Life at Sea

Ahhhh Venezia. Mi amore! I love this city! I really do. I could easily live here. I absolutely love all the people and the water and the city and everything about it. Today was awesome. After finally getting everyone out this morning we headed toward the north side of the island to catch a vaporetto. Unbeknownst to us though today was a big boat race in Venice! There were a whole bunch of boats all over everywhere racing! All sorts of different types of rowing boats. It was very interesting. We did manage to catch a vaporetto to Murano, the glass blowing island, and it was really neat. Unfortunately because it was Sunday the fornaci were closed but it was still really fun to see all the different types of glass. After that we had a little mix up and only two of us made it on the vaporetto to Burano but it worked out. Burano is about a 40 minute boat ride in the lagoon and it was great. I loved it. Sadly we chose a really cold weekend though and I forgot my jacket! I was freezing! But loving every minute of the wind blowing against me and the waves crashing against the boat. It was great. Being able to look out and enjoy the awesome views of Venezia was amazing too. Words are really not enough. Burano is the lace island. Jake and I (the person who made the vaporetto with me/friend) didn't spend too much time there. We walked pass a few shops, grabbed a panini/wrap and used a WC then jumped on the vaporetto to Turcello. This little island of pop 20 is where the very first settlers of Venice first went prior to settling Venice. It was really interesting. There were some ruins on the island that Jake and I spent some time examining trying to figure out their origin as they weren't labeled or anything. He's a very smart guy and knows his ancient history. It was fun! Kind of like detective work. It was also very interesting to get an idea of what the island where Venice is looked like prior to being settled as this little island is untouched for the most part. It was a beautiful island. I could have stayed there forever it was so great. From there we got on a vaporetto heading back to San Marco via Lido, a resort that rests on the barrier of the lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. I really enjoyed the trip. It took most of the day but it was great. The only other place I had wanted to go was closed today anyway so it worked out great! We met up with the others once we got back to San Marco and we all headed out to try and see if we could make it into Doge's Palace but we missed buying a ticket by 5 minutes! We ended up wandering all over Venice for a good two hours instead and managed to find a super market where we bought a few extra fresh foods to make dinner with. After taking a vaporetto back to our apartment I made a lovely pasta dinner and we all really had a good time talking and relaxing and laughing about things from the day. It's been a great day! I think there are lots of things to see in Venezia, but I feel like we have really experienced it today, not just seen it. Hopefully tomorrow morning we will be able to see San Marco's Basillica as that's something I really really want to see. Especially Alexander's horses. I'm crossing my fingers! I better get to bed though because I'm getting up early tomorrow again! Buonanotte!

Venezia!

Well I didn't get a chance last night to write a blog because I was just too busy absorbing Venice! Yesterday a group of us got up VERY early (as in 430am) and walked really far to the train station in Siena. We then took the train to Firenze, then to Bologna and then onward to Venezia! It was a pretty long train ride but extremely beautiful! I have to admit that it's the first time in a long time I've felt a true longing for Idaho. After we crossed the Apennines (spelling) and came into the Po River Valley it was amazing. It looked exactly like Idaho. Very similar to the Boise area and kind of like the west part of Idaho Falls. Flat farm lands. It was awesome. I loved it. Finally after about 8 hours we pulled into San Lucia Stazione in Venezia :-) it was unbelievably awesome. Words can't even describe that first moment of seeing the city! We purchased vaporetto tickets (it's like the bus here) and jumped on the water! I really can't even describe it. We headed down the Grand Canal towards San Marco and the buildings are amazing. After we pulled in to San Marco we met up with our landlord who walked us through the streets for about five minutes to out Venetian Apartment. The apartment is absolutely awesome! It's sooooo nice and less than a minute from St Marks. As you can see from our balcony you can see the bell tower just over a row of buildings. We got really lucky finding this apartment. It's awesome. We spent most of last night just wandering the city and eventually found a trattorria to eat at. It was alright. We could have done better though but oh well! We ended up on a quest after dinner to find the best gelateria in Venice according to our good friend Rick Steves and found ourselves taking the vaporetto up the Grand and getting an amazing show of the buildings lit up ending up at Rialto Bridge. I took some really cool pictures from there and then we meandered through the streets and stumbled upon the very gelateria we wanted! It was amazing gelato! Wow. And cheap. Wow it was delicious. We are definitely going back! After that we went to see San Marco all lit up and were able to enjoy some time listening to some dueling-for-the-crowd music from two small string bands in the piazza. It was a lot of fun! We were all very tired and made our way back to our apartment, made plans for tomorrow (today) and went to sleep.

I woke up this morning really early (530am) and got out the door around 7 (I was moving pretty slow) and headed out to take pictures of an empty Venice. I think I'm in love with Venice. I know it's a tourist town but it's just so wonderful. I love the water everywhere, the boats, the buildings, and I actually really love all the tourists! I took a few pictures and then ended up just watching some massive cruise ships pull into the harbor. I could just sit all day and watch the ships come in! Seeing Venice all empty was an awesome treat, definitely waking up tomorrow to wander again. Sadly though it's pretty dang cold here and I didn't bring my jacket from Siena! I really wish I had ma va bene. I came back to our apartment to eat some food and now I'm just waiting for everyone to get ready so we can begin our adventures today. I'm really excited! I shall update y'all tonight!

