We had our first choir concert and it went pretty well. We got to sing in the Palazzo Vecchio which was pretty sweet. We only sang 4 songs, so it was very short. Some parts were a little flat, but otherwise not too shabby! I still love it :)
My parents got here the day after our concert, go figure, and that was last Wednesday. I ran over to their hotel during my 15 minute break from class and they were just putting their bags into their room. Talk about good timing! Mom said the smile on my face was pretty huge; it was really good to see them. After I was done with class I bee-lined them to the gelato shop and I can definitively say they are in love. Dad kept asking me if I was SURE the ice cream cone we got was only 1 Euro. He couldn't believe how cheap it was! We have had gelato EVERY day since they've been here. I LOVE that my parents love ice-cream (gelato in this case) as much as I do! We just took a short walk around Florence and I pointed out some of the major sites. Then we went and ate at a good restaurant my host mom had taken me to.
Thursday after class I took my parents to the Medici Crypt underneath San Lorenzo church. I had not been yet, so it was pretty cool! I also got in free thanks to my Friends of the Uffizi card. Sweet! We also walked around the food market for a while and got a bite to eat there. That night I directed them to Trattoria Anita and I later found out that their food was amazing. Love that place!
Friday morning it was off to Rome! We arrived and were soon introduced to their wonky bus system. Actually, it was a fine bus system, except that there appeared to be no place to buy a schedule of the lines and their stops which proved to be frustrating. However, we were able to make it to our hotel just fine. The hotel was nice too! Mom and Dad's bed was underneath mine, but theirs was a queen? and mine was a lofted single. We had a double hot plate, small fridge and microwave, so we even cooked 3 meals while we were there! OH MY GOSH! There was also Fox station on tv IN ENGLISH so we watched a lot of Simpsons, Scrubs, and According to Jim. They wouldn't be my first choices in shows, but they were in english so I watched them. Thankfully my parents were understanding in that I haven't seen English shows on tv since I've been here, so they put up with it. Mom even laughed at the Simpsons a few times! Big steps for her :P
Unfortunately it rained pretty much the entire time we were there. Needless to say it got quite frustrating having to battle the rain all the time. Friday after we put our stuff in our hotel we walked around the inside of St. Peter's. Then Saturday it was really rainy so we went and visited Castle Sant'Angelo which is really an old prison/fortress. Then there was a pause in the rain so we hurried to the Colosseum and walked around the outside. On Sunday it was pretty nice in the morning so we went to the Trevi Fountain and Mom and I tossed in our coins so we would be guaranteed a trip back to Rome. Dad didn't want to toss a coin because he wasn't really enthused about coming back to Rome. Then we went back to the Colosseum and toured the inside. It was really really neat! Definitely a good chunk of history right there!
Today we went to the Vatican Museum and the Sistene Chapel. It was A LOT of art, but very cool. We ate gelato EVERY day while we were in Rome. There was a really good place that we always walked past and it had HUGE cones with 3 flavors of your choice for only 2 euros. It was pretty amazing. We also ate at the same restaurant twice because it was really good. I got penne alla vodka both times. It's penne pasta in a vodka creme sauce...so delicious!
Well, those were the highlights of the trip. I am quite tired so I apologize for the lack of creativity/exciting details in this one!
Until next time....
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Journey to Assisi, School and Choir
Last weekend my friends Lori and Allison went with me to Assisi. On the way there we got off at Arezzo, thinking we needed to change trains, but it turned out we didn't. So, we got to spend 2 hours in Arezzo! It wasn't too bad though, and we made light of the situation. We got to Assisi a little later than we expected, and most of the restaurants were done serving lunch. We found a self-service place and I got a type of pizza and french fries! The fries were really really good and they tasted like American fries :)
Our main site was the cathedral. It was really really pretty and the view was simply amazing. We walked around a lot and that was pretty much it! I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but there are only so many different ways to say how beautiful a view or a church is and I think I've pretty much used all of them up! Anyway, I would've liked to have spent a little more time in the town, so I am hoping to go back with my parents when they get here in LESS THAN 1 WEEK!
