I finally uploaded some pictures onto Facebook! They go all the way back to Florence weekend.
Florence:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2220781&l=bf2b0&id=7005597
Some churches in Rome and the Vatican City:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2221336&l=c6310&id=7005597
Dublin for St. Pat's, some Italian villas, and Rome with Paul:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2221337&l=c22af&id=7005597
Spring Break! London Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2221341&l=9249b&id=7005597
Spring Break! Paris Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2221347&l=00511&id=7005597
Hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think! Ciao!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
SPRING BREAK OH EIGHT!
Partay! JK, it was really more of a sightseeing trip than a partying one. We were so busy the whole time, but we had so much fun! Easter Sunday Paul and I and a few friends went to mass at the church in Ariccia. I should post pictures of that church; it's beautiful! It was designed by Bernini himself! After church we caught the bus to the airport, and to London we went!
London was great. We saw lots of cool things, mostly your basic sightseeing spots-- Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc. We went with two girls from my group, Amy and Alex. They're really sweet girls and lots of fun! Our first night in London ended pretty badly. We were in a restaurant, and as we were leaving Amy realized her wallet had been stolen! It had her passport, credit cards, and IDs in it. That was a big mess because we had to take trips to the police and the US embassy, but she got everything worked out in the end and we didn't let it spoil our trip.
The best part of our London trip was going to see Wicked! It was amazing- exactly what I would expect Broadway to be like. And we were on the fourth row! Incredible!
On our last day in England, Paul and I went to Stonehenge! It was so cool! You see pictures of it all the time, but I never expected to actually go there! We had an audio tour that told about the mysteries surrounding it. It was very interesting.
I caught a cold right before leaving on the trip, so I was semi-miserable most of the week. I just had to push through because who knows when I'll be back there again! The sad part is that in most pictures of me I look like death warmed over, even in front of the Eiffel Tower!
Yes, the Eiffel Tower! Our next stop was Paris, a beautiful and romantic city. Our flight to Paris left at 6 AM Thursday morning. We couldn't figure out a way to get to the airport that early from our hotel across town, so we decided it would be ok to sleep in the airport. Bad idea! Right when we got settled on the floor, a pack of Irish guys came and sat right beside us and practically screamed for the rest of the night! As a result, we kept falling asleep on our first day in Paris! I actually nodded off in the Louvre! We saw most of the basic sights in Paris too: Notre Dame, Versailles, and many museums. We went to the Louvre for a little while, but my favorite museum was Musee D'Orsay. It has many works by Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Rodin, Renoir, and many other artists that I really enjoyed. I started to get over my cold, which was a relief, but as soon as I started feeling better, I started to get tendonitis because I wasn't wearing shoes with good arch support! So for the last part of the trip I was limping everywhere we went! I was pitiful. Paris is breathtaking, but it made me miss my love.
The Moulin Rouge!
Spring Break was amazing; probably my best ever! I learned a lot about traveling and saw things I never thought I would actually see! This week we have regular classes until Friday, when we leave on an eleven-day extravaganza to Venice, Milan, and Cinqueterre! I need to recover from my break before the next trip!
London was great. We saw lots of cool things, mostly your basic sightseeing spots-- Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc. We went with two girls from my group, Amy and Alex. They're really sweet girls and lots of fun! Our first night in London ended pretty badly. We were in a restaurant, and as we were leaving Amy realized her wallet had been stolen! It had her passport, credit cards, and IDs in it. That was a big mess because we had to take trips to the police and the US embassy, but she got everything worked out in the end and we didn't let it spoil our trip.
The best part of our London trip was going to see Wicked! It was amazing- exactly what I would expect Broadway to be like. And we were on the fourth row! Incredible!
On our last day in England, Paul and I went to Stonehenge! It was so cool! You see pictures of it all the time, but I never expected to actually go there! We had an audio tour that told about the mysteries surrounding it. It was very interesting.
I caught a cold right before leaving on the trip, so I was semi-miserable most of the week. I just had to push through because who knows when I'll be back there again! The sad part is that in most pictures of me I look like death warmed over, even in front of the Eiffel Tower!
Yes, the Eiffel Tower! Our next stop was Paris, a beautiful and romantic city. Our flight to Paris left at 6 AM Thursday morning. We couldn't figure out a way to get to the airport that early from our hotel across town, so we decided it would be ok to sleep in the airport. Bad idea! Right when we got settled on the floor, a pack of Irish guys came and sat right beside us and practically screamed for the rest of the night! As a result, we kept falling asleep on our first day in Paris! I actually nodded off in the Louvre! We saw most of the basic sights in Paris too: Notre Dame, Versailles, and many museums. We went to the Louvre for a little while, but my favorite museum was Musee D'Orsay. It has many works by Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Rodin, Renoir, and many other artists that I really enjoyed. I started to get over my cold, which was a relief, but as soon as I started feeling better, I started to get tendonitis because I wasn't wearing shoes with good arch support! So for the last part of the trip I was limping everywhere we went! I was pitiful. Paris is breathtaking, but it made me miss my love.
