spring break set back #2

Woke up today feeling a little better and super excited that its finally spring break and we are about to be in Spain!  Everything was running according to plan, I was packed, I woke up early to get ready and make sure everything was in order and even cleaned the apartment before we left.  Unlike myself, my roommates are always late and collectively we can never manage to be places on time.  So when we walked out the door, running late, we realized that no one had the address of the hostel we had booked for that night so I ran back upstairs to get the information off my email.  I left the keys in the door and set my clutch on the kitchen table while I restarted my iPhone and refreshed my mailbox.  Finally I found the email in my junk folder and ran out of the apartment in such a haste that I completely forgot about the clutch on the table.  We headed over to Santa Croce with all our bags to catch a cab to the airport.  It wasn’t until I was at the check in counter that I realized my clutch was missing and consequently so was my passport.  On the verge of tears, I had no choice but to pray I had enough time and hop back in a cab to take me home to grab my passport and take me back to the airport.  Luckily, I made it back to the airport with 20 minuets to spare only to find that our plane was also delayed an hour.  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper but we made it to Spain and my eardrum is still intact! 

spring break eve

Thursday March 10th, 2011

So it’s the day before we’re supposed to leave for Spain for spring break and I just got back from eventful visit to the doctors office.  Dr. Kerr, the English-speaking doctor in Florence, put me on five different medications in hope to make me feel better over night.  I have been feeling subpar since the third week of the semester and today I was finally convinced to see the doctor out of fear.  A friend told me that if I flew when my ears weren’t popped, I could blow out my eardrum and go deaf.  Since I had all the symptoms to a sinus infection and an ear infection, I practically ran to see the doctor after class.  Professionally he had to tell me not to board that plane tomorrow, but personally he said he would do it because; “Barcelona is amazing”.   He wrote my prescription for five different medications and I went downstairs to the pharmacy and picked them up.  I am all packed and ready to go to Spain to have the best spring break of my life, but I am genuinely scared about flying while I’m sick.  What if my eardrum blows out!  I’m going to bed hoping I will feel better the morning.  It’s hard to sleep because I am anticipating delicious Spanish tapas and sangria.  One of my friends from high school is studying abroad in Madrid and although he will coincidentally be in Italy while we are in Spain, he wrote us a list of things we have to do and places we have to see. 

When in Rome

Saturday March 5th 2011 and Sunday March 6th 2011

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Such an eventful two days of sightseeing in the spectacular city of Rome.  From the tranquil setting of the Fontana di Trevi to the antiquated ruins of the Coliseum to the intricate paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Rome is laden with art and architectural wonders from across the centuries.  On Saturday we saw Trevi Fountain and, as all tourists must do, tossed a coin in over our shoulder and made a wish. 

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(me and the girls in front of Trevi Fountain)

We then continued walking to the Pantheon and then up to the Spanish steps.  The steps weren’t as tough to get up as they looked and the view from the top was spectacular!  Then we went over to the Coliseum.  I was simply baffled by how such a structure, so massive, could possibly have been constructed.  It was very interesting to see the ruins of ancient Rome, buildings and things that have been there for centuries.

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(Katie and I in front of the Coliseum)

Sunday we visited the Vatican.  The Sistine Chapel is a place of beauty, a spectacle for sore eyes and was well worth the forty-five-minuet wait to get in.  One of my favorite paintings, Rafaello’s “La Academia de Atene”, was hanging in the museum, which was quite a treat to see!  In the Sistine chapel we were able to get a seat on the bench so we could stare up in awe at the images painted by the famous, Michelangelo.  After the museum side, we ventured into the Vatican city and saw the inside of St. Peters Basilica.  There was a mass going on inside the Basilica so parts of the church were roped off. 

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(Just some holy water from St. Peter's Basilica)

We brought along a little picnic and had lunch in anticipation of seeing the Pope who was to come speak at noon.  Right at noon he appeared at the window and gave a speech in Italian.  Seeing the Pope speak really was a once in a lifetime experience of which I will remember forever.

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rough morning

Friday, March 4th, 2011

I woke up Friday morning feeling absolutely awful.  Naturally, we had train tickets to Rome for the weekend and I could barely lift my head from the pillow.   After complaining to Katie about how lousy I felt, I managed to grab a few mismatched articles of clothing, shove them in my backpack and trek to the train station.  Thomas was leading the pack and managed to take us on the most illogical path to the train station, which ended up taking almost double the time it normally takes.  We made it with a minuet to spare and literally ran to our train, which took off 30 seconds after we had boarded.  I passed out the entire train ride to Rome and woke up feeling a little better.  I still had body aches but my headache and fever had subsided.  Since we failed to book a hostel prior to embarking, we weren’t exactly sure where we’d be sleeping that night.  My friend, Tommy, from high school is studying in Madrid and is currently on spring break in Italy.  He happened to be in Rome that weekend so we checked into the hostel he said he’d stayed at the night before.  We had our own six-man room with bunk beds, a private bathroom and shower.  Everyone, pretty much exhausted and cranky, fell asleep until 8pm.  Realizing we had just wasted an entire day in Rome and not seen a single thing, we decided just to go down to the bar at the hostel and meet Tommy and have an early night so we could wake up early the next morning.  I probably should not have gone to Rome feeling as awful as I did… I’m pretty sure I have a sinus infection and an ear infection now but, when in Italy…

