Internet Down.....

Yesterday, our internet was down most of the day and still is at the apartment... SO ANNOYING!

Rainy again, I woke up at 6:30 AM to go to a market that is only open on Tuesday mornings. Lots of locals go there and supposedly the best prices on shoes, clothes, random items you think you need are found here. So I decided I needed to go check this place out, got up early, and started walking down the river... By the time I'd walked about 15 minutes, I made it to a run down amusement park, where some people were sitting and smoking.. I bet you can guess what happened... I got sketched out, turned around and walked all the way back! Ha. And apparently the market was right on the other side of the park! By the time I turned around, it had already started raining and was increasingly raining harder and harder as I made my way back to my part of town. And since I was already wet and up (it's about 7:30 by now) I decided to walk to another market I knew of by the Duomo, which is the cathedral in the middle of town. THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! I had so much fun exploring the market and vendors early in the morning. Of course, my favorite part was the indoor food market, where people sell their local produce at different stations. The best comparison to it would be Redding Market in Philadelphia. But it's still way more local than that- and more raw produce, not prepared foods.

That afternoon, in class, we took the tram- basically a really slow, bad roller coaster ride- to a suburb outside of Florence to go to a fresh pasta factory. That was so fun as well! We saw all the machines that the owners use to make fresh pasta. Fresh pasta is different than dried pasta you buy at the grocery store. It is made with eggs and flour, while dry pasta is made with Durum wheat. Durum makes the pasta brittle. Regular flour and egg pasta is still dry but can bend. It has a shorter lifespan as well. Anyways, we saw how they make this pasta and then they made us Gnocci for lunch! Gnocci is a potato dumpling, a common dish in Italy. That was yummy. The best part, though, was that each of us received a package of fresh ravioli made that morning! Mine has mozzarella, tomatoes, and spinach inside. I ate some last night for dinner, and decided that I can't eat ravioli unless it's that fresh every time. It was that good.

Nothing else too exciting happened yesterday. Went to dinner with Hannah, Meredith and the Ole Miss crowd which was really fun. Hope today I can get my project done and relax! We have a tour of the Accademia museum with the group at 5:30 this evening. That is where the "David" is housed, so I'm  excited about this!

one of my favorite pictures from San Lorenzo Market- the colors are so bright and happy!

lots of meat

our fresh, homemade ravioli

Gnocchi for lunch

Monday, June 6

Pretty day today after it stormed ALL DAY yesterday- with some hail mixed in too..
Some friends from Texas and from home made it here and i'm so excited to get to see them soon!

School started back up today and we got to taste some more cheese in class! The interesting thing about Italy is how regionally they eat here. We tasted 6 varieties Picorino cheeses from different regions, and they all tasted completely different from each other. Even though the procedure to make this cheese is the same, the soil and grass that the sheep feed on is different depending on the season and region, causing the cheese to vary dramatically. How cool is that! Tomorrow we are going to a fresh pasta factory to see how pasta is made an even get to taste some. I can't wait!

After class I found the University of Florence's biblioteca (library), where there is a coffee shop that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for a cappuccino, which is my new addiction, and you get to sit down with no extra charge. That's what they do here in Italy- charge you more for coffee if you sit to drink it, and depending on where you sit, it gets to be more expensive... They think of it as paying for your view. I think it's pretty lame. Anyways, I found a nice table outside and got to see the Duomo and a prety Magnolia tree,which was so pretty. Made my day as I caught up on reading and journaling.

Mere and I are getting ready to head to our favorite restaurant yet again... hope they recognize us this time! How fun would it be to become "regulars"?? haha I hope it happens!

Ciao!

Pictures from the weekend

view of the countryside and city on our Thursday hike

a closer view of Florence

Florence: the Duomo (4th largest cathedral in the world!)

Another beautiful church in a piazza in Florence

Cinque Terre

kayakers at Cinque Terre... I wanted to join them so badly!

Another gorgeous view

Vineyard and villa up the mountain side at Cinque Terre.. aka my dream home

more vineyards

One of the villages at Cinque Terre

Lucca: the city wall

Gladiators still exist!

