under the tuscan sun...

i can't believe it's already wednesday! time is starting to fly by. the title of this entry felt appropriate becuase i watched the movie 'under the tuscan sun' for the first time last night. i feel so lucky to be living in such a beautiful country. that movie shows the most incredible country side views along with scenes from florence right at the beginning. it is still a bit surreal that i am living here.

this week has been very productive and exciting. i am in the final stages of planning my spring break (which is only a month away) and also getting ready to see mom and dad. i am meeting up with them in rome for a day this weekend. from rome, they are coming to visit me in florence for a few days before continuing on throughout italy. i can't wait to show them around!

i had my first test this week in italian and i was super excited to find out that i got a 94%! this is a COMPLETELY different experience than i had with my first semester of italian at SMU. it makes sense though--learning italian in italy is much easier than learning italian in dallas...right? I have a quiz on monday in my history of christianity class which shouldn't be too hard. that is my favorite class thus far. as for the rest of my classes, everything is going really well. 

i have updated all of my pictures from venice and the soccer game. i will post the link below!

click here to see the pictures

i will update my blog again as soon as i get back from rome!

marmar--I CANT WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!!!! YAYYYYY LOVE YOU! SCHWEEEEBOP!

lovelovelove

venice and my first florence soccer game...

i have officially fallen in love...with venice. as i previously mentioned, two of my roommates and i decided to go to venice for the last weekend of carnival. i had heard my parents talk about their amazing memories while they were there, so i couldn't wait to see it for myself. we took a train from florence--i LOVE trains! i think there is something so old fashion about them and i feel like a little kid every time i travel on one. after a short 3 hour trip, we arrived in venice and immediately took a water taxi to st. marks square to get to our hotel. (side note: mom has been the most fabulous travel agent ever and she helped us find a great hotel right off the square.) i had an ear-to-ear grin the minute we stepped off the taxi. the city was so colorful and vibrant yet old and beautiful. everything i had ever wanted italy to be is exactly what venice was. not to say that florence isn't wonderful--florence has so much character and beauty, but venice is just perfection. it definitely goes on my list of favorite places in the world--along with gimmelwald (switzerland). 

the two girls i went with were the best travel buddies. we were there to see and do--not to get drunk and sleep. the first day we took the elevator up the campanile (the bell tower) and saw the most amazing view of venice and st. marks square. while we were up there the bell actually started ringing because it was 3 o'clock. it totally scared us but it was fun to see. afterwards, we went to the rialto bridge and shopped around the city. that night we had a great dinner followed by dancing in st. marks square. the entire square was lit up and big speakers were playing the most incredible euro-pop techno music and everyone was dancing! the three of us were laughing and smiling the entire time. 

the next morning we took a boat to murano to check out the glass blowing factory and walk around the island. i was completely in awe of the glass work. the artists who do it are so talented. the island was quaint and relaxed--i never wanted to leave. when we got back to venice, we took a tour of the doge's palace right next to st. marks square. the frescos on the walls were flawless and full of innovative ideas. the palace housed a jail and several living quarters, along with court rooms. the ceilings throughout the entire palace were spectacular. and i was absolutely speechless when i walked into the grand ballroom. everything just seems so elegant from that time period. from there, we grabbed a quick lunch, walked around a little longer and took a taxi back to the train station. we needed to be in florence by saturday night because we planned to go a florence soccer game on sunday (today).

the soccer game was a blast!! it reminded me of the world cup games in munich that we saw when we were on our big europe trip form high school. the fans are intense! if a player makes a mistake during the game, they start cursing and giving him the finger. but once he scores, they go back to praising the team and proudly singing the florence soccer songs. the team color is purple so we were all decked out in purple and cheered all the way into overtime. i fell in love with player number 10--i know nothing about him other than the fact that he was adorable AND he scored the winning goal for our team. florence won 2-1.

this week is going to be very relaxing and i couldn't be happier about that. we are lucky enough to have a washer in our apartment but we have to hang our clothes to dry on clothes lines outside our big kitchen window. the clothes turn out fine but they don't have that 'straight out of the dryer' smell so i am going to head to a laundromat this week and do a load of clothes in the dryer so they will smell better. i feel like a snob for not being satisfied with the way my clothes come out, but i really love sleeping on fresh smelling sheets. besides laundry, i plan to catch up on sleep and discover new parts of the city. i am at the point where i now feel really really comfortable here. i know my way around, my italian is improving, the weather has been beautiful,i am surrounded by great people, wine and food--i couldn't ask for anything more.

