May 28-30, 2010 Florence, Italy

I apologize for not updating this in a few days but I have been super busy!! I will attempt to catch everyone up on what I have been doing. First I will start with friday the 28th.

Friday May 28:
The day started with classes that were not very fun, but the information I am learning is very interesting. Then after classes I had lunch at the hotel which consisted of a tomato risotto, chicken with red and orange peppers, some string beets, and then ice cream for dessert. Then Sarah and I headed for the train station and took a train to Assisi with out any problems once we figured out what train we were looking for! :)
The ride to Assisi was not bad at all I think it took about 2.5 hours, when we got to Assisi we started walking to our hostel, the only problem was we had very little idea where we were going since we had directions but no map and the streets are not very well labeled in many areas. We finally did make it to the hostel just in time to check in and have dinner. We shared a room with two lovely other women that were traveling, the first was from Toronto and it was her birthday, the other was from South Korea originally but is studying for a year in England. Dinner at the hostel started with a very very yummy zucchini and cheese pasta dish, followed by a not as yummy pork chop and salad. We did have a birthday cake for Lizet after dinner which is hard to describe so that I will do in person. Since it was Lizet's birthday; her, Sarah, and I went out wandering into Assisi to see if we could celebrate. I did get some very nice night photos of Assisi.
Saturday May 29:
After breakfast at the hostel the four of us girls headed out to Assisi to start looking at the sites, since I was on a limited time frame. The first church we went to was Basilica of San Pietro which is located right by the bottom of the city walls. That church was beautiful, after that we headed to the west to reach the Basilica of San Francesco which is one of the most popular churches in Assisi since St. Francis is buried there among some of his early followers. Also this is the church that has many frescoes on the walls that are done by many famous artists including Giotto and Simone Martini. A picture of the outside of the church is below.
After the tour of San Francesco, we went to Chiesa of Santa Maria sopre Minerva, this was the first church built in Assisi and is the location of where St. Francis renounced his father and all of his wealth to follow in God's path for him. The next place we visited was San Damiano which is a little bit out of the city walls, but that was the church that St. Francis was in when he heard the cross tell him to rebuild his church as it was crumbling around him. We then went back into the city walls to see the Basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Claire). This is the church where St. Claire is buried and where the original cross that spoke to St. Francis is located. After this church we were running low on time so we took a bus down to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli where St. Francis died and his miracles took place. The pictures below are some of the views to be seen while walking around Assisi.
So after the last church I had to get on a train back to Florence, since I had a winery tour the next day, Sarah decided to stay another day in Assisi so this was where we split off. I did make it back home ok and so did Sarah.

Sunday May 30:
Today was my winery tour and we left the train station on a bus at around 8:30am and got home around 9:00pm, so it was an all day affair. We drove out into the hills of Tuscany for all three wineries. The first was a pretty cool looking place and we tried a rossa and a brunello wine there that were pretty tasty but I did not buy any. We didn't have all that much time here to stay since we had to move on to the next winery. The next winery we stopped at was called Prima Donna which is run entirely by females and we got a really good tour of how they make the wine and the history of the location, but we were supposed to be able to try about 10 wines but they made us leave after I only tried 4 of them, so that was disappointing for all involved. It was around 1pm at this point so we drove to a small town called Pienza and had lunch.

My lunch at Pienza was a ravioli in a cream and walnut sauce, not the best but not terrible at all. We were able to wander the town for a bit and see some pretty good views, but then it was back to the bus for the last winery. The last winery was so much fun because the man person that took us around, Mario, can speak no English at all and he is an 80 year old man that was too adorable about his story telling and explanation of the wine making process. We had a semi-formal(ish) wine tasting here where we tried a rossa, brunello, and another brunello (different year I believe) then finished with biscotti and grapa(?) a high proof dessert wine that is really expensive and very strong. The trip back to Florence was long and tiring, and I have to be up super early tomorrow to go to Rome with the entire group plus teachers so Ciao!!!

May 27, 2010 Florence, Italy Pt 2

So since I didn't have time yesterday this entry is going to be a combination of yesterday and today's adventures. So yesterday was classes and then Sarah and I went to Uffizi and spent a good 2 or so hours there to see it all. I love Uffizi but they won't let you take pictures so sadly I have nothing really to show for going. After Uffizi we went to get dinner, we just grabbed some pizza quickly and then sat on the steps of Duomo for a while. After a few minutes these slightly creepy/nice italian guys came up and tried to talk to Sarah in Italian since she speaks a little italian and he spoke a little english. When the conversation got a little awkward we left and said we were headed back to the hotel when in fact we wandered around for a while. The sun was starting to set so we headed to Ponte Vecchio to watch the sunset but didn't get the pictures we wanted because those guys were there and we didn't want them to see us. But I got a few good pictures as we walked to the next bridge down. Those are the pictures below.




