Fare Trekking

Last weekend our group decided to explore the Tuscan countryside by going "trekking" as the Italians call it. Therefore we all met up in the morning right outside the city walls. All the American students show up in their shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, the usual.. Then the Italians arrive. Whether they were dressed to go out to dinner or to hike the Francigana Road (connects Siena to Rome) or to go out to lunch we did not know. Fully covered head to toe in jeans, polos, leather belt, fashion sunglasses and puffy coats and, of course, their smoking their cigs they casually strolled up to the bus stop.

We had a wonderfully hot day on a 12 km (8 mile) hike through the forest area, then out on an open dirt road. At one point we had to cross over a creek and afterwards several of the Italian roommates were spotted trying to clean the mud off their shoes. The hike ended at a beautiful church outside Montalcino which we were able to explore the rest of the afternoon. Famous for their wine and honey gelato, the little medieval town was the perfect oasis after a long day in the sun.

Mamma Cuts Takes Italia

My mom and her college friend Mary came to visit me in Italy last weekend. We started off the weekend in Florence and took a quick trip up to Fiesole to see the ancient Etruscan and Roman ruins, have a wonderful lunch over looking Florence and then hike up a hill to a monastery with an even more gorgeous view of the city and its surrounding hills. For dinner we headed across the river to avoid the "touristy" restaurants in search of some authentic dishes in the piazza outside Santa Spirito. Between mom tripping every 5 minutes on the cobblestone or off a curb (now I know where I get my gracefulness) and Mary having difficulty keeping the olive spread on the bread, we were quite the scene that evening.

The next day we did the full museum/art tour including: the Uffizi, Academia and Boboli Gardens, while I played the role of tour guide in hoping that my Bowdoin art history education would pay off. We then headed to the other side of town to a small trattoria with the two most entertaining waiters we've ever had. 4 hours and several bottles of wine later, we made our way back through the packed streets to our little hotel near the Duomo.

Later that week, Mom and Mary met up with me in Siena so I could show them my home stomping grounds. We did a full Siena day that included: climbing the tower, walking the fortezza, enjoying gelato in the campo and then headed to my favorite restaurant with no menu, run by an elderly man who thinks my name is Francesca. The remainder of the week while I was in class they headed on day trips exploring San Gaminiano (which they couldn't pronounce for the life of them) and riding bikes in Lucca. They also got to meet the entire CET gang for aperitivi and a taste of Sienese dessert at the Tea Room.

Mary took off a few days early, so my mom and I spent the afternoon going on a long walk around the city then to a restaurant that was recommended to us by one of her friends, Tim, where the risotto was brought out in a large carved out wheel of parmesan cheese! Epic is really the only word to describe this dinner. We then headed to Bologna for the weekend where we met up with some of my Bowdoin friends studying there. With not so great weather, and not a whole lot to do in Bolonga, we caught up on some sleep and followed the news in the hopes that Mom would still be able to fly out (damn volcano in Iceland).

As of now she took a train through the alps from Bologna to Munich and is delayed 5 days in Munich just waiting for the ash the clear and the volcano to stop spewing! Cross your fingers that her flight will get out on Thursday!

Mikonos

After the ferry debacle (see previous post, best story) we finally made it to Mikonos where we were met by crystal clear water, low 70s, sandy beaches, and stark white buildings all with blue trim. The lady who ran the hostel, Maria Maria (as she called herself), met us at the port and brought us to our very cozy room in downtown. And by downtown I mean 2 story high buildings, where no cars are allowed, the streets are stone and every stone is outlined in white paint. We were there before tourist season so we basically had the island to ourselves. The beaches that are normally so packed you can't find a place to sit, bars that are so crowded you have to wait 45 minutes to get a drink and restaurants that are only open if you make a reservation a month in advanced - all empty! It was nice, not the crazy stay up all night on the beach spring break we had anticipated, but so relaxing and wonderful. So we spent most the of the days either on the beaches or wandering the little back streets. Highlights:

Best things we did: The second day we were there we rented RTVs and rode around the entire island. Patriz on one and Lauren and I switching off driving the other. It was so much fun slash slightly terrifying seeing as Greeks don't have road rules! Also, we watched the sunset every night from what we claimed as "our spot" on top of a bunch of rocks while we played cards.

