Ciaoooo,
My time in Florence is coming to a bittersweet end. It has been one awesome semester, filled with traveling and new experiences. I fell in love with Florence just like everyone said I would. I adjusted to the different, but always interesting and fun, Italian culture. I made tons of new friends and have one of the best times of my life. I had the most amazing time here, and I can't wait to come back to Florence one day. It has honestly been life-changing, and I can't even begin to describe it. It has made me feel so much more independent and I know that one day I'll be able to successfully live on my own after doing it for four months in a different country. I have also learned to cook a little better. A lot of studying abroad deals with different cultures and interactions that aren't always familiar to me. Italian culture is much more slow-moving than American culture, and that was a big adjustment. When things went wrong, I had to learn to just accept them and let them happen, and stop worrying as much. I learned to take life as it comes.
I met so many great people, looking to expand their horizons just like I was. They were all amazing, and I will miss all my friends, but I'm sure I will see my Penn State friends very often. I loved the experience of a smaller city school compared to Penn State, which is in the middle of nowhere, but absolutely huge. I enjoyed the different atmosphere. I loved being in a city and I will definitely consider living in a city after I graduate.
I loved so much about Florence. Although I'm not an expert in art and architecture, I enjoyed all of it. I have so much more respect now for all the Renaissance history here in Florence, and it was awesome to learn about it in my Story of the City class. The food was the BEST food I will ever have in my life. I was blown away by the pasta, steak, and of course, pizza. I think I will miss the pizza the most, just had my last Gustapizza tonight. :( Florence is a beautiful city and I loved living here. Of course there's some things I won't miss, such as the ambulance sirens, men staring, and mosquitoes, but the pros outweight the cons by 1000000%.
I enjoyed traveling a lot. I traveled to: Interlaken, Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Venice, Capri, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast. I had a great time in all of my trips, but my two favorites were the Amalfi Coast and Interlaken. I was a little burnt out after spring break and all my travels before, so I didn't do as much traveling the second half of the semester. I enjoyed Florence, and did a lot of day trips around Italy. I liked Italy so much and I will be back one day. After all, I threw the penny over my right shoulder in Rome... so that means I'll be back.
This has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I think that will continue with me throughout my life. I will always remember what I've learned here, and how it has been a life-changing experience. Just yesterday it feels like I was moving into my apartment, and now I'm moving out. I had a great night last night with all of the friends I met, and at our farewell reception we were able to say goodbye to all of the wonderful faculty and teachers. Our soccer team was recognized at the reception, and it was a good time. Today, we shopped for souvenirs, ate at the best restaurant and best pizza place, grabbed gelato, and relaxed in the Boboli gardens: all the things I'm really going to miss in Florence. I'm really excited to be home at this point and see all my friends and family. But I can't help but feel a little sad to be leaving Florence, and I know I will miss it. Time really flies when you're having fun; as corny as that is.
Arrivederci Firenze,
Katie
Back to the USA I go <3
Friday, May 3, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Ciao a tutti,
I've been having a great past 2 weeks in Florence! I decided not to go to Germany because I would rather go to Berlin, and I wasn't a huge fan of the company who was running the trip. I'm sure I will make it back to Germany one day, hopefully after I'm rich. I cannot believe I have less than 2 weeks left in Florence. It's very bittersweet because I'm very excited to be home, but I will really miss it here. I have my bucket list of things that I still need to do before I go: a few more restaurants to eat at, and some shopping to be done.
Last weekend, I relaxed and got some work done. On Saturday, me and some of my friends took a day trip to Cinqueterre, which is on the coast of Italy. "Cinqueterre" literally means 'the five lands', because it is 5 little towns on the coast which are all fairly close to each other. Cinqueterre reminds me a little of the Amalfi Coast and how the houses are built into the mountains overlooking the water. It's very beautiful. There are a lot of hiking and walking paths in between the towns. It would take a while to hike/walk to all of them in one day but we were planning on hiking to a few towns. We got to the first town, Riomaggiore, and was told that only one hiking path was open and everything else was closed. This was because it rained so much this spring and there were some mudslides which damaged the paths and made them too dangerous. So after hearing the disappointing news, we took a train to the second town, Manarola, which was probably my favorite. The houses were so colorful and pretty. We had the perfect day with sun all day, and a great breeze. We started hiking up the mountain, and it was very difficult and exhausting. We hiked up the mountain for probably close to an hour. The coolest part was seeing the views. There was also these cool statues of the progression of people carrying crosses up the hill. We saw so many crosses, they must have been very religious. If you made one wrong step though, you could tumble down the whole mountain which was pretty scary. We hiked up to a town called Volastra (not part of the 5 lands) and then continued our way down to the third town, Corniglia. The whole hike was about 2 and a half hours and it was so fun, exhausting, and rewarding. We saw some really amazing views that we wouldn't have been able to see if the walking paths were open on the water. We ate lunch and got some gelato in Corniglia and then took a train to the fifth town, Monterosso, and skipped the fourth town. At Monterosso, we just decided to spend the rest of our time on the beach. It was so nice out and we were pretty exhausted from all the hiking. It was a great trip and I'm even thinking about going back next weekend, just for a day.
This past week was good. I already have written an evaluation for my teacher which is so weird that I'm leaving so soon. I've been working on final papers for my classes and attempting to do
some work. Last week we had our playoffs for soccer. We made it to the
semifinals, by beating our other school team. We lost to a close game in
the semifinals. I'm sad soccer is over, but I had a great time playing.
At volunteering, we helped set up the curtains for their stage for their
play. Their play is so good but I wish we were still here to see them
perform.
This past
weekend was fun; I just spent it hanging out with friends and we took a day
trip to Pisa today! I finally made it to Pisa!! Most people warned me that it
was a very boring town, and that all you do is take a picture with the tower
and leave. I didn't think it was too boring. Caroline and I walked
from the train station to the tower, and along the way we walked through a
little market and got some food. We took funny pictures with the tower,
and since it was nice out, we just relaxed on the grass near the tower, church,
and baptistry. The tower was really cool. We didn't climb up it
because there was nothing to do, and it's not even that tall so the views
wouldn't be spectacular. We just decided taking tourist pictures was
enough.
This week I
have a few more things to cross off my Florence bucket list. I still need
to buy some souvenirs for myself, including a leather jacket. They are so
expensive but they really are a lifelong purchase. I found one that I
really love, but I want to see if maybe I can find something a little cheaper.
I have already crossed off my big leather bag, which I'm too afraid to
use because I don't want to get it dirty. I have two big food places I'd
like to go to: Acqua al Due, and Il Latini. Il Latini is supposed to be
the best steaks in Florence, so I'm very excited about that. Other than
that, I'm looking forward to spending the week with friends, and making sure I
eat gelato everyday. I am in shock that I leave so soon, it's very
bittersweet.
Buonanotte,
Katie
Monday, April 8, 2013
Buongiorno Ragazzi,
I had one of the best trips I've had this past weekend!!! I went to the beautiful Amalfi Coast and I want to go back this weekend, if only I could. We booked the trip through a company and they pretty much plan everything and make it extremely easy and fun. We left thursday night at 8 PM and arrived in Amalfi Coast, specifically the town of Sorrento around 2 AM. We were staying at a hotel called Hotel Florida and it was pretty nice and clean. They had a pool that wasn't filled yet, and a courtyard with tons of lemon and orange trees. It felt so much like summer and we had a beautiful weekend of warm and sunny weather.
