Ok Mom, I blogged.

Well it appears I owe a bit of an apology as it has been awhile since I’ve last written. You’ll have to forgive me in the last 2 weeks I have been in four different countries with four different languages… my mind has been a bit hazy. So I might as well get on with it as there is certainly a lot to talk about.

Well, I’m going all the way back to Spring Break which started Friday, February 19^th and began in Paris! I went to Paris with six other girls for four days! We arrived on Paris and right away got a piece of Pizza with amazing cheese on it and we knew we were in for a good weekend. We settled at our hotel and made our way to the Louvre. Because it was a Friday night and we are under the age of 26 (random, yes) we got in for free AND it was empty. I remember when I went to Paris a couple of years ago with our family and the room with the Mona Lisa was packed and typically you have to wait about 15 minutes to get in front of it- we literally walked right up to it. My favorite part about the Louvre was being able to apply some of the things I’ve learned in my art history class. I was awesome to be able to walk through the Louvre and point out the artists without looking at the information card or recognizing what time period the work was done in. I feel like I have such a greater appreciation for art, and have become somewhat obsessed!

So one of my friends I went with was staying with her friend in Paris so he showed us around. We went out to eat at this quaint little caffe in a more posh part of Paris. Since it was the first Friday in lent I had this smoked salmon toast- unbelievable, and completely reminded me of my mother. We then went to a pretty hipster bar for awhile but we were pretty tired from traveling so we didn’t stay out too late. Although, we did have possibly the best mojitos ever. Apparently Paris is somewhat known for them… who knew?

Saturday we woke up grabbed some lunch and headed to Champs Elysees. Right outside the metro there was a pretty impressive break dance concert going on- highly entertaining. Then we went to the Arc de Triomphe, which is just as triumphant as I remember it. One of the best arts of the arc is just being smack in the middle of central Paris with cars blurrying by, the Eiffel tower in the distance and Champs Elysees right in front of you. Considering I’ve seen so much I was a little worried that they’d start to blur together or I wouldn’t appreciate them as much because of the sheer number of things I’ve seen… but luckily I never cease to revel in the majesty and splendor of everything. I wish I could adequately explain what it is like to constantly be amazed. Looking at the Arc everything is perfect, every detail is seemingly flawless and display a complete mastery of skill.

Anyways, I think you get the point, I’m going to move on. We then headed down Champs Elysees- which for those of you don’t know it’s like Fifth Avenue and Michigan Avenue together (but better) and in Paris. Needless to say I was in heaven. I had to make a tough decision in Louis Vuitton- a new purse or eating for the next 6 months. It was a lot tougher than it sounds- especially considering just how obsessed I am with their new print AND the absolute amazingness of the store itself. But in the end I choose food. So we moved on to the largest Sephora in the world! We were greeted by dancing and singing employees outside of the store which was fun. I bought some eyeliner, if not just so I could say that I bought something at the biggest Sephora in the world. (I now officially have stopped at the biggest metro stop in the world (Chatlet- Paris), bought something at the biggest Sephora, and eaten at the biggest McDonalds- I always say go big or go home). So we finished walking down Champs Elysees which is just with one ridiculously overly large store after another, and then headed to the Eiffel Tower!

On the way to the Eiffel Tower we stopped at a grocery store and bought some wine boxes (literally juice boxes of wine) so we could sit under the Eiffel and with some wine. It was quite picturesque we sat in the park in front of the tower with our box wine and just took in the surroundings. It was a clear day, there was the most adorable family playing a little game of soccer right in front of us, there was a group of teenagers hanging out (and as my mother would say probably up to no good), tourists, people walking routinely by coming to or from- all things that reminded us that this is in fact real life.

We then found a little caffe where we grabbed a pastry and waited for the tower to light up because it was just about that time. At exactly seven o’clock the tower lit up and dazzled in the sky. It looks as if the Eiffel tower is a celebrity with paparazzi surrounding it.

I think that sometimes both the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower are somewhat of a mystery to some people. Everyone knows of them and understands just how famous they are- yet often it remains a mystery as to why. People are sometimes unimpressed by the Mona Lisa because, we’ll it’s small. One thing that I have learned about art is that to truly judge it and therefore understand it you have to understand it within the context with which it was done. First off, Leonardo was the first artist to turn a portrait from a profile towards us. Of course there is always the mystery of what exactly is she looking at, because from any angle you feel as if she is staring at you. There is an ease to Leonardo’s painting that displays his complete mastery of the subject. Leonardo also strove to paint virtue and beauty in his female portraiture, something that many argue he achieved with the Mona Lisa. Essentially though his technique especially in the landscape, attention to detail, and ability to paint the invisible (particularly the shadows and various elements within the face) were ground breaking and had a dramatic influence on the timeline of art. Wow, that was a tangent- sorry, like I said I’ve become slightly obsessed.

Anywho, the Eiffel is just cool. One of my friends explained it pretty well- It’s industrial, yet with a certain eloquence and grace to it. It almost has a feminine sort of quality to it. Going up it allows for a great view of Paris. And there is nothing like admiring the sparkling Eiffel Tower against the backdrop of Paris landscape.

So Saturday and Sunday night in order to attempt to save a little bit of money we ate a dinner of bread, cheese, and little bit of meat at my friend’s friend’s apartment. It was great because bread and cheese are the best food in Paris anyways, it was nice to be able to do that. Saturday night we had a blast going out to an Irish Pub where we just danced the night away.

Sunday we got up and went to church at Notre Dame. It was one of the best masses I’ve ever been to and it wasn’t even in English. They did have a pamphlet with the readings in English though which was great, and one of the readings was in Italian which just felt fitting for some reason. The readings were incredibly relevant, they discussed people of all faiths coming together. Considering I was sitting at a Catholic mass sandwiched between two Jews, and only one of the other four people I was with was Catholic it felt incredibly fitting. I think we all took away something from that mass, even if it was just the historic and breathtaking setting we were in. No wine though, so far I’ve gone to mass in Italy, Paris, and London and only got wine in London… interesting.