Best Story: after leaving paradise and getting ready to return home, we had taken the ferry back to Athens. We were heading out on the metro towards the airport and the hotel that I had booked for the night in the anticipation of our departure early the next morning. It's about 9:30 and we're about 40 minutes outside the city now, so we decide to pull out the hotel reservation and look for directions. However, when we started reading we see things that say go 2 miles on I-85 and turn left of Franklin Blvd.. yes, that is correct, I had booked a hotel in Athens alright, Athens, GEORGIA that is... That will be the last time I book a hotel, on an Italian wesbite, at 2 am the night before, while packing (don't worry mom and dad, the Bowdoin education isn't a complete waste). Everything turned out alright though and we found a hotel very near the airport and got a good night sleep. Overall it was a wonderful spring break, but I must say we were happy as ever to get back to our little cobblestone streets and campo here in Siena!

Athens

For spring break Lauren, Patrizio and I decided to pack our bags and head somewhere warmer - so we booked flights to Greece. We started the break off in Athens. Upon landing and realizing that we knew NO greek, whatsoever, not even: hi, thank you or please, we quietly navigated our way into the heart of the city by metro. A lot happened over break, so as to not bore anyone with details I'll give you the highlights.

Coolest things we saw: The Acropolis - after studying it for so many years, it was AMAZING to see in person. A lot of it was under restoration and it was so windy on top that small children were actually falling over, nevertheless, there was an amazing view! The old Olympic Stadium with modern track surface, the national gardens with gorgeous fountains and trees, the Acropolis Museum (another disneyland equivalent for me the art nerd), and the temple of olympic with a sprawling lawn surrounding it. Lastly, the crazy market and street vendors (most of whom are illegal and would pick up their blankets full of goods and sprint if they saw a cop).

Best thing we ate: The most amazing baklava! the guy laugh when we had visited the store for the 3rd time in the span of 12 hours. Patriz and I almost died when we were trying to eat while climbing to the top of the Acropolis because we were substituting baklava for oxygen, both resulting in us gagging half way up the hill and having to sit down.

Best story: So being the experienced travelers we are by this point, we had planned and timed everything out perfectly to make sure we didn't miss the closing of museums, parks, stores, etc.. After 2 days of being in Athens the next morning we were planning on catching the 7:30 ferry to Mikonos. So we arranged to check out of the hotel early, arrive at the dock an hour a head of time to buy tickets and get seats. Everything is going as planned when we are on the metro and see a clock that reads 7:15. Pausing, we look at our watches which say 6:15. The time had changed the day before (which we knew) so we thought maybe the the metro station had messed up and accidentally set it two hours ahead. We shrug, don't think much of it, then pass the station where the clock also says 7:15. We start looking around and all spot a man's wrist watch - 7:15. Freaking out at this point, still trying to convince ourselves that the three of us are correct, I pull out my iphone and check the "world clock" app - sure enough, Athens - 7:15. We then realized none of us had figured out that we had changed time zones when we left Italy and we had been living the last two days an hour behind. Thankfully, we saw there was a ferry leaving 5 minutes after our arrival to the port. So we had to SPRINT for literally 5 minutes to the other side of this very large port with all our bags, people yelling at us on from the ferry, Patriz and I in the lead and Lauren yelling, "I'm going to thrrooww uuuppp!" bringing up the rear...

Calcio!

