barcelona, madrid and london. perfection.

I will warn you in advance that this is going to be both a long and rambling blog as well as one that isn't all that detailed because I would be writing for ages if I explained each day of vacation, not to mention that I can't even begin to remember it all!!! 


On Wednesday, March 31st, Breana and I left for Barcelona (along with a slew of other Smithies from our program so we all went together, it was quite the party!). We sipped some prosecco on the train, checked our bags and then proceeded to wait for a few hours since, obviously, RyanAir was running late. How surprising. By the time we go to the airport outside Barcelona, bussed into the city, grabbed a cab to our hotel/hostel/apartment and paid the balance and settled, it was almost 2am. Quite the travels! 

Some highlights from Barcelona..... Gaudi! Gaudi and his architecture and designs - so incredible!!! My favorite part of Barcelona was definitely Park Guell, high up on a hill, tons of little details that you could never get tired of seeing. Houses that look as though they were made of gingerbread, bright tiles, mosaics, quirky archways and benches, a lizard, and so on and so forth. 


Other than the park, I was pretty impressed by the Sagrada Familia... how something so incredible and interesting and unique could remain unfinished for soooo long is mind-blowing! Gaudi must be so bummed!!!! I also loved the little market right by our apartment where they sold fresh squeezed juice 2 for 1 euro! (Keep in mind that if you go right around closing you can have 4 for 1 euro!!!) 

Another great thing about Barcelona (and maybe Spain in general) are the fabulous parks! In Barcelona there is this amazing park called Parc de la Ciutadella. There is a huge expanse of grass and trees, a zoo, a pond with boats, a huge greenhouse, a castle and the Catalan Parliament! 

While we were in Barcelona, Alex and her friend Kaltra came down from London to meet us. We wandered and shopped and went on this amazing (and free!!) walking tour of the city with an adorable Australian man named Sean. I bought fabulous floral comfy cotton flowing pants (a necessity, I swear!) We encountered a little Easter procession complete with Mother Mary holding Jesus and a little priest who hopped up on the float to place Mary's crown on her head.

Throughout the trip we ate lots of tapas and little snacks, some Cheetoes and Pringles, and some flautas (little baguettes with cheese or meat or whatever you like on them). We learned that most of the paella in Barcelona (and Madrid and most parts of tourist Spain) is not even real. Its from a company that makes it and sends it to all the restaurants and its not at all like REAL paella. Therefore I never had any!! Alex and Kaltra tried some at this really amazing restaurant we all went to and it was pretty good. I had this great heap of seafood cooked in a cast iron pot with white wine and garlic. It was DELICIOUS!! One night we tried to go out but we just aren't Spanish enough and come 1:30am when it was still dead, we couldn't really last much longer! We did acquire a bizarre number of flyers for one (completely empty) club called BLVD. We ended up at some other place whose name I can't remember but it was kinda cute - white palm trees and pineapples inside, free entry, and a cute man who we assumed was Spanish but obviously he turned out to be... Italian! How surprising!! 

In a nutshell, that is a little summary of mine and Breana's trip to Barcelona!! Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30 (when people were just leaving BLVD and Panam's Showgirls across the street was just closing....) and hopped in cab to the airport so we could fly over to Madrid!

Madrid was amazing..... I loved everything about it! White buildings, stone buildings, a gorgeous cathedral, yummy food (not that we had anything truly Spanish, oops!), amazing hosts (we stayed with Breana's family friends, Samantha and her Spanish husband Juan - they were the BEST!!), gorgeous weather, a great day trip and incredible museums! When we got there Sunday morning, Samantha and Juan took us all around the city, showing us everything important. We grabbed some tea and then went out to lunch with them. Then we went to anotherrrr amazing park! It was huge!! With fountains and a really big pond and swans and a crystal palace with trees inside! That night, after napping for awhile, we went out for Chinese food and I have to say.... it was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten!!! And we were the only non-Chinese people in the entire restaurant.... it was very busy too.... 

The next day we walked all over the city again and went to the Reina Sofia museum. I loved it! I am often not a hugeee museum person, and I am rarely a contemporary art person but for some reason there was just something about the Reina Sofia that really hit me!! And luckily my best friend is very well-versed in art and could tell me all the important things about Picasso and such! And we met a nice man (whose wife went to Smith, of course!!) and he asked us to take pictures of this one exhibit and mail them to him because he is the president of this place that is working to digitalize art from museums. We have his business card - you never know, he could be a useful resource in the future!! 

On Tuesday we took a little day trip to Toledo, a cute little city which actually wasn't nearly so little as I had expected. A lot of the museums and things were closed for restoration but we spent the day walking around in the sun, looking ar various things that we stumbled upon. We went in the GIGANTIC cathedral, tried some famous (and delicious!!) marzipan, hunted for synagogues, threw our trash in the bushes after lunch because the waiter told us to and then took a huge outdoor escalator back down the hill to the train station. Overall, it was a success!! 