We then had an absolutely fabulous lunch in the Latin Quarter, I had a goat cheese salad. And then did a little walking around because it was a great, unique shopping district, where I made one of the easiest purchases of my life. I literally walked into this little accessory boutique and immediately one scarf caught my attention- If I was a scarf I would be this scarf. I don’t know exactly how but for some reason my personality is embodied in this scarf. Okay, I admit that it’s utterly ridiculous how deep I just got about a scarf, but it was love at first sight. We had a lot of fun walking around the shops there, I found an amazing dress boutique with no need for a dress of any sorts unfortunately. We found this little side street that looked straight out of Harry Potter (Diagon Alley). We then headed to the Impressionist Museum, Musee d’Orsay. They had a special Van Gogh exhibit and tons of Monet, who has long been one of my favorites. It was really nice to change up the style of art we saw. There is just such a beauty and elegance to impressionist. There is a flawless flow of colors that conveys an array of emotions. Even simply happiness.

After our Sunday night dinner of cheese and bread again we headed up to Montmarte. Montmartre is a hill with the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur on top of it. But most importantly it provides a breathtaking and free view of Paris. Again, we just kind of hung out with a bottle of champagne and took it all in. All of Paris was visible. This view is especially unique because it includes the Eiffel Tower in it. Most people think the Eiffel Tower gives the best view of the city, but I think the best view of the city would include the Eiffel Tower- that’s just my opinion. And again we just watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle.

Monday we had seen most of the touristy things we wanted so we spent the day shopping. I got myself and Buddy a nice new bag and picked up a few things at H&M. Okay, I know it sounds lame to go to Paris and go shopping at H&M BUT they are way better and different in Europe. They are so fun and funky I love it! And then I had the best falafel of my life. I actually don’t even usually like falafels that much but this one was amazing, there was eggplant in it and the sauce was perfect. And then we were off to Barcelona!!

I’ll detail my trip to Barcelona in my next blog which (I’ve stopped making promises) but I fully intend on being REALLY soon, hopefully tomorrow! I plan on fully catching my blog up to where I actually am in my life this week- which includes, Barcelona, Milan, London, Assisi, and Perugia. Ya, Grandma I went to Assisi!

There is much said about Paris and French people in general so I’d like to lay out what I perceived as the good and the bad of Paris. Good: the metro system. It is so easy, pretty cheap, and you can get anywhere from anywhere. Literally you can hop on any metro and get to where you need to go easily. We became masters of the metro. Bad: expensive. Besides the Metro Paris ain’t too cheap. Yet, good, the shopping is unreal. As is how people dress. Even just riding on the metro people looked fabulous, in heels and with designer bags! I was envious of most of the women in Paris. Anything you eat or drink in Paris is great. The ham and cheese baguette I had at the airport was unreal. Everything is just so fresh, it was also just as I remembered it from my family’s previous trip there.

Now, much is often said about the eh, manners of the French. I hate to say that but my experience feeds into the stereotype. During the day I found people to be genuinely kind and helpful. At night people were just often not that kind. Like a group of girls that cut us in the taxi line, proceeded to steal our cab, and then drove away in it with the windows down and waving and laughing at us. There was actually a couple of instances were it felt like people were going out of our way to be rude, it was kind of weird. But above all this there was a very interesting lack of effort on the behalf of the French to break the language barrier. I’ve found in Italy and Spain that people appreciate when you attempt to speak their language and generally level with you. It’s like you work together to figure out what you are trying to say. That’s not how the French see it, they just don’t understand you and don’t really try. Nor do they try to make you understand them, they just keep talking when clearly you have no idea what they are saying. It’s actually really interesting. I spent about 20 minutes attempting to ask the guy that worked at the front desk of our hotel how to get to the Louvre, because apparently he didn’t understand my pronunciation of Louvre. I asked my friend’s friend who lives there about this and he said it’s terrible. Apparently, there are very subtle differences in the pronunciation of many words and they rarely budge and attempt to understand what you are saying. Instead they just look at you like you are crazy. It was interesting. Also, I (we) were told to be quiet all the time. I know most of you are thinking well Becca you were probably being loud. BUT, we were at a bar, a BAR! And we were told to shush, that was weird.

These are just things I noticed, none of it really affected my time there. I had a blast and loved experiencing the city.

So I promise to get to the rest of my Spring Break. In between my travels I’ve been doing less and less school work haha, but I’ve been keeping really busy with applying for internships this summer in DC. That’s been a blast. The weather here is also starting to look like Spring! Yay! We had a freakish cold spell last week but since Saturday it’s been clear skies and in the 50’s. Today I actually played Bocce ball in our courtyard…

I have visitors coming very soon which I am ecstatic about! Yet time here is just going way too fast! Again, my apologizes for a. this being ridiculously long and b. taking forever to catch up! I daresay, I shall have at the very least one more entry this week… get excited because if you think I’ve been excited about what I’ve done so far WAIT until I talk about Barcelona

Arrivederci!

Open Air History

Open air history. That’s the phrase our tour guide first used to describe the Roman Forum and Rome in general, and it could not be more perfect. Being in Rome is like walking through a history book. I walked on the same ground as Julius Cesear. It’s the place where almost everything derived from, almost every concept, idea, or even word can often be traced back to Ancient Rome. As they say all roads lead to Rome. (And yes, every cliché saying about Rome was utter upwards of a million times this weekend).

No matter what the weather Rome would be beautiful, but throw in a clear, sunny, warm day and it was absolutely perfect. I could have gotten a tan, I swear. It’s funny too because whereas we were taking our coats off the Italians were wearing winter puffy jackets, our spring is their winter…must be rough.

This trip to Rome was organized by our program so everyone went, and we were there all day Thursday and Friday and left around 5 on Saturday. It was just enough time and it was perfectly balanced between school organized activities and free time. The first thing on the agenda was to met our tour guide in Piazza del Campidoglio in front of the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The lady that gave us a tour was the cutest little thing! She was so funny and made the tour really enjoyable. She started out by telling us a few general things about Rome. For example, the letters SPQR are written everywhere and on everything in Rome. It stands for the Latin phrase, “Senatus Populusque Romanus” or “The Senate and the People of Rome.” It has been used as a mark of the government of Rome since roughly 750 BC and is still used today! It is written on everything in the city (sewers, statues, etc) and is

on every legal document.