As everyone knows, Italy is THE capital of the soccer world. It is embedded in their culture to have Sunday be THE soccer day. All people do is get together, drink, eat and watch multiple soccer games at once. Friends will even bring over their extra TVs or have multiple games streaming live so they can all be viewed at once. You have to be a diehard fan for one team and defend them endlessly in many heated debates that are bound to happen throughout the day. Unfortunately, even though Siena is in "Siere A" which is the top division that includes teams like A.C Milan, FC Inter and Juventus, they are at the bottom. So while people go and support Siena, just because it is their hometown, they will often go to watch the opposing teams who have the best players in the world.

Anyways, our group went to a Siena soccer game the past weekend. Decked out in our black and white striped jerseys and scarves we went to yell random Italian phrases and just clap along with the crowd as they sang their different fight songs - about 10 different ones. Siena was playing Bologna and there was a whole section that was completely red and blue (Bologna's colors) with tons of flags that would yell back and forth to the Siena side. Our side was told to hold up black and white signs that spelled out VINCI (win) so that was pretty fun to witness! The game was great, and surprisingly Siena won! After the game we walked with the masses back to the campo in search for gelato and to get the last of the Fritelle (fried dough balls covered in sugar - aka - little drops of heaven). Now that Carnevale season is over, it was the last day that Fritelle was sold - we are all already going through withdrawals :(

Bowdoin Invades Siena

Sorry everyone it has been way too long since my last blog. My camera is freaking out so pictures will be added shortly but a few weekends ago Bowdoin basically took over Siena. I was visited on the weekend before my midterms (perfect timing of course) by DJ, his brother and dad, Chris, Q and Bobby who were all on their spring break. I had to act as tour guide so I took them all over Siena doing the classic touristy things such as climbing the tower to get the best view of the Tuscan countryside you will ever get, touring the Duomo and seeing the soccer stadium. Funny enough, as we were walking up to the Duomo entrance I see Ryan Brodovsky, who was in my high school class of 28, walking out! Talk about a clashing of my three worlds: Country Day, Bowdoin and Siena - very strange feeling. Later that night I took the Bowdoin crew to aperitivi (open buffet of finger food with a 3 euro glass of wine) then to our favorite night spot, Gallery where they got a feel for an Italian discoteca and Sienese night life. The next day we just relaxed in Siena grabbing paninis and wine and stretching out to do some fantastic people watching on the campo. It was great to have a little taste of home for the weekend!

Lazy Sundays

Since our group has been on the go constantly, some of us decided to just hang in Siena for the weekend and do absolutely nothing. We kicked off the weekend with a group dinner at our apartment where Giusy taught us how to make her famous Carbonara. It was nice to finally not set an alarm and have to worry about catching a train, plane or bus, but rather wake up whenever, stroll to the corner cafe grab a macchiato and a panino then lounge in the campo for hours. It was the first weekend it was warm and sunny and on Saturday they had the annual Mercato where they fill the campo with white tents and vendors come from all over to sell fresh meats, wine, cheese, honey, jewelry, hats, crafts, etc. So we just spent the majority of the day wandering between the stands and mooching off the free samples of deliciousness, split a bottle of wine and watch the sunset behind the Piazza.

Snow on a Volcano?

The second half of the traveling seminar we went to Catania, Sicily. We were all very excited to head south to the beach, except, we get there and it is pouring rain. However, that doesn't deter our adventurous group, so through the downpour we explored the gorgeous city of Catania. It has been completely destroyed 4 different times in the last 2,000 years. Destroyed several times by volcanic eruptions from Mt. Etna, it is slightly different than other Italian cities we have visited. It was built with a Spanish Baroque influence in the architecture, smaller cobblestones, and lots of vegetation.

Sicily is known for its seafood, desserts, and other baked goods such as Arancini which are fried balls of rice mixed with other fresh ingredients such as mushroom, spinach, ricotta or ragu. So the entire time we were there, we had fabulous meals and sweets such as cannolis, marzipan and chocolate almond nugget bars.

