I can't believe I just had my second "last." (The first was my last language class). Today marks 23 days until I board the plane back to the real world. What a weird feeling.
This morning, I went to my last ICIP session at Sacro Cuore Elementary School. The kids were extra adorable today, and though I was getting a little sick of the whole thing just a few weeks ago, I was sorry to say goodbye to everyone. Unfortunately, I couldn't play Pictionary with the 5th grade students as I had hoped because they were taking a final test. I had brought cookies and everything! So, I stayed and chatted with Eleonora (their teacher) for the first 45 minutes.
In the first grade class, I led the kids in a Bingo game and handed out candy I brought to the winners. They loved it and were just so adorable. I love all their little high voices and goofy faces. They are so hard to get mad at, even when they are being ridiculous. Midway through the Bingo game, I stopped back into the 5th grade class to say goodbye to my students, and they actually seemed sad to see me go, which I was a little surprised about. I didn't realize they liked me as much as they did! Most of the first graders didn't understand that I wouldn't be coming back, but I did see little Eleonora (one of my favorites) get a tear in her eye; so, I think she understood. I'm going to miss them.... Eleonora always hugged me and held my hand, Benedetta had the cutest chubby cheeks, Giulio had red hair and glasses and the sweetest gap-toothed smile. They were all precious.
Maybe I liked this ICIP a little better than I thought I did? Anyway, my second "last" is over, and now I have to move onto more, unfortunately. I'm going to spend the afternoon studying so that I can hopefully relax tonight.
Ciao!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday lunch with the family
I was feeling a little lonely throughout the past few days here in Florence, so I called up Anarita on Thursday night and invited myself over for lunch for today. It's never an issue inviting myself because they are always trying to get me to visit as often as possible.
Antonio picked me up from the bus stop as usual, and we went to Alberto and Maria's so that they too could be included in our lunch. We had a really nice time, and I was glad to see both Benedetta's family and Maria and Alberto at the same time. The food was terribly unhealthy, but delicious. We had two types of pasta, one with mushrooms and the other with fish. I loved them. Then we had fried chicken, fried veal, fried eggplant, fried zucchini and fried artichokes. Those Neapolitan folks really love their fried food. Maria also made a fabulous cake with strawberries and cream, but it was WAY better than American strawberry shortcake because the cake part was soaked in strawberry and sugar juice. I was in heaven.
I also got a kick out of their family dynamic, as usual. Alberto can't hear well and also likes to annoy his family members, so he started singing at the table and speaking very loudly. He was driving Benedetta crazy because she was trying to talk to me and couldn't hear what I was saying. Benedetta yelled at Alberto and he thought it was funny, so he just started yelling and singing even louder. I wish my voice carried a little more because I was rather unsuccessful today in the conversation department with Alberto as my challenger.
On a side note, I expressed my nervousness to Anarita about being able to see everyone before leaving and she solved my problem for me. I was afraid that I would continue to go over for visits with them planning a next time for me every time, up until the day I had to leave. I just don't have time for that. Anarita understood, so she planned a big party for me for next Sunday, and the whole family will come to say goodbye to me then. They are sooo nice. I can't wait!!!
Anyway, I have to go write my final paper. I'm almost done and Benedetta said that she would proofread it for me. I'm sure there are a lot of grammatical errors, so that will really help me out.
A dopo!
Antonio picked me up from the bus stop as usual, and we went to Alberto and Maria's so that they too could be included in our lunch. We had a really nice time, and I was glad to see both Benedetta's family and Maria and Alberto at the same time. The food was terribly unhealthy, but delicious. We had two types of pasta, one with mushrooms and the other with fish. I loved them. Then we had fried chicken, fried veal, fried eggplant, fried zucchini and fried artichokes. Those Neapolitan folks really love their fried food. Maria also made a fabulous cake with strawberries and cream, but it was WAY better than American strawberry shortcake because the cake part was soaked in strawberry and sugar juice. I was in heaven.
I also got a kick out of their family dynamic, as usual. Alberto can't hear well and also likes to annoy his family members, so he started singing at the table and speaking very loudly. He was driving Benedetta crazy because she was trying to talk to me and couldn't hear what I was saying. Benedetta yelled at Alberto and he thought it was funny, so he just started yelling and singing even louder. I wish my voice carried a little more because I was rather unsuccessful today in the conversation department with Alberto as my challenger.
On a side note, I expressed my nervousness to Anarita about being able to see everyone before leaving and she solved my problem for me. I was afraid that I would continue to go over for visits with them planning a next time for me every time, up until the day I had to leave. I just don't have time for that. Anarita understood, so she planned a big party for me for next Sunday, and the whole family will come to say goodbye to me then. They are sooo nice. I can't wait!!!
Anyway, I have to go write my final paper. I'm almost done and Benedetta said that she would proofread it for me. I'm sure there are a lot of grammatical errors, so that will really help me out.
A dopo!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Visiting La Coruna
Ciao everyone,
This weekend, instead of shipping off to Ireland as initially planned, I hopped on a trip to La Coruna, Spain with Kevin, Maggie Rossi and Carla. I thought about the Fanelli's a lot and sent along a few prayers throughout the weekend.
On Saturday morning, the 4 of us took the train to Rome and arrived at our hostel around 5 pm. It was a great place and soooo clean. That was Carla's first hostel experience, so I'm glad it was a good one for her. Once we were settled in, we met up with Lindsey Madlinger who studies through Holy Cross' classics program in Rome. The 5 of us went to Trastevere for dinner at Dar Poeta. For some reason, they weren't taking reservations for that night, so we had to wait about an hour and a half to get a table. We got a few drinks and stood outside while we waited in the pleasantly warm evening air. I was a little nervous when everyone started to get antsy about having to wait so long, but when we finally sat down and started eating, I wasn't worried anymore. Everyone went crazy over the pizzas and the nutella and ricotta calzone. We all decided that it was well worth the wait.
After dinner, we went to a bar/club in Campo dei Fiori and danced for the rest of the night. A few of Lindsey's friends joined us (some from HC, some not) and we had an awesome time. We arrived back at our hostel around 3 am and only had 2 hours of sleep before getting up for our long journey to Coruna. At 5 am we woke up and walked outside of our hostel, where a shuttle should have been arriving to bring us to the airport. It never showed up, so we called a cab who proceeded to yell at us in Italian about the shuttle that should be there instead. We had to call him twice, and both times he yelled at us. We didn't understand why he was so against coming to get us when it meant a good fare for him. While we waited for this asshole to arrive, another driver pulled up and said that he would take us to the airport. We didn't have much time to spare, so we started loading our things into the taxi. Bad idea. As we were prepping to leave, the asshole pulled up and started screaming at us and at the other driver for taking his fare. Nobody wanted to hear it from him, so we told him to calm down and moved all our things from the other guy's taxi to this jerk's taxi. Once we closed the door and told him where we were going, he shot off down the road, speeding like a maniac and making ridiculous turns. We were scared out of our minds and this guy didn't say a word. If we were still half asleep before the ride, we were certainly terrified awake after it. There was definitely something wrong with him.
We flew into Santiago de Compostela airport in Spain and waited 2 hours for our shuttle bus. We took the shuttle from Santiago to La Coruna and finally arrived there around 2 pm after traveling 9 hours. Kathryn, Chrissy, Hadley, Erica, Kathryn's boyfriend Pablo and his friend Carlos greeted us at the spot where the shuttle let us off and then got us settled in to our hotels. We went out for a great lunch, Spanish style (which means huge because lunch is the big meal in Spain). We shared salads, meats, cheeses and breads and it was all delicious.
After lunch, we walked around along the water. It was gorgeous! It made me think so much about the Vineyard, even though it looked nothing like it. It was refreshing to see water being that Florence can feel a little too cramped with buildings to see the dinky (and brown) Arno. After walking around, we went back to the hotel and showered, and then met for tapas at a really great place. According to the girls studying in Coruna, it was one of the best places, so it was evidently very crowded. Most of us got what we wanted to try, and we all stood outside to eat with the rest of the Spaniards taking their tapas. I had a fried veal filet with a grilled pepper and potatoes all on a little stick. I also had a tortilla (which is something like a quiche but much better) which I loved. Then, we went back to the hotel for drinks because bars don't open until around 2 am in Spain. When that time rolled around I was obviously exhausted but rallied to go out and experience the Spanish nightlife. The bar was great and made some awesome mojitos. Around 4 am, things turned a little sour for me when I fell asleep while dancing, and also discovered that my new jacket had been taken. We searched everywhere for the jacket and Pablo (Kat's boyfriend) felt so terrible. I was a little sad about it, but more tired than anything, so Kat walked me home to hit the hay. I heard the next day (Sunday) that everyone had stayed out until about 6:30 am, which is the norm- something I would never get used to.
