Ciao everyone!!!

How are you all? 

Please forgive me for not blogging very much the past few days! This weekend was a whirlwind of spontaneity and I honestly could not tell you where the time went! Is it really already Sunday? Do I really have to go to class again already tomorrow? And....wait....IS TOMORROW REALLY OCTOBER 1ST ALREADY?! See, point exactly: where is the time going?! 

This weekend was absolutely amazing!!! 

Let's begin with Friday morning, shall we? 

Friday morning, after getting up, relaxing for a bit and getting a few errands done, a large group of us decided we would try and figure out how to make our way to the town of Lucca! (For anyone interested in traveling to Lucca if they ever visit Italy, check out this website which gives you a virtual tour!! If you're not planning to come to Italy anytime soon, still check it out! It will feel like you went!  
http://www.italyguides.it/us/italy/tuscany/lucca/lucca.htm) 


It's always a circus when you're trying to get a group of 9 people together to get **anything** accomplished. Friday at around 1:00 we all got together and were planning how to get together, however, just to make a long story short, after losing a few of our members who decided to go explore and just never return, and then losing another three people because they felt it was too late to go to Lucca by the time we actually got to the bus station, our party dwindled down from 9 to 4 people in a matter of two hours! However, Alex, Kelsey, Brandon and I, not wanting to waste a perfectly good afternoon, decided that we would still try to figure out how to get to Lucca and make the best out of a beautiful day! 

After figuring out the bus tickets and which bus we would need to get to Lucca, we caught the 2:30 bus! Can you believe the tickets were only 5 euro!? It was absolutely worth going!! We arrived in Lucca around 3:40 and the bus dropped us off right in the outskirt of the town, which was perfect because Lucca is known for it's wall that surrounds the city and that you can walk!! It was so cool! You literally enter the city and right as you pass under an arch, there is a ramp that brings you up to the top of the wall which encloses the entire city and there you can walk the entire wall around the city! A lot of people tend to bike it though, but you can choose to do whatever you like. Personally, I did like how we walked it because I felt that we went slower and were able to better appreciate the absolutely beautiful sights of Lucca and its landscape. Although we didn't end up walking the entire 4km distance around the entire city, the little part of the wall that we did walk was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in Tuscany. It actually felt like a beautiful fall day, the leaves were falling off the trees that were lining either side of the walk along the wall and the weather was the most beautiful weather you could ask for. 

Naturally, the kid in each of us is what got us to descend from the top of the wall and enter the actual town of Lucca where we stopped to play on the play ground for a bit! (For those of you who know that Alex and I went to China this past winter on a school trip, you'll probably remember the pictures we took on the playground! So naturally, we only felt it was right that we get the same picture a playground in Italy too..... taking on playgrounds one country at a time!) It was so much fun to be a kid again and swing on the swings, and just play around for a bit. The four of us always have a great time together and really enjoy being in each others company! 

After finally managing to pull ourselves away from the playground, we just started wandering the streets of Lucca, no real sense of where we were going or what we would stumble upon, which in my opinion, is sometimes the best way to go. After walking for a bit, we came upon a carousel and still feeling that little kid within each of us, Kelsey, Alex and I decided we needed to go on! It was so much fun! After our ride, we walked over a few blocks and stumbled into a fresh, open market. Let me just tell you, the scents were amazing and I probably could have eaten everything in sight. From station to station the scent of lavender, cheeses, fruit, meats, spices, breads, herbs, chocolate....literally, everything was just the most delicious thing I have ever had the pleasure of smelling in my life. I'm pretty sure there were loaves of bread larger than me! And believe me, I would have been perfectly content with just buying one of those loaves and eating it the entire rest of the month as my dinner.......