The second day we decided to climb Mt. Etna, and I think I am cursed to have to snow follow me wherever I go because when we got to the top we were in the middle of a whiteout blizzard. Of course, while everyone else was wearing pants, hats and gloves, I came in shorts, nike mid-calves and a thin rain jacket! We couldn't see anything unfortunately but we did make a snowman named Etno, roll a snowball down into the crater and steal lava rocks. I also had 2 elderly men stop along the trail, remove their hats, and use them to rub my legs while saying I was crazy!

Rommma

Overview: We just returned from our traveling seminar where we were gone for 6 days, the first half spent in Rome the off to Catania in Sicily. We had class everyday we were there, and we did a walking tour covering everything from the Colosseum to the Vatican to the Pantheon and even a private tour of the Government Building. Rome is amazing, very different than Siena or Florence. Everything around you seems to be an ancient ruin when you are in the heart of the city. The skyline is gorgeous - speckled with domes, crumbling columns and more vegetation than I had seen in any major city. The majority of the time we were there it rained but it was still great!

Night life: The first night I met up with my Bowdoin friends Chris, DJ and Kaitlin. We went out to a fabulous dinner on Gnocchi Thursdays, followed by one too many servings of Limoncello, then met up at a night club with a bunch of other Bowdoin kids who are also studying in rome or came for the weekend - it was great to have a huge reunion (the pic with all the people).

Art: We saw a Caravaggio exhibit which was AMAZING!!! He was a Baroque artist who reinvented the use of dramatic lighting. How the exhibit was set up was the rooms were almost completely dark except for several spot lights on each painting that mirrored the light sources in the painting. The other art highlight was the Sistine Chapel - after taking Art of Renaissance Italy last semester where we spent a week of class discussion and then writing my final paper on the ceiling, it was so cool to actually see the frescos in person!

"Drink Slow.. But Drink A Lot!"

After a very late Friday night where our group caught the last, 4:30 am bus leaving the discoteca and successfully jammed close to 100 screaming, sweaty Italians and us onto a 48 person charter bus (welcome to italy, where laws don't apply), we decided to lay low on Saturday.

However, since we are in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, Sunday of course had to go on a group wine tasting tour. The two small buses left from the city center and took us about 45 minutes out into the country side where we just passed vineyard after vineyard after vineyard! The gorgeous green, gold and red rolling hills of Tuscany were being illuminated by the breaks in the daunting storm clouds creating the most amazing views we have ever seen.

We made several pit stops to other small towns along the way. First in Montepulciano, Casa Vecchio, then San Geminiano. All about a tenth of the size of Siena with one main street located on top of a small hill. We stopped at two wineries where we learned how each vineyard made their own wine (all explained in Italian) and then at each place we tried about six different types accompanied with bread, meats and cheeses. If anyone is coming to Italy, let me know and I will give you the name of this tour - it was only 38 euro, and you have to ask for the tour guide Alessandro (he provided the title for this blog)!

Duomo and Taste of Home

Sorry it has been a while since the last post - summer job applications got in the way!

Last week was a pretty low-key week then we headed to Florence on Thursday for class to climb all 463 steps of the Duomo. After spiraling around and around then scaling nearly vertical stairs we reached the top and had an amazing view! You can see all of Florence and the surrounding Tuscan hillsides.

That night I stayed with my friend David who is on the NYU Florence program. Instead of doing the traditional Italian pasta feast, we decided we were both a little homesick for some American dishes - so that became our theme for the weekend. Starting with dinner, we cooked gourmet turkey burgers, mashed potatoes and salad. Then the following day found an American diner that served omelets, pancakes, bagels with blueberry cream cheese, milkshakes - everything you literally can't find anywhere in Italy. I then met up with some of the girls on my program who had also stayed in Florence with other friends and we went on the hunt for Italian leather jackets. Sure enough we found a perfect shop with great student discounts where we all left looking like a stylish group of biker chicks.