After getting there closer to 3 AM, we had about 3 hours of sleep and then we were on the move. We had to catch the ferry to Capri (island off the coast) at 7:15. I slept most of the way on the ferry and then we started hitting really big waves and after waking up, I was really motion sick. Then when we got off I was so relieved, only to find out that we were getting on a smaller boat to do a boat tour around the whole island. I felt a little better on this boat, but still pretty sick. I didn't throw up though!! I think at least two girls on my boat threw up, and there were a lot of people who didn't look so good. Anyways, the boat tour was really awesome. We saw the blue grotto, but unfortunately we couldn't go into it because the tides were too high. The water was such a beautiful blue though. We also got to see the green grotto which was a greenish-blue water. After the boat tour, we hiked up to the main part of Capri and got to take amazing pictures. We got fresh squeezed smoothies, and I got a lemon and blood orange one and it was delicious. We then took a bus to Anacapri, which is on the other side of the mountain and a little bit higher than Capri. We got really great pizza for lunch and shopped around. I bought some really pretty earrings. They sell a lot of coral jewelry. We also saw all the shops that make handmade leather sandals right in the store. They were all so beautiful, but the lowest price I saw was 65€, which was crazy. After shopping, we took a chairlift to the top of the island. The views up were awesome, but we were in a cloud when we got to the top, so we couldn't see any of the island, just white cloud. It was pretty funny. After Anacapri, we went back down to Capri and just took a nap in the sun until it was time to get back on the ferry to Sorrento. We got back to Sorrento with just enough time to shower and go out to dinner. The town of Sorrento is cute, but there wasn't much going on at night.
On Saturday, we were headed for Positano. We took little buses there because the roads are very tiny and they wind up the mountain, it was a pretty crazy view. We got to Positano around 11, and we pretty much just laid on the beach all day. The beach was a black sand beach which was really cool because I had never been on one before! I also found a lot of sea glass which is just pieces of glass, but the sea has worn it down so it's a different coating but they're all different colors. I collected a bunch to bring home. The farther part of the beach was sand, but the part closest to the Mediterranean was rocks. We laid on the rocks, and it was surprisingly comfortable. Although if you walked around for more than 5 minutes, it was pretty painful on your bare feet. We took a break for a quick lunch and some quick shopping, but for the most part we just laid on the beach and hung out. We went in the water a few times even though it was pretty cold. The water was so blue and beautiful. The way the houses and buildings are built into the side of the mountain makes it look like paradise. I absolutely want to go back one day. After we got back to Sorrento, we showered and ate dinner at the hotel. Then we went to the other hostel's bar, but it was pretty boring so it was an early night.
On Sunday morning we left around 10 to head home. On the way home we stopped at Pompei which was only an hour away from Sorrento. I loved all the ruins in Rome so I was really excited for Pompei. We had a guided tour which was nice, even though the tour group was a little too big in my opinion. Pompei was a huge city for being built in 79 AD. The map we were given was extremely large and I would have gotten lost if I wasn't on a tour. We saw a lot of ruins, and it was crazy how well everything was preserved because of the volcanic ash. Pompei was built right on the water, but because of all the volcano eruptions, it is now probably a mile from the Mediterranean. We saw churches, market places, a brothel, and even some mansions which were very large. One of my favorite things we saw was the theater, which was older than the colosseum, but not nearly as big. This theater was just used for plays, not gladiator fights. Seeing the preserved bodies was scary, but also interesting. They are so well preserved that some of the ash has come off and you can see the skeletons. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted, it first erupted with volcanic ash, which contained sulfur so when it hit the town of Pompei, everyone died instantly because it suffocated them. The lava would flow later. It was really interesting to learn about. After the tour, we went to a place that our tour leaders recommended for lunch. They had told the restaurant there would be a lot of people coming to there and they still only had three people working. It took us a half hour to place our order and an hour just to get pizza. It was ridiculous and extremely frustrating. By the time we got our pizza we were already late for the bus and had to take it pizza boxes with us. We had a pretty relaxing drive back and got home Sunday night around 10.
This was probably one of my favorite trips because it was so beautiful. The weather was amazing and everything we did was truly awesome. I had an amazing weekend with my friends, and I loved just laying on the beach. Interlaken is still one of my favorite trips too. They are both two opposite extremes, but I loved both trips. I am still debating about traveling to Germany on April 18-21. The travel company that most of my friends are going with is really unreliable and I don't really want use them for my trip. I would like to go to Germany, but it is the second to last weekend that I am in Florence and I only have three weekends left, which one will be spent studying. I also want to take a few day trips to some places I haven't been to Italy yet. Some of these places are Cinqueterre, Viareggio (beach), and Pisa. I don't want to regret not going to Germany, but I really want to spend my last weekends in Florence. I am also very worn out from traveling; it can be truly exhausting.
This week I have a few things going on. I have two soccer games tomorrow night and it's playoffs. On Wednesday night, I have a Renaissance dinner that I signed up to go to with my history class. It was a little expensive, but the courses are going to be amazing. It's a five course dinner, first course: ginger and pasta and walnuts, second course: potato with tomato and cheese sauce, third course: renaissance boar suffused with chocolate, fourth course: spicy beef, and a fifth course consisting of a dessert. And of course, there is unlimited red wine. I'm really excited about this meal, if you couldn't tell. Then on thursday, I have volunteering. I'm probably just going to have a relaxing weekend and do a day trip or two.
Ciao,
Katie
I had one of the best trips I've had this past weekend!!! I went to the beautiful Amalfi Coast and I want to go back this weekend, if only I could. We booked the trip through a company and they pretty much plan everything and make it extremely easy and fun. We left thursday night at 8 PM and arrived in Amalfi Coast, specifically the town of Sorrento around 2 AM. We were staying at a hotel called Hotel Florida and it was pretty nice and clean. They had a pool that wasn't filled yet, and a courtyard with tons of lemon and orange trees. It felt so much like summer and we had a beautiful weekend of warm and sunny weather.
After getting there closer to 3 AM, we had about 3 hours of sleep and then we were on the move. We had to catch the ferry to Capri (island off the coast) at 7:15. I slept most of the way on the ferry and then we started hitting really big waves and after waking up, I was really motion sick. Then when we got off I was so relieved, only to find out that we were getting on a smaller boat to do a boat tour around the whole island. I felt a little better on this boat, but still pretty sick. I didn't throw up though!! I think at least two girls on my boat threw up, and there were a lot of people who didn't look so good. Anyways, the boat tour was really awesome. We saw the blue grotto, but unfortunately we couldn't go into it because the tides were too high. The water was such a beautiful blue though. We also got to see the green grotto which was a greenish-blue water. After the boat tour, we hiked up to the main part of Capri and got to take amazing pictures. We got fresh squeezed smoothies, and I got a lemon and blood orange one and it was delicious. We then took a bus to Anacapri, which is on the other side of the mountain and a little bit higher than Capri. We got really great pizza for lunch and shopped around. I bought some really pretty earrings. They sell a lot of coral jewelry. We also saw all the shops that make handmade leather sandals right in the store. They were all so beautiful, but the lowest price I saw was 65€, which was crazy. After shopping, we took a chairlift to the top of the island. The views up were awesome, but we were in a cloud when we got to the top, so we couldn't see any of the island, just white cloud. It was pretty funny. After Anacapri, we went back down to Capri and just took a nap in the sun until it was time to get back on the ferry to Sorrento. We got back to Sorrento with just enough time to shower and go out to dinner. The town of Sorrento is cute, but there wasn't much going on at night.
On Saturday, we were headed for Positano. We took little buses there because the roads are very tiny and they wind up the mountain, it was a pretty crazy view. We got to Positano around 11, and we pretty much just laid on the beach all day. The beach was a black sand beach which was really cool because I had never been on one before! I also found a lot of sea glass which is just pieces of glass, but the sea has worn it down so it's a different coating but they're all different colors. I collected a bunch to bring home. The farther part of the beach was sand, but the part closest to the Mediterranean was rocks. We laid on the rocks, and it was surprisingly comfortable. Although if you walked around for more than 5 minutes, it was pretty painful on your bare feet. We took a break for a quick lunch and some quick shopping, but for the most part we just laid on the beach and hung out. We went in the water a few times even though it was pretty cold. The water was so blue and beautiful. The way the houses and buildings are built into the side of the mountain makes it look like paradise. I absolutely want to go back one day. After we got back to Sorrento, we showered and ate dinner at the hotel. Then we went to the other hostel's bar, but it was pretty boring so it was an early night.
