Wine Tasting in Tuscany

On Friday the roommates and I decided to take a trip out to Tuscany for a wine tasting tour. I had been eyeing up signs in our hostel about wine tasting tours and Friday seemed like the perfect day. During the 40-minute bus ride our tour guide Paul gave us a quick “Wine for Dummies” talk. I actually learned quite a bit about how wine is made and a lot about the different varieties.

Our first stop was the vineyard Pietraserena located just outside of San Gimignano. The scene was as about as picture perfect as you can get when it comes to beautiful Tuscan countryside. When we arrived we were sent straight to work picking grapes. It was so much fun! I seemed to have the same problem I have with picking strawberries though, rather than put them in the basket I prefer to eat them. Yummy! I did fill a whole big basket on my own. I wouldn’t have minded picking grapes all day, but the tour continued with a tour through their facility. They do it all there including the bottling and packaging. It was neat to get a walk through of the whole process.

Then it was tasting time! We got to spend a few hours relaxing, sipping wine and eating lunch with a backdrop of rolling hills of vineyards. It was wonderful! The food was delicious and the wine was even better. I really liked their white wine and their rossa wine and bought a bottle of each. I did try a really good Chianti, but it is not my favorite…yet. J We shared a table with a couple from Australia and two girls from Ireland. It was fun to chat with them about their travels. After a few glasses we decided it was time to take some fun pictures with the grapes.

I could’ve lounged there all day, but we had to head to our next stop on the tour. This time it was to an actual wine tasting class. Here we learned the proper technique to wine tasting: how to swirl it in the glass, breathe it in and sip it through your teeth to get the full body. It was pretty funny! I also got to try some really good truffle oil and olive oil. Emily and I really liked the olive oil and decided to buy a big bottle for our apartment. Tasty! I also got to taste so 30-year-old balsamic vinegar! It was so delicious!

Then it was back on the bus to head home. That was when Paul told us about a big wine tasting festival going on Florence that weekend. Vineyards from across the area had tents and for 10 Euro you got a glass and could go tent to tent tasting the different wines. We managed to hit up quite a few tents and got to try even more great wine. It was the perfect way to wrap up our wine tasting day. It literally was a day full of wine!

Sadly this also means I will probably no longer be able to buy the cheap wine at the central market, but I should probably be drinking the good stuff while I am here. J I need to look up what the restrictions are for bringing wine home with me!

Oktoberfest

On Sunday night Isabelle and me made the quick decision to book a trip to Oktoberfest through a tour group called Florence For Fun. Spots were filling up fast and we both really wanted to add this experience to our abroad adventures. It was last minute trip plan and we left Thursday at 11:30pm. After a quick week of classes and a trip to the offices to hand over the money L we found ourselves at the train station waiting for a bus to Munich late Thursday night. We managed to snag the best seat on the bus (the one with the most leg room) and began the 8-hour journey to Germany. Since it was an overnight trip it was important to get some sleep. I struggled with that! If you have ever tried it you know it is impossible to get comfortable sitting in a bus seat. I kept getting neck cramps and the bus was freezing! The bus driver had the air conditioning cranked and I couldn’t feel my toes. I had to get out all of the sweaters I packed and cuddled up in my bath towel. Needless to say I was ready to get off that bus when we arrived in Munich.

Since Oktoberfest didn’t start until Saturday we had all day Friday to explore the city of Munich. A big group of people on the trip decided to do a bike tour of Munich with Mike’s Bikes. I had to convince Isabelle to give it a shot, but there was one major problem. She doesn’t know how to ride a bike! The bike guide pulled out an ancient tandem bike and Isabelle and one of the Florence for Fun guides, Tyler, teamed up for the excursion. I was so excited that we were able to do the tour and it was totally worth it! I got to see some of the most famous places in Munich. We went to the Marienplatz (home of the Glockenspiel), the Hofbrahaus (largest beer hall in Munich), the National Theater, and my favorite the Englischer Garten. It was huge! Bigger than NY Central Park! One of the craziest things at the park was watching people surf the artificial waves on the Eisbach River.

After the tour me and another group of girls from Syracuse decided to take a train ride out to Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was the first concentration camp in Germany. It was very moving to see this area. Like everyone I have seen movies, documentaries, and read books about the concentration camps, but walking the same places that those people walked is very emotional and hard to explain. The atmosphere of the place was very somber and quiet. I did the personal audio tour of the entire camp. The most moving were the interviews on the recording of the survivors. I went into the barracks and saw the cramped conditions. It is hard to imagine how the fit so many people in one room. I also went to the Crematorium. This was very hard to witness and something I will never ever forget. The whole trip was very quiet and very personal.

We took the train back to a very hustling Munich train station. While walking back towards the town center we decided to pop into one of the stores to try on the typical German dresses, dirndls. It was so fun! I actually really liked the one I tried on. Sadly, it was 80 Euro and I couldn’t figure out when I would ever wear it again. It was really fun to try on though and probably would’ve made a great Halloween costume for years to come J

The Florence for Fun crew decided to have dinner at the world famous Hofbrahaus. What a place! It was absolutely nuts! People were singing, dancing on chairs and swinging their liter beers through the air. It was quite a sight to see and be apart of. I had my first liter of beer, which I did manage to finish! I also ate some traditional German food and it was delicious. I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing at first, but it ended up being a really great time! Afterwards Isabelle and me grabbed gelato and had to run back to catch the bus to the hostel. Note: do not by gelato in Germany when you are used to Italian gelato. There is no comparison! I was really disappointed with how long it took to get to our hostel. We were 45 minutes away from Munich! It was a typical hostel experience, including my first experience with shared bathrooms. Yikes! But it was a clean bed and I had a great night of sleep in preparation for a big day ahead.