Wednesday we went shopping with Samantha although we didn't buy anything because her taste, although extremely cute and just what we liked, was a little pricey. It was nice to stroll around the little shopping areas that she loves though! Then we headed to lunch and as we were munching our salads, we cracked a joke about this woman wearing shorts and heels leaning against a tree because she looked like a prostitute. Turns out it wasn't really a joke.... we counted 16 in total... in broad daylight. On a very populated street.... standing by the metro, against trees and lamp posts, in doorways... everywhere.... it was shocking!!! We then went to the Prado museum to see a few amazing works that Breana had really wanted to see by Bosch (again, very impressed, I loved them! If I learned one thing this year in Italy its how to appreciate and enjoy art!) That night, Samantha and Juan took us out to this fantastic Mexican restaurant with Juan's sister and her husband and one of Samantha's friends. It was so much fun! We ate amazing food, drank the BEST (the ABSOLUTE BEST) margarita I have ever tasted, and then wandered around and sipped a beer with them after.

The next morning (after loosing my passport in my backpack for a little while... oops...) we headed back to the airport and headed home to Pisa. From Pisa, I headed to visit Alex in London and Breana headed back to Florence. I met Victoria at the airport and we flew off to the UK together.

I then proceeded to have a fabulous weekend with my bestie!! Thursday night we ate some hummus and bread in her kitchen and took the tube to a cute little place called Dirty Martini where she had a delicious Indian martini and I had a not so delish Cherry Blossom one.... The next day she had to work in the morning so I slept in and relaxed a bit. When she got home, we turned right back around and went to her favorite cafe for lunch and then went to Camden Markets. It was so cute!!! I apparently missed all the amazing parts of London when I went 5 years ago!! We strolled in and out of stalls for a few hours, sampled some amazing Chinese food and then ate some more laterrr (why did I have so much Chinese food over vacation?? Maybe I should go to China....) and then I finally bought a cute little dress for Isadora's bridal shower. That night, after I learned the wonders of Sainsbury's and their beer and cider aisle, we went out with Alex's roomie, Kaltra. We were going to go to a place called Strawberry Moon but when we got off the tube we were bombarded by promotors (a weird concept.... these men work for all the different clubs and get commissions or something so they just try to get you to go to all different places and cut you deals) and we decided to let them convince us of a different place called Pep-C (we only agreed because they promised to give us our money back if we didn't like it, but then the guy gave me his iPod and told me to hold on to it until we decided and if he didn't give our money back, we could keep the iPod... we decided they were at least somewhat legit). It turned out to be a very cute little club! It was much more diverse than anyyyy club here in Italy and although pretty tiny, it was relatively full! I thought it was pretty enjoyable! 

Saturday morning Alex and I went out to breakfast at an AMAZING little place she had been wanting to go. It was in Chelsea and so adorable, and on our way there we passed all these gorgeous houses and flowers and trees covered in blossoms and cute little churches with parks. I think I might be in love with London! I had no idea! I can't see myself living long-term in Italy but I could easily see myself in London! It's so great! And there are kids and parks and everything everywhere - much more family-friendly than Florence, that's for sure!! We had yummy lunch (nachos and a turkey burger) at a little placed called Giraffe and then shopped our bums off. I bought, among other things, two really fantastic dresses for my 21st birthday (okay, okay, I know its still 2 months away but I like to plan ahead!!). We went to Whittard tea which was my favorite part of my trip to London 5 years ago, but they must have closed to top floor or moved or something because when I went before, you could make your own loose tea blends and now you can't! It was a little disappointing!! Saturday night we were going to grab fish and chips and strawberry beer at Alex's favorite little pub but they had stopped serving by the time we got there. We settled for (SCRUMPTIOUS!!) strawberry beer and then got some falafel and chicken curry to bring home. Yet another successful day!! 

Sunday morning I hopped on the tube, grabbed the bus to the Stansted airport and parted for Florence. I had a FABULOUS vacation, but walking into my host family's house was very welcoming! They were so happy to see me and hear about vacation and I was very excited to hear about their trip to Egypt (it wasn't all that special.... hmm... haha, high expectations I suppose!!). 

At this point I am still recovering a little from my lovely 11 day break, hence the delay in the blogging! But I am getting back into the swing of things, writing papers, then other projects and exams.... its insane that 5 weeks from now I will be home... but we don't need to think about that just yet!!! I am just going to continue to bask in the happiness that was vacation and go one day at a time!! 

Baci e abbracci a tutti!! I miss you all!!!! 

Barcelona pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=413959&id=500755531&l=51c1480892

Madrid pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=413998&id=500755531&l=0e2d5d240c

London pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=414001&id=500755531&l=d1078173f4

independence and a visit from the boy

I think I just completed one of the best weeks of my life. I'll let you know.