Rome is known as the city built on seven hills, yet it is not that hilly anymore. The reason for this is that whenever a new building was commissioned instead of building a new foundation they would just build on top of or over an existing building. So the foundation of many buildings in Rome are very, very deep below ground. And the street level has been changed dramatically throughout centuries. This idea leads well into the Roman Forum. I honestly had no idea what the Roman Forum was before I got there so I’m going to assume than that some of you don’t either. The Roman Forum is basically a plot of ancient ruins, it’s everything that has been excavated from ancient Rome or what is left of it. There are always archeologists working here because they never know just how deep things can be or what they can find. Two of my friends took a break and sat on some large stones on the ground, and it hit me they are sitting on thousands of year old marble- crazy. So ya the Roman Forum is really cool, and the grounds beyond them are really pretty. There were a couple of places higher up that you could just perch at with incredible views of ruins, the Colosseum, and the city. Through in the sun and a perfect breeze and I literally could of sat there all day. But unfortunately for me there is no sitting in Rome, way too much to see!

The next stop on our journey was the Colosseum. So generally here’s the deal with everything in Rome (and Italy for that matter) it really is JUST as cool and awesome as it’s hyped up to be. Coming into this whole experience I was like there is no way that everything can be as amazing as it’s hyped up to be… WRONG. The Colosseum is unreal. It was completed in 80 AD, 80 AD, can you believe that? Although, yes it is not all completely there, it’s still pretty unreal that there is a structure still around from that long ago. This is also when I learned that Rome is a pretty seismic area. I always assumed much of the damage to ancient works was attributed to while time mainly and war- but Rome has been victim to many devastating earthquakes in it’s very long history. It’s so cool to just sit in the Colosseum and think about everything that happened in there, to just look around and imagine it filled with people watching a joust or a battle… it helped that we had just watched Gladiator on the bus there!

Rome is also the opposite of Mexico. You know how you aren’t supposed to drink the water in Mexico, well you are supposed to drink the water in Rome. There are all these “water fountains” throughout the city and they have really good fresh water. I say “water fountains” because they are like ancient sprouts that you stick your finger into to close the spout and make the water come up a hold like a fountain, it’s very convenient.

After the Colosseum we had the option of going off on our own or going with our art history professor to a couple more places. Given that my professor knows everything about everything (including how to get back to the hotel from where we were) I decided I’d stick with her. First we went to a church and I for the life of me have no idea what it was called (sorry). But we went underneath the church, it was like a cave with some frescos. It’s crazy this little random, one of a thousand churches in Rome has so much history.

Then we went to the Pantheon at night which was beautiful. The most interesting thing about the Pantheon was that the dome on top has a hole right in the middle of it so when it rains it literally rains right into the Pantheon. We then ventured to Piazza Navona, a famous piazza with some caffes, fountains, and where artists and musicians hang out.

So by this time (yes, this was all Thursday) I was pretty tired and hungy, but I was dragged to the Trevi Fountain. So I was tired (honestly, a little crabby) and hungry and I was like seriously how cool can a water fountain be? IT CAN BE REALLY, REALLY COOL. Okay, cool is such an immature and poor word choice I’m sorry. So I turned around the corner and there was this masterpiece with water (from the same water system installed when it was built in 1762) flowing like a dream through it. We had just watched La Dolce Vita in my Italian Cinema class (which I highly recommend for anyone coming to Italy, it’s an Italian classic) and there is seen where one of the main characters goes into the Trevi and sticks her head under the water. Our teacher explained to us that this scene was like a baptism, she was being cleansed of her sins and renewed. That’s how I felt being at the Trevi, I felt rejuvenated and with a renewed spirit. I had another, WOW, this is my life moment. And of course I threw some euro coins in and made a couple of wishes (apparently over 3,000 euros are thrown in there a day, some homeless dude could make a killing swimming in the Trevi).

Friday was our day at the Vatican. On the Wednesday night before we left we had an orientation about the Vatican so once we got there we could walk around on our own (because it’s too crowded and difficult to tour it with a group our size). So it was nice to just wonder in small groups taking it all in, and wow, was there a lot to take in. Essentially the catholic church will (and has for a very long time) take any and all art it can get it’s hands on. You would think that it would all be focused on Catholicism, but no they will take whatever they can get (Egyptian art, maps, modern, etc). I walked with a small group including one of my friends Kate, who has a very similar Catholic background to mine, so it was nice to have someone to share that aspect of all of this with.

So obviously a highlight, strike that the highlight, of a trip to the Vatican is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, but there is so much to be seen on the way there. From the moment you walk in there are signs directing you to the Sistine Chapel, so I got a little over anxious and I don’t think fully appreciated everything that I passed. Luckily I’ll be back, but for anyone going take your time going through the Vatican, you’ll get to the Sistine Chapel, it’s not going anywhere. Anyways, I just love all the statues. They are so massive, and I don’t think I will ever get over how artists can take a slab of marble and create something so beautiful out of it… it baffles me. Our Art History professor explained it as like being in a bath and pulling the drain, with a figure emerging from the water perfectly. I also loved the Gallery of Maps. The ceiling of this room is pretty impressive, it obviously gets overshadowed by Michelangelo’s but still it’s amazing. Then the walls of the hallway are filled with maps of Italy, because cartography was considered a science and an art at the time.

Eventually we did indeed make it to the Sistine Chapel, and o, my goodness. You can get a serious neck cramp in there because you never want to stop looking up. It’s… it… it absolutely leaves you speechless. I really enjoyed (as I have with most of the art I’ve seen) the religious aspect of it. It is fascinating to see the different ways that biblical scenes were portrayed, and being able to point out which scenes he chose. Essentially recalling everything I learned in all those years of CCD. Last Supper depiction are really interesting to me. Although every artist does something slightly different there is a common thread between them all and typically every figure in the picture does the same gesture to signify who it is. Interesting to, Da Vinci was the first artist to put Judas on the same side as Jesus at the table, before Da Vinci did this Judas was always the only one on the other side. So in Michelangelo’s Judas is on the opposite side of the table.

Something else I am really enjoying is seeing first hand some things that my teacher made of point of in class, especially stylistically. It makes me feel smart, haha! For example, in Michelangelo’s ceiling if you look at the figures from right to left they get increasingly bigger. This is because after he finished the first couple Michelangelo studied how they would look from the floor, and realized they needed to be much bigger. So the figures on the left are more massive. They also have a lot more depth to them, a skill Michelangelo got progressively better at in the four years it took to complete the ceiling. It’s absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to share the experience (again) with some of you!

Then we finished our day at the Vatican in St. Peter’s Basillica. If anything has ever had a wow factor it’s St. Peter’s. It’s again, just unbelievable. It’s huge, first of all, the high alter could probably barely fit into IJP. And everything about it is just marvelous and grand. It’s so massive and open too. There was actually mass going on at the time, but because it was like the middle of mass we couldn’t participate. I did get some holy water thought and I took a second (with my friend Kate) to say a prayer, it was a good prayer.

