Roma!

First, a little bit about Thursday- we went to Dublin Pub for a bit and I had cider. Cider is incredible; it’s sweet bubbly beer. Love it. Then, since it was Valentine’s Day, we decided to go to a club on Faenza called Maracana. There was a lovely man in drag with his face painted white singing sappy Italian love songs. He was fabulous and it was so surreal in there…the club felt like some sort of strange Eyes Wide Shut-esque, weird situation. Then another singer came and sang- I think she was famous or something because there was paparazzi taking pictures of her. She had this crazy black lace number on and she was sitting on people serenading them. Awesome…but Maracana usually had a 20 Euro cover, which is ridic so I don’t know if I’ll be going back…that night was enough of a memory for me I think.
The next morning we hopped on a nice cheap train to Rome! We got to the Yellow Youth Hostel, which is apparently a British chain. It was great- everything was clean and safe and at night the front desk staff partied with us at the bar next door (Yellow Bar) it was very convenient. We didn’t want to go anywhere too far because Rome is a huge city and we didn’t want to be lost at night. But anyway, we went around and did touristy things all day- we walked so so much. We saw the Colosseum and the ancient city. That night, like I said we went to the Yellow Bar because our feet were killing us and we didn’t want to walk all over Rome at night. The drinks were kind of steep so I wanted to see if I could find someone to buy me a drink. That was when I met Ben, a nice guy from New Jersey…he was taking a one-month survey of Europe because he just graduated. He was nice enough to ask me if I wanted a drink and he ended up coming to Vatican City with us the next day. Emily also made a nice friend from the British Army… “Bennie” aka Steven was very interested in her and very married…anyway, I don’t think I can adequately describe him with words.
We woke up early to avoid the lines and we ended up getting into the Basilica right away and there was a woman giving a complimentary tour so we went on that. She was terrific and so knowledgeable. She asked us if we wanted to do the 25 Euro tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. At first we thought it was too expensive but we tracked her down and said that we wanted to do it because we knew that she would teach s a lot and we wanted to do the Vatican right. I am glad I did it well because it was so massive that I think that it was a once in a lifetime experience. Everything was so beautiful (pictures will be on snapfish). After the three-hour Vatican tour we went to have some lunch (second pizza lunch of the day- Rome has the best pizza!) and of course a nice big gelato. Then we walked to the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. It was a long day! We were all very cold and exhausted. We went to Yellow Bar again and hung out with Ben and some German guys...one of them hated Kelly and kept sticking his tongue out at her, which was funny.
Sunday morning we checked out of the hostel and went back to the Colosseum because we couldn’t go in on Friday- it was very amazing inside. We got to meet up with Kelly’s cousin who lives in Rome and she was telling us about the cool neighborhood she lives in. I wish we could have had time to see things like that but it really was a busy tourist weekend because it was the first time any of us had been to Rome…We went to the Forum and looked around for a bit before catching our train. That’s where I am right now...just reflecting on the weekend.
*A cool thing about Rome is the mixture of old and new. We (Kelly- the navigator) were looking at the map and trying to find the Colosseum and we turned a corner and there it was! These massive historical buildings are mixed in with the modernity of the city. I thought that made it very cool- I have heard that about Paris, but Emily says that makes Paris feel disorganized and strange. I didn’t think that Rome felt disorganized. It just felt really big. Everything there made me feel small, especially standing in the Sistine Chapel, I felt about one inch tall because thinking about the fact that one man could create something so staggering is overwhelming. It actually took them longer to restore his work (with Q-tips and club soda) than it did for his to create it. I loved learning about all of the different scenes before going in and seeing it.
I have a ton of great pictures- Rome is very beautiful and historically rich. This weekend just helped me realize that I prefer Florence. It’s smaller ad there aren’t as many cars. I also like that if I get lost I can just go to the Duomo and figure it out from there. I loved seeing everything this weekend but I am glad that I didn’t choose to study abroad in Rome. Florence just seems to fit really well. I love the quaint little streets and the beautiful bridges.
My Italian is coming along! I find myself using it well and I attribute that to hearing it all around me. So happy about that!
I hope to go to DUBLIN this coming weekend! Connect with my roots a bit- and I think the flight on Ryanair would be cheap to fly into Dublin. We’ll see…
And other exciting news- Mom and Wendy are coming to Florence on March 19! Can’t wait to show you this beautiful place!

You're Asking Me Will My Love Grow...

Quick post about Beatles night!

Every Tuesday at a club called Be Bop there's an INCREDIBLE Beatles cover band.

And it's Free!

We went last night and they started at 10:45 and played for about two and a half hours- They were terrific. 

I will be going there every Tuesday!! It blows my mind that it's a free show.

When people come and visit we have to go :)

Fabulous Weekend

So I wanted to recap the great weekend I had-

These 3 day weekends  feel so long! I think that will be good when I travel and stuff but this weekend it was great to get to know Florence. Thursday night Kelly cooked dinner in the apartment- listen to this deliciousness- salad with grilled chicken and peppers, pesto tortelini, penne with tomatoes, olive oil and fresh garlic, bread with seasoned olive oil and brie cheese, and of course lots of wine. I got hungry while recalling that dinner. It was so much fun- I loved having a ton of people in my apartment, it made it feel like home :) 

The night after that we went to a club called Astor Place which was pretty nice, Emily and I sang Rufus Wainwright and Death Cab For Cutie in the streets...and Alli and I walked home together and witnessed a car accident- a woman was driving her little car and hit a bunch of mopeds and a guard rail and then just hopped out and had this "oops" expression on her face...and I walked home barefoot because cobble stones and high heels just were not working for me.