Gaber left today after spending one week strolling my Florence streets by my side. We stayed in a little apartment right in the center by the sede, cooked dinner, came and went as we pleased, slept in, watched tv together, and chatted until 4am. It was the definition of perfection.


Wednesday - went to happy hour at a Mexican bar called Tijuana with Christine, Breana, Anna and Claire, then went to a yummy little trattoria called Gusto Leo (I think?) where we ate pizza, then home to snuggle and watch tv (by way of gelato, of course!)


Thursday - introduced Gabe to the wonder of kebabs in this city (he ate 2 in about 2 hours I believe), then strolled and did some grocery shopping, tv watching and snuggling since it was chilly and dreary, came home after class and made heart-shaped pasta with oil, garlic and hot pepper - so good!! I'm going to guess we got gelato afterward?

Friday - wandered ALL day, went to the History of Science Museum, checked out some cute churches, the building that I want to buy to start my restaurant and hotel (where Napoleon's brother lived and died I might add... its a stretch but its abandoned and beautiful.....), walked up the hill over the Arno, ate more gelato and kebabs, met the crew for aperitivo at Moyo, headed to karaoke and then spent about 20 minutes at 21, a discoteca, then headed home for the night.

Saturday - after not sleeping well at all (we decided there was Red Bull in the free mixed drink shots we got for singing karaoke....) we took the bus over the Arno and up to San Miniato, a beautiful little church on the hill, took lots of pictures, then wandered through Florence to the Duomo, ate gelato, stopped by my host family's house to introduce everyone and pick up all the stuff I sent home with him, then wandered home to cook roast beef, thinly sliced bistecca fiorentina and roasted potatoes (pretty successful, I must say!!). I am tempted to say we had more gelato after dinner.... (In case you hadn't noticed, Gabe was quite taken with the gelato!! Especially the lemon!)

Sunday - tried to go to Villa Demidoff in Pratolino.... after successfully figuring out the bus and wandering until we found the entrance, it was closed for restoration, but we found some snow and a "Gigantic Adventure Park" which was a huge ropes course up in the woods, then we went back into the center, strolled through the San Lorenzo market, stopped for gelato by the Duomo and then headed home to make a feast of amazing meats and cheeses and breads and beer, then tv and chatting til late. 

Monday - after Translation class we wandered all around in the sun, visited my favorite church and sat in on Mass for a little while and then went home to get ready to go out to dinner at an ADORABLE and delicious restaurant that Gaber found called Trattoria da Tito - SO GOOD! We took shots of limoncello with our waiter and the busser and then strolled home... by way of gelato. 


Tuesday - had class on and of all day long, Gaber played computer games, did some work and ran some errands, we made some lunch at home with the leftover meats and cheeses and some tomatos and then for dinner we went to my favorite restaurant in Florence, I Tarocchi, over the Arno where we had pizza, salad, bistecca fiorentina and then topped it off with gelato (we did stop by the apartment to pack for Wednesday first!!) Then there was a minor catastrophe (which we avoided very well!) Gaber left the keys in the apartment.... and the cell phones.... so we couldn't call ANYONE to let us back in.... and other than the owner, there isn't anyone else to let us in anyway! So first we found the woman in the neighboring apartment to see if she had access to the courtyard so maybe we could get in the window, but she didn't.... so she asked someone else.... but they didn't either (very teary and upset Sera on our hands at this point..... very covered in mascara and sniffly and pink....) Then I had an idea.... So we walked to Hotel Maxim, the first hotel we all stayed in when we first got here in September and, looking as sad and pathetic as possible, I explained our problem to the man and he let us use the internet to get the woman's number and then the phone to call her and BOOM! She came in less than 20 minutes! And said we were lucky because she usually turns her phone off at night! THANK GOODNESS! Tragedy avoided! Good thing we also had some strawberries waiting in the apartment to eat in bed as we watched House Hunters! 


Wednesday - a sad day... but we made it! Had some (VERY OVERPRICED) pastries at a famous pastry shop (they were pretty good I suppose!), hopped on the bus to the airport, said goodbye as bravely as possible, and that was that! Then I went to the sede to study for my opera midterm, took it, and came home!! Phew. 


Host family update: It's so nice to be back with them! I missed them! We had an amazingly yummy dinner of chicken, roasted potatoes and salad with tomato and avocado! Then we brought out all the Easter candy that my mom sent with Gabe. The Reese's eggs were a hit among the host parents and the Jelly Belly's were a HUGE success with the host bros. Especially the buttered popcorn ones. Yuck. I think I might have to request some more. And Harry Potter beans because the bros are very intrigued. I am going to miss it here. 9 weeks from today and I will be in my house in Vermont... how did that happen?? Scary, exciting, sad, and very different.... Vermont is going to feel awfully small..... 