We then ate a good lunch at a nice quaint restaurant (we strayed away from everything that claimed to have a “tourist menu”) and then headed to the Spanish Steps. While at the Spanish steps we ran into a third of our program (proving it was literally the last thing we hadn’t done in Rome). The Spanish steps are just a fun place to be, there isn’t anything extraordinarily spectacular about them (the fountain at the bottom is pretty awesome) but it is a very cool place to just hang out. Unfortunately, it was a little rainy so we didn’t hang out too long but still got some good pictures and some amazing views of the city. Actually at one point my friend Emma and I were walking down and our friends Tricia and Kate were already at the bottom so they took a picture of us and then we started posing as models (just for fun) and were almost immediately bombarded by Italian boys… it was pretty funny. So we are in a bunch of random Italian boys pictures from the Spanish steps, I’d say that’s a pretty good accomplishment.

We just walked around a little and hung out. That night we went to this really good restaurant (actually recommended by one of mine and Tricia’s friends from Madison that we had literally run into the night before… weird) and had amazing Chicken Parmesan and excellent wine. The next morning we went to a Villa with our Art professor as a requirement for class, it was pretty cool. Then we went to Villa Borghese which was amazing. Everyone coming to Rome has to go there. It is definitely in my top 5 favorite places I’ve seen so far. The grounds the Villa are on are never ending (it looks like a classier Central Park) and perfectly picturesque. And inside the Villa houses some of the most beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever seen. The two biggest highlights for me where two of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s statues: Apollo and Daphne and The Rape of Proserpina. It felt as if either of these statues are going to move at any time, these figures told a story and you could feel their emotions, and there was different scenes all happening at once. The tear on Proserpina’s check almost made me cry, they embodied beauty. The ceilings at the Villa are also surreal, looking up at one was like watching a 3-D movie.

And then we went home. So “when in Rome” I did everything and loved it all. In case you couldn’t tell by this incredibly lengthy entry. That was actually two weekends again, this weekend I just hung out in Florence. We went and saw the David (it is HUGE and beautiful) and went to the Medici Palace (also huge and beautiful, but in a slightly different way), and maybe I’ll find some time this week to write about those more. It was a good weekend, relaxing which was very needed after last week and this week’s school work and with spring break sneaking around the corner.

So this week I just have to get through a whole novel for my Fascism class (not going to happen), an Art History Midterm, and an Italian midterm…. And then it is off to Paris, Barcelona, and Milan! Yes, you heard me correctly I’m spending Spring Break in Paris, Barcelona, and Milan! So absolutely excited! Look forward to long, very intense blogs about those trips!

Arrivederci!

When in Bologna...

On Wednesday our whole program went to the Opera. Everyone got all dressed up, so that was special. It was called L’Italiana in Algeri and it was about… love? I don’t really know it was pretty difficult to understand what was happening. Roughly here’s what happened, this rich prince-like dude didn’t like his wife so he tried to trick her into loving a prisoner he set free and find himself a real Italian wife. But then the new Italian wife feel in love with someone else (like a servant I believe) and the prisoner fell in love with the Italian wife, or something like that. And then I thought they opened a restaurant but apparently they just went to Italy and tricked the king dude with spaghetti and all ran away with the people they truly love. Or something. For understanding almost nothing, it was amazing. It was interesting too because they had subtitles in Italian above the stage, so something tells me even Italians work to understand the plot. Anyways, the costumes were unbelievable. It really wasn’t comparable to an American musical, it was really a treat. And their voices! They don’t use any microphones and we were literally at the very top level in the very last row (we are college students after all) and we could hear everything wonderfully. I would recommend an Italian Opera to anyone visiting Italy, if you have the time, although it is long- not sure if Tommy could make it. Not going to lie I had two espressos before hand.

Bologna. Initially I wasn’t even too sure why I was going. My friends just planned a trip and I figured why not? Plus, I don’t think a city in Italy exists that doesn’t have good wine and food so I figured we had at least that going for us. Although, to be honest, I pictured a kind of grungy city that smelled like a meat processing factory- I mean come on what else do you think of when you hear Bologna? Boy, was I wrong.

So we got on a train at 8:30 leaving from our town of Sesto to Bologna. It was about an hour and 45 minute train ride. We were on the train for about 40 minutes when we went into a tunnel for roughly 20 minutes and when we got out of the tunnel we were stunned: there was snow everywhere! Some comments included, we traveled to Narnia! Are we going to Hogwarts? And O, no we woke up from our dream Italian life and are back in Wisconsin! But to be honest the snow wasn’t that bad and it was actually a beautiful landscape for snow.

I went to Bologna with 8 other people. I was really excited about the group I was going with to begin with, but slightly nervous to go with such a big group. However, not only did things work out fine it was perfect. Our group got along so well, we got to know each other a lot more, and we were all pretty much always on the same schedule and down to do the same things- a rarity with such a large group. I realized that what is really going to be the deal breaker on these trips is who I go with, that they are what make these trips. So far, so (VERY) good!

We got there with absolutely no game plan (shocking!), a concept which has honestly become my favorite way to travel. Obviously, this spontaneous way of life could go horribly but that has not been my experience. In fact, I think it has paid off immensely.

When we got there it was pretty cold and we were pretty hungry so we sat in a little caffe drinking hot chocolate, which could easily be described as pudding not hot chocolate (but we weren’t complaining). Then we wondered around. The thing about Bologna that stood out as different to me than other Italian cities (so far) is that it is a university town. The University of Bologna is the first university in all of Italy, and it definitely had a campus feel to it. So we checked out the university and were stunned by the simple truth that this is where people our age go to school. It’s crazy! It’s so beautiful and historic, yet that’s where classes are. Needless to say it was pretty cool.

Then we went to our hotel which was outside of the city but a simple euro bus ride and totally worth it. 19 euro a night for great room, amazingly hospitable and helpful concierge and free (amazing) breakfast! Anyways we got ready and went into the city for the night. We found a little restaurant (off the beaten path just like everyone tells you to do) and had a great meal. One thing we all noticed was the difference in portion sizes, much smaller when compared to American sizes. Yet, still completely satisfying. This is the first real restaurant we went to that we completely could not decipher the menu (even those in Advanced Italian). So most of us went with the House special (I did), which was an oven baked lasagna type thing but not lasagna noodles it was like oversized penne noodles. I don’t know it was just good. And we had some house wine of course. I am really beginning to enjoy and appreciate the perfect wine with a meal, the two really do pair well.