On Sunday, Kat woke us up around 11 for breakfast at a great cafe, called Cafe Vecchio, that had some awesome muffins and chocolate chip cookies, two things that are non-existent in Italy. We were exhausted, so it took us a while to eat. After breakfast, we walked around some more and saw the rest of adorable Coruna. At a certain point after lunch kebabs, Kat went back for a nap and homework and Kevin also left for the hotel while Chrissy, Maggie and myself decided to walk a little more. We got some beautiful views of the water and then stopped for some coffee and tea at Cafe Vecchio for the second time. I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and change, and then Kevin and I went back out to meet Kat's host family. Her family is adorable- especially the two little girls, Maria (8) and Camino (5). But, they are serious balls of energy that never leave Kat's room and certainly drive her crazy sometimes. They were very excited to meet the famous Elsa and Kevin that they had heard so much about, so they climbed all over us and gave us little performances that were adorable but got a little tiring.
After meeting the family, we snuck out on the crazy kids to play "Assassin" with all the Coruna HC students before dinner. It was a lot of fun. Simple concept, but a great thrill. Then, we got a little dinner at a tapas place and headed home for bed. We had been exhausted from the night before, so we ended up sleeping until around 11 am. On Monday morning, all of the Coruna kids were in class until 12:30, so Maggie and I went for breakfast at Cafe Vecchio, which was hilarious because we didn't know a word of Spanish and English was completely foreign to the Coruna natives. We managed to survive and get exactly what we wanted, but with quite a struggle. After breakfast, we did a little shopping and then met up with Kat and Erica to continue the fun. Kevin was pretty ticked about the whole shopping thing, so it didn't last very long before we decided to go for lunch.
Kat, Hadley, Erica and Pablo took us to a great sushi restaurant and we all got Bento Boxes that came with Miso Soup, white rice, a beverage, and a dessert for only 8.25 euro! It was delicious :) Afterwards, Kat took Kevin to her cooking class so that the girls could shop more, but we didn't end up shopping and Kat and Kevin ended up skipping the cooking class anyway. So, Chrissy took Maggie and I to meet her host family, and Kat spent some time showing Kevin around. Chrissy's host family was very hippie and absolutely adorable. They were so excited to have visitors that they did their bests to speak in English and make us comfortable. It was much appreciated. After the visit, we stopped back at Kat's house with my teddy because the girls had requested to see it the day earlier. They loved him. This time, Maria was very sassy and insisted on singing and dancing to us while we "controlled the music" according to her demands. Little firecracker. Camino was a total doll and just crawled all over everyone.
We left Kat's host house around 8:30 and then went for a tortilla at one of Kat's favorite places. It was delicious. Then, we met up with Hadley, Erica and Carla for a nicer dinner at a new restaurant in town. It was the kind of place where they made everything on a wood-burning grill, and the food was incredible. Kat and I weren't that hungry, so we shared grilled tomatoes, grilled peppers and grilled chorizo. I loved it. The Corunians made sure that we also tried a Spanish after dinner liqueur that tasted something like Bailey's, but shockingly better. At the end of the dinner we bid farewell to everyone because we had to head back to Florence early the next day.
Yesterday morning, we woke up around 6 am and were in a cab to the station by 7:15. Our total trip back to Florence lasted 11 hours because we had to deal with so many different legs of the trip:
Cab from hotel to Coruna train station
Train from Coruna station to Santiago station
Cab from Santiago station to Santiago de Compostela airport
Plane from Santiago de Compostela airport to Rome Ciampino airport
Bus from Rome Ciampino airport to Rome Termini Station
Train from Rome Termini Station to Florence Santa Maria Novella
Bus from Santa Maria Novella to HOME with Maria Pia.
In the end, the trip was very successful and we all had a wonderful time. Coruna is a real gem, and I'm so glad that we could make it despite the distance we had to travel. I both loved and felt freaked out by my lack of communication with the Spanish language-only culture, but had a great time laughing about it. All the girls were great tour guides, and I felt that the vacation included just the right amount of relaxation and adventure. Kat's Pablo is a great guy, and probably the only Spaniard in Coruna that speaks fluent English (though Kat doesn't use it with him). Now, I'm back in Florence and the forecast looks like rain until at least Sunday which is kind of a bummer, but I do have a ton of work to do, so it's a blessing in disguise I guess.
I also found out today (the day I would have been scheduled to fly out of Dublin) that there have been more ash emissions from the volcano in Iceland and that the Dublin airport, along with many others, is closed. Therefore, Grace and Jeff are stuck in Dublin until Friday AT THE EARLIEST. I think I would have been beside myself if my vacation in Ireland had gone as originally planned. It's so odd how things happen.
A dopo!
This weekend, instead of shipping off to Ireland as initially planned, I hopped on a trip to La Coruna, Spain with Kevin, Maggie Rossi and Carla. I thought about the Fanelli's a lot and sent along a few prayers throughout the weekend.
On Saturday morning, the 4 of us took the train to Rome and arrived at our hostel around 5 pm. It was a great place and soooo clean. That was Carla's first hostel experience, so I'm glad it was a good one for her. Once we were settled in, we met up with Lindsey Madlinger who studies through Holy Cross' classics program in Rome. The 5 of us went to Trastevere for dinner at Dar Poeta. For some reason, they weren't taking reservations for that night, so we had to wait about an hour and a half to get a table. We got a few drinks and stood outside while we waited in the pleasantly warm evening air. I was a little nervous when everyone started to get antsy about having to wait so long, but when we finally sat down and started eating, I wasn't worried anymore. Everyone went crazy over the pizzas and the nutella and ricotta calzone. We all decided that it was well worth the wait.
After dinner, we went to a bar/club in Campo dei Fiori and danced for the rest of the night. A few of Lindsey's friends joined us (some from HC, some not) and we had an awesome time. We arrived back at our hostel around 3 am and only had 2 hours of sleep before getting up for our long journey to Coruna. At 5 am we woke up and walked outside of our hostel, where a shuttle should have been arriving to bring us to the airport. It never showed up, so we called a cab who proceeded to yell at us in Italian about the shuttle that should be there instead. We had to call him twice, and both times he yelled at us. We didn't understand why he was so against coming to get us when it meant a good fare for him. While we waited for this asshole to arrive, another driver pulled up and said that he would take us to the airport. We didn't have much time to spare, so we started loading our things into the taxi. Bad idea. As we were prepping to leave, the asshole pulled up and started screaming at us and at the other driver for taking his fare. Nobody wanted to hear it from him, so we told him to calm down and moved all our things from the other guy's taxi to this jerk's taxi. Once we closed the door and told him where we were going, he shot off down the road, speeding like a maniac and making ridiculous turns. We were scared out of our minds and this guy didn't say a word. If we were still half asleep before the ride, we were certainly terrified awake after it. There was definitely something wrong with him.
We flew into Santiago de Compostela airport in Spain and waited 2 hours for our shuttle bus. We took the shuttle from Santiago to La Coruna and finally arrived there around 2 pm after traveling 9 hours. Kathryn, Chrissy, Hadley, Erica, Kathryn's boyfriend Pablo and his friend Carlos greeted us at the spot where the shuttle let us off and then got us settled in to our hotels. We went out for a great lunch, Spanish style (which means huge because lunch is the big meal in Spain). We shared salads, meats, cheeses and breads and it was all delicious.
After lunch, we walked around along the water. It was gorgeous! It made me think so much about the Vineyard, even though it looked nothing like it. It was refreshing to see water being that Florence can feel a little too cramped with buildings to see the dinky (and brown) Arno. After walking around, we went back to the hotel and showered, and then met for tapas at a really great place. According to the girls studying in Coruna, it was one of the best places, so it was evidently very crowded. Most of us got what we wanted to try, and we all stood outside to eat with the rest of the Spaniards taking their tapas. I had a fried veal filet with a grilled pepper and potatoes all on a little stick. I also had a tortilla (which is something like a quiche but much better) which I loved. Then, we went back to the hotel for drinks because bars don't open until around 2 am in Spain. When that time rolled around I was obviously exhausted but rallied to go out and experience the Spanish nightlife. The bar was great and made some awesome mojitos. Around 4 am, things turned a little sour for me when I fell asleep while dancing, and also discovered that my new jacket had been taken. We searched everywhere for the jacket and Pablo (Kat's boyfriend) felt so terrible. I was a little sad about it, but more tired than anything, so Kat walked me home to hit the hay. I heard the next day (Sunday) that everyone had stayed out until about 6:30 am, which is the norm- something I would never get used to.
