SO MANY BIRDS!

How many of you remember that classic movie "The Birds"? Pretty scary, terrible movie right? Well, that's pretty much what it was like being in the San Marco Square in Venice. Only, it was SO COOL because 1) I'm not afraid of birds and 2) I felt like a little kid, so, really, IT WAS AWESOME! There was a huge group of us (probably about  8 of us) who were literally entertained by playing (if that's what you would call it) with the birds for a good 45 minutes of our free time in Venice.  Check out the videos below to see some of the fun we had with the birds!! 

Ciao!!

1) I SURVIVED MIDTERM WEEK!! Wooo
   Wow, it feels so great to finally be done!!! Last weekend, for those of you who have forgotten, I went to Venice, Verona and Padova! Now, as you can imagine, after a loooooong weekend away, it was pretty difficult to have to jump right into a long week of midterms, but, alas, I have survived! Last weekend was amazing and although this week I was literally running on empty and espresso, I think my midterms, overall, went well. Now, from here on out, it's pretty clear sailing until finals in December!

2) WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!!

Okay, so since I've been gone for a WHOLE week and left you all in suspense (sorry!) I promise that after today, you'll feel as though you've had your full of my blog hahah

I'm going to do a few different posts throughout the day of my past week and last weekend, so be sure to keep checking back! 

3) THERE WILL BE LOTS OF POSTS COMING YOUR WAY!! 

To start off, here's a little calendar of events! These are the things I have planned so far for the rest of this semester:



4) KAT'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS: 


October 22 - 28 - FALL BREAK
November 1 - 4 -PARIS!!
November 10 - Matt Come! ( a friend from school!) 
November 11th - International Film Festival
November 16 - MUSE Concert in Bologna
November 17 - 18 - VENICE/ 
**1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY **
November 20th - Ballet with API
November 23 - 25 - ROME!! 
December 2md - Nothing.....YEEETT!
December 9TH - BOLZANO
December 10 - 14 - FINALS
December 15 - HOME! 

So there it is! For those of you interested!! "Why should I be interested?" You may be asking yourself. Well, that's an easy question! You should be excited because all of those fun, amazing, interesting things I have listed there mean that YOU will get to read fun, interesting, exciting blog posts from now until I return home in December!!! **Rejoyce, rejoyce!** 

Anyway, I'm glad to finally be back to blogging! Now, prepare yourselves for a looooong string of awesome blogs!!!!

Ciao!!!!

xoxoxoxo

la vita e bella!

MIDTERMS ARE NEXT WEEK

MIDTERMS ARE NEXT WEEK

MIDTERMS ARE IN 3 DAYS 

.......................................................................enough said.



Oh, and tomorrow and Sunday we have a trip with our study abroad program to Venice, Verona and Padova!

Ciao!

Here’s another recipe (who knows if you’ve tried the other ones..). There are a thousand different versions 
of Ragù, freshly cooked or in jars and cans, but I swear that none of them are as good as the “real” one, the 
one Italians cook at home. The taste is really different. Moreover this is one of the most popular dishes in Italy, 
it’s our Sunday lunch star. I’m sending you the Tuscan style home-made version, slightly different from the 
Bolognese one but anyway very good.  

Ciao!!!

How are you all?! 

Today was such an eventful day and the perfect way to kick off an amazing weekend! 

After getting out of my one and only class of the day at 11:30, my friend Kelsey and I went to the post office to mail some postcards, and also, so I could pick up my package that came! 

So, everyone, just get a mental image of your local post office for a minute before I tell you about the post office here in Florence. I'm not sure about you all, but my post office is a quaint little building, with one counter and one person working. At that one counter you can mail letters, packages or pick up any packages and then just be on your merry little way! Now, after having that nice little image in your mind, I must ask you to think of something not so nice, and rather scary.... your local DMV. (sorry to put you through the trauma of thinking about the DMV...) I kid you not, when I walked into the post office today, I felt like I was in a DMV! You get a ticket with a number and then there are lines at different stations where you wait to be called and seen. It was so bizzare! Not only that, but when we went to inquire about where I would go to pick up my package, they told us that we actually had to go out of the building and in through another entrance to get my package! So after successfully getting stamps for my postcards and mailing them, we spent about twenty minutes walking in squares until we found the entrance to the post office where you pick up packages. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes!