It was a little early to go out to a bar after dinner so we decided to hang out at this little cute wine bar for a little bit. However, a little bit turned into a long bit. We had great, lively conversation and, of course, great wine. Literally wine is cheaper than water here- that is not a joke or an exaggeration. Unlike in America you have to pay for water here, so it obviously more reasonable to bypass the water and go straight to the wine (haha!). Seriously, that should be Italy’s slogan- “Where wine is cheaper than water”

Then we fully immersed ourselves in the Bologna night life. I really felt like we experienced a typical Italian college student night out, so obviously it was a blast. Highlights include: bonding with an Italian bar tender who knew a surprising amount of English and thoroughly entertained us (as I think we did him), get evilly stared down by intense Italian woman because I accidentally bumped her (I thought she was going to kill me), hanging out at an Irish Pub, and get late night Kababs (seriously unbelievable). I feel like the Kababs need further explanation. In Italy (or atleast every city I’ve so far been to) you either eat Italian food (Pizza, pasta, or Paninis) or Kababs. So ya we aren’t entirely sure what Kababs are but they are definitely on to something. It is very similar to a Gyro except then they throw crazy things in there like coleslaw, fries and these crazy sauces- whatever it is the combination is like a firework in your mouth, an explosion of flavor if you will.

Then Saturday we had a fabulous breakfast at our hotel (yes, I have yet to have a bad meal even a hotel breakfast is amazing). Originally our plan for Saturday was to go to Verona for the day, which was an hour and half train ride away but we decided that was just too much and we wanted to see more of Bologna. So, our hotel offered a free guided walking tour (Sat-tour-day) of Bologna that we tried to sign up for but it was full. However, that definitely ended up being a positive.

The highlight of the day was stumbling upon an art project that was happening in Piazza Maggiore. There was a group doing participating in an art contest based in Milan. I believe the contest was to make the largest piece of art. As we strolled into the piazza we saw people in jumpsuits rolling out big white sheets of paper. As we asked some of the people in jumpsuits what was going on (luckily they spoke English) they explained the project and handed us paint brushes. Literally, we were the first ones handed paint brushes. So we just started painting. We were slightly intimidated… I mean where do you start? Most of us wrote our name, did some design, and we traced one of our friends. More and more people started to join in and there were tons of news crews and photographers around. Some people got really into, painting beautiful images. We stayed for awhile and took a look at some pieces and then left to wonder around the rest of Bologna. After about an hour we decided to come back and check out the progress of the project. Every inch of the paper was filled. Tons of more people had contributed, it was outstanding. It was interesting too to see where people had added on their own touch to an image that was already there. I got a great picture of an adorable little Italian girl splattering the paper. And my favorite was the people running the project had wrote really big “Make the Sky Bloom” I thought it was incredibly fitting. Hence, the genius that is spontaneity.

Then I had a crepe. It was awesome. It had Nutella and strawberries. Dad and Tommy you will be very happy to know that Italians LOVE their Nutella. It is everywhere. In some caffe fronts they just have GIANT jars of Nutella in the windows. At our hotel they had little packets of Nutella like jelly.

Yes, what you are supposed to do in Bologna is eat (obviously). So that night we decided to eat at a typical Bolognese restaurant. It was awesome. I had ravoli with Bolognese sauce. OBVIOUSLY, outstanding and indescribable. Everything everyone ate (even if they weren’t exactly sure what it was) was outstanding. It’s fun eating out with a big group and having little bites of everyones food. And again we had the house wine. I had a little wine before dinner and was a little iffy about the wine, BUT then I started eating and the wine just got better. I totally get it now.

Then we went out again. And again it was a blast. No kababs this night though.

I am so happy I have kept up with life like this, because honestly on moment of happiness is beginning to blend into the next. Aunt Kathy asked me today what my favorite thing has been and honestly it’s probably whatever the last thing I did was. It was just a day in Florence, then Siena, then wine tasting, then the Uffizi, then Ponte Vecchio, then riding bikes in Lucca, then the Opera, and now it’s Bologna… is this seriously my life? Literally sometimes I want to cry of happiness and I find myself having to stop often and asking myself if this is my real life. I feel as if I have a very similar paragraph to this one in my last blog which really makes me wonder if this feeling is ever going to go away.

The thing is too though (yes, to just go off on one more tangent) is that every aspect is perfect. It’s not just that we go to cool places and see cool things, it’s not just that I’m with awesome people, or that I’m going out and having a lot of fun- it’s the utterly perfect, indescribable combination of all of these things.

Yes, my blogs are long. I don’t care. This is how a write, it fits into my schedule to just post one long blog a week, and there’s a lot in my life to write about. So again, I don’t care. You don’t have to read it. BUT for those of you that do, THANKS and I hope you are enjoying reading about my life as much as I am enjoying reading it.

Again, thank you mother and father I love and miss you dearly.

Ciao!

Bliss...

Well it was another fast and furious week in Italy. These weeks are going by so fast, and thinking about the end is the most super depressing thing ever!

On Tuesday, in Art History we went to Santa Maria Novella, a church by the train station. The highlight here was a fresco that was the time perspective was used. There are also a lot of triangle effects that represent the trinity. Although everything we always do and see in Art History is awesome, the greatness of this class hit me on Friday outside of class.

On Friday I went into Florence for the day with a couple of girls, and it was a complete day of bliss. After a trip to the market for a panino (obviously) we went to the Uffizi. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but our program gives us this ballin’ passes that get us in to most of the museums in Florence for free. Once in the museum it was as if class was coming to life.

To best understand this experience it helps if you knew a little bit more about our professor. She is a genius. She knows everything about everything. And she likes to share everything about everything, so as enlightening as it is sometimes it’s a little overwhelming. But, when walking around witnessing these pieces first hand things start to make sense. Bits and pieces start forming complete thoughts. Imagine sitting in an Art History lecture on Thursday with a slide of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, and on Friday seeing the real thing… ya that’s my life.

The only bad thing about the Uffizi (and I dare say the only bad thing to happen all day) was this guy threw up in the hall way. Ya, forreal. It was strange. Yet, I’m not even sure how bad of a thing that is, because now we have a funny story to tell. How many people can say they were at one of the world’s most renowned art galleries and a guy threw up and passed out? I can!