I don’t even know where to begin in describing Oktoberfest! It was not what was expecting, but at the same time exactly like what I expected. It reminded me of home! Wisconsin is very German and I can totally see where the love of beer and bratwurst comes from! First we decided to stake out a spot along the parade route. The parade was so neat! It was just wagons full of people and/or kegs and they were all pulled by beautiful teams of horses. I absolutely loved it! There were also a few marching bands tossed in the mix. The grounds of the celebration are huge. It is like a giant amusement park complete with a few roller coasters and a ton of carnival rides. I did make it on a few rides, including one roller coaster with five loops to create the Olympic rings! The majority of the people are dressed in traditional German attire, lederhosen and dirndls. It makes the atmosphere so festive and fun!

The one bummer to Oktoberfest and the part we found most frustrating was trying to get into the giant beer hall buildings. These buildings are huge and there are tons of people, but in order to be served you must find a seat. In all the big tents we went into there was not a seat to be found. After going in about 3 or 4 different tents we gave up and bought a roast chicken. Hahaha! It was delicious and it put me in a much better mood. We found an outside bar and ordered a few beers from there. It was great to finally enjoy my first beer of Oktoberfest! I enjoyed it so much that the glass didn’t make it back to the bar and will have a nice new home in Wisconsin! A few beers later we decided to try and get into a tent for a second time. Success! After waiting in a short line at one of the smaller tents we got a seat! Hooray! It was great to be apart of the party inside. Each tent has its own band playing and everyone is singing and cheersing one another. I did manage to get a picture with a bunch of German boys in lederhosen!

Everything was more fun after that and we went on a few more rides and I think had a few more beers. (I remember buying one from the carrousel bar… it was actually going around in circles like a carrousel!) Then it was back to the hostel on the Germany version of the Moonlight Express (aka the drunk bus in Ames) I did call mom and have everyone on the bus say hi! The next morning I was feeling fine, but I did see quite a few people that looked a little iffy. Hahaha! Then we were back at Oktoberfest until 4 pm that afternoon. We did manage to get a table right outside the Hippodrom tent. I decided to have Sprite…lame I know. I did manage to add that glass to my collection as well. J The ride back to Florence was really, really long! We watched a ton of movies and once again I couldn’t sleep. We got back to Florence really late Sunday night and I basically fell into bed. I love not having class on Mondays!

Oktoberfest was quite the experience. I have learned that beer is pretty good, lederhosen are awesome and Germany is great! I had a lot of fun! The whole time I was there I kept thinking about people back home and how much fun it would we with all of you. Can’t wait to go again someday!

The Adventure: Cinque Terre

4 Thoughts:

1. Do not over pack.

2. Always book places to stay.

3. Forest fires are scary.

4. I never want to be homeless.

Now…

On Friday we decided to use the train tickets from the failed beach attempt last week. The train left at 9:30am. At first I didn’t think we were all going to make it. The guys were late and jumped on board at the last second. But we all made it and we were on our way to Viareggio for real this time! I group of us planned to go on from there to Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. This was my first time actually using the train system, which is pretty neat once you get the hang of it.

When we got to Viareggio it was a gorgeous day outside. I had read in my book that a lot of the beaches were private and you had to pay. Being poor students we were on a mission to find the free beaches. After wandering a few million blocks (well it felt like a million. I began to regret all the clothes I packed.

Yes Dad I am learning that bringing options is not always necessary J I began to think that this day was going to turn out a lot like our other travel day. Finally after asking about a 3 different people we found the bus stop we needed. That is one thing that has been really frustrating since getting to Italy. Every time you ask someone a question you never get the same answer twice. We were told to stand at three different bus stops. Luckily bus number 9 did take us to the free beach. It was absolutely gorgeous! The sand and the sea were perfect. It was pretty busy, especially when compared to the empty “private” beaches a few yards away. We chilled on the beach all day and it was so relaxing. I swam, took a nap and read my book. Beaches in Italy seemed pretty similar to beaches back home, except for the crazy number of guys in very unattractive speedos. Ewww. I saw enough of a few old men to last me a lifetime.

After the beach we hopped the bus back to the train station. Here the group split up with a few heading back to Florence and the rest of us to find someplace to stay in La Spezia. Well the finding the place to stay thing is easier said than done. We had called all the places in my guidebook and they were full. We found an Internet Point to look for others and they were also full. By this point I had already picked out my park bench. We started wandering again (we have gotten really good at that) and once again got really lucky and found a hotel with a room for only 120 Euro and split 7 ways that isn’t too bad. We did break the law by having more than 4 people. Isabelle, Beth and I snuck in the hotel so the front desk lady didn’t ever see out whole group. We felt pretty sneaky. Thankfully it all worked out and we were happy to have a place to stay! It was weird though because when we got to the room there were only four beds, but there were seven extra blankets, three extra pillows and even seven bars of soap. Its like they knew! Hahaha!