Dolce!

This was the dessert. Wow it was amazing. I'm definitely making this.
It's a chocolate mix that you cook for a short time really hot so that
the outside becomes like cake and the inside is hot liquidy chocolate
pudding. Then it's covered with a mint sauce and an orange sauce.
Yummmmmm.

Questo sera, Mangiamo.

Well wow. Today was pretty busy! After class a group of us made the 45
minute trek to le stazione a compare biglietti per Venezia. Mammà Mia!
What the trip. They were sold out so we had to figure out other routes
on regional trains and long story short, after I spent quite awhile
talking to the ticket person in broken Italian we figured out a way to
get 7 people to Venice over a holiday weekend! This weekend is
comprable to the fourth in the states. Very busy. Then I had to
quickly do some shopping for food for this weekend and then book it
back to school for my first cooking class! I've included a picture of
il secondo piatte. I really had a good time! We all worked together to
make the vegetable mix you see and the meat is veal wrapped around
mozerella and basil leaves. Then it was seared in vino rosso and then
cooked in the oven and served with a mixture of cooked veggies. The
primo piatte was basil egg noodles (that we hand made) in a cream
sauce. I didn't get a picture of it oops. And da dolce was OMG
delicious! I did get a picture of that and I'll upload it after I post
this. I can only do one at a time from my iPhone. The whole meal was
delicious! And I have the recipe! Forse posso cocinare lo quando torno
al Estado Unidos :-) I can't wait to go to my next two classes! But
now I need to get to sleep! I have to get up at 430 to get off to
Venice! Ciao!

Sigh

Well today was a pretty lame normal day. I woke up not feeling too
good. It's a combo of allergies, dehydration, exhaustion, culture/food
change I think. I had a slight fever this afternoon. It was a little
difficult to pay attention in class but I made it. After I just
rested. I did some laundry and read up on Venice while waiting and
then came back to my room and watched almost the first season of the
office. I just needed to sit and vegetate. It was good. Then I fell
asleep for almost an hour and woke up much refreshed in time for a
very amazing delicious dinner! A friend in another apartment cooked a
really fancy delicious dinner and it was awesome. She's one of those
people you meet and just wonder how they do so much! I feel like I've
wasted my life when I compare it to her but oh well. The dinner was
really good and I had fun relaxing and talking. I took the day easy.
Hopefully that way I'll be charged up for a long four day weekend of
nonstop travel. And I really just needed the time. Sadly life doesn't
stay put it comes with you even across the ocean and things always
seem to catch up with you when you pretend they don't exist long
enough.... But enough! Basto! Allora va bene. Ho bisogno di
dormire :-) Ciao a domani!

PS Happy birthday Matt yet again!

San Gimignano

Today was much cooler! Yay! But still hot and humid. Just not in the
90s hot and humid! Today our group skipped the last hour of classes
and high tailed it to piaza gramsci to catch the bus to San Gimignano.
San Gimignano is a pretty unique little place! I actually really liked
it. It was very homey and cosey. It's a city that, to make a long
story short, was frozen in time during the first part of the 14th
century. It's a unique chance to see what a real medieval Romeo &
Juliet/Capulets and Montegues story setting looked like. The city is
very well preserved because of it's unique history. It's also right in
the very heart of Toscano and home to tuscany's best white wine. I
really liked it. We had a nice relaxing afternoon. I have a video I'll
upload tomorrow as I couldn't tonight. I also enjoyed a wonderfully
delicious gelato there as well! The city is home to the winner of the
2006 or 2007 best gelato in Italy competition! It was pretty dang good
stuff. Wow.

Tonight I simply relaxed and let myself do some recovering. I also
purchased my rail pass for Svizzera! It's fo real! Then I was
pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from Quentin! Yay! Thank
you Carl for letting him use your phone! :-) it made my night. It's
always good to hear from best friends. Yay! Well with that I shall be
going to bed! Ciao tutti!

Parle Italiano?

È possible?! Buonasera tutti! Well I feel like my Italian is starting
to make progress. Slowly but still. I attended a special event this
evening about the Palio and the contradas. They are something very
unique to Siena. You should look them up! I live in the contrada of
the turtle, or in italiano: io abito in la contrada di tortuca.
Anyway. They gave a lecture on the history and origins etc...in
Italian! It's pretty intense. I hardly understood any of it but for
the most part I was able to gather the main ideas from what he told
us. Then after we went to the contrada of the panther and were given
permission to go into their museum. Each contrada has a museum (not
open to the public) containing special things for their contrada and
their heritage. It's sort of like a really big family. That's a good
way of thinking of it. It was interesting. It's all medievil so it's
interesting to see that part of Italian history. They also had a big
huge contrada cooked dinner afterwards (for the panther contrada) but
I didn't do that. Molto caro e non ho soldi! Va bene. Tomorrow we are
going to San Gimignano! I don't know much about it but it is supposed
to be really cool! Hopefully the weather is cool too! The heat is
killing me. I nearly passed out today. I drink TONS of water and sweat
like a pig but sometimes I just get woozy and have to get some fresh
air. I think perhaps I need some protein too.... I might have to
splurge on my shopping and buy some meat *sigh* Molto caro! Very
expensive! Oh well. Alora...Ciao a domani!

