three midterms down and one to go...

this week has proved to be one of the most stressful weeks thus far. my history of christianity midterm was on monday and i feel like it went well. i made a call to nana and g-dad the night before to have them help me with some of my unanswered questions. aren't i such a good little christian? :-) im actually really excited for my final paper in that class. we were able to choose any topic regarding christianity and my teacher suggested i look into mormonism. i was totally thrilled with his suggestion because i have always wanted to know more about the 'revivalist' religions (as my teacher calls them) like mormonism and jehovahs witness. he gave me the book 'under the banner of heaven' by jon krakauer to read as a jumping off point for my paper and from the first few pages, i can tell it is going to be really interesting. as for my midterm on tuesday, i just had to hand in a paper so that was a nice break from the constant chaos of memorization that all my other classes require. today i had my italian test which was, surprisingly, really great! tomorrow i have my history of the medici midterm which is going to be tough but ill keep my fingers crossed for the best. 

all plans are still on for spring break and it is bound to be memorable. a trip to budapest is also being added to next months agenda. i called mom yesterday because i had myself all worked up over the idea that i wasn't going to be able to accomplish everything i had planned to do. i listen to all the kids in my class talk about the fact that they travel every single weekend and i started to think that i wasn't making the most of my time over here. mom was kind enough to allow me to vent and today i feel much, much better. unfortunately i had allowed myself to become completely comfortable here in florence--i was taking this situation for granted which is something i never wanted to do. i talked about it with my roommates and we all agreed that we need to continuously remind ourselves just how blessed we are to be here. i can't be concerned with how the other kids in my class spend their time here, i just need to be satisfied with my experience and not try to 'keep up with the joneses'.

i will try and write while on spring break, but if not, i will post pictures and updates as soon as i get back! the weather here has been absolutely spectacular and i hope that everyone else is having a similar experience with the arrival of springtime!

lovelovelove

milan and midterms...

i just got back from milan and spent the last few days with mom and dad. i honestly did not expect to love milan as much as i did! it is such a fabulous city with absolutely ridiculous shopping! wow--if i lived there i would be in so much debt!! the quick 2 day trip started on thursday night when i met mom and dad at this great little restaurant with the best risotto i've had so far in italy. of course, mom and dad had already become best friends with the restaurant owner so he showered us with grappa and lemonchello. i've learned it doesn't hurt to get to know people in the restaurant business over here--they love giving free food and drinks to costumers they like. saturday started out with mom and i shopping all around the city. the clothes are like artwork over there. everything is so beautiful and i couldn't imagine actually wearing any of it. the entire trip mom and i kept saying that sofie and emma (my fabulous fashionista friends) would look incredible in EVERYTHING! mom read that above all of the designer stores like prada, louis vuitton and chanel there are apartments for the designers to come and stay--not a bad way to live, right? i found the most incredible prada bag and i couldn't bring myself to buy it. but they also have a great prada store here so i will have to bring all the roommates to get their opinion before i make my decision! i was super excited to find a really funky pair of reading glasses in this little eye glass store. i try to follow after mom and go for the totally unique glasses and milan definitely had them. after shopping, we went on a little tour of the city and to see da vinci's 'the last supper'. when i think about why i wanted to study abroad in italy--being able to see that painting was, without a doubt, one of the most prominent reasons. i am just so captivated by, not only its beauty, but also the controversy that surrounds it. the church where it is located only allows 10 groups of 25 people to see it every day. the process of even being able to get into the room is like trying to get into fort knox. you must past several automatic doorways that do not allow you in until the sensors can tell that everyone is within a certain parameter of the doors. when we were finally into the room, i was at a loss for words. it truly is just so magnificent. later that night, we went back to our favorite restaurant for dinner. the next morning, mom and dad had to leave early to catch their plane so i spent a couple hours walking around the city before catching my train back to florence.

as for now, i am studying for midterms! i had kind of forgotten that i was here for school! but it will all be worth it after this week because i leave for spring break on friday morning. i am going to amsterdam with one of my roommates (the rest are going to london), then we all meet in paris and continue on together to bordeaux and nice. it was probably the most stressful spring break i've ever planned but i know it will all be worth it! i went to amsterdam with mom, dad and bubba back when i was younger and to paris a few times (i feel so lucky to be able to say that!) but each experience is different and i can't wait to see all those places again. i am not the same person i was when i visited those locations last time, so i bet i will have a whole new outlook this time around. i won't have room to bring my computer but i will try and update yall throughout the trip.

