1 Dragoon, 2 Dragoon....CIAO

Ciao! So one week has flown by and I'll try my best to recap...

SATURDAY: A semi-productive day. I went to the markets and bought a piece of salmon. The rest of the day was spent eating gelato and working on my papers. Two finished! Yes! Then I made myself salmon and it turned out delicious! Another success.

SUNDAY: Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter! The roomies and I woke up early to go out into Florence and watch the show of events. We went to Piazza della Republicca for the parade. Then we followed the crowd to the Duomo to get our spot for the show. Every year on Easter day, Florence has "El Scoppio del Carro" or "The Explosion of the Cart" where they light fireworks off of a huge giant cart in front of the Cathedral. We got a close spot and waited an hour and a half until 11 am for the show to start.

Wow! It was pretty impressive, as it was certainly not what I was expecting. The "fireworks" were little baby ones, but there was a lot of them. It was SO loud, which I also wasn't expecting. The entire show was fast and slightly frightening but awesome to witness. There was a huge cloud of purple, red, and white smoke too!

After the festivities, we went to Astor's for iced coffee then the diner for burgers. We even got little Easter candies. It was fun.

Later that day, Rachael - the chef she is - cooked us a fabulous Easter dinner. The four of us sat down to a feast of cooked ham with pineapples, string beans, and potatoes. Good work Rachael! Then the rest of the night was spent work work working! Lame!

MONDAY: I deemed this day "Christine day" and spent the day completely on my own. I went out in the morning to wander through Florence. I treated myself to a kebob, went grocery shopping, and then proceeded to get gelato (of course). I grabbed my work and headed down to the river to the patch of rocks where people sit and lay out. I sat down there for a few hours just enjoying the beautiful weather, which certainly helped to brighten my mood.

For dinner, Rachael and I went on a date to Acqua al 2 - FINALLY! We got the pasta sampler, which turned out to be four or five pastas, all delicious. I drank my bottle of wine with my steak. How do I describe this steak? HEAVENLY. It's their infamous "blueberry steak" that all of my friends had talked up and rightfully so. It certainly looks deceiving but it tasted incredible. I didn't want it to end so I ate extremely slowly. Sadly, I ate all of it. That's okay, though, because Rach and I caved in and split the dessert sampler as well. SO DELICIOUS. Four different desserts that made us very very happy diners. Yum!

TUESDAY: Classes and classes. The highlight of this day was going to Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe for family style dinner. There was eleven of us that went and it was a fantastically fun night. We got an array of appetizers and then three different pastas. SO DELICIOUS. There was a green tortellini one filled with spinach and ricotta that was my favorite by far. We all were stuffed to the brim, but decided to be adventurous and headed to Naima's for "Girl's Night." We all got one "Girly Drink" which was really 90% juice - but still delicious. A great night with great friends.

WEDNESDAY: My final soc class - THANK GOODNESS. I had loved that class when it first started but then it became a struggle to understand what Pierluca was even talking about. In Italian we had exit tests for the school. Afterwards, Kaila, Ann and I went to the Oil Shoppe for lunch. So delicious. Then Ann and I got chocolates to nibble on from one of the best chocolate places in Florence, right near Lion's Fountain. SO GOOD. Then it was time for our last class with Simon. The lesson was interesting and he was extra funny today. He was probably really excited to be done with us! Ann and I gave him his chocolate after class (maybe he'll give us both A's after all....).

THURSDAY: Last art history class. We had a field trip to the Bargello - again - but this time Franchie managed to get us a private tour into rooms that aren't open to the public. It was actually really cool. THANKS FRANCH!

Then it was time to end my Italiano stunt. Took my final in Italian and I'm pretty sure I messed up big time, but that's okay because I'M DONE WITH IT! Actually, I'm pretty sad. That was probably my favorite class. I loved my teacher and the people in it.

After Italian, I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get my life together. Eventually, dinner-time rolled around and Allie and I met up with Julie, Diana, Ann, and Sammy at Il Latini for dinner. The restaurant is notorious for it's incredible (and pricey) family style dinners but we decided with one week left in Florence, we deserved it. It's also right under Palazzo Rucellai so we always get the wonderful smells from below. Such a tease!

I loved the atmosphere as soon as we walked in. The owner was extremely funny and joked around with us. To start off our meal, they gave us unlimited wine and told us they'd come back in an hour to look at our faces. So sassy! We each got prosciutto and melon, mozz & tomato, liver crustini, and bruscetta. Then they brought out 2 types of pasta and 2 types of bread soups. Next was the infamous tray of meat. I'm not entirely too sure what meats I ate but they were divine. I loved the beef one. To finish, the staff brought us dessert trays, biscotti and vin santo, and limoncello. It was a fantastic dinner.

The girls and I all came back to my apartment to hang out for a bit and eventually we all headed out to Kikuya. Kikuya is a bar near Santa Croce that has these beers called Dragoons, which are 20% alcohol. So we all hung out there and by accident, kind of, I had two dragoons. Poor life decision on my part but it was a very eventful night! After Kikuya, Annie, Diana and I went to the secret bakery. We knocked and no answer. Then a group of Italians walked up to the door and did the secret knock, apparently, because the baker opened the door. We told them what we wanted and we got pizza and cornettos FOR FREE. Yes! Best. night. ever.

TODAY: Today I struggled. It was a lazy day and the weather was eh all day. It rained in the afternoon, which made me even lazier. Now it's dinner time so I think Ari and I are going out for some pasta! Yes. I can't believe I'm counting in SINGLE DIGITS now until I fly to the United States. So weird. Time flies.

I can't wait to see all of my friends and family, though, as I've missed everyone terribly! Updates to come soon!

Butter.

Buonasera!

So let me see what's happened this week. I was extremely lazy....I can't believe it's already Friday - almost Saturday.

TUESDAY: Well, I weighed my options for the day and decided that seeing my dear friend Becca was more important than going to Art History. I met up with Becca and we had a delicious breakfast. That's the 3rd time I've seen her in Europe & I absolutely love it. After breakfast, we said our goodbyes and I went on with my other classes. Italian went fast. Unfortunately, my brain was off so charades was interesting, if not embarrassing. It was my turn to act out a word and I had pulled out "divirtirse" which means "to have fun." I get up into the middle of the circle in front of the class and start to mime out putting on my pants and shirt. Everyone in my group yelled out "vestirse!" and I was happy they had guessed my word. Wait! What? That wasn't my word. That was my exact reaction. I just laughed at myself (and I'm sure my cheeks went beet-red) and asked my teacher for a re-do. She obliged and instead I acted out my original word...for real this time. My group - thankfully - guessed it and I sat down, extremely embarrassed but laughing. What a day it was going to be. After Italian, I worked on my papers for the rest of the day. No more fun.

WEDNESDAY: Again, for the second day in a row, I weight my options and decided that sociology class would just have to wait. Instead, I went to Mama's Bakery and got myself a bagel with veggie cream cheese and a coffee. It was nice going alone and just thinking and doing my work. At Mama's, there was a pair of two women. One was an elderly woman and the other middle-aged. It seemed that the elderly woman was learning English from the other woman. It was impressive to witness. It again just makes me feel so ignorant and stupid as an American for not learning other languages. I understand that English is a common language, but other cultures are so talented with languages. I feel extremely lazy.

