Buona Pasqua!

Happy Easter!!

Wow. Well it's been quite a while and quite the wonderful few weeks.

My week with Michael was amazing and very relaxing. Following Rome, a relaxing week was just what I needed. But the weather was beautiful and really warm so we had to be outside and take some walks, I showed him where I run and the places with pretty views of Florence. One day we decided to go for a bike ride to this park. Well, little to our knowledge we were headed up a mountain. We literally were on the lowest gears and pedaling so fast but not weren't making any progress on this canyon road. It reminded me of PCH, when it cuts through the canyon. Exactly like that. We were getting hungry so we ended up stopping and having a picnic on someone's olive vineyard. Perks of biking up a mountain, we had the most beautiful view. After our lunch we decided to go back down to return the bikes, two hours up, 20 MINUTES down. We literally biked up a mountain. Typical..
Gosh I don't even remember all that we did. We found really yummy beer that we both loved and went quite often to happy hour to drink. Now the people at the bar recognize me when I walk by. Ha. Michael also got a lovely glimpse of the roommates and all their craziness. After being around guys and lesbian roommates he was not ready for it but did well. They all loved him, per usual.. Showed off his dance moves, also typical. It was a really great week and I was really sad to see him go.

But I didn't get too much time to mope. Taylor Demargien was here for her spring break so I met up with her on Tuesday to catch up and chat. She's studying in Madrid and having a lot of fun. And then Maddy and Meghan came on Wednesday and were here till Friday. It was nice to hang out with them and catch up. Meghan is staying with a perfect little family in Copenhagen. Denmark sounds like a complete Utopia, it's weird. Spain sounds pretty similar to Italy. Maddy also lives with a host mom who force feeds her. I asked if I could come to a dinner.  :) So my last three weeks with family and friends was amazingggg.
Unfortunately with all these fun visits I didn't get much/any homework done and I sadly do go to school where my grades transfer. So I've really got to get goin on the 4 presentations, papers, and exams I have due within the next month. Wahoo! Good thing this weekend we went to Pisa! The tower is still getting its lean on. I don't know how much longer it can stand like that. We took the classic Pisa pics and headed back to Florence, there's not much else in Pisa other than the tower.

I was in Florence for Easter and they have this tradition where they parade in this giant cart full of explosives and place it in between the Duomo and the Baptistry. They then have this fake dove fly from out of the Duomo and into this cart that sets off a fifteen minute explosive/ firework show. So Eliza and I went to an Italian mass in the Duomo, didn't understand one word. We got out at 10 and there was already a large crowd gathering for the show at 11. We tried to find a good spot to stand and just dived into the depths and masses of people. It was actually pretty terrible. At 10 45 it started to rain so all these umbrellas popped up and you couldn't see anything. People were shoving and trying to squeeze through to who knows where, it was just complete chaos. The rain stopped just in time, the umbrellas went down, and the show started. It was really cool. But you can understand why a lot of Florentines haven't even seen it, just because it's an absolute zoo. And then I guess in Italy it is popular for families and friends to go out for a big lunch instead of dinner. So Eliza's mom treated us to an Easter lunch (via her credit card) at this really yummy place across the river. Ended up being a place that her mom and dad ate on their honeymoon. Cute cute. We had a really great Easter lunch/dinner. I ordered a random dish, ended up being beef and tasted like Mom's beef stew. I had a sentimental moment. And then ordered cheesecake and was all better.

Monday we went to another small Tuscan town called San Gimignano. It was really beautiful. I fudged up and definitely should have gone there with Dana and Michael. It was really pretty. They call it the medieval town; it's enclosed by a big wall and has a lot of its towers still intact. The view was freaking beautiful. I really missed the family while I was there.

But one month left! Holy crap. Good thing in this next month I will be in Paris, Barcelona, Amulfi Coast, and possibly a concentration camp..? All fun and games!
One more month and then I am home. So crazy!


Let's see what little pictures I have to share..

Our bike ride.

Our picnic.

I took him where I usually run through. 

The view from the roof of La Rinescente where we got coffee. 

With Meghs and Mads

The Leaning Tower

Andddd Easter. The massive crowd I was stuck in.

The cart going off

This hand is in every single one of my pictures..
 Probably got some good pictures. Fucker..