So after the sun set we got some gelato and headed back to Ponte Vecchio because we figures the guys had left, and got a few pictures of the night scene on the river. Then we went to the piazza Signoria since there was supposed to be a concert starting at 9:30pm, we heard about it from my history professor Dr. Carter. So we headed over with our gelato and found some sort of seats on the side of the concert area. While we were waiting for the concert to start Dr. Carter and Dr. Bilo found us and joined us in waiting for the concert. After an hour of listening to angry Italians shouting about possibly the mafia the concert actually started. The concert itself was awesome, there was like probably about 100 or so singers to accompany the small orchestra that played classical music. I wish they had actually started on time so I could have heard a bit more of the concert!

So then today I took a short trip to the Bargello museum and saw many works that I recognized but once again I could not take pictures so I have nothing to show for the trip. Then after lunch Sarah and I went to the Duomo museum that has the original panels Ghilberti did for the Gates of Paradise, and Donatello's Mary Magdalene. Sadly they only had one of the panels from the Gates of Paradise at the moment but that and the Mary Magdalene is shown below.

May 27, 2010 Florence, Italy

Sorry for not posting these yesterday, I was really busy and didn't get back to my room until very late last night. So here are the pictures from tuesday. This first one is a picture of the inner dome of the duomo when I was high up on a balcony as I was walking to the top of the dome.

The next photo is me up on the cupola trying not to fall off in the wind. As you can see behind me I am up very very high! :)

This one is a picture from on the top of the duomo looking out at the bell tower and the city.

This one is a picture from atop the duomo looking out towards Santa Croce.

Another view from atop duomo.

I believe this is a view of the Bargello museum taken on the walk up to the top of the duomo from out a window.

This was taken on a small balcony that runs around the dome area about halfway up to the dome, see those dots, those are PEOPLE!! That is how high I am.

This is a close up of the frescoes that are on the inner dome of the duomo.

View on the walk up to the top.

A complete picture of the inner dome of frescoes.

This is a picture of the front of Santa Maria Novella, I couldn't take pictures inside but I was in there I swear! It is beautiful both inside and out!

May 25, 2010 Florence, Italy

Today was epic!!! I went to the Santa Maria Novella that has the fresco of the Trinity by Masaccio. It was so pretty and much more impressive in person than when I see it in books. Then I went to another small church that was called I believe...Santa Maria Magiorre, it was very cool to see. Then I went to the Duomo and looked around inside and then braved the climb to the top of the dome. Oh my gosh, I was kinda scared about being that high up but the view was totally worth it!!! I also did a wine tasting but I have to go do some homework so I will put pictures up tomorrow and explain some more tomorrow. Ciao!!

May 24, 2010 Florence, Italy

So other than the Cinque Terre pictures I just put up, I didn't really do a whole lot today. I went to my two classes and got a cappuccino in between them while I sat at a caffe to review my readings for poly sci. After class I went to lunch which was delicious as usual, we had some sort of herb pasta dish, then spicy sausage with white beans and tomato sauce, then had an apple for dessert. After lunch I signed up for a wine tasting tomorrow, so I will let you know how that goes tomorrow. Then since I am planning on going to the Amalfi coast for my three day weekend and forgot my swim suit at home, I went shopping to see if I could find one to save my parents the hassle and expense of mailing it to me. Alas these silly Italians are somehow still smaller than me even with the amount of pasta and other fatty foods they eat. So no swim suit until mine arrives in the mail. :( After the failed shopping excursion I came back to the hotel to do some homework and to let my feet rest because I have the awesome bad luck to get 3 blisters on my feet while in such a beautiful place so that it really hurts to walk anywhere. Such is my life. Any way I am now getting ready for bed and doing some last reading of my homework because there is so much for me to do. Ciao!!

Cinque Terre Pictures!!!!!!!!

view of some of the cliffs that make up the coast of Cinque Terre


the trail on the left side of the picture is what we where walking along


this is a small group photo of some of the girls on the trip, we are on some of the rocks that can be seen in the above picture


if you look close you can see the ducks feet in the clear blue Mediterranean Sea


this is the fishing town that I mentioned yesterday with each house a different color, probably my favorite town out of the five!


another picture of the clear blue Mediterranean Sea


leaving the second town and looking toward the third one where we stopped for lunch, it was a fairly long hike overall


hiking to the third town for lunch!


this was the view I had while I had lunch at the pizzeria


this was the best part of my lunch, bruschetta with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, and then lemon gelato with fresh strawberries! YUMMY!!

May 23, 2010 Cinque Terre

Buon Giorno!! So today was a very tiring but awesome trip. Almost all of us that are in Florence took a day trip tour of Cinque Terre. This is so far the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen in my life! The Mediterranean Sea was so clear and blue and the cliffs and small towns are just so quaint. The whole trip started with me dragging my sleepy self out of bed around 5:50am so that we would make it to the train station by 7:15am. Since we were too early for the free breakfast at the hotel I sadly had McDonalds, but that should hopefully be the last time.