Ho caldo....ancora

Today was yet another hot day. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler.... Hopefully! It's unbearably hot. I couldn't even think in class today. I just stared at my teacher with sweat dripping from my face. I do feel as though my Italian is improving somewhat though. :-) it takes time. Today after class I went to il super mercado and did my weekly shopping. It was more fun this time because I had a better idea of how to provide food for myself here. The food is quite different so finding the food you like takes some practice. I've acquired quite the taste for nutella and bread and honey :) it's cheap and sustaining. Yay! After that I did laundry... Finally. I was getting pretty low on clothes. It's just so expensive doing laundry here! It was worth it though not having to slave over a sink in the heat hand washing. The things you all take for granted! After that I was pleasantly surprised (quite surprised!) to get a phone call from a familiar number! Mia mammà! It was really good to hear from her. I could have talked for hours but I had to limit my time. It was ok. I will talk plenty once I get back! A little after hanging up I was really pleasantly surprised to get a call again but this time it was mia papà! I really could have talked for hours to both of them. So much to talk about! But I knew I had to keep it limited. Va bene! I have many days to talk with them! Around 830 tonight a bunch of us got together for dinner. It was really good. We had multiple dishes and various wines and I really had a good time! There are two swedes that hang out with us sometimes and they are fun. One is in the same apartment and the other is across the hall/stairs/other side of the building? Hard to describe. The buildings here are quite different lol.

Hopefully tomorrow is not nearly as hot and I will be able to keep focused! Best wishes to everyone back in the states! I miss you all and sorry if I'm forgetting anything important going on there.... I'm just so sucked into Italy! A presto!

Ho Caldo!

It is hot!!!! Wow. It's 11 at night and I'm laying here in bed sweating like crazy! Today was a lot of fun though, just really really hot. I slept in for once (yay!) and then met up with 2 friends at piazza grumsci to catch a bus to Firenze. We ended up barely missing the bus lol and had to wait an hour for the next one. It was alright though. We went to il super mercado and got some food and were on the road at 1140. We arrived in the bustling city of Florence around 130. What a city! I continue to be amazed by the history of cities. I have to say though that the history of Firenze is by far the most fascinating (next to Rome). I never realized how historically significant it was. Donatello, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Dante, the Medicis! So many amazing people all got their starts and made their fame in this place! And it shows. The works there are amazing. Today we did not do much, we took a city bus to the piazzale Michelangelo and got a nice view of the city and then walked our way down to the river and crossed on the ponte vecchio (a big bridge with shops lining it. Picture the London bridge). From there we went to the uffizi and walked around outside and looked at the courtyard where all the Medici statues used to reside. Now there are replicas there and the originals are inside the uffizi (a very important art museum containing the personal Medici family art collection). I was absolutely amazed by the sculptures. I can't wait to see the originals! Wow is all I can say. The detail blows me away. After there we went to il duomo and went inside. Most things were closed today so we mostly viewed simple outside stuff. The dome of the duomo is the amazing part. I can't wait to be able to go up to that. It's an architectural wonder of the world. After that we found a famous gelateria and WOW. Watch out Sub Zero. I've never had such amazing gelato. Supposedly gelato got it's start in Florence and it's supposed to be really good there. It was! I'm really excited to go back to Florence again. I'll probably go 3 or 4 times. It's a short cheap trip and there is so much to see!

Week 2 of classes start tomorrow!

Lucca e Pisa

Today was fun! I woke up very very early and headed to la piaza
grumsci to meet a group and catch a bus to the Siena train station. It
was fun riding a bus through Siena. It's a much larger city than I
realized. We have primarily been in the historic part of town but
there probably 80% of the city outside the historic part. I guess the
population of Siena is actually right around 60K people! Anyway. We
got on a train and headed towards Empoli, where we switched for
another train to Lucca. I love the trains here! I wish we used trains
more in the states. It is SO the way to travel. Everyone here uses
them too. They are full! The countryside here is absolutely amazing.
It's so surreal and picturesque I can't even describe it. I feel like
I'm in a movie. I don't even think anyone could understand it without
seeing it. Just being able to pass by massive vinyards and farms that
are hundreds of years old. Cities on the hillsides. Villas on the
sides of mountains. It's gorgeous. Lucca is a really really unique
city too. I can't really describe it! There are pages I could write
about the city but I'll just have to tell y'all sometime. The history
there is amazing. Roman to medievil to Renaissance to modern. It's
insane. It's just this quaint little city nestled in the mountains. I
took lots of pictures. It was strange too because it was so clean! As
my professor said almost "unitalian" it's so clean. I liked it. After
Rome it was a good thing to see a clean city. From Lucca we went to
Pisa. Pisa was actually really cool! I wasn't even really interested
in the tower. So many people get wrapped up in the "leaning tower"
they lose out on the real story behind Pisa. I thought Pisa was really
pretty. I think it is one of my favorites and not even because of the
tower at all. I liked the feel of the city. I also love the history of
Pisa. It's amazing. To have stood and sat in the very same spots that
the young and old Galileo formed his thoughts on the universe is an
honor. I also recorded some video in the baptistry there that should
be pretty cool. The structures in the Field of Miracles really are
miraculous and I doubt people understand that. They were the best of
the time.