The next day we were up early and ready to hit the trails of Cinque Terre. We met the rest of the group back at the train station after they took an early train from Florence. Cinque Terre is a beautiful area along the Mediterranean Sea. It is actually five small villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore) built right into the hills along the coastline. Hiking trails connect these towns, which can only be reached via train, bus or hike. No cars allowed! This offered a great get away from the crazy traffic and busy streets of Florence. We took the train to Monterosso where we were going to start our hike. I was getting worried because I knew we didn’t have a place to stay for the night. Once again I started calling and asking around. Everywhere was booked. We had struck out big time. We tried to find someplace that would even let us store our bags for the day, but no go. Having no other option really we hit the first leg of the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. Since this is the most challenging stretch of the hike we decided to do it first. As we were heading up the mountain (and yes I mean mountain check out my pics on facebook) we met a couple from Vancouver. They were staying in Monterosso and offered to let us keep our stuff in their hotel room while we hiked for the day. This was the nicest thing anyone could do for us! It helped us out greatly and meant we could really enjoy the day. So a shout out to Colleen and Peter, Thank you so much!! We asked if we could do anything for them and they just told us to pay it forward. I thought that was a great message and I will never forget their generosity.Having no backpack and a much better outlook on the day the crew and me hit the trail…Onward and upwards! And man was it a lot of upwards. I have never done so much straight uphill hiking in my life! If you have done Gibralter Rock or the Rock Face hike at Devils Lake take that times at least five. It was a lot of work but totally worth it. The views were unbelievable. I have never seen anything so beautiful! Check out my facebook for more pics!

The first town was Vernazza. I grabbed some spaghetti with pesto. It was delicious and only 5 Euro. I sat near the beach overlooking the clear blue waters and enjoyed my lunch. It was picture perfect! Then we hit the trail again to Corniglia. I cannot even describe how beautiful the area is. If you ever visit Italy make sure to go to Cinque Terre. I actually got home sick because I wanted my family to see it! (Luckily my folks are going to spend three days here when they come visit in October.) The hike was a lot of uphill again. I was surprised at the number or older people and young kids doing the hike. It made me feel really out of shape. One guy actually called out to us jokingly asking us why we weren’t taking the stairs two at a time! Ha ha yeah right! We reached Corniglia, the third town of the stretch, and after a short breather decided to head out to the next town, Manarola, in search of a beach. We found a rocky beach area and decided to jump in the Mediterranean for a quick dip. It was so refreshing! I cannot get over how clear the water was. I found a few pretty rocks along the shore to keep as free souvenirs! Next was Manarola and then on to Riomaggiore along the famous Via Dell’ Amore. This was by far the easiest of all the hikes, but not any less amazing. The path went through tunnels that were covered with graffiti art. (Note: The graffiti art in Italy is awesome!) Then from Riomaggiore we caught the train back to Monterosso to pick up our stuff.

Since we had pretty much struck out at finding a place to stay most of the group planned to catch a train back to Firenze. I decided to stay in Riomaggiore to meet up with some fellow Iowa State students that are studying in Rome, including my roommate Becky. It was so wonderful to see her! I have been quite homesick and this really helped. However, it was not going to me a nice quiet evening in Riomaggiore. When I arrived in town I called Becky and she told we there was a big forest fire on the next hill over.

Sure enough when I went out on the terrace of their apartment we had a clear view of this expanding fire. I was amazed at how fast it grew! It was pretty close to the town so the girls had packed up their stuff in case we needed to leave. We watched the fire for quite awhile. At one point an ash (still glowing) flew onto the terrace we were watching it from. It was pretty scary! Finally we saw some flashing lights on the hill and the fire seemed to die down a little. Since we did not seem to be in immediate danger anymore we went out to grab some dinner. I decided to have the gnocchi with pesto. (Yes, pesto again, but it is SO good!) After a nice dinner and a slight mistake with the bill we headed back to the girls apartment. There was a DJ on the piazza below the terrace of the apartment giving some sort of outdoor concert. (Who cares if there is a forest fire we will party anyway!)

We had a great time chilling out on the balcony drinking some Limoncello and dancing. Now this is where the night went downhill. The lady that the girls had rented the apartment from lived in the apartment upstairs. When she saw “cinque” girls and not “cuatro” girls she was really upset. We tried to explain that I was leaving and I have no idea if she understood. Not wanting to get in any more trouble Becky offered to leave with me for a while so the lady would think I had left. Italy has some really weird housing laws. Having nowhere else to go for the night, I was pretty screwed. I ended up sneaking back into the apartment and sleeping on the bathroom floor for 2 hours, before getting up at five to go to the train station.

So I got to enjoy dawn at the train station in Riomaggiore. I never want to be homeless again! I did get to watch helicopters fill up water buckets from the sea to dump on the fire. I have no idea why they weren’t there the night before! Then I caught the 7am train back to La Spezia, then to Viareggio where I changed trains to get back to Florence. I was so tired, but I didn’t want to sleep on the train for fear of missing my stop. Luckily I made it back to Florence in one piece, but totally exhausted! A full day of hiking and no sleep was not a cool thing. After a nap and some Chinese food with Isabelle I felt a lot better. It was an adventure and I am sure another story to look back on and laugh about someday. Even with some of the not so cool things that happened it was still an amazing weekend! Cinque Terre was beautiful and something I will never ever forget! Now on to Oktoberfest this weekend! Ciao!

