Primavera a Firenze

Three weeks behind yet again.  I swear I don’t know where the time is going.  I think about all the places in Europe that I still want to see and things that I still want to do and I only have four weeks left.  And then I think about how much longer I still have until I’m able to see my family and friends and James which makes four weeks seem pretty long.  I’m going to do my best to take advantage of my last two weeks in Florence though!  Mom comes in less than two weeks now.  Can you believe it?!?

In the past 2.5 weeks I’ve done quite a bit of traveling, and Casey and I have hosted quite a few friends who traveled to visit us.  I’ve received a cute letter and bookmark from mom in the mail and three beautiful red roses from James.  I’ve written two long papers and had one presentation. I’ve attended a gelato making class and a tasting Tuscany class though my school.  And I’ve hung out with some pretty cool people.  

Our first visitors were Annalise, Cece, Emily, Megan and her friend Andi from Argentina, and Leah.  We went for apertivo twice at Moyo and Kitsch, and they were both extremely delicious.  Apertivo is an Italian ritual originating from ancient times pretty much for an excuse to socialize.  It became popular again beginning in Milan and has spread through the country.  You just buy a drink and a buffet of appetizers and pastas are complimentary.  Best deal ever huh?  I had a delicious Bailey’s and Kahlua cocktail the first night at Moyo which had a Latin themed buffet and a raspberry beer at Kitsch.  Having visitors gives us an excuse to go out and try new places.  But we of course took them to our favorites that we frequent as well.  This week we have Casey’s friends Elayna, Taylor, and Amanda visiting.

I visited the Pitti Palace three times in the past few weeks.  The first time was with my class and we went through the Palatine Gallery.  I really enjoyed it because my professor pointed out specific works of art and told us stories about the paintings.  Knowing little art history, I usually just peruse through the galleries a little quicker than I should and admire purely the aesthetics of the art so it was nice to have a tour guide.  A few days later, Casey and I ventured back there because I wanted to see the Costume Gallery which was really cool.  The Pitti Palace is a hugeee building made for the Pitti family who wanted to have a bigger palace than the Medici’s.  Unfortunately, they ran out of money and had to sell the palace ironically to Eleonora de Toledo who was married to the Grand Duke Cosimo de’Medici.  She bought the palace with her own money because she didn’t want to raise her children in Palazzo Vecchio.   The third time was for a paper for my History of Florence class.  It’s on a specific path through the Oltrarno that took me down the Ponte Vecchio, past Pitti Palace, through the beautiful Boboli Gardens, into Santo Spirito, and finishing at the Porta Romana (the gate of the city separating Florence from the road to Siena and Rome).

project for the facade of Santo Spirito that was never finished

Santo Spirito became my new favorite place to go in Florence.  Not only does it have the best pizza place everrrrrr, Gustapizza, but it has an amazing organic market on Sunday mornings, a beautiful church, a bomb secret souvenir shop, and a really local atmosphere.  When Allison and I went to check it out for our papers, we sat down at a caffe, ordered a cappuccino, and talked to the baristas who spoke very little English.  They were fun to talk to and very interesting.  I don’t think I understood half of the things they said.  One tried to tell me the United States was splitting into 5 states?  Maybe he meant the south, northeast, west, etc.  I’m not really sure… Today, I took some friends to the piazza to find some souvenir shop.  It’s not advertised at all.  You literally have to ring someone’s doorbell and you’re taken into they’re cute little shop.  They hand make things with Florentine designs out of metal, and it was so cool!  We gave them a euro and they flattened it and pressed the fleur de lis, Florence’s symbol, into the silver part of the euro and then he attaches a chain to make a bracelet.  It may or may not be one of my favorite purchases since I’ve been in Europe.    

One of my favorite nights was a Thursday night three weeks ago.  Casey and I met up with Hannah who we met at our hostel in Valencia and her friend from home.  We made our way to Kikuya, one of my favorite bars, and ordered a dragoon, an extremely dangerous beer of 10%.  We caught a table by the front door and were soon joined by two Italians whose English wasn’t great.  One was a philosopher and was completely ridiculous.  We couldn’t handle his philosophies.  While the other one was professing his love for me and telling me he wanted to “stay” with me again.  I said whoaaa buddy I think you mean see me again.  A few minutes later, Hannah “accidently” spilt her drink conveniently in their laps and they stomped off.  Literally two seconds later, these German boys asked if they could sit down.  They were so fun to talk to, and we enjoyed saying yaaaaa instead of si for once.  One of their names was Ansgar.   We showed them the secret bakery and found ourselves heading home at four am not knowing where the time went.  To continue my obsession with Germans, I hung out with Courtney’s friends that had studied abroad at her University in the states and came to visit.  We made a great night out of playing cards with Manoo and Jakob.