The next day we walked around and shopped all day- everyone was looking for boots etc...

and at night we walked to the Ponte Vecchio which was so incredibly beautiful!! And we got 4 euro gelato...the best ever- I tried a new flavor "panna rossa" it tasted like a caramel explosion and I'm in love.

This weekend was so amazing and there was so much that I loved about it but I would have to say that the highlight of my weekend was going to Tiffany's and getting my Frank Gehry earrings! They are so beautiful and they make me feel like a million bucks! :) :) thank you so so much mom!! <3

Another cool thing we did- Saturday evening mass at the Duomo! I was staring at the fresco on the ceiling the whole time so it might has well have been in Italian...But the experience was very fun. I wish that there would have been music but I'm sure that Easter mass will have music. 

Yesterday we went to an antique market and walked around for a while- they had some really cool pieces and I am excited to go again- every Sunday it's in a different piazza so that should be very fun...

So I think I'll be going to Rome this weekend with a ton of people, I'm very excited for that and then the following weekend we were thinking about possibly going to Croatia! I didn't think anyone would be interested in going there but surprisingly people were, I just think it would be something cool and different.

March is going to be really busy with Paris and visitors so I would like to travel these next few weekends...so yeah.

I think that's all for now- loving this city so much more with each day- I have been soaking it in and I am starting to really feel at home.

Love and miss you all!

p.s. the food here is totally out of this world :)

Happy Post!

Well I am happy to announce that I am no longer going through extreme culture shock :) The first few days were very hard but it helps to know that tons of people felt the same way. I am getting to know more and more each day and it has helped me to feel comfortable. For example, I figured out how to do my laundry with the crazy Italian machine. That was a big triumph, now I only have to wait a day or two for everything to dry on the rack.
Last night was the FREE welcome dinner for LdM and it was great. We had wine and talked the whole time. It reminded me of the first week at Binghamton when everyone wanted to make new friends and people are so nice. So that was fun and then Alli, my roommate Kelly and I went to Dublin Pub which is right down the street from my apartment. It was a cute little place where we were able to sit and have girl talk for for couple of hours. I love girl talks and getting to know people well. It makes the whole idea of being far away so much easier.
I got a good night sleep last night and I am excited to go shopping in the market today and cook dinner in my apartment tonight. I also have Wines of Tuscany today so that should be very fun.
The classes here are great so far! I am really impressed. I think that my Italian class is going to really help me. My professoressa speaks Italian almost exclusively which is scary but great at the same time. I think that these classes are going to be semi challenging but definitely useful. I loved The Venice Film Festival (class) yesterday. We are going to be watching many popular Italian films that have been screened at the Festival since its inception in 1932.
We are also taking a field trip to the cinema soon to see Atonement! Which is awesome. I think that being in class really helps me set up a routine and today walking around is going to be great. I think that we are going to go to Ponte Vecchio tomorrow and check out Tiffany's! so cool.
In a few weeks Kelly and a few of her friends are going to Rome and I think Alli and I will go with them. It will be very fun becuase Kelly's cousin's cousin (I think) has been living in Rome for five years teaching English to school children so she will probably know of good places to eat and go out.
There is a Beatles cover band that performs here in Florence on Tuesdays and I have been hearing great things about it so I think we will check that out :)
Overall, much better/happier!
Much love to everyone and I will have some pictures soon, probably after the trip to Ponte Vecchio and I also want to go to the top of the Duomo! I heard that the view of the city from there is absolutely incredible.

Ciao Ciao!

Weekend in Venice

Alli, Betty and I went to Venice this weekend- we got there on Friday and stayed until Sunday. It was so so nice to see Scott and his apartment. When I got out of the train station I couldn't stop smiling- it was literally the most beautiful place I have ever seen. So anyway, we mostly walked around and explored Venice. Nothing is more than an hour walk, which is great. We went to an outdoor show the first night near Scott's apartment and it was so cool to see old people and young people all dressed crazily and dancing around together. The second night we went to Piazza San Marco to a Sensation show. Sensation was the theme to Carnevale this year. Each region had their own sense- like sight, sound etc. San Marco is incredibly beutiful. We didn't go into the basilica yet but I definitely plan on going back to Venice and it will be a shorter line when the tourists have left. The population of Venice doubles during Carnevale. So anway it was very cool that there were no cars anywhere and taking the vaporetto (water taxi) was different.
I liked that the city felt very safe and small. Scott said that there are not a lot of young people in Venice.
Here in Florence, there are a lot of young people and I have to say that I don't feel as safe, but I think that once I learn how to navigate and speak a little bit of the language, I will feel more comfortable. I want to be in love with Florence like I was with Venice. I think that I just need to find a good comfort zone and routine. Having Alli here is great for that and I just had my first class so that will help too. I look forward to getting into the swing of classes and clubs. I want to join the Cinema Club and the Wine Tasting Club. I think that watching Italian films will be great and I can put my knowledge of wine tasting that I learn in my class to use.
I just had Italian 101 this morning at 9 and I have Media Ethics later on today.
A note about the internet- I am in the library right now becuase I don't have wireless in my apartment. I want it so badly but the plan is not very economical. It's like 150 euros to start and then 30 euros a month for only 3 hours per day...I might get it to use those three hours for social purposes. I want to skype and ichat with people. I really miss everyone and I am more homesick than I would like to be. It helped to travel and have things to do so I think that I should kepp doing that.
I hope to speak to you soon!