A terrible video, but you can get a sense of what it was like..

Spring Break aka Rallies

If I could send you a picture of my butt you would see a giant footprint from Rome. The place literally kicked my ass.

But it was awesome and Spring Break was so much fun. Absolutely exhausting and possibly permanently damaging to my feet.. but so much fun.

Let's see if I can give you a quick recap.

Friday through Wednesday were spent here in Florence.
We did, what we thought, was a lot of walking. Seeing the Duomo, climbing the Duomo. Walking through the Boboli Gardens, seeing Michelangelo's David, missed the Uffizi (woops.) We took a little day trip to Siena, went to a fail of a wine tasting, but soaked up the sun in the Campo which is their big square. I's really cool, holds the Palio, which is there big traditional horse race. Google it, it's nuts. Florence overall was pleasant. Found a Neapolitan-style pizza which made Dana very happy. Until we ate the whole thing and felt miserable. Dana got gnocchi with prawns, whole prawns were given so I tried to help and get them out of the shell, ended up making a very unappetizing prawn graveyard. We went to an Irish pub one night. Ordered "hot nachos" got some concoction of doritos with cheesy salsa and a bunch of jalepenos. The last night we went to this popular apperitivo place and Dana got the worst cocktail of her life. Pure nasty vodka.

Wednesday after climbing the Duomo, we left for our train to Rome. Were almost late, couldn't figure out which train it was since Rome wasn't the headliner but a stop on the way to Naples. Figured it out just in time and were off to a week of beatings!

Thinking back that Dana and I were a little bit tired from our walking Florence makes me laugh. Cause we had NOOOO idea what we were in for. Rome is just so much bigger than Florence. And not just bigger, but confusing as f***.  Our trip is pretty much best summarized as mapping out a place of interest and then getting lost for hours but eventually finding our original destination.

So the bnb that we stayed at was great. Well the first room was.. It was essentially a converted apartment with five rooms. Each room was painted to represent one of the big attractions and was thus named after that monument. For the first three nights Dana and I were in the Colluseo room, painted after the Colosseum. It was the master bedroom with a big room, big bathroom, and this giant bed that was our savior. You literally just sank into it and it engulfed you with its down comforter, it was a slice of heaven. Unfortunately the last night we were moved into a janky room and I slept on a converted sofa chair. Not a slice of heaven. Needless to say, we really really missed the Colluseo.
Marco, the owner of the bnb was an Italian probably in his late 30's. He was precious. Picked out great places for us to eat and go at night. Brought cakes and yummy treats from his grandma. Talked about the growth on his "man parts" and that he had to go in for surgery on Friday, and last time he had to get this done he was 17 and he was really embarrassed because the doctor looked like a porn star with big boobs so he got excited. But when we saw him on Friday he gladly told us that he didn't have to get surgery because it had reduced but the doctors didn't decide until after he was completely naked and all the interns had examined him. See, I didn't ask for the details, just initially what his surgery was for. He had no problem sharing the details, so I share with you. :) Growth and all, I liked him a lot.

When we weren't busy having breakfast and light conversation about growths, Dana and I headed out to the center every day around 11. Thursday we saw all the monuments like the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Victor Emannuele monument, Piazza Novona and Fuori, other casual ruins, and the freaking Pantheon that we couldn't find to save our lives even though we knew it was right at our fingertips. Friday we went to a popular "park" that overlooks Rome and the Vatican. And by park we mean rocks and a few benches for the view. This too took us about two hours to find even though we were literally right below it just couldn't find the official entrance. Saturday we went back to the Vatican to go into the Basilica. We were hurting so decided to take the regional train to the St. Peter's Square. Found the train, went the wrong way. Had to wait 25 minutes to head back the other way. After the Basilica, we made our way towards the Colosseum. Stumbled into a bad pizzeria, only to discover a poppin' amazing place full of Italians four stores down. Bought lots of desserts instead. :)
The Colosseum was easy. Except that it rained. But we got to see it pretty empty because everyone was underneath little caves so they didn't get wet. We then walked through the Palatine which is just an amazing amount of ruins.
So after all our meandering throughout the city, we would hop onto the tram that would take us back into Trestavere, where our hotel was, around 6. Back in the room we would nap on our amazing bed and just rest our poor, beaten bodies. Around 8 we would force ourselves to rally, drink some espresso, and head out. We ate in Trestavere twice, both were absolutely amazing dinners. Had one fail dinner in the historical center, and the last night was at a cool tavern looking place in the center. We really only went there cause it was called Old Bear and I had just coincidentally spent an hour watching YouTube videos of bears, so it only seemed fitting. It was good, but we were both just so tired and fat from our week of eating out.
Sunday we woke up, left the money for Marco in the room since he's not there Sunday mornings, packed up and left. We had directions where to go from Marco. He was drunk texting Saturday night. I love broken English and when mixed with a drunk Italian, it really only gets better. Dana had to go to the station right down the street to get to the airport and my stop was across the street, but we thought it was by the station too. Not by the station, so we said our goodbyes and parted. I think Dana had a successful trip. My stop on the other hand, wasn't running because there was a big market in front of it on Sundays. Lucky mee.. So I literally had no idea where to go and was about to call Marco when a gentleman came up to me and in Italian told me that the line wasn't working because of the market and pointed me to some general direction. Which I found and all went well. Got to my train five minutes before departure. So all was good.