On Sunday morning we left around 10 to head home. On the way home we stopped at Pompei which was only an hour away from Sorrento. I loved all the ruins in Rome so I was really excited for Pompei. We had a guided tour which was nice, even though the tour group was a little too big in my opinion. Pompei was a huge city for being built in 79 AD. The map we were given was extremely large and I would have gotten lost if I wasn't on a tour. We saw a lot of ruins, and it was crazy how well everything was preserved because of the volcanic ash. Pompei was built right on the water, but because of all the volcano eruptions, it is now probably a mile from the Mediterranean. We saw churches, market places, a brothel, and even some mansions which were very large. One of my favorite things we saw was the theater, which was older than the colosseum, but not nearly as big. This theater was just used for plays, not gladiator fights. Seeing the preserved bodies was scary, but also interesting. They are so well preserved that some of the ash has come off and you can see the skeletons. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted, it first erupted with volcanic ash, which contained sulfur so when it hit the town of Pompei, everyone died instantly because it suffocated them. The lava would flow later. It was really interesting to learn about. After the tour, we went to a place that our tour leaders recommended for lunch. They had told the restaurant there would be a lot of people coming to there and they still only had three people working. It took us a half hour to place our order and an hour just to get pizza. It was ridiculous and extremely frustrating. By the time we got our pizza we were already late for the bus and had to take it pizza boxes with us. We had a pretty relaxing drive back and got home Sunday night around 10.
This was probably one of my favorite trips because it was so beautiful. The weather was amazing and everything we did was truly awesome. I had an amazing weekend with my friends, and I loved just laying on the beach. Interlaken is still one of my favorite trips too. They are both two opposite extremes, but I loved both trips. I am still debating about traveling to Germany on April 18-21. The travel company that most of my friends are going with is really unreliable and I don't really want use them for my trip. I would like to go to Germany, but it is the second to last weekend that I am in Florence and I only have three weekends left, which one will be spent studying. I also want to take a few day trips to some places I haven't been to Italy yet. Some of these places are Cinqueterre, Viareggio (beach), and Pisa. I don't want to regret not going to Germany, but I really want to spend my last weekends in Florence. I am also very worn out from traveling; it can be truly exhausting.
This week I have a few things going on. I have two soccer games tomorrow night and it's playoffs. On Wednesday night, I have a Renaissance dinner that I signed up to go to with my history class. It was a little expensive, but the courses are going to be amazing. It's a five course dinner, first course: ginger and pasta and walnuts, second course: potato with tomato and cheese sauce, third course: renaissance boar suffused with chocolate, fourth course: spicy beef, and a fifth course consisting of a dessert. And of course, there is unlimited red wine. I'm really excited about this meal, if you couldn't tell. Then on thursday, I have volunteering. I'm probably just going to have a relaxing weekend and do a day trip or two.
Ciao,
Katie
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Ciao Ciao,
I have been so busy lately and I totally forgot about blogging. This week was a busy week for me because I had two quizzes and I also had a paper to write for next week since I will be away this weekend. We only had a three day week which was awesome because the Italians celebrate Easter Monday more than they do Easter.
Last week wasn't too eventful, although I did go on a field trip with my class to San Marco Monastery. It was interesting because we were learning about a friar from the middle ages that lived there. It's a very very plain building so it wasn't my favorite, but it was interesting. Other than that, it was a pretty relaxed week.
This past weekend I stayed in Florence, and it was really fun. It was nice to stay and hang out in Florence and I ended up being pretty busy. On Friday, I went to the Medici tombs and they were pretty cool and unlike anything I'd seen. It was this huge room with extremely extravagant tombs. We actually ended up going our weekly history class field trip there yesterday. Then I met up with Abby and we went to check out the Medici Palace. I expected it to be more extravagant but they lived so many places in Florence, so I guess it just depended on the style of whomever lived there at the time. I enjoy learning about the Medici family and that's what I'm writing my history final paper on.
On Saturday, we were planning on going to Viareggio which is a beach close by that you can just take a train to, but it planned on raining all day and being pretty windy, so we decided to skip that. Instead, Sara, Abby, and I went to Gustapizza pretty much for breakfast. I'm going to miss Gustapizza so much when I get home and there's really nowhere in Pennsylvania at least that has pizzas anything like that. Me and my roommates always joke about how we should open a pizza place like Gustapizza at Penn State. Katie's family was visiting so I went out to dinner with them that night to this really good place nearby, and it was really fun.
On Easter Sunday, we woke up early to go to to stand right near the Duomo to get good seats for the fireworks. There's a parade throughout the city, but everyone just really focuses on the fireworks. We saw the parade come through and then the little tower they shoot fireworks off of was brought in at the end of the parade. It was supposed to be pulled by two oxen, but I couldn't really see, seeing as I'm really short. We waited there for about an hour and a half and finally the fireworks started. It started from inside the church when the priest throws a dove-like shape firework at a certain spot, which triggers the fireworks, and this huge rush of smoke comes from inside the church to this little tower and then the fireworks started going off. I was only expecting a few big fireworks, but it was about 15 minutes worth of fireworks. They launch them off right in between the Duomo and the Baptistery and these buildings are so close together. I'm surprised it doesn't damage the buildings. It must be such a fire hazard, plus there are so many people standing close to it and the little tower looked like it was wood. It was the most bizarre Easter celebration I've ever seen but it was very cool. After, my friends and I walked around the leather market and I bought another leather purse. I can't help my addiction. Later that day, I went to Easter Mass in Santa Maria Novella Church, which is the church really close to me. It was the first time I had been in there, and it's very pretty. I couldn't understand the mass at all. Most of the time I can pick out a few words from each sentence, but the fact that the microphone was echoing made me not understand anything. It was nice to be in church though. The only thing about Italian mass is that they don't sing, which I just expected they would. It's very interesting. After church, my friends and I had a potluck dinner with tons of awesome food. We had eggplant, salad, bread, mashed potatoes, baked brie, and broccoli. I made bruschetta and also an interesting lemon cake. I bought the cake mix from the Italian grocery store so it came out good but I wasn't sure what to expect. The baked brie was so delicious and so easy, and I don't know why I don't just make it all the time!
On Easter Monday, we had no class so we decided to take a day trip! We took the train for about an hour and a half to Lucca. It's this old medieval town which still have all the city walls still intact. It was a really cute, small town. When we first got there we found a place to each lunch and had some pretty good pizza. We walked around for a little bit and there was a market nearby where we got some dessert. After that, we rented bikes and biked through the town. I was nervous I was going to hit someone but I successfully didn't. I was also really skilled at taking pictures while riding my bike. After biking through the town for a little, we went to this path they have that is all around the city walls and you can bike or walk around the whole town and it was very pretty. There was so much green and it was a beautiful day. After biking, we went home. There's not too much to do in Lucca, but it was fun and relaxing.
Tonight I leave for the Amalfi Coast at 7:30 PM!!!!! I am so excited, it's going to be so beautiful. There are a lot of little towns on the coast but we're specifically going to Sorrento. Then each day we're taking a trip. We will be going to Capri which is where the famous Blue Grotto is, Pompeii, and also Positano which is another coastal city. It's going to be in the 60s and fairly sunny throughout the weekend! :) Although, I'm not sure it'll be bathing suit weather, but I'm still bringing my bathing suit. The water will probably be pretty cold.
Upcoming Plans:
This weekend (April 4-7): Amalfi Coast!!! I cannot wait, I'm so excited!
Next weekend (11-14): Just hanging out and staying in Florence
April 18-21: We are looking into Springfest in Munich, Germany. I really want to go to Germany!!! So then I could use at least a little bit of German.
April 25-28: Staying in Florence for our last weekend! Then HOME the next weekend... AHH can't believe it's coming to a close!
Ciao Ragazzi,
Katie
I have been so busy lately and I totally forgot about blogging. This week was a busy week for me because I had two quizzes and I also had a paper to write for next week since I will be away this weekend. We only had a three day week which was awesome because the Italians celebrate Easter Monday more than they do Easter.
Last week wasn't too eventful, although I did go on a field trip with my class to San Marco Monastery. It was interesting because we were learning about a friar from the middle ages that lived there. It's a very very plain building so it wasn't my favorite, but it was interesting. Other than that, it was a pretty relaxed week.