Italian again and this time we had an actor in class. He was entertaining. We went around the class and introduced ourselves. He taught us various Italian hand gestures (as Italians use their hands FOR EVERYTHING). Then we split into two groups and made up skits to use the gestures. I WAS A GYPSY! The role I'd been preparing for all semester and it was finally my big debut! Luckily, I had worn a white scarf to class that day, which made for the perfect gypsy outfit. I even borrowed Jack's water bottle for my "baby rocket." The skits were entertaining and funny, even if we didn't correctly use the gestures. Next time!

THURSDAY: I was actually planning on going to Art History and instead slept through my alarm. What a shame! Rather, I took my time getting ready, took a walk along the Arno, and met up with Sarah and Diana for lunch at the Oil Shoppe. The best. My sandwich - Salsiccia alla Toscana - was amazing, per usual. Italian was nice. There were only 7 of us, since most everyone had left for Easter Weekend already. We just reviewed for our midterm, which is already sneaking up on us. Ew!

After Italian, Rachael and I spent the day out. We went to Carabe, which is a Sicilian ice cream shop near the Duomo. It's also on Simon's list. It was delicious! I wasn't really sure of what Sicilian ice cream was, but I discovered it's similar to gelato, just a bit icier. Mi piace. We sat on the side of the Duomo and people-watched. I can't believe how crowded Florence has gotten in the past month or so. Tourists....UGH! Afterwards, Rachael got some iced coffee at Astor's and we went for some groceries. A very relaxing day indeed. Just what I needed.

TODAY: I woke up without an alarm, something that's pretty unusual. Unfortunately, it was only 10am. Rachael and I went to A Casa Mia for lunch. However, their website says they open at 11:30, the sign on the door says 12noon, and the waitress told us 12:30pm. Italians! To kill some time we bought fruit at the San Ambrogio open market, which isn't as great as our Central, but it sufficed. I got blood oranges and Pink Lady apples. Favorites. Oh, and I got a fried polenta to hold me over. That's when a gypsy touched me. I hope I'm not cursed.

We finally went to A Casa Mia and it was open! Hoorah! We got una tavola per due and had a pleasant lunch. This place is incredibly cheap for all that you get: three courses, water, and a coffee all for seven Euros! I had gnocchi rose (gnocchi in pink sauce), frittura gamberini (fried shrimp), e erbe saltata (cooked spinach). Delicious! Rachael didn't make out so well with her course selections. She was disappointed with her arrosto misto (mixed meats) that turned out to be on the bone or hairy chicken wings. Ooops.

After lunch, we stopped at Vivoli for gelato on the way home. It was time to branch out and try new flavors. I got their infamous "rice" flavor, as well as pistachio. The rice was delicious and even had actual rice pieces in it (which I actually could've done without). The pistachio was eh, I tried it. I'll stick to my coffee.

Lunch and gelato out of the way and it was only two o'clock. We went to the library to get some work done and be semi-productive. It was quiet there. Afterwards, I came home and worked on my history paper. I finally finished it! Eight pages later and a lot of struggles. It's done (or at least done for now). Now, I've got to work on my Art History paper. We'll see how I can fill six pages about Botticelli's Primavera. This should be interesting.

After celebrating the completion of a paper with a glass of red, Kristie and I went to get gelato. Yes. My second gelato of the day and you know what? I wish I had eaten a third or fourth! So you can judge me because I love gelato. I'm not ready to part with it. Only two more weeks of endless gelato so I plan on taking FULL advantage. Mommy - Wegman's gelato doesn't count, I'm sorry.

Now I'm relaxing in my jammies and stumbling. I haven't stumbled all semester and of course, right when I have papers to write and finals to cram for, I become re-addicted to it.

That's just the way it goes.

Buonanotte a tutti!

Bros on the Beach

Ciao!

I can't believe how fast time is flying here. I only have 19 DAYS left....WHAT!?! It's so crazy to me. It still has yet to hit me that I'm in Florence. Okay, now for a VERY quick recap of the past week:

TUESDAY: I'm going to call this Food Day Galore or the Day of 100 Food Babiez. I literally ate my weight. When I say "literally" I mean it. I'm half proud, half impressed with how much I consumed. So for starters, after art history, Diana, Sarah, Alyssa and I ventured near Santa Spirito to find Mama's Bakery, the American bakery with bagels, cupcakes, and brownies galore. Successful, I ate an onion bagel with jalepeno cream cheese for breakfast. It was phenomenal. Afterwards, Diana and I stopped at Rivoire to get "real" hot chocolate...aka melted chocolate in a cup that you eat with a spoon. It's incredibly rich and when you get a little cup only half-ful, don't complain. It's for the best. So that was item #2 checked off of my list and it wasn't even 11am. Wonderful!

After eating maybe half of the half cup of chocolate, Italian class was fun per usual. Afterwards, I made a lunch reservation at Pizzaiolo II, a Neopolitan pizza place that is on my list. Joe, Rachael, Ari, Steph, and I had a pizza lunch and it was delicious! I ate my entire 10 Euro pizza and hobbled home. Sick to my stomach, I napped. After my nap, Allie and I met up with the Gino Caponi girls for aperitivo at Kitsch. Successful this time, we landed a table, ordered drinks (strawberry margarita for me) and ate plates of food. The food was great and I ate so much food that I honestly felt sick. Unfortunately, it was also free cone day at Ben & Jerry's (which we have here in Florence) so on our way home, we stopped for ice cream. The cherry to my food coma, I was useless once I got home. Way too full (but happy to have checked FOUR things off of my List) I went to bed early.

WEDNESDAY: I woke up throughout the night feeling horrible and was sick for the entire day. Missed my first two classes (my first skips of the entire semester), I made it through half of Simon's class and came home to sleep more. Misery.

THURSDAY: Art history field trip to San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel. It was interesting, but I was still feeling bleh. In Italian, we played Pictionary and Charades, which was actually a lot of fun. I'm no actress, but I think I did a pretty accurate skit of "Bailare in Discoteca" ("Dancing in the Club"). I love school. After Italian, it was all work and no play. Eventually, Kristie, Jess, Rachael, Ari and I left for the Amalfi Coast! YEAH!

FRIDAY: We arrived in Sorrento, our first stop of the coast, at 3 a.m. We checked into our hostel, Seven Hostel, and took a quick nap. We had to wake up at 7 a.m. to make it to our ferry around Capri. It was a pleasant and quick ride, which was good because apparently I'm not good anymore with motion. Anyways, we got to Capri and switched onto smaller boats to head towards the Blue Grotto. I didn't even realize we had arrived and wondered what all of these tiny little boats and Italian men were waiting for. Then I saw it. A three-foot hole in the cliff wall. I looked even harder and realized that these little boats and Italian men were hurling themselves through the tiny little hole in the wall. THAT'S THE ENTRANCE!?! I was expecting something like streamers, a huge sign, maybe even some fireworks. No. It was really a hole in the cliff wall.