Life update: As of right now, while my restaurant dream is still fully in tact, I have a new plan that will help my future in the food biz. There is a graduate program in Gastronomy at BU. And I can concentrate in business. While Gaber goes to school at MIT or works there..... And Alex will live down the street. It's a great life plan. I love being young and falling in love either everything and wanting to do everything. It's so invigorating. Did I mention that I am also considering finding a job/internship/something in cookbook/food book translation? It exists! I just need to find it! It would be AMAZING! 


Anyway! Time to go browse dresses online for my 21st birthday and my lovely best friend Isadora's bridal shower that I am throwing as well as her rehearsal dinner! 


Amore a tutti!!


P.S. Countdown to Barcelona, Madrid and London = 13 days and 19 hours!!!!!

lovin' the host mamma

really.... love her. a lot. its going to kill me when i have to leave. its like having an aunt or a big sister! 


this afternoon we made bomboloni (like really amazing homemade donuts) together. she fried and i sugared. then we had some people over to eat them and we chatted with them and played with the guest dog.


then she complained to me about the twins and how she needs to scappare (escape). all night she was on them about how they always say, "no, mamma, i'll do it later, no later! one minute!! wait! hang on! in a little bit!!" especially when it comes to preparing their zaini (backpacks). lord only knows why its such a pain to pack a backpack..... i think i must be missing something!! 


just now after i swept the floor and scrubbed all the sugar off the counter, i explained that i should go upstairs to finish some homework, to which she said, "oh yes me too, i'm following you and getting away from these little boys!" as she was walking up the stairs she yelled to them, "ragazzi!!! gli zaini!!" to which i said, "un attimo!!!" (one minute!) and then she said, "aspetta!" (wait!) and then i finished, "DOPO!!!" (after!!!). then we cracked up and went our separate ways to relax and read and do some work.


it feels good to be here.


i am making penne with vodka sauce this week! but shhhh, don't tell the boys! the vodka part is a secret or else they won't eat it!!! 




xo

a bit of random babbling

I don't really have anything in particular to share but I am in a blogging mood and therefore I am just going to go for it and chit-chat about various things.


Friday
Friday morning I had my university class (which remains continues to be amazing I might add) and then I headed home for the afternoon (after picking up magical medicine at the pharmacy). I did some homework, watched some tv online, organized my room, etc. Nothing particularly amazing. Until! I had a fabulous night with my host family! 
After dinner, host mamma and I made some chamomile tea with orange zest and honey (amazing by the way!)  and looked through some magazines together. She told me about all sorts of cool places to go in Italy and all the beautiful hotels they have stayed at and all the therapeutic natural hot springs nearby. I must say.... it would be awfully nice to live the life they live!! They've been so many places!! Fiji, Bali, Hawaii, all sorts of other islands, Morocco, Egypt, France, Spain, the U.S., Switzerland, Mexico, Greece, everyone you'd ever want to go - they've been there! 
Then I meandered into the living room to sit with host dad and broskies who were watching the History Channel. There was a show all about the Air France flight, the Concorde, that burned and crashed in 2000. It was very sad..... I didn't really even know anything about it but now I am pretty well educated and it pretty much broke my heart to see interviews of people who were minding their own business and driving to work when suddenly there was a plane in flames 30 meters above their car.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590
Speaking of flights, we are working on fixing my flight home. When I came here, we bought a round-trip ticket from September to the summer, but we weren't sure when I would be coming home so we booked the flight as far out as we could which is April 14th or so. Unfortunately, all the cheapest seats (equivalent to what we bought at first) for all the flights for the week of May 17th (when I would like to come home) are sold out. All of them! All week! So not only do we need to pay the $200 fee for changing the ticket, we need to pay almost another $300 to cover the price difference in tickets! How absurd!!!!! 
I am feeling funny about going home.... I want to be home and I want to work and be with friends and family but I am going to be so heartbroken to leave here..... I told my host family when I was thinking of leaving and they all looked so shocked because they thought I would be here until June..... I am torn!! I wouldn't have anything to do here because I won't have much money left.... and I want to be home in Vermont... I guess no matter when I go home I will be heartbroken..... I think I will come back to Florence for a month or so as a graduation present to myself in a year and a half (WHAT?!?! Can you believe that?!?! A year and a half!!!) Or maybe I will come work here for a bit!! Only time will tell I suppose! 
As for jobs at home... I am hoping to work at the Reservoir a decent amount like last summer and I am looking for other options just in case I can't get enough hours there. I have emailed probably close to 20 restaurants with my resume and cover letter and so far I have one option and a possible interview in May. Sigh. Real life. Yuck. On another job-related note - Gabe accepted a job working in the Lincoln Labs at MIT!!!! Congrats!! Its a pretty incredible opportunity.... even if it does mean he will be living in Worcester for the summer.... a little upsetting, but worth it in the long run!! (He will be here in Italialand in precisely 10 days!).
I think tomorrow I will do some futzing and some shopping.... It's supposed to be AMAZING. And I want to think about something to cook for my host family for dinner this week..... And I want to find some dresses for my birthday and Isadora's bridal shower which I need to finish planning.... Oh the to-do lists!!!! 