On Sunday, Kat woke us up around 11 for breakfast at a great cafe, called Cafe Vecchio, that had some awesome muffins and chocolate chip cookies, two things that are non-existent in Italy. We were exhausted, so it took us a while to eat. After breakfast, we walked around some more and saw the rest of adorable Coruna. At a certain point after lunch kebabs, Kat went back for a nap and homework and Kevin also left for the hotel while Chrissy, Maggie and myself decided to walk a little more. We got some beautiful views of the water and then stopped for some coffee and tea at Cafe Vecchio for the second time. I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and change, and then Kevin and I went back out to meet Kat's host family. Her family is adorable- especially the two little girls, Maria (8) and Camino (5). But, they are serious balls of energy that never leave Kat's room and certainly drive her crazy sometimes. They were very excited to meet the famous Elsa and Kevin that they had heard so much about, so they climbed all over us and gave us little performances that were adorable but got a little tiring.
After meeting the family, we snuck out on the crazy kids to play "Assassin" with all the Coruna HC students before dinner. It was a lot of fun. Simple concept, but a great thrill. Then, we got a little dinner at a tapas place and headed home for bed. We had been exhausted from the night before, so we ended up sleeping until around 11 am. On Monday morning, all of the Coruna kids were in class until 12:30, so Maggie and I went for breakfast at Cafe Vecchio, which was hilarious because we didn't know a word of Spanish and English was completely foreign to the Coruna natives. We managed to survive and get exactly what we wanted, but with quite a struggle. After breakfast, we did a little shopping and then met up with Kat and Erica to continue the fun. Kevin was pretty ticked about the whole shopping thing, so it didn't last very long before we decided to go for lunch.
Kat, Hadley, Erica and Pablo took us to a great sushi restaurant and we all got Bento Boxes that came with Miso Soup, white rice, a beverage, and a dessert for only 8.25 euro! It was delicious :) Afterwards, Kat took Kevin to her cooking class so that the girls could shop more, but we didn't end up shopping and Kat and Kevin ended up skipping the cooking class anyway. So, Chrissy took Maggie and I to meet her host family, and Kat spent some time showing Kevin around. Chrissy's host family was very hippie and absolutely adorable. They were so excited to have visitors that they did their bests to speak in English and make us comfortable. It was much appreciated. After the visit, we stopped back at Kat's house with my teddy because the girls had requested to see it the day earlier. They loved him. This time, Maria was very sassy and insisted on singing and dancing to us while we "controlled the music" according to her demands. Little firecracker. Camino was a total doll and just crawled all over everyone.
We left Kat's host house around 8:30 and then went for a tortilla at one of Kat's favorite places. It was delicious. Then, we met up with Hadley, Erica and Carla for a nicer dinner at a new restaurant in town. It was the kind of place where they made everything on a wood-burning grill, and the food was incredible. Kat and I weren't that hungry, so we shared grilled tomatoes, grilled peppers and grilled chorizo. I loved it. The Corunians made sure that we also tried a Spanish after dinner liqueur that tasted something like Bailey's, but shockingly better. At the end of the dinner we bid farewell to everyone because we had to head back to Florence early the next day.
Yesterday morning, we woke up around 6 am and were in a cab to the station by 7:15. Our total trip back to Florence lasted 11 hours because we had to deal with so many different legs of the trip:
Cab from hotel to Coruna train station
Train from Coruna station to Santiago station
Cab from Santiago station to Santiago de Compostela airport
Plane from Santiago de Compostela airport to Rome Ciampino airport
Bus from Rome Ciampino airport to Rome Termini Station
Train from Rome Termini Station to Florence Santa Maria Novella
Bus from Santa Maria Novella to HOME with Maria Pia.
In the end, the trip was very successful and we all had a wonderful time. Coruna is a real gem, and I'm so glad that we could make it despite the distance we had to travel. I both loved and felt freaked out by my lack of communication with the Spanish language-only culture, but had a great time laughing about it. All the girls were great tour guides, and I felt that the vacation included just the right amount of relaxation and adventure. Kat's Pablo is a great guy, and probably the only Spaniard in Coruna that speaks fluent English (though Kat doesn't use it with him). Now, I'm back in Florence and the forecast looks like rain until at least Sunday which is kind of a bummer, but I do have a ton of work to do, so it's a blessing in disguise I guess.
I also found out today (the day I would have been scheduled to fly out of Dublin) that there have been more ash emissions from the volcano in Iceland and that the Dublin airport, along with many others, is closed. Therefore, Grace and Jeff are stuck in Dublin until Friday AT THE EARLIEST. I think I would have been beside myself if my vacation in Ireland had gone as originally planned. It's so odd how things happen.
A dopo!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The British visit Italy
Ciao a tutti,
On Saturday, my best friend Chelsea arrived from London to spend a few days in Florence. I was the first leg of her trip, as her semester in London ended on Friday and she had to be out of her apartment. She stayed in Florence from Saturday through this morning, and we had a great time. Now, she's in Rome for a few days and will then be heading to Greece before returning to America.
On Saturday, I took the train and met her in Pisa and we visited the Leaning Tower, which I hadn't seen until then. Everyone had told me that it was literally the only thing to see in Pisa, so I waited until I had a second reason to go and see it. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone for the price of the train ride. We arrived back in Florence in the evening and then went out to dinner at a nice restaurant that Grace had recommended to me, called "Coquinarius." Chelsea went nuts over the pecorino cheese and my eggplant-filled ravioli. Afterwards, we met up with all my friends to drink wine on the Ponte Vecchio and go dancing. We all had a great time together and everyone thought Chelsea was hilarious. (It's because she does a great job at making fun of me and people seem to love it. She's the only person permitted to do that, by the way.) On Sunday morning the sun was shining, so we decided to spend a few hours in the Boboli Gardens. Gorgeous and very relaxing as usual. We had lunch at one of my two favorite sandwich places, did a little shopping, and got drinks on the terrace rooftop of a department store called Rinascente. We headed back to Maria Pia's early for a little relaxation time and she made us a delicious dinner.
On Monday morning, we climbed the Duomo, got lunch at Antico Noe, got gelato at Vestri, and then walked to Piazzale Michelangelo and drank a little white wine. I unfortunately had class at 5, so I left Chelsea and she went to walk around for a little while. I had a lot of trouble focusing in class because I was so eager to hang out with Chelsea instead! When I got out, we went to dinner at "A La Spada," another new place for me. Chelsea's mom had requested that we go because she works with a man who is friends or cousins of the owners of the restaurant. I had the most amazing ravioli ever. They were standard inside with a truffle mushroom cream sauce and mushroom bits. Soooo delicious!
On Tuesday morning, we visited the Bargello Museum and then got a sit down lunch at Pizzaiuolo. Chelsea LOVED her pizza, so I was happy about that. We shopped some more and sought out two different gelato places in search of "Mint" for her. I was so glad when we finally found it. At 5, I had class again, so Chelsea toured the Duomo and then went back to her hotel for a nap. We met after class and had dinner at Kitsch, the best aperitivo place. She loved the fact that it was all you can eat "picking" food with a drink for only 8 euro altogether. Sadly, none of my friends could make the dinner, but we still had a nice time. I took her to happy hour at Kikuya afterwards and when we were tired of the bar atmosphere, we walked along the river, listened to the singers outside the Uffizi, and finished on the Ponte Vecchio. We decided to call it an early night because I had a test this morning. We bid farewell last night because I would still have been taking my test when she was scheduled to leave for Rome.
The test today went well, and I enjoyed the gorgeous day. I was sad to see Chelsea leave, but we had a wonderful time together and I'm so glad that we were able to catch up on each other's lives. I had felt distant because we have both been so busy with our study abroad experiences! It was nice to see a person that has known me for so long. It was really comforting having her around, especially since I had been feeling more lonely after my Dad left.