The Moulin Rouge!Spring Break was amazing; probably my best ever! I learned a lot about traveling and saw things I never thought I would actually see! This week we have regular classes until Friday, when we leave on an eleven-day extravaganza to Venice, Milan, and Cinqueterre! I need to recover from my break before the next trip!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tooty Ta!
Lots of fun things this week! Yesterday we visited Ariccia's elementary school. The school contains preschool children all the way to fourth grade. Since I am the only person in our group in education, I was volunteered to teach the kids a song! Of course, I chose Tooty Ta, the great Early Childhood classic by Dr. Jean Feldman. The kids liked it, but they were very shy. I also don't speak a lot of Italian, so it was hard to get them into it. One class taught me their own Italian version! It involved the tune of "Singing in the Rain" some hand motions, and the words "shoo shoo sha sha!" It was pretty cute, especially the part where you put your head back and do a little dance. The kids burst into giggles at that part. They were very sweet and so smart! They are not older than ten, and they're already doing projects in English! One little boy shamed us by saying "why don't you learn Italian?"
PAUL IS HERE! I am so excited that my little brother got to come see me! We're going on Spring Break Sunday. We're heading to London and Paris. I'm so excited! The only thing that would make it better would be if the rest of my family could come too! I don't know when will be the next time I will write. If it's not until after Spring Break, then Buona Pasqua, everybody (happy easter)!
PAUL IS HERE! I am so excited that my little brother got to come see me! We're going on Spring Break Sunday. We're heading to London and Paris. I'm so excited! The only thing that would make it better would be if the rest of my family could come too! I don't know when will be the next time I will write. If it's not until after Spring Break, then Buona Pasqua, everybody (happy easter)!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote last. Things have been pretty crazy around here! Last weekend was Florence. It's a great city; the only downside for me was there were way too many Americans! I did a lot of shopping and spent way too much money. Right before we came back, my friend Alex and I climbed the bell tower of the duomo! It was 414 steps! The view was beautiful. I had one of my favorite dishes so far on the trip at a nice restaurant in Florence. It was Bitter Cocoa Ravioli with Cinghiale filling. For those of you who are not in the Italian cuisine loop (like me, haha), Cinghiale means wild boar! It was so delicious! It had a hint of cocoa with a delicious savory meat filling. I was definitely satisfied. I have discovered that I love trying new foods! My friends are all impressed by my adventurousness (is that a word?).
This past weekend we went to IRELAND! I was surprised by how much I liked it. I want to go back someday; the only thing I didn't enjoy was the weather. It rained steadily ALL DAY on Saturday. I forgot my umbrella at the hotel so I was miserable! I did try some more interesting food, though. I had Dublin Coddle, which is Irish stew with a big glob of mashed potatoes in the middle and sausage on top! Sunday we got fish and chips. I wanted to try shark but they were all out, sadly. Despite my wet boots, I felt like we didn't have enough time in Dublin. I am going to add it to my list of places to go again.
We had a big adventure on the way back. A group of us took the cheap way home and booked discount airlines from Dublin to London then London to Rome. When we got to the airport we discovered our first flight was delayed by fifteen minutes. We would have been ok but when it was time to land in London we had to circle the airport three times until there was a spot to land. As a result, we missed check-in for our connecting flight by five minutes! We were very stressed out, running across the airport with all of our bags. It felt like a movie, only less funny. When we realized we had missed it we didn't know what to do. Luckily, we had a mom! One girl's mom was coming back to Rome with us, so she made us all feel better. If she hadn't been there we probably would have been bawling on the floor! Just when things were at their worst, we had a comforting sign from home. We were so lost and sad, and then we turned around and saw a KRISPY KREME! The workers probably thought we were insane; I bet they've never seen anyone more excited about doughnuts! Our collective mom bought us two dozen and informed us that she just happened to be a member of the Hilton club. So instead of sleeping in the airport like some people we met, we got to stay in a cushy hotel room! The only problem with that setup was that our flight left at 6 AM, so we had to wake up super early and be at the airport at 4 for check-in! Finally, after only three hours of sleep, we boarded the plane and made it back to Ariccia in time for our class at 11. So the only real harm to come out of the incident was the loss of my cute new umbrella at the security checkpoint and a serious dent in my bank account from buying a new plane ticket. It could have been worse; at least we didn't have to sleep on the airport floor!