i will post the new link to my pictures tomorrow when i have internet at school--so check back in later! i hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend! and thank you for continuing to read about my adventures.

julianna--this week i WILL find that drink you keep telling me about. i can't wait to try it. if you like it, then it must be good!

mom and dad--can't wait to see you soon! love you and please give all the babies big kisses for me.

bubba--miss you and thank you for everything

marmar and molly--come visit me NOW. or else...

lovelovelove

fabulous week with bubba...

wow i can't believe my first visitor is already leaving! 

this past week with bubba was such a whirlwind experience. between the constant eating and excessive drinking, it's safe to say that we made the most of our week together in florence. each day would start around 11--i knew this was also his chance to catch up on sleep so i didn't want to drag him out of bed at 9am every day. we would usually wander around the city and find somewhere fun for lunch. after that we would look for places to shop for him and then he would go back to his hotel and take a nap while i went to class. during his stay, we found an 'ettro' store. this is one of our all time favorite designers and we thought the company was based out of england but in actuality--it's italian! the prices were not much different than in the states but the selection was much larger. i love shopping for men's clothes and since everything looks good on him, he's a fun boy to shop with! on his last day (today) we went to visit the 'david' statue and i took him to piazza michelangelo (thats where you get the most amazing view of the city). i had waiting to see david until bubba was in town so i was ecstatic to finally see him! that statue really is the most perfect form of a man--it's breathtaking. and as for piazza michelangelo, it was fun to experience that with someone besides my roommates. i love them, but i loved seeing bubba's initial reaction to the view from the top. it truly is marvelous.

we went out to eat every single night and WOW!! the food was insane! i thought i understood good italian food before he got here but now i really know why people gain so much weight while they are here! probably the most incredible restaurant was called 'aqua al due'. i had heard from several people that this place was the best in the city. we started with the pasta and salad sampler, followed by their signature dishes--the blueberry steak and balsamic steak. i opted to go with the blueberry while bubba decided on the balsamic. every single bite was, without a doubt, the most incredible steak i had ever had. if you ever have a chance to come to florence--this restaurant is a MUST! of course, we finished the meal with the dessert sampler which consisted of tiramisu, chocolate cake, cheesecake and a whipped cream pie. i was glad i wore a dress that night because there is no way i could have fit into a pair of my pants by the end of dinner.

it was so sad to say goodbye to him tonight. he really is one of the most important people in my life and i feel so lucky to be able to share this trip with him. luckily, i leave tomorrow for venice so i can distract my upset feelings with the excitement of this trip! two of my roommates and i chose to go to venice because it is the last weekend of carnival! it is a huge celebration throughout the city to celebrate the week before lent. everyone wears masks and drinks and eats all day--it sounds pretty perfect to me! our train leaves early tomorrow morning and we get back in time to go to a florence soccer game on sunday. it is going to be a very fun weekend! i will update pictures and my blog as soon as the weekend is over.

i hope everyone had a wonderful week!

lovelovelove

so excited for tomorrow...

after a totally exhausting week, i am THRILLED to have bubba arrive in florence tomorrow!

i meant to update my blog earlier this week but since monday morning i have been on turbo speed trying to get everything done! i booked spring break, which was a big weight off my shoulders. i am going with one of my roommates to amsterdam, paris, bordeaux and nice. all seven of us will be meeting in paris and continuing the rest of the trip together. i have been to both amsterdam and paris before but it's always fun to share those experiences with new people. in addition to booking spring break, i bought train tickets to milan and rome to meet up with mom and dad when they come on their trip to see me. at the last second, two of my roommates and i decided to go to carnivale next weekend in venice. that is going to be SO much fun! the last trip will be to the amalpfi coast, capri and pompeii. all seven of my roommates will be going on that as well. i feel so lucky to be able to jet set around europe! the planning has been unbelievably stressful which is why i wanted to get it done as soon as possible. 