While Chelsea was here, I received the unfortunate news that the Fanelli's are no longer coming to Ireland. Grandpa is too sick, so they have decided to reschedule. I completely understand and I know they will be better off coming at another time, when they don't have the worries on their minds. So consequently, I will not be going to Ireland either. Chelsea was with me when I found out and advised against my ideas to go alone, so I was lucky enough to be able to book a flight to La Coruna, Spain, with Kevin, Maggie Rossi and Carla. (RyanAir allowed me to change my flight for a big fee, because there are no refunds allowed.) So, instead of going to Ireland on Friday, we will be taking the train to Rome, staying the night, and then flying to Spain on Saturday morning. I can't wait to see Kathryn and lay on the beach! While the trip ended up costing a lot more, I'm happy that I didn't lose the money altogether, and just had to add to the price a little bit. I'm also glad that I'll be able to occupy my time in Coruna with people that I enjoy, because staying alone in Florence during a difficult time for the Fanelli's would have been really hard for me.
I'll write more soon!
Ciao!
On Saturday, my best friend Chelsea arrived from London to spend a few days in Florence. I was the first leg of her trip, as her semester in London ended on Friday and she had to be out of her apartment. She stayed in Florence from Saturday through this morning, and we had a great time. Now, she's in Rome for a few days and will then be heading to Greece before returning to America.
On Saturday, I took the train and met her in Pisa and we visited the Leaning Tower, which I hadn't seen until then. Everyone had told me that it was literally the only thing to see in Pisa, so I waited until I had a second reason to go and see it. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone for the price of the train ride. We arrived back in Florence in the evening and then went out to dinner at a nice restaurant that Grace had recommended to me, called "Coquinarius." Chelsea went nuts over the pecorino cheese and my eggplant-filled ravioli. Afterwards, we met up with all my friends to drink wine on the Ponte Vecchio and go dancing. We all had a great time together and everyone thought Chelsea was hilarious. (It's because she does a great job at making fun of me and people seem to love it. She's the only person permitted to do that, by the way.) On Sunday morning the sun was shining, so we decided to spend a few hours in the Boboli Gardens. Gorgeous and very relaxing as usual. We had lunch at one of my two favorite sandwich places, did a little shopping, and got drinks on the terrace rooftop of a department store called Rinascente. We headed back to Maria Pia's early for a little relaxation time and she made us a delicious dinner.
On Monday morning, we climbed the Duomo, got lunch at Antico Noe, got gelato at Vestri, and then walked to Piazzale Michelangelo and drank a little white wine. I unfortunately had class at 5, so I left Chelsea and she went to walk around for a little while. I had a lot of trouble focusing in class because I was so eager to hang out with Chelsea instead! When I got out, we went to dinner at "A La Spada," another new place for me. Chelsea's mom had requested that we go because she works with a man who is friends or cousins of the owners of the restaurant. I had the most amazing ravioli ever. They were standard inside with a truffle mushroom cream sauce and mushroom bits. Soooo delicious!
On Tuesday morning, we visited the Bargello Museum and then got a sit down lunch at Pizzaiuolo. Chelsea LOVED her pizza, so I was happy about that. We shopped some more and sought out two different gelato places in search of "Mint" for her. I was so glad when we finally found it. At 5, I had class again, so Chelsea toured the Duomo and then went back to her hotel for a nap. We met after class and had dinner at Kitsch, the best aperitivo place. She loved the fact that it was all you can eat "picking" food with a drink for only 8 euro altogether. Sadly, none of my friends could make the dinner, but we still had a nice time. I took her to happy hour at Kikuya afterwards and when we were tired of the bar atmosphere, we walked along the river, listened to the singers outside the Uffizi, and finished on the Ponte Vecchio. We decided to call it an early night because I had a test this morning. We bid farewell last night because I would still have been taking my test when she was scheduled to leave for Rome.
The test today went well, and I enjoyed the gorgeous day. I was sad to see Chelsea leave, but we had a wonderful time together and I'm so glad that we were able to catch up on each other's lives. I had felt distant because we have both been so busy with our study abroad experiences! It was nice to see a person that has known me for so long. It was really comforting having her around, especially since I had been feeling more lonely after my Dad left.
While Chelsea was here, I received the unfortunate news that the Fanelli's are no longer coming to Ireland. Grandpa is too sick, so they have decided to reschedule. I completely understand and I know they will be better off coming at another time, when they don't have the worries on their minds. So consequently, I will not be going to Ireland either. Chelsea was with me when I found out and advised against my ideas to go alone, so I was lucky enough to be able to book a flight to La Coruna, Spain, with Kevin, Maggie Rossi and Carla. (RyanAir allowed me to change my flight for a big fee, because there are no refunds allowed.) So, instead of going to Ireland on Friday, we will be taking the train to Rome, staying the night, and then flying to Spain on Saturday morning. I can't wait to see Kathryn and lay on the beach! While the trip ended up costing a lot more, I'm happy that I didn't lose the money altogether, and just had to add to the price a little bit. I'm also glad that I'll be able to occupy my time in Coruna with people that I enjoy, because staying alone in Florence during a difficult time for the Fanelli's would have been really hard for me.
I'll write more soon!
Ciao!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Weekend on the Amalfi Coast
Ciao all,
This weekend was absolutely amazing. One fun thing after another for a solid 3 days! After an awful day of stressful tutoring on Thursday, our bus left the station at 6:30 pm for Amalfi. We watched a bunch of movies during the trip (there was a TV) and also discovered the hard way that there were no bathrooms on board. We stopped at an autogrill for a little dinner around 9:00 pm and then continued the journey. Around 1 am, we started to get into the Amalfi Coast area, as I awoke to the bus taking some ridiculous curves on this road which was dangerously placed on a cliff. It was a little scary, but the view was gorgeous.
Around 2 am, we finally arrived at our hotel in Sorrento, completely destroyed. We had traveled about 8 hours, so the second we were assigned our rooms, we crashed. At 7 am, we woke up for breakfast and had to be walking to the ferry for Capri at 8 am. Needless to say, it was a rough morning. Cassandra, our awesome tour guide, led us all the way down a windy highway (most certainly a very dangerous thing to do with 45 American kids in tow) and we made it to the marina within an hour. On the way, I was excited to pass The Bristol Hotel, where my parents had stayed on their honeymoon and where my Grandma had the same room every year that she visited. It was only a half mile down the road from our hotel! What a coincidence! Anyway, when we arrived at the marina, we waited for about 20 minutes and then hopped on the ferry over to Capri. The ferry took about 45 minutes and was filled with old people. I guess Capri is a pretty popular destination for the elderly. When we arrived, we were a little disappointed with the cloudy, ominous skies. It rained for about 10 minutes and then remained cloudy for quite a while.
During that time, we hopped on another smaller boat to take a tour around the island and see the Blue, Green and White Grottoes. For the entire duration of the journey, we had pretty significant cloud cover, but we dealt with it and I took about 100 pictures anyway. All of the cliffs were so different from one another, and all equally breathtaking. Our first stop was the Blue Grotto, which was indescribably awesome. In order to enter the Grotto, we had to get off the bigger tour boat and into small wooden rowboats, 4 or 5 at a time. Our tour guide was a riot, so he made the smooshed conditions within the rowboat exciting and fun. With me in my rowboat were Maggie Wright and Maggie Rossi, along with a couple in our group that would not stop hugging, kissing and touching each other. It was a little awkward, but I guess that's besides the point. Anyway, all the little rowboats lined up to get into the Grotto, whose entrance is a tiny hole about 3 feet high. We were lucky that the Grotto was open to the public because it appeared as if we were nearing high tide, when people can no longer enter. We were all instructed to lay as flat as possible in the rowboat while our guide pulled us into the hole with a chain that was attached to the Grotto rocks. The interior was absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed at how enormous it was, as the entrance hole was so unassuming that it would never be able to reveal the secrets inside the Grotto. The water was lit with a beautiful blue (hence the name) that naturally comes from the reflection of the sun on the sand. All of the tour guides in the different rowboats sang the typical songs of Napoli (O Sole Mio, etc). The whole experience inside the Grotto lasted all of 8 minutes, when we squeezed back out into the daylight. Needless to say, we were very satisfied customers. Words really cannot describe the uniqueness and beauty of this Grotto. I am just amazed that the whole thing is completely natural!