This past weekend I stayed in Florence, and it was really fun. It was nice to stay and hang out in Florence and I ended up being pretty busy. On Friday, I went to the Medici tombs and they were pretty cool and unlike anything I'd seen. It was this huge room with extremely extravagant tombs. We actually ended up going our weekly history class field trip there yesterday. Then I met up with Abby and we went to check out the Medici Palace. I expected it to be more extravagant but they lived so many places in Florence, so I guess it just depended on the style of whomever lived there at the time. I enjoy learning about the Medici family and that's what I'm writing my history final paper on.
On Saturday, we were planning on going to Viareggio which is a beach close by that you can just take a train to, but it planned on raining all day and being pretty windy, so we decided to skip that. Instead, Sara, Abby, and I went to Gustapizza pretty much for breakfast. I'm going to miss Gustapizza so much when I get home and there's really nowhere in Pennsylvania at least that has pizzas anything like that. Me and my roommates always joke about how we should open a pizza place like Gustapizza at Penn State. Katie's family was visiting so I went out to dinner with them that night to this really good place nearby, and it was really fun.
On Easter Sunday, we woke up early to go to to stand right near the Duomo to get good seats for the fireworks. There's a parade throughout the city, but everyone just really focuses on the fireworks. We saw the parade come through and then the little tower they shoot fireworks off of was brought in at the end of the parade. It was supposed to be pulled by two oxen, but I couldn't really see, seeing as I'm really short. We waited there for about an hour and a half and finally the fireworks started. It started from inside the church when the priest throws a dove-like shape firework at a certain spot, which triggers the fireworks, and this huge rush of smoke comes from inside the church to this little tower and then the fireworks started going off. I was only expecting a few big fireworks, but it was about 15 minutes worth of fireworks. They launch them off right in between the Duomo and the Baptistery and these buildings are so close together. I'm surprised it doesn't damage the buildings. It must be such a fire hazard, plus there are so many people standing close to it and the little tower looked like it was wood. It was the most bizarre Easter celebration I've ever seen but it was very cool. After, my friends and I walked around the leather market and I bought another leather purse. I can't help my addiction. Later that day, I went to Easter Mass in Santa Maria Novella Church, which is the church really close to me. It was the first time I had been in there, and it's very pretty. I couldn't understand the mass at all. Most of the time I can pick out a few words from each sentence, but the fact that the microphone was echoing made me not understand anything. It was nice to be in church though. The only thing about Italian mass is that they don't sing, which I just expected they would. It's very interesting. After church, my friends and I had a potluck dinner with tons of awesome food. We had eggplant, salad, bread, mashed potatoes, baked brie, and broccoli. I made bruschetta and also an interesting lemon cake. I bought the cake mix from the Italian grocery store so it came out good but I wasn't sure what to expect. The baked brie was so delicious and so easy, and I don't know why I don't just make it all the time!
On Easter Monday, we had no class so we decided to take a day trip! We took the train for about an hour and a half to Lucca. It's this old medieval town which still have all the city walls still intact. It was a really cute, small town. When we first got there we found a place to each lunch and had some pretty good pizza. We walked around for a little bit and there was a market nearby where we got some dessert. After that, we rented bikes and biked through the town. I was nervous I was going to hit someone but I successfully didn't. I was also really skilled at taking pictures while riding my bike. After biking through the town for a little, we went to this path they have that is all around the city walls and you can bike or walk around the whole town and it was very pretty. There was so much green and it was a beautiful day. After biking, we went home. There's not too much to do in Lucca, but it was fun and relaxing.
Tonight I leave for the Amalfi Coast at 7:30 PM!!!!! I am so excited, it's going to be so beautiful. There are a lot of little towns on the coast but we're specifically going to Sorrento. Then each day we're taking a trip. We will be going to Capri which is where the famous Blue Grotto is, Pompeii, and also Positano which is another coastal city. It's going to be in the 60s and fairly sunny throughout the weekend! :) Although, I'm not sure it'll be bathing suit weather, but I'm still bringing my bathing suit. The water will probably be pretty cold.
Upcoming Plans:
This weekend (April 4-7): Amalfi Coast!!! I cannot wait, I'm so excited!
Next weekend (11-14): Just hanging out and staying in Florence
April 18-21: We are looking into Springfest in Munich, Germany. I really want to go to Germany!!! So then I could use at least a little bit of German.
April 25-28: Staying in Florence for our last weekend! Then HOME the next weekend... AHH can't believe it's coming to a close!
Ciao Ragazzi,
Katie
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Hola,
I haven't blogged in a really long time, but I went to Barcelona last weekend!!!! It was really fun and pretty relaxing. They don't have a huge amount of museums to go to so it was pretty cool just to hang out in the city. We got there thursday night and the hostel we stayed in (called St. Christopher's) was really nice. I swear the bed was bigger there than my own bed in Florence. They had a bar downstairs and a really awesome menu, and the food was delicious. We ended up eating there at least three times. That night we just hung out at the bar downstairs, and then went to an Irish pub. On Friday, we walked around the Montjuic mountain and it was pretty. There was a huge palace with lots of waterfalls on the way up. After we climbed up a little bit there was the 1992 olympic stadium that you could go in. This mountain was a pretty view of Barcelona. We went to a lunch place and I ordered cheese tacos and bravas. Bravas are fried potatoes with a spicy sauce on them. The cheese tacos were literally just blocks of cheese, it was hilarious, obviously bad translations on the menu. We walked to the harbor and the beach and it was awesome. We took off our shoes and put our feet in the sand and just sat for a while, it was so beautiful. We also put our feet into the freezing Mediterranean. We ate at the hostel on Friday night and then we went out to a well-known club. At the club, there was a concert going on, so that was fun. The clubs were very very expensive in Barcelona.
On saturday, we went to the market, and they had so much seafood it was insane. Almost every other stand was seafood. I ended up getting an empanada and a smoothie, and they were both great. We then walked to Sagrada Familia which is built by the famous Gaudi. It was one of the coolest churches
I've been in. It was anything but traditional. Gaudi had a passion for nature, and he designed the church to have a lot of natural light, which is a lot of stained glass windows, and the ceilings are huge, with the pillars intended to be trees. It was very beautiful. After that, we started walking to park guell, and we got really lost. It ended up being a lot farther walk than we thought it would be. When we finally got there, it was worth it. It was an absolutely amazing view of Barcelona from the top of the mountain. This was a park made also by Gaudi. It has the famous mosaic tiled benches, and a few cool looking buildings. It's a really cool park and we spent a while just walking around and taking pictures. We started to walk back to the hostel and it ended up taking us an hour, which was rough when we had just been hiking around the mountain. We grabbed dinner at the hostel and I got a mexican salad which was so delicious. We relaxed after dinner and then we headed to port olympic which was a harbor area we hadn't been to. It was a great night life there. They have a ton of restaurants all outside and then clubs right on the beach. We went to a restaurant and I got a dessert and we had some sangria. It was relaxing, and we thought about going to a club on the beach but it was just so expensive. On Sunday, we packed up and checked out of the hostel. We walked around and went into the Barcelona Cathedral. It was pretty traditional, nothing like Sagrada Familia. It was pretty but a lot of it was blocked off because mass was going on. After, we saw a marathon in the streets, and there was this St. Patricks Day dressed band playing in the streets. It was fun. Then we did a little shopping and made our way to the airport. We got home around 5.
My week was good. My classes are starting to get more difficult because they're assigning many final papers, so I need to pick some topics for those. Volunteering was so fun this week because the kids we're working with are doing plays in English that they will perform in April. The 4th grade is doing the Wizard of Oz and the 5th grade is doing Alice in Wonderland. I got to help them recite their lines and play their roles. It was so cute, and they speak English so well. With my family business class this past week we took a field trip to the Gucci factory. It was really cool because we learned that Gucci makes everything by hand for the most part. That's why it's so expensive!!!! We got to see some of the leathers which are made out of snake, crocodile, deer, etc. We then watched some of the workers cutting the leather for the bags, all by hand. To get a job in cutting leather, you have to have at least 20 years of experience; it's insane. Then, we saw them assembling some of the bags. The one guy was working on a trunk with only one other man. They said it takes them about a month just to make one. Those were in the made-to-order area though, so it's for very high profile clients. We also saw how they make the bamboo handles. It's a very intense process to pick the perfect bamboo stick because it has to be the exact measurements and the knots have to match up. They throw out so many bamboo sticks. They use fire to bend and set it. It was a really cool field trip.