A domani!!! Baci e abbracci! 


P.S. Booked a flight to London to see Alessandra!! The day I get home from Barcelona and Madrid with Breana I am turning right back around at the Pisa airport and heading to England!! 

things you learn when you stay home and have a great night with your florentine family

1. your host parents, although they appear extremely young and beautiful, are actually normally-aged parents who were married at age 33. 

2. your twin bros, although they only weighed 4 pounds each at birth, somehow managed to be uber chubby and adorable as babies.

3. your host parents honeymooned for 25 days.

4. at which point, upon sitting down on the plane, your host mother starts feeling ill and realizes she is pregnant.

5. and then after the 25 days of san diego, san francisco, santa barbara, las vegas, los angeles and fiji, realizes she is a) pregnant with twins

6. and b) has been pregnant for about 2.5 months

7. your host dad was incredibly handsome and rugged as a 25 year-old.

8. your host mom, although gorgeous now, was stunningly gorgeous 15 years ago.

9. your little brothers, at the age of 4, used to be upset about the size of their penises and didn't understand why they were so different.

10. and your little brothers are still embarrassed about this and alude to the unfairness infront of 7 other people, not all family members.

11. and then you realize that you really missed your host family over christmas and you will really, really miss them when you leave in 4 months......

12. and therefore it is time to stop being so shy and embrace all of this wonderful experience for all its worth. starting right now. no more being timid with speaking italian, and no more hiding in your room working all day long.

[13. also nice to mention that before this grand evening, perhaps you left allllllll of your art history materials that you needed to study A LOT this weekend at the smith center and therefore will just have to deal with studying on monday.]

14. finalmente. it is important to realize that sometimes, even when you are sad because no one will come out to aperitivo with you and your best friend because they are lame and "over-stressed," things work out for a reason and those pesky friends allowed you to have a PERFECT night at home with your host family who you love.

15. you get to go to spain for a week at easter. 

16. you will probably, after retuning from sicily, easily get to see milano for a concert, venice for carnivale, pisa with your best friend from home, livorno and cortona with your boyfriend, and hopefully some natural hot springs in there somewhere!! not to mention how you will face said best friend from home in london and will hopefully go to bruges and vienna before you leave in may!

17. and then you learn that you are a huge nerd and should never write another blog in this weird 2nd person narration ever again.

i miss you all, and i love you all, and thank you all for being so supportive and putting up with me when i was sick and had bedbugs and was stressed and homesick. i owe each and every one of you. i should just give a very profound and moving oscars speech..... speaking of which did anyone watch the concert for haiti tonight on mtv? it was great....... wyclef jean, who is from haiti, was incredible. maybe i will go donate some money right now...... 

baci e abbracci a tutti!! a dopo! 

p.s. amazing risotto con spumante tonight aka risotto made with literally an entire bottle of sparkling wine. plus spumante to drink with dinner. and dessert spumante. and not to mention the little fried bits of dough we ate, which were actually a little stale but i understood how delicious they could have been, with that cheese, stracchino, and some delicious prosciutto. FINALLY, and maybe the best part aside from the delicious spumante (a rare occurrence because my host dad has horrendous taste in vile red wine) was the dessert. orange soufflé!  delicious. served still steaming, fresh out of the oven, with the zest of three sicilian oranges in it! buon appetito! 

holiday warm fuzzies: ben & jerry's, christmas carols, la fiorentina...

My host padre just left the house wearing a LIME green hat. Adorable. And I just helped Lorenzo study Spanish. Probably even more adorable. 


I have no real point for this blog.... only to share some holiday cheer with everyone. I always become a big mush during the holiday season.... I am never stressed and always happy. It helps that I love making lists so I obsessively think about Christmas presents and what things I want to do during the holiday season...... I love it all. So far I am thinking that when I return home, I must do the following things:


Christmas shop on Church Street
have a Christmas party with my girlies
hang out with my pals from work this summer
snuggle with the boyfriend
watch lots of TV with my mamma
play in the snow [please let there be snow soon.... just not when my flight comes in!]
work... somehow.... somewhere..... ideas?
bake cookies
make beer with my dad
celebrate New Year's with the entire family [aka Isadora's family]
sleep. a lot. 
read for pleasure....
eat breakfast at the Wayside!
go to the movies
get a crepe at the Skinny Pancake 
hang out with Chad and Georgeee
relax.
and unfortunately..... write two 8-10 page papers and two 4-5 page papers..... what? 