Piazza Michaelangelo

February 27th, 2011

"What a view!" we exclaimed as we finally reached the top of the summit.  Thomas decided to take Katie and me on a run since we had been feeling rather gross due to the massive amounts of carbs and fats in the form of bread and pasta we had been consuming.  While going on a run with a guy may seem like constant motivation to keep running, that did not seem to help the fact that we are severely out of running shape.  Honestly, I was surprised I made it up all those stairs to the top.  When we finally stopped running my legs could not stop shaking!  I would think I’d be in great shape for going up stairs since it seems that all I do here is climb stairs.  Despite the pain and exhaustion, the view was spectacular and we could see the entire city of Florence.  Luckily it was a nice day, which made for a better view and a little relaxation in the sun. 

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We could spot the important landmarks such as the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, the house of the Medici and almost our apartment!  The view reminded me of the view from Twin Peaks in San Francisco, just a little thought of home to add to the pensive mood.  I like to sit and lookout at the view and just think when I find spots like this.  They put things into perspective, just how much is really out there and how much there is to explore.  The view from Piazza Michaelangleo is definitely a place to find a cure for those “just one of those days” days.

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Lesson learned...

Saturday February 26, 2011

Saturday night all my friends and roommates decided to go to the Crookers concert and considering the fact that concerts aren't really my thing and I haven't the slightest idea who the Crookers are, I decided not to go.  Big mistake.  They all left around 7:30 and I went down around 8:00 to have dinner with Karl.  He ordered take out and we went in the back room of Lions Fountain and ate.  He got my a salad but unfortunately, the only form of dressing he had was olive oil and salt.  Ew.

After dinner I went back up to my room to get ready to go back out with some girls I had only recently become friends with.  While I was waiting to meet them I started skyping my best friend from back home and I was so happy to talk to her I completely lost track of time and by the time I realized it I was already 20 minuets late!  I left in such haste that, as I would realize latter that night, I left my keys on the kitchen table.  We went back down to Lions Fountain and hopped from bar to bar for a while.  When it was time to return for the night I reached into my purse to grab my keys and... they weren't there... On the walk home I tripped in my heels on the cobblestone and completely scraped up my knee.  The Crookers concert wasn't even ending until 5 am so I ended up sleeping on my friends couch.  I woke up at 5 because I was freezing and saw I had a text from my roommate wondering where I was.  Realizing they were back, I left to walk home... also a big mistake.  I had no idea where I was but I started walking, looking for the Duomo since I live right near there.  I ran into a group of Italian students trying to find their way home as well and asked them for directions.  They had no idea where to go either so we started walking together.  I finally found a building that I recognized and was able to find my way back home.  The second group of roommates got home minuets before me because they weren't able to get into the first cab on the way home and as it turned out, they had ran into the same group of Italians as I did!  As soon as I got buzzed in I went straight to bed and slept until noon.  Saturday night was a disaster.  Note to self: never let my keys out of my sight, and never go anywhere without my roommates.

Sienna and San Gimignano

Friday February 25, 2011

It was definitely hard to wake up at 7am Friday morning after thursday night Kareoke at Lions Fountain in which we stayed up all night singing loudly and proudly to some of the classic songs from the past.  Katie woke me up, and I jumped out of bed, as I do every morning, confused and not knowing what time it was due to our solid wood shutters.  She had already made us breakfast potatoes and eggs which were waiting for me on the kitchen table already salted and doused with ketchup, just the way I prepare them every morning.  After enjoying our breakfast, we scrambled to get ready to meet the AIFS group at the train station by 8:15.  As usual, we were running late and didn't leave until 8:05.  We walked so fast, almost in sprint to the train station and of course, no one really knew where we were going.  The whole way up I kept saying we need to go this way and no one would listen.  Eventually we made our way (to exactly where I said we needed to go) and got there just in the nick of time!  We hopped on a bus which took us to Sienna.  Sienna is a beautiful medieval city with tall buildings and narrow, tunnel like streets.  We took a short tour around the town and then were released to wander.  I have never eaten so much in such a small period of time.  For lunch we each had a slice of pizza that was 1/4 of the entire pizza, numerous doughnut holes, and chocolate.  Then, trying to kill time since we had pretty much seen everything during the tour, we did a little shopping.  