At "Swan Lake"... or so we thought

Pink champagne! 

View from my new "study spot" at the University of Florence

the top of the Duomo and a Magnolia tree in full bloom! Made me happy:)

some pictures from the trip so far!

Meredith and myself before leaving DFW for Madrid and then to Florence!

Roommates: Phoebe, Meredith, Me, Hillary

The Real Deal: margherita pizza... cheese melting on the top of the handmade tomato sauce and crust... yummmm!

View from the Ponte Vecchio (main bridge) right by our apartment

A 10k race in Florence last Sunday- I wanted to jump in and join them SO badly!

homemade dinner: we were so proud 

Me and a few other girls in the program

Rocking the stage of Red Garter to Black Eyed Peas, " Where is the Love"

Definitely the wrong song to choose.. none of us can sing fast enough to that one... 

A busy, busy weekend!

This past weekend was such a blast! We travelled a lot and saw many beautiful sights... wish we could go back to them all!

Friday, June 3- What a WONDERFUL day this was! Apart from getting up super early to make our 7:25 train, visiting Cinque Terre was one of my favorite things about being in Italy thus far. Cinque Terre is made up of five villages on the Western coast of Tuscany. You hike from one village to the next, exploring them along the way. It took 3 trains and 2.5 hours to get to the first town, where we started our hike. The water here was a gorgeous, sparking blue and green expanse stretching out forever... incredible. It was a dramatic picture, watching it crash against the rocks of the coast- so beautiful. We went to this dreamy place with two guys from A&M, Joseph Trahan and joey Cramer, which made the day even more fun and funny! We hiked from the first town to the second and then took a ferry to the fourth  because the third town was closed. From the fourth to the fifth town we hiked a 2 hour hard hike to the last and favorite town. We worked hard to get there! Straight up then straight down and then straight up again! The view along the way was worth it though. To our left was a view of the sea never ending and the deepest blue I've ever seen, and to our right were vineyards winding up the mountain and one of the prettiest green colors I've ever seen too. Straight down to our left was a drop off down the woods..eeekk.. that was a little challenging.. just don't fall off the side! We made it in one piece thankfully, where we ate a yummy lunch and then quickly changed into our swimsuits to get into the FREEZING cold water... the last town has a big beach where people lay out, swim etc.. Shortly after wading halfway into this icy water, thunder started rolling and the rain started pouring! It was like a movie.. I loved every minute of it. Explored the town a little, bought some pesto to bring home because they are known for their pesto in this region.

The real adventure began on the train back to Florence. We took the 6:15 train to La Spezia, where we barely had time to buy tickets to Florence and run to that train... Well we didn't realize that this particular train was a regional train, meaning it would stop at EVERY station from there to the city... It took about 3.5 hours, many many stops, and even a backing up of the train to a stop we missed. That was real fun. I was thoroughly freaked out. There was a man with an eastern european accent, wearing gold chains around his neck and cutting an apple with big knife behind us, who had spoken to me earlier and kinda gave me the creeps, the sun was just setting as we were reversing in the middle of a small, rundown Tuscan town, so naturally I imagine scenes from 24 or the Bourne identity and how the train is about to be blown up. There was a moment I almost called my parents to say goodbye, and had tears in my eyes, looking out the window (so Meredith wouldn't see) as I knew that Jack Baur and Jason Bourne are, in fact, not real people and could not possibly show up to save the day. It's amazing the things my mind can imagine, isn't it? haha.  We made it back safely, despite my paranoia, at 10:30pm... hit the hay to get up for another early morning!