I think that’s enough for now… more stories soon and blogs on Elba and Greece!

eat, drink, and love strong

I’m finally almost caught up with my blog again!  Although it’s only a matter of time before I’m behind again… Friday, my friend Katie and I made trip to a little beach town called Viareggio!  We met up with Allison from my history of Florence class and some of her friends and we were so lost in the warm sun, the sound of the waves crashing, and the chilly ocean water we barely remembered where we were.  Oh, until we saw the beautiful mountains behind us.  We got wayyy too much sun, but it was a great relaxing retreat from Florence. 

Saturday, we made our way to Siena where we found the best cappuccinos in the cutest coffee shop!  We ate Siena’s specialty, pici senesi, which is really thick spaghetti noodles.  There isn’t too much touristy “must see” places in our Tuscany excursion this weekend, so we had plenty of free time to relax and really take in the Italian way of life which moves veryyyyy slooowwwlllyyy.  It was a nice change though because if you know me, you know I have to be forced to do anything slowly.  We headed to Piazza del Campo after lunch to bask in the warm sun in the huge piazza that was full of locals and tourists.  

This is where the famous horse races are held in Siena.  Before we left, we made a quick trip to Nannini, Siena’s oldest and most famous pastry shop.  Siena is known for its cakes and cookies and from the ricciarelli (a soft almond cookie with powdered vanilla on top) I can see why.

We left Siena and drove through the beautiful Tuscan hills to Fonteverde Spa where we enjoyed the warm thermal baths.  It was so relaxing, and I perched myself under the waterfall that massaged your back.

Dinner was provided to us at our hotel in Chianciano Terme.  It was a decent five course meal that took a full two and a half hours.  Told you Italians moved slowly.  I slept like a rock even though Italy’s primavera brought me unwanted allergies. 

The next morning, we headed for Perugia where we ate a long lunch and relaxed while enjoying the Italian atmosphere.  We did a little shopping and I bought sunglasses that actually block the sun, because my Chinatown Ray-Bans definitely do not. 

Then, we were off to my favorite part of the weekend: wine tasting in Chianti.  We went to a vineyard called Castello da Verazzano and I would recommend it to anyone.  The owner of the vineyard was so entertaining and funny.  He actually inspired me to change the name of my blog.  Let’s get real, I am never going to be able to live the “dolce far niente” lifestyle, and it is definitely not how I have spent my four months abroad.  He told us to eat, drink, and love strong and never fear the end.  And then he proceeded to teach us Italian prepositions with their hand motions because “an Italian with his hands in his pockets is speechless.”  We toured the cellar and spelled the delicious prosciutto that they make from their own wild boars and their homemade balsamic vinegar which, don’t worry, is only 45 euros.  Then, we sat down outside on a beautiful covered deck and feasted on special pasta they made for us and their table wine.  Following that was the beans, bruscetta, pecorino cheese, prosciutto, and salami with Chianti Classico- my favorite.  Then the Chianti Classico Riserva which undergoes fermentation for 24 months instead of 12.  Last we had Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine, with biscotti.  Our tummies left extremely satisfied as we drove through the Chianti region during the sunset.      

            

under the tuscan sun

Half marathon in a foreign country?  Check!  Despite serious lack of training, sleep, and hydration, Casey and I dragged ourselves out of bed Sunday morning to meet at Santa Croce for the VIVICITTA: La Mezza Maratona di Firenze.  At least the start was at 9:30 instead of 7 am like races in America!  We started out slow thanks to the tiny Italian streets packed with very stinky Italians.  Once we came to the Arno it spread out quite a bit and we were able to pick it up.  Casey ran with Erin (a girl in our program) and I for half of the race before we broke off.  It was Erin’s first half and I loved having a running partner!  The race went way smoother than I was expecting even though the course was two boring 10k loops.  After I finished, I fought my way through to the water station (it was notttt organized very well!). 

I headed home to take a much needed shower and then we were off again to explore Florence on such a beautiful day!  I ate a delicious burrito at Eby’s and then headed to Billa because I had literally no food.  When I got back to the apartment I retreated to our terrace and enjoyed the rest of the warm sunshine.

Monday, after classes, Casey and I headed to the Carraia Bridge to have some gelato then peruse the leather markets around San Lorenzo.  I bought a bracelet for three euros.  Then, we found the store that sells wine on tap for really cheap!  You buy a plain bottle and then you can fill it with good wines for 2ish euros.  