Rachael, Kristie, Jess and I climbed into one of these little boats, paid our entrance fee at another boat, and, soon enough and eyes shut, we too were hurled through this little three-foot hole. Phew! Success! No limbs lost, no heads scraped off.The Blue Grotto is incredible. Granted, we were only in there for a minute, but it was beautiful. I can't understand how the water is such a fluorescent blue. It's magnificent. A definite must-see. I loved it. Next time, I'm going swimming in there.

After our Blue Grotto tour, we finished our boat tour of Capri, finally docking at the Grand Marina. From here, we hiked up the most intense hike (sad, but true) through people's front yards. I don't know how they make this walk every day. We finally made it up to the mid-level and took a detour to see the gardens. It was beautiful from the gardens and looking at the cliff edges made me realize how truly spectacular this island was. The water is incredibly beautiful, I hadn't seen anything like it. And the roads that huge the island are the craziest, windiest, scariest roads I'd ever seen. Good thing I can't drive here...watch out!

After a few "mom pics," we all took the bus up to Anacapri, the higher part of the island. Up here, we had lunch - pizza of course - and tasted Limoncello. I'm not a fan, but I hope some people are. There's so many lemons in Capri!!! It's bizarre how huge they are. Also, there are custom sandal shops everywhere. I wanted a pair, but not for $80. I'd rather shop at Target, thank you very much Italy. We wandered around for a good portion of the afternoon and just relaxed.

Back at our hostel, we had a quick dinner of pasta and salad and, exhausted, went to bed early.

SATURDAY: Off to Positano for the day! The bus ride along the cliff's edge was torturous to me, but a beautiful ride nonetheless. We arrived in Positano and walked down to get to the water's edge, stopping at Vino & Panino for lunch along the way. The beach was a "black sand" beach, which is deceiving because it's not sand like in the States. Sand = Pebbles. Different, but I still enjoyed myself. The weather was much better than the previous day, which was horribly chilly and overcast. At least today, we had some sunshine and it was extremely pleasant when we did.

As soon as I layed my bed sheet out, I realized this would be an interesting beach day. It would be "bros" on the beach. All of the Barcelona kids on our tour were typical frat kids: the speakers for the iPod, booze, and rowdiness. I brought my book to read and instead napped the day away. It was perfect. The Bros were interesting to watch and I can't complain because it was highly entertaining. Baby. The kid who body slammed his girl. Good times.

I dipped my toes into the Meditteranean Ocean for the very first time - but not the last - and it was freeeeeeezing! I know it's not swimming season so I wasn't disappointed, but still! Woah!

Walking up to the buses for departure, a girl tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had attended governor's school in 2007. With only 200 people on that program, I pretty much knew everyone and OMG, it was Jenny!!! What a small world. She was traveling from Rome. It was so fun to see another govie, especially one that I haven't seen since 2007! I love it. Govies rule :)

For dinner, we all went to a restaurant in Sorrento. Jack & Justin were able to come with us and it made for a fun dinner. I ate the steak, which was delicious, calamari, and french fries. And wine. Always wine. It was a great meal.

Afterwards, we went back to our hostel, where J&J had a private honeymoon suite on the rooftop. Ha! I love it. We met up with Mark & Joe and all headed up to hang out in the suite. It was fun just to chill and talk with a bunch of people from our program. Time flew by and soon enough it was bedtime for me!

SUNDAY: Pack up & check out. I had the best seat on the bus (traveling every weekend let's me find out these things) and we headed to Pompeii. Pompeii was interesting. Our tour guide was absolutely horrible, so I feel like I didn't experience everything. We didn't see the Pompeii that I had in my mind's eye, but maybe I had imagined it wrong. Anyways, the ruins were interesting enough. Apparently, the civilians really liked the phallic symbol and put it everywhere. Our guide even told us if you're lost to "follow the penis." Interesting advice. We saw the infamous dog and the "pregnant lady" who wasn't pregnant, just stomach just inflated from the intense heat.

After Pompeii, we headed onto the bus and drove 6 hours home to Florence. It was a piece of cake bus ride! Got back pretty early and an early bedtime for me.

TODAY!! Up early and out way before class, I went to Mama's for breakfast. An onion bagel with veggie cream cheese started my day off right. I relaxed. I sat on Ponte La Carraia for a bit before soc class. Then class. Again, no idea what we are learning anymore. He always talks himself in circles. Instead, I made an awesome To Do List, per usual. Afterwards, we attempted to take the school picture. We held up traffic only to find out that there was a shadow on half of the school. So next week we will attempt another school picture. Italian was fun and fast.

Afterwards, it was Oil Shoppe with Kaila and Julie. So delicious, I had a meatball sub. Hung out in there for a bit with Justin and Nicole until I realized I was supposed to meet my friends in from Sevilla at the Duomo. Yay! I found them on the steps and it was love at last! I finally got to see Lind$ay and we reunited with my Interlaken lovers, Matt & Mike. They all grabbed lunch and we sat and caught up a bit. Eventually headed towards La Accademia, to find out it's closed on Mondays. What else to do? Shop at the leather market! They loved it and I even got myself a bracelet. Score. Eventually, we went to get gelato at my fave, La Carraia. I had to run to cooking lessons to make it at 6pm.

Sadly enough, it was my last cooking lesson of the semester. It was a good one though! We had Pane Romano: Rosette (Typical Roman bread), Crocchette di Mozzarella (Mozzarella balls), Minestrone di Riso (Vegetable and Rice soup), Sogliole alla Fiorentina (Sole & spinach with white sauce), Bignole all'Arancio (Orange cream puffs), & Spumante (similar to champagne). It was a fantastic and delicious last meal. Mrs. F. gave us each a gift for completing her cooking course: a wooden scooper for sugar/salt/tea leaves/etc. THANK YOU MRS. F!!

So now I'm back and procrastinating like crazy. I have 3 huge papers due all within the next 10 days. I can't believe I go home so soon. I'm itching to see people, of course, but I can't imagine the reverse culture shock that I anticipate happening. Only time will tell!

I'll try to squeeze in one last update before Greece - yeah! - but no promises. I'm running out of time!

Buonanotte!

26 days....wait, what!?

Ciao!

I'm trying desperately not to give up on this blog, so alas, I will write.

WEDNESDAY: The usual classes, nothing spectacular. We did, however, take a field trip in Simon's class to Florence's English cemetery, where we were greeted by perhaps the cutest nun ever, Sister Julia. She was soft-spoken and dramatic with her stories of the individuals buried in the yard. It was actually a really beautiful place. Later that night, Kristie, Ari and I went out for gelato. The typical after-dinner treat.

THURSDAY: I had my dreaded Italian exam, which kind of kicked my butt. I knew it would, but oh well. Afterwards, my wifey Diana and I decided to catch some rayz in the Boboli Gardens with Julie. We headed over and - thanks for our student museum cards - went in FO FREE. Sweet! We sat in the grass and people watched for awhile. Eventually Kaila met up with us and we just relaxed and talked under the Tuscan sun. Love. After a few hours, we headed for home.