The rest of our boat ride consisted of visits to the Green and White Grottoes and a little snooping of the summer houses of Sophia Loren, the Gerber family (Mussolini's former residence), Donatella Versace, and Giorgio Armani. When we arrived back on land, we took one of Cassandra's lunch recommendations and found a great restaurant down an alleyway, pretty close to the main piazza in Capri. We were the only ones there for a good while, and we loved it that way. The place was very cozy and trendy, with white couches and green pillows, and beautiful wooden ceiling beams. We all ate very well. We shared fried calamari and prosciutto and melon. I had pasta with tomato sauce, mozzarella and eggplant for my main course.
When we exited the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to see bright sunshine. I guess Capri is a lot like the Vineyard in that it needs some time to burn off the morning haze and rain clouds. Carla and Grace split off from Jeff, Maggie, Maggie, Kevin and myself in search of Caprese sandals high on Anacapri. Our little group of five got some lemon granitas and then walked all over the island. We saw the beautiful gardens of Capri and from there, took a winding path down the side of a cliff, all the way to the bottom. There, we dipped our feet in the water and I collected a ton of sea glass. When we had finished there, we took the bus back up to the main area of Capri and stopped in a limoncello store for some souvenirs. Then, we coincidentally ran into Grace and Carla and together, went to a bar to drink some limoncello together.
Our whole group (all 45 of us Americans) met back at the port and took the ferry back to Sorrento around 6:30. We filled in the evening by showering and prepping for the nightlife. At 8:45, we had our included dinner at the hotel which consisted of bruschetta, pasta, salad, oranges and unlimited wine. It was pretty good. After dinner, we let Cassandra lead us into town for some drinks and fun. We hung around at this English bar for a while and then, around 12:30 headed right upstairs for some dancing. The discoteca part of the bar was soooo awesome because it was outside and the terrace was covered with trees and funky lights. It was a great atmosphere to dance. At this point, Grace, Jeff, and Maggie Wright had decided to go home. Kevin, Maggie Rossi, Carla, Cassandra and myself hung around and danced for a few more hours. We had a blast and took the long hike back to the hotel around 2 am.
We were able to sleep in about an hour longer on Saturday, and left for Positano around 10am. We took a 30 min bus ride that took us along the beautiful coastline road. We drove right along the cliffs for the whole way and it was a little scary, but absolutely gorgeous. Despite being exhausted, I couldn't close my eyes for even a second because I hated the idea of missing the view! When we arrived, the bus driver was in a sour mood, so he dropped us off at the very top of the cliffs, about an hour walk from where we wanted to be in Positano. But, va bene. The road we conquered on foot had a continuously beautiful view, so no one felt the need to complain too much. Before braving the walk, we stopped at a quaint fruit stand and bought some mega-lemons (I bought one for Maria Pia, and one to squeeze in my hair) and other fresh fruits. We walked down the winding road for about a half hour and then reached the famous stairs of Positano. However, when I say famous, I don't mean one special flight of stairs. I'm referring to the fact that Positano has no roads and that the townspeople and visitors get around using stairs to climb up and down the side of the cliffs. So, after finishing with the road that circled just above Positano, we took about 60 flights of stairs to make it to the bottom area and beach community. Our legs were completely destroyed when we finally made it. Who thought that walking down the stairs could be so difficult!? We sat on some benches to soothe our legs and they violently shook for as long as we put a little weight on the balls of our feet. So weird.
Once I was half-recovered, I re-traced my steps back to a cobbler that Cassandra (as a reminder, our tour guide) had pointed out. I fell in love with a pair of white leather sandals with gold grommets and good old Giovanni made them right there in front of me! He fitted my feet and everything! It was so cool and everything was so well and reasonably priced. My plan had been to buy a pair of sandals for my Caprese souvenir, so I'm glad I found what I was looking for. Even if I hadn't gone to Giovanni, I'm sure I would have found sandals at the hundreds of other places that I saw hammering and nailing the similar sandals, though. After my purchase, I met the rest of the HC gang on the beach. I set up camp and then hopped off the sand to get a personal pizza. All the good ones come from the Naples area, so I knew that I had to try one. I bought a margherita pizza with onions on top and ate it on the beach. My friends' mouths were watering, and this salivation was completely legitimate because the pizza was delicious. We did nothing all afternoon but relax and catch some rays. The temperature was perfect enough that I didn't break a sweat or have to jump in the water. Thank goodness for that because the ocean was pretty chilly.
Towards the end of the afternoon, we cleaned up camp and headed off the beach for some yummy granitas. Just for the record, they were better in Capri. Then, we walked up a few flights of the Positano steps and met the rest of the 45 Americans at the bus stop. The bus was able to drive us up the cliffs and closer towards where our tour bus had dropped us off that morning. Once we scaled the mountain road with the great view, we made it to the tour bus. We arrived at the hotel, showered up, and had dinner. While the dinner was alright, I would most certainly say that the first night's was better. Our second night consisted of pizza and then a weird fish that seemed a little too slimy to be fully cooked.
After dinner, the HC kids and myself went downstairs to our rooms for a few glasses of wine and a hangout session. I tried to learn how to juggle, and almost had it when I lost the 3rd orange. Oops. That was the end of that, but it didn't matter because we headed off to the club for a little dancing and fun! The rest of the interested Americans had already left the hotel, so the 7 of us met everyone in downtown Sorrento at the same place that we had been the night before. The dance terrace was pretty dead when we arrived and people were wallflowering it like crazy. Since 7 was a pretty ample number of people and we really didn't care what other people thought, we were the first to step on the floor and start dancing. We weren't there alone for more than 15 minutes when everyone else in the club felt comfortable enough to join us in the disco festivities. A few hours later we, the very own party-starters, were inadvertently kicked off the dancefloor as a result of lack of space. At that point, we called it a night.
On Sunday morning, we checked out around 10am and then walked around downtown Sorrento and bought amazing sandwiches for the trip. We left Sorrento at noon and succeeded in getting the 8 bus seats right up front, which was a huge feat. People were literally pushing for them (because it's easiest to see the TV from those spots). Grace wouldn't have let those seats slip out of her way. She's good like that. So, we settled into our comfy seats and ate our enormous sandwiches. We were happy as clams. I passed out on the bus and about an hour and a half later, we arrived in Pompeii, the stop that I had been awaiting the entire weekend. The usual 11.00 euro entrance fee was waived that day because it had been La Settimana di Cultura, so we were thrilled about that. We only paid 5.00 euro for an optional tour guide that came with our travel package. Great deal!
As soon as the tour started, it began to downpour. I stayed as optimistic as possible and really enjoyed seeing everything that I had learned about so thoroughly in my Archaeology of Pompeii class sophomore year. We saw the Pompeian restaurants, one of the theaters, wealthy and poor homes, brothels, temples, the baths, the bodies, and the forum. I loved it! I would have loved to have been able to explore more on my own because the House of the Faun and the large Amphitheater were on the other side of the town and I had really been hoping to see them. But, by the end of the 2 hour tour, I was thoroughly soaked and, though optimistic, I couldn't bring myself to walk all the way to the other side. I guess it just means I'll have to go back! I was a little disappointed because my friends didn't seem very thrilled to be there. It would have been nice if the sun had been out. I know they would have enjoyed it more had they not been soaking.
Either way, it was awesome to be able to recognize everything in Pompeii that I had learned about. Capri, Positano and Sorrento were breathtaking, so this trip was most certainly worth the money. We only paid 200 euro and got a hotel, 2 dinners, 3 breakfasts, transportation to Capri, reduced transportation to Positano, and reduced boat tours. When I come back to Italy, this area is the first place I'll be returning to.
Today, I received the good news that I have been chosen as a Fall Orientation Leader for incoming transfer students. I am so excited! Class registration was this afternoon, and I got everything that I had wanted (with a little extra pleading on one of the them). I'll be taking Dante, Italian Women's Autobiography (in Italian), Kids Today: Perspectives on Development, and Psychology of Adolescence. My adviser says that I may even be able to count the Women's Autobiography towards my Childhood Studies minor, because it discusses mother-daughter relationships and growing up. That would be AWESOME!
Chelsea is coming on Saturday and I will be meeting her in Pisa, where she flies in. I'm really looking forward to it and I have lots of plans for her!
I'll update the next time I have a spare moment.
A dopo!