Once the group got to the train station and our train was ready we got on and rode for about 2 hours until we got to the coast where Cinque Terre is. Cinque Terre for those that don't know is a collection of five small towns that are in the cliffs that face the Mediterranean Sea to the west of Italy. We got off at the first town called Riomaggiore which was so pretty, we had passes to go into the national park where we could hike between all five of towns. The first hike was really easy and I have great pictures which will get put up later. So the second town we went to was Manarola.

After the second town we headed up a slightly more difficult hike to reach Corniglia where we stopped for lunch. This is a small fishing town so all of the houses are painted a different color so that the fishermen can see their individual houses from the sea. For lunch I went to a pizzeria and got bruschetta, a pancetta pizza, and lemon gelato with fresh strawberries. So yummy!!! :)

After this town we took a short train ride to Vernazza, took some pictures and then got on a ferry to Montarossa. At Montarossa we went down to the beach and spent some time in the Mediterranean Sea, and then got gelato before catching the train back to Florence. Overall it was a really long day but one that I won't forget for a long, long time. I will put some pictures of the trip up tomorrow I think, so please be patient. ciao!!

May 22, 2010 Florence, Italy

Ciao!! So today being a day completely free of classes I wandered got up in time for my breakfast at the hotel and then Sarah and I went around Florence for the day. We were originally headed to the Mercato Centrale which is the above left picture. But first we walked past the Galleria dell'Accademia and there was NO line with our passes, so of course we took that detour and saw Michelangelo's David and the other works that are there. It was so breathtaking!! Next we continued to the Mercato Centrale by heading towards San Lorenzo since they are close together (though most everything is rather close in Florence). The picture above right is of the San Lorenzo market, its super crowded with lots of stalls of beautiful things, I was lucky and managed to not buy anything there.

At the Mercato Centrale Sarah and I picked up some fresh Pecorino cheese and Bacceli beans, since Karin the woman that runs the hotel told us this was a delicious meal. We had our small meal on the steps of San Lorenzo, the picture of this awesome meal is on the left. After our meal we decided to head to the Arno river since the last time I went down there I forgot my camera so I needed to get some pictures. We wandered along the river, sat at a caffe and had pastries and espresso, and wandered into a few pretty churches we came across. Once we finished our espresso and doing some homework reading in the caffe we went across the bridge to go up to the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte. The views up there were so beautiful! We walked around a cemetery for a while and were going to go to a rose garden but it was closed. After a long time spent up on the hill we went on a search for Santa Croche. Sadly Santa Croche was closed for tours so we couldn't get pictures today. Oh well there is more time later for that.

I found a store right by the Santa Croche called Old Florence Leather Factory. This my friends, is where I found my leather jacket! It is so awesome and the guy that sold me it was so funny! His name was Stefano and if you are ever in Florence look up the store and him, he speaks awesome English bc he may have been born in New Jersey. But his stuff is awesome and the selection is amazing!!! Anyway I think I pretty much covered the majority of my day, it was tiring but so fun!







Ciao!!!

May 21, 2010 Florence, Itlay

I am in heaven!! I adore Florence, today I had to give my tour of the North part of Florence which was interesting. We went to see San Marco, which by the way the inside is fabulous!



After San Marco we went to the Santissima Annunziatta which I wasn't allowed to take pictures in. :( oh well, it was beautiful! The priests that we have seen when going into the churches have been super nice and explaining things to us. Right at we were leaving a mass was starting and I so wanted to stay to experience it, but the tour had to continue.

The rest of the tour was just seeing buildings but not going in them, though I did find the mercato centrale which is a huge covered market that I am going to go to tomorrow. I am determined to do some shopping and find myself a leather jacket, but I need to find someone to bring with me to haggle the prices because I am terrible at that.

Today I have also started planning some of my side trips, for instance on sunday a large group of us is going on a hiking tour in Cinque Terra, there is supposedly some breathtaking views! I can't wait!! Then next weekend I am taking a trip to Assisi, we are leaving on friday afternoon and staying until sunday. Everything is happening so fast!

So the food here in case you were unaware is the best thing by far. Today for lunch we had a delicious tomato-based pasta, a chicken cordon blue, sauted zucchini, and pineapple for dessert. For dinner I just had a small panini that was very similar to a tuna salad sandwich, it was so yummy! A lot of the people in my group are going on a bar crawl tonight which should be interesting, I however am going to keep it classy and buy myself some wine and soak in the culture by not celebrating like an American. :)

Today is my second day in Florence, but sadly I already had to start my classes. On the bright side classes are done at 1pm everyday so I have the afternoons free to explore. Today's exploration included getting my friends of the Uffizi pass so I can see lots of museums for less money! :) Then a group of us wandered around the city, I found an awesomely cute red purse at a vendor close to my university. We wandered around Duomo, and then to the Arno River. There was so much to see and I forgot to bring my camera along, but I will go back for pictures on another day I am sure. For lunch they served a pesto pasta, then a turkey burger-like thing that tasted like a spicy turkey meatball, cooked spinach, and an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Haven't had dinner yet so who knows what that will bring! Arrividerci!