That evening we hung out on the terrace again before I went to a cheese tasting offered through my school.  We tried Mozzarella, Taleggio (which I had never had before- super yummy!), Pecorino (my favorite), and Gorgonzola.  We paired the pecorino with fava beans which was new to me but delicious of course.  And we had Chianti Classico!  When I got home I started working on the research for the 2,500 word paper due in a week for my Mafia class.  Yes, I do actually have to do some work while I’m here.

Tuesday, Casey and I ventured out to Cascine Park to go to the market.  I bought a brown clutch for 2 euros and a little make up bag for 1 euro.  We got some gelato and then walked around the Santo Spirito area before meeting Tay for lunch at Antico Noe.  Best sandwiches I have ever had!!  I got one with pork sausage, eggplant, pecorino cheese, and spinach and it was so good!  We found a cute little shop with random Tuscany soaps and decorations.  After stopping at the leather school by Santa Croce, I headed off to my history of Florence class.  We toured Santa Maria Novella and I completely forgot that we were visiting a church and was not in dress code.  Quite a few of us had to wear gowns that went down to our ankles.   We looked pretty ridiculous.  I made dinner and then we got ready and finally made it out to Astor and Twice with the roomies.

Wednesday was a great day!  My wine tasting class went to a vineyard called Villa le Piazzole.  It was beautiful! We toured the cellar, and then drank two of their special wines and a dessert wine with bruscetta, chicken liver, pecorino, parmesan, prosciutto, and salami.  Emily, Katie, and I made sure to get our money’s worth of the vino and all of the delicious appetizers.  

Emily came back to my apartment after the wine tasting to lay on my terrace and drink some more wine and strawberries.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to lay out very long because I had to go to my lit class at 6.  I met back up with Emily later that night and we sat in Piazza della Rupubblica for a little bit listening to the piano bar.  Then, we went to Slowly, a ritzy bar that I had never been to before.  I got the yummiest (and most expensive) chocolate martini.

She convinced me to stay out for the clubs and we went to Fullup where we danced and danced until we were ready to get some fresh air.  Outside I met six Italian girls and two Spanish guys and had the funniest broken Italian, Spanish, English conversation.  I loved it, and it was an experience that I had expected to be exposed to when abroad.

Thursday, I slept in and woke up to the realization that I really needed to start my mafia paper.  While lying out on the terrace, I finished four/fifths of the paper and stopped for the day.  Casey’s mom was in town so we all drank wine and chitchatted.  I met up with our friends downstairs and we headed to Bigallo for drinks.  I tried my hand at speaking Italian again to a group of locals who were celebrating their friend’s graduation from University.  They were very patient and probably found me very humorous because every other word was “come se dice” (how do you say).

It was a beautiful week and one of my favorites since I have been here.  However, it was exhausting and I was in need of the relaxing weekend that was to come.  Posts from our “Under the Tuscan Sun” excursion in Siena, Perugia, and Chianti soon!                

London!

I came back from beautiful warm Spain to ugly, rainy Italy.  Get it together Florence!! It poured Monday while I was walking to class but it cleared up in the afternoon thank goodness and has been nothing but gorgeous and 70+ degrees all week.  That’s what I’m talking about!  I bought a dress from H&M after class and then bought some groceries at the central market to hold me off until I came back from London.  I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a short run that afternoon.  We went to the Lion’s Fountain and then headed to Yab which was interesting… There was a fight and pushing and confusion and chaos so Casey and I just decided to go home.

In my wine tasting class Tuesday night, I tasted seven wines again including a 16% dessert wine that I just did not enjoy.  Wednesday morning, I went for a nice run and made a stop at the API center to sign up for excursions and a stop at the train station to see what train I needed to take to get to the airport on time. 

My flight was a late one, but two girls that were studying in Florence were on it as well and we talked the entire way.  

Kathryn was waiting for me after I got off the bus, and I was so happy!!! It was really nice to spend a few days again with someone that knows you really well, especially after James had just left.  We talked until five in the morning catching up on life.  

While Kathryn was at her internship, I took a bike tour to all of the touristy spots in London which was really nice.  I saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, three of London's beautiful parks, and Trafalgar Square.  

My tour ended around 3 and Kathryn got done early so it was perfect!  I was really lucky weather wise too because it was beautiful both of the days I was there even though rain is always in the forecast.  Kathryn and I walked around and I ate fish and chips of course.  We drank some wine and watched a movie that took us probably six hours instead of two to watch because we were constantly pausing it to talk.  