Saturday, June 4- Today we had to meet out CEA group at the train station at 7:50 to go to Lucca, a town in Tuscany. I am dying to return to this place. It is so charming, with a wall built during the Renaissance surrounding it. We rented bikes here and rode around on the top of the wall. Walls built during the Renaissance were made very wide, but not too high like during the Middle Ages. Gunpowder  and guns were being used at this point, so they had to make the walls thicker for defense, not high to block bows and arrows... I thought that was a pretty cool fact!  Anyways, we rode around the walls, coming down into town at different points to see churches and other landmarks that one of our teachers would tell us about. After the tour, we ate lunch at small restaurant.. I got chicken- the first real meat I'd had here so far and peas... it was an ok dish, definitely not the same kind of chicken that we eat in the U.S. My favorite part of the day was getting a Diet Coke with ice and a straw!!! Too bad they don't have styrofoam cups, because that would have been the cherry on top. The day was complete with DC in hand, iPod in ears, and nap time on the train ride back to Florence.

Saturday night included going to the ballet Swan Lake! Or so we thought... we bought tickets earlier last week, thinking they were for the world famous Russian ballet, Swan Lake. Not the case. The ballet was a new version about the life of the author of Swan Lake. Apparently his unfornate life, and failing marriage inspired is story, so the performance we saw was a combination of his inspiration and the original ballet... we were all so confused about this until we bought a program to read about it. Glad we went though, it was a good experience and Meredith and I found some pink champagne to make the whole night worth it! Of course, a gelato stop was made afterwards to end the night rather well!

Recap of the trip so far...

So I don't think I'm very good at this whole blogging thing... there's so much I want to say but don't ever know where to begin, and I'm not even technologically savvy enough to put pictures up! I'm just going to have to try to write even just a paragraph a day on here... I'm trying I promise!

A "quick" update on the 'order of events' this past week and a half- I can't believe we've been here that long! I apologize if this quick update is really not that short...I'm trying to write a little something about each day sooo here we go....

Wednesday,May 25- Leave DFW for Florence, via layover in Madrid

Thursday, May 26- Struggle in the Madrid airport to find our connecting flight (as described earlier). Arrival in Florence that afternoon to our fully furnished apartment, and two roommates from the University of Arizona, Hillary and Phoebe.

Spent the evening wandering around the area near our apartment, thinking we had explored more than the FOUR blocks we actually did see... I guess I was a little more tired than I realized. Found a cute restaurant to eat our first Italian meal: a margherita pizza! We then tried our first gelato, a taste of heaven if you ask me. There was some kind of orchestra and choir concert going on in one of the piazzas that we watched for a bit as well, then made our way back and to bed. A very good first day in Italy!

Friday, May 27- Orientation with our group of fifteen American students, fourteen of us being girls. Poor guy! Our school is located in the Piazza de Republicca, which is one of the main squares in the city center of Florence. We met here for orientation on classes, schedules, safety etc... we even had an hour Italian lesson! Our teacher was hilarious, fast-paced and knows how to make you feel right at home here. She had us practicing dialogues left and right (however, I'm not sure I remember them anymore!) I carry around an Italian phrase book with me everywhere. It usually helps you out to show the locals that you are trying to learn the language... so I've been trying to "try" to so just that.
Friday night two of our advisors took the group to El Gato e Volve, or "The Cat and the Wolf" for  a welcome dinner. Meredith and I have since been back and decided that it was our favorite restaurant here! Don't judge if we end up eating most of our meals there- it really is that good. They fed us a hearty three- course meal including a delicious piece of tier- a -misu for dessert... YUMMM!

Saturday, May 28- Today we had a waling tour with the cutest German woman, living here in Florence as an art historian and professor. We saw many historical landmarks in the city, as well as learned about the history of Florence since its foundation. After the tour and a boost of confidence from all of our new tools on navigating the city, a group of ten girls in our program decided to explore together. We found a small pizzeria with only Italians eating there- a very good sign. Another delicious meal of course and then we were off walking on the edge of the city center by the city walls... what a beautiful part of Florence! We went up and down hilly roads, saw authentic apartments, homes, views etc. We had a great time getting to know one of the other apartments in our group. They are a great bunch and fun to be with. We are from all over the U.S, which makes for interesting conversation... New York, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Arizona, and Texas.
That night, Meredith and I met up with some friends from A&M studying with another program here. It's  great to have friends in other programs here too... allows for more freedom to do lots of things while here!