After Pisa we headed back to Siena. It's about a two hour train ride
so a lot of time was spent relaxing and talking in the scalding heat
of a moving train LOL. I'm really excited now to go to Venice by train
and eventually Switzerland. I'm going to love it! Tomorrow I get to
sleep in a bit (yay!) and then three of us are wandering off to
Firenze for a little fun. It will be the first of probably many trips
to Firenze as it is only about a 40 minute bus ride and only 8€
roundtrip! Ancora a domani, ciao!

Number Correction

I realized I gave my phone number wrong. From the US you would dial:
011-39-333-941-8343

Just an FYI for ya in case it's needed.

It costs me to return any texts or calls but it's free incoming. Ciao!

Another one today opps! Venezia!

I forgot to mention! Today four of us booked an apartment/hostel in
Venezia! It's a little strange to think about but we had to do it asap
because we are going to Venezia over a longer holiday weekend and
everything was being booked up as we were looking. It was a little
more pricey than I'd hoped for but it's a little two bedroom apartment
right in the middle of the city sort of with it's own kitchen and
bathroom and everything. It's pretty cute! We will be leaving Saturday
(may 30) morning and then taking the last train from Venezia back to
Siena on Monday. Then we will probably be hitting Firenze again on
that Tuesday! Yay for spending lots of euros!

Venerdi

GDDV!!! (Grazie dio domani venerdi!) Ok so that doesn't work so well in Italian... It's a good day. Today was pretty hot over here in Siena. I'm writing a little early tonight because I can! Apparently we get wireless internet in my apartment from about 4pm - 9pm.... strange. Va Bene! That's how things work here in Italy! lol. Really my days are somewhat boring. I'm still planning on a daily posting though. This is somewhat like a journal for me. I made it through the first week and I'm still alive. I might be a little more inundated with alcohol and more Italian than I was a week ago, but I'm still very much alive! I actually bought my very own first bottle of vino today! Hopefully it's a pretty good one. It's really quite unbelievable how cheap the wine is here. (Kacie, you'd be sooo jealous!) You can get a pretty good vino for about 4 euro. Not bad eh? We enjoyed a nice sciampagne dolce tonight that was really good and it was only about 3 euro. I guess that's how things work when you live in vino country!

I'm really hoping my next week of lezioni italiano go better. I feel like I'm not making a lot of progress. This weekend will be good though. We had some plan changes... that always happens! Tomorrow most of us will be getting up VERY early and catching il tren a Luca e poi andiamo a Pisa. Pisa é una cittá molte turistica ma I want to see it very much. We will be back in Siena Saturday night then waking up and taking l'autobus a Firenze as a small group dominica. I'm super excited for Firenze :) We will probably see what we can see and definitely buy tickets for l'accademia so that when we go again we will be able to get in and see David and other amazing things. Then of course back to school on Monday.... *sigh* No it's fun really. It is just very tiring. I miss everyone in the states! It's hard not to get homesick. I hope everyone realizes I'm not ignoring them, it's just hard to focus on home right now because there is so much to focus on here! Two people actually asked me for directions today... I'm not feeling so much like a tourist anymore lol. Sadly they asked me in perfect Italian and I was not able to respond in Italian! I felt like a moron, especially since they were Asian! They saw fit enough to ask me for directions because I looked like I knew, but I couldn't answer! I at least was able to help them get where they were going. It's a little sad though, because I'll never fit in here. Everyone is about 6 inches shorter than me and olive skin and black hair. I stand out like a freak of nature. Oh well. Maybe on my excursion to Switzerland I will find my place :)

As a side note: I do have an Italian cell phone that I don't mind giving out the number. ANYTHING I receive from anyone is completely free for me. But be advised it will cost you to send something international. I think usually texts are like 50 cents or something and I have no idea what phone calls are. Please also keep in mind I'm 7 HOURS ahead! Don't wake me up! lol and I'm in classes until 130! I'll leave the choice up to you, I just thought I'd give anyone the option. Mi numero é: 039-333-941-8343. The 039 is the country code. Basically you just dial it how you see it. I'm not sure if it will work in Switzerland or not... so I might be phoneless after the 20th. Anyway... Ciao tutti!