After getting my package, which was actually a birthday present from my dad and contained a hand made necklace which reads "amore, famiglia and Valentini" (love, family, Valentini) which I'm absolutely in love with and have already put it on!!! (THANKS DAD!), Kelsey and I stumbled upon this Istanbul, Turkey restaurant and thought we would try something new! So we stopped in and got a plate of saffron/ yellow rice with vegetables and two Falafel! It was really, really delicious!!! 

We then headed back to our apartment to drop off our things before heading out to buy Soccer match tickets for the Fiorentina vs. Bologna match this Sunday! I can't wait to get back to another match! The tickets are really reasonably priced and in the section we got tickets you can really sit anywhere, so we're planning to meet up with a bunch of friends and just enjoy the game! I'm so excited to get back there! I hope this game has a little more intensity and at least one goal...that's all I'm asking for! hahah 

We then continued along on our towards the Pitti Palace which is over the Ponte Vecchio, where we planned to go to the Biboli gardens for the afternoon and walk around. 

Here are a few links about the Boboli gardens and the Pitti Palace if you're interested in reading about them!

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/boboli_garden.html
http://www.giardinodiboboli.it/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens

Pitti Palace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Pitti
http://193.42.139.9/english/musei/palazzopitti/


The weather was absolutely beautiful and the further we went into the labyrinth of the gardens, the more beautiful and serene it seemed to become! There were so many people there either just relaxing and lounging on the benches or on the grass and soaking up the sun and enjoying the beautiful day! It's so great that our university provided us with museum cards because we were able to get into the gardens for free, which means you can bet I'll be going back often and possibly bringing books to read or some school work to do while I just sit and enjoy the ambiance of the gardens.  

After spending a few hours in the garden, we started on our way home. Along the way, we were talking about dessert (naturally.....) when we stumbled upon a window full of CHOCOLATE! So, of course, we had to go in! You can't just casually stroll by a chocolate/dessert store! Naturally, we stopped in and somehow ended up leaving with an 8 euro bar of dark chocolate with hazelnuts in it.......
In our defense, we asked for them to tell us how much it was and they said "I don't know, I have to weigh it", so they weighed it and then just rang it up without even asking us! But, I supposed it's just another learning experience! And not to worry, it didn't go to waste.... we finished the bar off for dessert and it was quite delicious!!! 

The minute we got back, we flopped down on the couches and in a matter of minutes I was passed out from exhaustion! After a nice little nap, I woke up, had a little dinner, showered and started to pack for this weekend! I'm so excited to go to Lake Como tomorrow, although the 5:30 wake up won't be so fun! 

I guess I should probably get to bed soon since I'm getting up so early! 

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thursday!!

TOMORROW IS FRIDAY AND THEN YOU CAN ENJOY A NICE, RELAXING WEEKEND! 

Miss you all and hope all is well!!!!

I'll be sure to post on Sunday morning when I'm back from Lake Como!!

Ciao a tutti!

La vita e bella!

xoxoxo

P.S. Be sure to check out my photos from the gardens in the "Pictures" section!

Helloooooo to all!!

WOW! What a week it's been. Where the heck is the time going? It's Wednesday already?! I feel like I woke up this morning and it was Sunday and now it's the afternoon and already Wednesday! These days are literally flying by! 

My week so far has been relatively busy. As midterms are coming up in only about two weeks, a lot of the classwork has picked up significantly. After an amazing weekend last weekend, I had a lot of catch up to do with my classes as well. On Monday I had my first quiz in my Event Planning class, which I think went pretty well, but I typically don't like to predict how I do on quizzes and tests just in case the result is the complete opposite from what I predict...and anyway, once it's done, it's done, so you have to just move on! No sense in worrying over what you think you got! 