So this Spring Break was quite the adventure. So many fails but we rallied and conquered Rome.. Maybe not conquered... survived with enthusiasm!

Today I made it a point to do nothing but blog and not leave my apartment. So here I am. Going to watch a Disney movie.
Tomorrow I'm going on a giant run because I've gained a FUPA from all my eating out. Don't know what it means, ask mom. And Michael comes tomorrow!

So the rallying continues...


Here's just a few pictures. Dana has some on her phone too.

Arriving in Siena

Il Campo in Siena

Inside Siena's Church

Climbing up the Duomo

Thinking how much Mom would have hated it.. Way too claustrophobic

The view from the top. Wishing we were flying squirrels..

Enjoying the sun and the view of the Ponte Vecchio

Our Colluseo room

Finally finding the Pantheon

Laying/ dying in the "park"

Our way of avoiding the rain

Notice Dana miserable on the left..

All of the Palatine

So many ruins

Typical..

Yoga pose in Florence

Lots of Study Breaks :)

This week is Midterms week. So I'm taking another break from my studying and going to write one more post.

We all stayed in town this weekend because we had midterms this week so we needed to study study study. Naturally, the weather was beautifulllll, like 72 degrees beautiful. So I pretty much did everything but studying.   :)

I took Eliza on a run along the river to the park where I usually do Michael's body weight workout. It was so nice out. So many people were walking their dogs, and by walking I mean their dogs were just running around everywhere and their owners were just walking and would every now and then check to see where their dog was. I absolutely love it. I barely see dogs on leashes and I've only seen one possible dog fight/tension. And that wasn't even on one of my runs..

I'm going to go on a walk there some day and bring my camera so I can take pictures and show you guys where I run. I absolutely love it.

Let's see the rest of the weekend Eliza and I went walking through Florence. We found this really pretty park that is stupid close to our apartment, just in a direction that we never walk. So we sat there for a long time and watched this lady who had a giant bag of bread and was throwing crumbs out for the birds, not caring one bit if there were people around or not. A whole flock of pigeons, ducks, and geese just followed her around. She even hand fed one goose. Reminded me of Mary Poppins / Home Alone. And then as we were sitting there, we heard some weird music/radio and after five minutes this giant protest walked down the street next to the park. I think it was the Anarchist party and they were protesting against the police and racism. It was a really random and huge group of people led by a truck with a big speaker system and a guy yelling through it with some occasional flares that people set off. The carabinieri closed off the road and stopped traffic for them and had a big group walking behind them and a bunch of vans. It was pretty crazy. We were talking to one of our Italian friends about it and he said protests (actually he called it a parade) are a common occurrence in an Italian weekend when the weather is nice. So I guess I might be stumbling upon more..

Eliza and I left the protest/parade and continued our strolling/delaying in studying. We ran into a live streaming of a concerto in Piazza Signoria, super random. And then found a big crowd in Piazza Republicca. So of course we joined and it just ended up being a performer who was playing the guitar and singing. But he was actually really good and was playing awesome 90 songs. So we stayed and listened for probably around an hour. And then

Monday was another beautiful day so Eliza and I went to the park to study. I read a book for half an hour and then fell asleep for an hour.  :)
Quite the successful weekend of studying if you ask me..