Smith really knows how to make sure we still have plenty of work overseas.... Although I am decently sure that it is just the Florence program that is this intense.... That being said.... I am feeling very good about it all.... it feels good to be working this hard in a foreign language and be surviving somewhat reasonably. Next semester is going to be much better though! I will be taking one class at the University of Firenze, therefore I will have minimum work throughout the semester but one big oral exam in front of the entire class at the end..... Then I am hopefully taking a translation corse taught by Giovanna if I am selected after doing a little translation test.... Then a Modern Art History course which will have the most work, like Art History this semester, then finally, a History of Cinema class where there are mostly likely no papers, just some tests. Doesn't seem nearly so bad after all the work I've done this year! And! This semester ends roughly January 26th. We have about one week free, and then one February 2nd or so, we leave for Sicily for a week! And then second semester starts. It will be the perfect long vacation to re-adjust to Florence and get over being homesick! I can't wait! 


Big plans this weekend. Friday I am going to go to the Galleria Palatina to see the work by Rafaello that I need to write my art history paper about, and then Breana and I are going to the art history library of the University of Fireze to start our research. Friday night we will probably do something grand. Saturday day we are getting the whole crew together to go to the German Christmas market at Santa Croce, and Sunday I think we are going to go to a Fiorentina game! 


Anyway, I must be off to read some of my Italian book for Literature - Io Non Ho Paura - I Am Not Afraid. One of my future 8-10 pages papers. Woohoo! 


Wish me luck!
Baci a tutti!!!


P.S. Perhaps I should mention the other two things that I listed in the title.... First of all, Christmas carols. Love them. Need more. Enough said. Yesterday Giovanna found the little fake Christmas tree for the sede and Breana and I decorated it while listening to the Christmas songs on my iPod. We also started making snowflakes and paper chains..... Sigh. So great! Secondly, and way more importantly, there is now a BEN & JERRYS IN FLORENCE! Literally across from the Duomo. I teared up a little when I discovered it yesterday afternoon. I now get to walk by it twice a day! I might have to go this weekend..... It's like Florence knew I was missing Vermont so it brought Vermont to me!! Thanks, Florence! 

10 things that occur around the holiday season in florence that make life worth living

1. Family Gatherings.
Last night my family got together with Victoria and Chrysanthe's family because my mamma is their father's sister, aka our little sibs are cousins. Yesterday was the nonna's birthday and she came with her sister and her husband. All in all, there were 14 people at my house, eating pizza, drinking Coca Cola and beer and laughing and chatting. I sneakily tried to take some family photos and then just decided to make everyone pose! It was a night full of laughter and sweet grandmotherly moments and love. And pizza covered in sliced hot dogs. It was perfect. 

2. Beautiful Lights. 
I know I have previously mentioned this and I also promised photos, but I haven't actually seen the beautiful lights lit up yet.... well I saw them at 2pm yesterday but I don't think that has quite the same effect as seeing them at night..... Tomorrow I will take pictures! I promise! 




3. Wandering at night.
I love this city at night. During the day.... not so much, but at night, definitely. I love walking home after class in the dusk to dark period, watching parents picking up their children, wandering past the bus stops and enjoying the general happy bustle that exists after the work-day has ended. I also love having that extra 30 minutes of leisurely strolling (well, I power-walk like there's no tomorrow but still....) to think in Italian and enjoy all the Italian-ness that surrounds me.... It's very relaxing and rejuvenating.... 


4. Decorations.
Storefronts, lights, windows.... all been said before, but I still really love it! 




5. Thanksgiving Dinner with Giovanna.
Thursday night. With all 20 girls and our professors. Turkey and gravy, stuffing, salads, corn, squash, pumpkin carpaccio, cranberry sauce, corn bread, pecan pie, apple pie and pumpkin pie.... Mmmm.... Just like home! 




6. Thanksgiving Dinner with the Host Fam 
It has been decided. Sunday night I will be cooking my family's version of stuffing and some cranberry sauce along with some molasses cookies perhaps.... Silvia is getting some kind of turkey or chicken, and we are good to go! The boys probably won't like the cranberry sauce and we'll see about Silvia and Enrico! Wish me luck! 




7. Helping Older Women Cross the Street
I was walking home tonight (enjoying the peaceful darkness, of course) and as I approached a sidewalk, this most adorable older woman reached out and asked me if I would be so kind as to walk her across the street because she was scared of falling. I took her hand and we walked across very, very carefully and very slowly, all the while she was telling me how nice it was to have someone help her. Then she squeezed my hand and said, "Buona sera, signorina!" My hand was glowing with warm, fuzzy feelings for at least 10 minutes, especially because I had just come from....