Tuesdays, as always, are my days to catch up on work, relax and just take a little "me" time. Yesterday was great because Alex helped me with preparing to register for my spring semester courses for Bryant, which was a huge weight off of my shoulders to be able to have some piece of mind that I've at least got some things in order. I'll definitely be much better prepared when it really does come time to register for my courses for next semester, which I can't believe will probably be in just a few short weeks! We went to our little cafe that we love, which is pretty removed from the immediate hustle and bustle of the center of Firenze. I had the MOST DELICIOUS cup of tea that I have ever had in my life! It was called "Salute" and was a loose leaf tea that is made right here, locally in Florence! I can't wait to get back and have some more! 

After a relatively relaxing day, a group of us decided that this weekend, instead of hanging around Florence, we wanted to keep up our little traveling/exploration streak and go somewhere we have yet to go! Soooo..... we decided that Friday to Saturday we were going to visit the BEEEAUTIFUL Lake Como! It's about a four hour train ride up to Lake Como, but is supposed to be one of the most beautiful sights to visit. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I'm back! Our train leaves eeearrrrllyyyy Friday morning, and by early, I mean 6:55 am..... I sure hope everyone going on the trip is a morning person! haha.... but thankfully, since we are taking a train and staying overnight, we should have something to be able to make a pillow out of and can thus just sleep for the few hours on the bus up to Lake Como! The good thing about going so early is that we will also get there early... just around 9:30 am, which means we'll be able to have the entire day to explore and do whatever we want! Our return train is Saturday evening, so it will be the perfect amount of time for a visit! 

There are supposed to be some great places to hike and some places to see...like where Mussolini was assassinated! HOW COOL IS THAT?  A little eerie, but you better believe I'm going to get a picture of that spot!

For those of you interested in learning a little more about Lake Como and where I'll be this weekend, this site has the top 10 things to do in Lake Como...Including seeing the site where Mussolini was assassinated! 
http://www.bellacomo.com/lake-como=top-ten.htmlhttp://www.lakecomopages.com/things2do/lake-como-attractions/top-10-attractions.html

and here is a little information about Lake Como itself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Como

Obviously, I understand if you would all rather wait for me to get back from my trip and tell you all about Lake Como, as my writing and blogging is MUCHHH more entertaining than a Wikipedia article...buttttt, just in case you were interested, have a poke around those sites :) hahah

Ohhh, I can't wait to go!

Tomorrow, Thursday, I only have one class in the morning, and then, since it's supposed to be a nice day outside, my friend Kelsey and I are planning to go over the Arno to these beautiful gardens! If we make it, I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share with everyone! On Sunday, when I did the Corri La Vita walk for breast cancer, we got to walk through a section of the gardens and they were absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful, so I'm certainly looking forward to going back and being able to spend more time there! Who knows, maybe we pack a little picnic and just take our time enjoying the beautiful day! Fingers crossed that the weather is as beautiful as they're predicting it to be tomorrow!! 

On an end note, I have gotten a few great Tinibuddah blog post e-mails that I would love to share with everyone! I hope that they make you all feel a little better, especially if you're having a funky day! 

This blog is "The Wisdom of Learning What's Right and True For You"
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/the-wisdom-of-learning-whats-right-and-true-for-you/

and this blog is "3 Ways to Trust Your Body and Trust Yourself"
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/3-ways-to-trust-your-body-and-trust-yourself/

and lastly, this blog is: "Your Thoughts Create Your World: Patrol Your Mind"
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/your-thoughts-create-your-world-patrol-your-mind/

I always find it's best and most enjoyable to read these blogs while sipping on a little bit of tea, so maybe, as you all wake up this morning and are getting ready for your day, you can treat yourself to a little quite time, make a little tea and pick one of those great posts to read! Although, I will warn you, they can be addicting to read, so you'll probably end up reading all three! 

Check out my photo below of my tea from yesterday, the "Salute" tea! It was amazing! Wish I had some now!!

Anyway! I'll do my best to post tomorrow after getting back from the gardens!! 

I hope everyone is having a great week and sorry again for the terrible lack of blogging lately! I'll do better, promise! hahah 

Love and miss you all!!! 

La vita e bella!

xoxooxo