Parigi

Sean and I went finally made it to bed at 2:30 after our night out in Florence, but then her alarm rudely woke us up at 4:40 so we could catch a taxi to the airport. European airports, we soon learned, are not like US airports where you need to be there 3 hours before an international flight. No, in a total of 36 minutes we made it across town, checked in, went through security and were sitting with espresso and croissant in hand at our gate. Later that afternoon we arrived in Paris to meet Alex and her parents at the Weston Hotel (it's going to be hard to go back to hostel living after this weekend). It was Alex's 21st birthday so we slipped on our little black dresses and all went out for champagne then a MAGNIFICENT dinner where Sean, Alex and I happily did not order yet another pasta dish. We then went out to Club VIP where we started the dance party (and by "we" I mean Alex's parents who probably out danced and drank us girls). After a long day and fabulous night we crashed on our very comfy, 5-star, down feather beds.

The next morning we got up early to visit the Louvre. Alex, Sean and I are all Art History majors so it was the equivalent of a trip to Disneyland for us! I had visited the Louvre in 7th grade on a family vacation so I was old enough to remember seeing some of the pieces, but definitely not old enough to appreciate it! We then just walked around Paris for the rest of the afternoon, ate some crepes, did some shopping (no, mom I was good and didn't buy anything!), walked past a Starbucks and didn't get anything - big step for me, and then headed back to the hotel to take the most epic nap of our lives. Unfortunately later that night Alex and her mom came down with the stomach flu so Sean and I set off to lazily stroll the streets of Paris for the rest of the evening.

Sunday was a long day of traveling and we were a mess! We got made fun off by the security guy for each having mismatched sox, then I set of the metal detector, had to be patted down, and have my bag searched. The rest of the day just followed suit including spilled drinks, chocolate stains on the blouse, tripping over boots, and almost leaving tickets and a blackberry on a bus- so we were happy when our bus pulled into Siena at 8:45 last night!

Thank Goodness for Siena

On Thursday, after having a walking class in Florence with my Italian Culture History class, Sean and I decided to stay the night because we had to catch an 8:30 flight to Paris the next morning. We both have friends studying in Florence, so we had a big group dinner with Sean and her roommate from Colgate, and then my friend David, Kay and Claire (the last two are studying in Bologna). Dinner was great then we decided to meet up with some people on the Syracuse Program for a night out in the big city. It was amazing the difference between Florence and Siena in terms of night life and daily interactions with the locals. There are Americans and tourists everywhere in Florence. We went to a bar and everyone there was on some sort of study abroad program. Also, if you try and speak Italian to anyone they just automatically respond in English. Where as in Siena, I only speak Italian and the people really try to work with me and my limited knowledge of the language. Also, there are almost no Americans in Siena so it was weird to hear English at the bar. Sean and I were both saying how we had debated between studying in Florence and Siena and now how glad we are that we decided to go to Siena! As we were leaving I ran into my high school friend Ryan on the street - I guess it's true what they say about Country Dayers always seeming to find each other!

10 Easy Steps to Becoming Italian

After three weeks of living in Italy I think my friends and I have finally figured out how to live like a true member of the Sienese culture. Just follow their basic rules:

1) Always wear a scarf (guys and girls - yes, I've seen more bright purple scarves on straight men here than on women), boots, oversized glasses, and die your hair black (I'm failing at the last one).

2) Drink at least 3 cups of coffee aka-espresso shots a day.

3) Have a croissant for breakfast at 9, pasta for lunch at 2, panino with prosciutto and cheese for a snack followed by gelato at 5, and another large helping of pasta, pizza or some sort of mystery meat around 8:30 with several large glasses of wine.

4) Close shop and go home between 12:30-4:30

5) Go to local bar/club on Tuesdays. Odds are you should be wearing some sort of costume

6) Leave 4 days to do laundry seeing as the washers are 1/2 the size as in the US and they don't have dryers.

7) Eat basically 5000 calories a day (see #3 to achieve this goal), yet still remain ungodly thin.

8) Don't smile at strangers on the street - old people and women will give you a "why are you smiling at me when you don't know me look" and young men will think it's an open invitation to stare and tell you how beautiful you are (may sound flattering, but it's just annoying).