I got to sample some peccorino romano cheese, some chocolate, some delicious traditional Florentine bread and I literally could have just kept going back to the stations over and over again until I was full on samples! After spending a few hours in the fresh market, we decided we would walk back to the center for dinner and then to try the local dessert of Lucca which is called "Il Frate" and essentially is like fried dough, although you can get it either as a donut, or a filled donut with creme or nutella! I only got the donut without the filling, but it was still delicious!!! 

By the time we were done exploring the city, getting dinner and dessert, it was time to make our way back to the bus station to catch the 8:30 bus home.........or so, we thought......... 

We got to the bus station around 8 and quickly went into a local cafe to grab some waters and sit for a minute before we had to catch the bus. When 8:20 rolled around, we made our way to the bus stop and waited for the bus.........and when 8:27 rolled around, we were still waiting........and then 8:45 came around and......we were still waiting........and then we asked some locals when the bus to Firenze was supposed to be arriving, and they oh, so helpfully told us that a bus "should come at 9, stay here, stay here", so we thought there was still hope! And then...... 9:00 came and we were still waiting.......and then 9:07 came and we were still waiting...... So at this point, thinking we might be stranded in Lucca, we called our study abroad program to see if they could help us, but Italy is just so far advanced, that they don't even have schedules online for their buses! WOOOO WEEEEEE! So, thankfully, we were just up the street from the train station and decided we might as well try and figure out the train system in Italy.... I mean, no time like when you're stranded to figure out a new form of transportation, right??! Luckily, I'd like to say that the bunch of us that were together are all smart people, so we were able to figure out the trains from Lucca to Florence. At 9:30, we boarded our train from Lucca to Firenze and all that was left was to sit back, relax and reminisce over an amazing day spent with great people, in a beautiful city! 

I titled this post after Sheryl Crow's "Soak up the Sun", since it was one of the songs we jammed out to on the train ride home in our own little cart that just the four of us shared on the train. It just felt so prevalent! 
So for those of you looking for a little song to brighten up your day today, follow this link: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuWcqSi6mPU&feature=fvst

It was an amazing day and so many wonderful memories were made! After all, that's what traveling and life are all about: just picking up sometimes to go and do something spontaneous, no plans or expectations, just high spirits and a longing for adventure! 

Anyway, since this post was a tid bit longer than I thought it would be, I'm going to post about horseback riding and everything that I did on Saturday and this morning (Sunday) in the next post!!

Be sure to check out my photos page for some awesome photos from Lucca! 

Love to all!!! Missing everyone back in the states, especially Pajj, Liz, Gma tini, Alexandra, Magda and Kelsey!!! <3

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!!

xoxoxoxo

la vita e bella!!!

Ciao!!

Ciao!!! 

Ciao a tutti!!

FINALLY!! Here's the post I mean to put up a few days ago! I swear, I have no idea where the time gets to! One minute I'm waking up, still amazed at the fact that I'm waking up in Italy, and the next, I'm passing out with exhaustion on my bed at night!  

Anyway, so this past Monday, I went with two girls in my apartment, Marissa and Kelsey to the Foundling Museum. It was truly an amazing experience and so interesting to learn about. 

For her class, Marissa had to give a presentation on the Ospedale degli Innocenti, so Kelsey and I, interested in the subject and learning about the Ospedale, decided to tag along to see what the foundling museum was all about. Here are some notes that Marissa took for her class that I thought would be a great overview of what the museum is all about! We spent a good few hours there and I would certainly suggest reading the notes below, certainly worth taking some time to read about! Also, if you ever happen to make it to Florence, I would absolutely recommend visiting the Ospedale, which is located about 3 minutes from the Duomo! 