School is going pretty well. I am getting As and Bs in all of my classes, so it's pretty normal. The school week always goes really fast for me because I only have class on Tuesday and Wednesday, then one hour Thursday morning. It will be kind of difficult to adjust back to a more rigorous schedule when I get back to Iowa. Luckily I was able to work out my last semester so I don't have class on Fridays :D
I was in talking to my advisers this week and I showed them a picture of me as a mascot at Iowa. They could not believe it was me in the suit and they were quite tickled. Then Luca told me there is an American football team here (obviously not american players) and that he thinks they would love to talk to someone who could help them create a mascot. So that is the next thing on my list of things to do here. My friend who also goes here is a cheerleader and he said they would like to talk to her too. He thinks they would have us teach some people about it so they could have even more of the American football atmosphere. Apparently he told my friend that there might even be compensation involved. Woohoo!
The biggest thing on my agenda right now (other than my parents coming) is being a member of the Florence City Choir. I absolutely LOVE it. We sing really good songs, and while it is just a community choir, we still sound pretty good! We have 6 concerts before I go home and for one of them we are traveling to an island for 2 days! The trip is right before my finals week, but I couldn't say no. I'm trying to get a head start on all of my papers and projects now so that I won't be so swamped then :P Either way, it is going to be a blast, and plus, I'm only in Italy to study once! (Notice how I said "to study"...I will be back someday!) It is mostly Italians in the choir too, so it is fun to interact with them. We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday night, and our first concert is this coming Tuesday! Wish us luck!
Our main site was the cathedral. It was really really pretty and the view was simply amazing. We walked around a lot and that was pretty much it! I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but there are only so many different ways to say how beautiful a view or a church is and I think I've pretty much used all of them up! Anyway, I would've liked to have spent a little more time in the town, so I am hoping to go back with my parents when they get here in LESS THAN 1 WEEK!
School is going pretty well. I am getting As and Bs in all of my classes, so it's pretty normal. The school week always goes really fast for me because I only have class on Tuesday and Wednesday, then one hour Thursday morning. It will be kind of difficult to adjust back to a more rigorous schedule when I get back to Iowa. Luckily I was able to work out my last semester so I don't have class on Fridays :D
I was in talking to my advisers this week and I showed them a picture of me as a mascot at Iowa. They could not believe it was me in the suit and they were quite tickled. Then Luca told me there is an American football team here (obviously not american players) and that he thinks they would love to talk to someone who could help them create a mascot. So that is the next thing on my list of things to do here. My friend who also goes here is a cheerleader and he said they would like to talk to her too. He thinks they would have us teach some people about it so they could have even more of the American football atmosphere. Apparently he told my friend that there might even be compensation involved. Woohoo!
The biggest thing on my agenda right now (other than my parents coming) is being a member of the Florence City Choir. I absolutely LOVE it. We sing really good songs, and while it is just a community choir, we still sound pretty good! We have 6 concerts before I go home and for one of them we are traveling to an island for 2 days! The trip is right before my finals week, but I couldn't say no. I'm trying to get a head start on all of my papers and projects now so that I won't be so swamped then :P Either way, it is going to be a blast, and plus, I'm only in Italy to study once! (Notice how I said "to study"...I will be back someday!) It is mostly Italians in the choir too, so it is fun to interact with them. We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday night, and our first concert is this coming Tuesday! Wish us luck!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
2nd Half of Fall Break in Sicily!
Tuesday, October 26th
Today started at a very early 2:30 AM. At 3 our cab arrived at our hostel and took us to the bus stop because the train wasn't running that early. I slept a little on the way to the airport. There was quite a line for check-in when we arrived, but we had plenty of time. With the last of my pounds I bout "My Sister's Keeper" and read 2/3 of it on the plane, which was good except that meant I wasn't sleeping.
We got into Trapani and took a bus from the airport into the city. What a trash-hole that town is! There is really only one main street that is clean and has shops. It reminded me a lot of Mexico. We found our B & B pretty well and checked into our small, but comfortable room. Then we walked for a long time and found a place to eat. After seeing at the bus station that the last bus to Erice (the town on top of the mountain) didn't give us much time to be there, so I gave up grumpily and returned to our B & B. When I got there I decided to look again to try to find the cable cars that go to the mountain because I figured there had to be an easier way. Well, I was right and I found where they were located and that I would have about 4 hours on the mountain.
Paige wanted to rest so she stayed at the B & B and I started my very long walk through the entire town of Trapani to the life. I was tired when I reached it, but it was worth it. Only 6 euro to get there and back. I shared my cable car with a very kind old Italian man who has always lived and worked in Erice. He was very talkative and when we reached the top he showed me a church where I could buy a ticket so I could go into a bunch of churches.