yesterday my roommate mairin and i went to visit one of the most beautiful places in florence--the boboli gardens! i had no idea what the place was all about so when i saw the breathtaking views and picturesque gardens, i was completely overwhelmed. honestly, it didn't feel real! the entire experience felt like i was in a movie! we saw kittens all over the gardens! seriously, these cats live the ultimate life. imagine wandering around the boboli gardens all day! they were beautiful and really healthy! i tried to post the pictures from our day but only one would load. the rest can be found on this facebook link: 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=34134951&l=6c274&id=18811585

as for next week..i am planning to take bubba all around florence! hopefully we will have a chance to go to greve in chianti and do a little wine tasting. 

i wish i could spend my favorite holiday with all of you but i hope yall have a fabulous valentines day no matter where you are! 

mom and dad-i love and miss you very much! i cant wait to see you oh so soon!

marmar-SHHHWWEEEEBOP! i miss you so so so much! happy valentines day lovebug.

molly-when are you coming to see me?!?! 

nana and gdad-lets try to skype soon! i miss you!

end of a very relaxing weekend...

this past weekend was wonderful! we were unsure of the weather so we ended up staying in florence and saving the wine tasting for another weekend. during the day on friday, a couple of my roommates and i went to the BIG local market right next to the san lorenzo market that i mentioned in one of my earlier posts. this particular food market is indoor and you can buy absolutely anything and everything is fresh. we wanted to make a big dinner that night so we walked around and tried all the different foods and decided to buy ricotta and spinach ravioli for the first course (italians have pasta as the first course so we figured we should follow suit). we literally saw them make the ravioli that we bought. i have never tasted pasta so fresh. we tossed them in a pesto sauce that was also delicious! then, we went to the meat section and had them cut up some chicken breast that we were planning to cook in olive oil, seasoning and sun dried tomatoes. while in the various meat departments, we had our first sense of culture shock. italians buy every single part of an animals body to cook with--stomach lining, feet, ears, and even full cow heads. at one point, one of the butchers was carrying around an entire cow leg. oddly enough it didn't make me feel queazy. at least it's not like china where they sell dog and cat at the markets (or maybe that is just a myth). but the butchers were so friendly and noticed that we were staring at the cow heads on the counters. they came over and explained to us that when cooked with fresh veggies and sauces, cow heads taste delicious. we opted to buy JUST fresh veggies without any cow parts.

our dinner that night was fantastic! we were very proud of our culinary masterpiece and decided to finish off the meal with some gelato from downstairs. i don't know if i previously mentioned the fact that we live DIRECTLY above the best gelato in florence. its called vivoli--all the locals and guide books agree that it is the best in the entire city. the sizes are funny because there are about 7 to choose from. the large is 10 euro and huge! we all decided to get that size the night before we leave to celebrate. i always get the extra small (which really is an extra small size) with two different flavors. my roommates and i want to try every flavor before we leave. we also understand that our jeans will not button at the end of the trip but that is a sacrifice we are willing to make.

the next night we finished our leftovers for dinner then went a pub that is right down the street from us. it's called the lions fountain and after that night, it is one of my favorite places in florence. the atmosphere was so casual and fun. when i went up to order a beer, the bartender was this adorable girl who spoke perfect english. i found out she was from boston and is only 18. she graduated from high school and didn't want to go to college so she moved to florence and is taking classes here and speaks fluent italian. she was so sweet--i cant wait to go back and hear more about her life! she seemed really interesting. 

on sunday, one of my roommates, marian and i decided to head over to piazza micchelagelo. its on the other side of the bridge and was supposed to have the most incredible view of florence. it was a beautiful day so the 20 minute walk was wonderful. we had to walk up a HUGE flight of stairs to get there but once we got to the top--it was absolutely worth it. i was speechless--we could see the entire city! it was at that moment that i truly realized where i was and what i was doing. obviously i have appreciated this experience from the beginning, but being able to see the city like that was so beautiful. florence really is such a spectacular place. i took a video of it so i will post it on youtube and put the link on my blog. i cant wait to take bubba, mom and dad to see it when they visit. i am going to try and visit that piazza as much as i can while i'm here.

since the weather ended up being nice this weekend we didn't want to do the museums, so i didn't get to see david. but i definitely will pay him a visit this week and also while bubba is in town. i cant believe he gets here on friday--it will be so fun to have him here! mom was so nice to send my ugg boots to wear around the apartment because it is SO COLD!! she also included a little valentines gift for me to open--i cant wait to see what it is! mom has seriously been my rock throughout this entire process. and dad too--there is no way i could have done any of this without them.