This past weekend I stayed in Florence, but it was a really nice weekend. On friday, we took a bus to Fiesole, which is a town about 15 minutes outside of Florence on the hills. It is a very small and quiet residential town but it has one of the best views of Florence. We found a park, and brought food that we bought at the food store to have a picnic. The park was just a woods, and after we ate, we did a lot of hiking. We hiked to the top and it was again, an awesome view. There was a rock up there that was apparently where Leonardo da Vinci launched a flying machine. We kept hiking and found the Etruscan ruins. They were just little houses made out of stone. It was cool because I learned about the Etruscans in my history class. They were one of the first to settle near Florence in 300 BC. It was a really great time to hike around the woods and relax. It was nice being around green and it reminded me of home. When trying to take the bus back to Florence, we were told that there was a bus strike. I knew strikes happened often but it was so bizarre that it happened within the 3 hours that we had just taken the bus. We asked tourist information what we should do and they said that a taxi would be very expensive, and that it was a nice walk back to Florence and not too long. So we decided to walk. It was a nice walk and we saw the beautiful, huge, practically mansions, of Fiesole. We also got to see the sunset which was pretty. But, instead of the half hour walk we thought it was, it was about an hour and 15 minutes. We were exhausted when we finally got home. I looked up the distance and it said we walked 4 miles home.
On Saturday, we went to Mama's bakery with a bunch of our friends. I got a bagel with cream cheese!!!! I was so excited to have a bagel. I also got a cupcake that I had been craving. It was a nice change from croissants and I will absolutely be going back. After that, we went to Boboli gardens and just hung out on the grass. It was really fun, and I got to catch up on some magazines. It was a really nice day. I felt so lucky, because not many people can say they just sat in the palace gardens all day reading and overlooking an awesome view of Florence.
Next weekend is Easter weekend so we have an extra day to our weekend. I'm not really sure what I'm doing as of now. Either I'm just going to stay in Florence and hang out or I might go to Cinqueterre, which is a coastal town. It's supposed to be very pretty, and you can hike a lot around there. It won't be too warm, but it will still be nice. I think I'm going to plan that today! I'll try to keep up more on this blog haha!
Ciaaaao,
Katie
I haven't blogged in a really long time, but I went to Barcelona last weekend!!!! It was really fun and pretty relaxing. They don't have a huge amount of museums to go to so it was pretty cool just to hang out in the city. We got there thursday night and the hostel we stayed in (called St. Christopher's) was really nice. I swear the bed was bigger there than my own bed in Florence. They had a bar downstairs and a really awesome menu, and the food was delicious. We ended up eating there at least three times. That night we just hung out at the bar downstairs, and then went to an Irish pub. On Friday, we walked around the Montjuic mountain and it was pretty. There was a huge palace with lots of waterfalls on the way up. After we climbed up a little bit there was the 1992 olympic stadium that you could go in. This mountain was a pretty view of Barcelona. We went to a lunch place and I ordered cheese tacos and bravas. Bravas are fried potatoes with a spicy sauce on them. The cheese tacos were literally just blocks of cheese, it was hilarious, obviously bad translations on the menu. We walked to the harbor and the beach and it was awesome. We took off our shoes and put our feet in the sand and just sat for a while, it was so beautiful. We also put our feet into the freezing Mediterranean. We ate at the hostel on Friday night and then we went out to a well-known club. At the club, there was a concert going on, so that was fun. The clubs were very very expensive in Barcelona.
On saturday, we went to the market, and they had so much seafood it was insane. Almost every other stand was seafood. I ended up getting an empanada and a smoothie, and they were both great. We then walked to Sagrada Familia which is built by the famous Gaudi. It was one of the coolest churches
I've been in. It was anything but traditional. Gaudi had a passion for nature, and he designed the church to have a lot of natural light, which is a lot of stained glass windows, and the ceilings are huge, with the pillars intended to be trees. It was very beautiful. After that, we started walking to park guell, and we got really lost. It ended up being a lot farther walk than we thought it would be. When we finally got there, it was worth it. It was an absolutely amazing view of Barcelona from the top of the mountain. This was a park made also by Gaudi. It has the famous mosaic tiled benches, and a few cool looking buildings. It's a really cool park and we spent a while just walking around and taking pictures. We started to walk back to the hostel and it ended up taking us an hour, which was rough when we had just been hiking around the mountain. We grabbed dinner at the hostel and I got a mexican salad which was so delicious. We relaxed after dinner and then we headed to port olympic which was a harbor area we hadn't been to. It was a great night life there. They have a ton of restaurants all outside and then clubs right on the beach. We went to a restaurant and I got a dessert and we had some sangria. It was relaxing, and we thought about going to a club on the beach but it was just so expensive. On Sunday, we packed up and checked out of the hostel. We walked around and went into the Barcelona Cathedral. It was pretty traditional, nothing like Sagrada Familia. It was pretty but a lot of it was blocked off because mass was going on. After, we saw a marathon in the streets, and there was this St. Patricks Day dressed band playing in the streets. It was fun. Then we did a little shopping and made our way to the airport. We got home around 5.
My week was good. My classes are starting to get more difficult because they're assigning many final papers, so I need to pick some topics for those. Volunteering was so fun this week because the kids we're working with are doing plays in English that they will perform in April. The 4th grade is doing the Wizard of Oz and the 5th grade is doing Alice in Wonderland. I got to help them recite their lines and play their roles. It was so cute, and they speak English so well. With my family business class this past week we took a field trip to the Gucci factory. It was really cool because we learned that Gucci makes everything by hand for the most part. That's why it's so expensive!!!! We got to see some of the leathers which are made out of snake, crocodile, deer, etc. We then watched some of the workers cutting the leather for the bags, all by hand. To get a job in cutting leather, you have to have at least 20 years of experience; it's insane. Then, we saw them assembling some of the bags. The one guy was working on a trunk with only one other man. They said it takes them about a month just to make one. Those were in the made-to-order area though, so it's for very high profile clients. We also saw how they make the bamboo handles. It's a very intense process to pick the perfect bamboo stick because it has to be the exact measurements and the knots have to match up. They throw out so many bamboo sticks. They use fire to bend and set it. It was a really cool field trip.
This past weekend I stayed in Florence, but it was a really nice weekend. On friday, we took a bus to Fiesole, which is a town about 15 minutes outside of Florence on the hills. It is a very small and quiet residential town but it has one of the best views of Florence. We found a park, and brought food that we bought at the food store to have a picnic. The park was just a woods, and after we ate, we did a lot of hiking. We hiked to the top and it was again, an awesome view. There was a rock up there that was apparently where Leonardo da Vinci launched a flying machine. We kept hiking and found the Etruscan ruins. They were just little houses made out of stone. It was cool because I learned about the Etruscans in my history class. They were one of the first to settle near Florence in 300 BC. It was a really great time to hike around the woods and relax. It was nice being around green and it reminded me of home. When trying to take the bus back to Florence, we were told that there was a bus strike. I knew strikes happened often but it was so bizarre that it happened within the 3 hours that we had just taken the bus. We asked tourist information what we should do and they said that a taxi would be very expensive, and that it was a nice walk back to Florence and not too long. So we decided to walk. It was a nice walk and we saw the beautiful, huge, practically mansions, of Fiesole. We also got to see the sunset which was pretty. But, instead of the half hour walk we thought it was, it was about an hour and 15 minutes. We were exhausted when we finally got home. I looked up the distance and it said we walked 4 miles home.