Another Day

Today was just another day. Went to class. After class the school put
on a welcome dinner for the University of Utah which was really nice.
A full fledged 4 course Italian lunch. Apparently the U and this
school here (Dante Aleghieri* [spelling]) have been in an exchange
relationship for 23 years now! Pretty impressive. After lunch we tried
to figure out our Venize plans to no avail. We have a 4 day weekend
end of May/first of June and we are planning on heading to Venezia,
but it's hard finding space for so many people. I'm sure we will
figure it out. After that I took some personal time. I walked around
the city a little by myself and then went to il campo to just sit and
relax. I needed some time to just think and process a lot of stuff
going on in my head. It was really nice to just sit and relax and
people watch. I worked on some homework (yes we have homework) on and
off for about an hour and then Sarah joined me. It was good. We just
relaxed and talked about lifew hile people watching for nearly 4
hours. I feel a lot more relaxed now. I think the Italians definitely
have the relaxing thing down. I might have to adopt it. I need to take
more time to just absorb life. After that I came back to my apartment
had some bread and nutella and here I be! Now it's time for bed :-) I
haven't slept well since I left, maybe one of these nights I'll catch
a good rest. A domani! Ciao ciao.

Fa caldo!

Well it's getting hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day all week. It's quite humid here and rather hot.... and no air conditioning. The buildings do a pretty good job though. Right now is the muggiest time though. It's started to cool off outside but inside is still kind of hot. I think it's why Italians go outside right around now and relax and drink vino. Cools them off. Today was pretty much the same as usual. Kind of boring. Class is coming along, my italian is getting a little better. They say the first week is by far the hardest. Today I went to il super mercado con mio amica Sarah e we relaxed in il campo while I did homework and just people watched. We did that for quite a few hours then we came back to her apartment and I made dinner for a group of us that sort of have a rotating dinner group going. Simple pasta, but it's fun. We talk and just hang out. And now here I am! Pretty boring day huh? See.... life in Italy isn't any better! lol. I think I'm needing this week to let things soak in. Gradually I explore the city a little here and there. I think this week is adjustment week. Hope all is well at home! I'm going to be going to bed soon. Long day tomorrow! Ciao!

St. Peter's Basillica

So while we were at St. Peter's we were able to watch part of a small little mass going on. I'm not privy enough to Catholicism to know exactly what it was, all I know is that it was pretty awesome. I managed to record a portion of it on my iPhone. I was mostly interesting in the organ and the singing. It sounded absolutely amazing there because it echoed throughout the entire place. Gorgeous. The recording does NOT do it justice. Hope you all can still enjoy! I get chills every time I listen to it because it reminds me of the experience!

Oggi

Today was not a very interesting day. Just classes as usual. It's past
midnight here and I'm way past my bedtime so this will be short! Just
wanted to say Caio! My teacher (insegnate) è molto bene! She is
hilarious! It's hard paying attention sometimes because she is so
funny. I really enjoy it. I'm starting to feel a little burnt out
though. It's just because it is so overwhelming at first and I know
I'll be just fine. Va bene! A domini faccio classe a 0900 a 1330.
Every tuesday through Friday this is the schedule. Looks like this
weekend I will be going to Luca e Pisa on Saturday e the country di
Siena for a wine festival! Alora. Sono stanco! I am going to bed
now :-) Buonaserra tutti! Ciao!

First Day

Let the Italian begin. Today was my first day of classes. Last night
we settled in and I had an ok night. The first night sleeping in a
strange place is always a little rough but I'll survive! Lots of
adjusting to do. We started the day off with a placement test, which
of course I didn't do that well on :-) I was ok with that though. I
was placed in the beginning class which is good because I hardly
remember anything. I have to say I'm really really tired. Things are
catching up with me and four hours of language really really wear you
down. I think the sudden stress of cooking is a little stressful too.
Ma va bene! va bene. It will take some adjusting. Our apartment isnt
the greatest but what can you do. After class we went to il super
mercado and did some shopping. Things are much cheaper here! If it
wasn't for the exchange rate it wouldn't be bad at all. After that I
spent some time at school using the net and then I went to my friend
Sarah's apartment where we cooked dinner and now we are just hanging
out. I think later we will get some gelato and relax in il campo. Hope
all is well at home! Pretty boring day really :-) Ciao!

Siena!

*Hey folks-- I wrote this last night but I didn't get to post it! I'm posting it this morning but it's yesterday's post :-) *