the paper i mentioned in a previous post is due on tuesday so i am starting that today and hopefully it will go well. this next week will consist of booking flights for spring break, planning things for bubba's arrival and homework.

i hope everyone had a great weekend and i will update my pictures and videos as soon as possible.

lovelovelove

almost friday..

not much has gone on since my last post. i only have one more class in a few hours and then i am officially done with my first week of classes! its a weird feeling because time goes so slowly here but i love it! the days seem to go on forever and i cant believe i've only been here for a little over a week. 

one of my best friends from high school (stef norris) is also studying here but we are going through two separate programs and live on opposite sides of the city. we had not seen each other until last night when we met at this super fun pub right next to the duomo. our incredible english teacher from high school (brad dicus) told us to go because it was his favorite pub. it was a very laid back atmosphere with an amazing view of the duomo. it was so great to see her and meet all of her roommates. i love catching up with old friends and realizing that regardless of how much time has passed since you've seen one another, some things never change. 

two of my roommates are leaving tomorrow morning for amsterdam. a bunch of their friends who are all studying abroad are meeting there for their friends 21st birthday. the rest of us are going to go wine tasting on saturday and possibly horseback riding in greve. the train ticket is only 3 euro and the wine tasting is just 8 euro. the tasting includes cheeses, breads and different types of meat to try with each wine. we are pretty excited! none of us have classes on friday so tomorrow i think we are going to climb the duomo. we've heard such great reviews from people who have previously done it. ill make sure and take lots of pictures at the top! as for the rest of the weekend, we hope to go on the other side of the bridge and just walk around to try and find a cute place for lunch. also, we are hoping to see the statue of david at the uffizi. that statue is one of the reasons i've always wanted to come to italy (along with 'the last supper' in milan). the best part of going to the museums is that the school provides us with a card that gets us in to almost every museum in the city for free AND we get to cut all the big lines and walk right it. this fairfield program has really been amazing so far. my friends in other programs have not been able to do nearly as much as i have.

we are all starting to plan the trips we will be taking this semester and the task of organizing them is REALLY tough. the school offers some amazing trips which is nice because it takes away the work of planning. all 7 of us signed up for a trip to capri and the amalfi coast which is later in the semester. but that still leaves spring break and weekend trip planning up to us. i made a list today of some of the places i want to go, so this weekend i will start looking at airline prices and dates. hopefully it all works out. if anyone has any suggestions as to fun places or traveling tips--i appreciate any help i can get!

i am counting down the days till my favorite holiday (valentines day) which is also the day that bubba arrives in florence. i am so excited to see him and show him all the wonderful parts of the city. even though it is a little weird that i will be spending the most romantic holiday in one of the most romantic cities in the world with my brother, it is still nice to spend time with someone you love and can laugh with. 

ill make sure and update pictures and everything once the weekend is over! have a fabulous weekend!!

lovelovelove

the secret bakery...

last night was probably one of the best nights we will have in florence! 

i had heard from a friend of mine who studied in florence last year that at 1 am a bakery opens and sells fresh, straight out of the oven, pastries but the catch is--its impossible to find. my roommates and i had talked about the fact that we wanted to find it early in the semester so we could show all of our family and friends who come to visit (and also so we could try these amazing pastries). we even found a blog online that a student had written and he described the bakery like this:

"visit the unnamed secret bakery, of no certain address. the glow of a frosted glass door awaits you on the corner. you go inside. the bakers try to ignore you (this is not a retail outlet, but a manufacturer of the pastries seen in many bars around town) and get back to the brioches. you get their attention and ask whats available. if you dont speak italian, its possible to get away with pointing. everything is just out of the oven and fabulous: still warm, flaky, magical. if your lucky, they still have some sfogile left, with a cream or marmalade or, the best, apple filling. if not, a chocolate croissant has been known to move one unnamed friend to tears of joy. if your in the mood for something a little more unusual, ask for a budino di riso, a small, hot, moist cake. after the first bite, you expect to owe your soul to the impatient woman who wants to get back to her ovens; after all, most of the customers are drunk. but she demands only 80 cents from you and shoos you away. you stumble out into the alleyway and begin your journey home in bliss, with chocolate on your lip. if only your pastry lasted the whole walk home...next time youll have to buy two."