I slept in the next morning, frantically finished my nursing scholarship application that was, surprise, due that day, and waited for Kathryn to get back.  We headed out to see platform nine and three quarters, which my mom mistakenly called nine and three fourths. Wowwww.  

And then we went to the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the London Eye, the London Bridge (the song makes it sound wayyyy cooler than it really is), an outdoor market, and the best cookie store everrr!  I had bankers and mash for dinner, and we had full intentions of going out after butttt we realized we still had more catching up to do so we stayed up talking until my 3 am bus to the airport.

Getting home was another story.  I was supposed to get home by 11 so I could catch up on some sleep, lay in the warm sun etc.  However, I spent four hours in Genova airport because our pilot was ten minutes from Pisa but turned around because of fog.  Instead of waiting for the fog to clear out and fly us back to Pisa, someone decided we should take a two hour bus.  But we couldn’t take a bus from Genova… we had to wait for a bus to drive two hours from Pisa,  Then I sat on a two hour bus ride to Pisa, and thennnn, catch my one hour train back to Florence.  I was home at 6 pm instead of 11 am, and it sucked butttt what can you do?  At least I was lucky enough to have to company of a Dad and his daughter who were from Newcastle.  I enjoyed listening to Bethan call everything “lush.”     

Palma Mallorca and Valencia

Palma Mallorca is a summer island so we visited it a little off season.  However, Casey and I enjoyed the active atmosphere.  It was an older crowd, but I saw hundreds of road bikers, runners, and rollerbladers out and about.  Casey and I spent the day at the cuevas del drach- the caves of the dragon!  It was really cool and hosts one of the largest underground lakes.  

The peacocks running around outside were really pretty as well!  In the middle of the tour, we stopped and watched a classical music concert on the lake.  When we got back we sat outside another little restaurant and drank sangria.  We walked around the beach and on the rocks while the sun set and bartered at the shops for Messi Barcelona jerseys.  The city also has quite a bit of German influence, which we found interesting while trying to find a place to eat dinner.  

The next day we hopped on the bandwagon and rented bikes.  We found an awesome bike trail that ran along the ocean.  We saw so many colorful sail boats and after about an hour we made it to the beautiful cathedral. 

On the way back, we had a slight incident: Casey’s chain came off.  Luckily three foreign bikers stopped to help us.  We had no idea what they were saying, but they were hilarious joking around with each other and fixed it in no time.  We spent the rest of the afternoon laying by the water until it was time to head off to flight number 5.

We arrived in Valencia that evening and found our cool backpackers hostel and our 16 bunk room.  We talked to our English roommates and then headed off to find something for dinner.  We settled on ham and cheese crepes and ate them outside while a concert was going on in one of the squares.  We met some girls in our hostel and went to get a drink with them.  

On the way back, one of the girls ran into a Polish girl, German guy, and an English guy that she had met earlier.  Apparently, they missed their pub crawl so they wanted Hannah to be their new leader.  Casey and I were in and we all walked down the crazy, main street to find a pub.  They were all so interesting to talk to and it ended successfully.  

Hannah came with Casey and I to the beach the next day where the cutest puppy came and put his little head on my knee! 

Finally, after boarding our 6^th and final flight, touring five cities, laying on Spain’s beaches, drinking countless pitchers of sangria, meeting many new people, and visiting with old friends, our Spring Break was over.  Butttt not really… I was off to London three days later! Posts from that soon!!   

Sevilla!

Figuring out the BCN airport was quite an experience but we made it, and a few hours later we were settled down at a table in the sun drinking the best sangria I have ever had. Sevilla has definitely been one of my favorite places I have visited.  Maybe it was because I somewhat understood the language and it was almost 90 degrees or maybe it could have been the delicious honeysuckle that I smelled everywhere there.  Or maybe because we were always catching up with EMac, Elena, Mary Taylor, or David Boyer who were all studying there, so we were literally never alone. 

Regardless, I loved every second I spent there.  There wasn’t much to see there so we spent most of the time relaxing at the restaurant that had an amazing lunch special (I had spicy spinach and chick peas, a special local fish, beer, dessert, and bread for 8 euros both days I was there) with a pitcher of sangria or laying by the river with all of the American and Spanish students.    

David met with us on Wednesday and took us to Cien Montadillos, a place that has little montadillo sandwiches, pints of beer, and jars of tinto each for 1 euro.  We talked there with some tinto and then walked around for a bit.  Casey and I met him back there that night.  It was so crowded with Spanish and American students taking advantage of the special. 