I guess I underestimated the power of April sun or maybe overestimated the tan-ness of my skin, but when I got home I realized I was a pomodoro (tomato)! My first burn of the season and in Italy. I'll take it. After some dinner and getting ready, I headed out with the girls to meet up with everyone at Naima. Wow! Haven't been there in forever. It was good to be back and just in time for their "Spring Party." It was fun hanging out with the Gino Caponi girls and my own apartment. When's the last time that happened? It was nice. Kaila even brought her whole fam to the bar to mingle with us. How thoughtful!

FRIDAY: I woke up at 10am to Diana calling me about a change of plans and eventually I fell back to sleep until 2pm. It was my first weekend staying in Florence since the first weekend here, so it was nice to hit the snooze and relax. I got up in the afternoon and it was too nice outside to be productive with work. Instead, I decided it necessary to get some things checked off of the Firenze List. All of my roomies were gone, so what else to do? EAT.

I found an item on the list and headed out. About twenty minutes later, I was in Piazza San Marco looking for Pugli's. Found it! I went in and drooled through the display case at the various type of schiacatta (a bread). I decided on three different types to try (hey! that's what it says on the list) and surprised Diana with some lunch. I didn't really want to eat all of it - or by myself for that matter. We munched on the bread and I promised myself that I'll make a solid effort to go back for more before I leave.

After lunch, I grabbed an iced coffee from Astor's and sat on the steps of the Duomo for an hour just to people watch. It was weird not having a single thing to do. It was kind of overwhelming since I've been going, going, going non-stop on the weekends. A man sat down next to me and tried to make conversation. Unfortunately, my macaroni-Italian wasn't cutting it, so instead after an awkward 20-minute silence, he got up and simply said "Ciao."

After the Duomo, I grabbed a few things at Conad and headed home. As soon as I got home, I realized we needed some paper towels and trash bags, so I went back to the market. Once I got back, the roomies returned shortly after. Talking about the beach day for Saturday, I realized I should try to use some sunscreen for my pale self. Rachael and I headed out to find some sunscreen. My third time out to the market in under two hours...crazy! We successfully found some in the pharmacy. Guess how much ONE tube of sunscreen costs? TWENTY EUROS! That equals THIRTY DOLLARS. Reluctantly, we bought it. Better safe than burnt, right?

SATURDAY: We slept in a bit and then got ready for a day at Viareggio, the beach town about an hour and a half away from Florence (past Pisa). Jess, Rachael and I got the train station and waited in the most ridiculously slowest line to purchase our tickets. With two minutes to spare, the tickets printed and we sprinted to our track. Just as we were rounding the corner to board the train, the doors shut and left us cold. ARE YOU SERIOUS!? Oh they were.

We waited another hour and got the next train to the beach. It was mostly sunny out and perfect weather for the beach. The three of us got some kebobs and found a spot with Jess's friends on the sand. I LOVE THE BEACH. I was happy. We sunned for a few hours - with sunscreen this time - until the weather got a little cooler and windy. We called it quits and got the 5:11pm train home to Florence. Exhausted from the sun, it was an early night for all of us.

SUNDAY: Another lazy day with no plans whatsoever, I slept in. I was semi-productive until noon when I ventured out with Ari for some lunch and the sun. We went to Mesopotamia and chatted with Bilal. Ate our kebobs in the sunshine and I was happy. We wandered around through the areas where we haven't ever explored. We walked past Vivoli, another faous gelateria, and decided to try it. This place has the weirdest hours and has never been open when I've walked past. YES. So we went in, ordered, and tried our first Vivoli. Mmmm Mmm. It was much creamier than the other places' gelato. It's definitely one of my new favorites. We walked past La Carraia 2 and thought, "I wonder which is better, La Carraia or La Carraia 2." So why not taste test? Who cares that we literally just ate gelato? So we got another helping of gelato and taste-tested. This was a difficult decision to make. They are both equally delicious but I'll vote La Carraia 2 for better presentation points considering they put a chocolate stick into your gelato. Definite bonus.

Eventually, we crossed the Ponte Vecchio, grabbed some blood oranges, and headed up to Piazza Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. WHAT A LINE! Unfortunately for us Florentine "natives," all of the museums are free to the public for this entire week. The line to enter the Gardens was absurdly long and we turned around. I don't like all of these tourists crowding my city!

Instead, we headed back home to pick up Kristie and meet up with Ari's Greek friend who's studying in Bologna. We found him and his three Greek friends at the Duomo. The first thing I said to them? "S'AGAPO!" (I love you! - in Greek). Thanks Leanna & Mama U, you've taught me well! They loved it. We walked around with them for a bit and grabbed from coffee with them. Eventually, I left in search of a purple Firenze shirt. Found it! I headed home to get ready for the soccer game.

Around 7:00pm, I met up with Kaila, Julie, and Ali. We all grabbed our beer/wine and walked with Jack to the soccer stadium. Fiorentina was playing AC Milan, so it was sure to be a good game. We waited in line for tickets (despite rude Italians who don't understand the concept of a line) and got our tickets. The game was great. We were in the somewhat rowdy section so it was interesting to hear all of the cheers, even if I don't understand them! At the halftime, we found Joe and roomies and sat with them. Unfortunately, Fiorentina lost. They'll always be #1 in my heart.

TODAY! Lazy morning until Soc. I have no idea what we're doing in the class now and I'm positive all of my peers don't either. Our teacher continues to talk in circles and confuse himself, plus us. Afterwards, I grabbed a panino with turkey, pesto, & asiago cheese from the panino man. Delicious! Italian class went fast. Then I took a quick power nap and was off for the elementary school. On my way over, I stopped and treated myself to gelato at La Carraia 2. Strawberry is the perfect flavor for a hot day.

I got to the school around 3:30. The kids were working on seasons today, so I went around and helped them with the seasons in Italian and English. Wow, I didn't even know I knew them in Italian! (They're actually really similar in English so...). After some arts & crafts, we sang the Finger Family song and then it was time to go home. Marta, the teacher, informed me that the class would be on a field trip next Monday so I'd only be coming once more before I returned to America. That made me really sad. So, we're going to have a huge party for my last day there! I can't wait. One of the girls asked to bring in decorations for the classroom. So cute.

After the school, I wandered around past Santa Croce a little more. I was on a mission to cross another thing off of my List. I walked down Via de Macci and found just what I was looking for: La Bottega del Cioccolato! This is one of Florence's revoluationary chocolatiers. I bought olive oil chocolates and a chocoalte bar with chili peppers. Afterwards, I stopped for a snack at Antico Noi, a place also on my list. BAM! BAM! Take that List! It was delicious (although, I still like Oil Shoppe better).

I stopped home real fast and then the roomies and I went to cooking lesson #4 with Mrs. F. We made: Pane Toscano (No salt Tuscan bread), Torta di Ricotta e Spinaci (Spinach & ricotta pie), Spaghetti alla Carrettiera (Spaghetti with spicy tomato), Involtini al Carciofo (Artichoke beef rolls), Fagioli Toscanelli (Tuscan white beans), Biscotti di Prato (Almond cookies). It was delicious! I literally still have food babiez running around on a playground in my stomach. (Mommy, I know you're proud!).