 The Building:

• Established in 1419
• Built as a home for foundlings
• Located on eastern side of Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
• The other two buildings parallel and next to the hospital were built later to imitate Brunelleschi’s building
• Was named after the Innocents of Herod’s massacre – Old Testament reference
• Orphanage opened in 1445
• The Ospedale degli Innocenti originally followed Tuscan tradition in admitting its foundlings by means of an ancient stone column which was set outside the loggia (terrace) in the front of the building
• Mothers would ring the bell and the stone was rotated 180 degrees, taking the baby inside the orphanage
• This was replaced in the late 15th century by the “grated window” also known as the crib, hole and wheel

• Orphanage allowed women who had unwanted children to leave them anonymously by placing them on a circular stone – the admissions window

• Admissions window – located in the southern part of the loggia on the façade (general shape of outside)          
• It was later on built into a window known as the “grated window” due to the fact that it was covered by a grate large enough only for newborn babies to pass through it
• It was made specifically for newborn children because older children who needed help could go to other institutions suited to assist them with their needs
• The epigraph located underneath the window
• States: "For 4 centuries this was the wheel of the Innocents, secret refuge from misery and shame for those to whom charity never closed its door"
• The window remained in use until 1875 when it was walled up

• The new Delivery Office was built in 1891
• Observation room to provide a health check-up for the patients before sending them to the area reserved for the children
• In 1785 the church was rebuilt by the architect Bernardo Fallani who lowered the covering of the church in order to adapt to the new fashion of that time period

Design- Western Architecture:

·                     Building was designed by Brunelleschi – directed the construction between 1419-1424

·                     Financed by the Arte della Lana – wool guild of Florence

o   Design was based on an Italian Romanesque architecture – many arches and windows with iron bars so that no one could get in

o   The arcaded portico was the first classical loggia (terrace) in the city and it served as an example for other Renaissance architects.

o   The façade is decorated with ceramic glazed medallions illustrating swaddled babies which were created by Andrea della Robbia (http://www.aviewoncities.com/florence/piazzadellasantissimaannunziata.htm)

§  Andrea della Robbia was a Florentine artist who specialized in ceramic reliefs

·                     Brunelleschi’s plan included a square court yard outlined in arcades behind the façade portico, flanked by two large areas of equal dimensions: the church and the living quarters for the children

• In 1459 the lunette over the doorway was frescoed by Giovanni Francesco del Cervelliera with “God, the Father and the Holy Innocents”
• The refectory, cloisters, dormitories, infirmary, nurses, rooms and porticoes were purposely balanced by Brunelleschi to create a harmonious and rational hospital architecture (http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/ospedale_degli_innocenti.html)

Current activity:

• In 1899 the board decided to display the buildings new look after a major renewal programme through photographs
• Today it is maintained by the Province         

• UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) Innocenti Research Centre
•  Known for reaching out to children in unfortunate communities.
• History of the orphanage is exhibited in a museum
• On-site on two floors of the building
• Features old documents, photographs, and memorabilia from the days of the orphanage.
• Contains works by Luca della Robbia, Sandro Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo (http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/ospinn.htm)
• Keeping true to its roots, the orphanage building is used today to support the education of disadvantaged children ages 6 and under.
• The building also houses mothers and their children who attend the schoo

CHECK OUT SOME PHOTOS FROM the Oespedale! ENJOY!! 

DISCLAIMER: SWEAR WORDS IN ITALIAN



FINAL RESULTS: 
Fiorentina 0 vs 0 Juventus

Ciao a tutti!!! 

Sorry I've been slacking with my posts! Today was craziness!!