But no worries, of course I got some studying in and four of my finals went really well. I just have Italian left today and will continue studying for that after I'm done writing to you.

One more test and then it is Spring Break! Yayyy! Dana is already en route and I am so excited. Of course the weather decided to poop on us and start raining but today is another 70 degree day and there is not a single cloud in the sky, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
So we're here in Florence 'till Wednesday and then we are in Rome until Sunday. Should be a relaxing break, I'm really excited to have her here.
And then on Monday Michael shows up! Crazy crazy. I'm one lucky girl.

Well here's to the next two weeks!
Ciao Ciao!!



A few pics..

The pretty park we found

The protest/parade

A little video of the protest. You can hear the guy yelling. Please excuse my poor filming..

 

You can kind of see the streaming of concerto on that screen in the background

The crowd of people listening to the performer

And the gypsy/prostitute that shoved me in Rome!!!

Venice Venice

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Who thought blogging would be such a time consuming task..

So let me tell you about Venice two weekends ago.. Wow, I am really sorry.

Well it was just the trip needed after the long, drama-filled week we had before. 

We left at six on Saturday morning, which was rough but I ended up sleeping on the bus ride there, which was another 3.5 hour drive. I actually really like the bus drives cause you get to see Italy outside of the big tourist cities. And it is absolutely beautiful. It’s the stereotypical rural fields and houses and it is just so pretty. I actually looked to study in small towns but they obviously didn’t have study abroad schools and the few towns that did, didn’t offer psychology. My study abroad experience would have been completely different. But okay, Venice!

So we got off our bus and got on to a boat that took us to Venice where we had a little tour. The tour guide was muchhhh better than the one in Rome, I could actually here what she was saying. Venice was beautiful. The sun was out and it wasn't packed with tourists which is always nice. The whole concept of the island was just crazy. It was just a big marshy swamp mush and in order to build the city they had to take logs that floated down and hammer them down. And then they put like planks and then concrete and bricks and built buildings. So if you flipped it, there would be a giant forrest underneath Venice. So many logs!! 

So after our tour we had a few hours to wander and get lunch. We got seafood cause that's Venice's regional dish, obviously. It was this seafood melody that had a bunch of shit and little fishes like the one that Mom made for Christmas eve. I did the same tactic and just didn't look just chewed and then chased with the white wine that came with it. :) We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering. We found a cat that ended up following us for two islands but then got scared when we went onto a busy street and left us. Saw a protest by the Communist party. And of course, sat by the water and just soaked up the sun..

Our hotel wasn't on the island cause it's so expensive so we had to get back on the boat and bus. The hotel this time was really nice. The sheets were blood-free, the bathroom was made for a regular person, and as you know, the wifi worked. Yayy. So we recollected ourselves and then took a ten minute train ride back into Venice for dinner. We were told to go to this certain area where a lot of students are. But we got completelyyyy lost. Venice is literally just a bunch of little bridges and little allies and I am seriously impressed by anyone that knows how to navigate it. We ended up eating at this random restaraunt we obviously just stumbled upon. It was pretty crowded and everyone was eating pizza. So we ordered pizza. It was really good. And then we decided to go on a night gondola ride. It was so beautiful. We found out later that going at night is the only way to do it. The crowds of tourists are gone and the city is so quiet. Our gondolier took us on side canals, it was surreal. I couldn't help but think it felt like I was on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but on steroids. It was so beautiful. 

The next day we went to the neighboring islands Murano and Burano. Murano is known for its glassblowing and Burano is known for its production of lace like table clothes and things. But the even cooler thing about Burano were the colors of the houses. Apparently the fishermen wouldn't be able to keep track of which house was theirs when they were out fishing. (Reminded me of being in the ocean and then losing track of where your towel was.) Anyways so they painted their houses bright colors so they could see it from out at sea. The whole island was so bright! I loved it! 

And I think that was about it for Venice. It was a really short trip but was so peaceful. I really liked it. 

Picture time

Random protest 

Hanging out on a bridge..

The cat we named Casanova..

Our night ride

Burano

Awkwarddd..

Eliza, Elaine, and myself in front of a house

We sat at the front of the boat for the two hour ride while all the other people sat inside. Ballersss