So after stuffing myself silly, I'm here. Hopefully I'll get to Skype into the last SES meeting of th semester! What! So weird! Anyways...this week should be a busy week. I can't believe it's mid-April and I'm leaving in less than a month. It's crazy. Where did my semester go? It still hasn't hit me that I'm living in Italy! It's crunch-time now! Upcoming travels: Amalfi Coast this weekend, Greece for Easter. I'm excited. So much to do, so little time. One thing I am looking forward to: SEEING EVERYONE I LOVE! I miss you all dreadfully. Just come to Italy and life would be perfect.

Updates to come...eventually. Buonanotte!

Bats, Beers, and Baths...Budapest!

Ciao!

Alright, so let me see. It's been nearly a week so time to backtrack as best as possible...

WEDNESDAY: The usual routine with classes. In Soc, Camilla (the author from Italian class) talked with us about becoming a cosmopolitan traveler. It was actually an interesting class. Italian was fun, per usual. Afterwards, I just wandered around Florence and got some Carraia gelato with the girls. My favorite kind of day.

Fast-forward to Wednesday night and that means...POTLUCK! I brought all of my ingredients to Kaila & Diana's apt for the potluck. I even picked us up a bottle of red wine to make it too perfect. I made Roasted Eggplant Dip. Shoutout to Nicki for making me obsessed with this fantastic dip. It's just roasted eggplant, peppers, feta, lemon juice, onion, and olive oil. BAM! Healthy, addictive dip. I made the dip and the roomies all made some pesto pasta and pasta with sauce. Eventually Sarah & Nicole arrived and brought us some fruit salad. We ate everything but the plates. Such food babies! Everything was delicious and successful! It was a fantastic potluck - we'll definitely be repeating these throughout the next month and up at PSU.

After dinner, we all made our way to YAB around midnight. Got in for one-euro cover and had a great time dancing. It was a lot of fun and I fell right to sleep afterwards.

THURSDAY: Woke up nice and early for our Art History trip to the Uffizi. Everyone in my class was on the same level, especially since most of us had been dancing our feet off at YAB the night before. A little panino and Gatorade later, and I was ready for some art! The Uffizi was interesting. I really love La Primavera by Botticelli. Afterwards, Diana and I made our weekly trip to The Oil Shoppe for lunch. It's so delicious and so cheap. I tried a new sammich and had the Tuscan sausage with mustard. New favorite. That was easy.

After Italian, I scrambled around to get packed, get food, and get ready for Budapest! Ari and I left our apartment and met up with the Bus2Alps group at the train station. A little while later and we were on the bus, driving to Buda.

I prepared myself for the 13-hour bus ride, found a cozy position, and half-slept until we arrived at 9am in Budapest, Hungary.

FRIDAY: We checked into the hostel and quickly ate breakfast at a cafe right next door. The man working seemed nice enough. I quickly learned that Hungarian (or Maygar actually) is an extremely difficult language. I did, however, learn to say Thank You! It's pronounced "ker-ser-nom."

After breakfast, we all went on a walking tour. We met out front of St. Stephen's Basilica. We went inside and even got to see the mummified right hand of St. Stephen himself. It was pretty sick. Juts recently they cut off his little pinky and sent it to Australia for the Hungarians there. Awesome.

Afterwards, we wandered over the Chain Bridge. This bridge is the very first bridge linking Buda and Pest (for those that don't know, Buda is the more cultural side where the Castle area is and Pest is the more hip, modern side). We walked across the bridge from Pest to Buda and walked throughout the Castle hill area. We saw a statue of a man on a horse. Our guide, the wonderful little lady that she was, told us that the balls on the horse are gold and shiny because so many people have climbed up to rub them. Rumor has it that if you rub them, you'll get good grades...and have a good sex life. A bunch of us (Ari and myself included) jumped right up and gave those two a good rub. We may have also gotten yelled at in Hungarian by a passerby. Worth it? Definitely. I need good grades!

After the statue, we walked to one of the best views in Budapest: the fisherman's bastion. It was INCREDIBLE. We could see Parliament, many landmarks in Pest, and the entire Danube river. A few photos later and we were on our way to lunch. Our TG took us to a self-serve type of restaurant that reminded me of lunch in middle school. She interpreted the wipe-board menu for us and we all debated about what to choose. From the entire menu, I chose to try the chicken stomach. She highly reccomended it so I was feeling adventurous. I got the stomach and potatoes. A bite into the chicken stomach and I knew she was right. It was fantastic!

After lunch, we went to the caves of Budapest. TIME FOR CAVING! Yep, that's right. Caving. As in wandering around underground in tunnels. We got our wonderful suits and helmets on and headed into one of the caves. I thought it would be scary but it actually wasn't. Our guide was fantastic. She was so agile in the cave! It was pretty cool.

We went through the various "rooms" such as the "theater," the "bar," and the "library." We saw some stalactites growing too. We jumped, crawled, leaped, and twisted to get through the entire route...but we did it. We were down there for about 3.5 to 4 hours. It was just enough time. We even got to see a bat flying around! I was so happy too because a cave isn't a cave without a bat!

After caving, Ari, Annsleigh, Catherine, Alexa and I showered up and then went next door for dinner at The Hummus Bar. Starving from a grueling workout in the caves, we feasted on kebab, hummus, and rice. I know it doesn't sound like a feast but it was so much food! Oh, plus a beer. A fantastic start in Budapest. I was already in love with the city.

After dinner, we wandered through the streets and eventually found a highly recommended ruins-pub. Budapest is famous for the ruins-pubs, which are not-so-noticeable bars that aren't advertised and are highly concealed. Good thing a friend was just in Buda last weekend and gave me the hint. We found Szimpla Kert and walked inside with our fingers crossed. The outside really did look terrifying and we walked through huge plastic planks to reach the inside.

However, once inside it was all fun and games. It was definitely the most unique bar I'd ever been to, with the friendliest atmosphere. There were netting and lights all over the ceiling, old pieces of cars and such throughout the floors, and hookahs on every other table. We met a group of guys from Sweden. They were entertaining to say the least. "Why don't you just buy a plane and fly it to the Galapagos Islands?" A very interesting encounter, definitely.

SATURDAY: Woke up pretty leisurely and headed next door to breakfast. Afterwards, the girls and I walked to the market. What a market!! It's about 10x bigger than Florence's central market. It made me so jealous! The place was huge, just filled with produce, vendors, and souvenirs. It was amazing. We did a little shopping - I even bought some sand thing - and then we grabbed a bite to eat. Ari and I split a Lángos which is a typical fried dough of Budapest. We had a sweet one with fried bananas and nutella. Nom nom nom. Perfection.