Lanterns, Spit Balls and Classes

Monday was the first day of classes here, but every Monday is Labor Day for me! I didn’t class until Tuesday morning at 10:30. Hooray! So I had a pretty chill day. I just ran some errands around school like buying my Italian book and getting my ID. Then I came back to the hostel and read my Let’s Go Italy on A Budget Guidebook. It is awesome and directed toward students so it has a lot of good ways to save money. I read all about Cinque Terre, which is where a group of us are headed this weekend!

Later I decided to see if anyone wanted to go grab some dinner. We decided to ask the front desk at the hostel of some good places to eat. They are so helpful! The guy circled a whole bunch of good areas on the map that weren’t so touristy and had great food. Then as I was packing up my map he said that there was some lantern parade and festival going on that night and it was just getting started. Having missed all the Cow Chip activities back home I was pretty excited and so we decided to find this parade/celebration instead.

We found the area were the parade was supposed to end up at the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. There were carnival karts selling candy, nuts, cotton candy (that was only white) and some weird chip looking things. The chocolate ones were good, but the regular ones tasted like licorice. More and more people started showing up and everyone had really cool paper lanterns on a stick. I saw a lot of fish and suns, but also a few really neat homemade ones. One little girl had a castle and the candle inside lit up all the windows. Another one looked like a volcano erupting.

Although we had no idea what the celebration was for we decided to stick around. The Santissima Annunziata Basilica was open so we went inside to look around. It was absolutely beautiful with lots of huge paintings and detailed sculptures everywhere. When we went back outside there was even more people. There were lots of families and young children each with their own lantern. Then there were also kids running around shooting what appeared to be spitballs and peoples lanterns. At first we weren’t sure what to think of this put apparently it is part of the game. The kids have a tube with what appeared to be clay wrapped around it. They would shoot these little balls at the paper lanterns to try and blow out the candles. Surprisingly I only got hit by one once.

They had an area set up with lights and a sound system and a guy sang songs and played guitar while everyone waited for the parade to arrive. We heard the parade before we saw it and it was lead by the Cardinal and the mayor of Florence. There was a band and everything. It was pretty neat. Then both the Cardinal and Major spoke. I had no idea what they were saying but I applauded when it seemed appropriate. It’s Ryan’s birthday so we kept joking that this whole celebration was about him.

We also started wondering whether or not these things were a fire hazarded. Well it was not 5 minutes after we said that the one dangling just behind where we standing caught fire. Being paper it burned pretty quickly and then it was done. The kids seemed excited about it and laughed.

One of the best parts of the night had to be the children’s choir that performed. They all wore red jumpers and none of them could’ve been over 10. They were one of the best children’s choirs I have ever heard. They were so good! Each song had a soloist and they were all so confident and excited to sing their song. Everything was really upbeat and everyone around us was dancing and singing along. It was so fun! One little baby right in front of me kept staring at me and then smiling. It was so fun to be around that many locals and not so many tourists. We ran into a few other students, but not many. It seemed more like a neighborhood celebration than anything else. It was around 11 when we decided to head back to our part of town. And although I didn’t get my yummy Italian sit down dinner and settled for a slice of pizza I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I was a really neat culture experience that I would have totally missed if it hadn’t been for the helpful guy at the hostel desk. I hope I run into him again soon so I can thank him!

I have definitely figured out one thing since I have been here and that is that no plan is set in stone. You have to go with the flow and grab whatever opportunity passes you by. I could have easily shrugged the lantern festival off and done something else but I am so glad I didn’t. I don’t want to pass up any culture experiences as unique as that one. Although I have no idea what was said or sung I still had a wonderful time and it is something I will never forget!

Classes started this week and I think they are going to be pretty cool. My first class was my Italian class on Tuesday morning. The teacher speaks to us mostly in Italian and that will take some getting used to. I am so bad with languages I hope that I can pick up on Italian pretty quickly. I miss being able to walk down the street and know what people are talking about. My next class was Introduction to International Marketing. This was not so good. I have never taken a marketing class before and was a little overwhelmed. We are allowed one course add/drop so I decided to drop the marketing class and take an Art History class instead. When in Rome right…well Florence I guess J Seemed like a good idea to take a class that can explain all the amazing artwork that surrounds me here. The finally at 3 was my last class of the day Food in Italy! This will probably be my favorite class because it is all about cooking Italian food. The first day we made a basic tomato sauce and I was in love! I promise to study for that class really hard so that I can show you all what I learned when I get home. J

On Wednesday I found my second favorite class. My Italian Renaissance class is going to be so much fun! The professor is so funny and really knows his stuff. He has a lot of experience and will make the whole thing really interesting. Plus it includes some field trips! That was my only class of the day, but now I will have art history in the morning. Ryan’s birthday was Wednesday so a big group of us went out to dinner at a neat place near school. I decided to order fettuccine alfredo. I know it is not really an Italian thing but I had to try it. It was very different and I am not really a fan. Live and learn. Then we went to the girl’s apartment for cake. It was chocolate with Nutella frosting and crushed Oreos. It was probably one of the best cakes I have ever had! Yum! Then we went to an Irish pub and I had a pint of cider that was delicious. Thursday was Italian class again and my other history class, Ancient Rome. It should be pretty interesting, but I don’t think I will like the teacher quite as much. Overall, I am pretty excited about all my classes. The weird thing is that all of them, besides my Italian class, meet only once a week. This makes for long class periods, two and a half hours, but that means a lot of free time and 4 day weekends!

I think that’s all for now! Gonna get started on my exciting blog about this weekend in Cinque Terre. Bye!