mom and dad--thank you so much again for everything! you have no idea how much it means to me to share this experience with you! please please please give all the babies kisses for me. make sure that taco tummy has plenty of food, harley has lots of snuggle time and mr. max has his pillow just right.

s0f--you MUST go to milan. that city was made for you. mom and i kept saying that everything was "soooooo df!!"

julianna-thank you for taking care of mr. harls while mom and dad were gone. he was such a lucky boy to have you walking him!

hope everyone is doing well and has a great week!!

lovelovelove

mom and dad visit florence...

wow..the past week has been non-stop with mom and dad! it was so amazingly fabulous to see them! while i was able to meet up with them in rome for a night, i decided to take a train in a day early to see some sights on my own. i actually ended up seeing EVERYTHING in that one day! who says  you can't do rome in a day? it was really empowering to find my way around the entire city by myself, but there were times when i wish i could have had someone to look over to and say, "wow look how beautiful that is!" and although the history in that city is truly incredible, it wasn't my favorite place. it just felt like a big, dirty city to me. i have become to used to florence and it's tiny street corners and alleyways--rome just felt so...crazy and fast. but i would go back again in a heartbeat just to see the sistine chapel again. WOW!!! absolutely breathtaking.

mom and dad didn't get in until 11 that night so i decided to grab some dinner while i was waiting for them. the entire dinner experience was a bit weird. i made a reservation for one, and people just kept asking me, "are you sure no one is joining you?" every single person in the restaurant was staring at me all night! maybe italians don't eat alone. i brought my journal along  to update while i was eating--so i would sit and enjoy my dinner then open a page up and write some things down. i started to notice that the owner of the restaurant was even coming out to look at me. i think they thought i was a food critic! once i caught on to this, i would really act the part--id take a bite, think about it for a little, then write in my journal. it was pretty funny! after dinner i went back to the hotel and waited for mom and dad. the next day was rainy so we just did a little sightseeing before i had to get back on my train to florence.

on tuesday, mom and dad arrived in florence. i felt like i had so many places to take them so we got started right away and went to all the great restaurants and markets. i finally found a leather jacket that i wanted but i wanted to make sure that mom and dad thought the quality was nice. they loved it just as much as i did and mom surprised me and bought it as a late valentines day gift! ive worn it every day since then!! on saturday, dad decided we should rent a car and drive to lucca. i had heard so much about this tiny town and had been wanting to go since january. after finding our way out way out of the city, it was about an hour car ride to lucca. the entire city is walled in so we walked almost the entire wall while stopping to get lunch. it is a much more family oriented place than florence. it was so peaceful and quiet--one of my favorite places in italy. after a few hours there, we got back in the car and began the journey to find mom's favorite olive oil. we were driving directly on the coast! it was breathtaking. we ended up finding our way through the mountains at this beautiful house/ranch where they made their own olive oil! they spoke very little english so i had to piece together my italian to try and buy stuff for mom. we bought a five liter tin can full of their home made oil!! we have no idea how it tastes so i can't wait for mom and dad to try it when they get back in the states. 

while they were here i took them to some of my favorite places like the boboli gardens, san michele church, a bunch of fabulous restaurants and my new favorite place--the mago merlino tea house. one of my professors had told me about this place and because this professor is such a weird guy, i was interested to see what it was all about. i had gone for the first time last week and i knew i needed to take mom and dad. you are able to sit on the floor in this back room filled with pillows and just sit and drink all different kinds of home made teas. the chi tea is to die for! all the walls are lined with moroccan tapestries and the rooms smell like incense. it might sound like a shady place but it really is very cool. besides dragging mom and dad around the city, we were also able to relax and catch up. i can't believe they are already gone, but i am meeting up with them in milan on thursday!

this week i will be studying for midterms and getting my last minute planning done for spring break. i hope that this post finds everyone happy and healthy! ill update again as soon as i can!

lovelovelove 

julianna--i tried grappa and WOW!!! it really is like lighter fluid but i really really like it!! 

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!