Today I got up (a little late!) and we got all packed up to leave Roma! It was somewhat sad to leave the Eternal City, but at the same time I was ready. We had a very hard and fun packed three days in Roma and I think all of us were ready to head to Siena. We got on a bus and began the drive. The autostrada here in Italy is pretty much the same as the interstate in the states. The only difference is how people drive it :-) I love their driving style here. Unlike America, everyone here drives for themselves. They do their own thing and let others worry about themselves. No defensive drivers here! They all drive on the offensive team! Everyone just watches out for themselves! It’s great. For example, while cruising down the autostrada our bus driver decided to just drive right past a motorcycle that was riding in the far side of the right lane. Rather than change lanes and “pass” him, he just moved over a little and the motorcycle didn’t even notice. He just kept driving as this monster bus drove less than one foot next to him. Loved it! The countryside of Italy is absolutely amazing too! I never realized Italy was so full of rolling hills and mountains. It is not flat anywhere! So full of farmland. And it was strange to see vineyards all over as we began getting closer into Tuscan country. The coolest thing was to be driving along and look out and see a big hilltop that had a big castle on top and was surrounded by a city. Some of the cities were amazing. They just built the city on the hillside. The country was gorgeous. The cool part is as we began pulling into Siena, it’s a hillside town! Siena is a very very old town and it is built right in the hills. The streets go up and down and all around. Some of them go nearly straight up! There are the old city walls and everything. It’s a pretty classic medieval city. It also has one of the oldest banks in the world! Siena has been rated as the #1 highest/best standard of living in all of Italy and it’s considered the most modern and connected city too. Every house has cable! I really like Siena so far. It is absolutely gorgeous and very unique. It is going to be a very fun month :-) We participated in an orientation with the school today and the director took us around and showed us some simple places and where to go for such and such and then took us to the school. Siena is very unique in that there is no new construction. Because it is so old and they have chosen to preserve it, everything is basically original buildings that have been fixed up. Some look pretty new, but they are still very old. Many of the structures as old as parts of Roma. I’m going to enjoy learning the history of Siena from the people who live here. And I’m going to enjoy learning Italian too! I went in to get pizza tonight all by myself, and I didn’t speak a word of English! I couldn’t believe it! Granted, it was really really simple one word Italian that probably made no sense, but I tried! I think I’m going to be able to do this. The people in Siena are so much more humble and laid back than Roma. Roma was so much more touristy and the people here are down to earth Italians. It is a college town, so they are used to foreigners for long periods of time and it is also very touristy, but it’s maintained it’s Italian state. It hasn’t been commercialized. Anyway! I could ramble on and on! Tomorrow I take my placement test and begin class so I better get to sleep! I need to catch up from all the partying in Roma. I miss talking to all of you and hopefully everyone is doing well! I don’t have internet in my apartment (sadly) but the school has free internet. I will spend some time at the school every afternoon and maybe even figure out a time to get a phone call in. Ciao!

Vino!

Tonight we dined! In a nice little street. It was yummy! I had Italian
tortellini and I had my first tastes of wine. Quite the interesting
drink. I had a small glass of red and a full of white. It is
interesting how they match foods. The red and the tortellini were
HORIBLE! The white however had a very distinct alcohol taste compared
to the red which wad very smooth. It's interesting. We shall see where
my wine flavoring goes! Siena offers a wine tasting festival that I'm
pretty excited for :-) When in Rome....!

It was a good last night in Roma. We had a lot of fun just relaxing in
the piazzas. Tomorrow morning we leave for Siena! I'm ready!

Giorno tre in Roma

Buon Giorno! Today has been much more relaxed. It has been great! We started the morning out going to the Pantheon again (which by the way is AMAZING). I don't know if I mentioned it before but it truly is absolutely amazing. Almost all the marble inside was brought from Egypt. The columns, the largest in all of Rome, were imported from Egypt. The dome is an architectural wonder of the world! It is comprised of varying forms of concrete (which the Romans invented FYI and MASTERED). The further up the dome the lighter the concrete. And the floor is designed with a slight slope so that when the water comes in through the opening in the top it drains to the middle of the room! They built in a drainage system! And this is in a building that is over 2000 years old! It just blows me away. It's enormous and awesome. From there we stopped by the Santa Maria supra Minerva which was very interesting. It is a church that was built on top of the Temple of Minerva and it's a mix between Renaissance and Gothic. Sarah called it International Style. It was unique. Inside there is a rather unknown statue that was carved by Michelangelo. It was very pretty. From here we booked it to the Isola where we met our tour guide for the day! She is a friend of our professor who is an expert on Ancient Rome. AWESOME! She started us on the banks of the Tiber river where Rome began and told us the fast history of Rome. We walked to the location of the Circo Massimo, with her telling us all about Remus and Romulus the whole time and the Palatino and Aventino and the stories of old Roma. I found it very interesting as I love that sort of thing. We went into the Palatino and spent quite a bit of time there. There is so much history there! This is where ancient Roma is. This is the location that you always see all the ancient Roman structures. The Palantino, just to tell you briefly, is where Romulus settled his hut and the Aventino is where Remus settled because they both wanted to be ruler. Of course eventually Romulus killed Remus and long story short the Palantino became the "place to live" in Roma. It is where all the following kings and emperors wanted their palace as it was sacred ground. Most of the ruins now are from the remains of Domitian's palace which was HUGE. Unbelievably huge. We also then went to the Senate House (wow) and the actual Roman Forum. So many things there. It is just unbelievable. Julius Ceasar's temple is there where he was cremated and the remains of the column they erected immediately after his cremation. It is very significant because it was against the law to burn a body inside the city limits. That man had power. Lots of power. I never realized it before, but after seeing the things he did to Roma I am amazed. He actually moved a building. And after seeing the building he moved....... wow. To be able to do things like that at his own whim is absolutely amazing. From the Foro Romani we walked down the street to the Colosseo!!!! WOW. I never realized how big it is. Wow. 60,000 people 2000 years ago.... they put modern architecture to shame. It truly was a sight to behold. I could go on and on and on but I'll have to do that with some pictures! I'll most definitely have to show all this off and tell everything with pictures. From the Colosseum we broke off into different groups. The tour guide didn't actually go in with us but she was amazing. She knew TONS. Anyway, from here we took the Metro to the Spanish Steps. They were ok. Not really anything interesting. Just more amazing architecture. Then we came back to the Hotel. I showered up and I've just been relaxing for now. It's nice to just relax.... of course so is finding free net! I managed to find some free net in the corner of the lobby.... it's great. So now I'm just waiting. I might go walk around a bit but we are planning on dinner at 8:00. Quando a Roma..... Do as Romans do! They eat pretty late here. It's good though. I like it. The food is good. I'll probably end up spending the night enjoying good food and drink and then just relaxing somewhere and talking and enjoying the gorgeous Italian night. It's so nice here at night. Just the right temperature. Well, buona notte for now!