Then we got to a corner of the Uffizi where beauty moves from the inside to the outside- the city of Florence. There is a breathtaking view of the city from up here and it was an exceptionally sunny clear day, making it that much better. It was at this point we decided to venture around outside- it was great to not feel guilty about leaving the museum without seeing absolutely everything considering we got in free and will be going back often.

So we left, and I ran face first in to a sign making a group of Italian laugh ridiculously hard and reinforcing the stereotype of dumb blonde Americans, but life goes on. Anyways, we went to what is now my favorite street in Italy- Ponte Vecchio. It’s actually a bridge, and it is the only bridge that survived WWII. Most of the stores on this street are jewelry stores- so you literally walk by windows and windows of jewelry (so ya I’m in heaven). I could spend a whole day taking in all the jewelry! Then in the middle of the street there is this fenced in fountain thing that couples put locks on to lock in there love! It was so romantic. The couples put their initials on the locks, and even a couple were engraved. It was so touching. There is also a not too shabby view of the city from the bridge. I also had my first cannoli in Italy while on this street… so I think it’s pretty obvious why Ponte Vecchio is now my favorite.

Anyways it was a day of complete bliss in Florence.

Saturday we traveled to Pisa and Lucca. And by “we” I mean everyone in my program basically. It was not a class organized trip but basically everyone went there this weekend. Pisa is pretty cute, typical Italian city and basically what there is to do there is see the leaning tower. So we did just that, and obviously took super touristy pictures of each other holding up and pushing the tower. I was a good time. Although most of the time I think we all attempt to blend in with the culture as much as possible (which is not much but we try) but here you just have to throw in the towel- you’re a tourist, embrace it.

We then took a twenty minute train to Lucca. Lucca, on the other hand, is not touristy at all. The town of Lucca is enclosed by a wall, so you can literally do circles around the city. So, we rented bikes and did just that. It was picturesque, every once in awhile I would pause and ask myself if this is really my life. The city is like from a story book. There were tons of Italian families out with their kids riding bikes and roller blading, couples out for an afternoon stroll, and old men playing chess. It was serene. Mom, you wanted me to check out Lucca to see if you guys should go- GO! It is such a leisurely and peaceful experience. Plus, we got this amazing crepe with nutella it was so warm, which felt great on our cold hands after the bike ride.

I think what I am enjoying most about our trips is the lack of pressure to do everything. We are always doing something, going somewhere, but with no real agenda. Most of the time who you go with often changes- yesterday I showed up with a completely different group that I left with. Everyone does whatever is pleasing to them, it is not a stressful, trying to squeeze as much as humanly possible into a day kind of thing, and I’m definitely digging that. I’m beginning to understand that I am going to be here for months not days, in fact I think it was just this morning that it hit me that I LIVE here.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in the future… Italian Opera Tuesday with the whole program! Next weekend Bologna and Verona. Rome with the class. Spring break in Spain. Weekend trips to Amsterdam, London, and Sicily. My family and Uncle Dan, Aunt Amy, Bri and hopefully Ry coming. (Sorry Aunt Kathy, Jenni and Gam not as excited for your visit because it means the end for me) Going broke… eeh, not too excited for that one, o well you only live once!

Although all of this is so exciting, I’m trying to enjoy every moment and every day. Everything I do is better than the last. Everything I eat is better than the last. Everything is wonderful. That’s why I titled this entry Bliss. Because my life is complete and total bliss.

And for that I must now devote a few sentences to my parents. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I promise to not take it for granted and enjoy everything. You guys are the greatest, like seriously the greatest, and for that I love you soooo very much. Thanks again, you rock! Love and miss you, can’t wait to see you!

That’s all for now, Ciao!

Siena and further exploring Firenze!

Salve!

First, thanks everyone for reading my blog and commenting, I feel so popular. Only a couple of days have past since I last wrote but I’ve done a lot!

On Friday we left for a class trip to Siena at 8am. We had breakfast at 7:30 and while at breakfast they had cold cuts, bread, cheese, and fruit our for us to pack a lunch. So we did not look at tourist at all- traveling in a large pack, holding a sack lunch and wearing amplifiers around our neck with headphones in so we could listen to our teacher- nope, I’d dare to say we fit right in. Anyways, the drive from the Villa to Siena was only about an hour and a half, and I don’t think anyone minded traveling through the Tuscan hills. It was a little different then let’s say the drive to Michigan City or Madison, it was slightly more scenic.

The first place we went to was St. Dominic Basilica. It was definitely a different style than what we’ve seen so far in Florence. Florence and Siena were very competitive during the Renaissance, so they had some what similar styles but definitely different. Florence definitely won. The Basilica was interesting none the less. It felt, in my humble opinion, a little bit more scattered and less cohesive than other places we’ve seen so far. What most people go to St. Dominic’s to see is the mummified head of St. Catherine, who is the patron saint of Siena. St. Catherine is a very interesting character. She claimed to have a very intense relationship with Jesus. She was stigmatic (which I believe is the proper way to say that) so she felt pain that corresponded to the pain Jesus felt during the crucifixion (in her hands and feet where the nails were). She said she had really intense conversations with Jesus and he would tell her about the future and tell her what the government of Siena should do. I don’t know, I usually prefer my saints to be a little bit more humble but whatever floats your boat. I am fully prepared for St. Catherine to be waiting for me at the gates of heaven to give me a nice slap of the wrist for what I just said.

However I may feel about the influence of St. Catherine on Siena I am very intrigued by the religious influence here on everything, literally everything. I feel like I am living the history of my religion, so I am anxious to see more.

Then we saw the Cathedral in Siena, a museum that holds archived pieces from the Cathedral, and the Siena governmental building. It was all interesting, and I’ll post a link at some point for pictures once I figure that out…

Then we went to a wine tasting, which is officially my new favorite thing to do. I was really excited to learn new things about wine, but I couldn’t really hear the guide and his English wasn’t that great so I did not get to learn too much. However, I did learn that different wine is all based on the time between picking the grape and fermenting the wine and how long the wine ferments for. This particular vineyard also produced olive oil and vodka, and although we did get to try to the olive oil there was no vodka tasting haha!