This weekend was absolutely amazing. One fun thing after another for a solid 3 days! After an awful day of stressful tutoring on Thursday, our bus left the station at 6:30 pm for Amalfi. We watched a bunch of movies during the trip (there was a TV) and also discovered the hard way that there were no bathrooms on board. We stopped at an autogrill for a little dinner around 9:00 pm and then continued the journey. Around 1 am, we started to get into the Amalfi Coast area, as I awoke to the bus taking some ridiculous curves on this road which was dangerously placed on a cliff. It was a little scary, but the view was gorgeous.
Around 2 am, we finally arrived at our hotel in Sorrento, completely destroyed. We had traveled about 8 hours, so the second we were assigned our rooms, we crashed. At 7 am, we woke up for breakfast and had to be walking to the ferry for Capri at 8 am. Needless to say, it was a rough morning. Cassandra, our awesome tour guide, led us all the way down a windy highway (most certainly a very dangerous thing to do with 45 American kids in tow) and we made it to the marina within an hour. On the way, I was excited to pass The Bristol Hotel, where my parents had stayed on their honeymoon and where my Grandma had the same room every year that she visited. It was only a half mile down the road from our hotel! What a coincidence! Anyway, when we arrived at the marina, we waited for about 20 minutes and then hopped on the ferry over to Capri. The ferry took about 45 minutes and was filled with old people. I guess Capri is a pretty popular destination for the elderly. When we arrived, we were a little disappointed with the cloudy, ominous skies. It rained for about 10 minutes and then remained cloudy for quite a while.
During that time, we hopped on another smaller boat to take a tour around the island and see the Blue, Green and White Grottoes. For the entire duration of the journey, we had pretty significant cloud cover, but we dealt with it and I took about 100 pictures anyway. All of the cliffs were so different from one another, and all equally breathtaking. Our first stop was the Blue Grotto, which was indescribably awesome. In order to enter the Grotto, we had to get off the bigger tour boat and into small wooden rowboats, 4 or 5 at a time. Our tour guide was a riot, so he made the smooshed conditions within the rowboat exciting and fun. With me in my rowboat were Maggie Wright and Maggie Rossi, along with a couple in our group that would not stop hugging, kissing and touching each other. It was a little awkward, but I guess that's besides the point. Anyway, all the little rowboats lined up to get into the Grotto, whose entrance is a tiny hole about 3 feet high. We were lucky that the Grotto was open to the public because it appeared as if we were nearing high tide, when people can no longer enter. We were all instructed to lay as flat as possible in the rowboat while our guide pulled us into the hole with a chain that was attached to the Grotto rocks. The interior was absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed at how enormous it was, as the entrance hole was so unassuming that it would never be able to reveal the secrets inside the Grotto. The water was lit with a beautiful blue (hence the name) that naturally comes from the reflection of the sun on the sand. All of the tour guides in the different rowboats sang the typical songs of Napoli (O Sole Mio, etc). The whole experience inside the Grotto lasted all of 8 minutes, when we squeezed back out into the daylight. Needless to say, we were very satisfied customers. Words really cannot describe the uniqueness and beauty of this Grotto. I am just amazed that the whole thing is completely natural!
The rest of our boat ride consisted of visits to the Green and White Grottoes and a little snooping of the summer houses of Sophia Loren, the Gerber family (Mussolini's former residence), Donatella Versace, and Giorgio Armani. When we arrived back on land, we took one of Cassandra's lunch recommendations and found a great restaurant down an alleyway, pretty close to the main piazza in Capri. We were the only ones there for a good while, and we loved it that way. The place was very cozy and trendy, with white couches and green pillows, and beautiful wooden ceiling beams. We all ate very well. We shared fried calamari and prosciutto and melon. I had pasta with tomato sauce, mozzarella and eggplant for my main course.
When we exited the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to see bright sunshine. I guess Capri is a lot like the Vineyard in that it needs some time to burn off the morning haze and rain clouds. Carla and Grace split off from Jeff, Maggie, Maggie, Kevin and myself in search of Caprese sandals high on Anacapri. Our little group of five got some lemon granitas and then walked all over the island. We saw the beautiful gardens of Capri and from there, took a winding path down the side of a cliff, all the way to the bottom. There, we dipped our feet in the water and I collected a ton of sea glass. When we had finished there, we took the bus back up to the main area of Capri and stopped in a limoncello store for some souvenirs. Then, we coincidentally ran into Grace and Carla and together, went to a bar to drink some limoncello together.
Our whole group (all 45 of us Americans) met back at the port and took the ferry back to Sorrento around 6:30. We filled in the evening by showering and prepping for the nightlife. At 8:45, we had our included dinner at the hotel which consisted of bruschetta, pasta, salad, oranges and unlimited wine. It was pretty good. After dinner, we let Cassandra lead us into town for some drinks and fun. We hung around at this English bar for a while and then, around 12:30 headed right upstairs for some dancing. The discoteca part of the bar was soooo awesome because it was outside and the terrace was covered with trees and funky lights. It was a great atmosphere to dance. At this point, Grace, Jeff, and Maggie Wright had decided to go home. Kevin, Maggie Rossi, Carla, Cassandra and myself hung around and danced for a few more hours. We had a blast and took the long hike back to the hotel around 2 am.
We were able to sleep in about an hour longer on Saturday, and left for Positano around 10am. We took a 30 min bus ride that took us along the beautiful coastline road. We drove right along the cliffs for the whole way and it was a little scary, but absolutely gorgeous. Despite being exhausted, I couldn't close my eyes for even a second because I hated the idea of missing the view! When we arrived, the bus driver was in a sour mood, so he dropped us off at the very top of the cliffs, about an hour walk from where we wanted to be in Positano. But, va bene. The road we conquered on foot had a continuously beautiful view, so no one felt the need to complain too much. Before braving the walk, we stopped at a quaint fruit stand and bought some mega-lemons (I bought one for Maria Pia, and one to squeeze in my hair) and other fresh fruits. We walked down the winding road for about a half hour and then reached the famous stairs of Positano. However, when I say famous, I don't mean one special flight of stairs. I'm referring to the fact that Positano has no roads and that the townspeople and visitors get around using stairs to climb up and down the side of the cliffs. So, after finishing with the road that circled just above Positano, we took about 60 flights of stairs to make it to the bottom area and beach community. Our legs were completely destroyed when we finally made it. Who thought that walking down the stairs could be so difficult!? We sat on some benches to soothe our legs and they violently shook for as long as we put a little weight on the balls of our feet. So weird.
Once I was half-recovered, I re-traced my steps back to a cobbler that Cassandra (as a reminder, our tour guide) had pointed out. I fell in love with a pair of white leather sandals with gold grommets and good old Giovanni made them right there in front of me! He fitted my feet and everything! It was so cool and everything was so well and reasonably priced. My plan had been to buy a pair of sandals for my Caprese souvenir, so I'm glad I found what I was looking for. Even if I hadn't gone to Giovanni, I'm sure I would have found sandals at the hundreds of other places that I saw hammering and nailing the similar sandals, though. After my purchase, I met the rest of the HC gang on the beach. I set up camp and then hopped off the sand to get a personal pizza. All the good ones come from the Naples area, so I knew that I had to try one. I bought a margherita pizza with onions on top and ate it on the beach. My friends' mouths were watering, and this salivation was completely legitimate because the pizza was delicious. We did nothing all afternoon but relax and catch some rays. The temperature was perfect enough that I didn't break a sweat or have to jump in the water. Thank goodness for that because the ocean was pretty chilly.
Towards the end of the afternoon, we cleaned up camp and headed off the beach for some yummy granitas. Just for the record, they were better in Capri. Then, we walked up a few flights of the Positano steps and met the rest of the 45 Americans at the bus stop. The bus was able to drive us up the cliffs and closer towards where our tour bus had dropped us off that morning. Once we scaled the mountain road with the great view, we made it to the tour bus. We arrived at the hotel, showered up, and had dinner. While the dinner was alright, I would most certainly say that the first night's was better. Our second night consisted of pizza and then a weird fish that seemed a little too slimy to be fully cooked.
After dinner, the HC kids and myself went downstairs to our rooms for a few glasses of wine and a hangout session. I tried to learn how to juggle, and almost had it when I lost the 3rd orange. Oops. That was the end of that, but it didn't matter because we headed off to the club for a little dancing and fun! The rest of the interested Americans had already left the hotel, so the 7 of us met everyone in downtown Sorrento at the same place that we had been the night before. The dance terrace was pretty dead when we arrived and people were wallflowering it like crazy. Since 7 was a pretty ample number of people and we really didn't care what other people thought, we were the first to step on the floor and start dancing. We weren't there alone for more than 15 minutes when everyone else in the club felt comfortable enough to join us in the disco festivities. A few hours later we, the very own party-starters, were inadvertently kicked off the dancefloor as a result of lack of space. At that point, we called it a night.