This past weekend we went to IRELAND! I was surprised by how much I liked it. I want to go back someday; the only thing I didn't enjoy was the weather. It rained steadily ALL DAY on Saturday. I forgot my umbrella at the hotel so I was miserable! I did try some more interesting food, though. I had Dublin Coddle, which is Irish stew with a big glob of mashed potatoes in the middle and sausage on top! Sunday we got fish and chips. I wanted to try shark but they were all out, sadly. Despite my wet boots, I felt like we didn't have enough time in Dublin. I am going to add it to my list of places to go again.
We had a big adventure on the way back. A group of us took the cheap way home and booked discount airlines from Dublin to London then London to Rome. When we got to the airport we discovered our first flight was delayed by fifteen minutes. We would have been ok but when it was time to land in London we had to circle the airport three times until there was a spot to land. As a result, we missed check-in for our connecting flight by five minutes! We were very stressed out, running across the airport with all of our bags. It felt like a movie, only less funny. When we realized we had missed it we didn't know what to do. Luckily, we had a mom! One girl's mom was coming back to Rome with us, so she made us all feel better. If she hadn't been there we probably would have been bawling on the floor! Just when things were at their worst, we had a comforting sign from home. We were so lost and sad, and then we turned around and saw a KRISPY KREME! The workers probably thought we were insane; I bet they've never seen anyone more excited about doughnuts! Our collective mom bought us two dozen and informed us that she just happened to be a member of the Hilton club. So instead of sleeping in the airport like some people we met, we got to stay in a cushy hotel room! The only problem with that setup was that our flight left at 6 AM, so we had to wake up super early and be at the airport at 4 for check-in! Finally, after only three hours of sleep, we boarded the plane and made it back to Ariccia in time for our class at 11. So the only real harm to come out of the incident was the loss of my cute new umbrella at the security checkpoint and a serious dent in my bank account from buying a new plane ticket. It could have been worse; at least we didn't have to sleep on the airport floor!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Bella Tuscany!
Last weekend was definitely one of my favorite experiences since I've been in Italy. On Friday we went on a class trip to Assisi, where St. Frances is from. It is a beautiful medieval town up on a mountain in the Umbria region. After we explored Assisi and the cathedrals there, four of us got on a train to Tuscany. We stayed at a B&B in the country. It was so relaxing and fun! The owners of the B&B were super-nice. They cooked Tuscan food for us and taught us about wine (don't worry, Mom, I didn't drink a lot)! We went to a flea market, took a lovely walk, and learned to cook things like Risotto with Truffles! It was exactly the retreat we needed, and we came back refreshed and ready for an exciting week!
I am writing this in an internet cafe in Siena, Tuscany. Yes, I'm back in Tuscany again! Yesterday our class left our hotel in Ariccia at 6 AM. We traveled to Pienza and Arezzo, then we had a wine tasting and dinner at a real vineyard! We spent the night in Siena and have spent the day exploring. The duomo in Siena is a beautiful church with gorgeous frescoes. The colors are amazing! I will post pictures when I get back to Ariccia. It is freezing in Tuscany this weekend; last weekend the sun was shining and it was warm! Tomorrow we are going to Florence, and I am spending the weekend there in a hostel. I am so excited! Florence was number 2 on my list of places to see in Italy, next to Rome. It should be amazing! It might snow; I guess I will have to buy some warm gloves at the leather market! ;-) I will tell you all about it when I get back. Have a great day!
P.S. Here is the facebook album of my Tuscany pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2213384&l=9d773&id=7005597
I am writing this in an internet cafe in Siena, Tuscany. Yes, I'm back in Tuscany again! Yesterday our class left our hotel in Ariccia at 6 AM. We traveled to Pienza and Arezzo, then we had a wine tasting and dinner at a real vineyard! We spent the night in Siena and have spent the day exploring. The duomo in Siena is a beautiful church with gorgeous frescoes. The colors are amazing! I will post pictures when I get back to Ariccia. It is freezing in Tuscany this weekend; last weekend the sun was shining and it was warm! Tomorrow we are going to Florence, and I am spending the weekend there in a hostel. I am so excited! Florence was number 2 on my list of places to see in Italy, next to Rome. It should be amazing! It might snow; I guess I will have to buy some warm gloves at the leather market! ;-) I will tell you all about it when I get back. Have a great day!
P.S. Here is the facebook album of my Tuscany pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2213384&l=9d773&id=7005597
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