We tried three different types of wine: Le Corti, Cortevecchia, and Don Tommaso. I listed them in order of price Le Corti being the cheapest at 10 euro, then 13, and 20. Not too bad but would cost a lot more than that in the states, that’s for sure. I don’t know how many people my age would claim to be a fan of red wine, but now I think it is solely because we tend to drink cheap, American wine. After drinking this wine I am completely a red wine fan. The wine was just so pure, everything feels perfectly blended and smooth. Everyone here is not sure how they will be able to return to American/Italian food, I’m not sure how I’ll able to go back to American wine (especially cheap, American wine). At the vineyard (which also had incredibly scenic views of the Tuscan hills, pictures to come) I bought the Don Tommaso as a gift for my parents (no I’m not a sweet child, I was peer pressured I was just going to buy it for myself but everyone else was buying theirs as a gift). Anyways, don’t worry I bought myself a box of wine, slightly for the humor and also because it seemed like a good deal (the lady that runs the Villa an older, experienced Italian told me it was the best deal around). It cost me 14 euro and it was the same quantity as four bottles of wine, and it was great red wine, so well worth it. Some of you may be familiar with Franzia (a cheap boxed wine, popular amongst college kids), trust me the comparison between Franzia and this wine ends at the box.

Obviously, wine tasting was a fantastic experience. I think most of us were pretty enthralled by the fact that this was a school sponsored event and we drank wine with our professors. Life is great.

Friday night everyone in the program hung out in the basement of the Villa, which is “our place”, as they’ve told us many times. Then I went out with a group of people to a bar in Sesto. Night life in Sesto (the town I actually live in) is pretty chill but I had a great time. We went to a bar called Isolde. There was a group of local Italians around our age who knew about as much English as we did Italian so we had some great conversations and cultural emersion. They were very interested in MTV (particularly the shows Next and The Hills), McDonalds, and Michael Jackson. They also think that if you are from America you are from New York or California, although they did know Chicago. I was able to use some of the few phrases I’ve learned so far in Italian 101 (which have actually really come in handy) and we mostly asked them where their favorite places to go were (in Florence and Sesto) and what they do. We also tried to ask them where we could go and get some late night food and they were very confused. Apparently late night, post-bar food is a VERY American thing. We even passed some vending machines that were turned off from Midnight to 6 am, when in America is a vending machine EVER closed? Although it was a slight disappointment at the time, it will probably be best for my diet that there is no where to get a cannoli at 3 am.

Then Saturday we took a noon train into Florence (Firenze) and roamed around. We are all still getting used to the city, aka we are all still getting lost. I truly do not mind getting lost in Florence though. Eventually we found the market we had been looking for and had lunch. What we did was walk past all the street vendors (who mainly sold leather goods, jewelry, and scarves) and we went to the indoor market (more of a food market). First we just wondered completely entranced by the food. Everything was so fresh and so many different types of things. We tried some dried strawberries and dried kiwi. I plan on going back often and always trying something new. Then at all the deli counters you can get just meat or they will make fresh sandwiches. So I got a salami panini with provolone cheese (with no mayo, mustard or anything- very un-American) and a Fanta to drink. Then we took our sandwiches and ate them on the steps of a church. It was the most perfectly cliché thing I have ever done. The panini was so fresh and wonderful, minus the birds, it was complete bliss!

Then we had dinner in Florence at Acqua al Duo. There is only two of these restaurants one in Florence and the other in San Diego, ya a little strange. Our RA recommended it and one of my guidebooks written by previous abroad students highly recommended it. The thing to get here is the pasta sampler. 10 of us got the pasta sampler and Hayley got the olive oil chicken which looked amazing. So they brought out five different types of pasta and we ate them family style: spinach pasta, pumpkin bowtie, artichoke risotto, gnoochi, and eggplant pasta. Every single one was absolutely delicious and they serve the perfect amount so you don’t feel overwhelmingly full but perfectly content. The spinach was so different and delicious and the gnoochi was by far and long the best gnoochi I’ve ever had. Five of us also shared a bottle of white wine which of course was supreme. All together the meal was 15 euro (for those of us who go wine) which I thought was pretty reasonable. AND then some guy that works there asked us if we were American students and such and said if we hadn’t already paid he would have given us a discount so instead gave each of us 10% off our next meal! AND he owns a restaurant across the street where they serve American breakfast ALL DAY, only place in Florence to get American breakfast. Good to know because some of us are starting to crave a good old fashion American breakfast. So needless to say we will be back there. The guys name is Valentino and he was so nice, he even knew the guy who was running the bar crawl we were going to. It seems that everyone in my program has had a some what similar story with a local reaching out to them because they are American students studying (and not in a taking advantage kind of way) so that is really refreshing.

Then Saturday night we went on a bar crawl in Florence, organized by a student travel organization. There was a lot of American students there and almost everyone in our program went. It was nice to see a lot of different bars in Florence, but it was not the most authentic thing I’ve done. Regardless, it was a lot of fun!

Sunday was a pretty chill, catch up on life kind of day. Although I did go with a big group for a hike in the Tuscan hills. This ended up being a far more serious hike than I intended (I’m pretty sore today haha!). The hills are super steep! But the view was surreal and it felt great to get some exercise. And don’t worry Mom on the way there we passed some tennis courts.

Right now I’m only worried about two things: school and money. I often forget that I’m here for school (oops!), so homework has been kind of on the wayside. It’s so hard to bring myself to do it when I’d much rather be exploring or hanging out with my new friends, o well guess I’m going to have to get better at that. And then there is money. It’s really not that expensive here it’s purely the conversion that is absolutely going to kill me. I don’t even think I’ve spent frivolously at all, yet when I checked my account my bank did not agree. YIKES! It’s very difficult for me to let money get in the way of my life, maybe not the best idea, but I think given this circumstance it’s okay. I’ll figure it out…

Today we had an orientation for an internship opportunity my program has. I am going to work at an Italian middle school and elementary school, I’m so excited! At the middle school we will really be working with students on their English skills (especially unique American phrases) and at the elementary school it is more about emersion of culture (so playing child games and singing classic American children songs). I think it is going to be fabulous, and a wonderful way to give back to the community that is hosting me. The teachers seem wonderful and that they really enjoy and appreciate us being involved at their school. They also said the children love it! I am also probably going to get a conversation partner so that will be really cool. Plus, they said that in their experience 3 people have ended up marrying their language partner, so ya just never know!

This weekend I think I might go to Pisa and Luca for either the wknd or a day trip. OR Tricia and I might have to go to London (she had an unfortunate fainting incident and when she fainted she fell into the wall and messed up her mouth really bad- stitches in lip, xrays on nose and jaw) so we might have to go to London because she has a cousin there who is a dentist and he says he badly needs to go to the dentist and the language barrier here is making the dentist slightly difficult—anyways, the point is I might also be going to London this weekend. So look for more tales soon!