So, as you all know, last night was the EPIC soccer match between the arch rivals Fiorentina and Juventus. Although it was one heck of an amazing experience, especially since it was my first professional soccer match, it was ever so slightly anti-climatic. With an ending score of 0-0, there aren't too many epic moments to detail. Aside from the fact that Fiorentina kept us on the edge of our seats with the number of shots on goal, the most intense part of the game actually came from the fans. For those of you who have seen Green Street Hooligans, you can appreciate when I say that it felt as though I was in the movie. Although it didn't get to the point where there was any physical fighting, at one point, a fan from the Juventus side threw some sort of explosive (don't worry, it did nothing more that send off some smoke and a really obnoxiously loud cannon-esk sound) into the middle of where the Fiorentina fans were sitting, resulting in the Fiorentina fans rushing the Juventus stands. It was really interesting to observe the intensity of the fans...trust me, it was NOTHING like what you would see back in the states. Not only did that happen, but it was pretty typical throughout the match for people to light flares, making it look as though whole sections of seats were literally on fire. You have to hand it to the Europeans..... they love their soccer and they are some dedicated fans. Oh, and can we just talk about the coordination of these fans? As if on cue, all of the fans start to chant, or sing in unison... so impressive the amount of coordination they have! The funniest chant that they sang was actually quite vulgar and went something along the lines of "juve juve vaffanculo" ..... I won't go into a direct translation of that chant but for those of you curious enough you can translate it on your own. 
Anyway, the match was a phenomenal experience and I'm so glad I got to go! It felt like it was over before it even began, like most amazing thing! I think everyone should take the time to get to a professional match if you can, especially in Europe, it's an incredibly different environment from anything back in the states (if you didn't get that already from the part where I talked about the flares that people were setting off! hahah). 
Check out the pictures below from last night's match!! 

For those of you who are really interested in a play by play of last night's game check out this link:
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/88080/fiorentina-vs-juventus/play-by-play

check this youtube video out, it has the highlights from the match last night!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe_bxznsTTM 

IN OTHER NEWS!! 

Today, Alex and I booked our flights for Paris!! We are going the first weekend of November!! We will be staying with a close friend of mine, Mathilde! She is going to be our tour guide for the weekend and take us to all the best places! I'm so excited!! Just to put into perspective the price of tickets here, one ticket round-trip from Italy to Paris is about the same price I pay back home to go from Providence to Washington, D.C. to visit my sister! WHEN AM I MOVING TO EUROPE?! 

ALSOOOO, 

Alex and I just booked our Horseback riding tour through Tuscany for this weekend!!! 
Check out all the trip has to offer:

Tour includes:

• Roundtrip transportation from Florence to the Chianti
• Comfortable 8 seat minivan or minibus
• Fun In Tuscany tour guide
• Pre-ride lesson
• One and a half hour ride
• Visit to a 13th century castle of Monteriggioni
• Authentic tuscan meal
• Guided wine tasting session
• Insurance, helmet & safe locker

Ciao a tutti!! 

Ciao a tutti!!

Happy Monday to all!!! 

Today has been a great day so far!! I'm going to post a separate blog just on the amazing museum I went to visit this morning, but I thought I would start today with a post getting everyone as pumped up as I am for the Fiorentina soccer match I'm going to tomorrow night!!! 

Fiorentina is playing their arch rival team which means it is certainly going to be one amazing, intense match!! I'm so excited for this match because it will be my first real football match! I've never been to a professional game before and what better first time experience is there?!


Date             Time          Home            Away              Venue                 Competition
Sep 25      19:45 BST      Fiorentina v Juventus       Artemio Franchi           Serie A

Of course, there is a little studying and preparing to do before we get to the match! We must know the song that is sung at the beginning of each match! And don't worry, I've already got my jersey out and ready to go for tomorrow night! Have to show my Florentine pride!! Here is the Fiorentina song (we will hear it just before the match start). It was written and edited in the 20’s and re-interpreted by Narciso Parigi during the 40’s. Please find the video at the following link:

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABy_Eo85gLg

 Here are the lyrics (Italiano-English)

 
Garrisca al vento il labaro viola, / may the purple flag warble in the wind 
sui campi della sfida e del valore / on the fields of challenge and honour
una speranza viva ci consola / a lively hope comforts us
abbiamo undici atleti ed un solo cuore! / 11 athletes and 1 heart we have!