We headed towards a club and ironically I saw EMac and Elena outside at a bar.  I joined them of course and had a great night.  The next morning we met Mary Taylor for coffee con leche then posted up at my favorite restaurant again where we met Elena and EMac before their classes.  

We found David by the river later that afternoon and we hung out there until EMac and Mary Taylor took us to the best yogurt shop ever!  Unfortunately, our time was then up in Sevilla.  Palma Mallorca here we come!       

Barcelona!

After James left for the airport, I hopped on the metro to head to a different airport to catch my flight to Barcelona.  Of course my metro line would be down, but I met a nice French boy who helped me figure out how to make it to my bus.  I got to the busses no problem, took a nap on the hour drive to Beauvais, and read while I waited for my flight.  Everything went smoothly and I met up with Casey and her friend Elayna a few hours later.  We went for churros con chocolate, and I got a yummy falafel while wandering around on the beautiful day.  We stopped in the Picasso Museum and were able to go in for free! 

Casey and I took a couple beautiful runs down the beach at sunset.  Our hostel was right on the beach.  It was beautiful!  Apparently, Barcelona wasn’t as nice as it is today until it was spruced up for the Olympics in 1992. 

Olympics statue

The next morning we found their market and bought the best smoothies ever for breakfast.  Then, we high tailed it back to our hostel to make the 11 o’clock tour of the city.  Little did we know the tour’s main meeting place was literally 5 minutes from the market that we were at so by noon we already had a good 5 under our belts and we hadn’t even seen anything yet.  

.  The gothic tour of the city was great.  Our tour guide Sofia showed us the University Picasso attended when he was only 13 years old, which was ironically next to what used to be a red light district, a church that fisherman had built themselves by carrying stones on their backs all the way from the mountains, Saint Eulalia’s memorial (Eulalia was a young girl that wouldn't renounce her Christianity when the Romans came in.  They exposed her naked in a public square in the summer and a snow storm covered her nudity.  They rolled her down the street in a barrel with knives stuck in the sides and she survived.  When she died it is said that a dove left her body), the first Synagogue in Europe, the original Roman walls, where Ferdinand and Isabella greeted Columbus after his voyage, how the Barcelona flag and Spain flag got the colors red and gold, and many others.  

Casey and I found a great lunch deal and then headed to the beach to take a nap.  We woke up to a naked man walking around… Since the sun was setting, we went for a run.  We ate tapas and sangria for dinner at this legit Spanish Bar.  It was delicious, and we tried squid, fuet (sausage), and patatas bravas.  We met up with Taylor and her friends and danced the night away at Apollo.  The club was a black hole and we lost all track of time because we found ourselves walking home at 4:30. 

We went again to the market the next morning for smoothies and an omelet.  The market had such fresh fruits and we were obsessed.  Literally every single banana, apple, strawberry, passion fruit, kiwi, coconut, pineapple etc. had the most vibrant colors.  So we can back in the afternoon for another smoothie.  Oh, and again that evening because we just could not get enough.

In between our first two market trips, we went on the Gaudi tour.  Gaudi’s first public work was light posts in a pretty piazza; but, the state ripped Gaudi off, so he took the case to court and won, vowing to only for private families from then on.  We saw Palau Guell, Casa Batllo, and La Pedrera.  But of course my favorite was La Sagrada Familia.

There are three different facades, the Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade and the Glory Façade hasn’t even been built yet.  We went inside and after visiting many different churches, they all seem to look alike, but not this one.  My second favorite was Casa Batllo.  There are many theories about what Gaudi's inspiration was for this house.  One is that the roof is the scales of the dragon the King George is slaying, the balconies are skulls, and the windows are bones of the sacrifices the dragon had eaten. Another is Carnevale.  The mosaic is confetti and the balconies are the masks worn during the festival.

 In between our second two smoothies we went to Parc Guell.  Gaudi designed this and it has a stunning view over Barcelona and many different trails to explore.  We relaxed at the top.  My feet were in so much pain from all the walking and wearing flops with noooo support out to the club.  On the way back to our hostel with our smoothies, we stopped in the La Seu Cathedral.

For dinner, Case and I got a tapa and yummy paella.  We had some admirers at the table beside us that spoke awful English.  He would type questions on his iPhone and leave it at our table for us to answer and then they would pull up the tablecloth to hide under while they read our responses.  It was quite entertaining and slightly awkward.  We then went out with our hostel roomies that happened to study in Florence as well to Opium on the beach.  The entertainment continued when we started dancing with Asians that absolutely did not know how to dance, they did, however, know how to use a camera and were snapping pictures all night.  We headed back to the hostel for a whole two hours of sleep before our flight to Sevilla!