9) Keep everything extremely clean, Italians are neat-freaks.

10) Only have one light on in the house, turn off the running water when washing your hair, scrub all dishes with soap then rinse all together (one would think they are really concerned about the environment - not at all, they just have an insanely expensive utilities bill)

Hopefully now if you come to Italy you will not have complete culture shock!

Towers, Walls and Confetti

Sparknotes version of this weekend: Pisa, Lucca, then Viareggio - 3 cities, 2 days.

Pisa: Got there and it was drizzling. Not that great of a city except for the Leaning Tower and the Church. When we saw it we were all like, "wooaahh it's actually leaning.." now this may sound like a dumb comment considering it's called "The Leaning Tower of Pisa" but it's far more impressive in person, so don't judge till you see it! Of course we all did our obnoxious tourist pictures holding up/kicking down/pushing the tower then quickly hopped on the next bus to Lucca.

Lucca: AAMMAAZZZINNGG has to be one of my favorite towns in Italy so far. Surrounded by a city wall this is one of the few cities that I've seen that actually has grass! This may not seem like that big of a deal, but it's a nice contrast to the cobblestone of Florence and Siena. Adorable little town, such a great "parent town". Fun shops, cafes, amazing restaurants, and gorgeous churches. There was a lack of night life but it was so pretty none of us cared. We also stayed in a hostel that was an old boarding school and made us feel like we were all at summer camp with 5 bunk beds.

Viareggio: The closest comparison to anything like Viareggio is a Marti Gras festival in New Orleans. Basically it consisted of a huge mob of people, dressed in very peculiar costumes and masks, and EVERYTHING was covered in confetti. We got to the main street where the parade was taking place and had to immediately stop complaining about the 15 euro entry fee once we saw the floats. They were nothing like I have ever scene. The floats, moved, played music, and some were towering over the 5 story buildings that lined the street. It was more spectacular than watching the Macy's Day Parade. Also, it was right on the beach so we got a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a great first travel weekend, and even after the long train ride and a hot shower, we are still trying to get the confetti our hair..

Pro Chefs

As part of the CET program we get to take a cooking class at one of the local restaurants. So 4 of us, covered with white plastic aprons, attempted to make three different kinds of pasta from scratch: gnocchi, tortellini with spinach and ricotta cheese then ravioli with mushroom and some type of cheese. After 2 hours of cracking eggs, mixing, and rolling the pasta by hand we finally got to eat our masterpieces and they were deeeeliicciiouus! Oh and here is a pic of Siena in the snow!

Porcupine or Giraffe?

(I didn't take these pictures) Today in my Italian Cultural History class after starting our study of Dante's Inferno we headed out of the classroom and trudged our way through the slushy rain then snow across town to the Contrada dell'Onda. It never snows here but of course the one year it does, I'm here.. so much for escaping Maine's winter weather! Anyways, earlier in my blog I briefly explained about the contradas of Siena so here's a quick recap: Siena is comprised of 17 contradas. An outsider would view someone who was born here as just being from Siena. However, the Sienese people believe that first you are born into your contrada and then into Siena. Each contrada is basically its own city-state. Each has its own flag with symbol (usually an animal), seat of government, constitution and geographical boundaries - even though there may only be a narrow, cobblestone street that separates one contrada from another. It is a huge deal to be physically born into your contrada, so when the first hospital was built in Siena, it was in the Contrada dell'Istrice (the porcupine), fathers to this day, still bring in a jar of soil from their contrada to have present at the birth.

The biggest event for the contradas is the Palio which is a horse race run every summer. People come from all over the world to watch this event (it's the opening scene in the latest James Bond movie). Each contrada enters a horse (who is randomly assigned to the contrada) and jockey who they can pay up to a million euro for the best one! Not a bad salary for 90 seconds of work! The rivalries become so intense between the contradas that the jockey and the horse have 24 hour body guards for several weeks before and after the race. My teacher who is part of the Onda said that in the 80s after they won, the next day 200 members of their contrada had to go to the hospital because someone from their enemy contrada (Torre) poisoned their catered dinner. The following year when the Torre won, every Onda member was advised, for their safety, to leave Siena immediately and not return for a week (which they all did)!