Rit.: O Fiorentina, di ogni squadra ti vogliam regina / Oh Fiorentina, of every team, we want you to be the queen
O Fiorentina, combatti ovunque ardita e con valor / Oh Fiorentina, everywhere you hardy fight, with pride
nell'ora di sconforto o di vittoria / in moments of victory or defeat
ricorda che del calcio hai tu la storia! / Remember that the history of soccer is yours!

Maglia viola lotta con vigore / Purples fight with vigour
per esser di Firenze vanto e gloria / to be the fame and glory of Florence
sul tuo vessillo scrivi Forza e Cuore / on your banner write “Strenght and Heart”
e nostra sarà sempre la vittoria! / and victory will always be ours!

Rit.: O Fiorentina (...)

Forza Fiorentina!
Alé Alé Viola!

Isn’t it funny?

Ciao!! 

I hope that everyone has been enjoying their Saturday! I know that I certainly did!! 

Today was another amazing day in the very difficult (haha) life of living in Italy. The program I am going through - API - has been absolutely phenomenal! Since day one, they have made transitioning to living in Italy so easy. Through the scheduled cultural activities they have, to the fun, interactive ways of getting us to know the city, to the weekend excursions they have planned, as well as their genuine concern for our well being and their efforts to create and sustain good relationships with every student, API has made this study abroad experience a one-of-a-kind, amazing and memorable experience thus far. 

Today, it was an early wake up call! 7 am!! Yup, there's no such thing as sleeping in here!  By 8:15 we were dressed and out the door, heading to our meeting spot where the buses were going to get us and take us up to Bologna for the day. The anticipated travel time was just under two hours, however, due to a huge accident that happened on the highway early this morning, it ended up taking us about three hours, which was okay for me as I got in some much needed extra sleep! 

By the time we arrived in Bologna, I was ready to explore. After splitting up into smaller groups, we went on an hour and a half walking tour of Bologna. Contrary to what some of the other kids in my program thought about Bologna, I think that it was one of my favorite places I've been to in Italy and I would absolutely, 100% recommend trying to pop in for a day if you're ever in that neck of the woods. On our walking tour we learned that Bologna is home to the oldest university in the world. We walked along the streets full of history and beauty and even walked through an old Jewish Ghetto. For me, that was definitely one of the most interesting parts of our walk because I feel that since I'm taking a class on the Holocaust, it's really interesting to be able to put a picture and a real, concrete place to the stories we are reading in class. It's one thing to read about the ghettos and their existence (did you know that the first Ghettos were established in Italy?) and a completely other thing to actual walk through one. It felt really eerie to walk down the street and to see the markings that it had been a ghetto at one point. 

After our walking tour ended, me and a small group of girls decided to check out this restaurant called Buca Manzoni. The meal was absolutely deeeelicious! I had a  Tortoloni dish with red sauce and a ricotta and parsley filling. It was absolutely amazing!! Freshly made pasta and great company, enjoying a nice sit-down meal after a long walk, nothing could have been better! 

After lunch, we decided we would attempt to find a bakery to get some pastry's before we had to meet up with the group. Unfortunately, there weren't any pastry shops to be found....surprising since you would think they're on almost every corner in Italy....nope! 

We spent the rest of our free time unsuccessfully locating a bakery before we met up with the rest of the group to head off to the Balsamic Vinegar farm called Acetaia San Matteo for some Balsamic vinegar tasting and a tour of the farm! 