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We met the group back at the Piazza a few hours later and proceeded to San Gimignano.  San Gimignano is a very small town in the outskirts of Tuscany.  With beautiful views and not very much to do.  We tried to get some gelato from the "best gelato place in the world" but unfortunately it was close so we settled for the place right next door which was also very delicious.

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We did a little shopping in San Gimignano also and I bought a purse from one of the little leather shops! It's so cute, I love it!  It was very interesting to see a town like San Gimignano, I hadn't seen grass since I've come to Florence and the views of the rolling hills were spectacular!

the art of cooking

February 10th, 2011

 

So now that I live on my own... I have to cook for myself.  As pathetic as this sounds, that is a bit of a shock for me.  Not only have I always had the luxury of a homemade meal prepared for my by my parents every night, I am also highly unskilled in the kitchen.  It was starting to look like I would be eating pasta and bread for the next three months.  Distraught by this notion, my roommates and I signed up for a cooking class in which we prepared a three course meal.  We met with the group and trekked to this unassuming little hole in the wall kitchen.  It was deep in the side streets of Florence, and it would have been easy to miss as the door lacked any sign of what takes place behind it.

We started off by making a dessert called "chocolate salami"- and it looked just as it sounds.  We crushed up gram crackers, added some cocoa, sugar, butter rolled it together and put it in the fridge.  Then we began preparing the starter, eggplant mozzarella. We cut up some eggplant, sauteed it, then cut up slices of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and put it in the oven.  For the main dish, we made homemade gnocchi.  I was in charge of pulverizing the boiled potatoes which was no easy task.  After the potatoes were all cut up we added flour, egg yoke and a few other ingredients mixed in.  The chefs who were teaching us were very particular about how we rolled the gnocchi's and he called ours "American gnocchi" because they were too big... and ugly.

After we finished preparing our meal we sat down and enjoyed it!   

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 Everything was so delicious!  We cleared the plate!  Hopefully I picked up on a few things because I'm making dinner tonight.. that should be interesting...

pisa e lucca

Saturday, February 5th 2011

For those of you who were wondering, yes, the tower in Pisa is still leaning.  This architectural feat started in 1173 took 177 years to build.  The tower began to lean because the soil it was built on was marsh like and soft.  We learned that soil has been removed from the base and the tower is said to be stable for at least 200 years more years.

Last weekend, we went on a day trip to Pisa and Lucca.  We started out in Lucca and walked along the top of the wall that surrounds the ancient city.  It was only a 2.5 mile walk around but my feet were dead.  

While we were wandering we found a flea market that we shopped around in... way cheaper than Florence, thats for sure.

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 (view of the flea market from above)

Then we made our trek to Pisa where we saw the Duomo of Pisa (Duomo is a general term for the main church of a city), the Bapistry and Leaning tower.  What a site for sore eyes; the weather was fantastic and the buildings were amazing!  Naturally we posed in front of the tower holding it up.  Such tourists but I couldn't go to Pisa and not take one!

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 We came home, exhausted... and my feet have never been so swollen.  Note to self, buy some sensible shoes.

Conversations

February 4th, 2011

I was next door at Mesopotamia Kebob earlier (surprised?) and I met this guy from Australia named Alessandro.  He asked to sit down with me since it was crowded and we were both alone.  We became fast friends and we ended up walking to a caffe and having a cappuccino together.  He doesn't speak English very well, but we both speak some Spanish so we managed to have a part English, part Italian, part Spanish conversation for two hours!  He was helping me with my Italian and I was helping him with his English.  When we couldn't communicate in Italian or English we would try to explain things in Spanish, and it worked!  I had so much fun and actually learned a lot!  I realized my main problem is that I am not confident with speaking in Italian so I usually shy away and pretend I don't understand.  It's an incredibly beautiful language and from now on I decided I am going to be more confident when I am speaking.  

In one of the first workshops we participated in we talked about culture shock and what exactly it is.  At first I didn't know what culture shock was and didn't understand it.  They said we'd feel lost and have all these severe emotions, which I had yet to feel.  However, after communicating with Alessandro in three different languages all at once, I began to realize just how culture shocked I was.  Shortly after I went into the grocery store to grab a few things and I felt so stupid that I couldn't talk to the cashier like I would at home.  I started realizing how awkward I had been feeling in situations that are so habitual and normal to me at home, like ordering coffee or shopping.  I feel awkward because I don't know what the social norms are and what behavior is appropriate or considered normal here.  I definitely need to be more perceptive and aware of how the locals act in these situations.