The Best Worst Day Ever

This morning I woke up to my phone ringing. It was Jeff one of the awesome fellow Cyclones I have met here in Florence. He wanted to get a group together to go to the beach for the day. I thought that sounded fabulous so me and the roomies headed out to meet them at the train station. I stopped and got a .80 euro croissant, which was delicious and I wonderful start to what I expected would be an awesome day!

At the train station the group (12 people) bought our tickets and were really excited to go. We arrived at 11 and the train was set to leave at 11:27. Well this is the first disappointment of the day…they cancelled the train L I was so bummed. So then we thought we could catch the next one but then they cancelled that one too. It was a very sad day. Apparently this is not uncommon, but the tickets are good through November or something like that so hopefully we will get out there soon.

After this depressing start we thought that maybe we could find somewhere else to swim…like a pool! Great idea! So we found out that there was a nice pool a little ways out of town. Luckily the train station and the bus station are in the same area. After lying in the grass for a while we hopped on the number 10 bus to who knows where in Florence? I am really enjoying this whole trip so far because I am just along for the ride. There are already plenty of planners in our little gang and I am thrilled to not be at the wheel for once. J The bus takes us pretty far out of the city to a really nice neighborhood. There were trees and big park areas and a lot less people! It was neat to see a part of Florence that I hadn’t before. It was really different from the hustle and bustle of the downtown areas. I really liked it!

After getting off at the correct bus stop we wandered around looking for something remotely resembling a pool. We asked for directions and told to go around the block. Then there was a sign a Piscina! We made it! Nope… strike two. There was another sign- Chiuso(closed). Needless to say we were really bummed out…again. The disappointments were really starting to add up. While standing on the corner deciding what to do next the bus we needed was driving down the road. The bus driver saw us flagging him down and waited as we ran to the next bus stop. Well bus 10 continued to head further and further out of town and we started winding our way into the hillside area surrounding Florence. IT WAS GORGEOUS! The view was amazing. There are some truly beautiful villas and castles. We all found it rather amusing and we really enjoyed our “self made” bus tour. Then at one of the stops the bus driver turns around and tells us this is the last stop. Oops! Luckily he let us just chill on the bus and he drove us back to the city center. Grazie!

Well we made it home but we were still without a pool or beach. So we opted for the last resort option… the pool in the basement of our hostel. I hadn’t checked it out yet and it was actually really neat! The pool lights up and changes colors. It almost feels think your swimming in different kool-aid flavors- grape, fruit punch, blue raspberry. J After a few rousing games of marco polo and some whirpool action time we were ready to head up to the rooftop terrace to catch some sun.

The terrace is on the fifth floor and we are in the basement. This is the WORST part of the best worst day ever. By this point I thought that anything that could’ve gone wrong did and that we were in the clear by now. Not true!

Being stupid American students we decided it was ok to cram 12 people into an 8-person elevator. This elevator is tiny! Emily and I had to take to separate trips just to get our luggage up to our room. So why 12 people you ask? I will never know. By now you can probably guess what happened. About a foot away from the 5^th floor the elevator stops. OMG! At first I wasn’t too worried because sometimes if it’s a little heavy the elevator door takes awhile to open. Sadly that wasn’t the case here. The door just didn’t open and no matter what we did it wasn’t going to. I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. It was awful! All I wanted was to get out! We started ringing the alarm and we could hear it going off but no one was coming. People probably push it all the time as a joke…not funny! Then we hear people walking by and we all start yelling for help. They are just like “hey you guys ok.” Ummm yeah just having a sweet elevator party… No! We are stuck in a freaking elevator. Luckily they must have realized we were not joking and really needed help. They must have told the front desk people because someone finally came. We heard one of the ladies calling the technician to come help us get out. By now we are all getting nervous wondering how long this was really going to take? I was kinda getting nervous about air and felt really, really trapped. It is the worst feeling and I never want to experience it again. The best way for me to stay calm was helping calm others around me. I didn’t want anyone to really freak out otherwise we all might have. I was in the way, way, way back of the elevator farthest from the door. We took a few fun pictures and joked about what a great story this would all make one day. “Hey to you remember that day when everything that could go wrong did!” Finally the elevator started moving back down! I have never felt so relieved in my life! We were saved and I could breathe again! ( I looked at my wrist and everything Beth and Morgan! J Unfortunately we had to deal with a not so happy front desk lady. She told us that we would get charged if the technician did show up and we totally understood. Then she was mad that we had guests…oops. Apparently they have to register at the desk or something. Nobody had ever said anything to us about that before and we went through all of our restrictions and rules that we signed and couldn’t find anything. Oh well! Too late now! The other front desk guys tried to make us feel better joking about how 14 Spanish guys held the record. How they could’ve fit that many guys in that elevator I have no idea? Anyway I just hope we don’t become the girls who broke the elevator because they couldn’t read the sign. Ugh! I guess we will find out later if we get charged or not. I am just happy to be out of there. The only time that I will probably use that elevator again is when I move out in December. Four flights of stairs is good for me right! Hahaha!

Well after that I wasn’t really up for much of anything. I was tired and drained from our crazy disappointing day. And boy what a day it was… going from thinking your going to lie on the beach all day and ending up trapped for a half hour in an elevator with 12 other people!

I talked to mom and dad and they thought the day was pretty hilarious. Looking back now I guess it was pretty fun and something I will not forget for a long, long time.

