (our family friends), and took me out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant. It was so great to be with family friends and people from home. THe conversation was so light-hearted and fun (which is obvious is you know their family). Afterwards, Zack and Dakota came out with me and the other girls from the program. We had some wine and caught up while we waited for the night to begin. We went to a american bar in the Santa Croce area of florence which would have been sketchy if we didnt know the guys we were with. We ended up running into a kid from Vandy there which was so much fun! We were all having so much fun that we lost track of time and ended up getting home around 5am. oooppss.

On Saturday, Christa and I struggled to get out of bed and rushed to the train station to make it to our train to Lucca on time. We met up with 3 other girls and had a blast in the cute little town of Lucca. We walked around the city and on the wall that surrounds the city for about 5 hours. We stopped for lunch at the cutest plaza and had so much fun hanging out. Italy is definitly about spending time eating and enjoying the scenary. The restaurant had a sign that said "good wine, great friends" which sums up our trip so far!

Sunday was by far my favorite day! We woke up super early to go to Cinque Terre (five towns that hug the coastline and are connected by hiking trails). We got to the first town which was gorgeous in itself and started the hike. Literally every single view was beyond beautiful. We took soo many pictures but it was hard to resist when you were standing in awe of the sight. The first 3 towns were my favorite just because the last 2 were really touristy. We stopped for lunch in the third town and found a back road with a cafe to have lunch at. For 3 Euros I had the BEST lunch of my life. It was a pesto and motzarella pannini. The region is known for their pesto and its much deserved. Christa and I bought a bottle of it to share for our apartment and we've already had pesto pasta with it twice!

Today we had our first day of classes. They are long but not too painful. We're headed to the grocery store now and then to the main piazza for Italy v. Paraguay game in the world cup! GOOO ITALLIAA!!!

Firenze

Florence is AMAZING!!! soo hott here though! Gelato & Sorbetta popsicles have become my new best friends! We're planning our trips right now and trying to avoid protests/strikes in Europe!!! We're going to Cinque Terre and Lucca this weekend though! We had a amazing 4 course welcome dinner last night with an antipasta dish containing bruschetta, patte, grilled eggplant, zucchini, and proschuito. The next course: rissoto & a meat pasta. Followed by: turkey, salad, and potatoes. Finally: tiramisu. Of course there was wine to go along with it. Such a great meal but soo filling. For lunch today we also had by far the best sandwich of my life froma hole-in-the-wall place called il fratelleni! We're finished with orientation but it wasnt much, just an overview of classes and the city. We found a library that has a bar in it? New study place? I think so! We got a little lost last night - kinda scary but were al okay and just know to pay better attention to how to get home. Thankfully we were traveling in a group of four and were all really aware of our surroundings. Our apartment is great too. It's a little annoying that were not with all the other girls but its a nice place! The view from nicole and i's window is awesome. You can see the mountains, italian buildings, a church...just a cool scenic look. I kinda feel like im looking at a painting of a window until i see the tube of our portable AC unit sticking out the window!! We went to the supermercado and the fresh market yesterday and got the essentials (including wine) and some really fresh fruit!! Wish yall were here with me! Much love!

Moving In :)

The apartment is UNBELIEVABLE!! There are 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, a nice living room and kitchen! I'm living wiht a girl names Nicole from Harvard. She's so much fun and so easy going! The air conditioning is a slight struggle but we're hoping to figure it all out tomorrow. We meet up with most the girls on the program for pizza and were able to explore our neighborhood a little before that. Dinner last night was the BEST! I had homemade pasta and it was soo good. More updates to come :) Miss all of you!

A Marathon of Cities

Last night in Paris: We went to the highest point in the city..monte-somehting? It was not that great, full of tourists and beggers, so we left once we got to the top. Then we headed back to Champs Elysees to walk around and eat dinner. We found a great resturant with a view of the Arc and the street. While we were eating the had police essort a group of over a hundred bike-riders down the road! It was so crazy but awesome! When we went to the train station in the morning, the train to Avignon was full so we had to wait 4.5 hours for the next one. At first I was disappointed, but then I started reading "Like What for Chocolate" and it is soo good! Jenny you need to read it! You'd love it! Finally we made it on the train and we're off to our adventure...

We got to the car rental station in Avignon and my mom had to ask how to put the key in the car. Not a good sign haha. Then we drove to Arles, where we stayed at a BEAUTIFUL hotel that used to be a monastary. We walked the city and had dinner! I loved the look of the city at night. Many of the buildings looked so old but so beautiful. There was a dance recital in the amphitheatre and it was packed! The next morning we left for Saint Tropez and Sanremo. (Sidenote on Arles- we had to ask a French couple to show my mom how to put the car in reverse....they definitly thought we were challenged).

