Chianti

 

On Friday some girls and I decided to explore Florence a little more. We had been wanting to climb to the top of the Duomo, so we finally decided to just do it. Although it cost 8 euro, it was totally worth it! There are 463 stairs and the stairwells are tight (no stopping for a breather or else everyone behind you will have to stop, too!). Once we finally reached the top, the view was beautiful! You can see the entire city from atop the Duomo.  Above is a picture of me at the top of the Duomo :)

Then on Saturday, six of us girls went on a hiking and wine-tasting tour of Chianti, a small town about 45 minutes away from Florence. The day started off very, very cold. We had to meet at 7:30am to catch the bus to Chianti. Once we got there we grabbed some hot drinks and then set off on our hike. Since it had just rained the day before, the hiking trail was muddy and there were puddles everywhere. We started off on a nice, flat surface, and then we started going down a steep hill. The only problem with going down hills is that you eventually have to go back up. Let's just say I realize how out of shape I am and today my legs are very sore! After the 2-hour hike, we headed to a villa where we met our host, Lorenzo. Lorenzo's family has been in the wine-making business in Chianti for hundreds of years, so he knows a lot about wine! We had the opportunity to sample 3 different types of red wine as well as a white dessert wine. Along with the wine, we enjoyed a 3 course meal of meats, bread and olive oil (also made by Lorenzo's family!), pasta, and biscotti. It was delicious! After the 3-hour-long lunch, it was time to head back to Florence. Everyone was exhausted after the hike and meal that almost everyone slept on the bus ride home. 

After we got back to Florence, I had my first laundromat experience. I lugged my large bag of laundry down the street, past restaurants, bars, clubs, and shops, until I finally reached the closest, cleanest laundromat. I then proceeded to pay 6 euro and about an hour of my time to wash and dry my clothes. Let's just say I am thankful for washing machines and dryers at home!

Today is a rainy day, which is perfect because I have a ton of homework to do for this week. I can't believe we are starting our 4th week of classes tomorrow. In some ways it feels like I just got here, and in other ways I feel like I've been here for forever. I'm just trying to enjoy it while it lasts and soak up every moment!

Brief Update :)

Here is a brief update of what I have been up to lately...

Last week we had Italian classes every day for an hour and a half plus our regular classes. The classes I am taking are Italian, Politics of the European Union, History of Europe in the 20th century, Modern Renaissance Art, and Dante's Commedia (a literature class).  So far the classes haven't been too bad, but the politics class and history class require a lot of reading. They seem fairly interesting though, so that helps. For the art class, we meet in class once a week and go on a "field trip" once a week. Last week we visited the Uffizi, an art museum here in Florence! It was so cool to see the original art that we had talked about in class the day before. All of the art and architecture here is beautiful. There is so much history throughout the city and surrounding areas. For example, walking past the Duomo nearly everyday...awesome!

The weekend was fairly uneventful. On Friday night some friends and I decided to try out the Mexican restaurant down the street (we needed a small break from pizza and paninis). Surprisingly, the Mexican food was delicious! I also had a hamburger this weekend which was also very tasty :) But enough about the food...Saturday was spent walking around the city and then doing homework. I felt pretty lame sitting inside working, but it was cold, so it wasn't all bad. On Sunday I decided to get up fairly early and walk to an American church I had found online, St. James Episcopal Church. It was about a 25 minute walk from my house to an area of the city I had never been before, so it was a nice adventure. The service was very beautiful, but much more traditional that what I am used to. There were a few other college students there and the people were all very friendly and even invited me to a luncheon after the service, but I decided to just head home and eat lunch with my roommates. I think I'll go back next week, or maybe try a different church! Florence is at no loss for churches, so there are plenty to choose from! The problem is finding one where I can understand the service. On Sunday evening, my friend, Ellie, and I went to a ballet at one of the local theaters. The ballet was La bella addormentata, or Sleeping Beauty :) I had never been to a ballet before, but it was beautiful! This weekend we are going to see A Midsummer's Night's Dream which I am really looking forward to. Below is a picture of me at the ballet.