On Sunday morning, we checked out around 10am and then walked around downtown Sorrento and bought amazing sandwiches for the trip. We left Sorrento at noon and succeeded in getting the 8 bus seats right up front, which was a huge feat. People were literally pushing for them (because it's easiest to see the TV from those spots). Grace wouldn't have let those seats slip out of her way. She's good like that. So, we settled into our comfy seats and ate our enormous sandwiches. We were happy as clams. I passed out on the bus and about an hour and a half later, we arrived in Pompeii, the stop that I had been awaiting the entire weekend. The usual 11.00 euro entrance fee was waived that day because it had been La Settimana di Cultura, so we were thrilled about that. We only paid 5.00 euro for an optional tour guide that came with our travel package. Great deal!
As soon as the tour started, it began to downpour. I stayed as optimistic as possible and really enjoyed seeing everything that I had learned about so thoroughly in my Archaeology of Pompeii class sophomore year. We saw the Pompeian restaurants, one of the theaters, wealthy and poor homes, brothels, temples, the baths, the bodies, and the forum. I loved it! I would have loved to have been able to explore more on my own because the House of the Faun and the large Amphitheater were on the other side of the town and I had really been hoping to see them. But, by the end of the 2 hour tour, I was thoroughly soaked and, though optimistic, I couldn't bring myself to walk all the way to the other side. I guess it just means I'll have to go back! I was a little disappointed because my friends didn't seem very thrilled to be there. It would have been nice if the sun had been out. I know they would have enjoyed it more had they not been soaking.
Either way, it was awesome to be able to recognize everything in Pompeii that I had learned about. Capri, Positano and Sorrento were breathtaking, so this trip was most certainly worth the money. We only paid 200 euro and got a hotel, 2 dinners, 3 breakfasts, transportation to Capri, reduced transportation to Positano, and reduced boat tours. When I come back to Italy, this area is the first place I'll be returning to.
Today, I received the good news that I have been chosen as a Fall Orientation Leader for incoming transfer students. I am so excited! Class registration was this afternoon, and I got everything that I had wanted (with a little extra pleading on one of the them). I'll be taking Dante, Italian Women's Autobiography (in Italian), Kids Today: Perspectives on Development, and Psychology of Adolescence. My adviser says that I may even be able to count the Women's Autobiography towards my Childhood Studies minor, because it discusses mother-daughter relationships and growing up. That would be AWESOME!
Chelsea is coming on Saturday and I will be meeting her in Pisa, where she flies in. I'm really looking forward to it and I have lots of plans for her!
I'll update the next time I have a spare moment.
A dopo!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Stressed
I am completely stressed out about the most ridiculous things. Actually, while they are ridiculous in some ways, they are also very important, so I think some of my stress is legitimate.
First off, these freaking Italians really need to light a fire under their butts and get their business together, because I can't handle them anymore. They are TOO carefree. We were supposed to know the dates of our finals right after Easter. Nothing yet. The urgency to know grows with every passing day. I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but the reason we are worrying is related to our having to book a return flight way back in July so that we could obtain our visas. So in July, I booked my departure flight for August 31st and return flight for April 1, the latest they had available. When the beginning of March came along, we had to look into changing our dates because if you let yourself pass the date, you lose the ticket and the money along with it. The professors/tutors/etc. didn't seem to know, care, or understand our reason for needing to know our exam dates when it was time to change our flights the first time. No one helped us. Therefore, back in March, I changed my flight from April 1st to May 26th, in hopes for making it home for my Dad's birthday on the Vineyard. It has now been a month and a half and still no word.
I ran into my literature tutor (Claudio) yesterday while I was on my way to class and told him that I would be asking the professor for any updates on the exam. He warned me "Don't ask him too much. He'll get very annoyed." First off, what the heck does Claudio think we do?! It's not like I LOVEEE talking to the professor. The last time I had said one word to him was in the beginning of the semester in regards to being a foreign student. I'm scared of the guy! I proceeded to tell Claudio that we really needed to know the date of the final because again, we are nearing the date where we'll have to change them for a second time. He said to me: "See, I told you not to book a return flight!" in one of those condescending voices. I got soooooo pissed. We have explained to him a million times the fact that we HAD to change our flights or else we would have lost our tickets. He's knows his Italian Literature, but I'd say that's about it. What an idiot. I'm completely pulling my hair out with this huge unknown that's lying at the end of May. The longer I wait to change my flight (if I have to), the more expensive it will become and the less seats there will be. Also, I HAVE to be home for the start of my internship, which is June 7. I'd like to get home a few days early so that I'm not a zombie on the first day. Right now, I have no solution and I'm continuously racking my brain, but writing it out at least helps to calm me a little.
On a more minor, but still stressful, note, I am in the process of prepping for class registration for next semester. I have a very tight schedule because I have to pretty much start and complete my Childhood Studies minor, and also finish my Italian major. I have 8 spaces for courses throughout both semesters. I have 3 classes remaining for Italian, and 5 for Childhood Studies. While I'm aware that 5+3 equals 8, it's much easier said than done. I have to get permission from all these people because I want to take high level courses, and I'm trying to bypass the SOC 101 class, which is a pre-requisite for some Childhood Courses, but a complete waste (that won't fit in my schedule) towards finishing my degrees. I've emailed about 10 different people, and they are slowly getting back to me. I know it's a very busy time at Holy Cross, but I hope they know that they are driving me crazy in holding back this info from me. I'm hoping for responses by Monday.
I'm also quite distracted by the illness of Grandpa (Mrs. Fanelli's Dad) and I hope that everything is going alright over there in America.
There are so many people that I miss and think about all the time, and I really can't wait to see everyone again and give them all huge hugs! Part of me feels ready to go back to America, but I know that once all the un-known holes are filled in throughout the next few weeks, I'll feel a little calmer.
All I can say is that a beautiful beach weekend in Amalfi has come at the perfect time. Updates next week on our trip!
Ciao!
First off, these freaking Italians really need to light a fire under their butts and get their business together, because I can't handle them anymore. They are TOO carefree. We were supposed to know the dates of our finals right after Easter. Nothing yet. The urgency to know grows with every passing day. I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but the reason we are worrying is related to our having to book a return flight way back in July so that we could obtain our visas. So in July, I booked my departure flight for August 31st and return flight for April 1, the latest they had available. When the beginning of March came along, we had to look into changing our dates because if you let yourself pass the date, you lose the ticket and the money along with it. The professors/tutors/etc. didn't seem to know, care, or understand our reason for needing to know our exam dates when it was time to change our flights the first time. No one helped us. Therefore, back in March, I changed my flight from April 1st to May 26th, in hopes for making it home for my Dad's birthday on the Vineyard. It has now been a month and a half and still no word.
I ran into my literature tutor (Claudio) yesterday while I was on my way to class and told him that I would be asking the professor for any updates on the exam. He warned me "Don't ask him too much. He'll get very annoyed." First off, what the heck does Claudio think we do?! It's not like I LOVEEE talking to the professor. The last time I had said one word to him was in the beginning of the semester in regards to being a foreign student. I'm scared of the guy! I proceeded to tell Claudio that we really needed to know the date of the final because again, we are nearing the date where we'll have to change them for a second time. He said to me: "See, I told you not to book a return flight!" in one of those condescending voices. I got soooooo pissed. We have explained to him a million times the fact that we HAD to change our flights or else we would have lost our tickets. He's knows his Italian Literature, but I'd say that's about it. What an idiot. I'm completely pulling my hair out with this huge unknown that's lying at the end of May. The longer I wait to change my flight (if I have to), the more expensive it will become and the less seats there will be. Also, I HAVE to be home for the start of my internship, which is June 7. I'd like to get home a few days early so that I'm not a zombie on the first day. Right now, I have no solution and I'm continuously racking my brain, but writing it out at least helps to calm me a little.