Sunday, May 29- I had been given contact information of a couple living in Florence on Campus Crusade staff, although they call it Agape Italia here. I sent them an emakl when we first got here and they were kind enough to invite us to go to church with them. So we did! They are adorable and from Texas as well. They are Melanie and Matt Phillips and met a SMU in Dallas. They have on two-year-old little boy and are due with baby #2 in a couple of weeks! Anyways, they were so wonderful to pick us up for church and then invite us to their home for lunch afterwards. The service was in Italian, but I LOVED it. A baptism service was being held this particular Sunday. It was incredible to see these Italians share their testimonies(although I couldn't understand a word) and then be baptized in the name of the same Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the God in America. It was one of those moments where I tangibly experienced the "biggness" of the Lord and His sovereignty over all the nations. Wow. It was an incredible experience that I am very thankful to have witnessed. Sharing a meal with Matt and Melanie was a blessing as well. Just being able to connect with a Christian, American couple living here helped the adjustment to Florence immensely. They were so kind to give us tips and explain to us the Italian culture, ask us about ourselves and tell us about their last four years here and what they feel the Lord is leading them to do next. all this to say, I am very thankful for this day and these people! What a blessing the Lord gave us. I have a feeling I'm going to learn a whole lot about God's provision on this trip...

That night Meredith, Hillary, Phoebe, and myself made a spaghetti dinner, complete with bread, veggies and red wine! We took many pictures of our spread- I guess you could say we were really proud of ourselves :) Then out for more gelato of course! My favorite place called Grom is THE BEST! meredith would say it's here second favorite, but it's my top choice. Everything is natural and fresh: real coffee, real chocolate, real strawberries, peached, coconut.. you name it and it's made with the actual ingredients of its flavor. And they only use fruits when they are in season. It's amazing how locally the Italians eat. Strawberry and peach gelato will only be around as long as the farmers are growing them here... it's truly incredible stuff.. I'm going to miss this place when we have to leave.

Monday, May 30- First day of class! I thought I might want to add art history so I sat in on this 9am class, afterwards deciding it would be A LOT more reading for a summer class than I want to do- ha. From 12-2:30 is my 'Culture of Food and Wine' class. I LOVE it! My professor is an Italian woman who is all about nutrition and the history of Italy through its food. I was eating it up. We learned all about the culture of Italy from the original inhabitants to the ancient Romans, Middle Ages, and Renaissance. It is so cool to learn how food really does shape the way cultures, traditions, and a group of people develop.
Explored more of the city that afternoon and went back to "El Gato y Volve" (the favorite restaurant) that night... so good! Meredith and I decided it would be a good idea try these waffle gelato treats we'd been seeing all over the place after dinner... NOT a good idea! Overpriced and melted by the time we took the first bite! At least we tried though. I say it's part of being cultured.

Tuesday, May 31- Went for a run this morning (my 2nd one here). Something about getting up early and soaking in some of the first rays of sunlight bring me so much joy. It's a time where I can recharge, exercise, wake up, have a quiet time etc. without the hustle and bustle of the city or feeling like I need to be doing something else. I hope to make this a habit as much as I can!
In class today we learned about Italy and its food and culture from the Renaissance to WWII to present day. Another interesting day of class-- LOVE LOVE LOVE...
Explored with Meredith in the afternoon. Visited the Santa Maria Basilica, which was gorgeous. It amazed me to read about the history of all the frescoes, stain glass windows and architecture of the building itself... most of it was completed before the discovery of the new world, which I never really stopped to think about before... that is really old! It's incredible to think about how old everything in Florence is- And I thought I was old at age 20! Too cool. Dinner with the roommates this night at a cute place one of their friends recommended. Again, a yummy meal and a trip to gelato afterwards.. good thing we walk everywhere here or I'd be freaking out about all the bread and sugar we eat here!