When I was heading to the last church, I rounded a corner and thought to myself, "I bet there is going to be an amazing view" and when I rounded the corner I literally lost my breath it was so beautiful. I saw a church with an ocean and an island behind it with lush green bluffs to its sides. I hurried through the last church as it wasn't very exciting and I wanted to get back outside to see the view. Once outside I found a random little path that was mostly green from overgrown weeds, so of course I decided to follow it. The path led me to ruins of part of a castle. I think the door was supposed to be locked, but it wasn't so I went in! It was pretty worn down and some of the stairs were missing in places so I couldn't go all the way to the top, but it was still pretty cool. I tried to walk down another overgrown path after that castle but it led me to a really high wall so I turned around. The other big part of the fortress/castle was closed so I wasn't able to go in. The weather also started taking a turn for the worse so I headed back down the mountain.
On the way home I stopped to get a bite to eat. I found a place that had a piece of pizza type thing. It was shaped like a slice of pizza, but the crust was on top and bottom and was really flaky like a croissant. Then inside was cheese, turkey and spinach. It was really really good! I've seen them in florence too but have never tried them, I guess I will now! The rest of the night consisted of my finished my book and going to bed.
Wednesday, October 27th
Today Paige and I woke up and packed our bags to check out. The B & B allowed us to leave our bags there while we went and bought a bus ticket and also while we ate breakfast. I had a croissant with marmalade which was pretty delicious. After we bought our bus ticket to San Vito lo Capo we had some time to kill so we walked around the town a little and found a bread shop we had seen the day before. We stopped in and met the sweetest old man. He gave (well, sold) us these amazing pieces of bread rolled in sugar and then took pictures with us.
We went back to the B & B, checked some stuff on the computer and headed out. When we got to S. Vito lo Capo we found ourselves in a ghost town. We managed to find our hotel, but nobody was there. Finally, after calling the number on a card on the front desk, a lady showed up. Apparently she didn't know we were coming (even though I made reservations...found out later she is the sister of the lady I corresponded with by email). She told us to leave our luggage there, go look around for an hour and then our room would be ready.
So we set off on a journey to find something to eat. It was about 3 PM so we didn't really think twice about being able to find something to eat. However, apparently everything is closed between 2 and 6 in this town. We finally found a restaurant that said they would take us. We both ordered pizza, but when mine came out it had fish on it! It was not very good so I pushed the fish to the side and ate the rest. When we went back to our hotel we found our room but the lights didn't work. The lady told us that the weather was bad and the power was going in and out. Awesome. I tried to take a shower but the hot water heater wasn't working, so finally I just gave up and we both took naps. We both woke up a little happier and went in search of dinner before we missed our window of opportunity.
While we were walking to the restaurant the street lights all turned off! Not only the street lights, but every light in town, except cars...obviously. Luckily I had put my flashlight in my purse, I knew that would come in handy! We found a nice restaurant and I got pasta with shrimp and zucchini. There were cats in the restaurant too (it was outdoors, in a tent thing). The staff would yell at them, but not too badly because Paige and I didn't mind. They were cute! There was even a kitten! After dinner it was straight to bed!
Thursday, October 28th
Go, go, go and then go some more! Today we got to sleep in a little more which was nice. The people at the hotel weren't very busy (it's off season...hence the ghost town) so they let us stay as late as we wanted. We were able to leave our bags to look for the bus station and get some breakfast. I got a croissant filled with nutella that was really really good! Then we looked for the bus station but couldn't find it. We talked to a tourist lady who informed us that there is not actually a station but just the stop and you buy the ticket on the bus. We went back and got our bags and headed to the stop. We ended up having to wait about an hour, but finally the bus came. The ride was also kind of long, but the scenery was really pretty. We arrived in Palermo around 4 but didn't get to our B & B until between 4:30-5.
The lady who runs the B & B was really nice! Turns out there wasn't room in the main part of their B & B for both nights so we got an entire apartment to ourselves that they just bought and are working to fix-up. Since we had a stove we headed to a market that the lady pointed out to us and bought fresh food to make dinner and breakfast the next day. We found chicken, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, soy sauce, bread, eggs, cheese, butter, salt and sweets! And it was all really cheap too! We made stir fry and it was delicious.