For the rest of the week I am just attending classes and eating my host mother's delicious dinners (we get dinner at home 3 nights a week).  On Saturday a group of us are going on a hike in Chianti, a small town just outside of Florence, for some wine tasting and sight-seeing. Although it may be a little chilly, I am very excited to get out of the smoggy city to the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

I hope all is well at home and you are all surviving the freezing temperatures! Miss you all!

It rains in Italy?!?

As I was packing for my adventure to Italy, everyone I talked to would tell me to "pack my rain boots!". When I arrived in Italy, however, I was pleasantly surprised by sun and very warm temperatures (compared to back home, at least!). Tonight, however, begins the descent back into cold temperatures. It is raining right now and it is very cold. The 10 day forecast is not looking promising, especially for those of us who had planned to travel but have now decided not to due to a chance of SNOW on Saturday. Sadly, though, this is the "normal" weather for this time of year and we just got extremely lucky to arrive during a "heat wave". I guess it's a good thing I packed those boots!

Besides the fact that it actually does rain in Italy, here are some other things I have learned about Florence and the Florentine people:
-Very few people actually drive, most just walk everywhere. And if you do drive, first of all, you're crazy (a class got canceled the other day because the professor got hit by a car on the way to class!), and second of all, you drive a very small, practical car (such as a moped or a Smartcar...or a bike)
-Dogs are allowed anywhere and everywhere. Restaurants, stores, bathrooms, and anywhere else you can imagine. Unfortunately I don't think they know what a pooper-scooper is.
-There is such thing as a bad pizza or panini. You've gotta know the good places!
-There is no such thing as bad gelato, only expensive ones.
-It's not "grat-ZEE", it's "grat-zee-EH", sort of. If you respond with "gratzee", your response will be "pregee". I think they like to make fun of our Italian
-They eat meals WAY later than we do! If you go into a restaurant at 6 or 7, you're basically screaming "I'm American!!!"
-Most of the Florentine people are very friendly and willing to help you out when you need it :)

Well that's all for now! I don't have a very exciting weekend ahead considering the weather, but keep checking back just in case :)

Siena

Today we went to Siena, a fairly small town about an hour away from Florence. It was so beautiful! The churches and cathedrals were amazing, far more extravagant than anything I've seen in the US. The main part of the city was all built inside a wall (for protection) and it was so neat! I learned that the town is divided into 17 districts, or contrade, and they all had really funny names! Some of the names I remember are dragon, goose, forest, eagle, panther, and hippopotamus. There was so much history in this little town! It was originally a banking town, and the oldest, still working bank is located here! Also, this is where St. Catherine of Siena was from and we got to go in her church (San Domenico, the first picture above) and learn a little bit about her. We also saw the Cathedral of Siena which was gorgeous (second picture above)! It took nearly 3 centuries to complete and the carvings and details were so intricate. It was amazing. Perhaps my favorite part was the Piazza del Campo which is basically a huge open area surrounded by beautiful buildings--restaurants, apartments, shops, and businesses (third picture above). Twice each year a famous horse race, The Palio, is held between the 17 contrade. The horses race around the Piazza with a jockey riding bareback and the contrade that wins gets to hold the pride for the whole year until the next race. In recent years, the tortuga contrade has been winning the race often (I guess Aesop was right). After a few hours of touring and exploring, me and a few other girls found a nice pizza place and enjoyed some delicious Sienese pizza on the Piazze del Campo. I hope to be able to go back to Siena since it's so close and spend some more time exploring inside the city walls :)

The first day :)

 

Today we had orientation, got our internet for the school hooked up, got our cell phones, took a little mini-tour of the city, and met with the graduate students from JMU. The tour was beautiful. The buildings are so neat and the little shops are so cute! The first picture is of Ponte Vecchio and the second picture is from the back of the Duomo. I still don't know much about any of the buildings, but I'm sure I will learn all about them. The weather was perfect for walking around the city--mid-50s and sunny (much better than at home!) Classes start tomorrow--I have Italian, Modern Renaissance Art, and Politics of the EU. Although I am not typically a big fan of classes, I think I'm going to like them this semester :) 

I've arrived!