Later on the guys called and said they were making dinner and invited us to join. It took all my motivation, but I went and it was nice to talk about our crazy day together. Then they decided they were going to hike up to Piazzle Michelangiolo to see the sunset. I really want to do that, but tonight was not my night. I decided to just hang with roomies and go shopping and get gelato. We found a great supermarket near our school that was actually reasonably priced and I had another amazing gelato flavor (mom you will be jealous) Chocolate Peanuts! It was delicious! Gelato is the greatest ever and the place we went tonight was 1 euro for a little cone. It is the perfect amount for the perfect price. So thankfully at the end of my day things are starting to get better J

Classes start tomorrow for my roomies. I am going to try and get a workout in then hit up the market for some fresh fruit! I have a few errands to run before school starts Tuesday and I may try and tackle some of my laundry soon too. Well I am going to call it an early night for the first time this week, but with the day I had I think that is probably a wise decision. I miss you all so much (but I really don’t want to be trapped in an elevator with you)! Thanks for everything!

Sorry these blog posts are so long, but I am using my blog as a journal for the trip J Hope they are not too terrible to read. I probably should start proof reading them huh?...Nah, you can figure it out! All for now! Ciao!

Walking in Florence

Florence is a beautiful city. With each turn there is another beautiful postcard perfect picture. I have done a lot of walking around so far and have noticed a few interesting things. The sidewalks are just as narrow as the streets so walking single file is necessary a lot of the time. Sometimes the streets are fairly empty and you can walk right down the middle.

One of my favorite things is the number of people with dogs. I see them all the time! Big dogs and little dogs! Florence is a dog party. No golden retrievers yet, but I did see a Saint Bernard today. I amazes me the number of people with dogs in a city! We went to the market yesterday and I saw a dog just chillin’ in the middle of all these street vendors. There were people everywhere and he was just hanging out. It was so cute!

Yesterday and today I have put major walking time on my feet. I went shopping with some people yesterday afternoon at a huge indoor marketplace. It had everything from cheese, pasta, fresh meat and fish, fruit, veggies and wine J It was really neat and I plan on doing a lot of grocery shopping there since it is only a few blocks from my school. First, however, I must learn what everything is so I have some idea what it is I am ordering exactly. Hahaha After that we talked to some people trying to get us to go to a certain bar later that night. While we were having this conversation Ryan got pooped on by a pigeon. I thought this was absolutely hilarious. Sadly while I was laughing at him I was also targeted and was nailed by a direct hit to the shoulder. DISGUSTING! The people we were with said it was a sign of good luck. Yuck! They did give me a flyer that they were handing out to wipe it off with. Hahaha.

After that we headed back to some friends apartment to make lunch. Fresh bread, some spaghetti and a bottle of wine makes for a wonderful afternoon with some pretty cool people. It was neat to get to see an apartment to compare with my hostel living arrangement. The apartment was really cute and it would be nice to have a living room and kitchen, but I am pretty happy with where I’m at. After a late lunch (every meal is later in Italy) I wandered back to my place to see my roommates after their orientation. I decided to go with Isabell and some of her friends to sign up for one of the school offered trips. They are kind of expensive, but I really want to grab any opportunities I can when it comes to traveling. I signed up for a weekend excursion to Switzerland and Lake Como the end of September. I was really lucky because I was able to talk the guy into taking one more person since the trip was already full J

After that we wandered around a little bit more just taking everything in. We decided to stop at a pizzeria to grab some dinner and I split a pizza with Isabell and Jessica. It was fun to sit there and chat. That is one thing I like about Italian restaurants, they have no problem with you just sitting there after your meal. They are in no rush for you to pay your bill and leave. However, this does make it challenging sometimes to get their attention to bring it to the table.

I was pretty pooped…literally so I went home to shower. Then we went back to the guys apartment for a little party before checking out some Italian nightlife. The first place we went was all American students. It was so weird and packed! I was not a big fan and we didn’t stay long. We ended up just wandering around looking for some other place to go. We did find an amazing gelato place. I am coming to realize that pretty much every gelato place is the best gelato place J I had a flavor that was just called Mucho Gusto. And it was! Yum! We stopped at another club Obri’ maybe? and had a fabulous time just dancing. The club was right near Piazza Santa Croce and we ended up just sitting out there for a while. Then some guy from Spain tried to get us to go to some sketchy sounding party and that was our cue to head home. It took sometime to find exactly where we were, but then we were headed home.

I slept in this morning and then went out exploring again with the roomies. We found some fabulous little market places with great stuff. I bought some delicious orange/malt biscotti. It is so good! I also purchased some marmalade stuff that is yummy, yummy. I am not sure what it is exactly Pere alle Spezie but I like it!

We wandered over to the Piazza della Signoria near the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi gallery. Now this is tourist central! It was packed with people! The same is true with the Duomo during the day. It is just crazy the number of people!

Now I am back in my room. Not sure what to do for the rest of the evening. I think I want to go out again tonight, but I am not sure. I got pretty homesick again today knowing that everyone is at Cow Chip right now. I miss being with people that know the real me and I know them. I am really enjoying the time I spend with my roommates and I hope they are too. I suppose I should get going and find something fun to do tonight. Only a few days left until classes start!

And the Adventure Begins...