Sorry this was ridiculously long again, like I said I make no promises on length! Hope everything and everyone is well at home, I miss you all! Look forward to postcards soon (ish, mail is slow)!

Salve! (Hello!)

Ciao! I’ve decided to start a blog for my time in Italy for my benefit as well as yours. So welcome to my very first blog!

I suppose the logical place to start would be the beginning, but I don’t actually care to relive getting here so I’m going to skip that. Let’s just say I’m ecstatic to actually be here. Moving on…

My whole program basically takes places in one Villa- we sleep here, eat here and go to class here. Now some of you may think that this would suck and think we’d go crazy being in one place all the time… you have obviously not seen this place yet. The Villa is beautiful, exquisite, gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely magnificent. (And yes I just looked up synonyms for beautiful- it deserves every word)

So “The Villa” resides in a bedroom suburb of Florence called Sesto Fiorentino, it’s really quaint and I actually really enjoy living in the suburbs it’s more authentic plus it is super easy to get into Florence. They put a lot of effort into preserving the Villa and so far they’ve been really successful. I remember during my first meal here looking up and just seeing this magnificent work of art and thinking how cool is it that this is where I eat everyday. It’s slightly difficult to explain, but just like the city it resides it’s quaint and authentic. I live in a 5 ish room. I say ish because it is one big room where my four roommates live and then in the back right corner there is a little side room where my bed is. It’s actually kind of entertaining. I also didn’t have a light for awhile so I lived in the dark, alone- not weird at all. The way the Villa is set up sort of like a dorm, except instead of big communal bathrooms there is a bathroom for every room that just the people that live in that room share which is nice. For example, my room has a bathroom attached to it with 2 showers, 2 sinks, and 2 toilets for the five of us so that’s nice (except that it is pitch black in the toilet stalls and only one shower has a curtain, but that’s another story).

I think the most beautiful part of the Villa is the gardens. I haven’t even explored all the grounds yet (as I missed orientation) but it is just picturesque. I can’t wait for spring so that things are in full bloom and we can hang out outside!

I have really enjoyed the company of the people in the program. Not just the students, but professors and the people that work/ run the Villa. It is always wonderful to meet new people, especially likeminded people. Especially since it is so easy at school to stick to your group and forget that there is soo many other people at your school. It’s kind of crazy that I had to travel across the world to meet all these awesome people that live in Madison, it’s slightly ridiculous. Needless to say I’m very anxious to continue to get to know everyone.

I’ll move on to food because I think that’s what people are most interested in. So far I’ve eaten every meal except one at the Villa, which trust me I’m not complaining about. I’m still getting used to the eating schedule here. Breakfast is served at 7:30 am (for those of you who know me well, not really my favorite time of day) and breakfast is bread or croissants with different spreads like jam, honey, nutella, and homemade peanut butter (which I have been told is out of this world but I have yet to be at a breakfast where it was served). Then lunch is served at 1 (or 13:00 here another thing I am still getting used to). Lunch is the big meal in Italy and is typically followed by a siesta (except apparently not at the Villa as I have class right after lunch). But most stores and things in town are closed between 1 and 3 ish, a concept that baffles most Americans. We were just joking today about how ridiculous that would be in America, could you imagine a CEO not taking meetings from 1 to 3 because he was at home napping? Although I am all for America adapting this idea, maybe that’ll be my next campaign (Americans for Siestas). Anyways lunch typically starts with a soup and then there is a meat with a side of maybe pasta or cuscus (which was out of this world) and usually a salad and oranges are always out. My favorite so far was split pea soup with home made croutons, it took my breath away. We also had egg plant, zuchinni, and peppers cooked to perfection- they were warm and luscious as they touched my lips (haha that sentence was ridiculous). Now these are just highlights, trust me everything is fabulous. Then dinner is served at 7, which is typically a pasta dish with a salad and every other day we get dessert. All meals are served with the most amazing coffee I’ve ever had, I’m addicted. I had lunch in Florence on Sunday and it wasn’t too noteworthy. And I’ve had gelato twice, once in Florence and then tonight in Sesto. We found the most adorable little Gelattoria in Sesto, something tells me that we’ll be back there often!

Now most of you are probably wondering if I am worried that I’m going to come back 300 lbs. The answer is no not really. First off you walk every where and we haven’t even truly began traveling yet so the amount of walking will only increase. Second, I will definitely be going hiking and on runs, I mean the Tuscan mountains are literally outside my windows how much more enjoyable could a run be? Third, the food schedule pretty much prevents me from snacking, plus there is no food to snack on (unless you get a few things from the grocery store, but why spend euros on food when I can eat for free?). Fourth, the food is so fresh and not processed so it has to be at least slightly good for me right?

My classes are great. I’m not to concerned with doing well in them because they are so relevant and interesting. I am taking a Comparative Fascist Cultures class, which looks into how German and Italian fascist movements came into power. The professor is great, really chill and funny! Then I’m taking an Italian Cinema class where we watch a movie every Monday and then discuss it that week. Although the first one wasn’t too enjoyable (I mainly think that had to do with the fact that it was my birthday night and wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing). BUT, I’m really looking forward to this class simply because I’ve never taken anything like it. I’ve never even given too much thought to the effect that cinema has had on culture and society, so I’m glad to be finally giving cinema the attention it deserves. Italian, is well, it’s a foreign language so that always comes with it’s challenges but I think the professor is really good and seriously how more relevant could a class be? THEN, there is Art History!! I am obsessively obsessed! The professor knows everything and is soo passionate about it. On Tuesdays we travel to Florence to see the art first hand and she explains them and then on Thursdays we discuss the pieces in more detail. I truly think I’m going to learn a lot in that class and hopefully when some of you come to visit I’ll be able to share at least some knowledge!

Needless to say I feel right at home here, it’s wonderful. So many exciting things have happened already but there is so much to look forward too! I feel very fortunate to be able to have this experience, as it is truly once in a lifetime.

Sorry this was so long, I would say that the other ones won’t be this long but I don’t make any promises. I don’t really care if no one reads this, it is just as much for myself as it is for those of you interested in my life. Well, I’m off to bed as it is 1:10 in the morning here!

Arrivederci!

P.S A lot of Italian words are completely butcher by Americans in America (like boun apettito) so don’t come over here thinking you can say much of anything (DAD!)