After getting a brief history and information session on how the Balsamic Vinegar (and I mean, REAL balsamic vinegar) is made, they came around and let us each taste for ourselves the difference between different ages of balsamic vinegar. We got to try balsamic vinegar aged 7, 10, 17 and 25. My personal favorite was the vinegar only aged for 7 years. It was the sweetest of the ages, but obviously the longer the vinegar is aged, typically the better -- according to most people! I really enjoyed the 7 year but all of the other ages were obviously phenomenal as well! The most interesting part of it all is that this little farm doesn't export their balsamic vinegar outside of Italy. It is a very lengthy process just to make a small amount of the vinegar, so although they do sell their products, it takes a long time and there is a lot of work, time and effort along with other procedures that go into the final products. The farm is family owned, and it was amazing to be able to spend the afternoon with the family and get to know them a bit. Some of the kids played a game of soccer (or football as they would say in Europe) with the son of one of the family members: Riccardo. The family that we met was a set of grandparents (I'm kicking myself for not remembering the name of the little grandma, she was absolutely adorable and so sweet!) The little grandma made all of this home made delicious food for everyone to have after we sampled the balsamic vinegar! There were all sorts of delectable desserts and finger foods. There was also freshly picked green and purple grapes and some pears too!! They had this bucket of water that you would dip the fruit in to make sure it was clean before eating it, and when I tell you they were the best grapes I've ever had, I mean, they were the BEST grapes I've EVER had.  

After our information session and all of the food (so much food today!), we got to have a little tour of where they age all of the vinegar! (Check out my pictures page for the photos!) That was one of the coolest parts. I wish I could describe the smells -- so absolutely delicious! -- but it's something you must experience! One of my favorite things I learned on this tour, is that whenever a new child is born in the family, it's tradition for the family to start making balsamic vinegar for that child, so we got to see the balsamic vinegar that they started when Riccardo was born - 14 years ago! What an adorable family tradition!! I love it!! And then another of my favorite parts from today was that we all got to sample a little bit of Balsamic Vinegar that has been aging for 90 years!!! Yup, you heard me right, it was 90 years old!!! It was think as molasses and so amazing!! 

By the time 6:30 rolled around, everyone had had their fill of delicious foods, scrumptious balsamic vinegar and a great day of adventure, learning, and experiencing an amazing family tradition and way of life and it was time to board the buses back to Florence. I don't think you could find one person on the trip today who actually wanted to come back! We were all prepared to stay with the family for as long as we could! I also think I can speak for everyone on the trip today when I say we were all so grateful that the family allowed us into their home and into their life for a day and were so kind, caring, and hospitable to us. For me, this was probably my favorite experience because I felt as though for a few hours, I got to see into the life of a family in Bologna, so rich in their history and so wonderful at what they do. It is certainly an experience I will never forget and one that will touch me for years to come!  

For any of you who may be coming to Italy, or plan to in the future, and think you may stop by Bologna, the website and information for the restaurant we went to today can be found here:
http://www.bucamanzoni.it/ 

AAANNNNDDDDD

For anyone interested in checking out the website for the Balsamic Vinegar Farm we went to today, here's the link to their website:
http://www.acetaiasanmatteo.it/ 


Okay, now it's off to bed for me! I'm exhausted!!! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!!! 

Missing everyone so much!!! Hope all is well!

xoxox

Ciao!

La vita e bella!  

Ciao!! 

Come state miei amici?! (how are you, my friends?) 

HAPPY FRIDAY TO EVERYONE!! 

Today was the most amazing day ever!! After getting up and lounging about until 11, the girls and I decided we would go into the little town of Fiesole to go for a hike. The skies were bluer than they've been in days, and the air was a perfectly comfortable temperature. After walking to Piazza San Marco, we purchased our bus tickets and got ready for our adventure. Going to Fiesole wasn't just exciting because it was going to be my first time there, but it was also my first experience with purchasing bus tickets and taking the bus somewhere! It felt amazing to get out of the city for a bit and to just unwind. Fiesole is literally the quintessential Tuscany town, with an amazing vista. Overall, I think we ended up walking about 6 or 7 miles. Our first loop just brought us around the outskirts of the town which was beautiful, but our second loop brought us through the woods and on more of a "hike". Both were breathtakingly beautiful in their own way, although the second loop reminded me more of home and the types of hikes I go on at home. Walking through the woods made me feel so refreshed. Since Florence obviously doesn't have any trees, just being close to nature reminded me of home. It felt like the first days of fall and the air was so crisp and fresh that I couldn't help feeling sometimes that I was back in New England hiking through a trail. 