Oh: I need your opinion on pictures... should I upload them or wait and make you all see them in person? Let me know!

Vatican

Oh by the way! I forgot to mention! While in the vatican we happened to be there during mass! It was amazing! They played the organ and sang and wow. The sounds. It was so amazing. I managed to record some on my iphone so I'll try and get those uploaded when I get the chance. Really pretty stuff.

Giorno due in Roma!

Today was fun! I just realized how long my last post was, hopefully ya’ll don’t mind long ones! I just have so much to write! This is somewhat of a trip journal for me so I’m just writing it all anyway. Today I woke up a little bit late (that jet lag kicks in!) but not too late and ate breakfast here at the hotel. Pretty good food. Definitely not holiday express buffet! Much better! After that I hit the streets again. I just walked and let my shoes take me away. I ended up having a good time. I stumbled across il fontana trevi (I typed that yesterday in my blog when I meant to type fontana tritone.... Oops). What a beautiful work of art. I have to say one of the most intriguing things about Roma is the randomness of history. One moment you are looking at an ancient structure, the next a Renaissance, the next a Baroque, the next Medieval. So many layers of history all piled up. It is strange to think of an area of land that has been continuously occupied for over 3000 years! I’m not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, but on my train ride from the airport I sat next to a guy from Texas, and archeologist. He mentioned how in Roma when ever they start new construction it’s only a matter of minutes after breaking ground that they have to stop and the archeologist come in for a dig. Everywhere you look there is history. So after Trevi Fountain I wandered a little further and simply enjoyed the chaotic streets of Roma. I love the driving here. Lanes of traffic? What are you talking about? Stop lights? Bleh. They are SUGGESTIONS. Love it! And of course all scooters and motorcycles are not required to stop or obey any traffic laws. They just go where they fit! Sadly it wouldn’t work too well in the USA.... People have a hard enough time driving there as it is! I managed to stumble upon the Roman Forum after awhile. I know I mention that I meander and stumble upon things a lot, and I really do! I had no intention of going to the Forum, as that’s where our group was going to go tomorrow, but there I was! I was in awe. Everywhere I looked--Ancient Roman Ruins. And I mean ancient. We are talking BC here. It was amazing. I did my best not to look at it all, just a little here and there (our group is doing a guided tour tomorrow). I spent some time looking at la colonna Traiana i Foro (forum). Then I spent most of the remainder of the time enjoying il monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele. He was an Italian King in the early 1800’s. Yeah, not really ancient Roman history, but it was gorgeous. I will upload pictures and you can all see. I also walked around the Capitoline (Capital Hill) which was completely redesigned by Michelangelo and is still the seat of current government today. It simply amazes me that people live and work everyday in buildings that were created by names of history. Amazing. My favorite part so far of this whole trip is watching the people. The buildings are great, but they are buildings. The people though, they are dynamic! And so intriguing! From so many countries, so many languages, so many different things, and yet so similar. I’ve spent most of my time at monuments simply watching people. After spending most of the morning wandering around the Piazza Venezia (where the Vittorio Emanuele Monument is) and seeing from a distance the Colosseo I foro di roma I decided to head back to the hotel to meet the group as I knew they were all starting to meet around 1. It was really good to finally see friendly faces! My friend Sarah and I headed to the TIM (Telestia Italia Mobile) Store to get our cell phones working and yes.... I know have an Italian number woot! I also was able to get some data too so I can check my email on the go! Yay! And use the net if I need to. But it IS limited. I only get 1 gig to start out with. I can upgrade if I need to though. We shall see. It’s amazing how necessary internet is. As a group we walked to the fontana di trevi again and then went to the Piazza Navona where the Four Rivers Fountain resides. It was beautiful. It’s a Bernini for those of you who may not know.... An amazing sculptor. Many of the statutes you see in Roma that are well known are Bernini. From there we walked to the Castel Sant’ Angelo. It was ok. Basically a big tomb built by Hadrian who wanted to be remembered forever. During the medieval times they made it into a fortress of sorts. Kind of a hodge podge of architecture and rather messy really. But in order to get there we had to cross the Ponte Sant’ Angelo! It is a rather famous bridge that crosses the Fiume Tevere and was carved by Bernini. It is lined with statues. From here we went to.... The Vatican! Wow. Movies and pictures do not do justice. It was amazing. La Basilica San Piedro y Piazza were really amazing. I never realized just how big St Peter’s Basilica really is. I walked inside and was just like “WHOA.” I could on for days and I didn’t even get to see it all. I think a person could literally spend a whole vacation just exploring the Vatican. The architecture is amazing. We also saw Michelangelo’s Piete--wow. He really was an amazing man. He carved it at age 24. From here we split up a bit as a group. Sarah and I meandered back to the hotel, which was about a 30 minute walk. We ended up going to dinner as a group to a quaint little ristorante in a little alley way. It was fun! We all sat as a group and talked and exchanged stories and learned Italian and just really had fun! The food was very good too. Sorry Olive Garden! I can’t wait to go to a place that is actually really nice! This was just a little place. I absolutely loved taking so long for dinner too. We ended up eating for a good hour and a half and then we went back to Trevi Fountain. It MUST be seen at night. It really was gorgeous. Of course then we topped the night off with homemade Italian Gelato and headed back to the hotel! What a day! Tomorrow it all begins again.