Wednesday, June 1- Read for class this morning- we have a lot for a class about food and wine! Class with cheese tasting... that was really fun. We learned all about the different categories of cheese, how they are made etc. I'm such a nerd and love learning about the process, history, background of it all! We tasted six different cheeses. I decided that I like sharper cheeses the best like, parmesan and gorgonzola... such foodie over here :)
Wednesday night, we (all 15 of us in the program) had a surprise 21st birthday dinner for our roommate Phoebe. She was thoroughly shocked since we had all only known each other for less than a week! That's what I love about this program... It's small enough to get to be friends with everyone. Everyone is so sweet as well, kind of like a little Firenze Family! After diner, most of us headed out on the town to a bar. The night was made complete with karaoke and Joey Cramer (A&M Fiji in Florence) playing "Wagon Wheel" and "every rose has a thorn" on the DJ's guitar. It was hilarious! Literally Texans were all of the sudden right at the foot of the stage singing along. There were so many southerners there, it was cracking me up!

Thursday, June 2- Slept in this morning because it was an Italian holiday, so no school! I went for a run/ explored around noon and found a small amusement park- kinda creepy but mostly funny, and a bike trail/ running path that many Italians were using... It was AWESOME! I felt like a true Italian in that moment. That afternoon, Meredith and I went for a 3 hour hike around the city. We found the most beautiful view of Tuscan villas, and of the city of Florence itself... Italy is such a beautiful part of the world. It never stops to amaze me. We also stumbled upon a park, where we took many pictures, explored etc on our way up to the lookout point of our hike. My favorite view was from the top of this old monastery we found on our way, though- no tourists, just us on top of the world (it felt like that at least) looking out over the entire city and countryside. Truly breath taking.
Dinner that night included a slice of pizza, diet coke and early bed time to get up at 6:15 the next morning to go to Cinque Terre!

I'll write about the weekend in another post... feel like this is getting a little long and there's a lot to write about the weekend!!

some highlights of the trip thus far...

We are at the end of our 6th day here in Firenze and jet-lag seems to have gotten the  better of us. Today was my worst day yet. I was starting to think that I was immune to the effect, a better traveler of sorts- HA! Well it came on full force today, like a train barreling straight towards me full speed ahead, but I couldn't get out of the way! Guess I was wrong in my thinking... o well. Hoping for a better tomorrow.

I titled this entry to be about some of our highlights and boy, have we had some!

Our first adventure began when we landed in the Madrid airport on our way to Italy. We had to change planes. We got off the plane, and were quickly whisked through customs, down some stairs, onto an elevator and then OUT OF SECURITY! We were so confused, we had no idea that we were even our of security at first. In the Madrid airport, all of the floors open into the middle, so you can stand at the edge and see every other floor from where you are. We saw the floor we needed to get to, but with no way of getting there and no one around us who could speak english! As one can imagine, stress set in. I tried not to let it distract me from finding help, or a sign of some sort to direct us to get back into the airport, but Meredith was freaking! It was actually kind of funny because that is usually the opposite reaction for us. Anyways, we made it out of the airport, back in and eventually to the right ticket counter with 45 minutes to spare before our flight left- They couldn't print our boarding pass in the U.S. so we had to get it printed in Spain, and then run back through security (where I was told to go through twice- why was that ?? no clue.) and then race to our gate, which we arrived at with 30 minutes to spare. The funny thing about this whole thing was the Spanish woman in front of us at the ticket counter who thought we were ridiculous for being so flustered with only and hour to spare. She said to me, " Why are you in a hurry? You have an hour." Thus, we Americans better learn to relax a little bit better because the Spaniards do it right. Thankfully we made it to Florence in one piece and with all our luggage!

We arrived around 4 pm and were taxied to our own apartment, with 2 other roommates in the program! So, that night Meredith and I explored the city center, grabbed a bite to eat at a quaint little restaurant, and spotted the Jersey Shore people and their camera crew! How ridiculous. We have since seen them multiple times, as this city is not very big, but it is definitely a highlight I will remember for a long time. These kids who are famous for NOTHING and claiming to be Italian.. the Italians here are a little confused by that.. haha.

That's all for now! Pictures coming soon.

Ciao