One of the coolest parts for me was being able, at certain parts of our walk, to see the entire city of Florence -- including the Duomo. It was so interesting to see the city from another perspective. Especially since yesterday I climbed the Duomo and was looking out towards Fiesole without even realizing it, just thinking to myself how beautiful the countryside looked.  

After our first loop around Fiesole, we stopped by this little stand where a little old man was selling jewelry that he makes by hand. He was so sweet and we all ended up getting a piece of jewelry. Not only was the jewelry amazing, but the little old man was so sweet! One of Angie's rings that she's had for a while had lost its shape, so he got his materials and fixed the ring for her -- free of charge! He was so sweet and was telling us all about how he makes the rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. It was so amazing getting to talk to him for a little while. 

After we talked with him, we started on our next loop around Fiesole which ended up lasting about 3 hours. By the time we had finished that hike, we sprinted to the bus headed back to Florence. It was such an amazing day!! After getting back to Florence, Kelsey and I met up with some of our friends from school for dinner and as if our day couldn't get any better, on our way home, Kelsey and I stopped to get a strawberry nutella crepe with some coffee. Must I ask again -- is this real life? 

It was so nice to get out of Florence and explore what else is going on in Italy. Tomorrow is looking like it's going to be another amazing day! It's supposed to be beautiful weather and we are busing up to Bologna for a day trip which includes a walking tour of the city and also balsamic vinegar tasting! YUMMIEEEE!!  

Check out some more info on Fiesole! It's definitely a place I would recommend visiting if you ever make it to Italy! 

http://www.comune.fiesole.fi.it/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesole

I hope everyone had an amazing day today!!!

Can't wait to post about my trip to Bologna tomorrow!!! 

Ciao!!!

La vita e bella!

xoxo
 

Ciao!!

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your morning back in the states! Today is an absolutely beautiful day! After the torrential downpour of rain we received yesterday, the clear blue skies, beautiful temperature and bright sunshine made for the perfect Duomo climbing conditions! Buttttt, before I go into any further details about the amazing climb, I first have to share with everyone my good news! 

Many of you will probably recall my recent post about my trip to the Amalfi coast that I went on last weekend. If you haven't read it, essentially the trip was one huge stressful, disoriented, wreck. After returning home, a bunch of the kids that had gone on the trip with me and I, all wrote letters to the tour company expressing our frustration and displeasure at how poorly we felt the trip went. Apparently the masses certainly do rule, and we all received e-mails from the company telling us that we were able to pick a day trip of our choice to go on - free of charge!  My friends and I all chose to go on the day trip excursion to Bolzano to the infamous Christmas Markets in December! A general overview of the event, for those of you who don't know:

Bolzano Christmas Market
The Christmas Market in Bolzano in South Tyrol is Italy's biggest Christmas market. For almost two decades now it has attracted countless visitors every year to the magnificently decorated Piazza Walther, with its uniquely special Advent atmosphere.

For almost a month, festive aromas fill the streets and picturesque alleyways in South Tyrol's regional capital; the shimmering sparkle of romantic lamps and flickering candles bathes Bolzano in a magical light for a short period.

The theme of this year's Bolzano Christmas Market is “Meeting of Cultures”. Here is the up-to-date programme. 

Here are some more links for those of you interested in learning more about the event!
http://www.bolzano.net/photos/christmas-market-bolzano.html
http://www.christmas-markets.it/en/christmas-market-bolzano-south-tyrol.aspx
 

So that was certainly great news to get!! So excited for that trip and we will be going the weekend before we leave to go back to the States...what a way to conclude our time in Italy! 

Last night I had my first Italian quiz! I think it went really well!! Things are really starting to get rolling now! Can you believe that next Friday, I will have been here for a full month already?! That's crazy! Where the heck is the time going?