On Saturday, we went to Mama's bakery with a bunch of our friends. I got a bagel with cream cheese!!!! I was so excited to have a bagel. I also got a cupcake that I had been craving. It was a nice change from croissants and I will absolutely be going back. After that, we went to Boboli gardens and just hung out on the grass. It was really fun, and I got to catch up on some magazines. It was a really nice day. I felt so lucky, because not many people can say they just sat in the palace gardens all day reading and overlooking an awesome view of Florence.
Next weekend is Easter weekend so we have an extra day to our weekend. I'm not really sure what I'm doing as of now. Either I'm just going to stay in Florence and hang out or I might go to Cinqueterre, which is a coastal town. It's supposed to be very pretty, and you can hike a lot around there. It won't be too warm, but it will still be nice. I think I'm going to plan that today! I'll try to keep up more on this blog haha!
Ciaaaao,
Katie
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Ciao ragazzi!!!!
My spring break was awesome :) It was so great to see my family and Matthew. I loved having the time off from school, and I really enjoyed Rome. I also liked being a little tour guide and showing them around Florence. I was also able to tour Matt around Rome because my family and I did tours on the previous days.
I did the basic Florence sight-seeing with my family and Matt. They came at different times, but I took them to see most of the same things. I brought them to see the david, ponte vecchio, piazzale michelangelo, palazzo pitti and the boboli gardens, gustapizza, leather market, san miniato, and I even brought them by to see my schools. We also got to see the duomo and climbed it. But, there were things that I hadn't done that I got to do with my family. On the first day while my brother and Dad were napping since they were very jet-lagged, me and my mom went to San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo is a church that is attached to the Medici Tombs. It was very plain but it was pretty, and there was a nice green courtyard with an orange tree in the middle There was a bunch of restaurants that we went to that I had never been to. Also, we went to a bar called Fiddler's Elbow that I had never been to. It was very relaxing and cute. I had been to the boboli gardens before, but I saw a whole other section with my family and it was really cool. The gardens are so huge; I don't know if I'll ever actually be able to see the whole thing.
Rome was really really cool and I enjoyed it a lot. We left for Rome on Sunday, and for some reason our train was an extra 40 minutes which was weird. We got to Rome and we decided to take a cab from the train station to the hotel. It was only a 15 minute walk but we had a lot of luggage. The cab was 33€ which was a total rip-off, and I think that's when I realized that Rome is much more expensive than Florence. The first day we just mostly walked around the city. It's a very large city and you could use the metro, but I was nervous about that since I heard some of my friends were pick-pocketed on the metro. Throughout the week, we did all the important things in Rome. We saw the Spanish steps, which I didn't find that impressive, but maybe there's a cool story behind it that I don't know. We saw the Trevi fountain, which I thought was pretty and I threw a coin in over my right shoulder, which means I will be back to Rome one day. Another cool fountain was the moses fountain. I enjoyed the Pantheon, which is a church, built like a cylinder with a sphere in it. The coolest part about it was that there was an actual hole in the top and when it rains, there's a drain at the bottom of the church. We saw many, many churches, they seemed to be on every corner. Saint Maria in Trastevere was beautiful, an incredibly far walk but it was very pretty. We also saw Santa Maria degli Angeli, which on the outside looks as if it is tiny and ruined since it looks so old, but then you walk in and it's incredible. We saw many piazzas, one of my favorite being Piazza del Popolo, which was the ancient entrance to North Rome, and the doors were really cool. The church in the piazza was called Santa Maria del Popolo and it had the Chigi chapel which was painted by Raphael. There were a few things that we didn't go in but were cool to look at. One was the Borghese villa. It was pretty but we were tired of art. I wanted to go into the Medici Villa but it's used as a French school now. Also the Castel Sant'Angelo was really cool looking. It actually has a tunnel that connects to the Vatican to keep the Popes safe in case of attack. I think that was used a long time ago but it still stands.
In Rome, we had two tours. The first one was of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. I loved the Vatican. St. Peter's Basilica was beautiful, and I didn't think it was that big until I went in. It was an optical illusion because it's actual bigger than your eye thinks it is, which is crazy because I think it's huge. It's so gaudy and beautiful. The altar inside is made of solid gold and bronze and it's just crazy how awesome it is. Michelangelo built the church for about the last 15 years of his life and he stopped working on it only 3 days before he died. Bernini built the square which is actually an elliptical, which is supposed to symbolize Jesus's arms welcoming people into the church. The church has about 300 statues, 11 chapels, and it is has biggest dome. We went to see the Sistine Chapel which was in the Vatican Museum. It's interesting that they make you pay to see it, which is pretty controversial. I think it was very impressive, but I only spent about 10 minutes in there. The second tour we did was the colosseum and the roman ruins. The colosseum is cool because it used to be so much bigger and prettier than it was, but because of the fall of the Roman Empire, people came to the city and took things from buildings to put on new buildings, and that's why the colosseum has so many holes in it. We learned that the gladiators were slaves of the rich, and made their owners money, although it was quite an investment to train them. The first act of the show was exotic animals and gladiators fighting and there was lots of killing, and then a lunch break. The second act was two gladiators dueling right up until the point of death, and then the loser would ask the emperor to spare his life. Most of the time, the emperor saved him because he gave his best and it was a good show. I got a lot of great pictures at the colosseum. After, we saw the Roman ruins, which was really cool. There was an awesome church built into an old ruined church. It's funny because people back then knew that there was stuff sticking up from underground but they never excavated it. Now it's all excavated in one area and it's really cool. There was a memorial to Caesar in there. Also, there are only two metros in Rome because every time they try to dig, they find more ruins and can't build there. Matthew got into Rome on Wednesday, and we all went out to an awesome dinner. I hated saying bye to my family because I already miss them but I will see them soon and I had a great time with them.
After my parents left, me and Matt did Rome all that day. Rome wasn't built in a day, but we saw it in one (well the important parts anyway). We went to see St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, and the ruins. It doesn't sound like much but they're all so far away from each other. We tried to see the Sistine Chapel but it ended up being closed the day after me and my family saw it. They closed it to clean up and get ready for the conclave. I was bummed for Matt, but I think the church is much more impressive. We caught our train at 4 and we were absolutely exhausted.
Like I said, me and Matthew did mostly the same stuff in Florence as my parents. We also did a few different things too though. We also went to boboli gardens and I found new things with him too, like this cool island fountain. We went and saw Santa Croce, which is a beautiful church that I had always wanted to go in. It has the star of David on the top but it's a Catholic church, and it's the huge mystery about this church. When we were in Rome, our tour guide said Michelangelo and other very famous people were buried here, and I had no idea. We saw Michelangelo's, Dante's, Machiavelli's, and Galileo's tombs. They also had some cool paintings in the church. On our way to piazzale michelangelo, we saw a garden and it's another way up to it, so that was fun to explore. I had been on ponte vecchio before, but with Matt we actually looked at all of the jewelry and I don't understand how people afford it, it's so crazy. We got a lot of pastries and cappuccinos and I think I might have gotten Matt to like the cappuccinos. We found a really great place to eat lunch across the river, and they only spoke Italian so that was pretty cool. We also put a lock on the ponte vecchio, so hopefully it doesn't get cut off! I had a great time with Matt, we relaxed and took our time to see Florence. Saying goodbye to him was also hard. I had a great time though.
It still feels like a dream. I am so lucky to have a family and boyfriend who were able to visit me. I think they really enjoyed Florence and Rome and I'm glad I got to show them around. I had an amazing time and it was incredibly hard to say bye to them. I'm glad I got a little taste of home, and it's only about 7 more weeks until I'm home!
Tomorrow night I am leaving for Barcelona!!!! I'm really excited, and it definitely snuck up on me. It's supposed to be decent weather there; I'm hoping it's warmer and less rainy than Florence right now. I can't believe I'll be in Spain in less than 24 hours, it's so unreal.
Buonanotte,
Katie
My spring break was awesome :) It was so great to see my family and Matthew. I loved having the time off from school, and I really enjoyed Rome. I also liked being a little tour guide and showing them around Florence. I was also able to tour Matt around Rome because my family and I did tours on the previous days.