After our fried dough, we walked along Andrássy Avenue which is filled with high-end shopping. The nearly 2-mile avenue led us straight to Heroes Square. It was so massive and bare that it was really impressive. We walked right through towards City Park. In the park, we found the Szechenyi Baths, the largest medicinal baths in Europe. The water is supplied by thermal springs below the surface. The five of us went into about 10 different baths, of all different water temperatures. I loved it. The hottest bath we went into was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We also tried one of the hotter saunas, at about 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Too hot for me! My body didn't not like it one bit. It was an experience though. I'd consider the bath houses very successful...I want a membership!

After a leisurely dip, we walked back down the avenue and stopped for a quick lunch of Subway for Annsleigh and Starbucks for everyone. Delicious. Ari and I quickly got ready and headed out with a dozen other people for our Hungarian dinner river boat cruise!

We boarded the boat at just before sunset. Our group had the best table (maybe...) in the entire place. It was right in front of the stage where the band was playing. Wonderful! We were greeted with a glass of champagne and a glass of wine. We quickly took our wine to the upper level for the most perfect photo op. Sunset. River. Wine. Parliament. Gorgeous pictures, gorgeous people. It was perfection.

After the photo session, the buffet opened, and we piled our plates high. Such Americans and I love it. The food was delicious! I learned that I love stuffed cabbage. I didn't think I did. We ate til we could eat no more. And then we had dessert.

After the cruise, we all hung out in the hostel. Some people went out, some people stayed in. It was a wonderful time. The entire group was a lot of fun.

SUNDAY: Up, packed, and had breakfast. We spent the last of our Forints (HUFS). The currency is so bizarre to me. I could never figure out the conversion rate either, so that was of no help. Oh well. Ari and I got the best seats on the bus and we had our own too! Good thing, because the bus ride home lasted 15 hours. At one point, we were reversing in Budapest for about 15 minutes straight. Ridiculous. We were also driving in circles for awhile because apparently the highway we needed to take was closed. It would be. We stopped for lunch at Mickey's in Austria somewhere so that was kinda neat. I got back to Florence around 1:30am. We left Budapest around 10am. Such a crazy journey!

BUDAPEST - I LOVE YOU. I WILL BE BACK. It was definitely one of my favorite places to visit and two days just doesn't do it justice. I can't wait until next time.

MONDAY: Somehow, I got up early enough to get to the central market with Kristie. I stocked up on my veggies and kielbasa. Classes were just the same old. It being Monday, I got to go to the elementary school to hang out with my buddies. It was awesome, as usual, and I helped them draw school supplies and say the names in English. They've improved so much in pronunciation I can't believe it! Then we learned a new song: "The Finger Family." It's cute, they seem to like it. An hour later and it was time for goodbyes. I love the school, it just sets me in such a great mood.

After that it was just about time for cooking lessons with Mrs. F! I was so excited for lessons. We made the best meal yet: Pane Siculo (Sicilian sesame bread), Peperoni Marinati (marinated sweet peppers), Tagliatelle ai Fungi (Pasta with mushrooms, Coniglio e Patate Arrosto (roast rabbit & potatoes), & Tiramisu! We made the pasta from scratch and got to use the pasta-maker machine. It was so fun. Of course, the tiramisu was delicious. My favorite food, I was in heaven! Cooking lesson #3 was very successful. We finished off the wine and called it a night. I love Italy.

TODAY: Art history: Check. Then Kristie, Diana, Rachael, and I decided it's time we find the Tuesday Market. We walked all the way past the American Embassy and Luna Park. Just when I was about to give up hope, we smelled some food and saw a bunch of white tents in the middle of the park. THE MARKET. It's so similar to Rice's back home, I was in heaven. Shoes, clothes, food, animals...all for cheap! It was great. I got a fantastic yellow scarf and some nibbles to eat.

After the market, I went to Italian. It was an interesting class sitting next to Justin. UCONN won the March Madness Tourney and since half of my program here are students from UCONN, they too were celebrating the victory. It was a laugh.

Later in the afternoon, I met up with Diana and Kaila and we climbed to the very top of the Duomo. It's something that's been on my To-Do List for about, hmm, two months now. SO WE DID IT! The climb up wasn't that tiring at all. It went by pretty fast. The view from the top - incredible. I love just looking out and seeing all of Firenze. However, I did enjoy the view from Campanile a little bit more, I think just because I could see the Duomo in front of me (and not be standing on top of it).

Duomo climb, check. We grabbed some canolis and just sat in Piazza dell Republicca. It was nice. I quickly checked into my apartment, got ready, and walked back up to the girls' apartment. We all went out for Aperitivo at a new place near their apartment, Kitch. Unfortunately, we were a little late and this place was packed. No worries, we wandered all the way around Florence until we found the rive and just crossed it to get to Zoe's for their aperitivo. Fantastic! We ordered our drinks and then helped ourselves to the appetizers. Some were great (like the gnocchi) and some were strange (like the rice dish). Overall, a great night with great people.

So now I'm home. I finally unpacked from Budapest (oh, and it's actually pronounced Budapesht, with a SH sound). My room is semi-clean, laundry done, and now it's time for bed. I'm exhausted and lots to do tomorrow!

Buonanotte!

Lennon, Beer, and...Beer. Praha!

Ciao!

Update from last week: Thursday was my last cultural literacy class. It was the most beautiful weather in Florence so we convinced Sarah Barker to get some gelato from La Carraia and then have our final class outside at Piazza Santa Maria Novella. She was more than happy to get out of the classroom and into springtime Florence. We got our gelato (I had lemon and raspberry - SO good) and then had our last class. I wish this course was offered for the entire semester. A class picture later and bam - one class done!

Later that night, Rachael and I packed up and met up with Joe and Kaila for our lovely 12-hour bus ride to Prague! We departed Florence at 8:15pm. I was bus buddies with Kaila and we watched some movies until the first rest stop in Germany. We had a brief stop in Munich to drop off some students and then four hours later arrived in Prague. That was at 9am Friday morning.

FRIDAY: We found our way to the hostel, St. Christopher's Mosaic House. Unfortunately, we couldn't check into our room until 3pm so instead we freshened up and met up with Becca. I love seeing friends in Europe - it's kind of bizarre but in a surreal way. So we all headed out to check out Old Town Square and Europe's "2nd Most Overrated Attraction" - the astrological clock. I like it, but I have no idea how to tell the time.

We walked through the square, which resembles DisneyWorld. The buildings are gorgeous and are brightly colored. It's a fantastic square to relax in. We got some breakfast at Bohemia Bagel. Afterwards, we wandered over the Charles Bridge to find the John Lennon Wall. So this wall the actually the only thing I wanted to do in Prague. For those of you that don't know what it is, Google image it. Just an idea: " In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime of Gustav Husak. Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as "Lennonism" and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism. The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of youth ideals such as love and peace." I brought a bag of sharpies specifcally for this occasion. We all picked a few and got to work. We added personal touches to the already-graffiti-filled wall. The wall is imcredible. I could just sit by it all day, I'm pretty sure.