Friday, October 29th
We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point of our trip. Nothing very exciting happened today. Got up and showered and when Paige woke up we made breakfast. She made french toast and I made scrambled eggs. Then I went to the internet cafe to check my emails and such. When I came back we went to the market to buy a few more things to make dinner again. For lunch though we had chicken and hashbrowns. Then I returned to the internet cafe to skype with a few people, which was really nice. I went back to the apartment and napped for a little while. When I woke up I started preparing dinner. After dinner we played cards for a little bit and then went to bed. It was nice to lay low for day :)
Saturday, October 30th
Today was the last day of fall break! We had to be out of our B & B by 11 but she let us leave our stuff in a room. We went and saw the catacombs which were really freaky. It was 3 euro to get in and it was just several different sections of dead people with their clothes still on. Some of them still had very distinct facial features and even hair, so it was really creepy.
Then we went to a restaurant that the lady at our B & B recommended. We both had spinach and riccotta ravioli in tomato sauce and a piece of bread. It was super good, and really cheap too! After that we went to a sweet shop and Paige tried 3 different types of cakes. I was way to full to even try a bite though, so I didn't have any. Then we headed to the theater but we didn't tour or anything. I actually just sat in the sun for a while (it was probably 75 degrees) while Paige went into a Sephora. We stopped in a couple tourist shops and I found a thimble and a ring. After that we went to the market yet again so I could buy some sweets for my host family. We were tired of walking around by that time so we burned the rest of our remaining time at the internet cafe just hanging out. Our flight was late and we didn't get back into Florence until around 1 AM.
I definitely had an amazing trip and I am so glad I was able to have this opportunity to travel. It is still really surreal to be here sometimes. I am loving this experience but I am also getting more and more excited to come back to the US as the days go by :) Also, I updated my online photo album with LOTS of pictures, so make sure to check them out here: Bridget's Italy Pics Much love to all!
Today started at a very early 2:30 AM. At 3 our cab arrived at our hostel and took us to the bus stop because the train wasn't running that early. I slept a little on the way to the airport. There was quite a line for check-in when we arrived, but we had plenty of time. With the last of my pounds I bout "My Sister's Keeper" and read 2/3 of it on the plane, which was good except that meant I wasn't sleeping.
We got into Trapani and took a bus from the airport into the city. What a trash-hole that town is! There is really only one main street that is clean and has shops. It reminded me a lot of Mexico. We found our B & B pretty well and checked into our small, but comfortable room. Then we walked for a long time and found a place to eat. After seeing at the bus station that the last bus to Erice (the town on top of the mountain) didn't give us much time to be there, so I gave up grumpily and returned to our B & B. When I got there I decided to look again to try to find the cable cars that go to the mountain because I figured there had to be an easier way. Well, I was right and I found where they were located and that I would have about 4 hours on the mountain.
Paige wanted to rest so she stayed at the B & B and I started my very long walk through the entire town of Trapani to the life. I was tired when I reached it, but it was worth it. Only 6 euro to get there and back. I shared my cable car with a very kind old Italian man who has always lived and worked in Erice. He was very talkative and when we reached the top he showed me a church where I could buy a ticket so I could go into a bunch of churches.
When I was heading to the last church, I rounded a corner and thought to myself, "I bet there is going to be an amazing view" and when I rounded the corner I literally lost my breath it was so beautiful. I saw a church with an ocean and an island behind it with lush green bluffs to its sides. I hurried through the last church as it wasn't very exciting and I wanted to get back outside to see the view. Once outside I found a random little path that was mostly green from overgrown weeds, so of course I decided to follow it. The path led me to ruins of part of a castle. I think the door was supposed to be locked, but it wasn't so I went in! It was pretty worn down and some of the stairs were missing in places so I couldn't go all the way to the top, but it was still pretty cool. I tried to walk down another overgrown path after that castle but it led me to a really high wall so I turned around. The other big part of the fortress/castle was closed so I wasn't able to go in. The weather also started taking a turn for the worse so I headed back down the mountain.
On the way home I stopped to get a bite to eat. I found a place that had a piece of pizza type thing. It was shaped like a slice of pizza, but the crust was on top and bottom and was really flaky like a croissant. Then inside was cheese, turkey and spinach. It was really really good! I've seen them in florence too but have never tried them, I guess I will now! The rest of the night consisted of my finished my book and going to bed.
Wednesday, October 27th
Today Paige and I woke up and packed our bags to check out. The B & B allowed us to leave our bags there while we went and bought a bus ticket and also while we ate breakfast. I had a croissant with marmalade which was pretty delicious. After we bought our bus ticket to San Vito lo Capo we had some time to kill so we walked around the town a little and found a bread shop we had seen the day before. We stopped in and met the sweetest old man. He gave (well, sold) us these amazing pieces of bread rolled in sugar and then took pictures with us.