8. Sitting in with a Group of Grandmothers who Pray Together Every Day. 
After my audited class at the University of Florence (Methodologies of Contemporary Art History.... very, very, very boring...), I decided to spend some time in one of my two favorite churches (that I know of so far, that is!). When I entered, there were hardly any people other than one man who was seemingly very frustrated because the priest was late for confessionals and another man who works at the church and was restocking all the candles available to light. I walked through the church looking at all the small chapels until I found one that for some reason gave me the goosebumps. There was a beautiful fresco unlike all the others. Many were dark and depicted Jesus' sacrifice or other sad Biblical stories. This one instead was the Madonna surrounded by Saints, looking up at the heavens. It was so brightly colored and there were such relaxed, content expressions on each face, that I was immediately struck by its beauty. I lit three candles at this chapel - one each for my grandparents and my uncle. It was a rare moment of strong faith which continued to get stronger as I walked behind the sacristy (completely unlit with only a few candles flickering in the eerie silence) and I realized that I heard prayers. When I walked back out past the altar, I found a group of about seven woman, all much older, praying together. I went and sat down across from them and listened with my eyes closed for about 10 minutes, although they continued easily for another 10 or 15. It was pretty incredible.... and not something I often desire, but it felt good today to be part of a group of people so full of faith....




9. Orchestral Concerts.
Last night I decided I wanted to go to an orchestral concert. It is Christmas and Christmas means music which reminded me how much I miss my viola and orchestra and classical music. Within five minutes of deciding this, I had already found one this Saturday at the Teatro Verdi in Florence. I know have a ticket and I cannot wait!! http://www.teatroverdionline.it/




10. Being Happy.
Although I have now been sick for 30 days, I am extremely happy. I am settled, I am bonding with my host family, I am less stressed, things are going well at school, the boyfriend is just lovely and it is almost Christmas! Although I am pretty excited for Thanksgiving as well! This weekend between going out with the gang and taking myself out for a night, I will just be working, commencing some Christmas shopping and cooking! Sounds like a perfect weekend to me! 


Baci a tutti! And see many of you in less than 4 weeks! AMORE! 

and she falls in love...

First of all, I am sorry I am being a blogger-slacker...... But perhaps you can infer that my lack of available time has to do with the fact that I finally am living in a house where I have other things to do and other things to enjoy and therefore, I do not need to spend every moment blogging.

Secondly, I will again share how odd Italian hot chocolate is... I've decided it's the difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa perhaps. When I got home this afternoon (yes, in Italy it is still afternoon at 5:45 in the EVENING), Silvia asked me if I wanted something hot to drink. I said yes and was in the midst of saying that some English Breakfast sounded great when she decided that I should try some "cioccolato caldo." It is just so fascinating and surprising to me that I was handed a cup of hot chocolate pudding….. Fortunately it was a bit lighter than the hot chocolate from last week, but still, I was full for about 2 hours after eating it. I tried to explain to Silvia what we had in the United States that we call hot chocolate and I am fairly positive it sounded somewhat disgusting to her.

Now, once again, I have neglected blogging for long enough that I should probably do a little timeline in order to keep my events straight.

Saturday

I am not sure if I have shared this or not but my host mother is the sister of Victoria and Chrysanthe’s host father. Therefore, my two fratellini are the cousins of their host brother and sister. Saturday afternoon we gathered the troops (Lorenzo and Filippo, their two host siblings, plus 3 of their friends, and the 3 of us made a party of 10) and strolled over the train tracks to the movie theater to see Up which only came out this past week in Italy. Mind you, I saw up in 3-D this summer and it was one of the best movies I have ever seen. Nothing changed seeing it the second time. Although it was not 3-D and it was in Italian, I still cried and I still laughed hysterically. And the fact that we all went together as a big extended family was just about the sweetest thing I have ever done.

After returning from the movies with the two fratellini in tow, I threw on something cute and headed over to Breana’s at which point we met Chrysanthe and Victoria to wander over the Arno for aperitivi with Ali and her lovely English boyfriend. In case I haven’t explained aperitivi, it is a very Italian concept somewhat similar to tapas only about 1.72 million times more fantastic. Many of the fanciest (and not so fancy) bars and restaurants have aperitivi every night, especially on the weekend. As long as you buy one drink, you can eat as much as you want at the buffet. There is always pasta and many types of salads, breads with all kinds of condiments, veggies, and meat of some kind of another so for 7-8 euros, you can sip something nice and snack away for hours. The place we ended up at Saturday night was outside and the food was great!!

After aperitivi, Breana and I headed to The William, an English/Irish pub, with Ali and Keving. This pub tends to have the most random range of music each night, ranging from live American cover bands to Miley Cyrus to heavy metal. Satuday happened to be Disney stars and heavy metal. Something to note is that since Italian students often have class Saturday morning, and there is no drinking age here, all of the young teens are out Saturday night making for quite a sight. Perhaps that’s why we were surrounded by Jonas Brothers music videos all night? Regardless, we had some great cider, and headed home somewhat early in preparation for a great Sunday!

Sunday

This is the point at which I fell in love.

At 6:45am, I woke up, took a speedy shower, threw on some warm clothes and headed to the train station where I met Breana, Julie and our Italian friend Alessio. After purchasing our tickets, we hopped on the train to Perugia where there was a chocolate festival. Yum.