So I haven't been the best at this blog thing. I much prefer calling home or chatting on Skype when I get the chance, but I think it is important for me to start writing stuff down or I am going to forget everything to quickly. So here is a quick recap of my first few days in Florence--

On Sunday the fam got to downtown Chicago. It was hard to say goodbye to all the animals :( That has got to be one of the worst things ever. In Chicago we did some shopping a few things for my trip and a homecoming dress for Morgan. Then we went to Jersey Boys which was AWESOME! It totally distracted me from how nervous I was going into this...but not for long. My flight wasn't until 3:40 on Monday so we wandered around downtown some more. This was when reality really started to sink in that I was leaving. I kept telling mom and dad jokingly (but slightly) serious that I didn't want to go anymore. They basically said too bad and that this will be an amazing experience. Sure guys... Driving to the airport was terrible I didn't want to be there and I was struggling to hold back tears. Luckily we were able to check all my baggage (easily under the weight limit) then got to sit in the cafeteria area for awhile before security. This was nice and really calmed me down a lot, but then having to say goodbye before walking through a metal detector isn't the best setting either. There definitely were a few others like me struggling to say goodbye.

Security was ok not to long of a line. I made it through just fine however they had a problem and proceeded to dump everything in my purse. Grrrr. After that I found my gate and the waiting game began. I saw a few others that were clearly studying broad, but no one looked like they really wanted to talk much. I just wanted to get on the plane. The flight was long and very Italian. I heard hardly any English conversations. I noticed a lot of Italian college aged/ young adults traveling with grandparents. I thought that was kind of interesting. I sat next to some Italian guy who slept most of the time. I think we maybe said three words to each other and it usually involved passing food (which even though it was an Italian airline does not me the food is good!) . I tried reading, tried sleeping and then watched some Star Trek. I felt like I was constantly on the verge of tears and wishing I had a travel buddy.

I landed in Rome sometime around 7:30am and then had to find my connecting flight to Florence. This begins the first of the Italian lessons... Frizzante vs. Naturale. Just because the water doesn't look carbonated it is! You have to be careful what you buy. I was so thirsty so just grabbed a bottle of water! Wrong! It was terrible! I almost made the same mistake today but caught myself :)

After they changed gates on me I was in a massive group of American students studying in Florence, but it was hard to find anyone studying at my school. Apparently there are lots of different programs in Florence. The flight from Rome to Florence was like a flight from Madison to Chicago. The Florence airport is really small so there was a whole group of us waiting for luggage. Sadly my luggage did not appear with all the others so I joined the long line at the Lost and Found. I met some nice people though. One couple were on their honeymoon and had just arrived here from Greece. Another lady was from the states as well and she was visiting family in a small town in Tuscany. An Italian guy told me my school had easy classes so I should travel a lot. I also met two girls from Iowa State that were also studying at Lorenzo. They had lost their luggage too. :( So second Italian lesson- Don't fly Alitalia. Apparently the lose luggage all the time. Luckily my luggage did arrive at my hostel the next day thank god!

I was planning on taking a taxi from the airport to my hostel, but since I didn't have luggage to carry I opted for the bus option. Yikes! The bus dropped me off at the train station, Stazione Santa Maria Novella. Then I was on my own to find my hostel. I had directions but it took me awhile to realize the street names were on the side of the buildings on the corners. There were people everywhere and no one speaking English. I can't imagine what I must've looked like standing there on the street with directions looking totally lost, which I was briefly. I wandered my way to the hostel very warm and very tired. It is hot and humid here! Summer might not have been so hot in the states this year but being here is making up for it. Yucko!

Anywho, got to the hostel and got checked in to my room for the night. I couldn't check in yet for my room for the semester so I was just in a random room. They handed me sheets and a towel and my room key. Ok here goes! I walk into the room and there is a black women/girl sitting on a bed topless. Just hanging out watching tv. I am sure my jaw must have dropped. She said something to me in Italian and I just walked into the rest of the room. The other beds were taken so I was bunking with topless black lady. Nobody in the room really said anything to each other so I assumed no one spoke English.

It was at this time that I had my major break down. I ran up to the rooftop terrace of the hostel (which is beautiful by the way) and called home in tears. Looking back now I wish I wouldn't have because I know how much that probably worried both my parents. I wanted them to buy me a plane ticket home ASAP! I was uspet about my luggage, the hostel room and being totally alone! They helped to calm me down a little and told me to get some food and a nap. I decided to wander back down the street and found a little cafe and ordered a large plate of spaghetti and a large water (naturale :). This helped a bit and I felt better. I sat for a while and read my book about Florence. There were a few guys speaking English, but I was to nervous and freaked out to say anything.

Then I went back to the hostel and back to the room. I crawled into bed and took a nap for awhile. After figuring out the internet thing I spent awhile talking to mom via Skype chat which is probably the best invention ever. We haven't video skyped yet because I don't want to cry :( I wasn't super hungry but thought it was important to start eating meals at the right time so I headed to the hostel resturant downstairs.

As you may have already realized this is a pretty nice place. It has a restaurant, a pool, a sauna, a bar and probably my most favorite spot the terrace on the top floor. It has tables, chairs, a bar and it has beautiful views of the surrounding hills of Tuscany and you can even see the Duomo. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I headed downstairs to the restaurant and saw the same guys as I did at the cafe. I decided to ask them if I could join them. They said sure and I had a really nice time talking to them. They are all from Canada and four of the five just graduated and they are celebrating with a tour through Europe. It was a lot of fun and they were actually able to make me laugh which was a great things since I had pretty much on the verge of tears all day. Then I headed back to my room with plans to head up to the rooftop terrace later for drinks. When I got there one of the other girls was in the room so I decided to say hi. Turns out her name is Emily and she is also here for the semester studying at Lorenzo. It was the best news I had heard all day. We both went up and talked to the Canadians before heading to bed.