After reading the majority of inspirational quotes and lyrics, taking a few pictures, and looking at it in awe (again and again) we made our way right around the corner to the Lovers' Lock Bridge. It's a bridge covered in locks. Lovers go to this bridge, put a lock around the iron railing, and throw the key into the river. The love lasts forever. It's very touching.

Afterwards, we hiked up the hill, and finally onwards to Prague Castle. I was confused at first because we never found the "castle" but then I realized that the Prague Castle is more of a village and not so much of a stereotypical castle (such as the Edinburgh Castle). It was interesting and we went into the Cathedral, a second church, and the Old Palace. The view from the castle was incredible - you can really see all of Prague.

Rachael, Joe, Kaila and I stopped at a restaurant for lunch. The first thing that I noticed was everyone was smoking...inside. Wow, I haven't seen that in awhile and good thing. Smoke-free places are definitely the way to go. We sucked it up and sat down to a fantastic Czech lunch: goulash and dumplings. Oh, and beer. We all got the Pilsner Urquell. I really liked it. Plus, it was way cheap. Prague uses the Czech crown, so in dollars a half liter of beer costs only about $1.25. Phenomenal!

Afterwards, we wandered around some more, eventually returning to the hostel. We could finally check into our room and were more than surprised with what we found. The four of us were staying in a 16-person mixed dorm. Sounds creepy? Not in the least. The room was the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in - even nicer than some hotels. Each bunk bed had a wall on one side and a curtain on the other for maximum privacy. Speaking of beds, they were HEAVENLY. down comforters with down pillows the size of a dining table. Incredible. We all layed down for a quick power nap, got ready, and then met up with Becca + Co for dinner.

We had dinner at a place near our hostel. It took us forever to find it because unfortunately for us, Czech is the craziest language I've encountered. It's all just consonants and accent marks thrown together. We finally found the restaurant and had a fantastic dinner. I had mixed veggie quesadillas and hot wine. Hot wine is delicious. It's similar to sangria with cinnamon. Plus it's hot. Duh. I really liked it. For dessert, I had warm raspberries over vanilla ice cream - nom nom nom.

After dinner, we found The Beer Factory, located on Wenceslas Square. The bar was actually really cool. I wish we had come in earlier because there are a bunch of tables throughout the floor, each with their own beer tap. During certain hours, you can "challenge" other tables to see who can drink the most beer. Instead, we just got a corner couch and hung out. When Gabby was sleeping in the bar, we decided it best to call it a night and return to our wonderful heavenly cloud beds in the hostel.

SATURDAY: Today was not as nice out. However, chillier weather and some drizzling from the sky didn't put a damper on our mood. We were in PRAGUE! We grabbed some bagels at Bohemia and met up in Old Town for the free walking tour. The tour was AMAZING. Our guide, Colin, was super energetic and animated, perfect for me. He was from Scotland and had some great jokes. We went through Old Town Square, past Estates Theatre where Mozart conducted, and through the Jewish Quarter. He was full of information that really made Prague come alive. Definitely one of my favorite things we did.

After the tour, we followed Joe's great advice and went to check out a market in Northeast Prague. We found the metro and bought our tickets. Good thing too because there were guards checking. Two came up to me and, at first, I thought they were drug dealers. I didn't understand anything they said to me so I simply said "No. No thank you" and tried to keep walking. Eventually it made sense that they were actually transportation security and wanted to see my ticket. Honest mistake?

We got to the metro, after walking alongside a highway, and stood in front of it. Not exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking it'd be similar to Rice's or Canal Street. It was probably the most sketchy, ghetto market I'd ever been in. The four of us hurried about the long aisles of stands, anxious to get the heck out! Joe did make one successful purchase: brass knuckles. Why? I'm not exactly sure, but it made me feel a little safer.

After that near-death encounter (not really, but maybe), the girls all took a nap in our cloud beds. We woke up, got ready, and headed out to dinner right down the road at Csdkjsjrklejf. Maybe that's not the name of the restaurant, but you get my point. Crazy Czech names! We walked into the restaurant and were extremely happily surprised that they asked if we wanted Smoking or Non-Smoking seating. It's been awhile since that's been asked! Obviously we chose Non-Smoking. We all ordered some beers and our dinners. My friend Emily from SES finally found us! It was so great to meet up with her, especially since she's been living in Praha for the past 9 months. We ate our delicious dinners. I ordered some O-rings and then for dinner roasted duck, dumplings, and cabbage. Delicious. First time for duck and it's a success!

After a few more beers, Joe, Rachael, Kaila and I headed towards Old Town. We stopped for some postcards and eventually found The Beer Museum. To our surprise, it was not a museum at all but instead a pub...even better! The girls split the 10-beer sampler and Joe got his own. There were about 50 different types of beers to choose from so we picked the craziest ones: blueberry, chocolate, raspberry, cappucino, Indian pale ale, demon, sweetheart, and so on. We let our waitress pick the last few because we got too tired of searching for more.

My favorite beer, BY FAR, was the raspberry. I could drink that with my breakfast! The chocolate beer was interesting. At first it tasted like chocolate, but then you remember you're drinking beer and it freaked me out. Anyways, it was definitely a lot of fun to try the wacky flavors. We even made a new friend! We don't know his name, but we do know that he wore 2 pairs of glasses and he didn't have teeth. An interesting man found us while we were beer sampling and kept talking to us in some foreign language...possibly one that he made up himself. He may or may not have been homeless and he may or may not have been crazy. But we liked him.

We left the Museum and there was only one thing left on my Prague To-Do List: eat a sausage sandwich from the street stands on Wenceslas Square. Luckily, that was just on our way home so I got one! It was delicious, although too fatty for me. Prague List Complete. Oh, and I even managed to fit a quick phonecall to the US in too at midnight - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANE!!! :) We got back to the hostel and the UCONN game was on. We hung out in the bar for a bit and I noticed I had some crowns leftover. I didn't want to waste my money so I got a beer from the bar. I chose Gambrinus, trying something new. I loved it. The bartender was from Australia (although I guessed Scotland at first...hm) and even gave me a discount. Beer finished, goodbyes to Becca complete, it was time for bed.

SUNDAY: Happy Daylight Savings for Europe! We remembered to set our ghetto phones ahead and our watches too. We woke up on time and checked out of the hostel. We got to the bus right at 9:30am and left Prague for home. We made a pitstop for lunch and continued to Munich to pick the rest of the group up. I needed a window seat so Joe sat with me. Typical. We watched some more movies on the ride back and stopped once more for a short dinner break. To sum it up...14 hours later, we were home from Prague in our lovely Firenze! Wow.

So Prague, I love you. You were beautiful, relaxing, very bohemian and fun. I'll be back. As for the Lennon Wall, next time I'm bringing a bucket of paint...and glitter.

MONDAY: Classes per usual. It was a rainy rainy day here in Firenze. The most unproductive day I've had possibly this entire semester. However, as it was Monday, that meant COOKING LESSON!! We were a smaller group but that's okay. On the menu tonight: Schiacciata al Olio (Focaccia), Pasta e Ceci (Pasta soup with chickpeas), Petto al di Polle al Limone (Lemon chicken), Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant parmesan), & Salame Dolce (Sweet fake salami).