We went back to the B & B, checked some stuff on the computer and headed out. When we got to S. Vito lo Capo we found ourselves in a ghost town. We managed to find our hotel, but nobody was there. Finally, after calling the number on a card on the front desk, a lady showed up. Apparently she didn't know we were coming (even though I made reservations...found out later she is the sister of the lady I corresponded with by email). She told us to leave our luggage there, go look around for an hour and then our room would be ready.
So we set off on a journey to find something to eat. It was about 3 PM so we didn't really think twice about being able to find something to eat. However, apparently everything is closed between 2 and 6 in this town. We finally found a restaurant that said they would take us. We both ordered pizza, but when mine came out it had fish on it! It was not very good so I pushed the fish to the side and ate the rest. When we went back to our hotel we found our room but the lights didn't work. The lady told us that the weather was bad and the power was going in and out. Awesome. I tried to take a shower but the hot water heater wasn't working, so finally I just gave up and we both took naps. We both woke up a little happier and went in search of dinner before we missed our window of opportunity.
While we were walking to the restaurant the street lights all turned off! Not only the street lights, but every light in town, except cars...obviously. Luckily I had put my flashlight in my purse, I knew that would come in handy! We found a nice restaurant and I got pasta with shrimp and zucchini. There were cats in the restaurant too (it was outdoors, in a tent thing). The staff would yell at them, but not too badly because Paige and I didn't mind. They were cute! There was even a kitten! After dinner it was straight to bed!
Thursday, October 28th
Go, go, go and then go some more! Today we got to sleep in a little more which was nice. The people at the hotel weren't very busy (it's off season...hence the ghost town) so they let us stay as late as we wanted. We were able to leave our bags to look for the bus station and get some breakfast. I got a croissant filled with nutella that was really really good! Then we looked for the bus station but couldn't find it. We talked to a tourist lady who informed us that there is not actually a station but just the stop and you buy the ticket on the bus. We went back and got our bags and headed to the stop. We ended up having to wait about an hour, but finally the bus came. The ride was also kind of long, but the scenery was really pretty. We arrived in Palermo around 4 but didn't get to our B & B until between 4:30-5.
The lady who runs the B & B was really nice! Turns out there wasn't room in the main part of their B & B for both nights so we got an entire apartment to ourselves that they just bought and are working to fix-up. Since we had a stove we headed to a market that the lady pointed out to us and bought fresh food to make dinner and breakfast the next day. We found chicken, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, soy sauce, bread, eggs, cheese, butter, salt and sweets! And it was all really cheap too! We made stir fry and it was delicious.
Friday, October 29th
We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point of our trip. Nothing very exciting happened today. Got up and showered and when Paige woke up we made breakfast. She made french toast and I made scrambled eggs. Then I went to the internet cafe to check my emails and such. When I came back we went to the market to buy a few more things to make dinner again. For lunch though we had chicken and hashbrowns. Then I returned to the internet cafe to skype with a few people, which was really nice. I went back to the apartment and napped for a little while. When I woke up I started preparing dinner. After dinner we played cards for a little bit and then went to bed. It was nice to lay low for day :)
Saturday, October 30th
Today was the last day of fall break! We had to be out of our B & B by 11 but she let us leave our stuff in a room. We went and saw the catacombs which were really freaky. It was 3 euro to get in and it was just several different sections of dead people with their clothes still on. Some of them still had very distinct facial features and even hair, so it was really creepy.
Then we went to a restaurant that the lady at our B & B recommended. We both had spinach and riccotta ravioli in tomato sauce and a piece of bread. It was super good, and really cheap too! After that we went to a sweet shop and Paige tried 3 different types of cakes. I was way to full to even try a bite though, so I didn't have any. Then we headed to the theater but we didn't tour or anything. I actually just sat in the sun for a while (it was probably 75 degrees) while Paige went into a Sephora. We stopped in a couple tourist shops and I found a thimble and a ring. After that we went to the market yet again so I could buy some sweets for my host family. We were tired of walking around by that time so we burned the rest of our remaining time at the internet cafe just hanging out. Our flight was late and we didn't get back into Florence until around 1 AM.
I definitely had an amazing trip and I am so glad I was able to have this opportunity to travel. It is still really surreal to be here sometimes. I am loving this experience but I am also getting more and more excited to come back to the US as the days go by :) Also, I updated my online photo album with LOTS of pictures, so make sure to check them out here: Bridget's Italy Pics Much love to all!
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