The train ride to Perugia may have been my favorite part of Italy thus far. I don’t particularly like Florence – it is loud and dirty and full of tourists and beggars and dog poo. All of the little towns outside of Florence on the way to Perugia were gorgeous, each one a small cluster of buildings surrounding a piazza and a church on a hillside. My favorites by far were the small towns all around the edge of Lake Trasimeno. Alessio could tell that I was awestruck and in love because in very sweet English he said, “It appears to me that perhaps this is some place that you would like to someday live maybe?” Yes, Alessio. Yes.

When we arrived in Perugia, I fell even more in love. The chocolate festival was lovely, but it was overcrowded (and by overcrowded I mean that you literally could not pass through the crowd and as Alessio said, “How do you say this? We are like sardines all in one place tight together?”). Disregarding this chaos, Perugia is stunning. It sits up on a hill, overlooking copious churches and small towns scattered across the hills. To reach the center of the city, you must take a bus (or walk up steep streets) until you come to an semi-outdoor escalator. This escalator turns into two and then three escalators, gradually bringing you more and more underground within the hill. When you step off the final escalator, you set foot in the lower part of the old city of Perugia, which now lays underground. Today this underground city is a series of galleries used for events such as the chocolate festival, but it remains breathtakingly beautiful because it remains just as it was so many hundreds of years ago.

As I stood overlooking the hills surrounding Perugia almost teary, I was overcome with first goose bumps and then the overwhelming sense that I needed to spend more time here in the future. When I looked up, there was a patch of sunlight beaming down in vertical rays, spreading its warmth over this incredible old church off in the distance. Thank you, rosary.   

As usual, there are more pictures on Facebook!

When I arrived home Sunday later afternoon, I was greeted warmly by my lovely family. When it seemed to be time for dinner, I left my room, only to join a caravan of people already heading down the stairs. Silvia looked overjoyed when she looked up to see first Lorenzo, then Filippo, then Enrico and then me trooping down the stairs to enjoy dinner together. Throughout dinner, Lorenzo chatted about various different things and I believe that Filippo might have even said something directly to me…. Perhaps? Silvia, yet again, teased them for becoming so shy around. I swear its soon to change, I can feel it!

I might add that we had INCREDIBLE meatballs for dinner, followed by boiled potatoes and steamed green beans – both of which were very welcome because I am forever craving vegetables. The twins were very resistant to eating the “schiffo” potatoes but then Lorenzo had the great idea of smooshing his into mashed potatoes and added not just oil, salt and pepper, but also mayonnaise. You should all know that Italians LOVE mayo. They put globs of it on sandwiches, they add it to various salads, plop it on veggies – they use it as a dip and condiment for nearly everything. As Lorenzo dolloped his mayonnaise onto his potatoes, Filippo freaked out because he actually thought it was vile, but Silvia was just happy that her son was eating potatoes so she remained silent. Let me tell you, it did not look appetizing! Too each his own!

After dinner I presented them with chocolate that I bought as a thank-you gift. Little did I know that Lorenzo and Filippo adore milk chocolate with hazelnuts – and how could you not? It’s amazing! In a fit of excitement, Lorenzo remembered that he had a book with all of the musical instruments in it and he showed it to us. When Silvia asked what I played and I said viola, Lore eagerly flipped to the viola page and patiently explained the difference between all the stringed instruments. Thanks little bro!

Today

Mondays are long…. And today was no exception. I am in class from 9.30 until 5.30 with an awkward 3 hour break in the middle of the day. Fortunately, Breana and I decided to walk to the market at Sant’Ambrogio where we bought fruit, veggies, bread, cheese, meat, milk and snacks for the week. Shopping in markets is definitely the way to go around here because everything is so fresh (although fruit season is passing…. and veggies are starting to lack their incredible summery taste, but still…. very tasty!) and it is all so reasonably priced!

Anyway, when I arrived home, Filippo was home alone and greeted me cheerily, letting me know that la mamma was grocery shopping and Lore was at his music lesson (French horn, so cute).

Unfortunately, when I got upstairs and checked my email I learned that Laura Mann, the founder of the non-profit I worked at this summer, passed away this morning after fighting cancer for over 5 years. Laura was an incredible woman – powerful, brilliant, inspiring and beautiful. I know that she touched everyone who she met and changed their lives in some way or another. So Laura, good luck on this journey and we will all see you in the future!

It couldn’t have been more comforting to be able to go downstairs to my family and hear the boys teasing each other and watching the Disney channel (they LOVE “The Life of Patty”), while hearing Silvia and Enrico chat in the kitchen as they cooked and set the table. Sitting at dinner and absorbing all of the Italian language around me, savoring my spaghetti with tomatoes and pancetta, soaking up my balsamic vinegar with salt-less Tuscan bread and toasting with my host parents after dinner was an incredible feeling and it is not anything I ever felt at Luciana’s.

Mothers are always right: Everything happens for a reason. Always. And here ends my tale of falling back in love with Italian..... 

Baci e abbracci!

A domani!