I did the basic Florence sight-seeing with my family and Matt. They came at different times, but I took them to see most of the same things. I brought them to see the david, ponte vecchio, piazzale michelangelo, palazzo pitti and the boboli gardens, gustapizza, leather market, san miniato, and I even brought them by to see my schools. We also got to see the duomo and climbed it. But, there were things that I hadn't done that I got to do with my family. On the first day while my brother and Dad were napping since they were very jet-lagged, me and my mom went to San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo is a church that is attached to the Medici Tombs. It was very plain but it was pretty, and there was a nice green courtyard with an orange tree in the middle There was a bunch of restaurants that we went to that I had never been to. Also, we went to a bar called Fiddler's Elbow that I had never been to. It was very relaxing and cute. I had been to the boboli gardens before, but I saw a whole other section with my family and it was really cool. The gardens are so huge; I don't know if I'll ever actually be able to see the whole thing.
Rome was really really cool and I enjoyed it a lot. We left for Rome on Sunday, and for some reason our train was an extra 40 minutes which was weird. We got to Rome and we decided to take a cab from the train station to the hotel. It was only a 15 minute walk but we had a lot of luggage. The cab was 33€ which was a total rip-off, and I think that's when I realized that Rome is much more expensive than Florence. The first day we just mostly walked around the city. It's a very large city and you could use the metro, but I was nervous about that since I heard some of my friends were pick-pocketed on the metro. Throughout the week, we did all the important things in Rome. We saw the Spanish steps, which I didn't find that impressive, but maybe there's a cool story behind it that I don't know. We saw the Trevi fountain, which I thought was pretty and I threw a coin in over my right shoulder, which means I will be back to Rome one day. Another cool fountain was the moses fountain. I enjoyed the Pantheon, which is a church, built like a cylinder with a sphere in it. The coolest part about it was that there was an actual hole in the top and when it rains, there's a drain at the bottom of the church. We saw many, many churches, they seemed to be on every corner. Saint Maria in Trastevere was beautiful, an incredibly far walk but it was very pretty. We also saw Santa Maria degli Angeli, which on the outside looks as if it is tiny and ruined since it looks so old, but then you walk in and it's incredible. We saw many piazzas, one of my favorite being Piazza del Popolo, which was the ancient entrance to North Rome, and the doors were really cool. The church in the piazza was called Santa Maria del Popolo and it had the Chigi chapel which was painted by Raphael. There were a few things that we didn't go in but were cool to look at. One was the Borghese villa. It was pretty but we were tired of art. I wanted to go into the Medici Villa but it's used as a French school now. Also the Castel Sant'Angelo was really cool looking. It actually has a tunnel that connects to the Vatican to keep the Popes safe in case of attack. I think that was used a long time ago but it still stands.
In Rome, we had two tours. The first one was of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. I loved the Vatican. St. Peter's Basilica was beautiful, and I didn't think it was that big until I went in. It was an optical illusion because it's actual bigger than your eye thinks it is, which is crazy because I think it's huge. It's so gaudy and beautiful. The altar inside is made of solid gold and bronze and it's just crazy how awesome it is. Michelangelo built the church for about the last 15 years of his life and he stopped working on it only 3 days before he died. Bernini built the square which is actually an elliptical, which is supposed to symbolize Jesus's arms welcoming people into the church. The church has about 300 statues, 11 chapels, and it is has biggest dome. We went to see the Sistine Chapel which was in the Vatican Museum. It's interesting that they make you pay to see it, which is pretty controversial. I think it was very impressive, but I only spent about 10 minutes in there. The second tour we did was the colosseum and the roman ruins. The colosseum is cool because it used to be so much bigger and prettier than it was, but because of the fall of the Roman Empire, people came to the city and took things from buildings to put on new buildings, and that's why the colosseum has so many holes in it. We learned that the gladiators were slaves of the rich, and made their owners money, although it was quite an investment to train them. The first act of the show was exotic animals and gladiators fighting and there was lots of killing, and then a lunch break. The second act was two gladiators dueling right up until the point of death, and then the loser would ask the emperor to spare his life. Most of the time, the emperor saved him because he gave his best and it was a good show. I got a lot of great pictures at the colosseum. After, we saw the Roman ruins, which was really cool. There was an awesome church built into an old ruined church. It's funny because people back then knew that there was stuff sticking up from underground but they never excavated it. Now it's all excavated in one area and it's really cool. There was a memorial to Caesar in there. Also, there are only two metros in Rome because every time they try to dig, they find more ruins and can't build there. Matthew got into Rome on Wednesday, and we all went out to an awesome dinner. I hated saying bye to my family because I already miss them but I will see them soon and I had a great time with them.
After my parents left, me and Matt did Rome all that day. Rome wasn't built in a day, but we saw it in one (well the important parts anyway). We went to see St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, and the ruins. It doesn't sound like much but they're all so far away from each other. We tried to see the Sistine Chapel but it ended up being closed the day after me and my family saw it. They closed it to clean up and get ready for the conclave. I was bummed for Matt, but I think the church is much more impressive. We caught our train at 4 and we were absolutely exhausted.
Like I said, me and Matthew did mostly the same stuff in Florence as my parents. We also did a few different things too though. We also went to boboli gardens and I found new things with him too, like this cool island fountain. We went and saw Santa Croce, which is a beautiful church that I had always wanted to go in. It has the star of David on the top but it's a Catholic church, and it's the huge mystery about this church. When we were in Rome, our tour guide said Michelangelo and other very famous people were buried here, and I had no idea. We saw Michelangelo's, Dante's, Machiavelli's, and Galileo's tombs. They also had some cool paintings in the church. On our way to piazzale michelangelo, we saw a garden and it's another way up to it, so that was fun to explore. I had been on ponte vecchio before, but with Matt we actually looked at all of the jewelry and I don't understand how people afford it, it's so crazy. We got a lot of pastries and cappuccinos and I think I might have gotten Matt to like the cappuccinos. We found a really great place to eat lunch across the river, and they only spoke Italian so that was pretty cool. We also put a lock on the ponte vecchio, so hopefully it doesn't get cut off! I had a great time with Matt, we relaxed and took our time to see Florence. Saying goodbye to him was also hard. I had a great time though.
It still feels like a dream. I am so lucky to have a family and boyfriend who were able to visit me. I think they really enjoyed Florence and Rome and I'm glad I got to show them around. I had an amazing time and it was incredibly hard to say bye to them. I'm glad I got a little taste of home, and it's only about 7 more weeks until I'm home!
Tomorrow night I am leaving for Barcelona!!!! I'm really excited, and it definitely snuck up on me. It's supposed to be decent weather there; I'm hoping it's warmer and less rainy than Florence right now. I can't believe I'll be in Spain in less than 24 hours, it's so unreal.
Buonanotte,
Katie
Friday, February 22, 2013
Ciao!!
I should be doing homework and studying for my midterms but I really don't feel like it. So instead I decided to blog about being in Florence in general. I haven't had time to blog about Florence too much, I've just been focused on blogging about traveling. These are the things that I like and I don't like!
LIKES:
1) Beauty: Florence is the most beautiful city I've ever been in. Everywhere I walk is so pretty and I often have to remind myself that not all cities look like this. The buildings are all so cute and I love how small the city is that I can walk everywhere.
2) Markets: I like all the little markets with fresh food. They're so easy to stop by on the way home and just grab some ingredients for whatever you're making for dinner that night. The grocery stores here aren't very big because most Italians only buy their necessities and shop multiple times per week. It's a much different lifestyle.
3) Cheap wine: Wine is so cheap here compared to the United States. It's only 3€ for a bottle which is really awesome. They also have a wine filling store where you can bring an empty bottle and fill a liter of wine for only 1.50€. America is much more expensive.
4) Slow pace: The Italians definitely have a slower pace. When they say a certain time, they will take their time getting places, they're never in a huge rush. Even just walking around town, they walk so much slower than I do. I also think that none of them work and all they do is shop and buy food, but I doubt that's completely true. It's nice having a change of pace. I find myself to be less stressed out here, but that could also be because of my next like...