needless to say, after reading that yesterday afternoon we were set on finding the bakery. we decided to go to a local pub and have a few beers. after an hour or so we realized it was time to go find the bakery. we had heard rumors as to where the bakery was, but most people said that we would just have to follow the scent. and they were right. when we walked out of the pub, we instantaneously smelled fresh made pastries. we followed the smell for about a block and before we knew it, we turned into a back alley and saw the magical glow coming from big frosted doors. we were ecstatic!!! we spent about five minutes just jumping around and laughing because we were still in awe that we had found the secret bakery. i will never forget the smell of that kitchen the minute we opened the doors. it was seriously a small piece of heaven. the baker saw us walk in and asked what we wanted. we asked for one of everything!! (hey, this sort of night was only going to happen once and we wanted to experience all of it, even if our jeans wouldnt fit the next morning.) we saw the man take the pastries straight out of the oven and into a bag for us. at this point i think we were all drooling. and the best part was, not only did they have pastries--THERE WAS PIZZA TOO!!! we paid practically nothing for our little pieces of heaven then walked outside to take pictures and enjoy the fruits of our labor (we did have to work pretty hard to find the place). i can not explain just how amazing the food was. it was still warm and so unbelievably fresh. i have never tasted anything so delicious in my life (except for moms meatloaf). we met an italian man on our way out who was so friendly. i asked him if this was the only special bakery in town and he gave me the strangest look. he told me that this place isnt really a secret to local florentines, but americans always refer to the bakery as 'secret'. we laughed and i told him that it was probably just a stupid american thing. he smiled and said that he loved americans we werent stupid--he went on to say that his wife is american and even though she has lived in florence for 20 years, she still believes that the bakery is a big secret.

so please remember that i would love for anyone to come visit!! and if seeing me wasnt a good enough reason to come, i can now say that if you visit, i will show you the super secret bakery. 

lovelovelove

first day of class...

well yesterday was the first day of class and so far, they seem like they will be really interesting. each class is usually 2 hours but for most you go on walks around the city--rarely do you spend the entire time in the classroom. but it makes sense--we are in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world!! 

i just had writing class and our professor starts out with the question 'what is a journey?' ok, i thought this class was going to be more of a journalism thing than a philisophical class. my head starts thinking a thousand different things...what do you mean 'what is a journey'? can you elaborate? do i need to take notes? is there only one right answer? am i even in the right class? then all of the sudden this girl (later i find out she has traveled all over the world and done everything with her life while practially curing cancer) answers with some insanley over the top comment involving animals and society. at this point, i am already lost but figure that i should stick it out till the end to see what this class is all about. for the next 2 hours i realize that the kids in my class are so typical of every english major student ive ever met. (sorry bubba--you are the exception) when given the chance they love to talk about themselves and hear the sound of their own voice. when asked what color the sky is, they cant say it is blue--they respond with "it is the color of my spiritual connection to all living things" or something complicated like that. so some of the answers these kids were giving just made me laugh. towards the end of class we were given our assignment and the professor asked for voulnteers to read their finished papers aloud at the next class. two students (the girl i mentioned earlier) and another guy (who also had made it very clear that he was over qualified to be in the class) volunteered, so i decided i should do it as well. keep your fingers crossed that my paper ends up going well!! oh and by the way, the answer to the question 'what is a journey' ended up being 'a transformation'.

my weekly schedule looks like this:

monday-history of christianity 9-11:30 and italian 3-4:15

tuesday-travel writing 12-2:30

wednesday-italian 3-4:15

thursday-history of the medici family 3-5:30

i am so excited to have fridays off to explore the city or take little day trips! this week thus far has consisted of class and grocery shopping. it is so fun because we have grocery stores near our apartment but we also have wonderful markets where we are able to buy exactly what we need at little specialty carts. it also gives us a chance to practice our italian. the fruits and veggies here are SO fresh! we have been making our meals at home the past few days and we love cooking with all the italian spices and ingredients.