This morning, Kelsey and I went to our only class of the day: Literature of the 14th century before meeting up with Alex to climb the Duomo! 
After singing a multitude of random songs, sharing strange stories, NOT taking good photos, admiring the graffiti on the wall, laughing at fellow tourists, 463 steps later, we managed to make it to the top of the Duomo! Once atop the Duomo, the view was spectacular. The clear blue skies only made the picturesque vista that much more amazing.  I could not have asked for a better day or better company in climbing the Duomo!http://tinybuddha.com/blog/3-lessons-from-traveling-that-lead-to-everyday-happiness/

Ciao!! 

I hope you are all waking up to a beeeeautiful morning and enjoying, what I hope is nice crisp fall air. Fall is most definitely my favorite season, I love everything about leaves changing color and dropping off of the trees, the brisk cool air that only just bites your nose when the wind picks up...... Certainly, it has been an adjustment for me to live in a city. As beautiful as Firenze is, and as much as I'm loving everything about it, there just seems like something is missing.... THE TREES! and more specifically, nature itself. So today, I want to ask everyone to just appreciate any sort of natural beauty you see around you as you drive to work or school, or wherever it is you are headed! 

Now, onto events from yesterday! 

Last night was my first yoga class! It was honestly the best thing that I could have ever decided to do while here in Firenze. It was so relaxing and just the perfect thing I needed to give myself a moment to take a step back and breathe. Our instructor seems extremely knowledgeable about the subject and although she started from the basics, over the course of the weeks that we spend with her, the classes will get harder. For me, joining yoga will give me a nice outlet to release any and all stress. I absolutely, 200% recommend to anyone who has not tried yoga to give it a chance! My favorite type of yoga is hot yoga (which, you can tell by the name means that you are literally doing yoga in a room that's about 110 degrees), but there are all different types of yoga that you can do. Even if you just try it once, I can guarantee you'll feel just a little bit better! But enough of my tangent there! The class was great and made me feel awesome and I'm so looking forward to returning next week to see what new things we do! 

After yoga class, I headed back to my apartment to make some dinner and get a little bit of work done before heading out to Vogue's Fashion Night out with the girls in my apartment (Marissa, Kelsey, Angie, Brittany and Katherine). Although I've never been that into fashion or understood all the hype about it, I can still appreciate the fact that it literally means the world to some people. The event was a lot cooler than I expected it to be....well, really, I just didn't know what to expect. Just beyond the Duomo, Firenze literally was transformed. Walking down the streets there were professional models standing outside some of the stores modeling some clothing, there was music, bright lights, all the shops were open and it seemed like everywhere I looked there was something new and exciting going on. I have to say the event was pretty cool. The picture above is me and the girls from the apartment posing with one of the models who was handing out masquerade masks to people as a promotional event. My friend Kelsey is really into fashion, so for her it was like Christmas morning, and just to see how much she enjoyed the event and how amazed she was, made the experience even that much better. I truly believe that I have experienced a once in a life-time event and the memory of it will certainly stay with me for years to come!

After all the excitement of yesterday, I'm dragging a little bit this morning! I have a jam-packed schedule today before I can really settle down and get ready for a (hopefully) very relaxing weekend! The only major thing on the itinerary for this weekend is our day trip to Bologna! Fingers crossed (and maybe a prayer dance to the sun gods too, if you're up for it) that it won't rain on Saturday! Today is a bit rainy and cloudy outside which won't do much to help give me some energy! After my Holocaust class, it's study for my first Italian quiz before my 12:00 class, then class until 2:30, more studying and getting homework done, heading to the API office to sign up for the next cultural event and then my quiz at 6:00 before I can finally relax for the rest of the night! Phew!! 

Well, I'll stop chewing your ear off now.....(can you even say that through a blog?... maybe it's I'll stop tiring your eyes out now with my rants...better)

I hope everyone has an amazing day today! 

Ciao!

la vita e bella!