On a more minor, but still stressful, note, I am in the process of prepping for class registration for next semester. I have a very tight schedule because I have to pretty much start and complete my Childhood Studies minor, and also finish my Italian major. I have 8 spaces for courses throughout both semesters. I have 3 classes remaining for Italian, and 5 for Childhood Studies. While I'm aware that 5+3 equals 8, it's much easier said than done. I have to get permission from all these people because I want to take high level courses, and I'm trying to bypass the SOC 101 class, which is a pre-requisite for some Childhood Courses, but a complete waste (that won't fit in my schedule) towards finishing my degrees. I've emailed about 10 different people, and they are slowly getting back to me. I know it's a very busy time at Holy Cross, but I hope they know that they are driving me crazy in holding back this info from me. I'm hoping for responses by Monday.
I'm also quite distracted by the illness of Grandpa (Mrs. Fanelli's Dad) and I hope that everything is going alright over there in America.
There are so many people that I miss and think about all the time, and I really can't wait to see everyone again and give them all huge hugs! Part of me feels ready to go back to America, but I know that once all the un-known holes are filled in throughout the next few weeks, I'll feel a little calmer.
All I can say is that a beautiful beach weekend in Amalfi has come at the perfect time. Updates next week on our trip!
Ciao!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dad's fun-filled vacation
Ciao a tutti!
If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!
Here's more or less how it went:
Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.
Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):
Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):
Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):
Day 4 (Venice, Friday):
Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):
Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):
Day 7 (Rome, Monday):
Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):
Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):
Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):
Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.
Ciao!!
If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!
Here's more or less how it went:
Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.
Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):
- Santa Maria Novella pharmacy- Dad loved it!
- Delicious dinner at Maria Pia's.
- Pub Night at "Dexter's Laboratory" with my friends. Dad bought
everyone drinks. What a guy.
Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):
- Galleria Palatina in Palazzo Pitti.
- Sandwiches at Antico Noe. Dad was crazy for them.
- Gelato at Vestri. Another place that Dad loved.
- Bargain shopping in San Lorenzo Marketplace.
- Dinner at Alberto and Maria's with Benedetta, Antonio and Anarita.
Antonio and Anarita wanted to see my Dad before they left for Vienna
the following day.
Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):
- A few random errands.
- Had cappuccinos on the rooftop terrace of Rinascente. Took some
great pictures of Dad "living the life."
- Bargain shopping again in San Lorenzo Marketplace.
- Mercato Centrale meat market. Fascinating and disgusting.
- Italian Literature tutoring= damper on the day. Dad shopped around for an hour in the bookstore downstairs from CLIDA.
- Lunch at Natalino. Warm and deliciously toasted sandwiches.
- Gelato at Grom. Yummm.
- Piazzale Michelangelo. It had been raining all day and then cleared up. The view was perfect.
- San Miniato church on top of the Piazzale.
- Dinner at Maria Pia's. Dad brought beautiful flowers.
- A walk around the center and a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.
Day 4 (Venice, Friday):
- Took a VERY early train to Venice and arrived around 10:30.
- Dad bought a TON of glass souvenirs.
- Used Rick Steves' tip to cut the line and see St. Mark's Basilica. (His tip: Use the free bag check that not many people know about and get a card that allows you to skip ahead of everyone else).
- Found a nice family from Wisconsin and took an amazing gondola ride through the canals. Split the price 6 ways instead of 2= very key.
- Tried to get to Murano island to see the glass museum and demonstration, but discovered that it was too far away.
- Got the last train home.
- Ate dinner at La Giostra at 9:30. OUT OF THIS WORLD, as usual. Dad loved it.
Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):
- Dad bought beautiful suede shoes. (I insisted that he buy some Florentine leather for himself)
- Boboli Gardens. We were glad to have waited because the previous two days were cloudy and rainy. This day was perfect.
- Lunch at Antico Noe, again.
- Train to Siena for an evening visit.
- Saw the Duomo and Piazza Il Campo, famous site of "Il Palio."
- Searched for about an hour for Uncle Roger's dinner recommendation and failed because Maria Pia and Andrea had misread us the information on the business card which we had left at home.
- Had a pricey, but lovely dinner right in the piazza.
- Took the train back to Florence.
Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):
- Decided to skip out on the Scoppio del Carro outside of the Duomo because we really needed to avoid sickness and get some sleep. (The Scoppio del Carro is an Easter tradition where they throw a plaster dove at the Duomo and then light off fireworks. Oxen are also involved, as I understand it.)
- Leisurely bussed into the city center around noon, got
cappuccinos, and walked around San Lorenzo.
- Met Maurizio (Alberto and Maria's son who still lives at home) who
brought us to the Easter celebration at their house.
- Celebrated Easter from 1:30 until about 9:00 at night. We ate for about 4 hours non-stop and at the 9:00 mark when we were preparing to leave, Maria was in the process of making dinner. She was confused as to why we were leaving, and we were confused as to why she was making dinner after a 4 hour meal. No hard feelings though.
Day 7 (Rome, Monday):
- Took the 9:15 am train to Rome.
- Settled in at our hotel near the Vatican.
- Found one of Paul's favorite sandwich places from his study abroad experience. The sweet lady was still there and made us some fabulous sandwiches.
- Spent a lot of time walking around. It started to pour.
- Walked to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and all the way to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.
- Soaked, we stumbled upon one of Paul's favorite bars from his study abroad experience. We went in for a drink.
- Upon emergence, the sun was shining brightly, thank goodness.
- Searched for an internet cafe (our hotel didn't have wireless) so that I could check my email on interview updates with the Citi Performing Arts center in Boston. Didn't receive anything.
- Walked all the way back to the hotel and stopped briefly.
- Walked all the way to Trastevere.
- Ate a fabulous dinner at Dar Poeta.
- Stopped for some twilight pictures of the Vatican on the way home.
- Went home, exhausted.
Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):
- Woke up at the crack of dawn and walked to the Vatican Museum.
- Skipped the line because I had made reservations.
- Spent 3 hours touring the museum and saw the Sistine Chapel at the end.
- Broke for sustenance in the Vatican Cafe.
- The weather was perfect, so we walked to the Roman Forum.
- Almost forgot to eat lunch, so we just grabbed one of those terrible sandwiches from a cart vendor and shared it.
- Toured the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill with the help of my trusty Rick Steves book.
- Skipped the line at the Colosseum because we had bought our tickets in the Forum (thanks to Paul's suggestion).
- Toured the Colosseum and filled Dad in on the history.
- Dragged our aching legs and feet to a Rick Steves recommended
cafe, Cafe dello Studente, and had a light snack because it was
too close to dinner for a big lunch.
- Stopped at an internet cafe. No word at that point.
- Opted for a cab back to the hotel.
- Attempted to walk to dinner, but only made it half way before running out of time and taking a cab.
- Had some incredible fried zucchini flowers and spaghetti at a spaghetteria called, Archetto.
- Took my Dad on Rick Steves' "romantic night walk." (Campo dei Fiori --> Piazza Navona --> Pantheon (where we stopped for gelato at the famous, and crowded Giolitti) --> Trevi Fountain --> Spanish Steps (where we were harassed by an Indian man selling roses).
- Took a cab home and went to bed.
Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):
- Got up early, once again. (This time, we were incredibly tired and sore).
- Took a cab to the Borghese Gallery, whose tickets I had reserved a week before because they only allow 360 people in per time slot. What an incredible museum. Bernini is a genius.
- Walked around the gorgeously green Borghese Gardens.
- Took a cab to Basilica di San Clemente.
- Toured the Basilica and were amazed by the underground passageways and Pagan altars.
- Had lunch on Via Cavour and soaked in the sunshine.
- Found the bus near Circus Maximus and took it outside of the Roman walls and to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.
- Toured the Catacombs. SOOOOOO COOOOL!
- Took a bus back to the center and found an internet cafe to check my email for an internship response.
- Received a rejection from Citi Performing Arts Center (thumbs down).
- Proceeded to walk towards the area of dinner, but stopped when we saw video cameras and people outside of a governmental building near Vittorio Emmanuele II.
- Discovered that Berlusconi was inside.
- Waited for 45 minutes and decided to leave, laughing to ourselves about the amount of film that had been wasted on Berlusconi-less cars with tinted windows.
- Stopped in Piazza Navona for a cappuccino.
- Became the first guests, with a 7:30 reservation, at a restaurant called Tre Archi.
- Ate a wonderful final dinner.
- Bought gelato from a gelateria that was blasting techno music.
- Walked home.
- Went to bed early.
Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):
- Got up at 6:15.
- Had breakfast with Dad and then put him in a car to the airport. :(
Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.
Ciao!!
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