as promised, here are some of the pictures! it is on my facebook account but this link allows for everyone to see the album even if they do not have a facebook. i still have more to add but my internet at the apartment is SO UNBELIEVABLY SLOW!!!!! i need to get wi-fi set up at the school so i can use my computer there with faster internet. 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2126295&l=1d3db&id=18811585

i just had lunch with a friend of mine from high school who has spend the entire year in florence! it was really nice to see a familiar face and catch up on old times.

anywho, enjoy the pictures and i hope yall have a great week!!!

lovelovelove

back from traveling..

first off..i am still working on pictures and my next post will have a link for an online photo album!

this past weekend was loaded with traveling so needless to say i am super tired—but it was definitely worth it.  we started in assisi which was one of the most beautiful places ive ever seen. i had been excited to go because i had heard so much about st. francis of assisi while growing up. the town was so quiet and picturesque! st. catherine’s church was very interesting—it was turned into a hospital during the plague so they painted over the beautiful artwork with white paint to sterilize the building. it was fun though because you could still see the colors of the original artwork underneath. then, all of the sudden we turned a corner and saw this absolutely incredible church on top of the hill. the st. francis church really is one of the most breathtaking sights. we were able to go and see where he was buried and i lit a candle in the church on behalf of our animals at home. i miss the babies so much but it felt nice to be in the church of the man who is always watching over them.

next we went to perugia—the church there was stunning. i love seeing all the details throughout the building. it is beyond me to think that someone painted and sculpted those details by hand. there is a college in that town that supposedly is a big place for american students to study but it would be a little too small for me. i learned that due to some conflict that happened thousands of years ago, the town was not sold salt for their bread, so now the bread that you eat in that town is made without salt. it had an interesting taste! after an hour or so in purugia, it was time for dinner so we found a cute place for pasta (obviously) and walked around for a little before heading to bed. we had an early morning the next day so we wanted to be ready for it!

by the time we got to siena, it was freezing!! even the kids from the east coast were saying it was cold and if they thought it then it MUST be cold! we saw more beautiful churches—i lit another candle in the church on behalf of all my loved ones. what i remember most from siena was the huge town square. it was a big open area where everyone comes to sit and eat their lunch and people watch. it had a very relaxing and casual vibe. for lunch i had my first pizza since ive been in italy and it was everything i had hoped it would be! it was delicious—as bubba would say—they definitely mixed a little crack in the recipe.

after siena we to san gimignano—the views were fantastic! there was a great little market in the middle of the town square where they sold clothes and fresh candy and even puppies!!!! it took everything in me not to buy this little yellow lab that was sound asleep even though it was so noisy. he looked so peaceful!

the best part of the day came that night when we went up this HUGE mountain to the castello vicchiomaggio for wine tasting and dinner. we had a tour of the wine cellar downstairs before the wine tasting and dinner. this particular castle made super tuscan wines along with chianti classico. they were so delicious!! the dinner was even better, we had a five course meal followed by a dessert wine that we dipped biscotti in. the dinner was in this giant room with big windows looking down on the city. there was a piano in the corner of the room, which a bunch of the students and chef’s played on after dinner. we sang all these ridiculous american songs—it was hysterical! we all agreed that it was the best time we have had thus far.

we came back to florence that night but left this morning for pissa. it was rainy and cold! there isn’t much to do in pissa besides seeing the leaning tower—so the trip was short. i forgot that the leaning tower was in italy so when i saw it i was really excited! we took the typical american pictures where, from a certain angle, it looks like you are holding up the tower. after that we ran inside to get a quick cappuccino (im officially addicted!) at a little café before we left. we were planning on going to lucca but the weather was so bad that we decided to come back to florence and visit lucca on an afternoon where we could really experience the supposed beautiful views from the town.

tonight i am planning to stay awake and watch the superbowl game at a pub right down the street. they have advertised that they will be showing the game so a bunch of americans will be there. a couple of the guys in our program found out i was from arizona and said they were cheering on the cards tonight with me so it should be a good time! the first day of school is tomorrow and i cant wait! Ill update yall more on how things go after class.

nana--i bought a prayer card for you at the st. francis church—whos the favorite grandchild now?

sof—ive told everyone about deuxfashion!!! they think you and em are so dang cute!

mar-i wear my necklace every single day!!! it makes me think of you! miss you lovebug

have a great week!!!

lovelovelove