5) Not a lot of homework: My classes are all interesting and I like most of them. I never find myself having a lot of homework. Italian is the only class I have homework for each night. It's a lot more writing essays and such, but it's a nice change. I haven't written essays since probably high school.
6) Food: The food here is awesome!!!! I don't think there's something that I've had that I didn't like. Everything is amazing. I'm going to miss the mozzarella here the most. It's so much better than at home. It's always so fresh. It actually comes in water so it stays fresh.
7) Small school and staff: Coming from a huge school and campus, it's nice to experience the small school atmosphere. I know so many people from my school because our classes are so small. I like having 17 person classes, it's a good change. The staff at the school is wonderful. They are all so incredibly nice, and are so helpful with anything you ask of them. They also have so many events that the students can attend for free or for low cost and they're all so fun.
8) City life: It's cool being in the city and being able to experience the night life. It's nice having a semester of school in the city after being in a small town before.
9) Restaurants: All the restaurants here are so unique and cozy. The restaurants are all very small. I haven't seen a restaurant bigger than about 20 tables. There aren't chain restaurants here like there are in the U.S.
10) No classes on Fridays: After having classes 5 days a week, it's awesome to have a long weekend every single weekend!!
11) History: I really enjoy learning about the history of Florence. I've already seen a lot of the museums but there's more I want to experience as well. I find all the stories so interesting. My one class is called "Story of the City"and one class we have a lesson and the other class we take a field trip to somewhere historical around Florence. It's so cool to learn the stories behind everything with the ancient and medieval worlds.
DISLIKES:
1) Dog poop: There's no grass here so the dogs just poop on the sidewalks (which are very skinny). It's annoying because a lot of people don't pick it up, they just leave it there.
2) Little weird dogs: The dogs here are all weird mixed breeds, and they're kindof ugly. Also, they're are little tiny dogs. I get really excited every time I see a dog that's normal looking and a bigger size.
3) No living room: Our kitchen is nice, but we don't have a family room where we can all hang out in so the kitchen becomes our hangout spot. It's annoying because we can't have many people over since our kitchen really isn't that big.
4) Mosquitoes: Apparently the mosquitoes here are really bad in the summer. Most of that cause is probably because the windows don't have screens. But, we have had mosquitoes in the house, and it's annoying to wake up with bites on your arms.
5) Bread: I expected the bread here to be great, but it's been so incredibly disappointing. It's usually too hard and difficult to eat. The best bread I've had here has been from the supermarket.
6) Rain: I didn't expect it to rain that much in Florence. In January, it seemed like it rained every single day. It doesn't snow, but I would rather it have snowed than rain everyday. It's been raining a bit less, so I'm hoping it will rain less and less.
7) Weird hours for restaurants: The restaurants here don't usually open til 7 PM, and I'm usually starving by 5 PM so it's really inconvenient. I still haven't adjusted to their schedule. Also, a lot of markets and stores close from 2:30-4:30 during the day. It's such a random time.
8) Long classes: Although tuesday/thursday classes at Penn State are an hour and 15 minutes, for some reason, my hour and a half classes seem incredibly long.
9) Tourists: There have been more and more tourists arriving and I find it somewhat annoying. They all travel in huge packs and slow me down on my walk to school. They're usually pretty obnoxious as well.
Despite all my dislikes, I'm loving it here and I can't wait to show Florence off to my family and Matt!
Now I better go get some work done,
Katie
I should be doing homework and studying for my midterms but I really don't feel like it. So instead I decided to blog about being in Florence in general. I haven't had time to blog about Florence too much, I've just been focused on blogging about traveling. These are the things that I like and I don't like!
LIKES:
1) Beauty: Florence is the most beautiful city I've ever been in. Everywhere I walk is so pretty and I often have to remind myself that not all cities look like this. The buildings are all so cute and I love how small the city is that I can walk everywhere.
2) Markets: I like all the little markets with fresh food. They're so easy to stop by on the way home and just grab some ingredients for whatever you're making for dinner that night. The grocery stores here aren't very big because most Italians only buy their necessities and shop multiple times per week. It's a much different lifestyle.
3) Cheap wine: Wine is so cheap here compared to the United States. It's only 3€ for a bottle which is really awesome. They also have a wine filling store where you can bring an empty bottle and fill a liter of wine for only 1.50€. America is much more expensive.
4) Slow pace: The Italians definitely have a slower pace. When they say a certain time, they will take their time getting places, they're never in a huge rush. Even just walking around town, they walk so much slower than I do. I also think that none of them work and all they do is shop and buy food, but I doubt that's completely true. It's nice having a change of pace. I find myself to be less stressed out here, but that could also be because of my next like...
5) Not a lot of homework: My classes are all interesting and I like most of them. I never find myself having a lot of homework. Italian is the only class I have homework for each night. It's a lot more writing essays and such, but it's a nice change. I haven't written essays since probably high school.
6) Food: The food here is awesome!!!! I don't think there's something that I've had that I didn't like. Everything is amazing. I'm going to miss the mozzarella here the most. It's so much better than at home. It's always so fresh. It actually comes in water so it stays fresh.
7) Small school and staff: Coming from a huge school and campus, it's nice to experience the small school atmosphere. I know so many people from my school because our classes are so small. I like having 17 person classes, it's a good change. The staff at the school is wonderful. They are all so incredibly nice, and are so helpful with anything you ask of them. They also have so many events that the students can attend for free or for low cost and they're all so fun.
8) City life: It's cool being in the city and being able to experience the night life. It's nice having a semester of school in the city after being in a small town before.
9) Restaurants: All the restaurants here are so unique and cozy. The restaurants are all very small. I haven't seen a restaurant bigger than about 20 tables. There aren't chain restaurants here like there are in the U.S.
10) No classes on Fridays: After having classes 5 days a week, it's awesome to have a long weekend every single weekend!!
11) History: I really enjoy learning about the history of Florence. I've already seen a lot of the museums but there's more I want to experience as well. I find all the stories so interesting. My one class is called "Story of the City"and one class we have a lesson and the other class we take a field trip to somewhere historical around Florence. It's so cool to learn the stories behind everything with the ancient and medieval worlds.
DISLIKES:
1) Dog poop: There's no grass here so the dogs just poop on the sidewalks (which are very skinny). It's annoying because a lot of people don't pick it up, they just leave it there.
2) Little weird dogs: The dogs here are all weird mixed breeds, and they're kindof ugly. Also, they're are little tiny dogs. I get really excited every time I see a dog that's normal looking and a bigger size.
3) No living room: Our kitchen is nice, but we don't have a family room where we can all hang out in so the kitchen becomes our hangout spot. It's annoying because we can't have many people over since our kitchen really isn't that big.
4) Mosquitoes: Apparently the mosquitoes here are really bad in the summer. Most of that cause is probably because the windows don't have screens. But, we have had mosquitoes in the house, and it's annoying to wake up with bites on your arms.
5) Bread: I expected the bread here to be great, but it's been so incredibly disappointing. It's usually too hard and difficult to eat. The best bread I've had here has been from the supermarket.
6) Rain: I didn't expect it to rain that much in Florence. In January, it seemed like it rained every single day. It doesn't snow, but I would rather it have snowed than rain everyday. It's been raining a bit less, so I'm hoping it will rain less and less.
7) Weird hours for restaurants: The restaurants here don't usually open til 7 PM, and I'm usually starving by 5 PM so it's really inconvenient. I still haven't adjusted to their schedule. Also, a lot of markets and stores close from 2:30-4:30 during the day. It's such a random time.
8) Long classes: Although tuesday/thursday classes at Penn State are an hour and 15 minutes, for some reason, my hour and a half classes seem incredibly long.
9) Tourists: There have been more and more tourists arriving and I find it somewhat annoying. They all travel in huge packs and slow me down on my walk to school. They're usually pretty obnoxious as well.
Despite all my dislikes, I'm loving it here and I can't wait to show Florence off to my family and Matt!
Now I better go get some work done,
Katie
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