After studying and hearing about the Palio from everyone I'm starting to regret not doing the summer program here! All I know is that it is definitely on my bucket list! (Sorry for the complete nerd post btw..)

Face Paint Anyone?

It is Carnevale season in Italy meaning to the Italians these are their last few weekends to party it up before they have to be saints during Lent. Therefore, there are Carnevale parties almost every night where everyone dresses up in some sort of costume (it's like having a month of halloween). So some people in my group had masks, others (including me) painted them on our faces and others wore things like antlers... (see pictures)

Different cities tend to have their own Carnevale with different themes. But they are all elaborate and include beautiful costumes, usually a parade or big event (horse race, saints race, concerts). One of the most famous is the Carnevale di Venezia (Carnival in Venice). This weekend we are going to Viareggio - most famous for its parade. I'll be sure to take some good pictures!

Good Old Comfort Food

After being here two weeks now, while we are LOVING the food, my friends and I have started compiling a list of all the things that Italy is missing from home (or if it is here in small quantities it is outrageously expensive)! So far we have:

-Peanut Butter (the mini jar is 3.60 euro = $5ish)

-Corn Chips

-Graham Crackers

-Milk and eggs that are refrigerated (they keep everything out on shelves so we tend to keep the dairy intake to a minimum)

-Classic soup flavors like Chicken Noodle (only lentil soup)

-Bagels (great bread here but Guisy, my Italian roommate, still doesn't understand the concept of a bagel)

-Cottage Cheese

-Salad dressing (they only use oil, salt and vinegar)

-Turkey (prosciutto is the main meat that comes in light and dark)

So if you are coming to visit *cough* MOM/Q *cough* I vote you throw an extra a couple jars of peanut butter and cans of chicken noodle into your suitcase!

Therefore last night at dinner Giusy and I sat and just googled pictures of food that we're going to try making from scratch. She was most intrigued by: the Smore, Peanut Butter and Fluff Sandwiches, and some sort of flavored bagel. Every time I showed her a picture of a new food item she would go, "Oh, buonissimo!"

Buon Compleanno Patrizio!

Today I only had Italian for three hours in the morning so I was able to get ahead on some work for the week, go on a nice long run and unlike last time, I did not snag my foot on a drain, fall, tumble then quickly turn the corner as if nothing had happened. That is when I realized that cobblestone streets are not flat enough to run on and definitely not soft enough to fall on! I feel like I have done a pretty good job of dressing like the Italian people around me except when I go running - my appearance screams "American Student" as my blond pony tail bops along and my sweatshirt says "Cutler 11" on the back, not exactly an Italian name...

Anyways, as I mentioned earlier there are only 10 girls and 1 guy, Patrick, on this program, and tonight was his 21st birthday. Being in Italy makes the traditional 21st birthday rather anti-climactic, but us girls decided to throw Patrizio (Patrick's Italian name) a surprise party with three different kinds of cake: a chocolate and pair heart loaf, a Nutella and graham cracker crust cake, and finally an apple and marmalade tart. So delicious!!! Here is a pic of the 11 of us. Everyone is really fun, down to earth and we all get along really well!

Una Bella Passeggiata

Exhausted from the discoteca Friday night, we decided to have a girls'-night-in on Saturday so Sean had a few of us over to her house for a wonderful dinner of meats, cheeses, breads, fresh vegetables, cake and wine prepared by Silvia, Sean's host mother. Feeling still too full the following day Sean, Alex and I decided to take a walk beyond the Piazza and venture to the outskirts of the city walls. It was the first sunny day in a while (been raining for almost a week straight now) so we took full advantage of the warm sunlight - you can click on the photos to see them bigger!