As an update: I am taking quite a bit of photos, but I’m going to be uploading them once I get to Siena. I have to pay for my net here, but in Siena it’s free. Photos take awhile to upload. Plus it gives me some time to go through and organize them all :) Ciao!

Roma, Italia

I am here. To all of you who were waiting for an email letting you know I arrived....Sorry. Internet isn't as easy to come by here as people said it would be. I'm now forking out a fortune for a mere hour of net use. Sad. So I'll get this out quick! I made it to Roma around 4 local time. Interesting airport. I never did actually go through customs.... Was I supposed to? I just sort of walked out without anyone asking me anything. Talk about a dirty place. It's interesting. People don't really seem to care, and that's alright. After walking around aimlessly for a good 30 minutes I finally figured out where to buy a ticket for the train, and then I waited another 30 minutes to get on the train. I ended up sitting next to an archeologist from Texas, of all places. He said he's been to Rome dozens of times. He told me some really cool stuff. He even showed me some cool stuff people usually miss riding the train in. The old exterior wall to the city and the aqueduct. And he showed me an old bath house and an arch on the exterior wall. The Baker's tomb or something. It was really pretty. After arriving at Stazione Termini I managed to haul my luggage a good distance to the Metropolitane and then had an interesting experience with that! I have to say though that it is absolutely amazing that Roma has a metro. With all the history buried here, you'd think they'd avoid digging a metro. Hm. So then I arrived at il Fontana del Tritone and I walked.... Much further than google had said I would walk.... to my hotel. It's pretty nice. For the price it should be lol. It's different. Oh those Europeans! There are things I like though. This is most definitely a new experience for me and it's good. So by now it's about 7pm here. I took a shower and decided to hit the streets. I just walked. And walked. I just kind of meandered around. I went to the Piazza Colonna and the Palazzo Chigi. Then I just kept walking and walked around a corner and WHAM! There was the Pantheon! Holy cow! I really wasn't expecting it. I've seen it in pictures and everything but wow. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing. It was really sad to see they have turned it into a church..... Way to go people. Ruin something good. But it was still beautiful. It just blows me away something that huge is still standing today, and that something that huge was ever built so long ago! I literally was in awe the whole time I was looking at it. I can't wait to go inside later this weekend, hopefully. So here is where the story gets interesting.... I decided to take a different way home. Of course, the streets are narrow, not labeled, and they meander in not so straight lines. Long story short and an interesting adventure later, I find myself almost all the way back to Stazione Termini. *Sigh* not the plan. I really didn't think I had wandered that far, but then I saw the Piazza della Repubblica and realized "whoa, this is quite far from my hotel." At this point it was nearly 11pm and I was thinking "I shouldn't be wandering the streets of Roma at 11pm all by myself." I did manage to see some amazing architecture though. I can't believe this city. It's so many parts of history all bundled together. It's like buying a really big value meal! Anyway, I finally made it back to my hotel, and here I am! I won't lie, I'm ready for the rest of the group to get here. I think I've had my culture shock experience for the trip. I need some comfort now. But I will take each adventure as it comes with the best attitude I can.

Hmm. Big jet.

Ready or not, here I come. It's a pretty big jet.... I've been
wandering around the St. Paul/Minn airport for the last 2 1/2 hours
and now's the time. For the first time in my life I'm leaving the
continent! I won't lie... I'm pretty nervous! And excited too.
Boarding starts in 10 minutes. Wish me luck! Remember... Don't text or
call 'till June 26th!

This is it.

Well this is it. Here I sit at the airport. Waiting. The wait is going
to kill me! After a few very very long days and having to repack my
suitcase I hope I have it all! This is also my first blog report from
my phone! We shall see how this works. I'm forgetting so much, I just
know it! Wish me luck! Oh and is it strange I'm more excited for the
plane ride than the trip? :-)

Live Long & Prosper!

Well last night I went to the new Star Trek with some friends and LOVED IT! It was absolutely amazing. Sadly, it was the last of the first of the blockbusters I will see during the movie season this year. I also very much enjoyed seeing X Men Origins. The only two movies I shall enjoy until I return. *sigh* I think I'll manage though!

I have officially reached the final days. My apartment looks like a tornado hit it. My suitcase is STILL empty. I have hardly any food in my fridge. And I've lost my brain! Yep, it's official. I'm leaving the country in 3 days.