The next morning we had to move out of the room we were in and get our "apartment" room. Yes I totally lucked out when we found out that Emily and me were roomies! It is pretty nice with 3 beds, a table, kitchen area with sink fridge microwave and stove thingy, and there is also a bathroom. It is small, but I think I can manage to live here for 4 months. Any way we got our new room and unpacked then ran out to grab some lunch. When we got back our new roommate Isabell was here. She is from New York. She seems really nice too. The 3 of us went out to did and had a great time talking and laughing. Then back here for a meet and greet with some of the other people staying at the hostel. I feel a little bit better knowing that there is a group of about 20 of us living here for the semester.

This is Italian lesson number 3 don't be afraid to talk to people. Chances are they want to talk to you too. I learned this lesson at school freshman year but had kinda forgotten it. I am so glad I got the nerve to ask the Canadians to sit with them and later they said they thought it was pretty cool I had done that. This also happened again on the street yesterday when I was wandering around trying to find the building for orientation. Apparently the building numbers are not in order. There was another girl wandering the streets as well and we started talking. I ended up sitting with her for most of the orientation. It was a lot fun! At orientation I also met some other Iowa State students studying here. They seemed like a lot of fun and we are already talking about planning trips soon. I really want to do a lot of traveling I am just not to comfortable doing it alone. After orientation I started writing this blog, but then the internet went out so now I am rewriting it this morning. Ugh!

Besides some touch and go wireless I haven't had to many problems with the place. Except for yesterday morning I got up to take a shower before orientation. I was so excited because I finally had all my stuff and a ton of clean clothes to choose from. I went to go turn on the shower and nothing happened. No water, no nothing! I ran downstairs to ask the front desk people and apparently they were having a major problem but someone was already downstairs fixing it. I waited about a half hour and then it was back. Thanks goodness! I also experienced grocery shopping for the first time. I found a little supermarket and decided to get some basics like bread, cheese, cereal, yougurt, lunch meat and milk. It was definitely a challenge. I had to go based of what it looked like, but I think I did ok.

Last night was my first sort of night out. The school had a free dinner for the Lorenzo students. I met up with a few of the Iowa State people and another group from California. Then the whole herd moved through the streets of Florence. It is so beautiful here in the daytime but it has to be just as beautiful at dusk and night. We got to the place we were eating and it was a bunch of tables set along the Arno River right near the Ponte Vecchio. It was gorgeous! One of the girls was freaking out because this was exactly the picture on desktop background. It was picture perfect with an almost full moon peeking around the clouds. All the buildings are just beautiful around here. We sat there for quite awhile and had some food, bruschetta and some rice dish and really salty meat, and of course wine. :) It was just a great setting. A group of around 9 of us sat around one of the little tables and had a great time chatting. Then we realized most of the rest of the group had left so we decided to go wander around. We walked up to the Ponte Vecchio and listened to a guy playing guitar and singing. Then we crossed the river, which I hadn't done yet. We stopped at a gelato stand and I got my first gelato of the trip. It is just as delicious as I remember. Yum! Then we started heading back to the direction of school/ general apartment area. Some lady comes up trying to get us to this bar. Five shots for 5 Euro… Ok! Hahaha it ended up being a lot of American students and looked and sounded exactly like a bar in Ames. Pretty funny! We didn't stay for long and continued to wander back. When we passed by my hostel I decided to call it a night and head home. I was already super tired and wanted to get back to see my roomies. I am mad at myself for not taking them with me! I just assumed that they would do the same thing tonight. They already said that they would take me with them so that is really nice. :)

So now this morning I am sitting in my hostel room eating a bowl of cereal and wondering what to do with my day. My roomies are at orientation so I am definitely a little lonely. I think that is one of the things I need to work on the most. I need to be comfortable doing stuff on my own. Right now I hate it and it just makes me really upset and homesick, which doesn't really work well with the time difference to get in touch with home right now. So lesson number four that I still need to learn is that it is ok to be alone and do my own thing. I just get to concerned about being with people that I am afraid I won’t be living in the moment, which is what this trip is all about. Maybe I will go shopping or just wander around some more I don’t know. I am really looking forward to classes starting on Monday (well Tuesday for me.) It will give me something to do and a nice routine to get into.

Class Schedule:

Tuesday:

10:30- 11:45 Italian Language Beginning

Noon- 2:30 Introduction to International Marketing

3:00- 5:30 The Food of Italy

Wednesday:

3:00- 5:30 Italian Renaissance Civilization and Culture

Thursday:

10:30-11:45 Italian Language Beginning

3:00- 5:30 Ancient Rome

I am pretty excited! Well I suppose I should get out and do something or maybe just go up on the terrace and read. I am really tired and worn out. This place is just so different than anything I have ever experienced and it is taking some major adjusting. I got to video chat with my family yesterday and it was amazing! It is great to get to see them as well as talk to them. I miss everyone so so so much! I am trying to make the best I can of this and try not to get to homesick. I know I will look back on this some day and be really glad I did it, but right now I am just still really unsure. Thanks for all your love and support! And if you made it through the world’s longest blog I am impressed! I miss you all so much!