Well, I'm here! After a very long trip, I have arrived safely in Florence :) It all started at around 1:15 p.m. on January 10 when Mom, Dad, Anna, Adam, and I left Harrisonburg and headed up to Dulles in D.C.  At this point, I was experiencing quite a plethora of emotions.  At one moment I would be so excited, then the next moment I'd be dreading it, then the next moment I'd be nervous, and then I would go through those same emotions over and over again.  When the time finally came to say goodbye to my family, I couldn't help but cry.  I have never been away from home for more than a few weeks at a time and I still can't believe that it will be that long until I see my family again.  But after hugs and kisses and tears, I walked away, giving one last final wave before heading down the stairs to security.  Luckily I was traveling with another girl from my trip, Ellie! She helped me a lot to not be sad and she just kept reminding me about how much fun we are going to have and how awesome the experience is going to be.  Anyways...after making it safely and smoothly through security (no pat-downs here!), we were off to our terminal.  We stopped and got some Starbucks and then we boarded the plane.  The plane was HUGE!  We each had our own t.v., so I watched a movie (The Social Network), played some games on my iPod, listened to music, and got about a quarter of the way through a book.  Although I tried to sleep, I was (unfortunately) unsuccessful.  The seats were very cramped and it was extremely hard to get comfortable.  I did decide one thing on this trip...one day, I WILL fly 1st class. 

So after a 7 hour, 45 minute flight, we landed in Frankfurt, Germany.  Having only a 1-hour layover, we had to hurry through security and we were able to get right on our flight.  This plane was smaller but I would say about 75% of the passengers were college students on the way to Florence for the semester.  There was one group from Syracuse, New York with almost 40 people on the flight! I guess a lot of college students had the same idea as me! After landing in Florence, we were met by 2 of our group leaders who gave us some information and then got us a taxi to our homestay.  The taxi drive took FOREVER, or so it seemed.  We were winding in and out of streets and the drivers here are crazy! I was trying to enjoy the opportunity in the taxi to see the city and sort of figure out where I am, but all the twists and turns sort of through me off! Finally, the taxi driver dropped me off in front of my homestay and I was on my own.  I rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. And waited some more.  Finally, my host mom, Signora Rovai, greeted me and brought me in.  She showed me to my room and showed me around the house. I was the first of my roommates to arrive (the others aren't even here yet!) so I got to choose my bed and closet and I am already unpacked! After settling in I got to Skype with Mom and Dad and I even got to wake Adam up through Skype :) I am so glad to have technology that allows me to stay so in touch with them! 

Wow, sorry that was so long. I'm partially doing this for my own sake so that I can look back and remember what happened and I don't have to write it down :) Oh, and it's raining. I think I should get used to the rain.

Good thing I love pizza and pasta!

As some of you may know, I will be leaving on January 10 for Florence, Italy through the James Madison University study abroad program. I will be in Florence (or Firenze as the Italians say!) for three and a half months where I will be taking classes such as Italian, Art History, European History, Political Science, and Literature. I also plan on doing LOTS of traveling throughout Italy as well as other places in Europe (I've never been to Europe before so there is quite a bit I'd like to see!).

Over the past few weeks many people have asked, "Are you nervous?" In short, the answer is YES, I am terrified. I have never been away from home for more than a few weeks at a time and I know NOBODY else on the trip. On the other hand, I know that this experience will be life-changing and I am pretty sure I will have the time of my life. I look forward to meeting new people, experiencing new things, seeing cool places, learning more about the world, and most importantly, learning more about myself.

Anyways...keep checking back for more updates throughout the next few months! I'll try to post regularly about my adventures! :)