Saint Tropez was STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!!! I am slightly obsessed with it. The view of the water there was unreal! Ahh soo cool. We went to this really trendly bar place for drinks; it had black sand, khaki and white linnen chairs, ect! Sadly we couldnt spend much time there since we didnt want to drive in the dark. We crossed into ITALIA and drove to Sanremo. We found a great hotel there and luckly they had room for us! We took in the view from the balcony and enjoyed dinner and wine! The next morning we went swimming and laid by the pool there. Driving out of Arles was a disaster!!! Funny now that I'm removed from it, but in the moment i was close to tears. We went the wrong way on a one way adn got stopped by the police. They let us go with a warning. Then we got lost for an hour on crazy roads above the town. Finally we made it out alive! A little while later we arrived in Pisa! The hotel from the outside looked worn and had graffitti on the walls. Inside it was great. It was basically a two-story apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a living room!! First thing we did was go to see the leaning tower of Pisa! Obviously we took the tourist picture of pretending we were holding it up! Then we walked around that area for a while, which is really cool and had a great church! We left early the next morning for FLORENCE (Firenze)! Now we are here (my new home for the summer) and loving the city! Tonight we're going to dinner with Christa (one of my roomates) and her parents! Ciao!

J'aime Paris

Paris is AMAZING!! I may never leave! I'm officially jealous that my friend, Kaylen, gets to live here for a semester! Our taxi drive was a great introduction to the city (strange I know), but he gave us a guided tour as we passed monuments. He also tried to teach us a few much needed French phrases! We arrived in the afternoon, and headed straight to the Arc de Triomphe de Paris and walked the Champs-elysse! The city is just so beautiful and interesting in every detail. We were sitting on a bench looking at the Arc and a man from Paris started talking to us and giving us dinner recommendations. We walked around and found a great place for dinner! Literally I haven’t had a bad meal or even a mediocre meal here - everything has been so flavorful and delicious! The view from our balcony is unbelievable as well. We have a great view of the Eiffel tower from both of our balconies!

Yesterday was a marathon of experiencing Paris! We went to the Louvre Museum in the morning and saw the Mona Lisa, the statue of Aphrodite, and all the other amazing pieces of art there. After, we went to grab a bite to eat. As we were walking we bought some cool paintings of Paris from a man on a bridge! Then we went to a cute cafe and people watched. I had my first crepe in Paris (grand marnier), by recommendation of my stepmom, Kathie - - delicious!! We ventured to Notre Dame and I was astounded by the architecture and stained glass windows. Its right by the Latin area of Paris, which had a really cool feel to it. It was very busy and full of life! We went home to take a quick break before heading to the Musee de Orsay because it was open late last night! We saw many more impressionist pieces, including "water lilies" by Monet and many more! We came back to our side of town for dinner, which again was great. I don’t think bad food exists in Paris. And we’ve sat outside for every meal and people-watched!!! After dinner, Ali and I brought a bottle of wine to a walking bridge. We sat, talked, and drank on the bridge, looking over the river & Paris. Lots of people were on the bridge or below on the seawall. Eventually we started talking to five rising seniors from Tufts! They were just finishing up there semester abroad in Paris, so they offered us lots of advice and tips! We hung out with them for the rest of the night then headed back home.

This morning we had chocolate croissants and coffee on our way to the Eiffel tower. Then we waited in lots of lines and finally made it to the top!! The skies were so clear that we were able to see all of Paris (the rivers, the bridges, ect). We meet some cool Aussie guys in line, and the CUTEST French 3 and 4 year old girls with their mom! I definitely love the people here, as well as the fashion, the food, and the architecture. After the Eiffel Tower, we had lunch and headed out shopping! One of the girls from Tufts told us about a cool area to find French boutiques that weren’t outrageous in price. We all ended up buying something there and had so much fun looking around! We stumbled upon the cutest park that was pretty crowded with people. French children (like 3 year olds) were stripping down into their underwear to play in the fountain! Now we’re back in the hotel, planning out our last night in Paris! Au Revoir!

Venturing outside the city

After breakfast we took a train to Koog-Zaardijk, a famous windmill town in Holland. We walked through cute little pathways past 4 or 5 wooden windmills. There were goats, sheep, beautiful colorful pansies, and adorable wooden walking bridges. Everything was green! We went to a cheese factory and sampled cheeses, then went to a wooden shoe-making museum. We walked through the residential area of the town a little then took a break at a café along the water that had an amazing view. We then took a train to Haarlam, a medieval town. It was a busy but less hectic version of Amsterdam. It had a great plaza for people watching and tons of alleyways with shops. We stopped for a glass of wine in the plaza to watch everyone riding their bikes, walking, and enjoying life. When we got back to Amsterdam, Ali and I went exploring a little. We found the palace, which is under construction, hence why we had missed it before. We looked at different restaurants and shops and just enjoyed walking the city some more. Now we’re back in the hotel freshening up for dinner and the night! Off to Paris tomorrow afternoon! Doi! (goodbye in Dutch!)

* Kathie you would be proud to know that I’ve been stopping to take pictures for couples and families everywhere we go!