We made our own focaccia bread - it's SO easy!! I put onion, proscuitto, and cheese on mine. We made the pasta soup, lemon chicken and eggplant parm. It was so much food! Not soon enough but eventually we sat down to dine. Everything was so delicious. I really think I'm learning to cook! The dessert we made is a sort of "prank" dessert. It is cocoa, eggs, and crushed cookies that is rolled up to resemble salami. It looked too much like salami and kind of freaked me out...but I ate it and loved it. A nice little dessert snack.

Dinner was delicious and Kristie, Amanda, and I rolled ourselves down to our apartment. Such a great meal. From 10pm until 4am I can't even tell you what I did. I was so unproductive and just vegged. It was actually nice. I got to Skype with Babci! The infamous Babci!! So that was nice. I even got to Skype with Diana and Kaila at 3:30am. So funny.

TODAY: Somehow I managed to wake up and make it to Art History on time. Afterwards, Diana and I ran some errands and went to the market. Again, I'm a bandit! Let's see, I successfully purchased: blood oranges, Pink Lady apples, lemons, mozzarella, Greek feta, baguette, red/white onion, red/green pepper, eggplant, potatoes and kielbasa. Woohoo! Tomorrow night is Potluck Dinner with the girls so I'm getting all of my fresh ingredients. I'm so excited!

After the market and lunch, we had Italian class. We had some elderly Italians visit us and chat with us. My group had possibly the two cutest grandmas or "nonna" ever. Only downfall? They spoke all in Italian - no English - and barely took a pause to breathe. What did I learn? They were Italian. That may be it. It was a lot of fun, regardless.

So now it's 6:00pm and it's time to get ready for yet another great dinner. We have a dinner field trip with Italian class to a restaurant. How nice. I want this in the States! Time to get ready but I'll keep trying to update as much as possible!

PS: BUDAPEST UPDATE: IT'S A GO!!! So it looks like Ari and I will be taking thermal baths in Budapest this weekend. Hollaaaaa!

Ciao Ciao!

What a Week!

Hello!

So let me try to update everything from this week...

MONDAY: We had our second apartment check and what do you know? WE GOT A GREEN CARD! Finally! Classes went fast. Then the roomies and I got ready for our very first cooking lesson!

We headed to our lesson at a woman named Mrs. F, an American who married an Italian man and then stayed in Florence. She's nice and seems to know her stuff. We got to her cozy apartment around 6:30, washed up, and began our first lesson. There were 8 of us total, including Mrs. F. We received our personal cook books, with each lesson's itinerary, as well as "spin-off" recipes. Fabulous! I can't wait to be a chef!

So for our first lesson we made our four-course meal: Polenta all Piastra (grilled polenta with cheese), Papal al Pomodoro (tomato bread soup), Pane ai 5 Cerealo (5-grain bread), Frittata di Porri e Patata (eggs with leeks and potatoes), Fagiolini in Umido (stewed green beans) and finally Crostata di More (blackberry torte).

Dinner was delicious and it was literally the hardest waiting I've had to do for food. Definitely worth it though, and I may or may not have helped myself to seconds and thirds. It was definitely one of the best meals I've had in awhile. We got back from lessons three and a half hours later, stuffed to the brim, which made it easy to fall asleep with my food baby.

TUESDAY: Up early for classes, it was definitely difficult to get through Art History. Afterwards, I convinced Diana to tag along with Kristie, Rachael, and I for our Tuesday trip to the central market. Good thing she did, too, because I "made out like a bandit" as she'll agree with. Kristie showed us to the best dried fruit I've ever had (the first dried fruit I've ever had for that matter..). I loaded my bag with dried strawberries and cherries. I'm definitely more of a fan for the strawberries - yum! They taste just like gummies. Afterwards, I showed off my kielbasa stand and got some kielbasa snackskis too. Next, picked up my mozzarella! Finally, onto the best veggie stand in the central market. I got 10 potatoes, 2 red onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, and 1 yellow pepper, plus a huge chunk of celery all for THREE EUROS. That's $4.23. Such a steal!

More than thrilled with my market purchases, the four of us headed back to the apartment for some lunch. I cooked up the veggies and kielbasa with pasta for Diana and I. Afterwards, time for Italian. We had an author come talk to our class about her novel. We had to translate some passages and she criticized the use of Google Translate (with good intentions).

After Italian, it was way too nice outside to sit in The Cave all day, so thankfully Diana was up for more adventures. We met up with Ari and a friend and all went over the bridge to La Carraia. Easily, my favorite gelato in all of Florence. I decided to be completely crazy and go for some fruit gelato, since I'd never had it before (I usually stick to tiramisu or baccio). I debated but ultimately settled for a 2-euro cup of raspberry & strawberry. Wise decision. We got our gelatos and had no place in mind to walk. We knew we wanted to be in the sun, so we just sat on Ponte Carraia (the bridge) and sat and talked. It was perfect. Eventually we ran into Kristie and Sarah Barker (our Aussie teacher).

After gelato, it was still too nice outside to go home so instead we wandered up to the leather market with SarahFrank. We wandered throughout the entire market and decided to head home and get ready for the night. After a quick power nap, I made dinner and Ari, Sarah and I made the half-hour trek to Diana and Kaila's apartment. We sat down, chatted, and realized we all have the same circles of friends. I love what a small world it is! I can't wait to get back to school and all love on Italy together.

We headed out around 11pm to BeBop, a local bar that on Tuesday nights has a Beatles cover band. We got to the Bop, realized it was too packed (we were a little late), and decided it best to just try again another week. Instead, we all just walked around Florence in the perfect nighttime weather. I love this place. Around 12:15am, Ari took us all to one of Florence's infamous "secret bakeries." My second bakery in less than a week - I'm loving life! Big girl bed here I come! We all got donuts - some chocolate and the rest cream. D-E-LICIOUS! The perfect end to a fabulous night.

TODAY: Sociology was a struggle, as I could barely follow what Pierluca was trying to prove. He talks in circles sometimes, but it's okay. I made the greatest To-Do List ever. Afterwards, Italian was the best time, per usual, as we were listening to "Due," an Italian song by Laura Pausini. It's supposed to a love song, but after we translated it, seemed more like a psychotic attempt to find love. It really was ridiculous. Entertaining to Justin, Kaila, and I though.

After classes, Kristie, Ari, Ann, Brooke, and I had lunch at The Oil Shoppe, one of my favorite sandwich shops in Florence. For 6 Euro, you get a huge sandwich, fries, and a water. It's a deal. Right from lunch, Ann and I managed to be only a minute late to Simon's class. A somewhat interesting lesson, we had a sight visit to Orsanmichele. Five minutes and a worksheet later, I was home-free!

So that's been my week. Tomorrow I have classes and unfortunately one is my last cultural literacy class with Barker. Womp. Shortly after that, I leave for Prague for the weekend with Rachael, Kaila and Joe!! I can't wait. I'm not too happy that I'm leaving gorgeous Florence weather for colder Prague weather, but hey, I've got the travel bug :)